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Short answer
Asana is our top pick among the 6 project management tools we ranked, scoring 87/100. Paid plans start at $10.99/user/mo.
Asana (87/100): best for cross-functional teams that need structure.
ClickUp (86/100): best all-in-one workspace on a budget.
monday.com (85/100): best for teams that want visual, easy-to-adopt boards.
Smartsheet (81/100): best for spreadsheet-minded teams and PMOs.
Wrike (79/100): best for complex projects and resource planning.
Project management software is where a team agrees on what's being done, by whom and by when. The tools look alike in a demo; the differences show up in which plan unlocks timelines, how many automations you get, and whether people outside the core team will actually use it.
We scored seven tools on six weighted criteria. Pay attention to the plan each feature sits on: Gantt and timeline views, portfolios and automations are often one or two tiers above the entry price.
The shortlist
1Asana Best for cross-functional teams that need structure87/100Review
2ClickUp Best all-in-one workspace on a budget86/100Review
3monday.com Best for teams that want visual, easy-to-adopt boards85/100Review
4Smartsheet Best for spreadsheet-minded teams and PMOs81/100Review
5Wrike Best for complex projects and resource planning79/100Review
6Trello Best for simple boards and small teams77/100Review
Starting prices are the cheapest paid plan on each vendor's pricing page on Oct 30, 2026, billed annually where shown. Basecamp charges a flat monthly fee rather than per user.
The reviews
1
Asana
Best for cross-functional teams that need structure
Asana organizes work into projects, tasks and goals. Starter adds timeline and Gantt views, dashboards and unlimited automations; Advanced ($24.99) adds portfolios, goals, resource management, approvals and time tracking.
Who it's best for
Marketing, operations and product teams that run many projects at once and need clear owners, dates and status.
Why it made the shortlist
It balances structure and ease of use better than any tool here, and unlimited automations start on its first paid plan.
Strengths
Unlimited automations from the Starter plan
Timeline and Gantt views on Starter
Portfolios and resource management on Advanced
Watch-outs
Free plan is limited to 2 users
Portfolios and time tracking need the $24.99 Advanced plan
Skip it if: You want a flexible all-in-one workspace with docs, whiteboards and chat; look at ClickUp.
ClickUp combines tasks, docs, whiteboards, goals and time tracking in one workspace. Its paid plans are Core ($9) and Business ($17) per user billed yearly, plus Enterprise by quote. Gantt charts and native time tracking start on Core, and every plan includes a monthly allowance of ClickUp Brain AI credits.
Who it's best for
Teams that want one tool for projects, docs and lightweight wikis, and are willing to spend time setting it up.
Why it made the shortlist
It packs more views and features per dollar than anything else here, and its Free Forever plan has unlimited tasks.
Strengths
Gantt charts and time tracking on the first paid plan
Docs, whiteboards and goals in the same tool
Free Forever plan with unlimited tasks
Watch-outs
So many features that setup takes real effort
Core and Business prices are shown as discounts from higher regular prices; confirm your price at checkout
Extra AI credits are a paid add-on
Skip it if: Your team wants something simple that works on day one; try Trello or Asana.
Score breakdown
Planning views (25%)5/5
Workflow automation (15%)4/5
Reporting & portfolios (15%)4/5
Collaboration & ease of use (20%)3.5/5
Integrations (10%)4/5
Price & value (15%)5/5
3
monday.com
Best for teams that want visual, easy-to-adopt boards
monday work management runs projects on colorful, customizable boards. Timeline and Gantt views and 250 automation actions a month start on Standard ($12); Pro ($19) raises that to 25,000 and adds time tracking and private boards.
Who it's best for
Teams with many non-technical members who need a tool people will adopt without training.
Why it made the shortlist
It's the easiest tool here to roll out across a whole company, with the highest G2 rating among these seven from a large review base.
Strengths
Very easy to adopt, with 200+ templates
Unlimited free viewers on paid plans
Rated 4.7/5 on G2 from 17,000+ reviews
Watch-outs
Gantt and automations need Standard or higher
Paid plans start from 3 seats
Automation actions are capped per month below Enterprise
Skip it if: You're a team of one or two who only needs a simple task board.
Smartsheet runs projects in a spreadsheet-style grid with Gantt, board and calendar views. Business ($19 yearly) adds timeline view, workload tracking, unlimited automations and Power BI and Tableau integrations; portfolios and scenario planning are on Enterprise.
Who it's best for
PMOs, operations and construction or engineering teams that think in rows, formulas and dependencies.
Why it made the shortlist
Its grid feels familiar to anyone who runs projects in Excel today, and unlimited free Contributors keep costs down for wide teams.
Strengths
Familiar spreadsheet interface with Gantt built in
Unlimited free Contributors
Strong reporting and BI integrations on Business
Watch-outs
Pro is capped at 10 members
Less approachable for teams that don't like spreadsheets
Skip it if: Your team prefers visual boards over grids.
Wrike is a work management platform for larger and more complex projects. Team ($10) includes interactive Gantt charts and dashboards; Business ($25, 5 to 200 users) adds workspace templates and standard integrations; resource and capacity planning and budgeting are on Pinnacle.
Who it's best for
Agencies and project management offices that juggle many projects, approvals and shared resources.
Why it made the shortlist
It handles complex, multi-team projects well, with Gantt charts on its first paid plan and deep resource planning higher up.
Strengths
Interactive Gantt charts from the Team plan
Strong resource and capacity planning on higher tiers
Free plan and 14-day trial with no card
Watch-outs
Business and higher plans are annual-only
Seats are sold in groups of 5 or more
Resource planning needs a sales-priced plan
Skip it if: You're a small team that wants a light, quick tool.
Trello is a kanban board tool from Atlassian. The free plan covers 10 boards and 10 collaborators per Workspace; Premium ($10) adds calendar, timeline, table, dashboard and map views.
Who it's best for
Small teams and individuals who want a visual task board with almost no learning curve.
Why it made the shortlist
It's the simplest and cheapest way to get a team organized, with unlimited Power-Ups on every board.
Strengths
Learn it in minutes
Cheapest paid plan on this list
Unlimited Power-Ups per board, even on Free
Watch-outs
Timeline and calendar views need Premium
Light on reporting and portfolio management
Skip it if: You manage dependencies, budgets or many projects at once.
Score breakdown
Planning views (25%)3/5
Workflow automation (15%)3.5/5
Reporting & portfolios (15%)2.5/5
Collaboration & ease of use (20%)5/5
Integrations (10%)4.5/5
Price & value (15%)5/5
Also considered
Basecamp scored 66/100. Basecamp combines to-dos, message boards, schedules and chat per project, priced as a flat monthly fee from $29 (Freelancer) to $199 billed annually (Pro Unlimited) with no per-user charges; lower tiers cap projects and users. Its flat pricing and simplicity suit agencies working with clients, but it has no Gantt or timeline planning and little automation or reporting compared with the tools above.
How we scored project management software
Each tool gets a 0 to 5 rating on every criterion. We weight the ratings below, convert the total to a score out of 100, and only rank tools that score 70 or higher. Open any tool's Score breakdown to see its ratings. Full process on our methodology page.
Planning views25%
Workflow automation15%
Reporting & portfolios15%
Collaboration & ease of use20%
Integrations10%
Price & value15%
How to choose project management software
Find the plan with the views you need. Asana and ClickUp include timeline or Gantt views on their first paid plan; monday.com needs Standard and Trello needs Premium. Compare that plan's price, not the entry price.
Count who needs a paid seat. monday.com has free viewers, Smartsheet free Contributors, and Basecamp no per-user fees at all. That changes the cost for wide teams.
Check automation limits. Asana's automations are unlimited on Starter; monday.com caps automation actions per month by plan.
Pilot with a real project. Run one live project for two weeks with the people who'll use it daily, including someone who dislikes new tools.
Plan for portfolios later. If leadership will want a cross-project view, check which plan adds portfolios before you commit.
Project management FAQ
What is the best project management software?
Asana scores highest in our ranking for most teams, balancing structure, automation and ease of use. ClickUp is the best value if you want docs and whiteboards in the same tool, and monday.com is the easiest to roll out company-wide.
What is the best free project management software?
ClickUp's Free Forever plan has unlimited tasks, Trello's free plan covers 10 collaborators per Workspace, and Asana and monday.com have free plans for up to 2 users.
Which project management tools include Gantt charts?
Asana (Starter), ClickUp (first paid plan), Wrike (Team) and Smartsheet (Pro) include Gantt charts on their entry paid plans. monday.com includes them from Standard.
How much does project management software cost?
Paid plans on this list start between $5 (Trello) and $10.99 (Asana) per user per month billed annually. Features like portfolios and resource planning usually cost $19 to $25 per user or more.