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Last Updated: May 2024

Top Project Management Software of 2024
Software solutions for organized teams

Finding the right project management software is essential to your workflow. Here are the best project management software to keep your team organized & efficient.

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Top picks for your business
We Recommend
monday.com
monday.com
exceptional
9.8
Join 152,000+ companies worldwide
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Jira
Jira
excellent
9.1
Effortless setup
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Smartsheet
Smartsheet
excellent
9.2
Over 3 million users
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Did you know?
Project management software saves the average employee 498 hrs/year (SaasList)
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We find the 10 best options, so you can make informed decisions on tons of products and services.

Why do I need a project management software?

Project management software is a force multiplier. It helps you organize your time and resource management, create reports about business and employee performance, and get a better idea of what’s working and what isn’t. Project management software can also make team collaboration easier and more seamless than ever before.

Is it easy to use? 

Project management software is designed to be easy to use, after all, that’s sort of the whole point of systems that are supposed to make your work easier. These programs shouldn’t take long for employees to master, and should have a straightforward, intuitive interface for carrying out tasks and communicating with teammates. 

How steep is the learning curve?

Project management software platforms tend to have a wide range of capabilities and if you were looking to master every facet, it could take you some time. For most employees though, the basic tasks they would need to carry out shouldn’t take long to master at all, and don’t require any previous tech know-how. 

How much will it cost me? 

The amount you pay for project management software depends mainly on how many users you’ll have, and how many features you want. For the most basic plans, the price will be around $5 per user per month, though if you opt for the “Enterprise” plan, the per-user price will jump to $23.60 per month. If you have a lot of employees this can add up quickly. Make sure that you only order the plan that you need, so that you aren’t paying for capabilities that you don’t use. 

Is my data safe with a PM software? 

PM software runs online, so safeguarding your security is quite important. With your system, you’ll be able to determine which users have access to which parts of the platform, and how often you update passwords and security protocols. When selecting a provider, take a look at the security safeguards they have in place to protect users, including firewalls and encryption. 

Our Top 3 Picks

  • 1
    monday.com

    monday.com

    • PriceFrom $27/month ($9/user/month)
    • Team collaboration toolsCollaborative docs, updates, Zoom integration, whiteboards
    • Free trial14 days

    monday.com unifies your team’s tasks and processes into one user-friendly and visually pleasing interface. This work operating system (OS) provides teams with a clear overview of who’s responsible for what and when tasks are due, which can enhance transparency, instill accountability, and enable efficient resource management.

    The tool also offers over 200 templates that you can easily adapt using 20+ customizable columns and numerous integrated applications. These ready-made templates and apps can significantly reduce how much time you spend on setting up projects or tasks, leading to improved productivity.

    Additionally, you can tailor dashboards to provide detailed, team-specific views of tasks, project progression, and upcoming deadlines to enhance your team’s workflow clarity. Samyuktha Shivakumar, Global Marketing Operations Manager at Thoughtworks, reinforces this, stating that monday.com enables them “to budget the team’s time and efforts much more scientifically.”

    Why we chose monday.com: monday.com earns the top spot on our list because it unifies power, flexibility, and intuitiveness and can cater to the most complex project needs. It also allows you to import data from spreadsheets and integrate it with your current tools. With this functionality, you won’t have to manually input any data, giving you more time for other tasks.

    Our experience: monday.com has revolutionized my team’s information management. It let me implement processes that would’ve previously taken days or weeks within a few minutes. The platform’s communication tools, such as document sharing, comment annotation, and direct communication within the task manager, also improved collaboration within my team.

    Pros
    • Color-rich interface for improved organization and coordination
    • Robust list of supported, third-party integrations
    • Drag and drop project charting and timeline construct
    Cons
    • Pricing structure is fragmented and unclear
    • Certain features (Gantt charts, timelines, etc.) are paywalled by higher-tier plans
  • 2
    Jira

    Jira

    • PriceFrom $77.50/month ($7.75/user/month)
    • Team collaboration toolsConfluence, Bitbucket, goal tracking, task reporting
    • Free trialSeven days; free plan available

    Jira is a highly scalable project management tool that can adapt as your team grows. It can configure workflows, create custom fields, and manage permissions at granular levels. This customizability will give your team room to mold the platform to your specific needs, enabling more efficient work processes.

    Additionally, Jira’s scrum and Kanban boards make managing and visualizing workflows easy by giving teams a clear overview of the project's progression and individual tasks. This can be especially useful for software development teams who need to break projects down into smaller, iterative phases and reassess their process based on user feedback.

    This tool also offers efficient bug and issue-tracking software. Its robust reporting system allows you to create detailed reports and dashboards, which can provide in-depth insights into project performance. This information can help your team identify bottlenecks, prioritize tasks, and implement improvements effectively.

    Why we chose Jira: Jira supports integration with other Atlassian products, such as Confluence and Bitbucket, to enhance its collaborative capabilities. With these tools, you can document, share, and directly link detailed project information to tasks. This will ensure your team stays informed about project progress and has immediate access to relevant resources.

    Our experience: Jira made it extremely easy for me to refine my team’s product backlogs. It allowed me to attach details—like sample wireframes and project guidelines—directly to our tasks. I could also associate items with specific product versions to help my team stay focused. And during the planning stages, I could drag and drop items into different sprints.

    Pros
    • Highly customizable
    • Robust reporting functionality
    • Supports integration with other Atlassian products
    Cons
    • May require technical expertise to set up advanced workflows
    • Might be too pricey for smaller teams
  • 3
    Smartsheet

    Smartsheet

    • Price From $7/user/month
    • Team collaboration toolsReal-time chat, forms, surveys, proofing
    • Free trial30 days

    Smartsheet is a cloud-based work management platform that allows teams to manage dynamic work regardless of their location. With all data stored on the cloud and updated in real-time, you can track progress, identify potential issues early, and make data-driven decisions quickly.

    This tool is also very user-friendly. A testament to Smartsheet’s ease of use comes from Janina Hill, Marketing Program Manager at WebEx, who notes, “Everybody has different levels of Smartsheet skills. But with drag and drop, all solutions are easy to use. Also, the workflow is much smoother when all processes are automated, and all information is in one place.”

    This single-platform solution fosters interconnectivity across the entire organization, letting you share sheets with team members and effectively collaborate on projects. By centralizing data, it also reduces time spent on information management, boosting efficiency and enabling your team to focus on their primary responsibilities.

    Why we chose Smartsheet: Smartsheet’s spreadsheet-like interface allows you to add new rows and columns as your project grows. This functionality can help you seamlessly expand small tasks into enterprise-wide initiatives. Additionally, its integration with apps like Slack, Teams, and Jira consolidates your data onto a single platform.

    Our experience: Smartsheet allowed my team to strategically plan, implement, and monitor work on a large scale. This led to more streamlined processes, fostered innovation, and positively impacted overall business results within our own context. I found it invaluable in effectively navigating the complexities of today’s ever-changing work landscape.

    Pros
    • Large template collection
    • Efficient content approval workflows
    • Surveying and form creation for both external and internal stakeholders
    Cons
    • Latency for real-time updates
    • Some features have a steeper learning curve

61,799 users

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monday.com
monday.com
monday.com
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Jira
Jira
Jira
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Smartsheet
Smartsheet
Smartsheet
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