Free project management tools: the list you've been waiting for

Running an effective project can be complicated. And if you’re responsible for multiple projects across different teams, it can quickly become a nightmare.

However, the right collaboration tool can help remove some of that complexity.

We understand that not everyone can afford a subscription-based plan for their project management tools, at least initially. To save you some time and effort, we’ve compiled a list of popular free project management tools for you here.

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What to look for in project management software?

Each project management app or software’s offerings will be different, including how the information is presented. Considering that poorly planned projects cost businesses 9.9% of every dollar invested, working without a tool isn’t an option.

It’s important to note that free project management software solutions only offer a limited selection of features.

These restrictions are often based on usage, so it’s vital that you understand what is and is not available, along with how this might impact your business.

Some key features to look out for in a project management tool are:

Project Planning: projects have a defined beginning and end. They often have specific milestones that show due dates for items on your task list, and dependencies in the activity stream. Your software should be able to track and share all this info with team members and other stakeholders.
Collaboration: good project management tools offer different ways of communicating both within a team and with a client. The right software should provide the capability to share files, store data, leave comments, and more.
Reports: to understand a project, reports are often needed that detail project progress and resource management. Without this information, it is very difficult to determine whether a project has been completed successfully and within the target budget.
Integrations: if your software works within a silo and you have to duplicate data over to all your other systems, is it even worth your time? Make sure your platform of choice can seamlessly integrate with all the other tools your team already uses and loves.

What are some popular free project management tools?

For our analysis, we’ve primarily considered tools that are true project management applications. There are many solutions available online that offer elements of project management, but we’ve tried to ensure that the tools we’ve selected are more robust.

1) Trello: for Kanban project management

Trello paves the way for Kanban project management methodology with a simple interface that lets you drag and drop cards or assign tasks into different stages.

These stages are customizable and can be as simple as “To Do, Doing, Done.” They could also be much more complex, with multiple revision and review stages.

Trello doesn’t require significant training or knowledge to use.

Also, while Trello offers Kanban boards, other useful project planning tools, like Gantt charts, are not easily available.

As projects become more complex, Trello’s free version tends to become less useful. In that case, you may need a more robust software that suits all of your project management needs, such as staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud

Trello’s free subscription lets you have 10 boards along with unlimited cards and lists. Their paid plans start at $9.99/user per month. That increases the amount of storage available and improves the automation and integrations available.

2) ClickUp: a task management tool

ClickUp is a task and project organization tool with the ability to restrict access to specific folders based on sharing rights. You also have the capability to create useful data groupings.

ClickUp also offers different views that can be customized for each user. ClickUp includes Kanban boards and Gantt charts to help with project planning.

Clickup’s paid plans start at $5/user per month.

3) Asana: a to-do list and PM tool

Asana’s free version gives the ability to break a complex project down into smaller tasks and subtasks, Asana is fairly easy to get started with.

Asana offers a simple drag and drop interface that is intuitive and also lets you create private lists for items that you do not want to share with your team.

Asana’s free plan can accommodate up to 15 members to add unlimited tasks and projects. However, pay attention to the fact that storage is restricted to 100MB per file, which could cause issues.

Features like milestones and dashboards are only available in the Premium plan, which costs $10.99/user per month.

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Keep in mind, you may get what you pay for

All of these free project management tools are useful, however, to really take advantage of their capabilities you will need to upgrade to one of their paid plans.

With that in mind, you should weigh the advantages of paying for a tool right out of the gate that may be more customizable and perhaps visually appealing.

staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud lets you manage projects visually

The importance of project management cannot be discounted. When considering the different options that are out there for your teams, you need to guarantee that the solution you pick is easy to use and understand and will grow with your team and business.

The Work OS‘s colorful visual interface and powerful templates let small teams hit the ground running. Yet it also includes almost everything you need to grow your company right up to king-of-the-marketplace status.

With staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud, it is easy to see where a project stands with a detailed timeline view.

Individuals can quickly understand their own workload. The built-in reports help make sure project resource allocation is well understood.

staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud also lets teams collaborate better with clear messaging capabilities that allow text, images, video, and links. Plus, collaboration on staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud is not restricted to internal users only.

You can use staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud to keep in touch with clients and other third parties, also ensuring that all messages are in one easy-to-find place.

In addition to all of the other benefits, staging-mondaycomblog.kinsta.cloud offers features including time-tracking and access to tons of different integrations to ensure it seamlessly blends with the rest of your tech stack, even as your business grows.

And did we mention we have hundreds of free templates to get you started and improve the way you work on a day-to-day basis?

Regardless of budget, we have pricing plans to fit teams of all sizes and needs, whether it’s a 3-person start-up or a multi-national corporation.

Learn more about our pricing plans to discover the right plan for you.