In today’s fast-paced business world, having the right project management tool is key. PCMag has looked at over 25 apps since 2015. They found the best tools for 2024 are GanttPro for beginners, Zoho Projects for growing teams, and Teamwork for client work.
These tools have many features and pricing plans to fit different team and organization needs. GanttPro costs $9.99 per person a month with 5GB storage. Teamwork is $12.50 per person a month with 100GB storage. Zoho Projects offers 100GB storage for $5 per person a month (Premium tier).
Key Takeaways
- PCMag has reviewed over 25 project management apps since 2015.
- The top project management tools for 2024 are GanttPro, Zoho Projects, and Teamwork.
- These tools offer a range of features, functionalities, and pricing options to meet the needs of different teams and organizations.
- Choosing the right project management tool is crucial for boosting productivity and collaboration, especially in remote and dynamic work environments.
- The article will explore the key features, functionalities, and unique capabilities of the top project management tools to help you make an informed decision.
What Makes the Best Project Management Tool?
The best project management tools have key features that help with planning, doing, and watching projects. They offer task management tools for making, giving, and keeping an eye on tasks. They also have collaboration tools for easy team talks and sharing files. Plus, they have knowledge management tools to keep all project info in one place.
They also have planning and scheduling tools like Gantt charts and workload analysis. And, they have AI-powered automation, resource management, and reporting and analytics for more help.
Essential Features to Look for
Top project management tools have key features:
- Task management – Make, give, and watch tasks, set deadlines, and see progress.
- Collaboration – Let teams work together on a shared platform for talking, sharing files, and updates.
- Knowledge management – Keep all project info, like briefs and SOPs, in one spot.
- Planning and scheduling – Use Gantt charts and workload analysis to see the project timeline and how things fit together.
Advanced Features
Top tools also have extra features for complex projects:
- Resource management – Share and use resources like budgets and team members wisely as projects change.
- Reporting and analytics – Give insights on project performance to help make better decisions.
- Automation – Cut down on manual work to increase productivity.
- Customization – Make the tool fit your team’s needs and likes.
Top Project Management Tools Reviewed
Finding the right project management tools can be tough. We’ve looked into the best options for your team. Here, we’ll talk about Trello and Asana, two top choices.
Trello: Best for Visually Managing Projects
Trello is a top Kanban boards-based tool for managing projects visually. It has an easy-to-use interface and lets teams organize tasks, track progress, and work together. The free plan is great for individuals and small teams, offering unlimited cards and members.
Asana: Best for Teams
Asana is a full project management solution for teams of any size. It supports various project management styles, helping teams adjust to their needs. The free plan includes unlimited projects and tasks, supporting up to 15 users, making it ideal for growing teams.
Choosing between Trello’s visual Kanban or Asana’s wide range of features depends on your team’s needs. Both tools are great for improving flexible project management processes.
ClickUp – Best for Customized Task Views
Managing projects requires flexibility and personalization. ClickUp excels in this area, offering many customizable task views. Teams can choose from 11 different views and 4 page views to fit their needs. Whether it’s a Kanban board, timeline, or calendar, teams can manage projects their way.
The ClickUp free plan is a big plus, allowing unlimited tasks and team members. It’s perfect for businesses wanting a customizable solution without high costs. ClickUp helps teams save an average of one day weekly, which adds up to 52 days a year.
ClickUp is more than just about task views. It supports many programming languages like JavaScript, Python, and Ruby. This lets teams keep their workflows smooth. With over 10,000 positive reviews, ClickUp‘s customizable task views and strong features are a hit with users.
In short, if you need a project management tool that’s flexible and customizable, ClickUp is a top choice. It has a wide range of views, a free plan, and lots of features. It’s perfect for teams wanting a project management approach that fits them.
“ClickUp saves our team an average of one day every week, which translates to 52 days back every year for managing projects.”
Wrike – Best for Spreadsheet-like Features
Wrike is great for teams that like the spreadsheet look. It lets users manage complex projects like they do in Excel. Whether it’s tracking budgets, combining data, or handling SEO tasks, Wrike is perfect for spreadsheet fans.
Wrike works well with Unito’s Wrike Sync. This means teams can easily share data between Wrike and their favorite spreadsheet app. It keeps all project data in one place. With Wrike’s strong reporting and analytics, teams can make smart choices to move their projects ahead.
Standout Reporting and Analytics
Wrike shines with its detailed reporting and analytics. Teams can make reports, dashboards, and get real-time project updates easily. This helps managers and stakeholders spot trends, track important metrics, and make better decisions.
| Tasks Where Spreadsheets Excel | How Wrike Addresses Spreadsheet Limitations |
|---|---|
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Wrike combines the comfort of spreadsheets with powerful project management tools. This lets spreadsheet experts use their skills in a new way. At the same time, Wrike’s advanced features offer the visibility and control needed for complex projects.
ActiveCollab – Best for Freelancers and Small Teams
Freelancers and small teams find ActiveCollab a great solution for managing projects. Over 50,000 teams have used it in the last ten years. It’s known for making project and client management easier, especially for agencies, marketing teams, and tech companies.
ActiveCollab shines with its built-in time tracking, billing, and expense management. These features are perfect for freelancers and small businesses. They help keep track of projects, time, and money, ensuring smooth workflows.
Companies in various fields like professional services, retail, consumer goods, and media find ActiveCollab vital. It helps centralize project management, store documents, allocate resources, and manage tasks. Its cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and task management make it a top choice across industries.
For freelancers handling many projects or small teams working on big tasks, ActiveCollab offers an intuitive interface and powerful features. It simplifies project management, helping you keep up with work and work well with your team.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Time Tracking | Accurately record and bill for your time, ensuring you are compensated for your efforts. |
| Billing | Seamlessly generate invoices and manage payments, allowing for efficient client billing. |
| Expense Management | Track and categorize your business expenses, making it easier to stay on top of your finances. |
| Flexible Project Views | Customize your project views to suit your team’s preferences and workflows. |
| Collaboration Tools | Facilitate effective teamwork with features like file sharing, comments, and real-time updates. |
ActiveCollab is a top project management tool for freelancers and small teams. It offers a wide range of features and has a proven track record of success. It helps streamline operations and boosts efficiency.
Project Management Tools
In today’s fast-paced business world, project management software is key for teams of all sizes. These tools offer a place to organize work, increase productivity, and help finish projects well. They bring all project tasks and info into one spot, making teams work better together and keep track of progress.
Project management software lets teams make Gantt charts. These charts are vital for keeping an eye on project schedules and spotting delays. They help make sure projects meet their deadlines and stay within budget. Work breakdown structures (WBS) are also top tools for breaking down big goals into smaller, doable tasks.
Project baselines show how a project should go and how it’s doing, helping to keep track of progress and stop scope creep. Team-building activities are also important for boosting morale and productivity. They help create a positive team environment and encourage creativity.
Good communication is key in project management. Communication plans make sure everyone gets the right info at the right time. This helps teams work together better and deal with risks.
When picking a project management tool, businesses should think about what they need. They should look at different tools and make sure the one they choose meets their needs and budget. Important features include planning, budgeting, and managing resources, as well as collaboration and quality control.
Using project management software helps teams work better together and make smart decisions. This leads to successful project delivery.
Airtable – Best for Building Custom Apps
Airtable is a top choice for project management in today’s fast-paced world. It lets teams make apps that fit their unique needs. This tool is highly customizable, making it easy to create databases and views that match your workflow.
The free plan of Airtable lets users have unlimited bases and work with up to 5 collaborators. It’s perfect for groups looking for a flexible project management tool. The platform’s easy-to-use interface and strong features help teams manage projects better, increase productivity, and work well together.
Customizable Databases and Views
Airtable is known for its customizable databases and views. Teams can organize their data in a way that suits them best, whether it’s for managing projects, tracking launches, or planning campaigns. With Airtable, teams can choose from different views like Kanban boards, calendars, or Gantt charts. This ensures everyone gets the info they need in a format they prefer.
| Key Airtable Features | Impact |
|---|---|
| Customizable Databases | 40x more on-demand content |
| Flexible Views | 85 hours saved each week |
| Collaborative Workspaces | 250 people connected across 8 teams |
| Integrations with 3rd-party tools | Over 10,000 hours saved in tooling consolidation |
| Comprehensive Automation | More than 5,000 hours saved in the production department in one year |
Airtable’s customizable databases and views help teams make project management tools that fit their workflow. This boosts productivity, teamwork, and data-driven decisions.
“Airtable has been a game-changer for our organization. The ability to build custom applications that perfectly fit our needs has saved us countless hours and improved our overall efficiency.”
Jira – Best for Agile Software Development
For engineering and product development teams using agile methods, Jira is a top choice. It has great features like sprint planning, tracking issues, and Kanban boards. This makes it perfect for agile software development. The free plan lets you have unlimited projects on one site and supports up to 10 users, great for small to medium teams.
Jira supports many agile methods, like scrum, kanban, and hybrids. Scrum uses short sprints and daily meetings to keep track of work. Jira gives scrum teams special reports to help improve their processes.
Kanban focuses on continuous releases and uses a board with columns to track work. It’s all about setting limits on work in progress and continuous releases. Jira helps kanban teams with tools and reports to track their work and predict performance.
Jira also helps large organizations use agile practices across many teams. It offers templates and tools for agile management at a big scale. This helps coordinate agile projects and involve all teams and departments.
Not only is Jira great for agile work, but it’s also free for up to 10 users. It also works with over 3,000 apps and tools, making it easy to collaborate and work smoothly.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Scrum Methodology | Jira supports scrum, with features like sprint planning, daily standups, and burndown charts. |
| Kanban Methodology | Jira’s Kanban boards and WIP limits help teams adopt a continuous delivery approach. |
| Agile at Scale | Jira enables large organizations to coordinate agile practices across multiple teams. |
| Free for 10 Users | Jira’s free plan includes unlimited projects and support for up to 10 users. |
| Integrations | Jira integrates with over 3,000 apps and tools, facilitating seamless collaboration. |
Whether your team uses scrum, kanban, or a mix, Jira’s wide range of features and flexible pricing make it a top pick for agile software development and project management for engineers.
Height – Best for AI-Powered Features
Height is a top choice for project management tools because of its AI features. These features make workflows smoother and boost productivity. It uses artificial intelligence to automate tasks, give smart suggestions, and help teams work better.
AI Task Automation and Insights
Height is great because it uses AI to automate project management tasks. Its smart algorithms can make subtasks, improve task suggestions, find duplicate tasks, and give insights to improve processes. This makes it stand out, letting users focus on big decisions, not small tasks.
Height’s AI does more than just automate tasks. It gives users real-time insights and tips to improve project management. With its advanced analytics, it can spot patterns, find issues, and suggest changes. This helps teams make smart decisions and reach their goals faster.
Height’s free plan lets teams of any size use AI to improve their project management. It doesn’t matter if you’re leading a small team or a big company. Height’s AI features can change how you work, making it more efficient, collaborative, and successful.
Factors to Consider When Choosing PM Software
When picking the right project management software for your team, look at several key factors. First, check out the basics like task management, collaboration, and planning. Also, consider advanced features like resource management and automation.
It’s also vital to look at how well the software works with other tools, keeps data safe, and can grow with your team. Can it connect with your other business apps? Is your data secure? Can it handle more work as your team grows?
We’ve gathered insights from experts on what to think about when choosing project management software:
- Aligning with Specific Project Needs – Think about the projects your team does. Some project management tool features are better for certain projects.
- Ease of Use and Adoption – Choose a software evaluation criteria that focuses on being simple and easy to use. This helps your team work better and more efficiently.
- Tailored Functionalities – Make sure the tool has the exact features your team needs to make your work flow better.
- Security and Permissions – Check how the software controls access and protects data to keep your information safe.
- Communication and Collaboration – See how the tool helps your team talk and work together, especially if you work remotely or have a diverse team.
- Integrations and Connectivity – Choose a solution that works well with your current business apps to make things more efficient.
- Addressing Key Pain Points – The best project management software should solve your team’s biggest productivity problems.
By looking at these factors carefully, you can pick the project management software that will help your team succeed and get great results.
“The right project management tool can be a game-changer for teams, but it’s crucial to evaluate the solution against your specific needs and goals. Features, usability, and integrations are all crucial considerations.”
Conclusion
Project management tools are key for businesses and teams of all sizes. They help streamline workflows, boost productivity, and ensure projects are finished well. The best tools for 2024 offer many features to meet different project needs.
These tools include visually appealing Kanban boards, AI-powered automation, and customizable databases. They give us the tools to manage projects well, work with our teams, and make smart decisions. By looking at project complexity, team size, and specific needs, we can pick the right software for success in 2024.
Using project management tools can greatly improve our efficiency and how we use resources. They offer features like task management, time tracking, and detailed reporting and analytics. These tools help us deliver projects faster, cut costs, and make better decisions. Investing in the right tools can be a big advantage for our businesses in 2024 and beyond.
