Selecting the right project planning tool is vital for successful project execution, whether you’re managing a small or a large project. With many tools available today, finding the right software for your team can be challenging. The best project planning software helps streamline task management, build collaboration, track progress, and allocate resources effectively.
In today’s article, I will provide the 12 best project planning tools, highlighting their key features, pricing, and suitability for different project needs.
Let’s get started.
12 Best Project Planning Tools
The following is a list of 12 best project planning tools:
- monday.com
- nTask Manager
- SmartSheet
- Teamwork
- Jira
- Zoho Project
- ProofHub
- Wrike
- ClickUp
- Hive
- Trello
- Asana
1. monday.com
monday.com is a project management software that offers a cloud-based dashboard for effective project management. It is a collaborative platform that allows teams to work on tasks.
It offers a wide variety of project management features and is one of the best on the market today. With monday.com, you can manage simple to complex projects.
You can plan, execute, and manage your projects with your team. This project planning tool quickly lets you assign tasks and set project goals and milestones.
You can also set dependencies and manage your entire workload within one software. As far as project management goes, monday.com does a very good job.
It is easy to use and comes with a mobile application.
Key Features of monday.com
- Dashboards and automation
- Kanban
- File management
- Gantt Charts
- Docs
- Workflows
- Reporting and Analytics
monday.com Pros
- monday.com comes with a collaborative dashboard that allows seamless collaboration between team members
- Allows users to create tasks and assignments with ease
- Put and monitor due dates for every task
- Task prioritization
- Time tracking for each task or project
- Various integrations with work tools and systems like Zoom, Dropbox, Slack, Shopify, etc.
- Supports automation that reduces manual effort on repetitive tasks.
- monday.com has a free plan.
- 200+ templates, even on a free plan.
- monday.com has a mobile application for both iOS and Android.
monday.com Cons
- Limited resource management features
- Expensive pricing tiers as pricing models are according to the number of users a team have
- Restrictive features in lower-end plans which is a major setback for smaller teams
monday.com Pricing Plans
monday.com has five pricing plans:
- Free: This plan is free.
- Basic: The price is 9 USD per month.
- Standard: The price is 12 USD per month.
- Pro: The price is 19 per month.
- Enterprise: Contact customer care for pricing.
All the above rates are discounted and will only be available if you subscribe to their annual subscription.
Click here to visit monday.com
Let’s move to the next project planning tool.
2. nTask
nTaskManager.com is a powerful project planning solution that allows teams to collaborate, plan, analyze, and manage projects easily. nTask prioritizes creating a simplified project management dashboard to help you streamline your project planning processes.
This platform follows Kanban methodologies. You get a drag-and-drop dashboard with Kanban boards.
It is an efficient project management platform that medium—and large-scale organizations use to help them efficiently complete more work.
With nTaskManager, teams can identify projects, assign managers, create project plans, and view details from all ongoing projects. It is a solution for teams of all sizes.
This cloud-based project management software brings all team collaborative features into one dashboard.
Key Features of nTask
- Task management
- Kanban boards – you can organize and manage tasks with Kanban boards
- Gantt Charts
- Risk management features
- Meeting management
- Online issue-tracking
nTaskManager Pros
- Allows effective team management and collaboration
- Powerful time-tracking features
- Risk management features
- Free onboarding and coaching
- Integration with 1000+ third-party apps through Zapier.
- It offers a 7-day free trial (no credit card required)
- It has a free forever plan (with 5 users)
nTaskManager Cons
- A bit expensive
nTaskManager Pricing Plans
nTask has four pricing plans:
- Free: The plan is free forever.
- Premium: The price is 3 USD per month.
- Business: The pricing is 8 USD per month.
- Enterprise: Contact customer care for pricing.
The above rates are applicable when you select the annual plans.
3. Smartsheet
Smartsheet is project management and planning software that offers users a collaborative work dashboard for managing projects effectively. It offers many features and is one of the best project management software platforms.
This software allows you to assign tasks, set start and completion deadlines, share documents and calendars, and track project progress.
Smartsheet was released in 2006 and has become popular and influential today (with over 800,000 paid users). It is one of the few project management software to scale from a single project to end-to-end project management.
How is Smartsheet different from Excel?
Smartsheet is the most powerful spreadsheet tool.
This tool is ideal for project professionals who are experts in Excel. It offers real-time visibility into project tasks and provides a great dashboard for content planning, human resource management, and storing general information or data.
Google Sheets and Excel offer a no-code database and a certain degree of interaction. However, Smartsheet offers more; it offers an entire project management solution for collaboration, recording, storing, and managing data.
Key Features of SmartSheet
- Team collaboration
- Secure process ticketing and management
- Intelligent workflows
- Digital asset management
- Seamless integration with Google G-Suite, Office 365, Slack, DocuSign, etc.
SmartSheet Pros
- Create and automate repetitive tasks using workflows
- Allows teams to work smarter by sharing information with ease
- Powerful resource management features
- Smartsheet also has a mobile application
- Highly customizable
- Robust Reporting and Analytics
SmartSheet Cons
- It is not that easy nut to crack; it has a steep learning curve for advanced features.
- Smartsheet can be expensive for small teams
- Could lag with larger datasets
SmartSheet Pricing Plans
Smartsheet has three pricing plans:
- Pro: The price is 9 USD per user per month.
- Business: The price is 19 USD per user per month.
- Enterprise: Contact customer care for pricing details.
All these plans are applicable only when subscribed to the annual plan.
Click here to visit SmartSheet
4. Teamwork
Teamwork is a trusted project management platform for teams. It lets users manage projects with ease. It is a software system in which teams work towards a project goal.
Teamwork.com allows you to manage project tasks all in a single dashboard. You can manage projects, assign tasks, access analytics, and view progress toward project goals.
Collaboration is strong—it helps organizations retain customers and clients. Teamwork also integrates with many other tools teams are already using.
Key Features of Teamwork
- Time tracking
- Financial management
- Workflows and automation
- Gantt charts
- Kanban boards
- Limited Calendar
- Table view
Teamwork Pros
- A board view of all your projects, goals, and tasks (List, Board, Gantt, and Calendar)
- A portfolio
- Powerful reporting to help you perform better
- In-built time tracking and billing capability
- You can also manage bills and invoices from your dashboard
- Resources scheduling
- Budget management
- It has a mobile application
- Allows you to integrate with third-party apps
- 30-day free trial (no credit card required)
Teamwork Cons
- More than one dashboard for some features
- The design isn’t super user-friendly
- Quite expensive, plus limited features on lower-tier pricing plans
- Steep learning curve
- Lacks agile tool functionalities
- It does not have a free plan
Teamwork Pricing Plans
Teamwork has four pricing plans:
- Deliver: The price is 10.99 USD per user per month.
- Grow: The price is 19.99 USD per user per month.
- Scale: The price is 54.99 USD per user per month.
- Enterprise: Contact customer care for pricing.
5. Jira
Jira is an Agile project management system for planning, managing, and overseeing project workflows. It is a popular project management software with many features to help with project goals and tasks.
It has all the features needed to manage Agile projects successfully. With Jira, one can easily create Kanban and Scrum boards.
Jira is a massive, customizable platform for organizing teams, projects, and all processes.
Workflows define your work processes and allow tracking of assigned tasks and events. This system will help you to visualize your entire process so each team member is up to date on each step of the project.
Key Features of Jira
- Workflows
- Automation
- Powerful integrations
- Reporting
- Agile project management; supports scrum and kanban boards
Jira Pros
- Workflows are easily customizable
- Defect management
- Agile project management
- Seamless source and issue integration
- It has an in-built robust issue and bug-tracking software
- It has a free plan
Jira Cons
- It takes some training to become an expert
- No clean integration within the mobile app
- Difficult migration from other platforms
- Reports are not reusable
- Confusing UI
Jira Pricing Plans
Jira has four pricing plans:
- Free: This plan is free forever.
- Standard: The price is 8.15 USD per user per month.
- Premium: The price is 16 USD per user per month.
- Enterprise: Contact customer care for pricing.
6. Zoho Project
As the name suggests, Zoho Project is a project management platform for managing work projects. It is a web-based CRM used to manage tasks and sales processes.
Zoho provides great project management features, including HR, Budgeting, and Finance management. You can automate tasks like account management, role picking, lead tracking, and storing sales tasks and processes.
Zoho provides a chat room that you can set up for public or private use. Plus, you can track the time spent on each project task. This way, you can better manage your entire workload with ease.
Key Features of Zoho
- Secure business emails
- Desk – which is an Omni-channel customer service platform
- A low-code system to build project solutions
- An end-to-end, fully customizable CRM dashboard
- Built-in time tracking and timesheet
- Customizable project templates
Zoho Pros
- Effective task management
- Import/export data
- GANTT charts
- Project and task tracking is efficient
- Effective customer support
- It has a mobile application
- Integrations with Zoho Suite or ecosystem and third-party Apps
- Extensive automation capabilities
Zoho Cons
- Bug reporting requires work
- It has a learning curve
- Advanced agile features are missing
Zoho Pricing Plans
Zoho has three pricing plans:
- Free: This plan is free forever.
- Premium: The price is 4 USD per month.
- Enterprise: The price is 8 USD per month.
Click here to visit Zooho Projects
7. ProofHub
ProofHub is an all-in-one project management tool for small to large teams.
ProofHub gives teams of all sizes a workspace for task lists, discussions, documents, Gantt charts, calendars, and more. This helps you monitor your overall project work.
You can review and approve files and documents within the platform, and ProofHub offers all the helpful project management features.
Each manager stays on top of whatever is happening within every project task.
It runs in the cloud, which means that everything is stored automatically. ProofHub helps teams store, manage, and handle projects effectively and on time.
Key Features of ProofHub
- Table View
- Kanban boards
- Gantt Charts
- Task Management and Custom Workflows
- Discussion boards and real-time chat
- Centralized location for storing, sharing, and managing project files
- Customizable templates
- Tasks
- Custom Roles
ProofHub Pros
- Built-in Time tracking
- Resource planning
- List and task management
- Integrations
- Centralized workspace where clients can manage projects
- Offers the proofing tool
- Affordable flat pricing model
- It has a mobile application
ProofHub Cons
- No free plan
- Issues spotted with large projects
- Limited integration options
ProofHub Pricing Plans
ProofHub has two pricing plans:
- Essential: The price is 45 USD per month.
- Ultimate Control: The price is 89 USD per month.
8. Wrike
Wrike is also a customizable project management planning solution for your teams. It allows users to manage projects from a dashboard with efficient workflows.
Based in San Jose, California, this application offers excellent project management services, such as planning, visual boards, budgeting, and supervision.
With the Wrike project planning solution, businesses can easily plan, coordinate, and manage work. It helps reduce unnecessary tasks, steps, or processes in your projects and workflows.
This application aims to ensure a seamless workflow system that achieves results. It is a complete and powerful tool for overseeing projects from start to finish.
Wrike is one of the best CRM systems for efficient project management. It focuses on finding barriers, clarifying issues, and exceeding expectations.
You can invite your team to do the best work with Wrike’s 360* board visibility, cross-collaboration, and powerful automation that integrates with many other tools you’re probably using already.
Key Features of Wrike
- Gantt charts
- Detailed reporting
- Advanced security features
- Automated Workflows
- Integrates with 400+ apps
- Time tracking
Wrike Pros
- Access to tons of enterprise management features
- Time tracking
- Analytics and insights
- Mobile and Desktop Apps
- Easy UI
Wrike Cons
- Mobile apps have limited functionality
- Difficult onboarding
Wrike Pricing Plans
Wrike has four pricing plans:
- Free: This plan is free forever.
- Team: The price is 9.80 USD per month.
- Business: The price is 24.80 USD per month.
- Enterprise: Contact customer care for details.
9. ClickUp
ClickUp is a well-known project planning software that simplifies project management processes. It helps plan, track, and manage tasks and projects with ease.
ClickUp allows freelancers to manage their mail accounts (send and receive emails) while managing their freelance work. It allows you to add files, share documents, and tag your team members to ensure efficient communication.
ClickUp is the perfect CRM for teams who want to organize and grow customer relationships through effective task and project management. You get data visualizations, emails, and a database tool.
ClickUp offers templates that are super easy to work with. Additionally, anyone (including guests) can use their templates. It is an all-in-one tool that brings teams together to perform tasks easily. It’s a productivity platform that helps project teams work faster and better.
It includes:
- Docs
- Tasks
- Chats
- Goals and Objectives
- Emails and more.
This project planning software tool allows you to easily set and achieve goals faster. Your team can work smarter with a real-time chat between each worker. The project planner feature allows you to tag individuals, link tasks, and get more done.
Key Features of ClickUp
- All-in-one features
- Process management features enable users to streamline their projects
- It has tools that improve team association
- Key integrates with Slack, GitHub, Toggl, Harvest, Google Drive, Dropbox, Outlook, Chrome, and Zapier.
ClickUp Pros
- It also allows you to work from any angle with real-time views that work with your preferred customizations.
- Powerful, even with the free version
- Advanced automation capabilities
- Suitable for all team sizes, from solo freelancers to large teams
- Efficient customer support
- You can track the real-time progress of your tasks with Goal Folders.
- Mobile App available
ClickUp Cons
- Excessive customization options
- Ineffective calendar
- Too many functionalities that can be overwhelming at times
ClickUp Pricing Plans
ClickUp has four pricing plans:
- Free: This plan is free forever.
- Unlimited: The price is 7.0 USD per month.
- Business: The price is 12.00 USD per month.
- Enterprise: Contact customer care for pricing details.
10. Hive
Hive is one of the best productivity platforms for project teams. With Hive, you can easily manage projects, track and assign tasks, and collaborate between teams of all sizes.
Hive is condensed project management software that lets users collaborate and access all the necessary information to achieve desired project goals. It helps automate project tasks and processes related to communication and teamwork.
In simple terms, Hive helps teams move faster with a streamlined dashboard.
The product helps users to grow via feedback generated automatically from customers. This means that Hive was built by users and for users, as it connects all aspects of your work through generated feedback.
It is a process and cloud-based project management system suitable for any size. Although Hive is a project management software, it offers even more features.
Key Feature of Hive
- Gantt View
- Kanban View
- Table View
- Calendar View
- Portfolio View
- Native Chat and Email
- Integration with over 1000 apps
Hive Pros
- In the Gantt view, you can easily map project timelines, track baselines, and execute project tasks.
- You can see the responsible member for a task and project progress
- Create collaborative notes, task tracking, and schedule interactive meetings with Hive Notes for Meetings
- It has a free forever plan
Hive Cons
- Not very effective with larger projects
- Advanced customizations are difficult to set up
- Average customer support
Hive Pricing Plan
Hive has four pricing plans:
- Free: This plan is free forever.
- Starter: The price is 1.00 USD per user per month.
- Teams: The price is 3.00 USD per user per month.
- Enterprise: Contact customer care for pricing details.
11. Trello
With Trello, you can manage your team’s projects from anywhere without stress. It is the ultimate project management tool for successfully automating tedious projects and tasks.
You can easily manage projects, organize tasks, and build an efficient team from anywhere worldwide. Trello is quite popular and offers an easy-to-use collaborative dashboard for working teams.
It is also a visual collaboration tool that allows seamless interaction between teams.
It offers a unique visual dashboard that allows teams to complete projects flexibly and easily while having fun. It is simple and user-friendly.
This project management tool gives real-time updates that your team shares about projects, tasks, or goals. Trello organizes your project into visual boards for easy management.
You can see the progressing tasks, what tasks remain to be worked on, and team member activity in a single glance.
This project planning platform allows teams to collaborate and manage projects on one dashboard. You can also enjoy Trello’s ‘boards,’ ‘lists,’ and ‘cards.’ Trello offers so much more for project management agencies and teams.
Key Features of Trello
- Swift automation
- Visual boards
- Kanban boards
- Drag-and-Drop Interface
- Integrations
Trello Pros
- You can color-code and attach images or files to the cards
- Collaborate with team members for a more interactive experience
- You get a free plan
- It has a mobile application
- Integration capabilities
Trello Cons
- Each board corresponds to only one project—you need to make two boards to create two bigger projects.
- Scaling issues when accommodating larger projects
- Basic reporting
- No native time tracking
Trello Pricing Plans
Trello has four pricing plans:
- Free: This plan is free forever.
- Standard: The price is 5.00 USD per month.
- Premium: The price is 10.00 USD per month.
- Enterprise: The price is 17.50 USD per month.
Let’s move to the last project planning tool.
12. Asana
Asana is a web project management tool designed to plan, track, and manage projects.
Asana was founded in 2008 by Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein, and it went commercial in 2012. It is a powerful project management tool that provides status updates in context with every project task.
Asana helps you to organize and manage your team’s workload. You can coordinate your team’s tasks and share feedback, documents, files, and work updates on a dashboard.
It is designed for individuals and teams to break down huge projects into smaller, manageable tasks. Businesses and teams can leverage Asana to stay connected with work and organize all tasks.
It keeps remote teams organized even amidst huge workloads. Asana helps teams manage and efficiently complete work on small to big projects.
Key Features of Asana
- Boards
- Workflow builder
- Timeline
- App Integrations
- Automation
- List View
- Reporting Dashboard
- Resource Allocation
Asana Pros
- Asana offers several project management services for visualization. You can view tasks, project boards, and calendars and manage your team’s work.
- Create automated processes to coordinate your teams
- Streamline processes, reduce errors, and spend less time on routine tasks
- Asana is highly customizable
- It has a mobile application
- It has a free plan
- Suitable for teams of all sizes
Asana Cons
- Steep learning curve
- A single assignee of a task
- No built-in time tracking
- Lack simplicity
- Availing of premium features is expensive
Asana Pricing Plans
Asana has three pricing plans:
- Basic: This plan is free forever.
- Starter: The price is 10.99 USD per user per month.
- Advanced: The price is 24.99 USD per user per month.
Features of a Good Planning Tool
You should look for the following features while selecting planning software for your project:
Task Management
A robust project planning software offers task management features, allowing team members to create, assign, and prioritize tasks within projects. These tools typically include functionalities for breaking down large tasks into subtasks and tracking task dependencies.
The software should provide clear visibility of each task’s progress, with start and due dates, and allow users to set priority levels for more critical tasks. Automation of recurring tasks and customizable workflows enhance efficiency, while the ability to assign tasks to team members with clear accountability ensures smooth project execution.
Collaboration Tools
Effective collaboration is critical for project success, and project planning software provides tools for seamless communication among team members. Features like in-app messaging, file sharing, and task comment threads enable real-time collaboration without relying on external platforms.
The software should also include notifications and tagging to alert team members of important updates or deadlines. Integration with popular communication tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams further streamlines communication, ensuring that remote or in-office teams can stay aligned and informed.
Time Management
Time management features in project planning software help teams stay on schedule and meet deadlines. Gantt charts and Kanban boards are common tools for visualizing timelines and task dependencies, making it easy to see the overall project flow.
Milestones provide key progress markers, while calendar integration ensures that deadlines and project schedules are synchronized with external personal or team calendars. Some tools also offer time-tracking functionality, which can help teams monitor the time spent on tasks, improving accuracy in time estimation and resource allocation.
Resource Management
Resource management is essential for balancing team workloads and ensuring that no team member is over- or under-utilized. Leading project planning software offers a clear view of available resources, including human resources, equipment, and budget, enabling project managers to assign tasks effectively.
Workload management features highlight the distribution of work across the team, helping managers to balance assignments. Resource allocation tools also monitor how much time or effort is spent, allowing for real-time adjustments and optimization, ensuring optimal productivity and cost-effectiveness.
Reporting and Analytics
Good project planning software includes powerful reporting and analytics tools that offer insights into project progress, performance, and budget status. Customizable dashboards provide an overview of project health, task completion rates, and time tracking, while detailed reports on resource utilization, cost tracking, and milestones offer more granular insights.
These tools allow managers to generate real-time data for stakeholders, making identifying bottlenecks or areas of concern easier. Forecasting tools also help predict future trends based on past performance, aiding better decision-making.
Cost & Pricing Flexibility
Cost and pricing flexibility are important factors when choosing project planning software. The best tools offer scalable pricing models, allowing organizations to pay based on the number of users, the complexity of projects, or additional premium features.
Many platforms provide a free tier or trial period for smaller teams or startups to get acquainted with the software before committing to a paid plan. Flexible pricing plans ensure that businesses can grow with the software without incurring disproportionate costs, making it a cost-effective solution as the team needs to evolve.
Which is the Best Project Planning Tool?
No one tool fits all when it comes to effective project planning.
When selecting the best project planning tool, you must first understand your business needs and processes. The nature of your team’s workflow will determine what tool you ultimately choose.
Also, the appropriate project management approach for your projects will determine what project management planning software to use.
But here are our choices:
- monday.com,
- nTaskManager
- Asana.
Does Google have a project planning tool?
The short answer? No. Google does not have a specific project management or project planning tool but offers a wide variety of applications in the Google Workspace Marketplace that allow project and task management.
This marketplace allows you to access Trello, Asana, and Smartsheet applications.
Is Microsoft Planner a project management tool?
Microsoft Planner is a project management software that lets users create and assign tasks, organize plans, share documents and files with colleagues, and see updates on their team’s work progress.
This tool offers a visual way of tracking and managing work projects.
Disclosure: Some links above are affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase after clicking. Please understand that I recommend these resources because they are useful, not because of my commissions. Please do not purchase unless you feel the materials will help you achieve your goals. Thank you for your support.
I am Mohammad Fahad Usmani, B.E. PMP, PMI-RMP. I have been blogging on project management topics since 2011. To date, thousands of professionals have passed the PMP exam using my resources.
