11 Best Free Project Management Software

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The free project management software and tools are technically for people in need of a good-enough tool for their PM practices, but they do not have the money to buy an expensive platform for their perusal.

As the saying goes, the best things in life are free.

The same holds for software, too.

After all, not every firm has a large project budget, and thus, lack of funding should not make them inaccessible to the technology they wish to adopt.

Most project management tools are quite expensive, but many free options on the market will do everything you want them to do for you.

If you are just starting in project management, or maybe you are working with a small or new team and you want to infuse PM practices into your business, it is often recommended that you start with free project management software.

The reason is that sometimes, free tools can be of major help in doing the job right.

Although you are very likely to miss out on some other features, candidly, there are many free project management software that gives you a plethora of useful functions.

In this article, we have gathered some of the best free project management software that you can deploy to your PM practices.

The comparison and evaluation of these tools will include features like the Gantt chart, project scheduling, scrum tools, Kanban boards, and online planners.

These are some of the necessary elements of an ideal project management system irrespective of the size of your team or enterprise.

However, as a small, low-budget operating firm, you surely deserve access to the best tools, too.

Thus, we have gathered a list of free-to-use, and free-trial project management software. 

Why use Free Project Management Software?

Free project management software is a cost-effective option for individuals or organizations on a limited budget.

It is accessible and facilitates teamwork and collaboration, allowing remote teams to collaborate more effectively.

Free project management systems can be adjusted to meet unique needs and scaled to match enterprises of all sizes.

Some free project management software solutions include advanced functionality, such time tracking, resource allocation, and project analytics, that are normally only available in premium solutions.

This can assist teams make data-driven decisions and provide insightful information about the performance of projects.

In general, free project management software can assist handle projects more skillfully while also saving money.

Tip: ClickUp free plan includes unlimited tasks and users, 100 MB of storage, and basic features such as task management, checklists, and integrations with other tools.

What makes good Free Project Management Software?

A good free project management software should have an easy-to-use interface, extensive functionality, customization options, integration capabilities, strong security measures, and competent support.

The software should be able to accommodate a variety of users, from small business teams to large companies.

It should also allow users to customize the software to their own requirements and combine it with other tools and applications.

Also, it should provide dependable assistance and have strong security measures in place to safeguard consumers’ data.

A good free project management tool should be comprehensive, adaptable, user-friendly, secure, and provide dependable support.

Tip: ClickUp integrates with a wide range of other tools, including Slack, Trello, Asana, and Zapier.

How to choose the right Free Project Management Software

To choose the right free project management software, first assess your individual project management requirements, like if you want a basic tool for personal use or a more extensive solution for team collaboration.

To learn about the pro’s and cons of each project management software, read user evaluations.

Use free trials or demo versions to evaluate the software and confirm that it matches your requirements.

Check to see if the software integrates with other tools and applications you are already using, and if it has strong security measures in place.

Consider all the support options, including the knowledge base, customer service, and training resources.

Tip: ClickUp provides a range of reports and analytics to help teams track progress and identify areas for improvement.

Best Free Project Management Software

The best to-do list apps, Gantt chart software for your project management functions are as follows:

1. ClickUp 

Best recognized as the best free project management software for small-, medium-, and large-scale teams, ClickUp offers a highly effective means of planning your projects, assigning team members, and tracking the project progress.

It has powerful features that can help manage and complete your team’s projects at go.

It features project planning, scheduling tasks, and resource management in a centralized platform.

It also offers and ensures team communication and collaboration.

Some of the features of task management in ClickUp are checklists, subtasks, and task templates.

Users can filter, search for, sort, reorder and check tasks in the most convenient manner.

You can also create calendars, timelines to see your tasks, and Gantt charts as you, please.

Not only that, but ClickUp also includes features to create, share and collaborate on editing documents.

Each user in ClickUp can comment on tasks, and documents, assign comments, chat with the rest of the team members and use the report features with which they can easily create custom dashboards.

Among the native integrations available with Clickup are G Suite, Dropbox, Slack, and many others through Zapier.

The free plan for the project management software is robust enough, and it is inclusive of all the primary features. 

2. Kissflow Project 

Often identified as the best free project management software for non-project managers, Kissflow is a powerful project management tool that allows users to carry out effective team planning, see the owner of a task, and deliver great results with little monitoring.

It is a free collaborative project management software purposely designed to encourage and foster transparency, coordination, productivity, and collaboration.

Kissflow also features tracking tools/functions that guarantee adequate visibility into the respective tasks and items.

Besides, users can customize Kissflow Project and adapt it to their team’s needs.

Some of the incredible project methodology options it offers are Kanban boards, list views as well as swim lanes.

With the project state’s function, you and your team members can mark tasks with any of the statuses as on hold, in progress, and done.

That way, you can reduce the tracking time and focus on other things.

What’s more?

Kissflow Project allows users to carry out activities like sharing project plans, documents, and files.

They can also discuss, comment, and collaborate within the software.

It also has an in-built feature that reminds team members of the due dates for particular tasks.

Some of the software’s integration is native Microsoft and G-Suite integrations.

The platform offers a REST API plus webhooks.

Unfortunately, users may not be able to set up a Gantt chart with Kissflow Project, and it is practically suitable for simple and non-complex projects.

3. TeamGantt

TeamGantt is the best for creating Gantt charts for free.

With TeamGantt, you can effortlessly create impeccable Gantt charts leveraging the drag-and-drop functionality.

It is a project management tool used by Netflix and Amazon, with a freemium version for smaller teams who do not need an upgraded version yet.

TeamGantt is ideally suitable for Gantt charts and to cater to other task-planning functions.

They also help track workloads and team availability.

It features collaboration elements including chat and tagging and other alerts that you can customize to your taste and need.

A free version of TeamGantt, however, has limitations where only a maximum of 3 users is allowed, and just 1 project.

You must be aware of this constraint before choosing the tool. Moreover, you also need to be conscious of the dependencies, whose navigation can be very tricky.

Nonetheless, the tool was well-scored in the Usability segment of the criteria for evaluation, and the reason is because of its flexible use.

You can use TeamGantt however you wish and for any projects, you want to track regardless of the structure of constraints.

4. Wrike

Wrike is the best real-time activity stream tool in the marketplace.

The free plan on Write allows for up to 5 users on unlimited projects.

However, you should note that the free plan does not include planning features, and this is why the tool is specifically suitable for freelancers and small teams that have to work on simpler projects.

Among the free features in Wrike are: functions to manage unlimited projects for up to 5 users, a Kanban board and spreadsheet view for effective task management, and team collaboration using file-sharing options (up to 2GB storage).

5. Airtable

Airtable is a cloud-based project management solution with collaborative work functionalities.

With Airtable, teams can view tasks on a spreadsheet-like grid, use the calendar, and Kanban board and enjoy the luxury of other features including collaboration, reporting/project tracking, task management, and time tracking.

At the core of Airtable is bases, which entails the basic data needed for a project.

Bases are constituted by tables, and each one covers an aspect of the project for file attachments, checking boxes, and keeping records.

With the free plan, users of Airtable can access unlimited bases, 2GB of attachment space per base, and an offer of 1,200 records per base plus two weeks of revision and snapshot history.

It also allows for real-time team collaboration and commenting.

6. Podio

Podio is ideally suitable for task management responsibilities.

Although Podio has certain limitations in its free option, especially to others in this list, it is still very much applicable and fits into the group.

With the stringent five-user limit placed on the free version, the actual limitation is perhaps the lack of a user-friendly interface.

Podio is capable and versatile as a project management software and users can give the free version a try.

This would indeed be helpful for less experienced project managers who seek to save money and would like to test the tool before purchasing a paid version, if necessary.

Most of the features available for free users are task management, budgeting, file sharing, time tracking, team calendar, and team communication.

7. Teamwork

This is another cloud-based project management solution used by companies.

The free version helps the team’s collaboration, and task organization, and ensures that the project is delivered on time.

Some of the key features are Gantt charts, Kanban boards, collaboration, reporting/project tracking, resource management, time tracking, and task management.

Teamwork allows only five users on its free plan and a maximum of two active projects.

Storage of 100MB is available for users, while it offers multiple support options or integrations such as email, phone, training guides, live chat, and an online knowledge base.

8. Asana

This is a valuable project management software designed for cloud-inclined users for task management solutions.

Its free version offers a tremendously incredible feature where companies can manage and organize their projects, and tasks, communicate and collaborate effectively.

Asana can help teams and firms manage many projects at a go.

It is also flexible enough that it can serve any size of team or company- small, medium, or large.

Some of the features include task management, reporting, automatic notifications, collaboration tools, dashboards, customer portals, document management, and task assignment.

There is also an inbox feature that captures the entire updates generated by the software.

Users can access Asana through mobile devices like laptops, tablets, and smartphones, and it is available for Android and iOS users, too.

Some of the tool’s integrations are Dropbox, Zapier, Slack, and Gmail.

The free plan includes up to 15 users, allowing them to use the board, list, calendar view, time tracking, and hundreds of free integrations.

Besides, it includes unlimited tasks, projects, and activity logs. 

10. Bitrix24

Bitrix24 is one of the best CRM software you can use to organize and track interaction with your clients, teams, agents, and the rest of the project contacts.

It is by far one of the most appropriate collaboration platforms that are considered suitable for CRM.

With more than 30 tools, Bitrix24 has diverse features (many of which free users can enjoy) to help the business grow. 

11. Trello 

Choosing Trello means you have decided to go for a basic and easy-to-use tool to track your different tasks.

With Trello’s free plan, you can create boards for the different types of jobs you have, the respective projects, and teams, too.

Being a Kanban management tool (one of the most popular project methodologies), users can easily switch between the boards and create any tasks they want within the boards.

Some of the features available are Kanban view, drag and drop, tasks and subtasks, in-line editing, deadline alerts and notifications, and detailed and quick overviews of front/back cards.

Trello has a user-friendly interface and you can choose from the different modes available depending on your team size.

User’s Guide

Oftentimes, people ask whether there is free project management software.

Of course, there are many of them, but Microsoft project management software is ubiquitous as the standard of the industry.

Although you can access certain tools for free, such as Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Word, there is no free software dedicated to project management from Microsoft.

You will have to pay to use Microsoft Project depending on the user, duration, and version.

Elsewhere, with the recent need to use free agile project management software, many are still not aware of how to go about it.

Meanwhile, choosing the free agile project management software, means you work with a small team of 3-5 persons, manage 1-2 projects at a particular time, and you are essentially interested in only a test run of the free PM software before choosing a paid plan later on.

There are certain free open-source project management software options you can use.

These are OpenProject, Odoo, OrangeScrum, Project-open, TaskJuggler, Freedcamp, and ProjectLibre, among others.

Conclusion

Among other things you should like in choosing a free and quality project management software are the core functionality, offers of at least five users or more for free, and very essential, one that does not expire after a predetermined period.

In other words, you want to make sure it is free forever and not one that requires you to pay after the expiration of a trial period.

Another thing you want to look out for is if the tool is hosted online.

For instance, you can download desktop software like ProjectLibre and GanttProject for free.

Meanwhile, many companies are falling back on online project management tools given the need for more teams to work from home.