Best Project Management Software & Tools

The best project management software for project managers (PMs) and teams are Zoho Projects, Nifty, Jira, and Freshservice. A project management tool helps to collaborate and meet goals on time while managing resources and costs.

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List of 20 Best Project Management Software

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Project Management Software Guide

What Is Project Management Software?

Project management software is a complete software that can be used for planning, organizing, scheduling, and developing resource estimates. It also helps in resource allocation. Project management allows users, stakeholders, and project managers to control costs and manage budgeting, documentation, and quality management and can also be used as an administrative tool. Depending on the sophistication of the software, project management software can be used to assign resources and can also manage risks and other issues.

Top Features Of Project Management Software

features of project management software

1. Planning and Scheduling

A basic reason why a company might want to get the best cloud-based project management software is to plan and schedule its projects effectively. This might seem simple or easy, but since it is actually the initial stage of the project, the entire framework of the project revolves around this. It is very important to have everyone's responsibilities and tasks outlined and visible to avoid misunderstandings.

The best online project management system enables assigning tasks to the team members and also setting deadlines and priorities. An easy-to-use project management software will make scheduling even a gigantic project extremely simple.

2. Collaboration

Collaboration is essential for a project team of any size. A large project team consists of tens or hundreds of employees, each of them working on specific tasks and having different expertise. In order to complement their own tasks, project team members are required to access each other's work. So, it's very important to establish quick and organized communication through multiple channels. 

project management tool can seamlessly bring together various team members, allowing them to be in the loop with everyone else’s tasks. Project management tools are a great way to ensure that connectivity between members is never compromised.

3. Documentation

A Project management tool enables easy and quick access to all your data in one place. While searching for the best easy project management tools, inquire about the types of information that can be managed and stored. Documentation of essential processes is vital to projects. You can do this with specialized PM tools. Clear documentation of even the time spent on each task is essential, for which project management software and time tracking software are ideal

4. Resource Management

Besides the time management of your team, you would also require proper project tracking software to keep track of other project resources like meeting rooms, materials used in the process, etc. The software will help you keep an inventory of each material used for the project and each dime spent on it.

5. Managing The Project Budget

The Larger the project more would be the expenses you would need to manage and document. For efficient expense management, the best cloud-based project management system software is required. The most used project management tools are equipped with the best budgeting tools in addition to the best project management tools.

6. Mobile Functionality

Mobile is the thing in software right now. It makes sense that the best project management solutions should also have good mobile versions because project managers and team members cannot stay put in the office always. They’re often on the move. This is why web-based software is a good choice for such teams. Especially for teams that have a lot of remote members, you can use the online project management tools in order to stay on track while using only a smartphone.

7. Flexibility

Whether you opt for open-source project management software or any other project management tools, your organization needs a solution that is flexible. It should be compatible with standard software used by your company and should integrate easily with other project management solutions. It should have an efficient mobile version or allow integrations with online project management apps.

8. Real-Time Reporting

Like continuous performance management, real-time reporting is crucial for projects because they move quickly, and missing out on a single detail might cost the members dearly in the later stages of the project. Hence, project management reporting tools should be used wherever possible in order to ensure that the project is moving as expected and within the proper time and budget frame. Of course, the best project management tools will have excellent reporting functionalities, to begin with. Make sure to go through a project management software list to figure out which of the best online project management system has all the features your business needs in its ideal enterprise project management solutions.

You should seek guidance for choosing project software and get a free project management system software tracking spreadsheet. Also, the construction project management software can be found online.

Types of Project Management Software

Based on various aspects of the online project management tool, they can be classified on the basis of a number of different categories:

1. Desktop Based

This type of project management software is installed on each desktop or laptop of the users. This software has the most graphic and responsive interface.

2. Web-Based

The Web-based project management software is accessible through the internet and can also be accessed from any computer at any location. This project management software allows central data storage and easier collaboration.

3. Client-Server

In this type, the software is installed on a company server, and multiple users are logged into the application at once. This project management software allows for centralized data storage to make collaboration easier.

4. Integrated

This type of software combines easy project management tool functions with other aspects of company business. This type of application is either accessed through the internet or installed on the company's server.

By Deployment

Your project management system comparison will be affected by your choice of deployment of the chosen software. The best project management system for your company will be consistent with your deployment needs. You can get the following types of popular project management tools on the basis of deployment:

  • On-Premises

The entire project management software and collaboration tools and software are installed in your company’s system or servers. You simply have to pay a one-time proprietary licensing fee in order to use the project management tools, as opposed to a recurring fee. However, security is not guaranteed when an on-premise enterprise project management system is used, as such project management solutions are not backed by cloud infrastructure.

  • Cloud-Based

Most companies are choosing to opt for cloud-based project management tools at present. With cloud-based enterprise project management software, you have to pay a recurring monthly subscription fee. However, you get assured safety, flexibility, mobility, and customized solutions for your company provided by the cloud-based project management system vendor. ?

By Specialization

You might want to ask yourself what exactly it is that your company needs the best project management system for. Does it even need full-fledged project management solutions or does it simply need project management tools such as project management collaboration tools, project management reporting tools, project tracking software, team project management system? These are all related to project management but are nuanced in their functionalities. So, it makes sense to figure out what specific function you want your project management solution for. Here are some of the tasks:

  • Scheduling

Project management software and time tracking software can be best suited to this need. If scheduling is the main concern for your project (say, for organizing an event, or a product launch), focus on simple project management tools.

  • Collaboration

If you need online project management software for multiple users who need to collaborate or edit the project simultaneously, go for the best collaborative project management system.

  • Integration

You might need project management software that should integrate effectively with various other tools such as CRM and HRM software. In such a case, a cloud-based project management solution is a great choice.

Top Project Management Software Vendors by Company Size

A project management tool is important for every business to finish the project successfully. A good way to manage projects can reduce costs, improve efficiency, optimize resources, and mitigate risks. The demand for project management systems is high in small and medium-sized organizations, large enterprises, and government sectors which are expected to grow from a market size of $4.2 billion in 2020 to $6.08 billion by 2025. 

Here, we'll take a look at some of the best project management system by market share and company size, along with a few great picks depending on the size of your business

Project Management Software Comparison for Enterprise

Enterprises should select a simple project management solution that helps them adapt to the changing market environment, along with maintaining their current systems. 

Opt for a tool that allows you to manage more than one project at a time. Besides, it should enable seamless management and structuring of small and large projects at an enterprise level. Most enterprises pick project management solutions that also offer additional features, like file sharing, team collaboration, project tracking, and task management

Here are some of the best project management software comparisons for enterprises

  Accelo WorkFront Clarizen
 
Accelo
Workfront
Clarizen
Free Trial 30 Day 14 Day 30 day
Mobile App
YES
YES
YES
Cloud Hosting
YES
YES
YES
Basic Price $39 $30 Quota Based
Project Tracking
YES
YES
YES
Planning & Scheduling
YES
YES
YES
File Sharing
YES
NO
NO
Time & ExpenseTracking
YES
YES
YES
Task Management
YES
YES
YES
Agile Methodologies
YES
YES
YES
Team Collaboration
YES
YES
YES
Resource Management
NO
NO
YES
Workflow Management
YES
YES
YES
Gantt Chart
YES
YES
YES

Project Management System Comparison for Medium-Sized Businesses

Mid-sized businesses should essentially look for flexibility. Medium-sized companies with a lot of clients and contractors should ensure robust communication and collaboration functionality in their project management software. Other factors to consider include scalability, compatibility, and expansive employee capacity. 

However, companies with isolated departments that don't require much communication can overlook company-wide communication features. 

The best project management tools comparison for mid-sized businesses

  Wrike Asana Monday
 
Wrike
Asana
Monday
Free Trial 14 Day 30 Day 14 day
Mobile App
YES
YES
YES
Cloud Hosting
YES
YES
YES
Basic Price $9.80 $10.99 $8
Project Tracking
YES
YES
YES
Planning & Scheduling
YES
YES
YES
File Sharing
YES
NO
YES
Time & ExpenseTracking
YES
YES
YES
Task Management
YES
YES
YES
Agile Methodologies
YES
YES
NO
Team Collaboration
YES
YES
YES
Resource Management
YES
YES
NO
Workflow Management
NO
YES
YES
Gantt Chart
YES
YES
YES

Project Management Software Comparison for Small Businesses

With the right project management software, managing projects in small companies can be effortless. But if you don't choose the correct project management system, managing projects can be more challenging than it is in a large enterprise. 

Small businesses need to ensure efficiency. Thus, you should opt for a solution that can help you maximize your output while keeping the costs balanced. 

For startups that are just starting out, using free project management software with no time limits can be an excellent way to begin. When selecting a paid solution, look for features like task management, team collaboration, seamless integration, and multi-device support. 

If you're a small business owner, Here is a comparison of the best project management systems that help you manage your project smoothly.

  Paymo FunctionFox Zoho-project
 
Paymo
FunctionFox
Zoho Projects
Free Trial 15 Day 14 Day 10 day
Mobile App
YES
YES
YES
Cloud Hosting
YES
YES
YES
Basic Price $8.95 $5 $3
Project Tracking
YES
YES
YES
Planning & Scheduling
YES
YES
YES
File Sharing
YES
NO
YES
Time & ExpenseTracking
YES
YES
YES
Task Management
YES
YES
YES
Agile Methodologies
NO
YES
YES
Team Collaboration
YES
YES
YES
Resource Management
YES
NO
YES
Workflow Management
NO
YES
NO
Gantt Chart
YES
YES
YES

How can Business Benefit from Project Management Software?

How Business Can Get Benefits from Project management Software?

1. Collaboration on Projects

Employees are often delegated individual tasks that are part of a big project which the whole team is trying to complete. Project management software offers methods to collaborate on projects by discussing timelines, documents, outstanding work, etc. with the employees.

2. Budget Management 

One of the most important aspects of managing your projects is the budget. The Project management tool benefits the project manager to determine the actual work budget so that the work can be aligned accordingly.

3. Internal and External Communication

Communications software project management develops a channel for communication concerning projects and tasks both internally and externally with other clients and stakeholders.

4. Monitoring

Monitoring the progress of the work is quite essential to attain long-term success for any business. Dedicated project management software plays an important role in monitoring the stages of the project and also provides insights into whether the tasks are completed on time or not.

5. Optimized Decision Making

As you are provided with all the details in one designated place, this project management software helps in making the right decision at the right time. The decision process is quite enhanced and much more accurate.

6. Collaboration in Projects

Collaboration is vital for a project to be successful. The best collaborative project management tools can make the jobs of each member of your team much easier! A project management collaboration tool will help them communicate and collaborate seamlessly, even if their members are in different parts of the world.

7. Domain-specific project management

Your business could opt for general project management solutions and regular cloud-based project management tools. It could also go for domain-specific software. For example, your company takes up a number of marketing projects in a year, you could go directly for marketing project management software.

If you decide to invest in the best project management software for marketing departments, you will have more productive marketing teams and more successful marketing projects.

8. Monitoring

A top project management platform makes it quick and easy to monitor various aspects of a project. How many hours each member worked towards the project in a week, the status of the tasks assigned to each, overall progress on the project, etc. Every metric is visible on a SaaS project management system.

9. Productivity

The ultimate aim of any business in opting for the best project management software or any of its subsets such as PM tools, project time management software, and project tracking software, is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness with which its teams are completing their projects.

This is possible because the best cloud management software makes the goals of the project clear to every participant. Other project management software features all contribute towards improving the workflow and making tasks flow effortlessly.

Usability of Best Project Management Software in Current Market

Usability of project management software

All projects get executed in the real world – dynamic, unpredictable, and full of unknown risks. The number of involved variables is far too many for any brain to retain and process humanly. Anyone or many of those variables can go wrong and derail the project.

A great Project Management Software helps identify as many such variables as possible and record them in the system. The PMS defines the relationships, dependencies, and sequence of such variables with different tasks associated with such variables.

This way, the project managers and their teams can collaborate, coordinate, and complete clients’ requirements well within scope constraints, budget, and time. A well-designed Project Management Solution can save costs for the business and help your company grow revenues.

Most project management systems allow the users or developers to customize the features as per business requirements.

1. Unified Project View:

With a project management tool, every team member can see a unified view of the project. If some critical activity is delayed due to their slower outcomes, project management software puts social pressure on them to deliver. It also helps the entire team to motivate and give in their best.

Most importantly, every communication related to the project could be associated with actual milestones, issues, and constraints for better and complete understanding.

2. Centralized Document Management:

A centralized, secure, and efficient document storage, retrieval, access, and sharing mechanism can help you complete the work. It saves time searching the proper documents and secures them from the threat of stealing or being damaged. Moreover, cloud-based project management solutions can give you access to the same documents anywhere and anytime.

3. Task Prioritization:

You get many ways to assign priorities to asks – their critical importance to the project or the entire business, people involved, job finished, jobs pending, etc. The tasks can be listed by their deadlines, costs, team size, and locations.

With such information, the project managers can assign resources to each project to maximize output and productivity.

4. Effective communication:

It is not easy to maintain coherent communication in a large and distributed team that keeps everyone on the same page. A good PMS would allow communicating constraints, expectations, and deliverables to team members, vendors, sub-contractors, and even clients. The project management software must provide cross-linking to different aspects of the project from within the communication channel – discussion board, to-do lists, emails, and instant messaging.

5. Versatile:

A PMS should handle different projects with various complexities, team sizes, and even distributed projects. Standard features across all solutions should include task scheduling and management, analysis and reports, and workflows, to name a few.

Things to Consider While Selecting a Project Management Tool

1. Price

The price of the project management software must be kept in mind while selecting it. The price must be weighed against the actual monthly costs of support and licensing. Careful research and software reviews of the third party are quite essential before committing to any project management solution.

2. Ease Of Use

While selecting new software for your business, it is essential to think about the computer proficiency and skill level of the person who will be working on the software daily. You should analyze the ways that you are currently collaborating and communicating and search for that type of software that adds to your strengths.

3. Customer Support

Each project portfolio management tool company has its own approach to customer service. Before selecting the software, you must make sure that the company you are choosing offers personal support and educational material in your language.

Lastly, we can say that with the availability of so many excellent programs, you are likely to find a project management solution that is best suited for your business requirements.

How To Choose The Right Project Management Solution For Your Business?

right project management software solution

When you are considering project management software for your business, there are a lot of considerations. We list the main ones that you must never look over.

1. Time and Schedule Management:

Defining start and end times, durations, and margins of error for each task; allotting time slots to different tasks or members; tracking each activity and resource for the time they have given to the project. Allows defining schedules; creates a project timeline; defines milestones; identifies dependencies and resources.

2. Task Management:

Create, define, assign, and update tasks; monitor task completion status; allocate resources and time to tasks; define constraints like budget, time, and dependencies; create task owners; schedule repetitive tasks, and create and manage sub-tasks. Visual task management tools like Gantt Charts, Kanban boards, PERT/CPM, etc., are additional aids.

3. Team collaboration:

Define the collaborators with their roles for each task or activity; assign them rights to edit, comment, reassign, forward, and execute tasks; instant messaging, email, message boards, and shared to-do lists or calendars. With an excellent collaboration module, you can - exchange time information, hold online discussions, approve or reject proposals, and use project data to give context.

4. File sharing and document management:

Organize, store, retrieve, and share critical project documents; eliminate wastage of time; secure document storage and retrieval; centralized database; allows cross-referencing and document sharing across projects; access and version control; supports multiple documents formats – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, CSV, Images, CAD/CAM, etc.; allows accessing documents remotely; supports commenting and annotations.

5. Integrated Communication:

Smooth communication through multiple means from within the solution – email, instant and direct messages, group chat/discussion forums, storyboards, and online meetings; quick and secure communication; timely notifications for essential milestones and scheduled alerts; create and update tasks via email; send files as attachments, cross-link them, or reference them.

6. Documentation Support:

With comprehensive support documentation, onboarding of new users and retraining current users is easy. Users can troubleshoot issues. Must include articles, step-by-step guides, tutorials, support videos, and tooltips. 

7. Analysis and Reporting:

Timely and remote monitoring of the work of each member, status of tasks; update on timelines, budgets, and other constraints; in-depth analysis for identifying bottlenecks in workflows; visual reports for easy understanding and faster grasping—dashboards for users and managers with relevant tools and links.

8. Third-party API Support:

Support for data import & export; third-party tools’ integration via secure APIs; extend software by integrating services; mobile-ready website or mobile app with standard backend for anywhere control.

How Does Project Management Software Help To Grow Your Business?

With a great project management tool, your business can grow in multiple ways. Project management software finds a nourishing ground where it can seek nutrition and grow.

  • Significant improvements in the productivity of all team members.
  • We have streamlined communication, which results in better coordination, reduced wastage, and more time on matters of importance. 
  • Save time by assigning each task sufficient resources as and when they are needed. The same resource can be utilized more efficiently.
  • Remotely track the progress of assignments and time spent by team members on the project.
  • Create, manage, update, and enforce a budget.
  • Useful for distributed team and project management, especially in the current work-from-home scenario.

A List of the Best Project Management Tools

A project management system comparison is of utmost importance before you embark on your journey to find the best software. This list should give you a fair idea of the various kinds of top project management solutions your organization could opt for in the present-day scenario. Here are some of the best the web based project management software available in the market today:

1. Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects is one of the best enterprise project management software available today. It enhances team productivity and output while making monitoring and collaboration easy. A version for Agile teams, Zoho Sprint, is also available

2. Asana

Opt for Asana if you’re looking for a completely streamlined workflow. Share notes,  track tasks, and upload attachments in multiple formats. You won’t need to use email or any third-party communication services if you’ve got Asana as your cloud-based project management system.

3. Celoxis

An all-in-one SaaS and on-premise enterprise project management System. It has advanced reporting modules, multiple custom fields, and interactive Gantt charts that can help your team to handle up to 10,000 tasks!

4. Smartsheet

It has a spreadsheet-like interface that helps teams to standardize the key elements of any project. It helps to improve task visibility and makes prioritization easy for the whole team.

5. Ravetree

An excellent project management software for small businesses, Ravetree has extensive options available including Customer Relationship Management, expense and time tracking, team, and asset management. It is very reasonably priced and is a great choice for companies using it for the first time,

6. Mavenlink

Manage the entire project lifecycle with Mavenlink. It allows time tracking, financial monitoring, and various other functionalities on a simple easy-to-use interface. Powerful integrations with other commonly used the best project management system, in order to provide an all-rounded experience to the user.

7. Zenkit

A clutter-free, ‘zen’, simple project management system. Handle resource allocation, time tracking, budgeting, and reporting on a single, uncomplicated project management time-tracking software. One of the best project management tools for small businesses with regard to its interface.

8. Trello

Trello uses kanban boards to give project teams a simple but useful high-level overview of different sub-tasks in a project. Especially great for remote teams as it has a web version also. It’s of simple software that has a focus on visual task management.

9. FunctionFox

One of the best project management software for small teams, FunctionFox is compatible across various platforms. Project management software provides excellent time tracking and is especially well-suited for freelancers, graphic designers, writers, and other creative professionals.

10. ProjectManager

As its name suggests, it might as well replace your project manager! Used by the likes of NASA and the United Nations, ProjectManager still manages to be a flexible solution among the best software, in that it’s applicable for companies of any size and in any industry. Manage every single aspect of your project and track how the project is progressing against the planned progress.

Challenges Faced While Implementing Project Management Software and How to Solve Them

Challenges Faced While Using Project Management Software and How to Solve Them

Project management is a dynamic, demanding, and complex process. The managers have to plan and execute projects with a talented team. They have to assign well-defined tasks to the right team member. And, they have to allocate proper resources to finish the project without any delays. 

Challenges And Solutions

Project management software simplifies workflows and improves team coordination. It helps to reduce costs, increase productivity, and save time. But unfortunately, many unforeseen challenges arise despite the best planning efforts -

1. Project Prioritization

Many companies have to handle multiple clients at the same time. Managers struggle to prioritize projects in the software as clients have different deadlines. Moreover, they cannot toggle priorities quickly as clients have different importance levels. 

The solution lies in deploying a good quality portfolio software. 

This project management feature assists with goal analysis. The managers can also automatically allocate resources across the enterprise. This tool benefits the team members and managers who work across projects.

2. Employee Resistance

Employees resist new software as they fear for their position and control. They fear innovation, additional responsibilities, the delegation of authority, and failure to co-operate. These fears lead to software installation delays also.

A first-rate software adoption strategy overcomes this challenge. Create a roll-out plan and communicate the benefits to workers. Create a dedicated adoption team to convince them.

3. Heavy Workload

Learning how to use new software systems is time-consuming. You have to train the employees and provide adequate time to understand and use the tools. It is not easy to incorporate training along with their daily workload.

You can rely on planning tools to deploy the new software. Introduce the employees to automated workflows in a phased manner. Do not rush them, but train them efficiently.

4.Task Management

After software activation, the manager and staff have to co-operate. It takes time to adjust to the new work culture and technical activities. 

The best software will have task management and prioritization features, which assist the managers with visual charts and a holistic vision. He can personalize task priorities easily.

5. Asset Sharing

Some project activities, reports, and solutions have re-use value. They can be useful when replicated across different projects through shared assets. 

Without the right tracking tools, managers and employees lose perspective. They end-up doing repetitive tasks and fail to optimize the available solutions.

6. Customer Satisfaction

Even the best implementations fail to match a task to a customer. Sometimes, those who use project tools fail to satisfy their customers. This inadequacy happens due to poor workflows and communication errors.

The solution lies in implementing and managing robust software. It helps the clients get on board and keeps them in the loop about project progress.

The best project management system is beneficial and risk-free. Project management software assures flexibility, information security, and a rich set of automated features. You can overcome any challenge by selecting the right kind of software tools and techniques.

Project Management Software Global Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecast

1. Growth

Top project management software drives corporate profits and success. It is indispensable across the global industry verticals. The market demand for this software is under splendid growth. Its size and share will grow in parallel to the increase in corporate size and complexity in the future.

Double-digit growth for cutting-edge SaaS solutions is inevitable. The all-inclusive software suites have become unavoidable for multiple and diverse organizations. Cloud and on-site applications' storage capacity is in the range of 100 MB to infinite space.

2. Trends

Project management sysetm is embracing AI and virtualization. The trends suggest enterprise-level usage with a massive demand for managers with the best features including, risk analytics, data-driven presentations, and agile tools. 

Collaborative workspaces, emotional intelligence, targeted innovation, and life-long learning are to make their mark. The evolving automation also reduces project flaws and de-stresses the managers. Other emerging positive trends include regulatory ease and flexible pricing plans.     

3. Forecasts

The best project management software will have a CAGR of 10.17%. In this 2021 to 2025 forecast, large corporations have a crucial role. They would prefer to adopt cloud and hybrid solutions for the entire organization. They aspire to target segmented markets and increase future service demands.

Temporary trends predict transformative opportunities and business profits. The project management system forecast looks promising due to various growth factors. They include - 

  • High market demand for innovative, long-lasting products

  • Spurt in the number of profitable, end-user businesses

  • Stable market place with global, national, and regional scope

  • Increase in affluence and abundance of capital resources

  • The rise in disposable incomes and elevated consumer confidence

Related Articles on Project Management Software:

 

FAQs of Project Management Software

The net present value of a project is calculated by adding the present value of cash flows for each year associated with the investment. It is then adjusted or discounted so that it expresses in today’s dollars.
NPV =? (Year n Total Cash Flow)/( 1+Discount Rate)n.
Where ‘n’ is the year whose cash flow is being adjusted software project management comes with an NPV calculator.

Product management software can be used commonly by all types of businesses. Still, its usage is most critical for the industries that are in marketing, information technology (IT), and education. The reason behind this is that in these industries, business commonly works on many time-sensitive tasks at a single time. Therefore, it requires collaboration with the other teams for contrasting assignments.

Project management software is a system utilized for project planning, booking, asset assignment, and change administration. It permits project managers (PMs), stakeholders, and clients to control expenses and oversee the planning, quality administration, and documentation, additionally, a top web-based project management solution can be utilized as an administration system.

Project Management Software in following industries

Last Updated: February 27, 2023