10 Best Project Management Software Tools

Effective project management software is more crucial than ever. Whether you're leading a small team or managing complex projects in a multi-national corporation, the right tool can be a game-changer.

Tools in project management are about more than just task management. Nowadays, managing projects is about involving different stakeholders, juggling communication channels, and ultimately driving success.

Finding the perfect fit for your unique needs can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack with all the tools available on the market,.

But fear not.

This comprehensive guide will introduce you to the 10 best project management software tools available in 2023.

Our list includes something for everyone – switch up your current tool or start using free project management software for the first time. From feature-rich platforms to streamlined, user-friendly interfaces, let's explore the solutions currently available on the market.

Read our related article on the best remote work tools for teams who are looking to stay productive in 2023.

10 Project Management Software Tools Worth Checking Out In 2023

Let’s delve into the details of 10 tools in project management that are worth checking out this year.

We've done the heavy lifting for you, examining each tool's features, pricing, as well as listing their pros and cons. Read along to learn more about the best project manager software!

1. Rock

Rock is the ultimate project management software tool on the market. All-in-one functionality allows users to switch between tasks, chat, notes, files, topics and meetings without leaving their project space.

Users can start projects with anyone both in and outside of their organization. This makes Rock a great solution for teams what work with clients, freelancers, and other external stakeholders.

Every project space includes native file management and integrations popular providers such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Figma and OneDrive. Users can attach cloud files to task cards and notes to more easily access work on the cloud.

A flat pricing model makes Rock a very attractive tool for project management. Teams can collaborate with unlimited users both in- and outside of their organization without their bill skyrocketing at the end of the month.

Working with more than 5 or 6 people? Then Rock is most probably your cheapest option if you want to access premium project management software functionality.

What Features Are Available Within Rock’s Project Management Software?

Rock offers all-in-one functionality in one place. Reclaim valuable time and focus on your work. Here are some of the key features within the project management tool:

• Spaces: You can organize everything into different spaces. Create a space for 1:1s, group conversations, or projects. Add anyone, inside or outside your organization, to a space so they can participate in a conversation, work on tasks, read notes, and access any file they need.
• Task Management: You can use Rock to organize all your work. This feature allows you to create, assign, and manage tasks, making it easier to track project progress and deadlines.
• Full-fledged Messaging: Rock features a built-in messaging system that allows you to discuss and connect with anyone, reducing the need for multiple communication platforms.
• Note taking functionality: Create, discuss, and share notes. This is especially useful for meeting agendas, meeting minutes, brainstorming ideas, and more.
• File management: Rock allows you to manage all your files in one place, supporting file uploads, sharing, and collaboration. Teams can also integrate for free with tools such as Dropbox, OneDrive, Figma, Adobe Creative Cloud, Miro and Notion.
• Meetings: You can conduct video meetings directly within the platform. This feature further enhances the platform's role as a one-stop solution for collaboration and communication.
• Dashboard: Rock provides a unified dashboard for all your projects, with a built-in time tracker to help you stay on top of priorities.
• Custom Workflows: With Rock's API documentation, you can build custom workflows and tools tailored to your team's needs.
• Set Aside: This feature allows users to go through their messages, tasks, and mentions and decide what to work on now versus later.
• Quick Connect: With Quick Connect, you can start collaborating with anyone quickly using your own personal link. Anyone on the internet that clicks on your link will directly be redirected to a project space with you.

Rock Pricing

Rock offers two pricing tiers: Free and Unlimited. Pricing is unique to other tools on the market because it's flat. Teams pay a single price regardless of the number of users collaborating in their project spaces.

Free Plan: This plan is best for small projects, and it’s a free software for project management. It includes the following features:

• Messaging, tasks, and notes are available in every space.
• Up to 50 tasks and 50 notes can be created per space.
• Free cloud file storage and meeting integrations.
• Import tasks from popular project management and messaging apps.
• Unlimited 1:1 peer spaces and 3 group spaces.
• Each free group space hosts up to 10 members.

Unlimited Plan: This plan costs $69 per month on a monthly basis and $49 per month if billed yearly, saving 29%. It's best for both small and large teams, especially those who often work with external collaborations such as clients or freelancers.

The Unlimited Plan includes, among other things, the following features:

• Unlimited tasks and notes in every space.
• Each space hosts up to 1000 members.
• Unlimited storage per space is provided.
• Online/offline and static user status is available.
• Advanced features like time tracker for PRO spaces, 5 managers who can change unlimited spaces to PRO, team dashboard, time tracker dashboard, and custom Quick Connect URL.
• Workspaces (50), spaces per workspace (50), group spaces (unlimited), and peer spaces (unlimited) are also included.

The Unlimited plan also provides access to premium features like advanced task functionality, automations, custom integrations, and the ability to build your own bots with the Rock API.

For more information or questions, Rock offers 24/7 customer support and priority support to Unlimited plan users.

Pros And Cons Of Using Rock As Your Project Management Software Tool

The pros and cons of user Rock can vary depending on the specific needs and circumstances of your team or project. Take advantage of the freemium plan to see if Rock is the right fit for you.

Pros Of Using Rock

✅ All-in-one platform: Consolidate messaging, tasks, notes, files, and other favorite apps into one space

✅ Integration with other apps: Work with a large number of other popular tools, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Zoom, and Github.

✅ Collaboration features: Quickly add other companies, agencies, or freelancers to a space and give everyone access to everything they need to get work done.

✅ Flexible use cases: Rock is designed for a wide variety of use cases, including marketing, startups, freelance, educators, engineering, and more.

✅ Affordable pricing: Upgrade to the Unlimited Plan for a flat price. The paid plan makes Rock a cost-effective solution, particularly for larger teams.

Cons Of Using Rock

❌ Limited offline capabilities: As an online project management software tool, Rock does not offer offline functionality.

What Other People Think About Using Rock

“As a freelancer I work on several projects at the same time with many different people and organization. I use Rock to organize every project in different space, inviting the people I work with. We share plan, tasks, files, and they can follow my workflow, which task is completed or not etc. The massive change compare to Trello and Slack I've been using is that we can discuss at the task level. This means if I'm working on a project with several tasks, we don't have to have endless emails discussing them one by one, the client can just add inputs or comment within the task.” - Capterra Verified Review

"It's easy to use. Quick to setup and basically got all the functions we need to run a collaboration between team members." - Capterra Verified Review

2. MeisterTask

MeisterTask is a comprehensive project management software designed to facilitate effective and efficient team collaborations.

Stemming from the principles of Kanban, MeisterTask presents tasks on a board where they move across columns as they progress through stages. A visual interface allows for an easy overview of project status and workflow at a glance.

The platform is customizable and adaptable, catering to various use cases such as task management, agile project management, workflow management, and teamwork.

MeisterTask Key Features

• Kanban-style Project Boards
• Task Creation and Management
• Personal Agenda Board
• Task Assignees and Watchers
• Built-in Time Tracker
• Attachments

MeisterTask Pricing

MeisterTasks’ management software offers the following pricing plans:

1. Basic Plan: free, providing core task management features for single users.
2. Pro Plan: $12 per user per month.
3. Business Plan: $24 per user per month and is designed for larger teams.
4. Enterprise Plan: This plan offers custom pricing for large companies with specific requirements. The Enterprise plan is best for large organizations (1000+ employees) looking into software to manage projects

Pros and Cons Of Using MeisterTask For Project Management

Pros of using MeisterTask

✅ Kanban-Style Boards: MeisterTask uses Kanban-style boards to visualize workflows. Board view can help teams better understand their progress and what needs to be done next.

Cons of using MeisterTask

❌ Pricing: Teams can quickly rack up a large bill at the end of the month when paying 12$ or 24$ per user per month.

❌ Potential for Feature Overload: MeisterTask’s project management software offers a lot of features, potentially overwhelming users. Especially those who prefer a more straightforward, simple task management solution.

3. Hive

Hive is a management software designed to optimize workflows, increase productivity, and enable seamless team collaboration.Functionality includes task tracking, time tracking, setting and visualizing milestones, collaboration and messaging, and AI-powered content creation.

Designed for the hybrid working model, Hive is a free project management software that is versatile enough to cater to diverse teams and projects.

Hive offers extensive functionality, but this complexity can sometimes also be an issue for users. Some users have reported finding the interface overwhelming due to the multitude of features and options available.

Additionally, there have been mentions of occasional glitches, and some users have expressed the need for better customer support.

Hive Key Features

• Project Management
• Time Tracking
• Goals
• Collaboration & Messaging
• Notes AI
• Analytics

Hive Pricing Plans

Hive offers three different pricing plans catering to different needs, which are:

1. Solo: This is a free plan aimed at individuals who need to organize their projects in one place. This plan includes:

• Up to 2 workspace members
• Gantt, Kanban, Calendar & Table views
• Email in Hive
• Native chat messaging

2. Teams: This is the most popular plan and costs $12/month per user. It's designed for those who need to work without limits and customize their project management experience. This plan includes everything in the Solo plan plus:

• Unlimited workspace members
• Seven flexible add-ons (extra)
• External guest access
• Shareable forms
• Time tracking
• In-app calendar

3. Enterprise: This plan is for users who need more flexibility, extra support, and security. The price isn't listed on the website and you're encouraged to get in touch with Hive for a quote. The Enterprise plan is best for large organizations (1000+ employees) looking into apps for project management.

Pros and Cons Of Using Hive As Your App For Project Management

Pros of using Hive

✅ Integrations: Hive can be integrated with a wide array of external apps, helping to streamline work and centralize information.

Cons of using Hive

❌ Cost Implications: With a rate of $12 per user each month, teams might find themselves with a substantial cumulative expense for management software by month's end.

❌ Learning Curve: Given the wide array of features and customization options, new users might face a steep learning curve.

4. Trello

Trello is a project management tool designed to foster team collaboration and work organization. The platform uses a card-based system where each card represents a task, which can be organized into different lists representing the stages of a project.

Trello strives to make project management simple and efficient for teams of all sizes with features such as automations, power-ups and project plan templates for easy setup.

Although Trello's free project management software is great for visualizing stages, it can lack depth for detailed project management needs. Users have also expressed a need for more robust reporting and analytic features to better track and evaluate the overall progress of their projects.

Trello project management features

• Views
• Automations
• Power-Ups
• Project Plan Templates
• Integrations
• Dashboard View
• User Management

Trello Pricing

• Free Plan - $0 per month.
• Standard Plan - $5 per user/month if billed annually ($6 billed monthly).
• Premium Plan - $10 per user/month if billed annually ($12.50 billed monthly).
• Enterprise Plan - $17.50 per user/month if billed annually ($210.00 annual price per user). The Enterprise plan is best for large organizations (1000+ employees) looking into apps for project management.

Pros And Cons Of Using Trello For Project Management

Pros Of Using Trello

✅ Kanban-Style Boards: Trello uses Kanban-style boards to visualize workflows. Board view can help teams better understand their progress and what needs to be done next.‍

Cons Of Using Trello

❌ Pricing: Teams can quickly rack up a large bill at the end of the month when paying 5$ or 10$ per user per month.

❌ Potential for Feature Overload: Trello offers a lot of features, potentially overwhelming users. Especially those who prefer a more straightforward, simple task management solution.

5. Monday.com

Monday.com is a Work Operating System (Work OS) that enables organizations to manage tasks, projects, and team work in one collaborative space. Functionality is designed to suit various team sizes and industries, offering solutions for marketing, sales, engineering, recruiting, and more.

Monday’s management software allows users to create their own workflows, centralize all work and communication in one place, and integrate with other popular tools like Slack, Dropbox, and Adobe Creative Cloud.

While Monday.com’s project management software provides a host of benefits, it isn't without its drawbacks. One common user complaint is about its pricing. Some users feel that the platform can be quite expensive, especially for small businesses or startups.

Furthermore, users have noted a steep learning curve, making initial setup and adoption a challenge.

Monday project management functionality

• Boards
• Views
• Dashboards
• Integrations
• Automations
• Apps
• Docs

Monday pricing options

• Free Plan - $0 forever
• Basic Plan - $8 per seat/month ($24/month total - minimum 3 users) billed annually
• Standard Plan - $10 per seat/month ($30/month total  - minimum 3 users) billed annually
• Pro Plan - $16 per seat/month ($48/month total  - minimum 3 users) billed annually
• Enterprise Plan - Pricing is provided upon contacting sales. The Enterprise plan is best for large organizations (1000+ employees) looking into software to manage projects

Pros And Cons Of Using Monday Com As Your Project Management Software

Pros Of Using Monday

✅ Customizable views: Monday.com offers 10+ customizable views including Gantt and Kanban, which allows users to visualize tasks and projects based on their specific workflows.

Cons Of Using Monday

❌ Pricing: Teams can quickly rack up a large bill at the end of the month when paying 8$, 10$ or $16 per user per month.

❌ Notification Overload: Some users have reported receiving too many notifications, which can become overwhelming and potentially disrupt productivity.

6. Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a unified project management tool that integrates workplace chat, video meetings, file storage, and application integration. The service is part of the Microsoft 365 family of products, providing a hub for teamwork.

Users can create shared workspaces, use AI-powered experiences to make collaboration smarter and easier, and even empower their frontline workers with intelligent operations and seamless communication.

A common complaint from users is that the interface can be somewhat non-intuitive and confusing, especially for first-time users. UI issues within the project management software can lead to difficulties in navigation and locating specific features or tools.

Working with Microsoft Office already? Add the OneDrive integration to your Rock spaces for seamless file access.

Project Management Features In Microsoft Teams

• Meetings and Conferencing
• Teams Phone
• Chat and Collaboration
• Teams Devices
• Apps
• Frontline Workforce Solutions
• Real-time Coauthoring
• Microsoft Teams Connect
• Teams Channels

Microsoft Teams pricing

Teams does not have a free software for project management. Instead, pricing is divided among the following plans:

• Microsoft Teams Essentials: Starting from $4 per user/month (Annual subscription—auto renews).
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic: Starting from $6 per user/month (Annual subscription—auto renews).
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard: Price: Starting from $12.5 per user/month (Annual subscription—auto renews).

Pros And Cons Of Using Microsoft Teams As For Project Management

Pros Of Using Microsoft Teams

✅ Collaborative Workspace: Microsoft Teams integrates with other Microsoft 365 apps like SharePoint, OneNote, Planner, and Power BI, making it a comprehensive platform for team collaboration.

Cons Of Using Microsoft Teams

❌ Integration with Non-Microsoft Apps: While Teams integrates well with Microsoft's own apps, it may not integrate as smoothly with third-party apps.

❌ Notification Management: Users have reported that managing notifications can be overwhelming and confusing.

7. Asana

Asana is a popular project management software that helps teams organize, track, and manage their work. Their primary goal is to facilitate team collaboration and improve productivity.

With a user-friendly interface, Asana allows you to create and assign tasks to team members, set deadlines, and add task descriptions. You can visualize your work in various ways including lists, task boards, calendars, or Gantt charts with the Timeline feature.

Teams can share notes, upload files, and communicate directly in the context of each task or project, keeping all relevant information in one place.

Features that can be found within Asana

• Task Management
• Project Visualization
• File Sharing
• Collaboration Tools
• Workflow Automation
• Integrations
• Custom Fields
• Goals
• Forms

Asana pricing

• Basic: This is for individuals or teams just getting started with project management. It's free forever.
• Premium: $10.99 per user/month if billed annually ($13.49 billed monthly)
• Business: This plan is for teams and companies that need software to manage projects across initiatives. $14.99 per user/month if billed annually ($30.49 billed monthly)
• Enterprise: This is Asana's most comprehensive offering, providing powerful, intuitive work management with advanced admin features and security at scale. The price for the Enterprise plan is not provided and you are prompted to contact their sales team for more information.

Asana Pros And Cons For Project Management

Pros Of Using Asana

✅ Features: Asana provides robust features such as task assignments, due dates, project timelines, comments, file attachments, and more.

Cons Of Using Asana

❌ Pricing: Some users find Asana to be expensive, especially for small businesses or startups, as some of the advanced features are only available in the premium tiers.

❌ Overwhelming for Simple Projects: If you're managing a straightforward or small-scale project, Asana might be more complex than you need.

8. Jira

Jira, developed by Atlassian, is a popular issue and project tracking software that provides a comprehensive suite of tools for managing work in agile teams.

The project management software covers aspects from work management and IT service management to agile and DevOps, catering to various team sizes and industries.

One of the most common criticisms of Jira is its complexity. The platform is robust and highly customizable, which can make it overwhelming and difficult to navigate for newcomers.

Jira’s Tools For Project Management

• Issue and Project Tracking
• Prioritization and Discussion
• Fast Release
• Reporting
• Automation
• Templates
• Customization
• Integration
• Open DevOps

Different Pricing Options Within Jira

• Free Plan - $0 forever
• Standard Plan - $21 per seat/month ($63/month total - minimum 3 users) billed monthly
• Premium Plan - $47 per seat/month ($141/month total  - minimum 3 users) billed monthly
• Enterprise Plan - Pricing is provided upon contacting sales. The Enterprise plan is best for large organizations (1000+ employees) looking into apps for project management.

Jira Pros And Cons For Project Management

Pros Of Using Jira

✅ Strong Support for Agile Methodologies: Jira offers strong support for Agile methodologies, including Scrum and Kanban. Features like customizable boards, backlogs and sprints, make it a good fit for Agile teams.

Cons Of Using Jira

❌ Complexity: The high degree of flexibility and customization can lead to complexity, making it difficult to configure and manage without dedicated administrators.

❌ Cost: While Jira does offer a free tier, the costs can increase quickly as you add more users and need more advanced features.

9. ClickUp

ClickUp is a cloud-based project management platform designed to bring all of your work into one centralized location. The platform is designed to be flexible and customizable, enabling teams from all sectors and sizes to plan, organize, and stay organized at work.

ClickUp's goal is to make the world more productive by removing the friction caused by using so many different apps, and to provide a single unified platform for work.

While ClickUp’s project management software is highly praised for its versatility and wealth of features, it also receives some criticism. A common user complaint is about the platform's complexity due to its extensive features and customization options.

Additionally, some users have reported that the software can occasionally be slow and laggy, especially when managing a large number of tasks, which can impact productivity and the user experience.

ClickUp’s Tools For Project Management

• Task Management
• Customizable Views
• Collaboration Tools
• Time Tracking
• Custom Fields
• Integration
• Reporting
• Automation

Pricing Plans Within ClickUp

• Free Forever
• Unlimited: $7 per member per month on an annual plan
• Business: $12 per member per month on an annual plan
• Enterprise: Contact Sales for pricing. The enterprise plan is best for large organizations (1000+ employees) looking into apps for project management.

ClickUp Pros And Cons For Managing Your Project Management

Pros Of Using ClickUp

✅ Collaborative Tools: Users have noted that ClickUp's collaborative tools, like comment sections and document sharing, are very useful for team projects.

Cons Of Using ClickUp

❌ Mobile App: Some reviews indicate that the mobile app could be improved in terms of functionality and performance.

❌ User Interface: A few users have noted that the user interface could be more intuitive and user-friendly.

10. Basecamp

Basecamp aims to eliminate the need for multiple apps for chat, file sharing, tasks, or basic scheduling. Thereby, reducing time spent bouncing between different platforms and increasing overall productivity.

Users are offered a unique set of tools for project management like Hill Charts, Campfire and Card Table.

While Basecamp is lauded for its simplicity and ease of use, some users have expressed dissatisfaction with its lack of advanced features, such as Gantt charts and time tracking, which are commonly found in other project management tools.

Lack of functionality may limit its applicability for teams or projects that require more complex or specialized project management functionalities.

Basecamp Project Management Features

• Home Dashboard
• Messages
• File Sharing and Discussion
• Schedule
• Automatic Check-ins
• Reports
• Pings

Pricing Options within Basecamp

Basecamp does not offer a free software for project management, instead users can make use of a 30-day trial. Instead, it offers the following two plans:

1. Basecamp: The pricing model is on a month-to-month basis and is charged at $15/user per month. Only employees are billed, and guests can be invited for free.
2. Basecamp Pro Unlimited: The cost is $299/month, billed annually with no per-user charges. If you prefer to pay month-to-month, it’s $349/month.

Basecamp Pros And Cons For Managing Your Project Management

Pros Of Using Basecamp

✅ Project Organization: Users appreciate the centralized location for project management, including task assignments, discussions, file sharing, and scheduling.

Cons Of Using Basecamp‍

❌ Integrations: While Basecamp does integrate with some other tools, users have expressed the desire for more extensive integration capabilities with external apps and services.

❌ Pricing: Some users find the pricing model, especially for small teams, to be more expensive compared to other project management tools.

Get The Most Out Of Your Work With The Best Project Management Software

Wave goodbye to clutter, chaos, and confusion. Embrace the power of seamless collaboration, streamlined communication, and effective tools in project management.

Rock is the best project manager software. You're not just managing projects, you're mastering them. Elevate your teams, optimize your workflow, and start making every project a success story today.

Your journey to effortless project management starts here! Time to get the most out of your work, one project at a time.