6 Best Free Project Management Software for Small Businesses

monday.com wins as our top free project management software thanks to its extensive customization options that support diverse teams with various workflow requirements. Its graphically intuitive interface allows users to configure almost everything on a monday.com board, including boards, columns, templates, and notifications.

The free plan is suitable for solo users or two-person teams who simply want to keep track of their work. Depending on your workflow, a board may consist of interactive elements, such as groups, columns, items, and subitems. Each item has an update section where you can communicate with team members and follow up on urgent tasks.

monday.com restricts many of its core features to the third-tier plan, which can discourage budget-conscious users who prefer not to pay for plan upgrades. If you’re seeking a free solution that doesn’t skimp on key features, ClickUp provides multiple credits to explore its advanced project tools.

• Whiteboard: Share ideas on a blank canvas to spark creativity among team members during ideation sessions. The whiteboard lets you write texts, color elements, and attach images.
• Kanban view: Track the progress of tasks by configuring your project view to Kanban. As you update assignments, edit the details on the cards or drag them from one column to another.
• File storage: Save documents right on the platform for easy future access. monday.com lets you store up to 500MB of files on the free plan.

Customize which items should be visible on your monday.com board. (Source: monday.com)

ClickUp goes beyond project management by integrating various productivity tools, including team messaging, document editing, workflow automation, and product development. By consolidating these features into one platform, it streamlines work processes, eliminating the need to switch between multiple apps.

Unlike many competitors that reserve advanced features for higher-tier plans, ClickUp doesn’t hold back, as it includes monthly usage credits for premium functionalities for its freemium package. For example, a free user gets 100 credits each for features like project portfolio, time tracking, sprint points, and dashboards.

However, the downside of ClickUp’s extensive feature set is that it can overwhelm new users, especially those unfamiliar with project management. If you prefer having more control over which features to include, Trello may be a better option, allowing users to add only the tools they need to their boards.

• Spaces: Assign virtual work hubs for different departments or teams in your company. Choose an avatar for each space and configure its task statuses based on the common assignments you use.
• List: Enumerate individual tasks for your projects and tag relevant team members in the ‘assignees’ column to display tasks to responsible parties. Add the due date and priority level to guide colleagues in completing the task.
• Timeline: If you have time-sensitive to-dos, use the Timeline view to lay the tasks out in a calendar. Turn on the Me Mode to see only the tasks assigned to you. Use the People sidebar to view other workspace users’ to-dos.

Break down tasks in a handy to-do list. (Source: ClickUp)

Asana is suitable for small teams because of its scalability, allowing teams to start with essential features and upgrade as their needs expand. The free plan allows unlimited access to core features such as activity logs, storage, projects, and assignees—features that competitors limit to a certain number of credits. As projects grow more complex, teams can easily transition to higher-tier plans for more advanced tools like portfolios, proofing, and workflow bundles.

If you prioritize third-party integrations, Asana connects with popular productivity platforms like Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace, and OneDrive. Users can create custom integrations through its open application programming interface (API). Its comprehensive documentation makes it easy to infuse Asana’s tools into your existing communication platforms.

On the other hand, Asana lacks rich customization options for handling unique project workflows. If you value flexibility for your project management needs, monday.com offers multiple ways to customize project boards, including automation triggers, status labels, items, columns, and fields.

• Project overview: Get all the basic information about a project, including its background, executive summary, team members’ roles, and key resources. The progress sidebar displays a timeline of different project updates.
• Time tracking: Monitor how long team members finish their to-dos by adding estimated time and actual time columns. Enable the built-in timer to record the actual time it took to complete an assignment.
• Status updates: Let other team members know what was recently accomplished by adding status updates on a project’s progress view. You can add a description of status updates, providing more context for future reference.

Get updates directly from the project overview dashboard. (Source: Asana)

Trello is a free project management software for individual users seeking a visual tool for organizing work and personal tasks. It uses Kanban-style boards, a type of board-and-card system with straightforward tools like checklists, due dates, and attachments. Trello enables users to create basic to-do lists and organize tasks without being overwhelmed with complex features.

The free plan provides enough functionality to meet most individual needs, such as automating task reminders, tracking assignments, and outlining ideas. One of Trello’s key strengths is its flexibility, allowing users to expand a board’s functionality by adding optional features and third-party apps. This a la carte approach enhances the integration of your project management tool with your existing app stack.

However, the straightforward nature of Trello can be too restricting for scaling teams needing advanced project management features for more sophisticated workflows. In contrast, a work management solution like Jira supports complex workflow processes such as agile and scrum methodologies.

• Templates: Trello features several workflow templates for different use cases, including new hire onboarding, blog content schedule, and retail sales pipeline. With these templates, you won’t have to create a workflow from scratch. Go straight to plotting your tasks and doing the actual work.
• Mobile device management: Control access to company data on smartphones by implementing identity verification and preventing data backup to cloud storage solutions. This reduces the risk of exposing confidential business information.
• Unlimited cards: The free version allows users to add as many cards as possible to boards. The card is used to describe tasks and ideas. One card in a content marketing board may outline the details of developing a social media post.

Trello’s Kanban-style boards streamline task management. (Source: Trello)

While Jira is primarily used by IT teams for software development and help desk purposes, it can be a highly configurable tool for various workflow types. This agile project management tool supports intricate work processes, such as breaking up large-scale projects, handling product launches, and testing rollouts of project changes. For instance, roadmaps in Jira provide teams with a bird’s-eye view of large-scale projects, improving planning accuracy.

Similar to ClickUp, Jira is one of the most comprehensive free project management software​ we reviewed, offering unlimited access to nearly all its features. Many of these freemium tools, such as custom dashboards, out-of-the-box reports, dependencies, and goals, typically require a paid subscription with other providers. This provides exceptional value for users as these features are readily available at no cost.

Despite its streamlined interface, users unfamiliar with agile workflows have found Jira’s setup process challenging. If you’re new to project management, Trello is a better option. It features an intuitively designed platform with drag-and-drop capabilities, making it easy for beginners to get started easily.

• Backlog view: This feature displays tasks or issues your team plans to work on. This allows you to plan work ahead of time so team members can quickly work on the most critical tasks when they’re ready.
• Release burndown report: Monitor the forecasted release date for product versions and take quick action if the progress is behind schedule. You can easily measure the team’s efficiency through the backlog.
• Summary view: This feature provides a high-level overview of a project’s performance, including the project lead, status, priorities, and workload distribution.

The release burndown report is designed for scrum teams working in sprints. (Source: Jira)

Wrike stands out for its comprehensive task management feature, making it ideal for teams that need to break down complex, cross-functional projects. The free plan includes all task-related features, such as one-click task creation, multiple assignees, and custom work views like Kanban and Gantt charts.

This provider emerges as one of the best AI-powered project management solutions for its effective integration of machine learning across its platform, improving automation and project efficiency. It automatically recommends to-dos and organizes them according to urgency. It also looks at historical patterns and common issues in your workflow and alerts teams of the risk of potential delays or missed deadlines.

On the downside, Wrike’s free version is limited to handling basic project needs. Jira is the best project management software for free​ users seeking unlimited access to both basic and advanced features without paying for a monthly subscription.

• Custom work views: Use different work views to oversee projects more easily. This lets you switch between board, table, and Kanban views in one click.
• Multilanguage support: Encourage global team members to configure language settings on Wrike. The platform supports French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Chinese, among other languages.
• Recycle bin: A deleted task automatically goes to the Recycle Bin. If you want to recover it, go to the bin, locate the task, and right-click to find the “Restore” option. Note that when you delete a task from the bin, you’ll no longer recover it.

Switch between project views to better manage tasks. (Source: Wrike)