The best free resource planning software automates tasks and provides real-time insights for better asset and equipment allocation. They support small businesses by improving customer service, productivity, and operational efficiency.
Our guide examines the top free resource capacity planning software’s use cases, pricing, and feature sets, helping you discover the best tool for your needs.
- monday.com: Best overall for client servicing
- Wrike: Best for automation and AI
- Trello: Best for visualization and project planning
- ClickUp: Best for remote team collaboration
- Asana: Best for multiproject workflow management
- Notion: Best for note-taking and documentation
- Airtable: Best for data tracking
- Bitrix24: Best for sales and marketing projects
- Best Free Resource Planning Software Compared
- monday.com: Best Overall for Client Servicing
- Wrike: Best for Automation & AI
- Trello: Best for Visualization & Project Planning
- ClickUp: Best for Remote Team Collaboration
- Asana: Best for Multiproject Workflow Management
- Notion: Best for Note-taking & Documentation
- Airtable: Best for Data Tracking
- Bitrix24: Best for Sales & Marketing Projects
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Bottom Line
Best Free Resource Planning Software Compared
| Free Resource Planning Software | Monthly Starting Price (per User) | Free Plan Features | FSB Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
 | $12 |
| 4.64 out of 5 |
| Visit monday.com | |||
 | $10.00Billed annually. |
| 4.54 out of 5 |
| Visit Wrike | |||
 | $6 |
| 4.49 out of 5 |
| Visit Trello | |||
 | $10 |
| 4.41 out of 5 |
| Visit ClickUp | |||
 | $13.49 |
| 4.40 out of 5 |
| Visit Asana | |||
 | $12 |
| 4.26 out of 5 |
| Visit Notion | |||
 | $24 |
| 4.10 out of 5 |
| Visit Airtable | |||
 | $61(Flat-rate) |
| 4.07 out of 5 |
| Visit Bitrix24 | |||
monday.com: Best Overall for Client Servicing
*Paid plans have a three-seat minimum. Save up to 18% with annual billing.
Our top pick for free resource planning is monday.com, a customizable project management tool where teams can create dedicated workspaces for each customer. This ensures all tasks, documents, and communications are centralized and organized. Users can invite guests to access the platform to view progress, provide feedback, and stay on top of progress. It also comes with built-in time tracking for monitoring performance.
Key resource scheduling software features like time tracking and workload management show the team’s resources, allowing you to allot assets efficiently. While monday.com is excellent for collaboration, all paid plans have a three-seat minimum. Solopreneurs and those in two-person partnerships can try Airtable because it has no minimum user requirement and offers unlimited users on all paid plans.
monday.com Features
Break projects down into tasks, assign team leads, and add board views easily. (Source monday.com)
- Multiple board views: Visualize your information based on need and preference by choosing from monday.com’s various board views. Users can add a board view by clicking the “+” icon below the board title.
- Workload widgets: Use widgets to visualize the amount of work each team member has and their upcoming deadlines.
- Advanced board filters: This feature lets users filter information on boards to narrow down project details and statuses. Use filters to find specifics, such as late deadlines and over-budget items.
Wrike: Best for Automation & AI
*Billed annually.
Compared to other free resource planning tools, Wrike is our top pick for advanced automation and work intelligence because of tools like AI content editing and smart search. Use AI search to locate items, articles, and templates for easy access.
Wrike’s AI mobile lets you collaborate and remain productive even when using your mobile device. Small teams can improve operations by automating routine tasks and providing data-driven insights for better efficiency.
Wrike’s machine learning features identify historical patterns and transform your rough notes into task lists for higher operational productivity. Despite its ease of use and AI capabilities, Wrike lacks a built-in chat option.
While you can comment on tasks, you need third-party integrations like Wrike for Hangouts Chat to communicate efficiently. For internal messaging capabilities, try Asana.
Wrike Features
Wrike’s automated task prioritization recommends and reorders your workflow based on urgency. (Source: Wrike)
- Role assignment: Gain control over who has access to your tasks and assign custom roles to team members on your account. Wrike has four access roles, each with permissions: Full, Editor, Limited, and Read Only. Administrators of enterprise accounts can tailor permissions for specific roles and create new roles.
- Budgeting tools: Track expenses, set fund limits, and monitor budget utilization using Wrike’s ready-to-use budget tracker template. Use Wrike’s predefined financial fields to automatically calculate projects’ essential financial metrics, improving project budget planning and profitability tracking. Customize templates based on your needs and easily spot the difference between your budget and actual expenditure.
- Gantt charts: Get an overview of your project and quickly identify the status of each task. Plan using customizable templates and compare plans versus the actual progress of tasks over time.
Trello: Best for Visualization & Project Planning
*Save more with annual billing starting at $5 per user monthly.
Trello is the leading free resource scheduling software for visualization and detailed reporting, thanks to its Kanban board system that allows you to monitor different tasks simultaneously. Create cards for specific tasks and organize them into lists representing their status (e.g., To Do, In Progress, or Done). For planning and visual task management, use power-ups like Trello Maps for geographical project tracking.
Although Trello is highly visual and offers collaboration features like task assignment and card commenting, it’s more suitable for small teams and solo professionals. It lags behind other providers like monday.com for advanced project management features. monday.com offers extensive customization options for handling more complex project needs.
Trello Features
Trello’s boards keep you organized and help projects move forward. (Source: Trello)
- Calendar view: Integrate third-party calendars like Google, Outlook, and Apple to visualize project deadlines and upcoming events easily. Use the drag-and-drop function to quickly move and organize activities based on timelines or due dates.
- Unlimited cards: All subscribers, including those using the free version, can add as many cards as possible to boards. Free plan users have unlimited personal boards and 10 project boards per workspace.
- Due date reminders: Set a due date reminder when you create tasks so you never miss an important deadline. Choose if you’d like to set the due date by days, hours, or minutes before the deadline.
ClickUp: Best for Remote Team Collaboration
*Save up to 30% when you pay annually.
ClickUp is a popular project management tool that facilitates remote collaboration through tools like task assignments and reporting statuses. Use integrated email and document editing to promote cooperation within hybrid and remote teams. Its customizable reports provide tailored insights into team performance, while custom dashboards help you monitor each team member’s schedule and tasks for effective progress tracking.
Using ClickUp’s comprehensive mobile app, users can access essential updates, assign tasks, and update colleagues. Unfortunately, the free plan limits users to 100MB of storage. If you need more storage, check out Wrike, which has 2GB of storage, unlimited users, and task and subtask management in its free plan.
ClickUp Features
Visualize, track, plan, and view goals using ClickUp’s dashboard. (Source: ClickUp)
- Customizable tasks: Tailor fields and statuses for different task types. Managers can create views in Space, Folder, or List to see tasks in the location, making this solution an excellent option for overseeing team and individual progress.
- Templates: The Template Center is a library containing premade templates you’ve saved. Available on all plans, it offers a variety of templates for different needs.
- Milestones: Visualize the significant milestones of a project and understand your team’s progress instantly. Milestones are available on all ClickUp plans, and the Free Forever plan comes with 10 uses. You can enjoy unlimited milestone uses if you’ve opted for a paid plan.
Asana: Best for Multiproject Workflow Management
*Save more when you pay annually, starting at $10.99 per user monthly.
Asana is the best free resource planning software for those who manage multiple projects—offering custom workflows that enable seamless transition and task automation. Its prebuilt templates let teams quickly set up new projects. It also allows you to build team priorities and track different projects using a single view. Use Asana Portfolios to monitor all initiatives in a centralized dashboard, which is excellent for monitoring status and progress.
Unfortunately, Asana lacks built-in video conferencing capabilities for those who need to collaborate instantly. If your team requires virtual meeting capabilities, we recommend Bitrix24. This solution offers video calls complete with chat, file storage, calendar, and tasks.
Asana Features
Organize multiple projects in a team portfolio for easy monitoring. (Source: Asana)
- Multilanguage support: Teams worldwide use Asana to manage their work because it allows teams and clients to communicate using the most comfortable language. Asana currently supports English, Traditional Chinese, Russian, Dutch, Polish, Italian, Swedish, Korean, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Japanese.
- Teams and collaborators: Organize and monitor projects by creating teams with shared conversations and group chats. Adjust privacy settings as needed, and add team members as collaborators. This ensures everyone’s looped in and receives notifications on project-related updates.
- Teammate view: See what people have on their plate by viewing their assigned tasks. Easily switch between different teammates and see their dashboard and project reports.
Notion: Best for Note-taking & Documentation
*Save 20% with annual billing.
Notion is an excellent free resource scheduling software for note-taking and records, thanks to tools like page linking, referencing, and a database for creating calendars and lists. The databases allow users to organize notes and records in different formats, including tables, calendars, and lists. The multimedia embedding tool enhances documentation by providing visual and auditory context, including images, audio files, and videos.
Although Notion’s templates offer valuable guides and samples, the platform has a learning curve and requires some time and effort to customize for your team’s needs. For small teams that prioritize simplicity and ease of use, Trello is a more practical and intuitive option. Its Kanban-style board layout is ideal for visually managing and monitoring multiple projects.
Notion Features
Use filters to operate database properties and find what you’re looking for. (Source: Notion)
- Notion calendar: View all your schedules, upcoming events, and deadlines in one place. The built-in scheduling feature allows you to share your availability with clients, enabling them to book time with you.
- Advanced note tracking: Use blocks to create and add notes to existing Notion projects quickly. These notes can be easily organized through various views on the platform, such as the list view.
- Starter templates: Notion offers hundreds of starter templates for making predesigned tasks suited to your type of work. Examples you can choose from include human resource templates and Kanban board templates.
Airtable: Best for Data Tracking
When it comes to connecting data and workflows, Airtable is the top choice because it gives users a unified platform to store company data. For example, use its advanced filtering and sorting options to analyze specific data points and track resource utilization. Minimize data silos and use synced and real-time information across multiple systems in real time. Get unlimited workspaces with Airtable and store up to 250,000 records per database.
Compared to other providers on this list offering hundreds of app integrations, Airtable only has 35 integrations. Consider Wrike because it offers 400-plus integrations. Connect Wrike with popular apps like Miro, Salesforce, and Microsoft OneDrive and give your team access to data and collated information across your business.
Airtable Features
Use the group records feature to create Airtable reports. (Source: LinkedIn)
- Reporting: Use native extensions to create custom reports and generate charts tailored to your team’s reporting needs. Turn data into a visual report using Airtable Extensions and highlight the most crucial information for stakeholders and audiences.
- Custom branded forms: Collect information using custom forms that plug directly into your workflow. Choose which fields are visible, how they look, and the order in which they will be displayed.
- Read-only fields: Display and share an uneditable field on forms and give collaborators specific permissions that determine what they can and cannot edit in a base or workspace.
Bitrix24: Best for Sales & Marketing Projects
*Save more when you pay annually.
Bitrix24 excels as free resource scheduling software for sales and marketing projects because its unified workspace integrates project management, customer relationship management (CRM) tools, and communication features. Unlike other providers, Bitrix24 offers an all-in-one platform, enabling sales and marketing teams to efficiently manage their schedules, appointments, and tasks, ultimately enhancing productivity.
Streamline marketing with Bitrix24 by managing email campaigns, scheduling social media posts, and tracking engagement in one place. However, based on our experience, Bitrix24’s mobile app, while simple and functional, could be more intuitive. If you’re looking for a user-friendly platform that beginners can use, consider monday.com.
Bitrix24 Features
Use the Kanban layout to monitor interactions and track progress on qualified leads (Source: Bitrix24)
- Task dependencies: Connect related tasks and create a logical sequence of activities to minimize scheduling conflicts and task overlaps.
- Calendar integration: Integrating the platform with personal and shared calendars makes tracking your schedule and that of your team members easier. This allows colleagues to stay aligned and updated regarding upcoming milestones and commitments.
- Resource management: This feature lets your team managers allocate and monitor resources, including staff, budget, and equipment, across different projects. This supports optimal resource disbursement and use and prevents overloading or underutilization.
How We Evaluated the Best Free Resource Planning Software
We compiled a list of the top free resource planning tools offering essential features for small businesses on a budget. We created a rubric using relevant criteria, such as pricing, general and niche features, ease of use, customer support, and our expert rating. From there, we ranked the top platforms and chose the top eight providers featured in this guide. Here’s how we evaluated the best free resource planning solution:
Our team considered the leading platforms with free plans to determine affordability for small- to medium-sized businesses. We compared the pricing structure of each provider and gave higher points to solutions with base plans that cost less than $15 per user, monthly. We looked at feature inclusions and favored platforms with multiple plans, free trials, annual pricing, and volume-based discounts.
We examined each provider’s general features, such as document management and task reminders. And we prioritized solutions with mobile apps and third-party integrations.
We looked for providers with advanced view options, such as calendar and Gantt chart options and milestone tracking. Similarly, we awarded additional points if the platform supports expense management and integrations.
Our assessment of each provider’s user-friendliness was determined through platform testing and checking user reviews from reliable websites. The evaluation also considered whether there is a learning curve to completing the setup and configuration processes.
Our evaluation included reviewing the variety of available customer care communication channels. We gave higher points to providers with phone, live chat, email, helpdesk, and community forums. We also gave additional points to solutions offering 24/7 services.
We assessed each provider’s performance and overall quality by reviewing their standout features, value for money, and ease of use. We checked user ratings on third-party review sites to gauge the platform’s popularity.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
ERP systems have three standard deployment options: cloud-based, on-premise, and hybrid ERP. Cloud-based ERP systems are remotely accessible on internet-connected devices, while on-premise ERP is software maintained within office premises. The third type, hybrid software, combines on-premise and cloud-based ERP system solutions, offering hosting and deployment services.
Resource planning software can be used in any industry for greater business efficiency and effective communications. These software systems are diverse and widely used across many industries, including manufacturing, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, hospitality, retail, and food and beverage. Free resource planning software supports daily business functions like human resources, financial accounting, and task management.
ERP software supports effective decision-making by providing a unified database consolidating all business processes and information. Real-time insights and analytics streamline operations and increase accuracy and accessibility. ERP software also improves team collaboration, strategic planning, and forecasting, leading to better coordination and more efficient decision-making.
Bottom Line
Free resource planning solutions benefit small businesses, enabling managers to plan time, budgets, and assets effectively. The best platforms have scheduling, time entry, and real-time reporting capabilities. Among the top options, monday.com stands out because of its versatile and scalable task-tracking capabilities.
With multiple board views, customizable reporting, and real-time communication, monday.com is the best choice for small teams. Try monday.com with a 14-day free trial to see how it can benefit your business.
