Businesses of all sizes often struggle to manage their projects and teams effectively. Tools like CRM, project management, and invoicing software are commonly used to help with this.
However, a 2023 study by RingCentral found that most knowledge workers spend 62 days a year switching between such tools, impacting their productivity and efficiency. This shows a need for a single, comprehensive work management tool for managers and teams alike that eliminates this distraction.
In this article, we will explore 10 such project management software that can centralize all your work without context switch.
Top 10 Project Management Tools You Need
With so many project management software choices out there, it’s hard to know which one to choose. To assist you in making informed decisions, we have done the research for you and picked out the top 10 software that can really help you manage your work better.
5day.io
5day.io is a distraction-free, minimalist project management software that makes managing projects, tasks, timesheet, and collaboration easy.
It is a solution ideal for dynamic, fast-moving and hybrid teams that want to focus on getting work done instead of being tangled in a web of processes.
5day.io offers a complete work management package with features like project management, timesheet, collaboration, and task management. With one platform, users can easily connect their teams, projects, and timesheets while facilitating collaboration that is built for efficiency and scale.
Key Features:
- 5day.io structure
- Work schedules
- Write with AI
- Custom status workflows
- Project dashboard
- List view, Kanban view
- Links and dependencies
- Recurrence
- Reminders
- Estimation
- Timesheet management
- Integrations
Pros:
- Cost effective
- Easy integration
- Flexible
- Sector Agnostic
- Right Balance of Features
- Joy of work
Cons:
- Lacks budget management and invoicing features
- Lacks a project financing and forecasting module
- If you need very niche features specific to your industry, you might need integrations
monday.com
Source: monday.com
monday.com is a work management tool used across a variety of industries. Its clear and intuitive interface makes it easier to plan, organize, and track your workflows.
In addition to project management, it can also be used as a CRM, or to manage your marketing campaigns, track issues, and manage customer projects. It provides a collaborative space for your teams to stay aligned, agile and efficient in everything they do.
Key Features
- Customizable workflows
- Monday workdocs
- Task scheduler and prioritization
- Shared calendar
- Time tracking
- Budgeting
- Resource management
Pros
- Attractive interface
- Most robust Kanban workflow
- Encourages transparency and accountability
- Handy project visualization tools
Cons
- Gantt charts locked to standard plan and above
- Platform limits some basic functionality such as activity log and file storage at the lower pricing tiers
- Expensive to manage large-sized teams
Scoro
Source: Scoro
Scoro is a business management tool focused on professional advertising and creative agencies. Their enterprise-level reporting and integrated time management are the key features that made them the favorite among this industry.
It is great for automating routine operations like quoting and billing as well as track sales performance & goals. However, it does not do much for solo entrepreneurs, and industries that require specified data entry.
Key Features
- Customizable KPI dashboard
- Shared team calendar & schedules
- Phases and milestones
- Contact management
- Time tracking and billing
- Invoicing & quoting with pre-set templates
Pros
- Gantt charts show real time project updates
- Good for tracking quotes and orders
- Provides management for any type of billable work
Cons
- The platform is complex to adapt to
- Limited templates for quotes, purchase orders and invoices
- The pricing model is difficult and a bit expensive
ClickUp
Source: Slick Media
ClickUp is a flexible work management tool that empowers you to manage your workflow with literally dozens of customizable features. Each Space, Folder, and List has its own set of optional features to choose from.
With the core mission to increase the productivity of the team and reduce the friction of using multiple apps, ClickUp offers almost everything you need to take care of your workload. The multiple views and inbox feature provides a clear view of all the projects and assignments in one place, making it easier for teams to organize and manage their tasks.
Key Features
- Task prioritization
- Scheduling & time tracking
- Custom fields & dashboards
- Work collaboration and file management
- Deep task recurring
- Threaded comments
- Milestone & status tracking
- Baseline assessments
- Resource allocation
- Automations and templates
Pros
- Free forever plan allows unlimited members
- Unlimited file storage on all paid account tiers
- Can email (set-up) a task directly from Outlook
Cons
- Sometimes buggy, as stated by multiple users
- Very task oriented, so project level tracking can get overwhelming
- Needs more flexible reporting
- Read-only guest permissions are limited to a paid account
- Granular customization options result in a time-consuming set-up
Smartsheet
Source: Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a leading cloud-based, enterprise work management tool and the only platform that can scale from a single project to end-to-end job management. It empowers teams to manage projects, automate workflows, and rapidly build new solutions using no-code tools they love, and backed by the security IT needs.
Key Features
- Multiple views
- Resource management
- Time tracking and reporting
- Issue Tracking
- Automation
- Easy content collaboration
- Custom email domains
- Forms
- Secure permission controls
Pros
- Custom and powerful dashboards
- Sheet-to-sheet linking
- Automates relevant business processes
Cons
- Limited calendar view
- Changes don’t update in real-time
- You need to pay for Zapier integrations
Wrike
Source: Upbase
Wrike is a cloud-based work management tool that helps teams track, collaborate, and share projects. It is ideal for creative teams as it provides performance data, high-level digital marketing tools, project synchronization, and workflow management across the organization.
It also has advanced reporting capabilities that can help you make the most of your resources and achieve your company’s goals.
Additionally, with Wrike’s automated approval systems and visual proofing, you can shorten your feedback and approval process. But, if you are a small team, Wrike might not be a good option for you as it is relatively less agile.
Key Features
- Team collaboration
- Automation sequences
- Prioritization
- Digital publishing
- Time tracking
- Custom request forms
- Budget management system
- Pre-made tailored templates
Pros
- Holistic, comprehensive task modeling
- Real-time project reports
- Many options and opportunities to customize
Cons
- Complicated and clunky
- No subtasks in the freemium plan
- Managing work in calendar view is tricky
- Does not manage contracts
- Lack of customer support
Asana
Source: Asana
If organizing tasks & meeting deadlines is your top priority, then Asana is a good choice. Although popular for task management, Asana is widely used for managing workload. With a bunch of rich features and integrations, Asana organizes your projects & tasks and helps you track them from beginning to end. You can choose between four different views, set up tasks & subtasks, milestones, and assign tasks to different team members.
Key Features
- Customizable fields and forms
- Sync tasks across projects
- Dependencies
- Custom templates
- Reporting
- Automations
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- Create realistic project plans with Gantt charts
- Timeline view makes it easier to manage dependencies
- Capable free version
Cons
- Communication features are not up to the mark
- Excessive notifications
- Not ideal for graphics-intensive work
- Prices slightly higher
Trello
Source: Atlassian
Trello is a visual, collaborative task management tool with Kanban boards. It is widely used by startups because of its generous free plan, ease of use, and user-friendly interface.
However, Trello is not much of a traditional project management software and cannot be used for managing complex projects as it lacks many important tools. It is best suited for simpler workflows, smaller projects, and office-related tasks.
Key Features
- Comments
- Alerts and notifications for task activities
- Dashboard customization
- Ready-made templates
- Document management
- Private/Shared access administration
- No code automation
- Bulk data export
Pros
- Real-time updates
- Responsive design
- User-friendly
- Flexible and customizable kanban app
Cons
- Commenting feature needs improvement
- Limited storage
- Many features like time-tracking and billing require add-ons
Zoho Workplace
Source: The Digital Project Manager
If you’re looking at integrating multiple business requirements into a single workflow, then Zoho Workplace can be a great option.
It can be integrated with other Zoho bundles such as CRM, Finance, and Recruit to manage almost every aspect of your organization in one system. However, at times, they have issues with their user experience and integrations.
Key Features
- Time management and scheduling
- Tasks, notes, and bookmarks
- Calendar and resource booking
- Online file management
- Real time collaboration
- Advanced analytics & reporting
Pros
- User-friendly
- You get to choose just the feature and integration you want rather than paying for everything.
Cons
- No live chat feature
- No social integration
- Can be a little buggy
Basecamp
Source: Basecamp
Basecamp is a project management and team communication tool that puts everything you need in one place. It is popular in the web design industry and one of the first few project management applications.
Key Features
- Message boards
- Schedules
- Documents & file storage
- Group chat
- Automated check-ins
- Hill Charts
Pros
- Easy to set up and flexible
- Bookmark to-do lists, messages, etc. for quick access
- Flat monthly price for unlimited users
Cons
- No proofing tools
- Lacks advanced features like Gantt charts and timesheets.
- Cannot assign priority levels to tasks
- Selecting the Right Work Management Tool for Your Business
What to look for when choosing a project management tool?
When choosing a project management tool, it’s important to match it with your business’s needs and goals. Here are some simple steps to follow:
- Check if It Fits Your Current Workflow: Make sure the tool works well with how your team already does things. For example, if you use agile methods, the tool should support that.
- Look for Needed Features: Think about what features your organization really needs to manage work more effectively.
- Consider Your Team’s Size and Workload: The bigger your team and the more work you have, the more advanced your software should be.
- Think About Automation: If you have a lot of repetitive tasks, choose a tool that can automate these to save time.
- Align with Your Business Goals: The tool should help your team meet important goals like improving productivity or growing the business.
The best tool is one that everyone in your team will use and that helps you achieve your business objectives.
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