Project management has seen unprecedented growth over the last few years. This has been due to a rise in tools, applications, frameworks and technologies being developed that are molding project management for the modern world. Owing to this, project managers are expected to consistently keep themselves updated to optimize their work processes effectively. Whilst there is a sea of knowledge on how this can be done, project managers and organizations have started relying on the best project management software solutions that are available in the market.
What is a project management software?
A project management software looks at planning, resource allocation, scheduling, execution and delivery of projects. It helps project managers monitor their costs while keeping an eye out for deadlines. Owing to this, it helps businesses deliver projects within the timeframe. Considering the different range of industries that are available in the market, there are different types of project management software solutions. To clear the confusion regarding the most pertinent features, here are some that every project management software must have:
- Project planning and scheduling
- Team collaboration
- Time tracking
- Reporting
- Project budgeting
- Billing & quotes
Now that we’ve looked at what a project management software is and the requisite features, here are 10 of the best project management software solutions that are available in the market:
Proofhub
Proofhub is one of the best project management software that is suitable for different industries. The software provides solutions across resource management, task management, project collaborations among other facets. Allowing integration with Google Docs and including API features. Proofhub can deliver content through HTTPS using different domain certificates and names.
Key Features
Proofhub has numerous features that include the likes of:
- Agile Methodologies
- Client Portal
- Collaboration Tools
- Customizable Templates
- Gantt Charts
- Idea Management
- Kanban Board
- Milestone Tracking
- Resource Management
- Time & Expense Tracking
- Traditional Methodologies
- Calendar Management
- Content Management
- Discussion Boards
- Document Management
- Project Management
- Task Management
- Version Control
Pricing
Plans for Proofhub start at $50 per month.
Free trial
Proofhub offers a free trial to its users.
Reviews Unplugged
Pros
- Being one of the best project management software solutions that are available in the market, Proofhub makes everything faster, easier and smarter.
- The learning curve involved with the software is fairly simple for almost everybody.
- The software can sync numerous tools and features to increase the productivity of the team.
- The software also helps in identifying and eliminating problems quicker than before.
Cons
- The contact support is not consistent, and their turnaround time can be inconvenient.
- The UI can become uncomfortable to use in the long-term.
Scoro
Scoro has built its reputation of being a cloud-based project management solution for small and midsized companies across different industries that include the likes of consulting, IT, advertising among others. The solution effectively displays account information, key performance indicators, calendar events. By helping users stay up to date with the tasks in hand, Scoro helps the team in working efficiently.
Key Features
Features of Scoro include:
- Business dashboard
- Calendar management
- Task management
- Project management
- Quote management
- Customer management
- Invoices & expense management
- Financial reporting
- Work-time billing
- Scheduled invoicing
- Late invoice reminders
- Comparative reports
- Commission calculator
- Budgets & forecasts
- Resource planning
- File management & sharing
- Company news feed
- Custom fields
- Custom tags
- Multi-currency
- Multi-language
- Automated alerts
- Configurable statuses
- Lead management
Pricing
Scoro has different pricing plans for different customers, starting all the way from $26 per month, per user.
Free trial
Scoro offers a 14-day free trial for its users.
Reviews Unplugged
Pros
- The software is very easy to use with a clean and simple user interface.
- The software acts as a great daily instrument to keep all the sales info on a centralized dashboard.
- Scoro is a customizable, well-thought-out solution for running a business.
Cons
- The updates are confusing and do not necessarily fix the bugs and issues with the software.
- The software does not have an option to synchronize contacts with google accounts making it a really frustrating endeavor to feed it manually.
- The onboarding package is not as smooth as one would like.
Celoxis
One of the finest and best project management software solutions available for mid sized and large businesses to handle complex and diverse project portfolios. The software allows companies to handle resource management, revenue forecasting, reporting and team collaboration. It also helps users in managing reports pertaining to different tasks across projects. Available as both on-premise and cloud-based deployment, Celoxis is completely customizable and offers smooth and seamless integration.
Key Features
Features of Celoxis include:
- Agile Methodologies
- Budget Management
- Client Portal
- Collaboration Tools
- Cost-to-Completion Tracking
- Customizable Templates
- Gantt Charts
- Idea Management
- Kanban Board
- Milestone Tracking
- Portfolio Management
- Resource Management
- Time & Expense Tracking
- Traditional Methodologies
Pricing
Pricing plans for Celoxis start at $25 per month, per user.
Free trial
Celoxis offers a free trial to its users.
Reviews Unplugged
Pros
- The web-based interface of Celoxis is very easy to use and useful for companies.
- The alerts and notifications for different tasks is a very important and useful feature to have.
- The software allows every member to manage and control the entire portfolio individually and together as a team.
Cons
- The cashflow department still needs work and needs updates.
- The software is difficult to use at times with the most common features hard to find.
- The setup could be tricky, with different permissions to be set up appropriately.
Asana
Asana is one of the best cloud-based project management solutions that is available in the market. It facilitates collaboration, communication and management of several tasks and projects whilst keeping a track of all the tasks. Suitable for companies of all sizes, Asana is compatible with laptops, tablets and smartphones across different operating systems.
Key Features
Features of Asana include:
- Activity feed
- Add assignees, attachments, and hearts to tasks
- Automatic updates to email/inbox
- Create custom calendars and views
- Email bridge
- My Tasks list and Focus Mode
- Track tasks and add followers
- Get notifications and reminders
- iPhone support, HTML5 mobile site
- Multiple workspaces
- Project Sections and Search Views
- Real-time updates
- Create custom calendars and views
- Email bridge
- My Tasks list and Focus Mode
- See team members’ tasks and priorities
- Set goals, priorities, and due dates
- Set project permissions
- Project and task creation
- Comment on tasks
- Task dependencies
- Gantt Charts (Asana has Timeline)
- Kanban support (Asana has boards)
Pricing
Pricing plans for Asana start at $9.99 per user, per month.
Free trial
Asana does provide a free trial to its users.
Reviews Unplugged
Pros
- One of the best facets of the software is its addition of new, improved features with updates, without any additional cost.
- The software allows users to track workloads and portfolios through a single dashboard with few clicks.
- The UI of the software is very clean and with its broad and custom fields, it is very useful for managing workloads.
Cons
- Managing and looking at subtasks’ management is arduous and must be simplified.
- The free version does not provide insights and trends, features that are available with others.
- The automation options are limited, making it cumbersome to automate a few necessary aspects of a project.
Jira
Jira Software is one of the best project management software solutions that are available in the market to track, plan and release any software. It helps teams and users to create different project roadmaps to help teams manage different projects in detail. The software also allows users to have access to different information from thousands of other business applications.
Key Features
Features of Jira Software include:
- Customizable workflows
- Unlimited custom fields
- Bugs and defect management
- Seamless source and issue integration
- Search and filtering
- Advanced reporting
- Customizable dashboards and wallboards
- Advanced security and administration
- Integration with flexible REST APIs
- Easily import data from other systems
- Mobile interface
- OnDemand and OnPremise deployment
- Scrum, Kanban, and Scrumban boards
- Polished user experience
Pricing
Pricing plans for Jira software start at $10.99 per month, per member.
Free trial
Jira does offer a free trial to its users.
Reviews Unplugged
Pros
- The software is very flexible and can collaborate with other project management tools seamlessly.
- The software is very easy to use and can be used to connect different teams for projects and tasks.
- The software integrates with Github to allow tracking and monitoring of different data in a single place.
Cons
- Whilst the integrations exist, they aren’t as seamless as one would like.
- The software is slow with tagging people and lacks labels on iconography.
- The ticket assignment functionality is confusing for businesses to use.
MeisterTask
MeisterTask is one of the best cloud-based task and project management solutions that can handle businesses of all sizes. From file management to time tracking, MeisterTask can help users look at active projects and current activities. Loaded with a mind-mapping application that allows users to create and collaborate on different projects, MeisterTask helps team members discuss job details with other added functionalities.
Key Features
MeisterTask has numerous features that include the likes of:
- Kanban Project Boards
- Customization Options
- Sub-tasks
- Notes
- Attachments
- Comments
- Tags
- Stars
- Task Relationships
- Automation
- Integrations
- Custom Dashboards
- Mobile Apps (iOS, Android, Windows)
Pricing
The pricing plans for MeisterTask start at $8.25 per month, per user.
Free trial
MeisterTask offers a free trial to its users.
Reviews Unplugged
Pros
- The software gives out incredible value for the price being paid.
- The software can be easily integrated with other services to ensure viability and longevity.
- For the price, the software works very well for tracking different projects and tasks, along with being easy to get started.
Cons
- The software is poor in handling file sharing and revision management.
- MeisterTask does not have a contact page that can be linked with different platforms.
- The time range feature has glitches, making it unusable.
Samepage
Samepage is a cloud-based project management and collaboration software solution that helps teams communicate seamlessly and work on projects together. With a suite of tools, Samepage lets users integrate their tasks with different Microsoft and Google suite of services. It also helps users create shared calendars, manage milestones on a completely customizable page.
Key Features
Samepage has numerous features that include:
- Collaboration management
- Collaborative workspace
- Discussion board
- File management
- File synchronization
- File transfer
- Group scheduling
- Instant messaging
- Meeting management
- Mobile access
- Multi-platform
- Task scheduling
- Team conversation
- User access controls
- Video conferencing
- Diagram drawing
- Document management
- Project management
- Complete data encryption
Pricing
Pricing plans for Samepage starts at $7.50 per month, per user.
Free trial
Samepage offers a free trial for its users.
Reviews Unplugged
Pros
- Samepage is very effective when it comes to task management, facilitating users to chat and comment directly with team members.
- The initial integration of Samepage with a host of different services is seamless and makes its functionality all the more useful.
- The file transfer functionality is simple and clean and very useful.
Cons
- The aesthetics of the application are not as good as one would like.
- The video conferencing option on the application is not up to the mark.
- The application does not provide a date stamp when the tasks are completed.
Workzone
Workzone is regarded as one of the best project management software solutions due to its ability to provide information across different levels for different user roles working on the project. The solution also allows users to look at cross-project summaries to understand their personal to-do lists. It also offers project collaboration, resource and task management, customizable reporting to keep up with project status information.
Key Features
Workzone has numerous features including:
- Approvals workflow
- Automated reports
- Custom branding
- Email alerts
- Expense tracking
- File versioning
- Flexible permissions
- Full-text search
- Gantt chart
- Group calendar
- SSO and API
- Image markup
- Individual to-do lists
- Project request forms
- Project templates
- Projects overview dashboard
- Secure file sharing
- Task dependencies
- Time tracking
- Unlimited, free support
- Workload reports
Pricing
Pricing plans for Workzone can be availed by contacting the provider directly.
Free trial
Workzone does not provide a free trial for its users.
Reviews Unplugged
Pros
- Workzone helps in setting realistic timelines with different tasks to ensure work is managed without any hassles.
- The software is highly effective when multiple projects are to be worked on together.
- With the number of features that are available, Workzone helps users manage different activities seamlessly.
Cons
- The interface needs to be worked on a bit more to ensure it can be used extensively.
- The search feature for the software is not as effective as one would like.
- The pricing plans are a little too steep for multiple users.
GanttPRO
GranttPRO is one of the best project management software solutions for small, and midsized organizations. The software is also great for individual users who want to use scheduling, progress tracking and project management simultaneously. Moreover, GranttPRO offers support through email, online chat and phone.
Key Features
Features of GranttPRO include:
- Project Visualization
- Drag and Drop Interface
- Automated Scheduling
- Task Management
- Set Permissions
- Create Groups and Sub Groups
- Create Estimates
- Progress Tracking
- Expense Management
- Resource Management
- Custom working days and hours
- Real-time notifications
- Critical path on Gantt chart
- Comments and attachments
- Export Gantt chart to popular formats
- Save projects as templates
- Gantt chart dependencies
- Gantt chart milestones
Pricing
Pricing plans for GranttPRO $4.50 per month, per user.
Free trial
GranttPRO offers a free trial for its users.
Reviews Unplugged
Pros
- The application is quick to learn and can be used by individuals of all levels.
- The software is comfortable and, in most cases, intuitive to provide relevant reports and feedback.
- The developers provide effective technical support over call and chat to get all the relevant answers related to the job.
Cons
- The problems are sporadic with the running of the software, especially across complex projects.
- Report generation for different functionalities needs some work.
- The software is not necessarily fast when it comes to loading.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet is one of the best project management and work execution platforms that has a spreadsheet-like interface, helping individuals track, plan and manage different projects in real-time. The application helps users standardize different processes and improve collaboration to fit the required preferences.
Key Features
Smartsheet has numerous features that include:
- Dashboards
- Calendar View
- Card View
- Gantt View
- Attach Files
- Portals
- Reminders
- Mobile App
- Forms
- Update Requests
- Alerts and Automated Actions
- Sharing
- Activity Log
- Filters
- Cell Linking
- Resource Manaagement
- Reports
- Filters
- Export, Email and Print
- Admin Tools
- API
- Custom Branding
- Formulas
Pricing
Pricing plans for Smartsheet start at $14 per month, per user.
Free trial
Smartsheet offers a free trial for its users.
Reviews Unplugged
Pros
- The solution is very easy to use and does not require any programmers to create a custom solution.
- The application is very versatile when it comes to generating different reports for different departments.
- Unlike other project management solutions, Smartsheet offers exemplary support.
Cons
- The application has row and cell link limitations.
- The solution does not have specific formatting choices, lacking any intelligence when it comes to handling the reports.
- Its very interface leads to a loss of functionality.