10 Best Project Management Softwares for 2023

Choosing the right project management software for your business in 2023 can be daunting, with so many options available in the market, each with its unique pricing, plans, and features. To help you make an informed decision, we have carefully evaluated numerous leading providers and have selected the top project management solutions for businesses in 2023. These softwares make it easy to plan projects, assign tasks, and keep teams on track to meet deadlines and achieve goals.

What Is Project Management Software?

Project management software is a digital platform/tool that businesses or individuals use to plan projects, allocate and track project resources, schedule project timelines and tasks, assign tasks, track progress, capture and implement knowledge and ideas, and collaborate with team members for project completion. It also helps businesses stay organized with document storage, search, and organizational features.

Top 10 Project Management Softwares for 2023

Today’s market offers a large variety of project management software, making it challenging to select just one. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the top services available right now, along with information about the kinds of companies they’re most likely to benefit from. Examine how they differ from one another and the various ways that project management software can improve and streamline your job.

1. Wrike

Who It’s For

Wrike is an award-winning web-based application for project management. Unlike most project management software on this list, this collaboration tool is especially used in the big leagues. As a result, it’s great for larger teams and huge corporations.

Why we Picked it

• Visualize project data through the table, list, board, Gantt, time log, and analytics views.
• Add and edit task duration, approvals, time entries, subtasks, files, and dependencies.
• Access project templates for Agile, creative, IT operations, and project management office teams.
• Utilize customer-managed encryption keys and external encryption key storage via AWS.
• Access to over 400 app integrations and two-way sync with almost 30 other apps.

Pros

• Easy to use.
• Special account types for marketing/creative teams and professional services
• Can manage both projects and ongoing work.
• New intelligent features flag projects at risk of slipping

Cons

• More expensive than most project management solutions.
• Steep learning curve for maximizing the extent of platform features.
• Several tools are only available as an add-on feature or a higher subscription.

Cons

• More expensive than most project management solutions.
• Steep learning curve for maximizing the extent of platform features.
• Several tools are only available as an add-on feature or a higher subscription.

2. Asana

Who It’s For

Asana, one of the most popular project management software solutions, is a work management platform founded in 2008 by former Facebook developers. In that time, the Silicon Valley-based company has expanded dramatically, and the platform’s extensibility demonstrates why so many businesses choose it. Asana has something for every team, from viewing team member workloads to adding strategic goals and setting user security policies.

Why we Picked it

• Visualize project data through list, board, timeline, calendar and workload views.
• Manage and create project data with custom fields, rules and forms.
• Enable the built-in time tracking tool to visualize time spent on tasks.
• Import data from Airtable, Google Sheets, monday work management, Trello, Smartsheet or Wrike.
• Add integrations for communications, files, finance, IT, reporting, sales and security.

Pros

• Robust feature set that competes with the best in the project management software space.
• Friendly user interface and flexible controls for different tools.
• Extensive import options, including multiple top project management platforms.

Cons

• At times, the interface is less intuitive than competing project management platforms.
• There is a steep learning curve for deploying some features and advanced tools.
• Occasional error messages and lag occurs when moving between platform pages

3. monday.com

Who It’s For

monday.com is a reputable project management brand with a flexible platform for teams of all flavors. While initially intimidating, the monday work management interface is packed with features and offers extensive configuration management capabilities. While other solutions lean into a few views of project data, monday work management gives users the most flexibility in adding and configuring valuable visualizations.

Why we Picked it

• Visualize project data through multiple table dashboard views.
• Personalize colorful interfaces that bring project data to life.
• Customize and share surveys for data collection via the WorkForms tool.
• Access integrations for developers, marketing, CRM and project management.
• Utilize prebuilt automation and a long list of options for creating automation rules.

Pros

• Clean user interface not bogged down by the platform’s extensive features.
• Robust configurability for setting the workspace and tools to team specifications.
• Designed for a multitude of use cases across industries and functions.

Cons

• An evident learning curve for new users and implementing advanced features.
• Import engine failed to pull most existing data into the platform.
• Manually inputting data to reconcile import was the biggest pain point.

4. ClickUp

Who It’s For

ClickUp is the quickest mover in the project management software space. Only five years after its inception, the San Diego-based startup has grown to become one of the leading project management solution providers. ClickUp far exceeded my expectations by providing a slew of project views and tools to boost productivity and collaboration for a wide range of functional teams.

Why we Picked it

• Visualize project data through List, Board, Gantt, Calendar, Workload and Map views.
• Create and modify tasks or bulk edit tasks from a list of potential operations.
• Manage granular configurations of platform features and security.
• Track and visualize project data through the Dashboards view.
• Import data from monday, Asana, Trello, Jira, Wrike, Basecamp and Todoist.

Pros

• Widest and most affordable range of plans to meet different-sized team needs.
• Robust configurability for customizing and managing platform workflows.
• Access to over 1,000 integrations for developers, business suites, storage and more.

Cons

• Slight variance between imported file and platform results.
• Some platform actions are less intuitive and require additional troubleshooting.
• Occasional lagging between moving pages and lingering platform notices.

5. Teamwork

Who It’s For

Teamwork, as the name implies, is project management software that allows for team and workload management. The platform, which is based in Ireland, provides a similar range of services as other top project management solutions but excels in time tracking, budgeting, and stakeholder management. Teamwork, whether it’s personnel or a third-party contractor, is ideal for optimizing tomorrow’s globally distributed workflows.

Why we Picked it

• Visualize project data through Gantt, kanban, calendar and table views.
• Build and generate reports of project data to share via CSV, Excel or PDF.
• Create project templates, dashboards, risks and project-level tags for re-use.
• Integrate with Zapier, Google Drive, Box, Slack, Microsoft, HubSpot and more.
• Access built-in Teamwork apps for collaborative spaces, IT help desks, customer relationship management and web chats.

Pros

• Strongest time tracking and workload management capabilities of the products I reviewed.
• Deep range of features emulating the best in the project management software market.
• Free 30-day trial, an unlimited free plan and affordable annual subscriptions.

Cons

• Basic agile support and burndown reports are only available with higher plans.
• Configure notification settings or get ready for a full inbox.
• Modifications sometimes took several seconds to load.

6. Zoho Projects

Who It’s For

Zoho Projects, part of the Zoho portfolio of solutions, provides teams with a slew of features for tracking tasks, issues, time, and resources in order to maximize collaboration and productivity. Users can visualize and adjust project data in real time using views such as a traditional spreadsheet, simple list, kanban board, or Gantt chart, or they can use the Blueprints tool to automate mapped workflows.

Given that it is the most affordable project management software, Zoho Projects has a lot of functionality. It does, however, lack some of the configurability and advanced features found in the top-tier platforms.

Why we Picked it

• Visualize project data through Classic (spreadsheet), Plain (List) and Kanban views.
• Create project baselines to compare expected versus real progress on tasks.
• Track time for tasks to inform workload and resource management.
• Integrate with critical apps for Google, Microsoft, code repositories and more.
• Access Zoho Apps like Mail, Docs, CRM, Desk, Analytics and Forms.

Pros

• Least expensive subscription plans among the top project management platforms.
• Robust feature set considering its affordability.
• Familiar interface and bundling value for existing Zoho customers.

Cons

• Lagging when moving between different platform pages.
• Limited options for viewing project data relative to competitors.
• Some platform actions like creating multiple subtasks aren’t intuitive.

7. GanttPro

Who It’s For

GanttPro is one of the best project management apps for beginners. That makes it an excellent choice for teams, particularly small teams, who do not have a project management expert on hand to manage their projects. It lacks the customizable reports and dashboards that larger teams may require.

Why we Picked it

• Multiple projects in one tab with drag and drop functionality.
• Ready-made templates for different businesses, with the possibility to create and save custom templates.
• Automated scheduling that supports various scenarios by dragging and dropping tasks and their attributes.
• MS Project and Excel import. Smart export to PDF, PNG, XLSX and include rights to edit.
• Collaboration features include assignments, team workflow, comments and attachments, history of changes and undo functions, and real-time notifications.

Pros

• Intuitive and easy to use.
• Excellent interactive Gantt charts.
• Exceptional tutorial content.
• Automatic dependencies correction feature.

Cons

• Features for discussions, notifications, and uploaded files could be improved.
• No budgeting or invoicing tools.
• Average reports.

8. Trello

Who It’s For

Trello is a Kanban board-style project management software that works best for simple projects. In Trello, project tasks are nested under boards labelled with an overarching theme. You could, for example, have boards for “Not started,” “In Progress,” and “Complete.” When you need a simple tool for small projects, the setup makes it easy to track project progress from board to board.

Why we Picked it

• Does not require any installation; you can directly sign up and start using the free plan.
• Provides you with easy-to-navigate and drag-and-drop-based visual dashboards.
• Each project task can be assigned a power-up depending on what’s needed. Most of these power-ups are free and have paid upgrades for more functionality.

Pros

• Simple and user-friendly interface.
• Easy task management and scheduling.
• Useful power-ups for additional functionality.

Cons

• No views other than Kanban views.
• No reporting features.
• Cannot manage complicated projects.
• Relies on external integrations for functionality.
• No advanced features like native Mind maps, Docs, and Gantt charts.

9. Jira Work Management

Who It’s For

Jira Work Management, a Jira Software extension designed for developer teams, provides a similar set of project data views, reporting, and configuration options.

Jira Work Management is best suited for organizations that already use Jira Software or teams that rely on integrations such as private repository host BitBucket.

Why we Picked it

• Visualize project data through list, board, timeline and calendar views.
• Import existing work to create project issues and collect data through forms.
• Access a Summary page embedded with key performance indicators for progress, priorities and workloads.
• Integrate with Jira Software and other Atlassian tools.
• Start from 20 pre-built templates for finance, marketing, human resources and legal teams.

Pros

• More than 500 integrations and 3,000 extensions for workflow apps.
• Bundle with Atlassian’s portfolio of tools like BitBucket, Crucible and Trello.
• Built-in time tracking tools for tracking effort against tasks.

Cons

• Higher learning curve for non-software development teams.
• Not as intuitive as other top project management tools.
• Still a developing application relative to Jira Software’s accolades.

10. Airtable

Who It’s For

Airtable has raised over $1.4 billion in funding a decade after its founding to develop project management software. Airtable is a powerful platform behind its friendly interface that gives teams granular control over extensions, scripts, and workflows to optimize process management.

While the newest platform tool, the Interface Designer, struggled to maintain a server connection while in use.

Why we Picked it

• Visualize project data through grid, kanban, gallery, Gantt and calendar views.
• Build an internal or external app with the Interface Designer.
• Integrate, sync and consolidate data from Google, Salesforce and Jira to Airtable.
• Deploy pre-built and custom automation with granular control over rule scripting.
• Access 40 Airtable-developed extensions, 20 scripts and 150 open-source apps.

Pros

• Most accurate and seamless import process among project management tools tested.
• Clean and intuitive user interface for exploring and utilizing the platform.
• Capabilities for small teams up to enterprise organizations.

Cons

• Limited extensions for many of the subscription plans.
• Occasional lagging when moving between data-involved views.
• Fewer enterprise integrations than other top project management tools.

Conclusion:

Project management software connects teams, allowing everyone in the organization to prioritize the tasks that are most important to them. Most businesses require software that promotes this level of collaboration. However, many of the tools used by organizations appear to have similar features. Use our guide to narrow down your options and learn which tools are best for which types of businesses.