Best of · Project Management
The best project management software in 2026
Nine project management tools, from simple kanban boards to database-backed trackers and issue tracking for software teams. Each pick says who it suits, what it costs and where it stops.
Updated Oct 4, 2026 · 9 tools · How we pick
Project management software ranges from a board of cards to a database you build on, and the first decision is how much structure your work needs. Trello keeps to kanban boards. Asana, ClickUp and monday.com are general work management platforms with many views, automation and reporting. Airtable and Smartsheet start from a database and a spreadsheet. Jira and Linear are built for software teams, and Basecamp gives each project its own message board, chat and to-dos.
The second decision is how you will be charged, because the pricing models differ more than the prices. Most tools charge per user, from $5 to $20 a month for the entry paid plan, in most cases on annual billing. Basecamp charges a flat monthly fee, monday.com's paid plans start at 3 seats, and Asana sells seats in fixed steps. Eight of the nine have a free plan, capped anywhere from 2 users to unlimited members; Smartsheet has a 30-day trial instead.
The picks run from general-purpose tools that suit most teams to those built for a particular way of working, with the two trackers for software teams last. Prices are the vendors' own, read on the date shown on each tool's page.
The shortlist
- 1ClickUpBest all-in-one for tasks, docs and chatFree plan · from $7/mo
- 2TrelloBest for simple kanban boardsFree plan · from $5/mo
- 3AsanaBest for cross-team projects and goalsFree plan · from $10.99/mo
- 4monday.comBest for custom boards and dashboardsFree plan · from $9/mo
- 5BasecampBest flat-rate pricing for client workFree plan · from $25/mo
- 6AirtableBest for building your own trackerFree plan · from $20/mo
- 7SmartsheetBest for teams that think in spreadsheetsFree trial · from $9/mo
- 8JiraBest for bug tracking and custom workflowsFree plan · from $9.05/mo
- 9LinearBest for product teams working in cyclesFree plan · from $10/mo
The picks in detail
- 01
ClickUp
Best all-in-one for tasks, docs and chatWork platform combining tasks, docs, chat and dashboardsClickUp puts tasks, docs, chat, whiteboards and dashboards in one workspace, and the same tasks can be shown in more than 15 layouts, including list, board, Gantt and calendar. Its Free Forever plan allows unlimited tasks and members, so a team can start without counting seats. Unlimited, at $7 per user a month billed yearly, removes the storage cap and adds native time tracking and integrations. It is also the only tool here with a Linux app.
Worth knowing: The Free Forever plan is capped at 60MB of storage and 5 spaces, timeline view and unlimited dashboards need Business at $12 per user a month billed yearly, and AI is billed separately per user.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $7 per user / month, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly)
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Browser extension
- 02
Trello
Best for simple kanban boardsKanban boards with an inbox, planner and built-in automationTrello keeps to one idea: cards in lists on a board, which suits individuals and small teams that plan work that way. The Free plan covers up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace with unlimited cards and Power-Ups, an Inbox collects to-dos from email and Slack, and built-in automation is available on every plan. Standard, at $5 per user a month billed annually, is the lowest per-user price in this list.
Worth knowing: Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views are only on Premium ($10 per user a month billed annually) and Enterprise, and the Free plan limits files to 10MB each.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $5 per user / month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly)
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
- 03
Asana
Best for cross-team projects and goalsWork management for projects, goals and cross-team workflowsAsana is built for coordinating projects across several departments. Projects can be viewed as a list, board, calendar, timeline or Gantt chart, rules automate routine steps, forms turn incoming requests into tasks, and reporting dashboards chart the state of a team's work. On the Advanced plan, goals link projects to company-level objectives and portfolios track groups of related projects. Starter is $10.99 per user a month billed annually, with no seat limit.
Worth knowing: The free Personal plan stops at 2 users, seats above 5 users are sold in blocks of 5 or 10, and goals, portfolios and time tracking need Advanced at $24.99 per user a month billed annually.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $10.99 per user / month, billed annually ($13.49 billed monthly)
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
- 04
monday.com
Best for custom boards and dashboardsBoard-based work management with automations and dashboardsmonday.com is built around boards of items and typed columns that a team shapes to fit its own process, with dashboards that bring data from boards together into charts and summaries. Docs and forms sit next to boards, and the same company sells CRM, dev and service products on the same platform. Basic is $9 per seat a month billed annually; Standard, at $12, adds timeline, Gantt and calendar views plus automations and integrations.
Worth knowing: Paid plans start at 3 seats and are priced by team size rather than individual seats, the Free plan is limited to 2 seats and 3 boards, and time tracking and private boards need Pro.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $9 per seat / month, billed annually (3-seat minimum)
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
- 05
Basecamp
Best flat-rate pricing for client workFlat-priced project management with chat, to-dos and filesBasecamp charges a flat monthly fee tied to the number of active projects, which makes it the only tool here not priced per user. Each project gets a message board, to-do lists, kanban-style Card Tables, group chat, a schedule and file storage, and clients can be brought into a project with control over what they see. Studio is $59 a month for up to 10 active projects and unlimited users; Freelancer is $25 for up to 3 projects and 20 users.
Worth knowing: Paid plans are limited by active projects (3 on Freelancer, 10 on Studio, 25 on Pro), the Free plan covers a single project, and a paid plan cannot be downgraded to the Free plan.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $25 per month, flat rate for up to 20 users (Freelancer)
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
- 06
Airtable
Best for building your own trackerRelational database platform for building team workflows and appsAirtable is a relational database that teams shape into their own trackers, workflows and internal apps without code. Records in linked tables can be shown as a grid, kanban, calendar, gallery, timeline or Gantt view, custom interfaces give each team a tailored app on the same data, and automations handle repetitive steps. The Free plan allows up to 5 editors and 1,000 records per base.
Worth knowing: Record limits apply per base on paid plans too (50,000 on Team, 125,000 on Business), timeline and Gantt views need Team at $20 per seat a month billed annually, and two-way sync needs Business.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $20 per seat / month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly)
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
- 07
Smartsheet
Best for teams that think in spreadsheetsSpreadsheet-style project and work management for teamsSmartsheet stores work in sheets that look and behave like spreadsheets, then shows the same data as a grid, Gantt chart, card view or calendar. Reports pull together rows from sheets and dashboards summarize them for stakeholders, which suits project offices that need Gantt charts and reporting. Forms are unlimited from the Pro plan, and Pro is $9 per Member a month billed yearly with unlimited free Contributors.
Worth knowing: It is the only tool here with no free plan (there is a 30-day trial), and Pro is limited to 10 Members and 250 automations a month and is only available to new customers.
- Price
- $9 per Member / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly)
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
- 08
Jira
Best for bug tracking and custom workflowsIssue and project tracking for software and business teamsJira is Atlassian's tool for planning and tracking software work. Bugs and tasks are logged as work items that move through a workflow each team defines for itself, and can be viewed on boards, in lists, on a timeline or on a calendar, with connections to code hosts such as Bitbucket and GitHub. The Free plan covers up to 10 users, and Standard is $9.05 per user a month billed monthly for 1 to 100 users.
Worth knowing: New list prices take effect on October 13, 2026 (Standard rises to $9.70 per user a month on monthly billing), annual billing is sold in fixed user tiers, and Jira is listed for the web, iOS and Android only.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $9.05 per user / month, billed monthly (Standard, 1 to 100 users)
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- 09
Linear
Best for product teams working in cyclesIssue tracking and product planning for software teamsLinear is built for software teams that plan in issues and cycles: recurring, fixed-length periods that a team plans a set of issues into. Projects collect the issues behind one deliverable, initiatives group projects under a larger objective, and nearly every view switches between a list and a board. The Free plan has no member limit, and the Linear Agent assistant is included on every plan. Basic is $10 per user a month billed yearly.
Worth knowing: The Free plan stops at 250 issues and 2 teams, and private teams, guests and Linear Insights need Business at $16 per user a month billed yearly.
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans from $10 per user / month, billed yearly
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
How to choose
Match the tool to how your team works
If your work fits on a board of cards, Trello is built around exactly that. For projects that need timelines, automation and reporting dashboards, look at Asana, ClickUp or monday.com. If your team would rather work in rows and columns, Smartsheet behaves like a spreadsheet and Airtable like a database you design. Software teams tracking bugs and development work are the audience for Jira and Linear, and Basecamp suits teams that want discussion, chat and to-dos kept together in each project.
Check how the free plan is capped
ClickUp and Linear put no limit on members: ClickUp caps storage at 60MB and Linear caps issues at 250. Trello allows 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, and Jira allows 10 users. Airtable allows 5 editors and 1,000 records per base, Basecamp one project with 5 users, and Asana and monday.com 2 users each. Smartsheet has no free plan.
Work out the cost for your team size
Per-user prices on annual billing start at $5 for Trello, $7 for ClickUp, $9 for monday.com and Smartsheet, $10 for Linear, $10.99 for Asana and $20 for Airtable. Jira Standard is $9.05 per user billed monthly. monday.com's paid plans need at least 3 seats. Basecamp is a flat $25, $59 or $99 a month depending on the number of active projects, which favors larger teams with few projects.
See which plan has the views you need
Timeline and Gantt views are often held for a higher tier. Asana includes both from Starter, and monday.com from Standard. ClickUp includes Gantt charts on Unlimited but keeps timeline view for Business, and Smartsheet includes Gantt on Pro but timeline view on Business. Airtable keeps timeline and Gantt views for the Team plan, and Trello keeps Calendar, Timeline and Table views for Premium.
Common questions
Which project management tools are free?
Eight of the nine have a free plan. ClickUp's and Linear's have no member limit, Trello's covers up to 10 collaborators, Jira's up to 10 users, Airtable's up to 5 editors, Basecamp's one project with up to 5 users, and Asana's and monday.com's up to 2 users. Smartsheet has no free plan, only a 30-day trial.
Which project management tools have a free plan for small teams?
For a team of up to 10, Trello and Jira both have free plans, and ClickUp and Linear set no limit on members, though ClickUp caps storage at 60MB and Linear caps issues at 250. Asana and monday.com limit their free plans to 2 users.
What is the cheapest paid project management plan?
Trello Standard is the lowest per-user price here at $5 per user a month billed annually, followed by ClickUp Unlimited at $7 billed yearly. For a larger team, Basecamp's flat rates can cost less in total: Studio is $59 a month with unlimited users, limited to 10 active projects.
Which project management tools include Gantt charts?
Asana includes timeline and Gantt views from Starter, ClickUp includes Gantt charts from Unlimited, monday.com from Standard, Airtable from Team and Smartsheet from Pro. Trello offers a Timeline view on Premium.
Which tools are best for software development teams?
Jira and Linear are built for it. Jira tracks bugs and work items through customizable workflows and connects to Bitbucket and GitHub, and its Free plan covers up to 10 users. Linear organizes work into issues, cycles and projects, with a Free plan that has no member limit but stops at 250 issues.
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