Best project management software

What project management software is

Project management software helps a team plan, assign and track work in one place. The seven tools here use different models. Jira tracks issues through workflows, Trello organizes cards on boards and Smartsheet works in a spreadsheet-style grid. Asana, monday.com, ClickUp and Wrike show the same work in several views. Plans for all seven are priced per user or per seat, with features and single sign-on spread across tiers.

The 7 best project management tools ranked

1. Jira: 7.2/10

Jira covers the software delivery workflow with Scrum and Kanban boards, backlogs and issue tracking, and Atlassian publishes SOC 2 Type II, SOC 3 and ISO 27001 coverage (vendor-sourced). The Free plan costs $0. The catch is that Jira is built around issues and workflows, so general task management takes more setup, and total cost grows with each added Atlassian product.

2. ClickUp: 7.0/10

ClickUp's free plan has unlimited tasks and unlimited users, and paid plans start at $7 per user per month billed annually (third-party reported). Capterra shows 4.6 from 4,558 reviews (review platform). The catch is that AI is a paid add-on on every plan at $9 or $28 per user per month, and reviewers report a learning curve.

3. monday.com: 7.0/10

monday.com has the largest review base of the seven, with 4.7/5 from 15,384 reviews on G2 and 4.6/5 from 5,945 on Capterra (review platform). Boards, automations and dashboards are configurable, with Gantt views from Standard. The catch is that paid plans start at three seats, and SAML single sign-on through Okta, OneLogin or custom SAML is limited to the sales-quoted Enterprise tier.

4. Wrike: 6.9/10

Independent review coverage singles out Wrike's workload views, time tracking and capacity forecasting (third-party reported), and Capterra shows 4.4 from nearly 2,900 reviews (review platform). Team is $10 and Business is $25 per user per month (third-party reported). The catch is that the price steps from $10 to $25 per seat past 15 users, and G2 ease of use scores sit behind Asana and monday.com.

5. Asana: 6.5/10

Asana's free Personal plan includes unlimited tasks and projects with list, board and calendar views, and Starter adds timeline, dashboards and forms at $10.99 per user per month billed annually (third-party reported). The catch is that new free accounts are limited to 2 users, and the price per seat rises 127% from Starter to Advanced.

6. Trello: 6.5/10

Trello organizes work as cards on boards, with a Free plan and paid tiers from $5 per user per month (third-party reported). Atlassian owns it, and Trello's own pages name UNICEF and SwagUp as customers (vendor-sourced). The catch is that SAML single sign-on is documented for Enterprise only, which is listed at $17.50 per user per month (third-party reported).

7. Smartsheet: 6.3/10

Smartsheet plans work in a spreadsheet-style grid, which independent reviewers say suits data-heavy projects, and the Pro and Business prices are public at $9 and $19 per member per month on annual billing (third-party reported). The catch is that there is no free plan, reviewers call it complex and less suited to beginners, and Enterprise pricing is quoted by sales.

How we ranked these tools

Each tool is scored out of 10 on six criteria: proof of results at 30%, output quality at 25%, ease of use at 15%, pricing and value at 15%, customer support at 10% and security and compliance at 5%. The overall score is the weighted average, rounded to one decimal. Scores come from desk research and aggregated public data, and every number on a review carries its source type. Tools with equal overall scores are listed by name, so ClickUp appears before monday.com and Asana before Trello.

How to choose project management software

• Software and IT teams that track work as issues: Jira, which is built around sprints, backlogs and issues and has a $0 Free plan.
• Teams that want a free plan with no seat limit: ClickUp, because the free plans at Asana and monday.com cap at 2 users or seats.
• Teams that want the lowest paid entry price: Trello from $5 per user per month or ClickUp from $7, both third-party reported.
• Teams that want the largest independent review base: monday.com, with more than 21,000 reviews across G2 and Capterra.
• Teams that need workload views, time tracking and capacity forecasting: Wrike, if the team stays under 15 users or can budget for the $25 Business tier.
• Teams that plan data-heavy projects in a grid: Smartsheet, which has no free plan.
• Teams that need single sign-on: check the tier first, because the reviews place SAML single sign-on on Enterprise at Asana, monday.com and Trello.

What the scores show

The seven tools sit within 0.9 points of each other, and the most useful finding is how far the entry price sits from the real price. monday.com starts paid plans at three seats and puts Gantt views on Standard and time tracking on Pro. Asana carries a 2-seat minimum and raises the per-seat price 127% from Starter to Advanced. Wrike moves a team from $10 to $25 per seat past 15 users. ClickUp adds $9 or $28 per user for AI. Smartsheet has no free plan, and single sign-on sits on higher tiers across the group. Before you buy, price the tier that carries the features and single sign-on you need, at your own seat count.