Best Free Project Management Software for Small Teams

Website: https://trello.com/

Best for: Simple visual boards for small teams

Starting price: $5 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Easy board setup with drag and drop cards; free plan includes unlimited cards and unlimited Power-Ups per board

Cons: Free plan caps a workspace at 10 boards and 10 collaborators, with files limited to 10 MB each; no timeline view on the free plan

Trello keeps project work visible on boards, and that simple layout is the reason many small teams start here. A card can hold a checklist, a due date, an assignee and an attachment, so a team can run a content calendar, a hiring pipeline or a product launch without learning a complex system. The free plan includes unlimited cards, unlimited Power-Ups per board, assignees, due dates and mobile apps, which covers the basics for a team of up to 10 people.

The limits on the free plan are clear and easy to measure. A free workspace allows up to 10 boards and up to 10 collaborators, with 10 MB per file and 250 automation command runs a month. Standard costs $5 per user per month billed annually and removes the board and collaborator caps, raises files to 250 MB each and lifts automation to 1,000 runs a month. Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views need Premium at $10 per user per month billed annually.

Website: https://clickup.com/

Best for: All in one work tracking with docs and goals

Starting price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free plan allows unlimited members and unlimited tasks; includes docs, kanban boards, calendar view and sprints

Cons: Free plan storage is capped at 60 MB for the whole workspace, which fills fast once teams attach files; no Gantt view or time tracking on the free plan

ClickUp packs tasks, docs, goals, chat and time tracking into one workspace, and its free plan is the most generous in this group on headcount. There is no cap on members or tasks on the free plan, so a team of any size can try the product together before spending anything. The free plan also includes collaborative docs, kanban boards, calendar view, sprint management and time tracking, which gives small teams a full set of tools from day one.

The real limit on the free plan is storage, not seats. Free workspaces get 60 MB of storage in total, plus 5 Spaces, 100 automation actions a month and a one time allowance of 500 AI credits. Core costs $9 per user per month billed annually and adds unlimited storage, unlimited Spaces, custom fields, Gantt charts, unlimited forms and 1,000 automation actions a month.

Website: https://asana.com/

Best for: Structured projects for pairs and small teams

Starting price: $10.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Clear task ownership with one owner and one due date per task; free plan includes unlimited tasks and projects

Cons: Free Personal plan is limited to 2 people, so a third teammate means moving to a monthly plan; no timeline or dashboard views on the free plan

Asana gives every task one owner and one due date, which makes responsibility clear across a team. The free Personal plan includes unlimited tasks and projects, list, board and calendar views, status updates and more than 100 integrations, with a 100 MB limit per file. That is a solid set of features for one person or a pair managing personal work, side projects or a small shared workload.

The seat cap is the deciding factor for Asana. Personal is free for up to 2 people, and a third collaborator means moving to Starter at $10.99 per user per month billed annually. Starter adds Timeline and Gantt views, task dependencies, start dates, reporting dashboards, forms, custom fields, unlimited automations and unlimited free guests. Asana fits teams that value clear ownership and are ready to pay once they grow past two people.

Website: https://monday.com/

Best for: Visual boards for pairs testing the product

Starting price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Colourful boards that are easy to read at a glance; more than 200 templates for common workflows

Cons: Free plan covers up to 2 seats with only 3 boards and 3 docs, and monthly plans start at a 3 seat minimum; no timeline or calendar view on the free plan

monday.com builds work around visual boards with columns for status, owner, date and priority, and the layout is easy to read in a team meeting. The free plan includes up to 2 seats, 3 boards, 3 docs, 8 column types, more than 200 templates and mobile apps, which is enough for a pair to test the product on a real project. A 14 day trial of Pro is also available with no card required, so teams can preview the higher views before they commit.

The free plan is a trial in practice rather than a working plan for a team, because it stops at 2 seats and 3 boards. Basic costs $9 per seat per month billed annually and adds unlimited items and free viewers, but monthly plans start at 3 seats, so the lowest monthly bill on Basic is $27 a month billed annually. Basic has no automation or integration actions, and Standard at $12 per seat per month adds those with 250 actions a month. monday.com fits teams that like visual boards and are ready to pay for at least 3 seats.

Website: https://www.notion.com/

Best for: Docs and databases in one workspace

Starting price: $10 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Unlimited pages and blocks for solo users; combines notes, docs, wikis and databases in one place

Cons: Free plan limits page history to 7 days and file uploads to 5 MB per file, with only 10 external guests; no timeline or advanced permissions on the free plan

Notion combines notes, docs, wikis and databases in one workspace, so a team can keep meeting notes, project plans and task lists in the same place. The free plan gives solo users unlimited pages and blocks, plus core databases, Notion Calendar and Notion Mail, which makes it a strong choice for personal planning and light team use. Pages can link to each other, and databases can switch between table, board, calendar and gallery views.

The free plan limits are specific and worth checking before a team adopts Notion for shared work. Page history goes back only 7 days, file uploads are capped at 5 MB per file, and external guests are capped at 10. Workspaces with two or more members on the free plan also face a limited number of blocks before an upgrade is needed. Plus costs $10 per member per month billed annually and lifts file uploads, extends page history to 30 days and removes the block and guest limits. Notion fits teams that want docs and project tracking together and can live with a 7 day history on the free plan.

Website: https://www.wrike.com/

Best for: Task lists with Gantt charts for small teams

Starting price: $10 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free plan allows unlimited users; includes board, table and chart views with desktop and mobile apps

Cons: Free plan is limited to 200 active tasks and 2 GB of storage for the whole account, with no automation; no Gantt chart or time tracking on the free plan

Wrike covers task and subtask management with board, table and chart views, and its free plan allows unlimited users, which is rare in this group. The free plan includes 2 GB of storage per account, email notifications and desktop and mobile apps, so a team can try the product together without a seat cap. The interface is more structured than a simple board tool, with folders, projects and tasks that suit teams with repeatable workflows.

The free plan limits are tight on volume rather than on people. Free workspaces are limited to 200 active tasks and one shared space, with no automation and no time tracking. Team costs $10 per user per month billed annually, covers 2 to 15 users and adds Gantt charts, shareable dashboards, calendars, custom fields and 50 automation actions per seat per month. Time tracking, request forms, proofing and workload views start at Business, which costs $25 per user per month billed annually. Wrike fits small teams that need Gantt charts and are happy to move to Team once they pass 200 active tasks.

Website: https://www.teamwork.com/

Best for: Client work with time tracking

Starting price: $9.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Built for client work with billable time tracking; free plan includes list, board, table and Gantt views

Cons: Free plan is capped at 5 users and 5 projects, with 100 MB of storage and no client users; no Gantt chart or workload view on the free plan

Teamwork is built for agencies, consultancies and professional services teams that track time against client work. The free plan covers up to 5 users and 5 projects, with tasks, lists, boards, Gantt and table views, time logging and 100 automations a month. That is enough for a very small team to run a few client projects and log billable hours without spending anything, and the interface keeps client work separate from internal work.

The free plan caps are the reason most agencies move to a monthly plan. Free allows 5 users, 5 projects, 100 MB of storage, 2 templates and 5 proofs a month, and it has no client users. Basics costs $9.99 per user per month billed annually with a 3 user minimum, and it adds 300 projects, 100 GB of storage, 5,000 automations, billable time tracking and unlimited templates. Timesheets, workload capacity, retainers and invoicing need Accelerate at $24.99 per user per month billed annually. Teamwork fits small client teams that bill by the hour and need time tracking from the start.

Website: https://airtable.com/

Best for: Spreadsheet style project tracking

Starting price: $20 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Familiar spreadsheet grid with typed fields and linked records; kanban, calendar, gallery and form views

Cons: Free plan stops at 1,000 records per base and 1 GB of attachments per base, with only 5 editors; no Gantt or timeline views on the free plan

Airtable looks like a spreadsheet, but each column has a type such as date, attachment or link to another table, and that structure makes it a strong fit for tracking tasks, clients and inventory in one base. Kanban, calendar, gallery and form views build from the same data, so a team can view the same project as a grid or as a board. The free plan includes up to 1,000 records per base, 5 editors, 50 commenters, 100 automation runs per workspace a month and 2 weeks of revision history.

The record cap is the limit that decides whether Airtable fits a team. A base with 1,200 records cannot add new entries on the free plan, and the only fix is to move to Team at $20 per user per month billed annually. Team raises the cap to 50,000 records per base, with 20 GB of attachments per base, Gantt and timeline views, extensions and 25,000 automation runs a month. Airtable also bills per editor, while read only users can view bases for free. Airtable fits teams that think in tables and need linked records, and it is the most expensive entry point in this group.