Best Kanban Software

Jira gives software teams a kanban board built around issues, columns and workflow states, with control over how many items can sit in each column. Teams can set column limits, group cards into swimlanes by assignee, epic or priority, and use quick filters to find work that is blocked or overdue. Each issue carries a type, priority, story points, labels and comments, so the board links to planning and releases.

Automation in Jira can move issues between columns, assign work, send alerts and update fields when a trigger fires, which helps larger teams keep boards current. Card customisation comes through issue types, custom fields, screens and workflows, so a team can shape the board to match its own process. Setup takes time, since admins must define workflows and permissions first.

Price: $9.70 per user/month (monthly billing, 1 to 100 users)

Free plan: Yes

Website: atlassian.com

monday.com presents work as a board with items, groups and columns, and its kanban view turns those items into cards grouped by status. Teams can add columns for person, date, priority, status, numbers and files, so each card shows the facts that matter for that project. The board can switch between kanban, table, timeline, calendar and Gantt views.

WIP control on monday.com is manual, since the kanban view does not enforce a hard limit per column, so teams keep groups small and review column counts in regular standups. Automation can change a status, notify a person, move an item or create a task when a date arrives, and integrations link the board to email, chat and file tools. The Basic tier limits automations and integrations, and higher tiers add time tracking and reporting.

Price: $9 per seat/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: monday.com

ClickUp offers a board view where tasks become cards that move across status columns, with WIP limits available to cap the number of cards in a column. Teams can group cards by assignee, priority or custom field, which acts as a swimlane view for sorting work by person or type. Custom fields cover dates, numbers, dropdowns, checkboxes and relationships, so a card can carry the exact detail a team needs.

Automation in ClickUp can change a status, assign a task, add a comment, set a due date or move a card when a trigger fires, and the free plan includes a limited number of automation runs each month. The depth of settings is both a strength and a drawback, since new users face many menus, statuses and field options before the board feels settled.

Price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: clickup.com

Asana presents work as tasks on a board, with sections acting as columns and each card showing assignee, due date, subtasks, attachments and comments. Teams can sort and filter by assignee, due date or custom field, and the timeline view shows how board work fits around dates and dependencies. Rules automation can move a task to a new section, assign it or add a collaborator when a trigger fires, which keeps routine board moves off manual lists.

Swimlanes are not a native board feature in Asana, so teams group work with sections, tags and custom fields instead of horizontal lanes. WIP control is also manual, since the board does not enforce a card cap per column, so teams review column counts and use workload views on higher tiers to spot overload.

Price: $10.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: asana.com

Teamwork gives agencies a board view inside a wider project system, where tasks sit in lists, carry assignees, dates, priorities and tags, and link to time entries and project budgets. Cards can move across columns as work progresses, and the board can be filtered by person, tag or date to show one client or one team member at a time.

Automation in Teamwork is more limited than in ClickUp or Jira, so teams still move many cards by hand and rely on notifications and task reminders to keep work moving. WIP limits are not enforced by the board, so a team must agree a cap for each column and check counts during weekly reviews. Card customisation covers custom fields, tags and task detail, but the board view offers fewer layout choices than tools built around kanban alone.

Price: $9.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: teamwork.com

Wrike offers a board view where tasks move across columns that match a custom workflow, with each card showing assignee, dates, priority, tags and subtasks. Teams can build workflows with their own statuses, set approvals for handoffs, and use request forms to turn incoming work into cards on the right board.

Automation in Wrike can move tasks, assign work and send alerts when a status changes, but the wider automation options sit on higher tiers, and the free plan limits the number of active tasks. WIP control is manual, since the board does not set a hard cap per column, so teams set their own limits and review them in status meetings. Card customisation is strong through custom fields and workflows, yet the range of settings can slow the first setup.

Price: $9.80 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: wrike.com

Notion turns a database into a board view, where each card is a page that can hold text, images, checklists, tables and linked pages. Teams can add properties for status, person, date, priority, select and multi select, and group cards by any property to create a lane style view.

WIP limits are not built into Notion boards, so teams control flow by keeping the number of cards in a status low and reviewing the board in regular check ins. Automation in Notion can set a property, add a page or send a notification when a card changes, but it covers fewer triggers than the automation in ClickUp or Jira. Card customisation is a strength, since any page can carry rich content, yet the board lacks the strict workflow controls of a tool built for kanban alone.

Price: $10 per member/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: notion.com

Smartsheet shows rows from a sheet as cards in Card View, with lanes grouped by a field such as owner, status or priority, which gives a swimlane style layout. Each card can show the fields a team chooses, and opening a card reveals the full row detail, attachments, comments and history.

Automation in Smartsheet can move rows, send alerts, request approvals and update fields when a date arrives or a value changes, which helps teams that run repeatable processes. WIP limits are not enforced in Card View, so teams must watch lane counts and agree caps for each stage. Card customisation comes from sheet columns, yet the board feels less fluid than Trello or ClickUp, since cards are tied to rows and the sheet stays the source of truth.

Price: $9 per member/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Website: smartsheet.com

Airtable builds a kanban view on top of a table, where each record becomes a card and cards stack in columns by a single select or linked field. Fields cover attachments, checkboxes, dates, numbers, formulas, lookups and linked records, so a card can pull detail from other tables without retyping it.

Automation in Airtable can move a record, send a message, update a field or create a record when a trigger fires, and scripts can extend it further. WIP limits are not built in, so teams control flow by limiting records in a status and reviewing column counts each week. Card customisation is strong through fields and linked tables, but the starting price of $20 per user per month billed annually is the highest in this list, and the free plan limits records and automation runs.

Price: $20 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: airtable.com