Project Management by Team · Researched comparison

Best Online Project Management Software for Teams

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Key takeaways

  • Entry prices in this guide run from $5 to $15 per user per month, so a 10 person team costs $600 to $1,800 a year at list price before tax, with Basecamp Plus billed monthly and the rest shown on annual billing.
  • Free plans are not equal. ClickUp Free Forever and Trello cover small teams at no cost, Asana Personal stops at 2 users, and Smartsheet offers a 30-day trial instead of a free plan.
  • Gantt charts, workload views, native time tracking, and client invoicing often sit on higher tiers, so check the plan comparison table before you commit to a tool.
  • We reviewed vendor pricing pages and plan documentation on 12 November 2026. Prices change, so confirm the current figure on the vendor pricing page before you buy.

Comparison

How these compare
ToolBest forPrice rangeFree plan
monday.comVisual boards and team workflows$9 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
AsanaCross-team projects and timelines$10.99 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
ClickUpAll-in-one workspaces$9 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
WrikeGantt charts and dashboards$10 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
SmartsheetSpreadsheet-style project sheets$9 per user/month (billed annually)Free trial (30 days)
TrelloSimple visual boards$5 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
BasecampSimple team communication and tasks$15 per user/month (billed monthly)Yes
TeamworkClient work and billable time$9.99 per user/month (billed annually)Yes

How we choose

We reviewed the vendor pricing pages and plan documentation for all eight tools on 12 November 2026, and we compared entry subscription prices, free plan limits, views, automation caps, seat minimums, and storage. We looked at what each entry plan includes and what it leaves out, because the gap between tiers is where most teams feel the real cost. We also checked which features, such as Gantt charts, workload views, time tracking, and invoicing, sit on higher tiers. Prices in this guide are list prices in US dollars before tax, and they can change or vary by country. We did not run live team projects, and we make no claims about hands-on testing. Confirm the current figure on the vendor pricing page before you buy.

Our full method

The shortlist

★ Best overall

The best online project management software

2

monday.com

Best for Visual boards for team workflows

Website: https://monday.com/

Best for: Visual boards for team workflows

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Unlimited boards and items on Basic; unlimited free viewers on subscription plans

Cons: Basic includes no automation or integration actions; subscription plans start at a 3-seat minimum

monday.com organizes work on boards where each row is an item and each column tracks a detail such as owner, status, or due date. Teams can switch between table, Kanban, calendar, and timeline views, and managers can build dashboards that pull status from several boards at once. The free plan covers up to 2 seats and 3 boards, which suits a trial but not a working team.

Basic costs $9 per user per month on annual billing and removes the item limit, adds 5 GB of storage, and includes 1,000 AI credits a month. Standard at $12 adds timeline and Gantt views, guest access, and 250 automation and integration actions a month. Pro at $19 adds time tracking and 25,000 actions. The 3-seat minimum means a team of one or two still pays for three seats, so the lowest real bill is $27 a month on Basic.

3

Asana

Best for Cross-team projects with clear ownership

Website: https://asana.com/

Best for: Cross-team projects with clear ownership

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: One assignee per task keeps ownership clear; timelines, forms, and automation rules on Starter

Cons: Native time tracking, portfolios, and workload need Advanced at $24.99; Personal free plan caps at 2 users

Asana organizes work as tasks inside projects, and projects roll up into portfolios and goals, so a team can see both daily tasks and longer plans in one place. A task can live in several projects at once, which helps when marketing, design, and operations share the same piece of work. Forms collect requests in a standard shape, and automation rules move tasks between sections without manual effort.

Starter costs $10.99 per user per month on annual billing, or $13.49 billed monthly, and adds timelines, Gantt charts, dashboards, custom fields, and unlimited automations. It also includes 50,000 AI Studio credits a month and unlimited free guests, which keeps client collaboration cheap. Advanced at $24.99 adds portfolios, goals, workload, and native time tracking, so teams that need those features should price Advanced from the start.

4

ClickUp

Best for All-in-one workspaces for growing teams

Website: https://clickup.com/

Best for: All-in-one workspaces for growing teams

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Unlimited storage on Core; 1,000 automation actions a month on Core

Cons: Every member of a workspace is a billed seat; the new Core plan costs more than the old Unlimited plan it replaced

ClickUp bundles tasks, docs, whiteboards, goals, and chat into one workspace, so a team can replace several separate tools with a single login. Work can be viewed as a list, board, calendar, or Gantt chart, and custom fields let teams track the details that matter to their own process. Goals link tasks to targets, which helps managers see progress without asking for status updates.

Free Forever costs nothing and includes unlimited tasks, but it caps storage at 60 MB and automations at 100 actions a month, with Gantt use limited to 60 uses per workspace. Core costs $9 per user per month on annual billing, or $12 billed monthly, and adds unlimited storage, unlimited Gantt charts, custom fields, and 1,000 automation actions a month plus 1,000 AI credits per user per month. Business at $17 adds more automations and advanced features, while Max at $100 is aimed at heavy AI use.

5

Wrike

Best for Gantt charts and dashboards for small teams

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

Best for: Gantt charts and dashboards for small teams

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Interactive Gantt charts and shareable dashboards on Team; unlimited tasks and subtasks

Cons: Team caps at 15 users and has no time tracking; Wrike publishes no monthly billing rate

Wrike is built around structured project plans with dependencies, timelines, and dashboards that show status across many projects. The free plan covers unlimited users with 2 GB of storage for the whole account, which is enough for a team to learn the layout before it spends anything. Team adds shareable dashboards, interactive Gantt charts, calendars, custom fields, and 50 automation actions per seat per month.

Team costs $10 per user per month on annual billing for 2 to 15 users, with 2 GB of storage per user. Business at $25 per user per month on annual billing covers 5 to 200 users and adds resource and capacity planning, workflow customization, and standard integrations. Pinnacle and Apex are priced by quote. Wrike publishes annual rates only, so there is no month-to-month option to compare, and the annual commitment is the real entry cost.

6

Smartsheet

Best for Spreadsheet-style sheets for structured work

Website: https://www.smartsheet.com/

Best for: Spreadsheet-style sheets for structured work

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

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: Familiar grid layout with Gantt, board, and calendar views; unlimited sheets and forms on Pro

Cons: Pro caps at 10 members and 250 automation runs a month; there is no free plan, only a 30-day trial

Smartsheet looks like a spreadsheet, which makes it easy for teams that already plan in rows and columns to start without learning a new layout. Sheets can switch to Gantt, board, or calendar views, and forms collect updates from people who never open the sheet itself. Reports pull rows from several sheets into one view, and dashboards show progress with up to 10 widgets on Pro.

Pro costs $9 per member per month on annual billing, or $12 billed monthly, for 1 to 10 members, with unlimited free Contributors who can view, comment, and fill in forms. It includes 20 GB of storage and 250 automation runs a month. Business at $19 per member per month on annual billing raises those limits. Enterprise and Advanced Work Management are priced by quote. Pro is available to new customers only, and the free plan has not been open to new signups since August 2024.

7

Trello

Best for Simple visual boards 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: Boards, lists, and cards need almost no setup; Standard removes board and collaborator caps

Cons: Timeline, calendar, table, and dashboard views need Premium at $10; free plan caps at 10 collaborators and 10 boards

Trello is the simplest tool in this guide. Work lives on boards made of lists, and each card holds a task with checklists, due dates, attachments, and comments. A team can set up a board in minutes, drag cards between lists as work moves, and invite collaborators without a long onboarding session. That simplicity is the point, and it is also the limit.

The free plan covers up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per workspace, with 250 automation runs a month. Standard costs $5 per user per month on annual billing, or $6 billed monthly, and adds unlimited boards and collaborators, custom fields, advanced checklists, card mirroring, and 1,000 automation runs a month. Premium at $10 per user per month on annual billing adds timeline, calendar, table, and dashboard views. Enterprise starts at $17.50 per user per month on annual billing with a 50-seat minimum.

8

Basecamp

Best for Simple team communication and shared tasks

Website: https://basecamp.com/

Best for: Simple team communication and shared tasks

Starting price: $15 per user/month (billed monthly)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: One set of tools covers to-dos, messages, schedules, and files; clients and contractors join free

Cons: Plus has no Gantt chart and no built-in time tracking, which is a separate add-on; Plus is billed monthly only, with no annual discount

Basecamp keeps project work and team conversation in one place instead of splitting them across chat, email, and a task tracker. Each project has to-dos, a message board, a schedule, files, and group chat, so a team can find the full context of a project without searching several apps. Clients and contractors join projects free, and only employees count toward the per-user charge.

Plus costs $15 per user per month, billed monthly, with unlimited projects and 500 GB of file storage. There is no annual billing option for Plus, so the monthly rate is the only rate. A limited free plan covers 3 projects with 1 GB of storage. Pro Unlimited costs a flat $299 per month on annual billing, or $349 billed monthly, for unlimited users, and it includes the Timesheet and Admin Pro Pack add-ons. The flat plan costs less than Plus once a team passes about 20 people.

9

Teamwork

Best for Client work with billable time tracking

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

Best for: Client work with billable time tracking

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Billable time tracking and free client users from Basics; unlimited project templates

Cons: Basics has no timesheets, workload capacity, or invoicing; Basics caps at 300 projects and needs at least 3 users

Teamwork is built for agencies and consultancies that deliver projects for clients and bill for the time they spend. Projects carry budgets, milestones, task lists, and time logs, and client users can view progress without taking a subscription seat. That client focus is what sets it apart from general task tools that treat every project as internal work.

The free plan covers up to 5 users and 5 projects. Basics costs $9.99 per user per month on annual billing, or $13.99 billed monthly, with a 3-seat minimum, 300 projects, 100 GB of storage, and 5,000 automations. It includes billable time tracking but not timesheets, workload capacity, or invoicing. Accelerate at $24.99 per user per month on annual billing adds timesheets, budgets, retainers, workload planning, and invoicing. Optimize and Enterprise are priced by quote, and subscription plans start with a 14-day trial.

What to check before you buy

Start with your team size and the features you cannot work without. A free plan can carry a team of two or three, but the caps on boards, collaborators, and projects arrive fast, and the jump to a subscription plan often doubles the monthly cost. Check seat minimums too, because monday.com starts subscription plans at 3 seats, Wrike Team needs at least 2 users, and Teamwork Basics needs at least 3, so a small team may pay for seats it does not use. Check who counts as a billed seat, since ClickUp bills every member while Basecamp and Teamwork let clients join free.

Look at the views and limits on the plan you would actually buy, not the top plan. Gantt charts, workload views, native time tracking, and invoicing are often reserved for higher tiers. Check automation caps, storage limits, and project caps, because Smartsheet Pro stops at 10 members and 250 automation runs a month, Trello Standard allows 1,000 automation runs, and Teamwork Basics stops at 300 projects. Ask how easy it is to export your work, and test the tool with a real project before you commit to a year.

Pick by team size

Team sizeBest starting pointWhy it fitsAnnual cost at list price
1 to 2 peopleTrello free plan or Asana PersonalNo cost, enough boards and tasks for a pair$0
3 to 5 peopleTrello Standard or ClickUp CoreLow per-user cost, unlimited boards and storage$300 to $540
6 to 15 peoplemonday.com Basic or Wrike TeamShared boards, dashboards, and Gantt charts$648 to $1,800
16 to 50 peopleAsana Starter or Teamwork AcceleratePortfolios, workload, budgets, and retainers$3,297 to $14,994
50 people or moreBasecamp Pro UnlimitedFlat monthly rate, no per-user charge$3,588

FAQ

What is the cheapest online project management software in this guide?

Trello Standard is the cheapest subscription plan in this guide at $5 per user per month on annual billing, or $6 billed monthly. A 10 person team pays $600 a year at list price. ClickUp Free Forever and the Trello free plan cost nothing for small teams, but both cap storage, boards, or automation runs, so check the limits before you rely on them.

Which tool has the best free plan for a small team?

ClickUp Free Forever is the most generous free plan in this guide, with unlimited tasks and unlimited members, though storage stops at 60 MB and automations at 100 actions a month. Trello is a close second with 10 collaborators and 10 boards per workspace. Asana Personal stops at 2 users, so it suits a pair rather than a team.

Do I need annual billing to get the prices in this guide?

Most prices in this guide are annual billing rates, and monthly billing costs more, usually 17 to 29 percent more per user. Trello Standard rises from $5 to $6, Asana Starter from $10.99 to $13.49, and Teamwork Basics from $9.99 to $13.99. Basecamp Plus is the exception, since it is billed monthly only at $15 per user per month.

Which tool is best for client work and billing?

Teamwork is the best fit for client work in this guide, because Basics includes billable time tracking and free client users, while Accelerate adds timesheets, budgets, retainers, and invoicing. Basecamp is a simpler option, since clients join free and every project keeps tasks, messages, and files together, though time tracking costs extra as an add-on.

Can I switch tools later without losing my work?

Most tools in this guide let you export tasks to a spreadsheet file, and most let you import that file into a new workspace, though comments, attachments, and automation rules often do not carry over. Before you commit, export a test project from the tool you use now and import it into the new one, so you can see what survives the move.

Sources we checked

  • https://monday.com/pricing
  • https://asana.com/pricing
  • https://clickup.com/pricing
  • https://www.wrike.com/pricing
  • https://www.smartsheet.com/pricing
  • https://trello.com/pricing
  • https://basecamp.com/pricing
  • https://www.teamwork.com/pricing
How we score

Need the method behind these picks?

We publish the criteria and the weights, so you can disagree with them.

The best online project management software#1 PICK