Best Project Cost Software for Engineering Teams

Smartsheet fits an engineering team that already plans in spreadsheets. Pro at $9 per member each month on annual billing includes Gantt, board, and calendar views, plus reports and dashboards, and a team can build a budget sheet with formulas that add actual costs against the estimate for each work package. Business at $19 adds workload, approvals, and 1 TB of storage, which covers a team that runs several projects at once. Viewers are free, so a client or a subcontractor can check a sheet without a licence.

Pro covers 1 to 10 members, so a team that grows past 10 licensed members must move to Business at more than twice the per-seat price. Cost tracking needs formulas, since Smartsheet has no built-in resource rate table, and a team must build its own budget template. There is no permanent free plan, only a 30-day trial of Business. For an engineering team that plans in grids, Smartsheet is the most practical pick in this guide.

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

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Website: smartsheet.com

Wrike suits an engineering team where every design change needs approval before it reaches the budget. Team at $10 per user each month on annual billing includes Gantt charts, board view, dashboards, and integrations, which covers scheduling for a team of 2 to 15 users. Business at $25 adds proofing, approvals, request forms, time tracking, and resource management, which is the tier that turns Wrike into a full delivery system. A request form can take a change request straight into a project, and the approval workflow logs who signed off and when.

Time tracking and resource management sit on Business, so a team that prices work by hours must pay $25 per user, and Business has a 5-seat minimum. The free plan covers unlimited users with basic task lists, which is useful for a trial, but it has no Gantt chart. For an engineering team where approvals and change control are part of every project, Wrike is worth the higher price.

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

Free plan: Yes

Website: wrike.com

Monday gives an engineering team a visual board for every project, with groups for each phase and columns for budget, actual cost, and variance. Basic at $9 per seat each month on annual billing includes the board and the formula column, so a team can track costs per task from the start. Standard at $12 adds timelines, Gantt charts, and 250 automations a month, which covers status changes, due date reminders, and budget alerts for a small team. Pro at $19 raises automations to 25,000 a month and adds time tracking.

Cost tracking on Monday needs formulas, since there is no built-in resource rate table. Monday sells seats in buckets, starting at 3 and then moving in steps of 5, so a team of 4 buys 5 seats and a team of 12 buys 15. The free plan covers up to 2 seats, which suits a trial, not a team. For an engineering team that wants a visual board with a timeline one click away, Monday is the easiest tool in this guide to roll out.

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

Free plan: Yes

Website: monday.com

ClickUp gives an engineering team a low-cost way to track costs with custom fields. Core at $9 per user each month on annual billing includes kanban boards, Gantt charts, custom fields, and unlimited storage, so a team can add a budget field, an actual cost field, and a variance formula to every task. A project can show the schedule on the Gantt view and the costs on a table view, without a second tool. Business at $17 adds workload views, timesheets, and dashboards, which a team needs once it tracks who is overbooked and which project is over budget.

The free plan has no time limit, and it covers basic views with 100 MB of storage. ClickUp packs many views and settings into one screen, so a new user needs a few days to feel at home, and a team should set up project templates before inviting engineers. For an engineering team that wants cost tracking, scheduling, and docs in one low-cost account, ClickUp is the strongest value in this guide.

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

Free plan: Yes

Website: clickup.com

Asana suits an engineering team that runs the same process on every project. Starter at $10.99 per user each month on annual billing includes Timeline, which is Asana's Gantt view, with dependencies, custom fields, forms, and unlimited automations. A team can build one project template for a design phase, one for a build phase, and one for a handover, then copy it for each new project. Custom fields can hold budget and actual cost per task, and a rule can flag a task when the cost passes the budget. Guests are free, so a client or a subcontractor can see a project without taking a subscription seat.

Advanced at $24.99 adds portfolios, goals, workload, and native time tracking, which a team needs once it manages many projects at once. The free Personal plan covers only two people, so a team of three must move to Starter. For an engineering team that values clean structure and a template library that keeps every project consistent, Asana is a steady choice.

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

Free plan: Yes

Website: asana.com

Teamwork is made for teams that sell hours, and it fits an engineering firm that bills time and materials. Basics at $9.99 per user each month on annual billing includes billable time tracking, unlimited templates, and 5,000 automations, which covers a small team that logs hours against each project. Accelerate at $24.99 adds timesheets, workload planning, retainers, time budgets, and invoicing from logged time, which is the tier that turns tracked hours into client bills. The free plan covers up to 5 users and 5 projects, which is enough for a very small team to start.

Basics has no timesheets and no workload view, so a team that approves hours or plans capacity must move to Accelerate at more than twice the price. Basics also has a 3-seat minimum, so a team of 2 pays for 3 seats. For an engineering firm that bills by the hour and wants time, budgets, and invoices in the same tool as the schedule, Teamwork is the most direct fit in this guide.

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

Free plan: Yes

Website: teamwork.com

Zoho Projects is the cheapest way for an engineering team to get a Gantt chart with time tracking. Premium at $4 per user each month on annual billing includes unlimited projects, Gantt charts, timesheets, blueprints, and forms, which is a wide feature set for the lowest price in this guide. The Gantt view supports dependencies and critical path, and the time tracking ties hours to tasks, so a small team can plan and bill from one account. Enterprise at $9 adds custom fields, custom roles, and global budgets, which is still cheap next to the mid tiers of the other tools here. The free plan covers up to 3 users and 2 projects, which suits a founder team.

The interface feels dated next to Monday and Asana. For an engineering team with a tight budget and a need for Gantt charts plus time tracking, Zoho Projects is the clear value pick, and its low price leaves room in the budget for other tools.

Price: $4 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: zoho.com