Best Project Management Software for Editorial Teams

Website: https://asana.com

Best for: Editorial calendars and approval workflows

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Timeline and Gantt views on Starter; unlimited free guests for freelancers

Cons: Proofing and approvals need Advanced at $24.99; free Personal plan caps at 2 users

Asana fits editorial teams that run a steady stream of stories through fixed stages, from pitch to draft to edit to publish. The Starter plan includes timeline and Gantt views, project dashboards, forms for pitches, custom fields for story type and section, and unlimited automations, which covers the core of an editorial calendar without an upgrade. Unlimited free guests matter here, because most newsrooms and content teams work with freelance writers, photographers, and fact checkers who should see their own assignments without taking a licensed seat.

The limits show up when the review process gets formal. Approvals and proofing, goals, portfolios, and native time tracking sit on Advanced at $24.99 per user a month billed annually, so a team that routes every story through a formal sign-off step will feel the upgrade sooner. The Personal plan is free but caps at two users, which makes it a trial rather than a home for a team. For a small editorial desk that values a clean calendar and simple guest access, Starter at $10.99 is a fair entry point, and the jump to Advanced is easy to justify once portfolio reporting across several publications becomes part of the job.

Website: https://monday.com

Best for: Visual editorial boards and content pipelines

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Timeline and Gantt views from Standard; free viewers on priced plans

Cons: Basic has no automations or integrations; 3-seat minimum on all priced plans

monday.com works well for editorial teams that think in boards, with one board per issue, channel, or content stream and columns for status, owner, due date, and publication slot. The visual style suits editors who want to see the whole pipeline at a glance, and the Standard plan at $12 per seat a month adds the timeline and Gantt views, guest access, and 250 automation and integration actions a month that turn a static board into a working pipeline. Free viewers on priced plans let stakeholders check story status without a seat.

Basic at $9 per seat a month looks cheap but has no automations and no integrations, which leaves an editorial team doing status changes by hand. That makes Standard the realistic starting point for most desks. Every priced plan also carries a 3-seat minimum, so the smallest bill is $27 a month on Basic and $36 on Standard. Pro at $19 adds time tracking, private boards, and 25,000 automation actions, which matters for larger newsrooms with several desks sharing one workspace. For teams that want color, clarity, and a board per publication, monday.com is a strong fit once the Standard price is accepted.

Website: https://clickup.com

Best for: All-in-one editorial docs, tasks, and chat

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free Forever plan with unlimited tasks; Docs and Whiteboards included

Cons: Business at $17 doubles the Core price for reporting; whole workspace bills per member

ClickUp appeals to editorial teams that want docs, tasks, and team chat in one place instead of three separate tools. The Free Forever plan includes unlimited tasks, and Core at $9 per user a month billed annually adds unlimited storage, custom fields, Gantt charts, guest permissions, and 1,000 automation actions a month. Docs work as a home for briefs and style guides, while Whiteboards help with planning issues and content themes. The 2026 rebuild folded AI credits into every plan, with 1,000 pooled credits per user a month on Core.

The trade-off is that the reporting and privacy features an editorial lead usually wants, including advanced dashboards, timesheets, private views, and private docs, sit on Business at $17 per user a month billed annually, nearly double the Core price. ClickUp also bills the whole workspace, so every member becomes a priced seat, and there is no way to upgrade only part of the team. For a small editorial team that values one workspace for writing, planning, and discussion, Core is good value, but the Business jump should be budgeted from the start if reporting across desks is on the roadmap.

Website: https://www.notion.com

Best for: Editorial wikis, briefs, and content databases

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Flexible databases for content tracking; unlimited guests on Plus

Cons: Full AI features need Business at $20; no native Gantt view on Plus

Notion is the strongest choice for editorial teams that live in documents: briefs, style guides, research notes, and story databases that link together. The Plus plan at $10 per member a month billed annually adds unlimited file uploads, 30-day page history, custom forms, and unlimited guests, which covers the writing side of an editorial operation well. Databases can track every story by status, author, section, and publication date, and views can be switched between table, board, calendar, and timeline layouts without rebuilding the data.

Notion is weaker as a pure project tracker. There is no native Gantt view on Plus, and the full AI suite, including Notion Agent and AI Meeting Notes, starts on Business at $20 per member a month billed annually, double the Plus price. Page history is 30 days on Plus and 90 days on Business, which matters when a story moves slowly through legal review. Teams that pair Notion with a dedicated task tool get the best of both, but a team that wants one tool for everything may find the project features thin. For content teams that value writing and organization over charts, Plus is a sensible buy.

Website: https://www.airtable.com

Best for: Structured editorial databases and asset tracking

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: 50,000 records per base on Team; strong filtering and views

Cons: Commenters count as billable seats on Team; Business at $45 is a steep jump

Airtable suits editorial teams that manage large volumes of structured content: article inventories, photo libraries, contributor lists, and syndication records that need filtering, grouping, and linked tables. The Team plan at $20 per user a month billed annually allows 50,000 records per base, 20 GB of attachment storage per base, 25,000 automation runs a month, and Gantt and timeline views. For a desk that tracks hundreds of stories and assets across issues, that structure beats a simple task list.

The seat rules need attention. On Team, anyone with comment access counts as a billable seat, so a newsroom that invites many reviewers can see the bill grow faster than expected. Business at $45 per user a month billed annually fixes that by making commenters free, but the jump from $20 to $45 is a 125 percent increase, and it is the only way to get 125,000 records per base and 100,000 automation runs. Airtable is the most expensive tool in this list at the entry tier, so it earns its place only when the editorial operation is genuinely database-shaped. For teams with that shape, it is hard to beat.

Website: https://www.wrike.com

Best for: Proofing, approvals, and structured workflows

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Proofing and approvals on Business; request forms for story pitches

Cons: Team caps at 15 users; Business at $25 is needed for time tracking

Wrike fits editorial teams with a formal review chain, where every story passes through editing, fact checking, legal, and design before publication. The Business plan at $25 per user a month billed annually adds proofing and approvals, request forms for pitches, time tracking, resource management, and portfolio management, which matches how a structured newsroom actually works. The free plan covers basic task and project work, and Team at $10 per user a month billed annually adds Gantt charts and shareable dashboards for teams of 2 to 15 users.

The caps are the thing to check. Team stops at 15 users, so a growing newsroom moves to Business sooner than the price list suggests, and Business itself caps at 200 users. Time tracking, workload views, and baselines all sit on Business, so the $10 entry price is only the start for a team that needs those features. Wrike is heavier to learn than Asana or monday.com, and the interface carries more structure than a small blog team needs. For editorial operations that run on approvals and deadlines, that structure is the point, and Business is the plan to price.

Website: https://www.smartsheet.com

Best for: Spreadsheet-style editorial planning at scale

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

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: Familiar grid layout for content calendars; unlimited free contributors

Cons: No free plan for new signups; Pro caps at 10 members

Smartsheet appeals to editorial teams that already plan in spreadsheets and want that layout with real project features behind it. The Pro plan at $9 per member a month billed annually includes Gantt, board, and calendar views, unlimited sheets, forms, reports, 250 automation runs a month, and 20 GB of storage. Contributors can view, comment, and add attachments without a priced seat, which helps when freelancers and section editors need access to the calendar without editing rights.

There is no free plan for new signups since August 2024, only a 30-day trial, so every team starts on a priced plan. Pro also caps at 10 members, which means a newsroom that grows past ten people must move to Business at $19 per member a month billed annually, more than double the Pro rate, for the same sheets with unlimited automations and 1 TB of storage. Smartsheet is less visual than monday.com and less document-friendly than Notion, but for editorial teams that think in rows and columns, the grid is a genuine advantage. Price it on Business if the team is near the Pro cap.

Website: https://www.teamwork.com

Best for: Client editorial work with billable time tracking

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Billable time tracking from Basics; free plan for up to 5 users

Cons: Timesheets and workload planning need Accelerate at $24.99; 3-seat minimum on Basics

Teamwork fits editorial teams that bill clients for content work, such as agencies and studios that produce magazines, reports, and branded content. The Basics plan at $9.99 per user a month billed annually includes billable time tracking, 300 projects, unlimited templates, and 5,000 automations, which covers the core of client editorial delivery. The free plan supports up to 5 users and 5 projects, which is enough for a small studio to test the workflow before committing.

The limits are clear. Timesheets, workload planning, retainer tracking, and invoicing from logged time sit on Accelerate at $24.99 per user a month billed annually, and Basics carries a 3-seat minimum while Accelerate needs 5. A content agency that needs to prove hours against a retainer will land on Accelerate quickly, and the price per seat is then close to Asana Advanced. Teamwork is less suited to an in-house newsroom with no billing, since the client and finance features are the reason to choose it. For studios that sell editorial work by the hour, it is one of the most direct fits in this list.