Best Project Management Software for Engineering Firms

Website: https://atlassian.com/software/jira

Best for: engineering teams that run Scrum or Kanban

Starting price: $9.70 per user/month

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Scrum and Kanban boards with deep configuration; huge app marketplace

Cons: setup takes real admin time; Standard lacks some reporting

Jira is free for up to 10 users, then Standard costs $9.70 per user a month and Premium costs $19.60 on monthly billing, with annual billing sold in user tiers. Those prices rose on 13 October 2026, from $9.05 and $18.30, so older articles quote lower figures. Premium adds advanced roadmaps, capacity planning and stronger admin controls, which larger firms usually need within a year.

The strength of Jira is configuration. Teams can build Scrum boards, Kanban boards and custom workflows that match how they actually work, with issue types, fields and permissions per project. For a firm that runs several engineering teams with different ceremonies, that depth is the point.

The limit is the admin cost. A firm that wants simple boards will spend its first weeks configuring Jira, and the interface can feel heavy for non-technical staff. Reporting on Standard is basic, so teams that want roadmaps and capacity views have to move to Premium.

Website: https://linear.app

Best for: product engineering teams that want speed

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: very fast interface with keyboard-first design; free plan has unlimited members

Cons: reporting and private teams need Business at $16; no monthly billing

Linear has a free plan with unlimited members, 2 teams and a 250-issue cap. Basic costs $10 per user a month on annual billing and adds 5 teams with unlimited issues. Business costs $16 and adds unlimited and private teams, guests, Insights and Asks. Enterprise is custom priced. The Basic and Business plans are billed annually only, with no monthly option, and prices rose in March 2026 from $8 and $14.

The appeal of Linear is speed. Issues open instantly, the keyboard covers most actions, and cycles and projects stay light enough that a team can run a sprint without admin overhead. The free plan is generous on members, so a small firm can use it for months before hitting the 250-issue cap.

The limits show up as the team grows. Private teams, guests and Insights all need the Business plan at $16, which doubles the per-user cost. There is no monthly billing, so a firm commits to a year at signup. Linear also has no built-in time tracking or test management, so firms that need those add another tool.

Website: https://monday.com

Best for: firms that want visual boards and dashboards

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: visual boards and dashboards are easy to read; strong automations

Cons: capacity planning sits on higher tiers; per-seat cost grows

monday.com has a free plan for up to 2 seats, then Basic costs $9 per user a month and Standard costs $12 on annual billing. Engineering work runs on visual boards, with timelines, status columns and dashboards that show the state of every project. Automations move work between stages and notify managers when a deliverable changes state.

The strength of monday.com is visual reporting. Dashboards pull data from several project boards into one view, so a firm lead can see workload, deadlines and budgets without opening each project. The template library covers common engineering setups, and the interface is friendly enough for the whole firm. Workload views on higher plans show who is over capacity.

The limits are cost and depth. Capacity planning, time tracking and advanced reporting sit on the Standard plan or higher, so the Basic price does not cover the full workflow. The per-seat price grows with the team, and a firm of 50 pays $450 a month on Basic.

Website: https://clickup.com

Best for: firms that want one workspace for all teams

Starting price: $9 per user/month

Free plan: Yes

Pros: boards, docs, goals and time tracking in one workspace; free plan is generous

Cons: feature depth can overwhelm new teams; setup takes time

ClickUp has a free plan, then Core costs $9 per user a month and Business costs $17. The tool covers tasks, docs, goals, whiteboards and time tracking in one workspace, with engineering work organised in spaces per team or project. A firm can run engineering sprints, client work and internal operations in the same place, which suits a firm that does more than one kind of work.

The strength of ClickUp is breadth. Time tracking is built in, so hours sit next to the tasks they belong to, and the free plan is generous enough for a small firm to run real work on it. Automations, templates and integrations cover most common workflows, and the Business plan adds workload views and time estimates that engineering teams use.

The limits are complexity and setup. ClickUp has so many features that a new team can spend weeks deciding how to use it, and the project views need configuration before they feel right. The interface can feel busy, and some teams find the learning curve steeper than Asana or monday.com.

Website: https://asana.com

Best for: firms that mix engineering with other departments

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: clean timelines and portfolios; easy for non-technical staff

Cons: engineering features are lighter than Jira; Advanced at $24.99 is a jump

Asana has a free Personal plan, then Starter costs $10.99 per user a month and Advanced costs $24.99 on annual billing. Engineering work runs as projects with timelines, boards and portfolios, so a firm can see every project in one view. Portfolios roll up status across projects, which helps managers report progress without chasing team leads.

The strength of Asana is clarity across teams. Timelines show dependencies between tasks, boards show the state of each deliverable, and the interface is clean enough that non-technical staff use it without training. Goals and workload views on Advanced help managers balance the team across projects. Integrations with Slack, Google and Microsoft cover the common tools.

The limits are the engineering depth. Asana does not match Jira on Scrum configuration, and teams that need burndown charts, story points and velocity reports will find the tooling thin. Advanced at $24.99 is a big jump from Starter, and many reporting features sit on that tier.

Website: https://wrike.com

Best for: firms that need approvals and portfolio views

Starting price: $10 per user/month

Free plan: Yes

Pros: strong approval and proofing workflows; good reporting

Cons: setup takes time; Team plan lacks some automation

Wrike has a free plan, then Team costs $10 per user a month. The tool covers projects, tasks, Gantt charts and approvals, with proofing tools that let reviewers comment on drawings, documents and designs inside the task. An engineering firm that produces drawings or specs will use the approval flow daily, since it replaces the email chains that usually carry feedback.

The strength of Wrike is the approval workflow. Stakeholders comment on files, request changes and approve versions in one place, with a clear record of who approved what and when. Reporting and dashboards show workload and progress across projects, and the automation tools move work between stages. The Team plan is enough for a small firm to run client work.

The limits are setup and cost. Wrike takes time to configure, and the Team plan lacks some automation and reporting that larger firms need. The interface can feel heavy for simple projects, and the price rises with the plan.

Website: https://smartsheet.com

Best for: firms that run projects on grids and reports

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

Free plan: No

Pros: grid views suit spreadsheet-minded teams; strong reporting

Cons: no free plan; project views feel less visual than boards

Smartsheet prices its Pro plan at $9 per user a month and Business at $19 on annual billing. There is no free plan. The tool is built around grids that look like spreadsheets, with Gantt charts, card views and dashboards layered on top. A firm that plans projects in spreadsheets will find the grid view familiar, and the reporting tools roll up data across projects.

The strength of Smartsheet is reporting. Dashboards and reports pull from many sheets, so a firm can track budgets, deadlines and workload across all projects in one view. Automations handle approvals and notifications, and the form tools collect project requests directly into a sheet. For a firm that runs on structured data, that reporting depth is valuable.

The limits are the visual feel and the missing free plan. Card and board views exist, but the tool is grid-first, so teams that want visual boards may prefer monday.com or Asana. There is no free plan, so a small firm has to pay from day one.

Website: https://teamwork.com

Best for: firms that bill clients by the hour

Starting price: $9.99 per user/month

Free plan: Yes

Pros: built for client work, retainers and billing; time tracking included

Cons: interface feels dated next to newer tools; reporting needs higher tiers

Teamwork prices its Basics plan at $9.99 per user a month and Accelerate at $24.99. The tool is built for client work, with projects, milestones, retainers and time tracking in one place. A free plan covers up to 5 users, which suits a very small firm getting started. Time tracking and invoicing connect directly to client projects, so billable hours turn into invoices without an export step.

The strength of Teamwork is the client-work fit. Retainers, project budgets and profitability reports are core features, not add-ons, and the time tracking is built in. Clients can follow progress through a client portal, and the workload view shows who is over capacity across projects. For a firm that bills by the hour or by retainer, that fit is the point.

The limits are the interface and the reporting tiers. Teamwork looks dated next to Asana and monday.com, and some teams find the navigation slow. Advanced reporting, including profitability and utilisation views, sits on the Accelerate plan.

Website: https://productive.io

Best for: firms that track profit per project

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

Free plan: No

Pros: time tracking, budgets and profitability in one place; built for agencies and firms

Cons: 3-seat minimum; no free plan

Productive prices its Essential plan at $10 per user a month and Professional at $25 on annual billing, with a 3-seat minimum and a 14-day trial. There is no free plan. The tool is built for professional services, with time tracking, project budgets, invoicing and profitability reports in one place. A firm can see whether a project is making money while the work is still running, not after the invoice goes out.

The strength of Productive is the financial view. Budgets, billable hours and costs sit next to the project plan, so managers can spot a project that is going over budget before it is too late. Invoicing runs from the same data, and the reporting shows utilisation and profit by client, project and team member. For a firm that bills by the hour, that view is the point.

The limits are the minimum and the missing free plan. A team of two pays for three seats, and a team that wants to try the tool has only 14 days before it pays. The tool is also built for services firms, so a team that does other kinds of work may find it narrow.

These figures use the entry plan for each tool on annual billing where the vendor quotes it. The prices are close at this range, with most tools costing $90 to $110 a month for 10 users and $450 to $550 for 50 users. Capacity planning, time tracking and advanced reporting often sit on higher tiers, so the entry price is not the full cost for a firm that needs those features.