Best Project Management Software for Engineers

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

Best for: Agile engineering teams

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Built for sprints and backlogs; deep Git and CI integrations

Cons: Per user price falls only above 100 users; single sign on needs Atlassian Guard Standard

Jira is the standard issue tracker for engineering teams, and it is built around sprints, backlogs and boards. The Standard plan costs $9.70 per user per month on monthly billing for 1 to 100 users, and annual billing is priced by user band, starting at $950 a year for 1 to 10 users. The free plan covers up to 10 users, which is enough for a small team to run real sprints. Integrations with GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket link code to issues, and the automation engine can move work through the board without manual updates.

The pricing is harder to read than most tools in this guide, because the per user rate changes with team size and with billing term. Single sign on needs a separate Atlassian Guard Standard subscription on Standard and Premium, which adds cost for teams that need it. Jira is the right choice when your team runs Scrum or Kanban and needs a tracker that scales to hundreds of engineers.

Website: https://linear.app

Best for: Fast issue tracking

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Very fast keyboard first interface; strong Git integrations and cycles

Cons: Free plan caps at 250 issues; Business at $16 adds the advanced features

Linear is a keyboard first issue tracker built for speed, and it is popular with product engineering teams that find Jira too heavy. The Basic plan costs $10 per user per month billed annually and removes the issue limit, adding unlimited issues, unlimited file uploads, advanced integrations, guest access and custom fields. Cycles, projects and roadmaps work the way engineers expect, and Git integrations link pull requests to issues automatically.

The free plan allows unlimited members but only 250 issues and 2 teams, so most active teams will need the Basic plan. Time tracking, triage responsibilities, custom analytics and advanced automations need Business at $16 per user per month billed annually, and AI coding sessions use metered credits on top. Linear suits teams of 5 to 50 engineers who want a fast, opinionated tracker and are happy to work inside its structure.

Website: https://asana.com

Best for: Structured engineering projects

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Clean task structure and timelines; strong templates for releases

Cons: No native sprint planning; time tracking and workload need Advanced at $24.99 per user per month

Asana suits engineering teams that manage releases as a clear sequence of tasks with owners and due dates. The Starter plan at $10.99 per user per month includes timeline and calendar views, project templates and unlimited guests, so you can bring product managers and stakeholders into a project without paying for their seats in most cases. Portfolios help you watch several workstreams at once, and the rules engine can move work forward without manual chasing.

Asana has no native sprint planning, so teams that run Scrum will need workarounds or a separate tool for sprint ceremonies. The free Personal plan caps at 2 users, and native time tracking, goals, workload and approvals are locked to Advanced at $24.99 per user per month. Asana is a strong pick when your engineering work sits beside design, marketing and operations in one system.

Website: https://monday.com

Best for: Visual team boards

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Visual boards the whole team can read; wide template library

Cons: Basic has no automations, integrations or timeline view; no native sprint support

Monday.com presents engineering work as visual boards with columns for status, owner, priority and due date, which suits teams that want the whole company to see the plan at a glance. Templates cover sprint planning and bug tracking, and the free plan covers up to 2 seats. The Basic plan at $9 per seat per month is cheap, but it has no automations and no integrations and no timeline or Gantt view, so most teams will need Standard at $12 per seat per month.

Every subscription plan starts at a 3 seat minimum and seats sell in fixed buckets above that. Time tracking needs the Pro plan at $19 per seat per month, and there is no native sprint planning, so engineering teams must build sprints from boards and groups. Monday.com works best for engineering teams that also manage work outside code and want one visual system for it all.

Website: https://clickup.com

Best for: All round engineering work

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free Forever plan with wide features; sprints, docs and goals in one place

Cons: Timesheets and resource management need Business at $17 per user per month

ClickUp gives an engineering team one place for tasks, docs, sprints, goals and time, and the Free Forever plan covers a surprising amount of that. You can build a separate space per product area, set custom fields for priority or release, and keep templates for sprint planning, bug triage and release checklists. The Core plan at $9 per user per month adds unlimited storage, more integrations and advanced permissions, which suits a team that shares boards with stakeholders.

The catch is that time tracking and resource planning sit on the Business plan at $17 per user per month, so the headline price is not the price of a full setup. Storage on the free plan is capped at 60 MB, which fills fast if you attach builds and screenshots. Still, for a small engineering team that wants one flexible tool, ClickUp covers more ground than most rivals at the same price.

Website: https://www.wrike.com

Best for: Formal engineering workflows

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Strong request forms and approvals; handles complex project structures

Cons: Time tracking and resource management need Business at $25 per user per month

Wrike fits engineering teams that run formal projects with intake, review and sign off steps. Request forms let stakeholders submit work in a structured way, and approval workflows keep releases moving without long email threads. The Team plan at $10 per user per month covers the core task and project features, and the free plan allows unlimited users, which helps when several stakeholders need access.

The trade off is that Team has no time tracking, and proofing, approvals, request forms and resource management need Business at $25 per user per month. Seats are sold in bundles of 5, 10 or 25, and the free plan caps at 200 active tasks. Wrike is the right choice when your engineering work follows a repeatable process and you need other teams to follow it.

Website: https://www.teamwork.com

Best for: Client facing engineering work

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Built for client work with time tracking; clear project templates

Cons: Timesheets and workload planning need Accelerate at $24.99 per user per month

Teamwork was built for agencies and consultancies, and it suits engineering teams that deliver work for clients. The Basics plan at $9.99 per user per month covers tasks, milestones, templates and a free plan for up to 5 users and 5 projects, which is enough for a small team to start. Client users can be added to projects, and the interface keeps each client separate, which reduces the risk of showing one client another client work.

The limit is that timesheets, workload planning, invoicing from logged time and retainers are locked to Accelerate at $24.99 per user per month, so the billing features a client facing team needs most sit on the higher tier. Basics also has a 3 seat minimum. Teamwork is a strong fit when your engineering team bills clients for its time and needs projects, time and invoicing joined together.

Website: https://www.smartsheet.com

Best for: Spreadsheet style planning

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

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Pros: Familiar spreadsheet grid with Gantt and automation; strong reporting

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

Smartsheet will feel familiar to any engineering team that has planned releases in spreadsheets, because it keeps the grid and adds Gantt charts, automations and dashboards on top. The Pro plan at $9 per user per month covers the core sheets, reports and automations, and a 30 day free trial lets you test it with a real release before you commit. It is a good fit for tracking roadmaps, dependencies and release checklists in tables that the whole team can read.

The Pro plan caps at 10 members, so a growing team must move to Business at $19 per member per month, more than double the per seat price. The free plan has been closed to new signups since August 2024, so there is no free tier to fall back on. Smartsheet is best for engineering teams who want spreadsheet control with proper project structure and reporting behind it.

Website: https://www.notion.com

Best for: Docs, specs and tasks

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Docs, wikis and tasks in one flexible workspace; cheap to start

Cons: No native sprints, time tracking or code integrations; blocks limited on the free plan once a second member joins

Notion is the most flexible tool in this guide, and that is both its strength and its weakness for an engineering team. You can build a product hub with pages for each area, linked databases for specs and tasks, and a shared wiki for runbooks and decisions. The Plus plan at $10 per user per month adds unlimited file uploads, longer page history and more guests, and the free plan works for a small team that mostly needs notes and task lists.

There is no native sprint planning, no time tracking and no code integration, so you will need another tool or an integration to run sprints and link work to code. The free plan limits blocks once a second member joins, and full Notion AI is only on the Business plan at $20 per user per month. Notion suits engineering teams who think in documents first and want a single workspace for specs, plans and decisions.