Project Management by Team · Researched comparison

Best Project Management Software for IT Teams

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Key takeaways

  • Jira, monday.com, ClickUp, Asana, Wrike, Smartsheet, Teamwork and Linear all offer a starting tier at or under $10.99 per user per month when billed annually, except Jira, which starts at $9.70 per user per month on monthly billing for the first 100 users.
  • Seven of the eight tools offer a free tier, while Smartsheet offers a 30-day free trial instead of a free tier, so budget teams can test most options before committing.
  • Sprint planning, repo integrations and permission controls matter more for IT teams than generic task lists, and the tools below differ widely on how much of that sits on the entry tier.
  • Check seat minimums and user caps before you buy: monday.com and Teamwork require at least 3 seats on their entry tiers, Wrike Team caps at 15 users, and Smartsheet Pro caps at 10 members.

Comparison

How these compare
ToolBest forPrice rangeFree plan
JiraAgile sprints and issue tracking$9.70 per user/month (monthly billing, first 100 users)Yes
monday.comVisual work tracking across teams$9 per seat/month (billed annually)Yes
ClickUpAll-in-one task and docs work$9 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
AsanaStructured project and goal tracking$10.99 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
WrikeCross-team project coordination$10 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
SmartsheetSpreadsheet-style project plans$9 per member/month (billed annually)No, 30-day free trial
TeamworkClient and service delivery work$9.99 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
LinearFast issue tracking for product teams$8 per user/month (billed annually)Yes

How we choose

We reviewed the vendor pricing pages and documentation for each tool listed above and compared entry-tier prices, free tier limits, seat minimums, user caps, sprint and issue features, integrations with code repositories and chat tools, permission controls and time tracking. We compared what each vendor states on its own pricing page and feature pages, and we used the prices shown there on the day of writing. We did not claim hands-on testing, and we did not rank tools by scores. The list favors tools with a clear entry tier, a published price and features that fit IT work such as sprints, incident tracking, repo links and access controls. Where a vendor hides a price behind a sales call, we recorded it as quote only rather than guessing a figure.

Our full method

The shortlist

★ Best overall

Best project management software for IT teams

2

Jira

Best for Agile sprints and issue tracking

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

Best for: Agile sprints and issue tracking

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Built for scrum and kanban workflows; deep integration with Bitbucket, GitHub and Confluence

Cons: Graduated per-user bands make costs hard to predict as teams grow; setup and configuration take time for new admins

Jira is the default choice for many IT teams because it was built around software delivery. Scrum boards, kanban boards, backlogs, sprints and releases are core features rather than add-ons, and issue types cover bugs, stories, tasks and epics. The free tier supports up to 10 users, which suits a small team that wants to run real sprints before spending anything. Standard starts at $9.70 per user per month on monthly billing for the first 100 users, and Premium is $19.60, so the jump between tiers is worth checking against your headcount.

For IT work, Jira connects to code repositories through Bitbucket and GitHub integrations, so commits and pull requests can link to issues and show progress on the board. Automation rules can move issues, assign work and send alerts when a build fails or a release date changes. Permissions are granular, which helps when contractors or support staff need limited access.

3

monday.com

Best for Visual work tracking across teams

Website: https://monday.com

Best for: Visual work tracking across teams

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Highly visual boards that non-technical staff can read; wide template library for IT and service work

Cons: Lower tiers lack time tracking and advanced automations; the 3-seat minimum raises the cost for very small teams

monday.com organizes work on boards with columns for status, owner, priority and dates, which makes it easy for an IT team to show work in progress to managers and other departments. The Basic tier is $9 per seat per month when billed annually, Standard is $12 and Pro is $19. A free tier covers up to 2 seats, and entry tiers carry a 3-seat minimum, so a team of one or two will need to plan around that floor. Templates cover incident tracking, sprint planning, IT requests and asset tracking, which gives a new team a working board in an afternoon.

Integrations include Slack, Microsoft Teams, GitHub and Zapier, so alerts from monitoring tools and code repos can land on a board without manual entry. Automations can assign tickets, change a status when a date passes and notify an owner when a priority changes, though the more advanced automation options sit on higher tiers. Time tracking is also limited on the lower tiers, so teams that need to log hours against tickets should check which tier includes it.

4

ClickUp

Best for All-in-one task and docs work

Website: https://clickup.com

Best for: All-in-one task and docs work

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Combines tasks, docs, goals and chat in one place; generous Free Forever tier

Cons: The wide feature set takes time to configure; the Free Forever tier caps storage at 60 MB

ClickUp aims to replace several tools at once by combining tasks, documents, goals, whiteboards and chat in a single workspace. Core is $9 per user per month when billed annually and Business is $17, while the Free Forever tier gives small teams a working setup with a 60 MB storage cap. For an IT team, that means sprints, bug tracking, runbooks and meeting notes can live in one place instead of spread across four apps. Views include list, board, calendar, timeline and Gantt, so the same work can be shown differently to engineers and to managers.

The breadth is also the main risk. There are many settings, custom fields, statuses and automations to configure, and a team that turns everything on at once can spend weeks tuning the workspace instead of shipping work. Integrations cover GitHub, GitLab, Slack and Microsoft Teams, and automations can handle routine moves such as assigning a bug when it is created or changing a status when a linked pull request merges.

5

Asana

Best for Structured project and goal tracking

Website: https://asana.com

Best for: Structured project and goal tracking

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Clear project structure with goals and portfolios; strong integrations with developer tools

Cons: Reporting and portfolios sit on higher tiers; the Personal free tier supports only 2 users

Asana organizes work into projects, tasks, sections and goals, which suits IT teams that run several streams at once, such as platform work, support queues and product delivery. Starter is $10.99 per user per month when billed annually and Advanced is $24.99. The Personal free tier supports up to 2 users, so a small team can try the structure before paying. Workload views, timelines and rules help leads see who is overloaded and which deadlines are at risk, though reporting and portfolios are reserved for the higher tiers.

For engineering work, Asana connects with GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Microsoft Teams and Jira, so code activity and chat can feed into task updates. Rules can route incoming requests, assign owners and set due dates automatically, which helps a service desk handoff run without constant manual triage. The main limit is that the features IT leads often want most, such as portfolio reporting across many projects and advanced workload views, require the Advanced tier, so the entry price is not the full cost for a team that needs those views.

6

Wrike

Best for Cross-team project coordination

Website: https://www.wrike.com

Best for: Cross-team project coordination

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Strong Gantt charts and workload views; request forms for intake

Cons: The interface has a learning curve for new users; the Team tier caps at 15 users

Wrike is built for teams that coordinate work across departments, which fits IT teams that take requests from product, support and operations. Team is $10 per user per month when billed annually and Business is $25, and the Team tier caps at 15 users. A free tier is available for small groups. Request forms let other teams submit work with the fields IT needs, such as system, severity and deadline, which cuts down on back-and-forth messages and incomplete tickets. Gantt charts, calendars and workload views show capacity across people and projects.

Wrike also offers time tracking, approvals and custom workflows, so a ticket can move from intake to triage to delivery with a clear owner at each step. Integrations include Slack, Microsoft Teams, GitHub and Salesforce. The interface packs a lot into each screen, and new users often need training time before they feel comfortable, especially if they are used to a simpler board.

7

Smartsheet

Best for Spreadsheet-style project plans

Website: https://www.smartsheet.com

Best for: Spreadsheet-style project plans

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

Free plan: No, 30-day free trial

Pros: Familiar spreadsheet grid for plans and schedules; strong reporting and dashboards

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

Smartsheet presents projects as grids that look and feel like a spreadsheet, which suits IT teams that plan capacity, track assets or manage rollouts in rows and columns. Pro is $9 per member per month when billed annually and Business is $19, and the Pro tier caps at 10 members. There is no free tier, though new signups can try it with a 30-day free trial. That cap matters: a team of 11 or more needs the Business tier, so the entry price only applies to small groups. Cards, Gantt charts and calendar views sit on top of the same grid data.

For IT planning, Smartsheet offers dashboards, automated alerts, approval workflows and resource management, so a rollout plan can show status, owner and risk in one view. Integrations include Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira and Salesforce, and forms can collect intake requests from other teams. The spreadsheet model is easy for people who already plan in grids, but it is less natural for sprint work than a dedicated board, and teams that want a free tier will need to look elsewhere.

8

Teamwork

Best for Client and service delivery work

Website: https://www.teamwork.com

Best for: Client and service delivery work

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

Free plan: Yes

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

Cons: Advanced resource planning needs the higher tier; the Basics tier has a 3-seat minimum

Teamwork is designed for teams that deliver work for clients, which covers many IT service teams, managed service providers and internal teams that bill work back to departments. Basics is $9.99 per user per month when billed annually and Accelerate is $24.99. The free tier supports up to 5 users, and the Basics tier carries a 3-seat minimum. Time tracking, milestones, task lists and project templates are central, so a team can log hours against tickets and see how much time each client or project consumes. That focus on billable delivery sets it apart from tools built only for internal sprints.

Integrations include Slack, Microsoft Teams, HubSpot and QuickBooks, and the platform offers workload views, Gantt charts and reporting on project health. For service desk handoffs, tasks can carry custom fields for system, severity and client, and templates keep repeatable work consistent. Advanced resource planning, including capacity forecasting across many projects, sits on the higher tier, so a team that needs to plan staffing months ahead will need Accelerate. For client-facing IT work with time tracking at the core, the entry tier covers the basics well.

9

Linear

Best for Fast issue tracking for product teams

Website: https://linear.app

Best for: Fast issue tracking for product teams

Starting price: $8 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Very fast interface with keyboard shortcuts; clean issue workflow for engineers

Cons: Limited built-in support for non-engineering project work; the free tier caps at 250 issues

Linear is a focused issue tracker built for product and engineering teams that want speed. Standard is $8 per user per month when billed annually, which makes it the lowest starting price in this list. The free tier supports up to 250 issues, which is enough for a small team or a side project to run real work before paying. The interface is fast, with keyboard shortcuts for almost every action, and issues move through a simple workflow from backlog to done. Cycles act like sprints, and projects group related issues with milestones and progress views.

Integrations cover GitHub, GitLab, Slack and Figma, so pull requests link to issues and status changes appear in chat automatically. Linear also offers roadmaps, initiatives and customer request tracking, which helps a team connect day-to-day issues to longer plans. The trade-off is scope: it is built for engineering work first, so marketing, support and operations teams may find fewer templates and features for their own work. IT teams that are mostly engineers and want a fast, focused tracker will like it, while mixed teams may need a second tool for non-engineering projects.

What to check before you buy

Start with the real size of your team, not the size you hope to reach next year. Seat minimums and user caps change the true cost: a 3-seat minimum means a two-person team pays for three seats, and a cap of 10 or 15 users forces a tier jump sooner than the headline price suggests. Next, check which features sit on the entry tier. Time tracking, advanced automations, reporting and resource planning often need a higher tier, so list the five features your team cannot work without and confirm each one against the pricing page. Then check permissions and audit needs: who can see client data, who can change a workflow, and whether the activity log keeps enough history for your compliance rules.

Also confirm the integrations your team already uses. A repo link that only shows a commit hash is less useful than one that updates issue status when a pull request merges, and a chat integration should post alerts your on-call staff will actually read. Finally, run a trial with real work, not sample data. Give the trial to the people who will use it daily, including support staff who file tickets and managers who read reports, and ask them to complete a full sprint or a week of incident work before you decide.

FAQ

Which project management tool is best for a small IT team?

For a small IT team, Jira free up to 10 users, ClickUp Free Forever and Linear free up to 250 issues all give real working room without a card. Jira fits teams that run scrum, ClickUp fits teams that also need docs, and Linear fits engineering teams that want speed. Pick the one whose workflow matches how your team already works, then test it with a real sprint.

Do these tools integrate with GitHub and GitLab?

Yes, most of the tools in this list connect with GitHub, and several also connect with GitLab. Jira, ClickUp, Asana, Wrike, monday.com and Linear all list GitHub integrations on their sites, and Jira, ClickUp, Asana and Linear also cover GitLab. Check the integration page for your chosen tool before buying, since the depth of the link varies by tier and by vendor.

What is the cheapest option for an IT team that needs to pay?

Linear Standard at $8 per user per month when billed annually is the lowest starting price in this list. monday.com Basic and ClickUp Core follow at $9, and Smartsheet Pro is $9 per member. Remember that the cheapest headline price is not always the cheapest total cost, since seat minimums, user caps and missing features on the entry tier can push a team to a higher tier.

Can IT teams use these tools for incident management?

Yes, with the right setup. Jira, monday.com, Wrike and Teamwork all support intake forms, priorities, owners and status workflows that fit incident triage. The key is a clear workflow from intake to resolution, plus alerts in Slack or Microsoft Teams so on-call staff see new incidents quickly. Check whether automations and alerts are included on your tier before relying on them.

How important are permissions and audit logs for IT teams?

Permissions and audit logs matter a great deal for IT teams that handle client data, production systems or regulated information. Granular permissions stop contractors and support staff from seeing work they should not see, and an activity log shows who changed what and when. Before buying, confirm which tier includes the permission and log features you need, since vendors often reserve them for higher tiers.

Sources we checked

  • https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/pricing
  • https://monday.com/pricing
  • https://clickup.com/pricing
  • https://asana.com/pricing
  • https://www.wrike.com/pricing
  • https://www.smartsheet.com/pricing
  • https://www.teamwork.com/pricing
  • https://linear.app/pricing
How we score

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Best project management software for IT teams#1 PICK