Manufacturing teams need boards that track production runs, machine maintenance, quality checks, and supplier deliveries in one place, not just simple task lists.
Starting prices in this guide run from $9 to $10.99 per user or seat each month on annual billing, so a small plant can start without a large upfront commitment.
Seven of the eight tools offer a free plan, while Smartsheet offers a 30-day free trial instead, which gives teams a way to test the layout before they commit.
Look for dependencies, timelines, resource views, and approval steps, because those features connect engineering changes to shop floor work and to delivery dates.
The best choice depends on team size, the number of sites, and how much structure your quality and maintenance work needs, so compare the decision table near the end of this guide.
Comparison
How these compare
Tool
Best for
Price range
Free plan
monday.com
Visual production boards
$9 per seat/month (billed annually)
Yes
Asana
Cross-team production programs
$10.99 per user/month (billed annually)
Yes
ClickUp
Custom shop floor workflows
$9 per user/month (billed annually)
Yes
Wrike
Structured multi-site projects
$10 per user/month (billed annually)
Yes
Smartsheet
Spreadsheet style production plans
$9 per member/month (billed annually)
No, 30-day free trial
Teamwork
Client and supplier project work
$9.99 per user/month (billed annually)
Yes
Jira
Engineering and issue tracking
$9.70 per user/month (monthly billing, first 100 users)
Yes
Notion
Flexible docs and light tracking
$10 per member/month (billed annually)
Yes
How we choose
We compared vendor pricing pages, product docs, and feature pages for each tool in this guide, and we checked the starting price, the free plan or trial, and the features that matter for manufacturing work. We looked for timelines and dependencies, board and Gantt views, custom fields, approval steps, resource views, and reporting, because those features connect engineering, procurement, production, and quality. We also checked plan limits, such as seat caps and tier limits, so the price shown here matches the tier a team would actually buy. We did not claim hands-on testing, and we did not use scores or star ratings. Prices can change, so check the vendor pricing page linked in Sources before you buy.
BBest project management software for manufacturing teams
2
Mmonday.com
Best for Visual production boards
Website: https://monday.com
Best for: Visual production boards
Starting price: $9 per seat/month (billed annually)
Free plan: Yes
Pros: Clear visual boards for production runs; wide range of templates for operations work
Cons: Lower tiers lack time tracking and advanced automations; costs rise as more seats are added
monday.com gives manufacturing teams a visual way to follow work from order to shipment. Boards can show each production run as a row, with columns for status, owner, due date, quantity, and quality checks. Managers can switch between board, timeline, and calendar views to see which lines are running, which jobs are waiting for parts, and which orders are close to their delivery dates. Templates for operations, production planning, and inventory help a team set up a first board without building every column from scratch.
For shop floor coordination, the tool works well when supervisors update status from a tablet or a shared screen at the end of each shift. Automations on higher tiers can move a job to the next stage when a quality check is marked complete, or notify a planner when a delivery date changes. The free plan covers up to two seats, so a small team can test the layout first. The Basic tier starts at $9 per seat each month on annual billing, with Standard at $12 and Pro at $19, and a three seat minimum applies to the entry tiers.
3
AAsana
Best for Cross-team production programs
Website: https://asana.com
Best for: Cross-team production programs
Starting price: $10.99 per user/month (billed annually)
Free plan: Yes
Pros: Strong timelines and dependencies for multi-step work; clear task ownership across teams
Cons: Reporting and portfolios sit on higher tiers; some features need a higher tier to use fully
Asana suits manufacturing programs that span engineering, procurement, production, and quality. A new product launch can be broken into tasks for design changes, supplier quotes, tooling, first article inspection, and ramp up, with dependencies that show what must finish before the next step starts. Timelines give planners a clear view of the critical path, while list and board views let shop floor leads focus on the work due this week. Rules on higher tiers can assign tasks, set due dates, and move work between stages as status changes.
The tool also helps with routine work such as maintenance schedules and safety checks. Recurring tasks can remind technicians of weekly machine checks, and forms can collect maintenance requests from operators in a standard format. The Personal plan is free for up to two users. Starter starts at $10.99 per user each month on annual billing, and Advanced is $24.99 per user each month on annual billing. Teams that need portfolios and advanced reporting should check the tier that includes those views before they commit.
4
CClickUp
Best for Custom shop floor workflows
Website: https://clickup.com
Best for: Custom shop floor workflows
Starting price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)
Free plan: Yes
Pros: Flexible views and custom fields for production data; low starting price for small teams
Cons: The wide feature set takes time to configure; new users may need training to use it well
ClickUp offers a broad set of views that manufacturing teams can shape around their own process. A production order can carry custom fields for part number, batch, quantity, machine, and inspection result, while views can switch between list, board, Gantt chart, and calendar. Docs can hold work instructions next to the tasks that use them, and comments keep questions about a job in the same place as the job itself. That flexibility helps when one plant runs discrete assembly and another runs batch production under the same program.
The trade off is setup time. With so many options, a team should agree on a simple structure first, then add fields and views only where they help. A pilot with one line or one cell can show whether the layout works before the whole plant adopts it. The Free Forever plan includes a 60 MB storage cap. Core starts at $9 per user each month on annual billing, and Business is $17 per user each month on annual billing. Small teams can start on the free plan and move up when they need more storage and controls.
5
WWrike
Best for Structured multi-site projects
Website: https://www.wrike.com
Best for: Structured multi-site projects
Starting price: $10 per user/month (billed annually)
Free plan: Yes
Pros: Clear project structure across sites and teams; approval steps for quality and change control
Cons: The interface has a learning curve for new users; some views take time to set up well
Wrike fits manufacturers that run the same project across more than one site. Folders and projects can mirror the plant structure, with work grouped by line, cell, or product family, and dashboards can roll up status across sites so managers see delays in one place. Gantt charts show dependencies between tooling, material supply, and production, while request forms give internal customers a standard way to ask for engineering changes or maintenance work. Approval steps help quality teams sign off on a change before it reaches the shop floor.
The tool rewards a clear setup. Teams should define naming, status values, and folder rules before they invite a large group, because a consistent structure makes the cross site reports far more useful. The free plan is a useful starting point for a small group. Team starts at $10 per user each month on annual billing and caps at 15 users, while Business is $25 per user each month on annual billing. Larger plants should check the Business tier for the reporting and resource views they need.
6
SSmartsheet
Best for Spreadsheet style production plans
Website: https://www.smartsheet.com
Best for: Spreadsheet style production plans
Starting price: $9 per member/month (billed annually)
Free plan: No, 30-day free trial
Pros: Familiar grid layout for schedules and lists; strong formulas and reports for planners
Cons: No free plan for new signups; collaboration features sit on higher tiers
Smartsheet will feel familiar to planners who already run production schedules in spreadsheets. Sheets can hold orders, quantities, dates, and owners in rows, with formulas for lead time, due dates, and totals. Gantt views turn the same sheet into a timeline, and reports can pull rows from many sheets into one view for a daily production meeting. Forms collect shop floor updates, maintenance requests, and quality findings in a standard format, and alerts can notify a planner when a date slips or a cell changes.
The grid layout makes it easy to copy a plan for a repeat order and to adjust dates in bulk, which helps when a supplier moves a delivery. Teams that need proofing, resource views, or more control over sharing should look at the Business tier. Pro starts at $9 per member each month on annual billing and caps at 10 members, while Business is $19 per member each month on annual billing. There is no free plan for new signups, but a 30-day free trial lets a team test a real schedule before it commits.
7
TTeamwork
Best for Client and supplier project work
Website: https://www.teamwork.com
Best for: Client and supplier project work
Starting price: $9.99 per user/month (billed annually)
Free plan: Yes
Pros: Clear client and project tracking; useful time and workload views for service work
Cons: Advanced resource planning needs the higher tier; some reports need a higher tier
Teamwork works well for manufacturers that also run project work for customers, such as custom builds, installation, and after sales service. Projects can track tasks, milestones, and time against a customer order, while workload views show who is booked and who has capacity for the next job. Clients can be given limited access to see progress on their own orders, which cuts down on status emails and calls. Templates help teams repeat the same steps for each custom order without missing a quality check or a handover.
The free plan covers up to five users, which suits a small project office. Basics starts at $9.99 per user each month on annual billing, with a three seat minimum, and Accelerate is $24.99 per user each month on annual billing. Teams that run many projects at once should check the Accelerate tier for resource planning, portfolio views, and more detailed reporting. For a plant that mainly needs internal production tracking, the core task and timeline views may be enough.
8
JJira
Best for Engineering and issue tracking
Website: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira
Best for: Engineering and issue tracking
Starting price: $9.70 per user/month (monthly billing, first 100 users)
Free plan: Yes
Pros: Detailed issue tracking for engineering changes; clear workflows for defects and fixes
Cons: Graduated per-user bands make costs hard to predict as teams grow; setup needs care
Jira is a strong fit where engineering change and defect tracking sit close to production. Issues can represent a design change, a nonconformance, a supplier problem, or a maintenance fault, with a workflow that moves each issue from report to fix to verification. Boards show work in progress by team or by line, and filters can pull together all open issues for a product, a machine, or a supplier. Links between issues show how a design change affects a part, a work instruction, and a test plan, which helps quality teams trace a problem to its cause.
The tool is less suited as a general production scheduler on its own, so many manufacturers pair it with a planning board for daily shop floor work. The free plan covers up to 10 users. Standard pricing uses graduated bands, with $9.70 per user each month on monthly billing for the first 100 users, and Premium is $19.60 per user each month on monthly billing. Teams should model the cost at their expected headcount, because the per user rate changes as the team grows.
9
NNotion
Best for Flexible docs and light tracking
Website: https://www.notion.com
Best for: Flexible docs and light tracking
Starting price: $10 per member/month (billed annually)
Free plan: Yes
Pros: Docs, databases, and tasks in one workspace; easy to build a simple production hub
Cons: Task tracking needs manual setup compared with dedicated PM tools; fewer built in PM controls
Notion gives a manufacturing team one workspace for work instructions, shift notes, supplier contacts, and light task tracking. Databases can list production orders with status, owner, and due date, while linked pages can hold the work instruction, quality checklist, and photos for each job. A team can build a simple hub that links the daily schedule to maintenance logs and to a list of open issues, without buying a separate wiki. That flexibility helps small teams that need shared knowledge more than they need a formal project system.
The limit is that task tracking needs manual setup. There are no built in Gantt dependencies or resource views of the kind a dedicated project tool provides, so teams must build their own views and keep them up to date. The free plan is enough for a small team to test the hub. Plus starts at $10 per member each month on annual billing, and Business is $20 per member each month on annual billing. Choose Notion when docs and shared knowledge matter most, and add a dedicated planner when schedules get complex.
What to check before you buy
Start with a pilot on one line, one cell, or one product family, and use real orders, real dates, and real owners. Ask who will update status each shift, how a quality hold will stop a job from moving forward, and how a supplier delay will show up on the timeline. Check whether the plan you need includes dependencies, resource views, and approvals, because those features often sit on higher tiers. Check data export, user permissions, and how the tool handles multiple sites, so a move to another tool later stays possible. Confirm the seat minimum and the free plan limits, and confirm the total cost at your expected headcount, not just the headline rate.
Team size or budget
Best fit from this guide
1 to 10 people, low budget
ClickUp, Notion, or Asana on a free plan, then move to Core, Plus, or Starter
11 to 50 people, one site
monday.com Basic or Standard, Wrike Team or Business, or Teamwork Basics
51 to 200 people, multi-site
Wrike Business, Asana Advanced, or Smartsheet Business for reporting and control
Engineering led, change control first
Jira Standard or Premium, with a planning board for daily shop floor work
Use this checklist before you sign up. Confirm the starting price and the tier that includes the features you need. Confirm the free plan or trial limits and the seat minimum. Confirm that timelines, dependencies, and approvals are included. Confirm that you can export your data and set permissions by role. Confirm how the tool handles maintenance, quality holds, and supplier delays. Confirm the total monthly cost at your full headcount, and confirm who will own the setup, training, and daily updates after launch.
FAQ
Which project management tool is best for a small manufacturing team?
For a small team, ClickUp, Notion, or Asana are good starting points because each offers a free plan and a low entry price. Pick ClickUp for custom views, Notion for docs and a simple hub, or Asana for clear timelines and dependencies. Run a pilot on one line first, then move to a low tier when the team needs more storage, controls, or reporting.
Can these tools track production schedules and quality checks?
Yes, most tools in this guide can track production schedules with timelines, boards, and due dates, and they can track quality checks as tasks with owners and approval steps. Use dependencies to show what must finish before the next step starts, and use custom fields for batch, quantity, and inspection result. Keep the status values simple so shop floor updates stay fast and accurate.
Do I need a higher tier for resource planning and approvals?
In many cases, yes. Resource views, portfolio reporting, and approval steps often sit on higher tiers, even when basic task tracking is included in the entry tier. Check the vendor pricing page for the exact tier that includes the feature you need, and test it in a trial or pilot. That check avoids a surprise cost after the team has already set up its projects.
How much does project management software cost for a manufacturing team?
Starting prices in this guide run from $9 to $10.99 per user or seat each month on annual billing, with Jira at $9.70 per user each month on monthly billing for the first 100 users. The total cost depends on headcount, seat minimums, and the tier you need for reporting and approvals. Model the cost at your full headcount before you commit to a plan.
Should we use one tool for engineering and the shop floor?
Many teams use one tool for planning and a second tool for engineering issues, but that adds handover work. If engineering change and defect tracking matter most, start with Jira and add a planning board for daily work. If production schedules matter most, start with monday.com, Asana, or Wrike, and link engineering tasks into the same project. Pick the tool that fits your main workflow first.