Best Project Management Software for Small Business

Website: https://asana.com/

Best for: Structured team projects

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Timeline and Gantt views on Starter; unlimited free guests; 100 plus integrations on the free tier

Cons: Free plan limited to 2 users; built-in time tracking only on the Advanced plan

Asana fits small businesses that want tasks, deadlines, and owners in one clear place. The Starter plan adds timeline and Gantt views, reporting dashboards, forms, custom fields, and unlimited automations, which cover most of what a team of 5 to 20 people needs to run weekly work. Unlimited free guests also help when clients or contractors need to see a project without taking a seat.

Pricing is straightforward, with Starter at $10.99 per user per month billed annually and a Personal plan that costs nothing for up to 2 users. The trade-off is that built-in time tracking waits until the Advanced plan at $24.99, so teams that bill by the hour may need a separate time tool or a higher tier. Asana works best for teams that value structure and clear ownership over a long list of extra features.

Website: https://trello.com/

Best for: Simple visual boards

Starting price: $5 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Very easy to learn; unlimited cards on every plan; free plan covers up to 10 collaborators

Cons: Timeline, table, calendar, and dashboard views need the Premium plan; reporting stays light

Trello is the simplest tool in this list, and that is its main strength. Work lives on boards made of lists and cards, so a new hire can understand a project in minutes without training. The Standard plan at $5 per user per month adds unlimited boards, advanced checklists, custom fields, and more automation than the free plan, while keeping the same plain layout.

The free plan covers up to 10 collaborators per workspace, which suits a tiny team or a side project. The limits show up when work grows: timeline, table, calendar, and dashboard views need the Premium plan at $10, and reporting stays light even there. Trello is a good pick for teams that want a visual to-do board and little else, and a weak pick for teams that need workload planning or detailed reports.

Website: https://monday.com/

Best for: Visual boards and workflows

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Colorful boards make status easy to read; unlimited items on Basic; 14-day free trial of Pro

Cons: Basic includes no automation or integration actions; lowest tiers start at a 3-seat minimum

monday.com turns projects into colorful boards where status, owner, and due date are visible at a glance. The Basic plan at $9 per user per month removes the item limits of the free plan and adds unlimited items and free viewers, which is enough for a small team that tracks tasks and deadlines on shared boards.

Two costs deserve attention before you sign up. First, the lowest tiers start at a 3-seat minimum, so a one-person business still pays for 3 seats, or $27 per month billed annually. Second, Basic includes no automation or integration actions, so teams that want rules and alerts will need Standard at $12 or Pro at $19. The free plan covers up to 2 seats, and a 14-day free trial of Pro is available.

Website: https://clickup.com/

Best for: All-in-one workspace

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Free Forever plan covers unlimited tasks; Core adds Gantt charts and unlimited storage; many views included

Cons: Free Forever plan includes only 60 MB of storage; guest seats are limited on lower tiers

ClickUp packs the most into its lower tiers, which is why it suits small businesses that want one workspace for tasks, docs, goals, and chat. The Free Forever plan includes unlimited tasks and subtasks, collaborative docs, kanban boards, a calendar view, sprint management, and time tracking, with 60 MB of storage. Core at $9 per user per month adds unlimited storage, custom fields, Gantt charts, goals, and 1,000 automations a month.

The breadth is also the drawback: ClickUp has so many views and settings that setup takes longer than Trello or Basecamp, and new users can feel lost in the options. Guest seats are limited on lower tiers, with Core workspaces receiving a set number of guest seats based on size. For a small team that wants one tool to cover most jobs, ClickUp gives the most room to grow without changing tools.

Website: https://basecamp.com/

Best for: Flat-rate team hub

Starting price: $29 per month (flat rate, up to 5 users)

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Flat monthly price with no per-user fees; message boards, chat, scheduling, and docs in one place; free plan needs no card

Cons: Free plan allows only 1 project; Freelancer package excludes templates, time tracking, and multiple tools per project

Basecamp is different from every other tool here because it charges by the package, not by the person. The Freelancer package costs $29 per month for up to 3 projects and 5 users, with message boards, to-dos, card tables, chat, scheduling, and docs in one place. That flat price can cost less than per-user tools once a team passes 3 or 4 people, and there are no per-user fees to track as the team grows.

The trade-offs are real. The free plan allows only 1 project with 1 GB of storage and 3 users, so it suits a trial, not daily work. The Freelancer package leaves out templates, time tracking, and multiple tools per project, which arrive on Pro at $79 per month or Pro Plus at $99. Basecamp suits teams that want one calm hub and a flat bill, not teams that need Gantt charts or deep reporting.

Website: https://www.wrike.com/

Best for: Gantt charts and dashboards

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Gantt charts and shareable dashboards on Team; 14-day free trial; strong structure for repeatable work

Cons: Team plan caps at 15 users and seats are sold in groups of 5; time tracking starts on Business

Wrike suits small businesses that run structured, repeatable work and want Gantt charts and dashboards from the start. The Team plan at $10 per user per month adds shareable dashboards, interactive Gantt charts, calendars, custom fields, workflows, and 50 automation actions per seat per month, plus AI essentials. A 14-day free trial is available, and there is a free plan to fall back on.

The limits are the user cap and the seat bundles. Team supports 2 to 15 users, and seats are sold in groups of 5, so a team of 6 pays for 10 seats. Time tracking starts on Business at $25 per user per month, and Business and higher tiers are sold only as annual subscriptions. Wrike is a strong pick for teams that plan with timelines, and a weaker pick for teams that need flexible month-to-month billing.

Website: https://www.teamwork.com/

Best for: Client work and billable time

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: Built-in time tracking and invoicing on higher tiers; templates and Gantt views on Basics; 14-day free trial

Cons: Free plan caps at 5 users and 5 projects with 100 automations; workload planning needs Accelerate

Teamwork is built for client work, which shows in its feature list. The Basics plan at $9.99 per user per month includes Gantt, table, list, and board views, unlimited templates, billable time tracking, and reporting, plus US or EU data hosting. A 14-day free trial is available, and the free plan covers up to 5 projects and 5 users with time logging included.

The free plan is tight: 5 users, 5 projects, and 100 automations, so a growing agency will outgrow it fast. Workload planning, time budgets, retainers, and client invoicing from logged time sit on Accelerate at $24.99 per user per month, so price the tier that matches how you bill clients. Teamwork suits agencies and consultancies that track billable hours, and it matters less for internal teams with no clients.

Website: https://www.notion.com/

Best for: Docs plus project tracking

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: One workspace for docs, wikis, and project databases; guests are free; Plus adds charts, custom forms, and 30-day history

Cons: Free plan limits blocks once a second member joins; full Notion AI is only on the Business plan

Notion combines docs, wikis, and project databases in one workspace, which appeals to small businesses that live in written notes as much as task lists. Pages hold subtasks, dependencies, custom properties, charts, and forms, and guests are free, so clients can view a page without a seat. The Plus plan at $10 per user per month adds unlimited blocks for a team, 5 GB file uploads, custom forms and sites, and 30-day page history.

The limits are worth knowing. On the free plan, blocks are limited once a second member joins, and file uploads cap at 5 MB, so a team quickly needs Plus. Full Notion AI, with Notion Agent, AI meeting notes, and enterprise search, is only on the Business plan at $20 per user per month. Notion suits docs-first teams that want projects beside their notes, not teams that want ready-made Gantt charts and workload views.