Best Task Project Management Software

Website: https://asana.com

Best for: teams that mix tasks with cross-team projects

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: clean lists, boards and timelines; easy for non-technical staff

Cons: time tracking needs an integration; 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. Tasks sit in lists, boards and timelines, with assignees, due dates, dependencies and subtasks. Portfolios roll up status across projects, which helps managers see the whole team without opening each task list.

The strength of Asana is clarity. A task list is easy to read, timelines show dependencies, 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 missing pieces. Time tracking is not built in, so teams that track hours need an integration such as Harvest or Everhour. Advanced at $24.99 is a big jump from Starter, and many reporting features sit on that tier.

Website: https://monday.com

Best for: teams that want visual task boards

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

Free plan: Yes

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

Cons: time tracking 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. Tasks run on visual boards, with status columns, timelines and dashboards that show the state of every project. Automations move tasks between stages and notify owners when a due date approaches.

The strength of monday.com is visual reporting. Dashboards pull data from several boards into one view, so a manager can see workload, deadlines and progress without opening each board. The template library covers common task setups, and the interface is friendly enough for the whole team. A team that reports progress to stakeholders will find the dashboards useful.

The limits are cost and depth. Time tracking, budgets 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 team of 50 pays $450 a month on Basic.

Website: https://clickup.com

Best for: teams that want tasks, docs and goals together

Starting price: $9 per user/month

Free plan: Yes

Pros: tasks, 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 lists, boards and calendars for task work. A team can run task lists, campaign planning and internal operations in the same place, which suits a team 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 team to run real work on it. Automations, templates and integrations cover most common workflows, and the Business plan adds workload views and time estimates.

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 task views need configuration before they feel right. The interface can feel busy, and some teams find the learning curve steeper than Asana or Trello.

Website: https://trello.com

Best for: teams that want simple card boards

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: simplest boards in this list; cheapest entry price

Cons: no dependencies or time tracking; free plan caps boards at 10

Trello has a free plan with up to 10 collaborators and 10 open boards, then Standard costs $5 per user a month and Premium costs $10 on annual billing. Monthly billing costs $6 and $12.50. Tasks are cards on lists on a board, with checklists, due dates, labels and attachments. Standard adds unlimited boards, custom fields and 1,000 automation runs a month.

The strength of Trello is simplicity. A new team can build its first board in minutes, and the card view is so clear that no training is needed. Automation moves cards between lists, and the Planner and AI features on Standard help small teams organise their work. For a team that wants task boards without setup, Trello is the fastest start in this list.

The limits are the missing features. Trello has no dependencies, no built-in time tracking and no Gantt chart on Standard, and the calendar, timeline and dashboard views wait for Premium at $10. A team that outgrows cards will need a fuller tool.

Website: https://todoist.com

Best for: teams that live on simple task lists

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: fastest task capture in this list; clean lists with filters

Cons: no boards or timelines on lower plans; Business needed for team work

Todoist has a free Beginner plan with 5 personal projects, then Pro costs $5 per user a month and Business costs $8 on annual billing. Monthly billing costs $7 and $10. Pro adds 300 personal projects, calendar layout, task duration and custom reminders. Business adds a shared team workspace with up to 500 team projects, roles and permissions, and centralised billing.

The strength of Todoist is speed. Capturing a task takes seconds, natural language dates work well, and filters and labels keep a long list readable. The interface is calm, and the mobile app is one of the best in this list. For a team that lives on task lists and wants the fastest way to add, sort and finish work, Todoist is hard to beat.

The limits are the project depth. Todoist is a task manager, not a project platform, so boards, timelines and Gantt views are thin or missing. Team work needs the Business plan at $8 per user a month, and the free plan caps personal projects at 5.

Website: https://wrike.com

Best for: teams that need approvals on task work

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 tasks, projects, Gantt charts and approvals, with proofing tools that let reviewers comment on files inside the task. A team that produces design, documents or video 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 tasks between stages. The Team plan is enough for a small team to run its work.

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

Website: https://smartsheet.com

Best for: teams that run tasks 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; task 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 card views, Gantt charts and dashboards layered on top. A team that plans tasks 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 manager can track deadlines, owners and workload across all projects in one view. Automations handle approvals and notifications, and the form tools collect task requests directly into a sheet. For a team 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 Trello or monday.com. There is no free plan, so a small team has to pay from day one.

Website: https://notion.com

Best for: teams that want tasks with docs and wikis

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

Free plan: Yes

Pros: docs, wikis and task boards in one place; very flexible

Cons: task tracking is lighter than dedicated tools; setup is open-ended

Notion has a free plan, then Plus costs $10 per user a month and Business costs $20 on annual billing. The tool combines docs, wikis, databases and task boards in one workspace, so a team can keep briefs, guides and task lists in the same place. Databases link tasks to projects, owners and due dates, which gives a small team a single source of truth.

The strength of Notion is flexibility. A team can build a task tracker, a content calendar and a project hub without leaving the tool, and the free plan is enough for a small team to start. Templates cover common task setups, and the docs tools are stronger than most task tools offer. For a team that writes a lot, that combination is attractive.

The limits are the task depth and the setup burden. Notion is not a dedicated task tool, so timelines, dependencies and reporting are lighter than Asana or ClickUp. The open-ended setup means a team has to design its own system, which takes time.

Website: https://teamwork.com

Best for: teams that bill clients for task work

Starting price: $9.99 per user/month

Free plan: Yes

Pros: built for client work 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 team getting started. Time tracking and invoicing connect directly to tasks, 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 team that bills by the hour, 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.

These figures use the entry plan for each tool on annual billing where the vendor quotes it. Trello and Todoist are the cheapest at $50 a month for 10 users, and they are also the fastest to set up. Notion costs $100 a month and asks the most setup time, because the team designs its own task system.