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Project Management by Team · Researched comparison

Best Workflow Management Software for Teams

By the TaskReports Editorial Team
Published 13 Nov 2026 · Updated 13 Nov 2026Last verified 13 Nov 2026How we score

TaskReports may earn a fee from some links on this page, and some placements are paid and labelled. Neither one decides the order. See our disclosure.

The short answer

monday.com is the top pick for most teams because it combines visual boards, automations and a wide set of templates in one place, so a team can map a workflow, assign owners and track progress without adding a second tool. Teams that want a strong free plan should look at Asana or ClickUp first.

Best overall monday.com $9 per user/month (billed annually) Also great Asana $10.99 per user/month (billed annually) Also great ClickUp $9 per user/month (billed annually)
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Key takeaways

  • monday.com leads for most teams because its boards, automations and templates cover common workflows with little setup.
  • Asana and ClickUp offer useful free plans, which suit small teams that need shared tasks and deadlines before they commit to a monthly cost.
  • Pipefy and Process Street suit teams that run repeatable, step by step processes and need checklists, approvals and audit trails.
  • Jira fits software and product teams that already work in sprints, while Notion and Airtable fit teams that want docs and data in the same place.
  • Check the entry plan limits before you buy, since automations, guest access and reporting often sit on higher plans.

Comparison

How these compare
ToolBest forPrice rangeFree plan
monday.comVisual boards and automations$9 per user/month (billed annually)Free trial (14 days)
AsanaShared tasks and team deadlines$10.99 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
ClickUpAll in one tasks, docs and goals$9 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
WrikeStructured project workflows$9.80 per user/month (billed annually)Free trial (14 days)
SmartsheetSpreadsheet style project plans$9 per user/month (billed annually)Free trial (30 days)
NotionDocs, wikis and light workflows$10 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
AirtableData driven workflows and bases$20 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
PipefyRepeatable business processes$30 per user/month (billed annually)Yes
Process StreetChecklists and standard proceduresquote onlyFree trial (14 days)
JiraSoftware and product delivery$9.70 per user/month (billed monthly)Yes

How we choose

We reviewed vendor pricing pages, product docs and feature pages for each tool in this guide, and we compared starting prices, free plans, workflow views, automations, approvals and reporting. We looked for tools that cover the full workflow from request to delivery, and we noted where a feature sits on a higher plan so readers can see the real cost. We did not claim hands-on testing, and we based each price on the vendor pricing page listed in Sources. Written by the Taskreports Editorial Team.

Our full method

The shortlist

★ Best overall

monday.com

Best for Visual boards and automations for teams

  • Clear visual boards that show status at a glance
  • wide template library for common team workflows
Price$9 per user/month (billed annually)
See monday.com pricing

monday.com gives teams a visual way to run work from intake to delivery. Boards hold tasks, owners, dates, status labels and files, and teams can switch between table, timeline, calendar and Kanban views.

Templates cover marketing, sales, operations, HR and product work, and automations can move items, send reminders and notify owners when a status changes. Dashboards pull status from several boards, which helps managers see where work stands.

Price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Website: monday.com

Watch out for

  • Automations and some views are limited on the entry plan
  • costs rise as you add users and features
2

Asana

Best for Shared tasks, projects and deadlines
$10.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Asana works well for teams that want a clear list of who does what and when it is due. Projects can use list, board, timeline or calendar views, and tasks can hold subtasks, comments, attachments and due dates.

Teams can set up project templates for repeat work, such as campaign launches or onboarding, and use forms to collect requests in one place. The free plan supports up to 10 collaborators, which is enough for a small team to test real work before paying.

Price: $10.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: asana.com

What we like

  • Simple task lists that teams learn fast
  • useful free plan for up to 10 collaborators

Watch out for

  • Advanced reporting and workload views need a higher plan
  • timeline and rules are limited on the entry plan
See Asana pricing
3

ClickUp

Best for All in one tasks, docs and goals
$9 per user/month (billed annually)

ClickUp aims to hold many kinds of work in one place. Teams can manage tasks in list, board, calendar, Gantt and table views, write docs next to the work, set goals with targets, and use whiteboards for planning.

Custom fields, statuses and templates let a team shape ClickUp around its own process, from content production to client delivery. The free plan includes unlimited tasks and members in the free tier, with limits on storage and some views.

Price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: clickup.com

What we like

  • Broad feature set that covers tasks, docs, goals and chat
  • generous free plan for small teams

Watch out for

  • The wide set of options can feel crowded at first
  • some views and storage limits apply on lower plans
See ClickUp pricing
4

Wrike

Best for Structured workflows for larger teams
$9.80 per user/month (billed annually)

Wrike suits teams that run structured work with clear stages, owners and approvals. Projects sit inside folders and spaces, tasks can carry custom fields and dependencies, and request forms can feed new work into a queue with the right details attached.

Teams can build dashboards and reports that show progress across projects, which helps managers spot delays early. Proofing and approval tools let reviewers comment on files and sign off work inside the same task.

Price: $9.80 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Website: wrike.com

What we like

  • Strong project structure with folders, custom fields and request forms
  • clear approval workflows

Watch out for

  • No free plan beyond the trial
  • the interface takes time to learn for new users
See Wrike pricing
5

Smartsheet

Best for Spreadsheet style plans and schedules
$9 per user/month (billed annually)

Smartsheet will feel familiar to any team that already plans work in spreadsheets. Sheets hold rows for tasks, with columns for owners, dates, status and notes, and teams can switch to Gantt, card or calendar views without rebuilding the plan.

Automations can send alerts, request updates and move rows when a date or status changes. Reports and dashboards can pull rows from many sheets, which helps managers track a portfolio of projects from one screen.

Price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Website: smartsheet.com

What we like

  • Familiar grid layout that spreadsheet users adopt fast
  • strong Gantt charts and reporting

Watch out for

  • Collaboration features are thinner on the entry plan
  • costs rise for viewers who need editing rights
See Smartsheet pricing
6

Notion

Best for Docs, wikis and light team workflows
$10 per user/month (billed annually)

Notion combines notes, docs and databases in one workspace, which suits teams that want process docs and task tracking side by side. A team can build a wiki for how work gets done, a task database with status and owner fields, and a meeting notes hub that links back to tasks.

Templates cover roadmaps, content calendars, hiring pipelines and project trackers, and pages can be shared with the whole team or with selected members. Its workflow features cover assignments, dates, status and simple automations, but teams that need strict approval steps will find a dedicated tool a closer match.

Price: $10 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: notion.com

What we like

  • Flexible pages that combine docs, tables and tasks
  • useful free plan for individuals and small teams

Watch out for

  • Workflow automations are more limited than in dedicated tools
  • large databases can feel slow to manage
See Notion pricing
7

Airtable

Best for Data driven workflows, bases and records
$20 per user/month (billed annually)

Airtable treats work as structured records in a base, which suits teams that track assets, content, clients, inventory or requests as data. Each base can hold several tables, and teams can view the same records as a grid, Kanban board, calendar, gallery or form.

Filters, grouping and sorting make it easy to find the records that need action, and automations can update fields, send messages and create records when a trigger fires. Teams should define tables and fields with care, since a base that grows without a plan can become hard to maintain.

Price: $20 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: airtable.com

What we like

  • Strong database views including grid, Kanban, calendar and gallery
  • useful for tracking structured records

Watch out for

  • Starting price is higher than most tools here
  • automations and record limits apply on lower plans
See Airtable pricing
8

Pipefy

Best for Repeatable business processes and approvals
$30 per user/month (billed annually)

Pipefy is built for processes that repeat the same steps many times, such as purchase requests, hiring, onboarding, finance approvals and support tickets. Each process is a pipe with phases, and cards move through the phases as work is done.

Forms collect requests with the right fields, automations route cards and send alerts, and approvals can be built into a phase so work cannot move forward until it is signed off. Dashboards show how many cards sit in each phase and where delays build up.

Price: $30 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: pipefy.com

What we like

  • Clear process pipes with phases, forms and approvals
  • built for repeatable operational work

Watch out for

  • Starting price is higher than general task tools
  • less suited to freeform project work
See Pipefy pricing
9

Process Street

Best for Checklists and standard operating procedures
quote only

Process Street turns standard procedures into checklists that a team can run the same way every time. A workflow can hold tasks, due dates, form fields, approvals and conditional steps, so the person running the process sees exactly what to do next.

Templates cover employee onboarding, content publishing, client setup and quality checks, and completed runs keep a record of who did each step and when. That record helps managers review work and train new staff on the same standard.

Price: quote only

Free plan: Free trial (14 days)

Website: process.st

What we like

  • Clear checklists that guide each step of a process
  • good for training new staff on standard work

Watch out for

  • Vendor publishes no prices, so buyers must request a quote
  • less suited to freeform project planning
See Process Street pricing
10

Jira

Best for Software and product delivery in sprints
$9.70 per user/month (billed monthly)

Jira is the best known tool for software teams that plan work in sprints and track issues through a backlog. Teams can plan sprints, rank the backlog, run Scrum or Kanban boards, and link issues to epics and releases.

Reports show burndown, velocity and cycle time, which help product and engineering leads see whether a sprint is on track. Jira connects with other Atlassian tools for docs and code, so a software team can keep planning, docs and delivery linked.

Price: $9.70 per user/month (billed monthly)

Free plan: Yes

Website: atlassian.com

What we like

  • Strong support for Scrum and Kanban boards, sprints and backlogs
  • useful free plan for up to 10 users

Watch out for

  • Setup and admin take more effort than simpler tools
  • non software teams may find it too detailed
See Jira pricing

What to check before you buy

Start with a short trial on a real project, not a blank test board, so you can see how the tool handles your actual steps, owners and deadlines. Count the people who need to edit work, comment and approve, since some tools charge for every editor while viewers may cost less or nothing on some plans. Check which views, automations and reports sit on the entry plan, and ask for the price of the next plan up if your team will need them within a year. Check data export, admin controls and support hours, since those matter once the whole team relies on the tool.

Use this decision table to match team size and budget to a starting point, then test the top two options before you commit.

Also check the list below before you sign up. Confirm the trial length in days, confirm how many automations the entry plan allows per month, confirm whether guests can comment without a full seat, confirm that you can export your tasks and files, and confirm the notice period for cancelling. These five checks take less than an hour and can save a team from a plan that looks cheap but misses a feature the team needs every week.

FAQ

What is the best workflow management software for a small team?

For a small team, the best choice is often a tool with a useful free plan and a simple setup, such as Asana or ClickUp. Both let a team share tasks, set deadlines and track progress without an upfront cost. monday.com is also worth a trial if the team prefers visual boards and templates, though it offers a 14 day trial rather than a free plan. Test the top two on a real project before you choose.

How much does workflow management software cost per user?

Most tools in this guide start between 9 and 11 dollars per user per month when billed annually, with monday.com at 9 dollars, ClickUp at 9 dollars and Asana at 10.99 dollars. Airtable starts at 20 dollars and Pipefy at 30 dollars, which reflects their focus on data and formal processes. Process Street publishes no prices, so buyers must request a quote. Always check the vendor pricing page, since plan limits change the real cost.

Do I need a free plan or is a free trial enough?

A free plan suits a team that wants to use the tool for weeks while it decides, since there is no end date as long as the team stays within the limits. A free trial suits a team that wants to test the entry plan features for a set period, usually 14 or 30 days, before it pays. Plan the trial around a real project so the team tests real work before the trial ends.

Can workflow management software replace spreadsheets and email?

It can replace many spreadsheets and status emails, since tasks, owners, dates and comments live in one place and dashboards show progress without a manual update. Spreadsheets still suit some planning and budgeting work, and email still suits outside messages, but a workflow tool cuts the need for a status spreadsheet that one person updates by hand. The gain depends on the team updating tasks in the tool every day.

Which tool is best for repeatable processes and approvals?

Pipefy and Process Street are the strongest options here for repeatable processes. Pipefy uses pipes with phases, forms and approvals, which suits purchase requests, hiring and finance work. Process Street uses checklists with steps, form fields and approvals, which suits standard procedures that must run the same way each time. Teams that only need simple approvals inside a project may find monday.com or Wrike enough.

Is Jira only for software teams?

Jira is built for software and product teams, with sprints, backlogs and issue tracking at its core. Non software teams can use it, but they may find the setup and the range of fields more detailed than they need. General teams often prefer monday.com, Asana or ClickUp, which cover tasks, deadlines and boards without the software specific structure. Choose Jira when sprint planning and backlog control are central to the work.

Sources we checked

Related guides

How we score

Need the method behind these picks?

We publish the criteria and the weights, so you can disagree with them.

monday.com#1 PICK
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