Project management software enables you to organize your business’ tools, assign and track tasks, centralize resources, and combine communications. We looked in the most common free project management software alternatives that covered the selection of alternatives for smaller companies concerning ease of use and available capabilities.
Greatest Free Project Management Software Summary Table
| Software Title | What Makes It Unique? |
|---|---|
| Trello | Visual style is easy for non-project managers and Tiny teams |
| Freedcamp | Most comprehensive end-to-end free project management applications |
| Asana | Best choice to Freedcamp |
| Insightly | Fundamental and easy to use CRM and project management in 1 tool |
| Bitrix24 | Comprehensive CRM and project management in 1 tool |
| Wrike | Fast and Simple to set up and integrate with other third-party apps |
| Zoho Projects | Comprehensive features, but only free for one job |
| Squidhub | Unlimited storage, uploads, teams, along with staff member invites |
When considering which free project management software are the best for small businesses, we looked in the top solutions currently available that are:
- Primarily project management tools, not just software with a project management component
- Cloud-based SaaS alternatives, not software you install anyplace
- Totally free or offer a free alternative, not just a free trial
We also took into consideration the key features that you are most likely to use, including:
- Task creation, scheduling, and mission
- Resource management
- Asset storage
- Communication consolidation and archiving
- Reporting
Finally, we believed ease of use and customer support.
We advocate Trello as the best overall free project management software for smaller businesses, but were nonetheless pleased with the selection of other choices. Read on to learn more about each of them.
Best Overall Free Project Management Software: Trello
Who’s it best suited to?
Trello’s kanban-style port is an superb project management alternative for smaller teams, teams focused on continual product releases (like software updates), and teams that prefer a visual screen for their own projects. It is relative simplicity and ease of use make it perfect for non-project managers, but more seasoned ones who operate within the Scrum frame will find it especially useful also.
Where Trello can fall short is that it is not necessarily a complete end-to-end job management solution that fully replaces other apps and software. Your project’s cards can store attachments and you’re able to add notes to them, but there is no central file repository or communications hub. Time tracking is basic also, relying on your staff to manually enter just how much they spent on each job.
But if your staff is mostly searching for task direction, then Trello’s comparatively simple strategy could make it an appealing solution. The free package may be enough to satisfy your team’s requirements, which makes it an economical solution as well.
What’s included in the free bundle?
Trello’s free package includes most of the software’s core attributes, but with a few limitations on how often they are sometimes used. Teams can use unlimited boards, lists, cards, members, checklists, and attachments but are limited to one power-up (third-party integration) each board and 10MB for attachments.
Paid bundles allow for unlimited power-ups and attachments up to 250MB. Finally, paid packages receive priority email support with a response guaranteed within one business day.
Which are its principal features?
Users represent jobs using cards that display in lists onto a board, making it effortless to see who’s doing what in a glance. Cards can then be dragged and dropped between lists as their organization, assignment, or status changes.
The ability to fully personalize your boards to match your workflow, including third party integrations, which makes Trello an excellent alternative for teams who might be accustomed to traditional project management applications.
See Trello
Most Comprehensive Free Project Management Software: Freedcamp
Who is it best suited for?
Freedcamp has become the most extensive free project management software available. While it does offer some additional paid attributes, most businesses will be well-served without them. Freedcamp are our recommended free project management applications if Trello was not really simple to work with; but for companies with a dedicated and experienced project manager, Freedcamp may be the better choice.
Some of the features Which Make Freedcamp a more complete project management tool include:
- Choose between list or kanban-style boards to organize their projects and jobs
- Multiple calendar views to see continuing work at a glimpse
- Individual resources can monitor the time they spend on every job with bills created based on hours spent
- Conversation can be centered on discussion boards
- Consolidate documents and documentation at a repository
What’s contained in the free package?
Freedcamp offers the most features in its completely free package of the applications we reviewed. And while Freedcamp offers a couple of extra paid features, most companies can forego them to get their basic job management requirements.
Along with unlimited users and unlimited projects, Freedcamp’s free package comprises:
- Project milestones, tasks, and subtasks
- Attach files up to 10MB in size
- Google Calendar integration
- Discussion boards
- Time monitoring
- Three-day answer time to support inquiries
Paid bundles include more attributes, such as increased file storage, even more access to third-party app integrations, wikis, issue monitoring, a CRM, and priority support.
What are its principal features?
Since the most comprehensive free job management applications that we reviewed, Freedcamp supplies a wide range of features and benefits. Most notably, it is a complete end-to-end alternative, such as:
- View your business’ projects at a glance in your dashboard
- Create, assign, and manage tasks in lists or in a kanban-style plank
- Save and search an unlimited Number of files
- Contain and sync All your project’s events together with Google Calendar
- Create discussion boards and forums to centralize internal project communication
- Track time every resource spends on a task and project, then bill for that time with the included invoicing program
- Access projects on the go with a mobile app
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Greatest Free Project Management Software Alternative to Freedcamp: Asana
Who’s it best suited to?
For smaller groups of around 15 users, Asana is an attractive end-to-end option if your business is able to forego some attributes, such as task dependencies, reporting, and also a restricted number of consumers to cut prices. It falls short of Freedcamp’s range of attributes in a head-to-head comparison, but is nevertheless an excellent alternative for teams who need a broader solution than Trello can offer.
Asana was originally designed by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz. It is aesthetically pleasing with a nod to its social network roots, easy to use, and contains a comprehensive range of features.
What is included in the free package?
Asana’s free bundle is missing some of the features of its paid ones, but nevertheless includes enough principles to cover most small business’ job management needs, including:
- Unlimited jobs, jobs, and conversations
- Up to 15 team members
- Basic dashboards
- Fundamental search
Asana’s paid packages provide you unlimited users, unlimited dashboards, innovative reporting and search tools, job dependencies, and higher administrative control.
What are its principal features?
Asana boasts all the fundamental features that you would expect in project management software, such as the capacity to produce projects, sub-projects, and jobs within each project, assign due dates, attach documents and files to them, assign them to staff members, and track their progress.
Where Asana shines, however, is with its Facebook wall-like dashboard that encourages communication and cooperation within your team. Asana can replace email and third party communication apps like Slack for communicating as your staff can shares notes and attachments.
Notifications alert your staff members to fresh project-related objects or modifications to existing ones, such as landmarks or tasks. This will help streamline workflows as the staff is automatically alerted without having to manually check for updates.
Finally, Asana also boasts job relating, searching and following public tasks, prioritizing completion, and a change management processes. And every team member can handle their respective working space, prioritize and organize tasks how that works best for them, upload files, delegate responsibilities, and generate clean and thorough reports.
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Greatest Free Project Management Software for Fundamental CRM: Insightly
Who’s it best suited for?
Ostensibly CRM applications, Insightly may also be adapted for use as a project management tool. At the time that your sales staff closes a bargain, it is possible to manage and track the project’s advancement through its implementation phases. This makes it ideally suited to teams who want the added benefits of a basic project management tool, but without the need for a broader end-to-end alternative.
What is contained in the free package?
Insightly’s free bundle is a scaled down version of its paid ones, and it relies on consumers being self-sufficient. Features include:
- 2,500 total records
- 10 mass emails daily
- 2 custom fields per document form
- Lead management
- Task direction
- Reporting
- Third-party accounting app integrations, such as Quickbooks and Xero
Missing, however, are such attributes that are included in Insightly’s paid packages:
- Calendar integration and sync with
- Scheduled reports
- Slack integration
- Workflow automation
Finally, and above all, Insightly’s complimentary account simply allows for up to two users.
Which are its principal features?
Since Insightly combines multiple business tools into one, you can see more of your project’s lifecycle from your dashboard. As prices move along your pipeline and close, they become projects to handle; and when they do, Insightly includes the following characteristics to assist:
- Attach files and add notes to some endeavor
- Custom fields mean you are not limited to Insightly’s templates
- Write and send emails to your job’s contacts from within Insightly
- Produce and track tasks that are associated with each project’s milestones
- Tasks can be recurring at regular intervals
See Insightly
Greatest Free Project Management Software for Comprehensive CRM: Bitrix24
Who is it best suited for?
Bitrix24 is ideally suited for businesses that want their CRM and project management applications in one software and need a more comprehensive solution than Insightly.
What is contained in the free package?
Bitrix24 delivers a totally free plan that includes enough features to assist your organization onboard the applications and incorporate it into your workflow, but to fully realize its possible you’ll have to upgrade to a paid package. Some of the features included in the free package include:
- Unlimited users
- 5GB of storage
- Unlimited projects, tasks, and subtasks
- 5 job dependencies
- Task templates
- Reporting
- Time tracking
- Gantt charts
Upgrading to a paid package gives you increased file storage, the ability to create custom fields, and time management features along with enhanced CRM functionality.
What are its principal features?
Bitrix24 is a complete end-to-end CRM and project management tool that offers a more comprehensive list of features than Insightly — at the expense of a ease of use. In fact, Bitrix24 provides numerous features that utilizing the computer software can feel overwhelming occasionally. Nevertheless, its principal features are remarkable. Some of the ones that are specific to project management include:
- Social network provides tools for job management, file sharing, and time tracking which can be incorporated into a social interface to maximize efficacy of communications
- Activity streams, similar to your FB feed, keep you updated to the Latest project action
- Worker workload management lets you Find every team member’s job assignments and their total campaign, Assisting You to load balance
- Instant message, group chats, screen sharing, and even voice and video calls (at an additional price ) encourage real-time cooperation
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Greatest Free Project Management Software for Easy Setup: Wrike
Who is it best suited to?
Wrike may be used as a project management tool or even a more general work direction and collaboration solution for your small business. It’s extremely quick and easy to prepare, which will help decrease any learning curve and increase adoption. Its free package consists of basic project management applications, but is much better suited to smaller teams or as a trial for bigger ones.
What is contained in the free package?
Wrike’s free bundle includes basic job management features that can help your company manage work better. Wrike is free for up to five users and comprises:
- Task direction
- 2GB of file storage
- Basic third-party program integrations (Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, Office 365, OneDrive, and iCal)
- Spreadsheet perspective of endeavors
- Real-time activity stream
Updating to among Wrike’s paid packages will provide you access to more third party program integrations, increased file storage, custom areas and workflows, enhanced task and resource management, and time tracking features amongst others.
Which are its principal features?
Wrike’s drag-and-drop interface is extremely intuitive and easy to use, allowing you to rapidly create jobs, break them down into their component tasks, and see changes as they occur in real-time. As well, Wrike’s action flow gives you immediate visibility into all project action as it occurs, reducing the demand for time-consuming status updates and meetings.
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Greatest Free Project Management Software for One-Off Projects: Zoho Projects
Who is it best suited for?
Zoho Projects’ free program offers lots of the same attributes as its paid programs, but limits you to one project. This makes Zoho Projects a solid selection for one-off jobs, but less your business’ primary tool should you handle numerous jobs either concurrently or consecutively.
What is contained in the free bundle?
Zoho Project’s free program includes a comprehensive list of features — maybe not as many as its paid plans, but lots for many small business’ needs. In addition to unlimited users, a number of those features include:
- 1 project per year
- 10MB of storage
- Gantt graphs
- Task direction
- Activity feeds
- Import from Microsoft Project
- Google programs integrations
- Issue tracking
Zoho Project’s paid programs allow you to handle more jobs per month and year, dramatically raise your file storage, and give you access to a range of project monitoring features like time tracking, invoicing, timesheets, and also third party program integrations.
What are its primary capabilities?
Zoho Projects provides your company the tools it has to handle most jobs, but you are limited to one project per year using their free bundle.
Standard project management features, such as task management, Gantt graphs, document sharing, and calendar integrations make it easy to assign and monitor work. As well, more advanced features, such as discussion forums, encourage communication and cooperation.
Finally, difficulty tracking is unique for a free project management program alternative and permits you to track and log bugs and defects — even track code changes made in GitHub and Bitbucket.
See Zoho Projects
The Most Important Thing
There are various free project management software options available to small businesses, ranging from ones with additional features but also a limited number of consumers to other people with fewer attributes but an unlimited number of consumers. The option that’s best for you will largely depend on the dimensions of your organization and if you have a project manager on your team who will make use of more technical capabilities.
If your company is small, does not have a dedicated project manager, or is focused on the continual delivery of a product (like software releases) then we advocate Trello as the most effective free project management software.
But if you’ve got a dedicated project manager who will optimize the advantages of a broader end-to-end solution, then we recommend Freedcamp as the best free project management software.
Stop by Trello
