Managing projects in a small or large team can be quite struggling if you don’t have collaboration and task management tools at your disposal. It’s important to have the best management software that allows you to coordinate tasks, manage time, improve productivity, and do much more. So in this article, we bring you the 7 best project management software for both small and big companies. We have explained the features, benefits, and unique tools that the software offers. On that note, let’s jump to the list.
1. Slack
Slack is the best team communications tool for modern-day businesses and startups. With E-mails and exclusive meetings quickly becoming a thing of the past, Slack has caught the attention of thousands of organizations worldwide. It is basically a team communication and collaboration tool that would let an entire organization communicate among themselves over projects easily.
Slack is basically made up of three key features that the entire tool operates around: Channels, Direct Messages, and Private Groups. Apart from these key attributes, Slack also does feature desktop notifications, which could be enabled right from your Slack preferences window. Slack also supports dragging-and-dropping of files and documents right into conversations.
You can also link to files from your Google Drive or Dropbox and Slack syncs them up automatically for you. The search tool in Slack is one of the best ever you would find in a team management app. You can search using the group hashtags, the estimated time period of its posting, or by selecting the specific person who made the post. Additionally, you can also learn how to schedule messages very easily. Moreover, learning how to record and share audio/video files on Slack is no rocket science either. Slack makes managing projects just that easy.
With both Android and iOS apps for it, Slack is a must-have management tool for startups and corporates alike. The most unique thing about Slack, which sets it apart from the rest is basically everything about it. Easy to use, Slack does not have a steep learning curve. Anyone can immediately get started with the tool and integrate it into their daily work life. With the kind of seamlessness Slack has to offer, we just had to add it to our list of best project management software.
Pricing: Free with 90-day history, Paid plans start at $7.25/mo per user
App available for: Windows, Mac, Android & iOS
2. Trello
If you are looking for the best project management software with little to no learning curve, Trello is by far the easiest to use. This simple-yet-powerful team and project management app is all you’ll ever need. The simplicity of using Trello makes project management fun again and brings it out of the office boardroom. A Trello project (or board, as it is called), is composed of three major elements: Boards, Lists, and Cards.
These Cards could be voted upon, commented or even files could be shared across them. Linking to files from your Google Drive or Dropbox is also supported by Trello. Labels make it easy for people to organize tasks based on the type of work.
Even understanding how to use Trello won’t take you long. The simplicity of project management and the flexibility to use it both for your work and personal use makes Trello a great choice for many startups and organizations.
Pricing: Free with up to 10 boards, Paid plans start at $5 per user per month
App available for: Windows, Mac, Android & iOS
3. Asana
Asana takes your team communications to the next level through its tool. It kicks out Email and the unproductive associated with it. Asana is built on four major key components. First is Tasks which make up the basic component of a project on Asana. Tasks are individual sets of actions that are needed to be undertaken under a project. These tasks could be set with a due date, commented upon, added file attachments (Also from Google Drive and Dropbox), made as favorite, deleted, or marked as completed.
There are Projects, Comments, and Inbox. You can easily bid farewell to relying on Email for your team communications with Asana. With Android and iOS applications, one can stay up-to-date with projects and tasks on the go. Asana features an overall powerful tool for team management and collaboration.
Although it is one of the best project management software out there, the learning curve is a bit complicated as compared to Trello or Slack. However, that doesn’t stop Asana from being a great replacement for Email for team communications. Its Inbox and Tasks are the most powerful features you’ll ever come across in a team management app.
Pricing: Free with up to 15 teammates; Paid plans start at $10.99 per user per month
App available for: Windows, Mac, Android & iOS
4. Basecamp
Basecamp is a premium software for your team management and collaboration. This project management software offers all the features that you would need to get a project right from the ideation phase to getting it done. Here are the Key elements that make up a Basecamp project. First off, projects can be created right from your profile page, and invite team members to be involved in them. Then there are elements like Discussion, To-do lists, and Progress.
Other features include a Calendar, File attachments, Text notes, and more. Basecamp also offers Android, iOS, and Email applications that make it easier to handle team projects. The biggest selling point of Basecamp apart from its entirely well-documented team management app, is its Progress window. Tracking the work already done lays a strong foundation for forthcoming tasks and Basecamp wins in this regard with its perfectly designed progress window.
Pricing: 30-day free trial, Paid plans start at $15 per user per month
App available for: Mac, Windows, Android & iOS
5. Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects offers a comprehensive set of features that would be needed for efficiently managing your team projects and plans. Zoho Projects offers users an effective mechanism to not only get the work done on time but also track the hours put into individual tasks for analyzing situations better.
The key elements that make Zoho Project management are Tasks, Milestones, and Project Progress. Tasks on Zoho Projects can be created from the main Dashboard. A task could also be set as a to-do list right underneath it. Due dates, Adding Members to it, Task priority, and File attachments are the add-on features for Tasks on Zoho Projects.
Apart from its key feature, Zoho Projects also acts as an internal social network, allowing users to post statuses that are accessible on others’ feeds. File attachments (Both local and Google Drive/Dropbox) are allowed in this tool. All the tasks, due dates, and milestones are automatically included in the ‘Calendar’ section of your account.
Zoho also offers mobile applications for Android and iOS, making it easier for teams to stay updated on tasks on the go. The key factor that compels users to choose Zoho is its ability to term and track projects based on milestones. This tool also makes it possible to track the number of hours or days that go into the completion of a task or milestone.
Pricing: Free with up to 3 users, Paid plans start at $5 per user per month
App available for: Android, iOS
6. Evernote
Although Evernote is often perceived as a personal-level task management app, it is just as flexible to even achieve efficient management of team projects with it. The main key features that make Evernote a great project and team management software are Notebooks and Notes. Notebooks could be treated more or less like the Projects that you’ve been aware of as in the preceding tools.
Notebooks are collections of Notes and similar tasks could be shared in such notebooks. These Notebooks could also be shared with other team members. On the other hand, Notes could be considered just like a task in a project. You can create new tasks, to-do lists, add doodles, attach files, or anything you can think of to a Note on Evernote.
While all of these features definitely make Evernote a great app for personal task management, many argue against its being able to replace team management. That is where Evernote’s third-party integrations come into play. LiveMinutes is a third-party integration for Evernote that allows team members to simultaneously work on a Note or Project by collaborating seamlessly.
With unlimited Notes, Notebooks and by harnessing the power of the Evernote app and its third-party integrations, Evernote makes a great case for a team collaboration tool. Also, given the massive number of users already familiar with the Evernote app, expanding its horizons further for team management would not include a learning curve at all.
Pricing: Free for individuals; Paid plans start at $7.99 per month
App available for: Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS
7. InVision
Up until now, we’ve been talking about generalized software for team project management and collaborations. But for design teams, the above-mentioned tools might not satisfy their hunger for building things better. The InVision app is a prototyping and collaboration tool for designers. Some of its key features after starting a new design project are Preview Mode, Assets, Hotspots, Comments, and Revision History.
The preview mode allows users to browse through a design iteration and experience just as it was originally created. Preview mode also allows one to view all the created hotspots, which makes it easier to edit something further. Assets, on the other hand, are the elements that make up a design and these could be added to your designs from your local hard drive or over cloud platforms.
Similarly, Hotspots are the prime areas where an action could be performed on a design iteration. By accessing Build, Hotspots could be modified or created accordingly. Apart from helping you design web pages and mobile applications, It offers key features for team collaboration through comments and user activity. The finished design can also be easily exported as a PDF using this tool.
With recent integration with Dribble and Adobe, InVision is a fast-growing team management tool for design teams. Also given the fact that it is not easy collaborating on designs either over Email or any other tools mentioned above, the InVision app has carved out a niche of its own. Its unique commenting feature makes it easily one of the best tools for collaborating on design iterations. So, if you are into designing a whole lot, nothing beats this project management software.
Pricing: Free with up to 30 people, Paid plans start at $4 per user per month
App available for: Windows, MacOS, iOS (The Android version of the app is currently in beta and can’t be accessed)
