The best project management tools in 2026 are Wrike, monday.com, Asana, ClickUp, Smartsheet, Jira, Microsoft Planner, Notion, Trello and Basecamp. We scored each one on seven categories, compared their features, plans and published G2 and Capterra ratings, and ranked Wrike first for teams that want projects, resources, portfolios, approvals and reporting in one platform. The right choice still depends on your team, so this guide also shows which tool wins for ease of use, value, software teams, Microsoft 365 and flat pricing.
Best overall: Wrike (9.4/10), the most complete all-in-one platform for planning, resources, portfolios, proofing and reporting.
Easiest to use: Trello and monday.com. Best value: ClickUp. Best for software teams: Jira.
Best for Microsoft 365 organisations: Microsoft Planner. Best flat pricing: Basecamp. Best for docs and projects together: Notion.
Nine of the ten tools have a free plan; Smartsheet offers a 30-day free trial instead, and basic Planner comes with Microsoft 365.
Paid plans start at about $5–$12 per user per month; Basecamp charges a flat monthly price per account.
Shortlist two or three tools and trial them on a real project with the people who will use them every day.
Top 10 project management tools at a glance
The table shows our overall score, what each tool is best for, its starting price and its published G2 and Capterra ratings. Scores are our editorial rating out of 10; follow the links in the reviews below for the full analysis of each tool.
Project management software is an application that helps a team plan, organise and track the work needed to deliver a project. It typically combines task lists, schedules such as Gantt charts or timelines, Kanban boards, file sharing, comments, automation and reports, so everyone works from one shared, up-to-date plan instead of separate spreadsheets and email threads.
Modern tools range from simple Kanban boards to full work management platforms that also cover resource planning, request intake, approvals, portfolios and business intelligence. Most now include AI features as well. Our guide to project management software explains the categories and core features in more detail.
Brief reviews of the top 10 tools
Each card summarises the tool's strengths and trade-offs, its starting price and its user ratings, with links to our full review and to the best alternatives.
Wrike is a full-featured work management platform that brings project planning, resource management, portfolio views, creative proofing and business intelligence into one place. It takes longer to learn than lighter tools, but few competitors match its depth once a team scales.
monday.com is a highly visual, flexible work platform with one of the friendliest interfaces on the market. It is easy to adopt and very customisable, though seat bundles and plan limits can push costs up.
Starting priceFree for up to 2 seats; paid from $9/seat/month
Asana is a polished, easy-to-use work management tool that excels at coordinating tasks across teams and linking them to company goals. Advanced capabilities such as portfolios and resource management are reserved for higher plans.
Starting priceFree (Personal); paid from $10.99/user/month
ClickUp packs an enormous range of features into low-priced plans: tasks, docs, whiteboards, goals, sprints, time tracking and dashboards. The trade-off is complexity, and the best AI features are paid add-ons.
Smartsheet combines a familiar spreadsheet grid with Gantt charts, automation and enterprise portfolio tools. It is a natural step up from Excel, though it lost its free plan in 2025 and advanced capabilities are quote-based.
Jira is the industry standard for Agile software teams, with deep Scrum and Kanban support, issue tracking and developer integrations. It is less suited to non-technical teams and has a steep learning curve.
Starting priceFree for up to 10 users; Standard roughly $7.91/user/month
Microsoft Planner is the natural choice for Microsoft 365 organisations, now combining simple task boards with the advanced scheduling formerly in Project for the web. It is convenient and well integrated, but lighter than specialist platforms.
Starting priceBasic Planner included in Microsoft 365; Plan 1 from $10/user/month
Free planBasic Planner included with Microsoft 365
Notion combines docs, wikis and databases into a flexible workspace that can be shaped into project trackers. It is excellent for knowledge management and lightweight projects, but lacks native time tracking, resource management and advanced scheduling.
Trello is the simplest way to start managing work visually. Its cards and boards are intuitive and inexpensive, but it lacks the scheduling, resource and portfolio depth needed for complex projects.
Starting priceFree; paid from $5/user/month
Free planYes (up to 10 collaborators per workspace)
Basecamp keeps projects simple: message boards, to-dos, schedules, docs, chat and client access in one place, with flat pricing and no per-user fees. It deliberately avoids complex PM features.
Starting priceFree (1 project, up to 5 users); paid from $25/month flat
Wrike scores 10 out of 10 in three of our seven categories: feature depth, planning and resource management, and scalability. No other tool in the review matches that combination. In one platform it brings together interactive Gantt charts with dependencies, board, table and calendar views, dashboards, workload and resource planning, cross-project portfolio views, request forms, automation, built-in proofing and approvals, and AI. That makes it a strong fit for PMOs, marketing and creative teams, professional services firms and any organisation that wants a single system of record rather than separate task, resource, proofing and reporting tools.
The trade-offs are the ones you would expect from a deep platform. Wrike takes longer to set up and learn than Trello or monday.com, and its most advanced resource, budgeting and BI features sit on the quote-based Pinnacle and Apex plans. On Wrike's pricing page (checked 7 October 2026), the Free plan covers basic task management with board and table views, Team costs $10 per user per month billed annually for 2 to 15 users and adds interactive Gantt charts, shareable dashboards and AI, and Business costs $25 per user per month for 5 to 200 users. A 14-day free trial is available with no credit card.
How the 10 tools score by category
Overall scores hide real differences. These are our category scores from 1 to 10; the highest score in each column is a category leader.
Tool
Ease of use
Feature depth
Planning & resources
Collaboration
Agile & software
Value
Scalability
Wrike (9.4)
7
10
10
9
8
7
10
monday.com (9.1)
9
9
8
9
7
7
9
Asana (9.0)
9
8
8
9
7
7
9
ClickUp (8.9)
7
10
8
8
9
9
8
Smartsheet (8.6)
7
8
9
8
6
7
10
Jira (8.6)
6
8
7
7
10
8
9
Microsoft Planner (8.1)
8
6
7
7
6
8
8
Notion (8.0)
7
8
5
9
6
9
7
Trello (7.8)
10
5
4
7
7
9
5
Basecamp (7.6)
9
5
4
9
3
8
6
Category leaders: Trello for ease of use; Wrike and ClickUp for feature depth; Wrike for planning and resource management; Wrike, monday.com, Asana, Notion and Basecamp for collaboration; Jira for Agile and software teams; ClickUp, Notion and Trello for value; and Wrike and Smartsheet for scalability.
Feature comparison
This matrix shows which tools include each capability. "Partial" means the feature exists but is limited, available only on some plans or provided through an add-on or a companion product.
Feature availability varies by plan; "Partial" means limited, plan-dependent or via integrations.
Prices change often, so we list each vendor's published entry plans as checked on 7 October 2026. Prices are in US dollars per user per month billed annually unless stated; monthly billing usually costs more.
Tool
Free option
Entry paid plan
Next plan up
Pricing notes
Wrike
Free plan
Team $10
Business $25
Team is for 2–15 users; Pinnacle and Apex on quote
monday.com
Free for up to 2 seats
Basic $9 per seat
Standard $12, Pro $19 per seat
Minimum 3 seats; seats sold in buckets
Asana
Free Personal plan
Starter $10.99
Advanced $24.99
Personal is limited to 2 seats; Enterprise on quote
ClickUp
Free Forever plan
Unlimited $7
Business $12
AI add-ons from $9 per user/month
Smartsheet
30-day free trial (no free plan)
Pro $9 per member
Business $19 per member
Free Contributors can view and comment
Jira
Free for up to 10 users
Standard about $7.91
Premium about $14.54
Monthly small-team rates; per-user price falls as teams grow
Microsoft Planner
Basic Planner included in Microsoft 365
Plan 1 $10
Planner and Project Plan 3 $30
Microsoft 365 Copilot is a $30 add-on
Notion
Free plan
Plus $10 per member
Business $20 per member
Notion AI included from Business
Trello
Free for up to 10 collaborators per Workspace
Standard $5
Premium $10
Enterprise $17.50 for 50+ seats
Basecamp
Free for 1 project
Freelancer $25/month flat
Studio $59, Pro $99/month flat
Unlimited $299/month billed annually; no per-user fees
Look beyond the headline price. Seat minimums, the plan you will need in 12 months, paid add-ons such as AI, and whether guests and viewers are free can change the total cost a great deal. Basecamp's flat pricing, for example, is often the cheapest option for a large team with a handful of projects, while per-user tools are usually cheaper for very small teams.
Best tools for your team
Best for small teams and start-ups
Small teams usually value speed of setup and price. Trello is the simplest place to start, ClickUp gives the most features for the money, Basecamp suits client-facing teams that want flat pricing, and Notion works well when documentation matters as much as tasks. If you expect to need Gantt charts and dashboards soon, Wrike's Team plan (2 to 15 users) gives you room to grow into a full platform.
Best for mid-sized organisations and enterprises
Wrike and Smartsheet score highest for scalability and enterprise readiness, with monday.com and Asana close behind. Choose Wrike if you want resource management, portfolios, request intake and approvals in one platform; Smartsheet if your organisation thinks in spreadsheets; and monday.com or Asana if fast adoption across many departments is the priority.
Best for Agile and software teams
Jira leads our Agile category, with backlogs, sprints, issue tracking and deep developer integrations; it is free for up to 10 users. ClickUp is a strong second for teams that want sprints alongside docs and dashboards, and Wrike supports Agile boards for organisations running Agile and traditional projects side by side. Our guide to Scrum software tools covers sprint tooling in more depth.
Best for marketing and creative teams
Wrike's built-in proofing, request forms and approvals make it a natural fit for marketing and creative teams that handle many requests and review cycles. monday.com and Asana are good alternatives when ease of adoption matters most; Asana includes approvals and proofing on its Advanced plan.
Best for Microsoft 365 organisations
Microsoft Planner is included in many Microsoft 365 subscriptions and works inside Teams and Outlook. Since Microsoft folded Project for the web into Planner in 2025, its premium plans add Gantt timelines, dependencies, sprints and goals. Teams that need deeper resource, portfolio or approval features often pair Microsoft 365 with a specialist platform such as Wrike or Smartsheet.
Best free project management tools
Nine of the ten tools in our review offer a free plan or include a free tier, but the limits vary (checked 7 October 2026):
Jira: free for up to 10 users, with Scrum and Kanban boards, backlogs and basic automation. One of the most capable free plans for software teams.
ClickUp Free Forever: unlimited members and tasks with limited storage and automations; Gantt charts and dashboards are available as trials.
Trello Free: up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, with unlimited cards. Ideal for simple Kanban.
Wrike Free: basic task and project management with board and table views, plus web, desktop and mobile apps; a good starting point if you expect to grow into Wrike's paid plans.
Notion Free: aimed at individuals; block limits apply once a workspace has two or more members.
Asana Personal: unlimited tasks and projects for one or two people.
monday.com Free: up to 2 seats and 3 boards.
Basecamp Free: one project with 1 GB of storage.
Microsoft Planner (basic): no stand-alone free plan, but included with many Microsoft 365 business subscriptions.
Smartsheet has no free plan but offers a 30-day trial. Free plans are best for trying a tool or running small projects; most teams that run several projects at once move to a paid plan within months.
How to choose a project management tool
Rankings narrow the field; a short, structured evaluation makes the decision. This is the process we recommend:
Describe the work. List your project types, team size, methods (Waterfall, Scrum, Kanban or hybrid) and who outside the team needs access, such as clients or executives.
Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves. For example: Gantt charts with dependencies, resource and workload planning, sprints, proofing, request forms, time tracking or Microsoft 365 integration. Our guide to project management software features explains each one.
Match the tool to your method. Predictive projects need schedules, dependencies and baselines; Agile teams need backlogs and sprints; continuous work needs Kanban boards and WIP limits. Read about Gantt chart software if scheduling is central.
Decide how much you want in one place. If you need projects, resources, portfolios and approvals together, an all-in-one platform such as Wrike avoids stitching several tools together. If you only need task boards, a simpler tool will be adopted faster.
Check security and administration with IT. Single sign-on, permissions, audit logs, data residency and the integrations you already rely on.
Work out the total cost for a year, including seat minimums, guests, add-ons such as AI, and the plan you are likely to need as you grow.
Trial two or three tools on a real project for two weeks, with the people who will use them daily, and agree who will own templates, training and adoption.
AI in project management tools
All ten tools now offer AI features, from summarising comment threads and drafting updates to creating automations in plain language and running AI agents. How AI is sold differs: Wrike, monday.com, Asana, Jira and Trello include AI allowances in paid plans; Notion includes Notion AI from its Business plan; ClickUp sells its AI as a paid add-on; and Microsoft 365 Copilot is a separate add-on that also works in Planner. Check the allowance on the plan you are considering, as several vendors meter AI with monthly credits.
Head-to-head comparisons
If you are deciding between two tools, a head-to-head comparison shows pricing, features, category winners, user ratings and a clear verdict side by side. These are the most popular; all 45 pairings are listed on our project management tool comparison index.
All 45 comparisons are listed on the comparison index. Popular ones:
We score every tool from 1 to 10 on seven categories: ease of use, feature depth, planning and resource management, collaboration, Agile and software teams, value for money, and scalability and enterprise readiness. The overall score reflects those categories together with pricing and published user ratings on G2 and Capterra.
Prices and plan details come from each vendor's pricing page, and ratings from G2 and Capterra; the table and review cards show the figures checked on 5 October 2026, and the pricing table and free-plan notes on this page were re-checked on 7 October 2026. Both change often, so confirm details on the vendor's site before you buy. Rankings and scores are the editorial opinion of the Neural Project Institute; we are independent and do not accept payment for rankings.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best project management tool in 2026?
Our top pick is Wrike (9.4/10) for growing teams and enterprises, because it combines projects, resources, portfolios, approvals and reporting in one platform. monday.com (9.1) is best for ease of use, Asana (9.0) for cross-team coordination, ClickUp (8.9) for value and Jira for software teams.
What is the best free project management tool?
It depends on your team. Trello is the simplest free option, ClickUp's Free Forever plan includes the most features, Jira is free for up to 10 users and suits software teams, and Wrike's Free plan is a good start if you expect to grow into a full work management platform.
What is the cheapest project management software?
Among per-user tools, Trello Standard ($5 per user/month billed annually) and ClickUp Unlimited ($7) are the cheapest paid plans in our review. Basecamp's flat pricing, from $25 a month for the whole account, can be cheapest for larger teams with few projects.
Which project management tool is easiest to use?
Trello scores highest for ease of use in our review (10/10), followed by monday.com, Asana and Basecamp (9/10).
Which project management tool is best for small teams?
Trello, ClickUp, Basecamp and Notion suit small teams. Wrike's Team plan, for 2 to 15 users, is a good choice if the team needs Gantt charts and dashboards.
Which project management tool is best for enterprises?
Wrike and Smartsheet score highest for scalability and enterprise readiness (10/10), with monday.com, Asana and Jira close behind. Wrike is particularly strong for PMOs that need portfolio and resource management.
Which project management tool is best for Agile and Scrum?
Jira is the standard for software teams and leads our Agile category. ClickUp also supports sprints with sprint points and reporting, and Wrike supports Agile boards alongside traditional project plans; see our Scrum guide.
What features should project management software have?
Most teams need task management with owners and due dates, at least two views (such as Kanban and Gantt or timeline), file sharing and comments, notifications, basic automation and reporting. Growing teams add resource and workload management, portfolios, request forms, approvals, time tracking and single sign-on.
Do I need Gantt charts in a project management tool?
If your projects have dependencies and fixed dates, yes. Wrike, monday.com, Asana, ClickUp, Smartsheet and Microsoft Planner's premium plans include Gantt or timeline views, usually on paid plans. See our guide to the Gantt chart.
Is Microsoft Project still available?
Microsoft retired Project for the web in 2025 and moved its scheduling features into Microsoft Planner's premium plans. Microsoft's pricing pages also stated that Project Online would be retired on 30 September 2026. The Project desktop app remains available with Planner and Project Plan 3. See our Microsoft Planner review.
Can I use a spreadsheet instead of project management software?
For small projects, yes: our free project management templates cover plans, schedules, RACI matrices and risk registers. Software becomes worthwhile when several people need to update the same plan in real time or you run many projects at once.
Can project management software use AI?
Yes. All ten tools offer AI features, from summaries and writing help to automation and AI agents. Some include AI allowances in their plans; ClickUp and Microsoft 365 Copilot sell AI as add-ons.
How did you choose and rank these tools?
We scored each tool on ease of use, feature depth, planning and resource management, collaboration, Agile support, value for money and scalability, and considered pricing and published G2 and Capterra ratings. Rankings are our editorial opinion and we do not accept payment for them.
How often are prices and ratings updated?
Ratings were checked on 5 October 2026 and prices re-checked on 7 October 2026. Vendors change prices and plans frequently, so always confirm on the vendor's pricing page.