Managing projects can be a complex task, but the right tools can make all the difference.

From Gantt charts to Kanban boards, today’s market offers a plethora of project management software designed to streamline operations, enhance collaboration, and ensure project success.

In this post, together we’ll explore the top 10 project management tools, their standout features, pros and cons, pricing, and customer reviews. Maybe you’ll find the right tool for you!

1. monday dev

monday dev stands out with its user-friendly Gantt charts, customizable workflow builder, and native time-tracking capabilities.

It boasts AI features and best-in-class support with a robust mobile app. However, you might need to upgrade plans to access certain features, and non-users have no viewing options. I attended this year’s monday elevate conference and I can say that there will be some great new features coming in 2024 for user permissions, and guest users! Not to mention new AI features that will blow your socks off, like automations and bots.

monday dev can significantly enhance product management in the following ways:

• Agile project management: It supports Scrum and Kanban methodologies, enabling product managers to plan, track, and manage the product lifecycle effectively. Teams can visualize their work with dedicated boards for sprints, roadmaps, and bug tracking, ensuring that both the high-level strategy and detailed tasks are in view.
• Sprint Optimization: The Sprint Management board breaks projects into manageable tasks, allowing for precise sprint goal setting. It also transforms groups into sprints with features like dates, conditions, and filters, making day-to-day task management more intuitive.
• Task Dependencies and Workflow: With the ability to set and visualize task dependencies, monday dev ensures that adjustments to one task automatically update all related tasks, keeping the workflow smooth and interconnected, which is crucial for both detailed management and overall strategic planning.
• Prioritization and Oversight: The Kanban View and Roadmap board allows for prioritizing tasks and monitoring epic progress. This helps product managers focus on what's critical and get a high-level view of the project's advancement.
• Bug Tracking and Data Analysis: A structured system for managing bugs and an integrated dashboard for visual data analysis assist in prioritizing issues and understanding risk metrics, which is essential for maintaining product quality and meeting detailed requirements.

By providing a comprehensive workspace with these functionalities, monday dev helps product managers strike a balance between overseeing the broad product strategy and attending to the granular details of product development.

Yearly pricing starts at $9/user/month.

It scores high in customer satisfaction on TrustRadius at 8.5/10, G2 at 4.7/5, and Capterra at 4.6/5.

2. Asana

Asana is a popular project management tool designed to help teams collaborate and manage their tasks and projects more efficiently.

It offers a centralized place for project documentation and an intuitive drag-and-drop interface but may not suit larger teams and has limited customization.

Asana's pricing begins at $11/user/month (with a free version available).

3. Trello

Trello uses a board-based approach to organize tasks and projects, emphasizing its simple and intuitive Kanban cards and checklists.

It’s great for teams that prefer iterations and Kanban and offers real-time communication.

However, Trello doesn’t offer classic project management features like Gantt charts. The pricing is set at $10/user/month, with a free plan available.

4. Smartsheet

Smartsheet offers dynamic Gantt charts and customizable forms, along with robust data integration capabilities.

Its versatile platform can be used for a wide range of tasks and projects, and it facilitates real-time collaboration.

The reporting functionality could be improved, and it requires add-ons for time tracking. Smartsheet pricing starts at $25/user/month with a free plan available.

5. Jira

Jira is highly customizable, offering detailed configuration options, a timeline view, and cross-project syncing.

Its subtasks and due date tracking are useful, but it has limited pre-made templates and fewer integrations than some competitors.

Jira is priced at $16/user/month, with a free plan also on offer.

6. Wrike

Wrike’s software includes essential integrations and a specialized approval feature for streamlined project reviews.

It allows for highly customizable dashboards and advanced communication tools.

However, its automation engine could be improved, and advanced reporting costs extra. Wrike's pricing begins at $25/user/month with a free plan available.

7. Basecamp

Basecamp's project management tool offers unique hill charts for progress tracking and automated check-ins for updates.

It was one of the original (if not THE original cloud-based SaaS tools for project management.) Founded by a team of serious innovators way back in the early 2000s, it has since been ‘overtaken’ by newer project management tools. But it is still loved and used by many.

It's built for communication and works well for small to medium-sized teams.

However, it lacks specific features for invoicing, and some users find it difficult to tag tasks. Basecamp is priced at $15/user/month without a free plan option.

8. Nifty

Nifty improves team collaboration and project efficiency through task management, time tracking, and project roadmaps.

It offers project portfolio management and built-in time tracking for accurate estimates, though it has limited customization options and may lack features for larger projects.

Pricing is competitive at $4/user/month with a free plan available.

9. Zenkit

Zenkit is a flexible and customizable project management tool with Kanban boards, Gantt charts, and workflow automation.

It provides a range of data visualization options and is highly flexible to meet unique team needs.

However, its integrations are limited and it lacks built-in time tracking. Zenkit starts at $21/user/month with a free plan available.

10. Swit

Swit offers a unified workspace for project management and team communication, including task management and calendar tools.

It enables direct file sharing and provides analytics for progress tracking. Its integrations are not as extensive as some other tools, and the pricing can be steep for larger teams.

It has some solid accolades for usability from G2 and an editor’s choice from Google Workspace.

The cost starts at $10/user/month with a free plan available.

In Conclusion…

Evaluating the right project management tool involves considering your team’s specific needs, the nature of your projects, and your budget.

You also need to have a futurist approach. The tool you use now should be able to support your growth when you scale up your resources and team. That’s one reason I like monday tools because, since 2023, they’re backed by monday DB (which makes it 5x faster and enables you to store millions of interlinked and interconnected data points). The same cannot be said for many other tools that freeze and brick under moderate load.

But monday tools might not be a fit for everyone. So, while I use and love it myself, I’ve presented a broad range of options to suit almost everyone! The tools listed offer a range of features and pricing models that cater to different management styles and team sizes.

By carefully considering each option, you can empower your team to work more efficiently and effectively.

Hope this was helpful! Which tool do you love and why? Let me know in the comments!