Written by Zara Chechi Reviewed by James Macey Updated on March 27, 2023 On this page monday.com ClickUp Smartsheet Asana Teamwork Favro Jira Software Wrike Zoho Projects Trello Celoxis What's the Best Project Management Software for Your Business? How Did We Find the Best Project Management Software? Verdict FAQs Expand Our site is reader-supported – by clicking our links, we can match you with a potential supplier, and we may earn a small commission for this referral. The best project management software platform on the market is monday.com. It’s highly user-friendly, very affordable, and full of features that would make most project processes a breeze.If you’re looking for a project management platform, but haven’t made up your mind yet, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll go over the pros, cons, features, and final verdict for 11 project management software providers.Ultimately, one size does not fit all. Even our top recommendation, monday.com falls short in a couple of areas that some users may consider to be absolutely crucial, such as customer support. Since there is no shortage of other project management platforms on the market, you may want to assess your options and settle on an alternative software.Without further ado, here is our list: Swipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward Best Overall Platform monday.com Best Runner-Up ClickUp Best for Spreadsheet Fans Smartsheet Best for Integrations Asana Best for User Satisfaction Wrike Best for Collaboration Teamwork Best for Customer Service Favro Best for Software Development Jira Software Best for Affordability Zoho Projects Best for Automation Trello Best for User-Friendliness Celoxis Price $9 – $19 per month Price $5 – $19 per month Price $7 – $25 per month Price $10.99 – $24.99 per month Price $9.80 – $24.80 per month Price $5.99 – $24.99 per month Price $10.20 – $30 Price $7.75 – $15.25 Price $4 – $9 Price $5 – $17.50 Price $22.50 – $25 per user, per month Key features Gantt chartOver 200 templates for projects and itemsSub-task milestones and dependencies Key features Preset chartsCustom project templatesCustom automationsGantt chartMilestones24/7 live support Key features Email customer supportGantt chartKanban boardCustom project templatesCustom automationsTeam instant-messenger Key features CRM integrationsKanban boardCustom project templatesProject message boardTask commentsCalendar Key features Email customer supportKanban boardMilestonesProject message boardTask commentsSub-tasks Key features Great collaborative features on every planSolid customer supportGantt chartKanban boardMilestones Key features Comprehensive task management featuresSolid customer servicePreset and custom project templatesCustom automations Key features Time tracking and turndown chartsBest support for Agile project managementCustom and preset templates and automationsGantt chartKanban board Key features CRM integrationsEmail customer supportGantt chartKanban boardIssue logPreset widgets Key features Robust automation builderNice, customizable interfaceEasy-to-tweak systemsKanban board and custom fieldsPreset and custom project templates Key features Gantt chart, subtasks, milestones, and dependenciesIntegrations with a lot of popular softwarePreset and custom project templates Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Try monday.com Try ClickUp Try Smartsheet Compare Try Wrike Try Teamwork Compare Prices Compare Try ZohoProjects Compare Prices Compare Prices monday.com – Best Overall Platform monday.com 4.6 Pricing $9 - $19 per user per month Try monday.com Quick overview monday.com is our number one project management software platform. While it does almost everything well, the aspects that are particularly worthy of praise are its numerous features, and its simple (yet deep) user interface, which allows for both easy interaction and complex project management. Its designated Monday Marketing workspace makes it the best platform for marketing teams.In our research, monday.com scores the highest user satisfaction score (4.5/5) out of any provider on this list, thanks to its smooth and colour-coded interface. As for its features score (4.2/5), this is backed up by its great list of tools, including custom and preset charts and automations, Gantt charts and Kanban boards, and task dependencies and milestones.The one shortcoming of monday.com is its customer service. As easy to use as the product is, if you do encounter any roadblocks, the customer service offerings within monday.com aren't as complete as other platforms. They have a pretty comprehensive online help centre and the option to request a call back or get in touch via email, but not ideal if you prefer direct, personalised help from a real-life human. Read more + Read less - Strengths Strong range of features Great user experience Easy automation builder Weaknesses Subpar customer support Arbitrary limits on lower tiers Pricing See more See less Plan Paid yearly Paid monthly Basic $9 per user, per month $12 per user per month Standard $12 per user, per month $14 per user per month Pro $19 per user, per month $24 per user per month Enterprise Tailored Bespoke Gallery See more See less Click to expand Photo: monday.com's Calendar Photo: monday.com's Calendar What Are monday.com’s Key Features?monday.com’s key features are:Gantt chart (Standard plan and above)Preset and custom project templates (Basic plan and above)Subtasks (all plans), milestones (Standard plan and above), and dependencies (Pro plan and above)How Does monday.com Compare With Its Competitors?There’s a reason monday.com is at the top of this list – it beats its competitors in many ways. It has the best customer satisfaction score of any provider on this list, as well as having more features than its close competitors, ClickUp and Smartsheet. It also does fairly well on pricing, scoring 4/5, and is only significantly beaten two other providers, ClickUp (4.4/5) and Zoho Projects (4.7/5).monday.com's Gantt charts create a clear overview of projects and deadlines Researcher Verdict “monday.com can very much be used to facilitate the post-project stage. Of particular note, is the whiteboard feature, which can be used to hold an effective interactive session for feedback. monday.com also covers the practical elements, such as providing read-only access to clients, or other stakeholders, who may need to view the project post-completion.“While it does provide a form-builder (which is a bonus), it’s not particularly intuitive to use if you’re familiar with other form-building software.” James Macey, Senior Researcher, - 11/7/22 ClickUp – Best Runner-Up ClickUp 4.6 Pricing $5 - $19 per user per month Try ClickUp Read our review Quick overview ClickUp comes in a very close second to monday.com, mainly falling short through a lack of a few key features. However, it makes up for this with its great affordability (scoring 4.4/5 when it comes to price), its ease of use (4.0/5), and its customer satisfaction (4.3/5).It allows all plans to use agile project management tools such as Gantt charts, Kanban boards as well as custom and preset templates, a spreadsheet view, milestones, sub-tasks, and dependencies from the lowest plan onwards. It also allows for all of its security features (two-factor authentication, user permissions, and guest access) to be used from the free plan upwards.The main place ClickUp could focus on improving is its collaboration features (project message board and online whiteboard), as well as its post-project features. Post-project features (like retro sessions and feedback gathering) let managers to figure out the strong and weak points of the entire project process, allowing them to grow and improve their process in the future. Read more + Read less - Strengths Strong project creation and workflow features Extremely affordable Very fast and easy to use Weaknesses Not many post-project features available Collaboration features could be expanded Pricing See more See less Plan Paid yearly Paid monthly Unlimited $5 per user, per month $9 per user per month Business $12 per user, per month $19 per user per month Business Plus $19 per user, per month $29 per user per month Enterprise Tailored Bespoke Gallery See more See less Click to expand What Are ClickUp’s Key Features?ClickUp’s key features are:Great task management features (Gantt chart, Kanban board, spreadsheet view, sub-tasks, milestones, and dependencies) (all plans)Preset and custom templates and automations (all plans)24/7 live chat and email support (all plans)How Does ClickUp Compare With Its Competitors?It’s hard to stress just how close the running is between monday.com and ClickUp. They really are neck and neck, with ClickUp being substantially better than monday.com when it comes to customer support (3.8/5 vs 2.8/5, respectively) and affordability (4.4/5 vs 4/5, respectively). However, monday.com beats ClickUp in customer score, features, and usability, which carry a bit more weight.When compared with everyone else, ClickUp falls to Zoho Projects when it comes to pricing (4.7/5 vs 4.4/5, respectively). Asana also beats ClickUp when it comes to features (4/5 vs 3.9/5, respectively), and Smartsheet is more usable than ClickUp (4.1/5 vs 4/5, respectively). These downfalls point perhaps to the fact that although ClickUp is highly customizable, it requires a steeper learning curve to get to grips with. Asana is a little more “ready to go” with more options for automation and more native integrations than ClickUp, fitting seamlessly into your existing tech stack.However, those are really its only defeats, proving ClickUp to be a strong contender in the project management world.ClickUp's Kanban boards are a great way to visualise your workload Researcher Verdict “Clickup isn’t particularly suited for post-project feedback gathering, but it is possible via workarounds. Arguably, users are probably better off using a platform dedicated for either surveys and retro sessions.“Their system for providing guest access appears comparatively more complex than other platforms, but gives the user more freedom to restrict their guest access from certain areas of a project.” James Macey, Senior Researcher, - 11/7/22 In a Rush to Find the Best Project Management Software for Your Business? Use our comparison chart and save time See Our Comparison Chart Smartsheet – Best for Spreadsheet Fans Smartsheet 4.6 Pricing $7 - $25 per user, per month Try SmartSheet Quick overview Rounding out the top three, we have Smartsheet. Smartsheet is a bit of a different beast and, as the name might imply, it is based heavily on spreadsheets (like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets). This means that anyone familiar with those programs will find that Smartsheet fits like a glove.Even on its lowest plan, Smartsheet offers all the task management and workflow features you'd want. A Gantt chart, Kanban board, spreadsheet view (of course), subtasks, dependencies, milestones, custom fields, preset and custom project templates, prebuilt and custom automations, and a form builder to boot. There really isn't much more you could ask for when it comes to running the project itself.Where Smartsheet falters is in both its pricing and customer service. While its pricing isn't absurd, it's objectively pricier than its contemporaries, and can't back up that difference in price with significantly more features. It also doesn't offer much customer service at all, only offering email support, or phone support (with an additional fee). Read more + Read less - Strengths Strong selection of project creation and workflow features High usability score Those familiar with Excel will flourish Weaknesses Fairly pricey Not too many collaboration features Pricing See more See less Plan Paid yearly Paid monthly Pro $7 per user, per month $9 per user per month Business $25 per user, per month $32 per user per month Enterprise Tailored Bespoke Gallery See more See less Click to expand What Are Smartsheet’s Key Features?Smartsheet’s key features are:Easy adaptation from Excel or Google Sheets (all plans)Gantt chart, sub-tasks, milestones, and dependencies (all plans)Preset and custom templates and customisations (all plans)How Does Smartsheet Compare With Its Competitors?Smartsheet has the best usability score of every platform on this list, pulling in a commendable 4.3/5. It’s more usable than monday.com or ClickUp, mostly due to its spreadsheet-esque interface, which means most users are familiar with it before they even start using it.It generally matches features and customer satisfaction scores with its competitors, but it starts to fall short in its pricing and customer service areas. While its pricing isn’t egregious, it’s pricier than monday.com, ClickUp, and Asana, while also having the lowest customer service score of the bunch (2.5/5). This is due to a pretty rudimentary support centre. The online-only support centre requires users to log in before providing assistance and does not offer personalised support, which can be frustrating when you are already encountering issues.Smartsheet's spreadsheet interface is familiar to many, making for great usability Researcher Verdict “Smartsheet is quite a practical solution for the post-project stage. It features a very capable form builder, which can be easily used to create surveys.“Files attachments are easy to upload and access due to Smartsheet’s side bar, which enables you to attach files to an entire project rather than just to specific tasks.“Sharing the project is also straightforward. Smartsheet provides clear permission options to restrict editing access.“Smartsheet only lacks a function for holding interactive feedback sessions. While a workaround is possible, it is not an ideal solution.” James Macey, Senior Researcher, - 11/7/22 Asana – Best for Integrations Asana 4.5 Pricing $10.99 - Tailored Compare Prices Quick overview Despite not making it into the top three, Asana is a very respectable project management platform, pulling in a score of 4.5/5. Its main appeals are its low pricing, high amount of features, and its customer satisfaction score (3.9/5)The biggest jewel in Asana's crown is its massive list of integrations. These include CRM integrations, marketing integrations, data/reporting integrations, and communication integrations. This can lead to a huge amount of personalisation within your software, and can allow you to search for tools that aren't otherwise included in Asana's original offerings.As seems to be a common theme in the higher ranked software, Asana falls quite short when it comes to its customer service offerings, scoring a 2.8/5. It only offers email contact with the business, meaning that time-sensitive issues might be under a bit more stress than they would need to be a with a platform that supports live chat or phone calls, like Teamwork. Read more + Read less - Strengths Great integration marketplace Very fair pricing Great project creation and workflow features Weaknesses Poor customer service offerings Lacks time-tracking and invoicing features Pricing See more See less Plan Paid yearly Paid monthly Premium $10.99 per user, per month $13.49 per user per month Business $24.99 per user, per month $30.49 per user per month Enterprise Tailored Bespoke Gallery See more See less Click to expand What Are Asana’s Key Features?Asana’s key features are:An impressive amount of integrations (all plans)Pre-built (Premium plan) and custom (Business plan) automationsRobust form builder (Premium plan)How Does Asana Compare With Its Competitors?Just falling shy of the top three, Asana still puts up a good fight. Its pricing is among the more affordable options (4.1/5), and its usability is just below the top three (3.9/5). However, Asana has more features than both ClickUp and Smartsheet, scoring a 4/5, due to its generous list of integrations that get you up and running with your pre-existing infrastructure straight away. Its customer score of 3.9/5 is pretty solid too, which means that real-life users just like you are also fans of this platform.Its main downfall is its customer service score of 2.8/5. However, Smartsheet and monday.com don’t do much better (2.5 and 2.8, respectively). If Asana were to bolster its customer service offerings to include 24/7 live chat and phone services, this might be the boost it needs to be in the top three.Asana's integrations with 200+ other software platforms allow it to slot in seamlessly with your existing tech stack Researcher Verdict “Asana is quite a capable solution for the post project stage. This is because it provides an easy-to-use form builder that can be used to create feedback surveys. Interactive sessions are also possible via customisable Kanban (but not an ideal solution).“It also provides dedicated features, which can facilitate a handover. There is a dedicated feature for inviting guests to view a project, and files can be easily stored.” James Macey, Senior Researcher, - 11/7/22 Teamwork – Best for Collaboration Teamwork 4.3 Pricing $5.99 - $24.99 per user, per month Try Teamwork Quick overview As the name would imply, Teamwork is great at collaboration features. On its lowest paid tier, Teamwork includes a calendar, instant messenger, a message board, task comments, and document editing. As one would hope, the task management features are also great, including Gantt charts, Kanban boards, time-tracking, sub-tasks, dependencies, milestones, and custom fields.Tying into the theme of teamwork, the customer support options are great, with live chat, phone lines, and email support being offered on every plan. Also worthy of note is Teamwork's amount of integrations. HubSpot, Mailchimp, Slack, and Microsoft Teams all feature throughout, and there are entire lists of finance and data/reporting integrations that can be installed.However, as always, there are some downsides. It's on the pricier side of the project management spectrum, with even its lowest paid plan costing double digits. There also isn't any automation to speak of, so you'd better hope your own team's teamwork is on its peak performance. Read more + Read less - Strengths Great collaboration and task management features Great customer support Good user experience Weaknesses On the pricier side No automations Pricing See more See less Plan Paid yearly Paid monthly Starter $5.99 per user, per month $8.99 per user per month Deliver $9.99 per user, per month $13.99 per user per month Grow $17.99 per user, per month $24.99 per user per month Enterprise Tailored Tailored Gallery See more See less Click to expand What Are Teamwork’s Key Features?Great collaboration features on every planComprehensive task management featuresSolid customer support on every planHow Does Teamwork Compare With Its Competitors?Teamwork does particularly well in its customer service because every tier promises phone lines, live chat, and email, meaning Teamwork gets a lovely 3.8/5. This ties it with ClickUp, and puts it beneath only Favro and Jira.While Teamwork comes with good task management and collaboration features, there are other features, like automation, that are sorely lacking. This means Teamwork only pulls in a features score of 3.2/5. This puts Teamwork behind monday.com (4.2/5) and Asana (4/5). Researcher Verdict “Teamwork can’t be used for interactive feedback sessions because it simply lacks the features needed. It can used to create feedback surveys, which is useful for project managers to have within their PM platform.“Teamwork has a dedicated tab on its project screen for files, which makes them quite accessible and easy to find.“In a similar criticism to features in other stages, the button for inviting guests to a project was slightly difficult to find.” James Macey, Senior Researcher, - 11/7/22 Favro – Best for Customer Service Favro 4.3 Pricing $10.20 - $30 per month, (based on 2 users) Compare Prices Quick overview Favro is one of the most affordable options on this list, but that doesn't mean other facets of the software are compromised. All of its plans contain great customer service channels, and its task management features don't forgo any particularly necessary feature.On every plan, Favro offers a Gantt chart, Kanban board, spreadsheet view, subtasks, dependencies, custom fields, burndown charts, and preset and custom templates and automations. For the low price, this collection of project management's bread and butter is a solid offering.While most of the staple features are included, Favro doesn't go too far beyond the baseline project management offering. For example, there's no time-tracking or budget management options, and its lack collaboration features may mean that teams have to resort to outside channels to communicate. Read more + Read less - Strengths One of the cheaper options Best customer support options Good range of project and workflow features Weaknesses Not the best collaboration offering Not many advanced features (time-tracking, budget management) Pricing See more See less PlanPaid yearly Paid monthly Lite $10.2 per month, based on 2 users $12 per month, based on 2 users Standard $13.60 per month, based on 2 users $16 per month, based on 2 users Enterprise $25.5 per month, based on 2 users $ 30 per month, based on 2 users Gallery See more See less Click to expand What Are Favro’s Key Features?Faro’s key features are:Very accessible price pointComprehensive task management features on all plansSolid customer service on all plansHow Does Favro Compare With Its Competitors?Favro scores a 4.3/5 for both pricing and customer service. This is the best customer service score on this entire list, backed up by live chat, phone lines, email, and onboarding assistance (when you have over 100 users). It’s also the third best price tag, coming in just under Zoho Projects (4.7/5) and ClickUp (4.4/5).Favro’s usability score of 3.7/5 is fine, but it could do better to be more user-friendly. Perhaps, by improving its data visualisation style. The real shortcoming is its features score of 3.2/5. This is due to its lack of collaboration features, form builder, and integrations. This score means that Favro is significantly below Asana, Wrike, ClickUp, monday.com, and Smartsheet. Researcher Verdict “Favro isn’t best suited for post-project feedback gathering. It does provide a dedicated project template for feedback sessions but it is limited in scope when compared to whiteboard-style features present on other platforms. There’s also no form builder which can be used to create surveys. Users will likely be left wanting more at this stage of the project.“With the more practical aspects of this stage, Favro is perfectly functional. Providing guest access is relatively straightforward as there is a set permission for guests. File attachments are also easy to do.” James Macey, Senior Researcher, - 11/7/22 Jira Software – Best for Software Development Jira Software 4.2 Pricing $7.75 - $15.25 per user, per month Compare Prices Quick overview Jira is one of the older names in the project management world. Originally, the project management method was created to facilitate software development, and Jira reflects this sentiment, being best-suited for the Agile method of project management.If Agile is what you need, then Jira would be a great pick. Even on its free plan, Jira supports many project management features, like a Gantt chart, subtasks, milestones, dependencies, custom fields, burndown charts, and time-tracking. It also has numerous integrations, specifically for CRM, data and reporting, and communication.This pragmatism is reflected in Jira's collaboration features, or rather its lack of them. Other than task comments, and resource management on its higher paid plans, there's nothing to mention. Its interface is also a bit trickier than its competitors, as it only scores a 3.5/5. Read more + Read less - Strengths Good range of project and workflow creation features More affordable than others Solid customer support options Weaknesses Not great for team collaboration Not great for simple project management - is better suited for Agile Pricing See more See less Plan Paid yearly Paid monthly Standard $790 per year, based on 1-10 users $7.75 per user per month Premium $1,525 per year, based on 1-10 users $15.25 per user per month Enterprise Tailored Bespoke Gallery See more See less Click to expand What Are Jira’s Key Features?Jira’s key features are:Time-tracking and turndown chartsBest support for Agile project managementCustom and preset templates and automationsHow Is Jira Doing Compared to its Competitors?Jira’s best assets are its pricing (scoring a 4.2/5 for cost) and customer service (4/5). In fact, this customer service score puts Jira above ClickUp, Teamwork, and every other platform on this list, aside from Favro (which scores a 4.3/5). Its live chat, email support, knowledge base and community forum are some of the best out there.Where Jira falters is in its customer score. While a 3.6/5 doesn’t sound too bad, it’s the lowest customer score on this list meaning it received consistently the worst reviews out there. This is probably reinforced by its usability score of 3.5/5, which, again, doesn’t sound terrible, but when it’s up against Smartsheet’s score of 4.3/5, or Celoxis’ score of 4.2/5, there is obvious room for improvement. Researcher Verdict “Jira provides users with some tools to facilitate the post-project stage. This is mainly facilitated via their ready-made integration with Confluence, which provides users with a template for running a feedback session.“Jira does enable you to invite ‘viewers’ to projects, but Jira doesn’t have a guest access feature – this means anyone invited by you will count as a ‘seat’ and incur an additional charge. This complicates the process of providing clients with access to a project.” James Macey, Senior Researcher, - 11/7/22 Wrike – Best for User Satisfaction Wrike 4.4 Pricing $9.80 - $24.80 per user, per month Try Wrike Quick overview Wrike's strengths lie in its usability and user satisfaction. It has a lovely, smooth interface that allows users to quickly and easily use its various features to facilitate their project process.Outside of the interface, some of the specific highlights include its project creation and workflow features. These include a Gantt chart, a Kanban and spreadsheet view, subtasks, milestones, and dependencies. You'll also be given preset and custom project templates, and custom automations on the Business plan.Sadly, Wrike falls short when it comes to customer service, scoring a dismal 1.8/5, as it only offer email services. This is already disappointing but, when paired with the higher-than-average price, it becomes especially frustrating. Also, while it has an automation builder, this can be tricky to get a handle on. Read more + Read less - Strengths Good project creation and workflow features One of the best user experiences for straightforward project management Weaknesses Fairly expensive Automation builder can be tricky Pricing See more See less Plan Paid monthly Team $9.80 per user, per month Business $24.80 per user, per month Enterprise Tailored Pinnacle Tailored Gallery See more See less Click to expand What Are Wrike’s Key Features?Gantt chart, milestones, dependencies, and subtasks (Professional plan)Unlimited projects and users on the free planAutomation builderHow Does Wrike Compare With Its Competitors?Wrike is a solid platform for anyone who isn’t looking for anything too fancy. It has the base features you’d want from a project management platform, but not too much beyond that. Its usability score of 4/5 is a pretty good sign, and its customer satisfaction score of 4.1 is an even better sign that users just like you are having great success with Wrike.Wrike really only comes up short in its customer service offerings, scoring a 1.8/5, which is tied with Zoho and Trello for the lowest score on this list. However, while Wrike is a perfectly serviceable platform, it’s worth knowing that it doesn’t outscore ClickUp or monday.com in any categories.Wrike allows you to add external users, which is super handy to share project process with external stakeholders at no extra cost Researcher Verdict “Wrike isn’t built for the post-project feedback stage. It does provide a form building feature, but it is far more effective for its intended purpose of creating a funnel for incoming work requests. Users will need to create a custom kanban board for group feedback sessions.“It is practical option for storing files and providing guest access. Files can be attached to specific tasks that can then be accessed by anyone with access to the project. This includes guests. Wrike has a specific user permission called ‘External user’ for the purpose of providing access to external stakeholders.” James Macey, Senior Researcher, - 11/7/22 Zoho Projects – Best for Affordability Zoho Projects 4.1 Pricing $4 - $9 per user per month Try Zoho Projects Quick overview Zoho isn't just a big name in project management, they're a big name in business software as a whole. CRM, HR services, accounting – they do it all, and project management is another notch in its belt. But that doesn't mean it isn't specifically crafted to be a solid piece of software – with a customer score of 4.2/5, it's clearly shown to be an effective tool with a solid fanbase.The greatest asset of Zoho Projects is just how affordable is it. With it only costing $4 per user, per month, it is the cheapest platform on this list by an absolute mile, scoring a 4.7/5. This lower cost doesn't compromise the features, which are comprehensive enough to win Zoho Projects a fair score of 3.2/5.Sadly, it doesn't have any good customer service options available, which is surprising from a business of this size. As it only offers email support, Zoho only scores a 1.8/5. And with a usability score of 3.6/5, it's not unusable by any means, but it could afford to iron out some kinks to be more user-friendly. Read more + Read less - Strengths Extremely affordable Great task management features Good collaboration features Weaknesses Not the easiest user experience Not many customer support options Pricing See more See less Plan Paid yearly Premium $4 per user, per month Enterprise $9 per user, per month Gallery See more See less Click to expand What Are Zoho Projects’ Key Features?Zoho Projects’ key features are:Its unparalleled low costIts great collaboration features, including a resource management tool (Premium tier)The ability to integrate with other Zoho productsHow Does Zoho Compare With Its Competitors?As mentioned, Zoho takes home the gold medal for affordability, scoring 4.7/5 for cost. The silver medal goes to ClickUp, at a distant 4.4/5, showing just how much of a solid deal Zoho offers. Its customer satisfaction score of 4.2/5 also puts it near the top of the pack, brushing up against ClickUp, Trello, and Celoxis, meaning these platforms are a hit with their users.Unfortunately, as seems to be the case with a lot of its competitors, Zoho Projects offers very skint customer service options. Email only – no phone or live chat to be seen, which puts it at a dismal 1.8/5. Zoho Projects has a fewer customer service options than ClickUp, Smartsheet, Wrike, and even monday.com. Researcher Verdict “Zoho can’t be used for post-project feedback gathering from team members. Meaning users with remote teams will need to find another platform to conduct these.“Zoho’s system of guest access is more complicated than that of its competitors. Rather than simply providing guests with a link or email invitation – users need to add guests as ‘client users’ and give them their own profile.” James Macey, Senior Researcher, - 11/7/22 Trello – Best for Automation Trello 4.1 Pricing $5 - $17.50 per user, per month Compare Prices Quick overview Trello is a pretty big name in project management. Its main appeal is its flexibility; while it may not explicitly have some options like issue logs or milestones, there are workarounds that you can exploit to rig something together. While you'd obviously rather have these from the outset, tweaking your workflow to suit you is certainly appealing.One of Trello's best perks is its automation builder. It's intuitive and very flexible, meaning you can automate all manner of tasks on Trello's interface. These automations become unlimited on the Premium plan.Trello lets itself down in two significant ways. Firstly, there aren't many collaboration features (like a team messenger or a project message board), so your team will need to resort to an external place to communicate (like Slack or email). Despite its other useful features, the lack of collaboration features pulls Trello down to a 2.9/5. Secondly, it has dismal customer service options, only offering email, and no live 24/7 options. This lands it a customer support score of 1.8/5. Read more + Read less - Strengths Great interface for basic task tracking Good range of project and workflow creation features Intuitive automation builder Weaknesses Not many collaboration features Terrible customer service options Pricing See more See less Plan Paid yearly Paid monthly Standard $5 per user, per month $6 per user per month Premium $10 per user, per month $12.50 per user per month Enterprise $17.50 per user, per month N/A (only billed annually) Gallery See more See less Click to expand What Are Trello’s Key Features?Trello’s key features are:Robust automation builder (Unlimited on Premium plan)Nice, customisable interfaceEasy-to-tweak systemsHow Does Trello Compare With Its Competitors?Score-wise, Trello’s best asset is its customer satisfaction. It pulls in a very nice 4.3/5, meaning that customers are as happy with Trello as they are with ClickUp (also 4.3/5), and that they’re more satisfied with Trello than they are with Smartsheet, Asana, and Wrike.However, Trello does score one of the lowest customer service scores (1.8/5) because they only offer email service. There is no phone calling or live chat, which puts it comfortably below Jira, Teamwork, and ClickUp.Trello's customizable interface allows for great flexibility as to how you organize your workflow Researcher Verdict “Trello can be used to an extent for gathering post-project feedback, but it is quite limited. The customisable board/card system can be setup for an interactive session, but such a session may benefit more from a whiteboard approach. Forms/surveys can’t be built on Trello, so users will need to create one via a third-party.“Trello’s approach to providing guest access is more intuitive than the other platforms listed here. Users can invite guests via three different methods: email, link, or QR code.” James Macey, Senior Researcher, - 11/7/22 Celoxis – Best for User-Friendliness Celoxis Pricing $22.50 - $25 per user, per month Compare Prices Quick overview Rounding off our list is Celoxis, really nailing home the saying "last but not least." Of all the platforms so far, Celoxis scores the second highest when it comes to usability, its accessible interface earning a lovely 4.2/5, second only Smartsheet's 4.3/5.Due to this usability, its customer score is also quite nice, also coming in at 4.2/5. As far as the features go, it's got most of the task management staples: milestones, dependencies, subtasks, a Gantt chart, as well as preset and custom project templates. It also has some nice collaboration features, coming stocked with a project message board, task comments, and a calendar.The main stopping point for Celoxis is its price. There no varied plans, and the only option you do have is considerably more expensive than its competitors. And, despite this price, there aren't many customer service options available, with the only touchpoint with Celoxis being email. Read more + Read less - Strengths Great user experience Strong task management features Weaknesses Considerably expensive Weak customer support Pricing See more See less Plan Paid yearly Paid monthly Cloud $22.50 per user, per month $25 per user per, month On Premise Tailored Tailored Gallery See more See less Click to expand What Are Celoxis’ Key Features?Celoxis’ key features are:Gantt chart, sub-tasks, milestones, and dependenciesIntegrations with a lot of popular software (Salesforce, Mailchimp, QuickBooks, Slack)Pre-set and custom project templatesHow Is Celoxis Doing Compared to its Competitors?As mentioned, Celoxis trumps most of the titans when it comes to usability. With its score of 4.2/5, Celoxis is more usable than ClickUp, monday.com, Wrike, and every other competitor on this list (aside from Smartsheet). Its customer score of 4.2/5 reflects this too, meaning users of Celoxis are having great success with the platform.However, Celoxis is far pricier than every other platform on this list, with its price of £22.50 per user, per month giving it an affordability score of 2.9/5, without the customer service or features to back this up. Compared to monday.com, ClickUp, or Asana, all of whom price in the single digits, this is a tough pill to swallow. Researcher Verdict “Celoxis isn’t very suitable for the post-project feedback stage. While it is technically possible to run an interactive feedback session on the platform – it isn’t a particular viable way of conducting one. There is also no form building functionality for surveys.“Attaching files is quite straightforward. Celoxis uses a system of tabs that provide different functionalities – files are included in these tabs. It also provides a specific client invite feature for providing access to external stakeholders.” James Macey, Senior Researcher, - 11/7/22 What’s the Best Project Management Software for Your Business?I Need a Project Management App for a Small BusinessWhile no project management software is going to break the bank, it’s a good idea to opt for a provider with a free plan – especially if your business is doing all it can to stay in the black. Our favourite platforms that offer free plans include monday.com, and ClickUp.If you do feel inclined to pay for a platform, however, Zoho Projects is the cheapest platform that we’ve encountered. This doesn’t mean it skimps out on features because it still has everything you’d want from a baseline project management platform.I Need a Project Management App for a Medium-Size BusinessA medium-sized business likely doesn’t need to worry about pricing, but also wouldn’t have a reason to push for the top-of-the-line features. In this case, a fairly priced and easy-to-use platform is going to be the priority.Jira comes to mind because it offers a comprehensive selection of task management features for a fair price. However, Jira leans toward software development, so some more wide-reaching analogs would be Wrike or Teamwork, both of which offer great task management tools.I Need a Project Management App for a Large BusinessThe main thing a larger business is going to need from a project management platform is collaboration features. A team of three or four will have no problem communicating as the project goes on, but a team of 15 to 20 will need some structure to keep everything on track.As far as collaboration features go, the best platforms are Teamwork (as the name would suggest), and ClickUp. Both offer a calendar, resource management, task comments, and document editing. ClickUp also offers an instant messenger, while Teamwork offers a project message board. How Did We Find the Best Project Management Software?We've tested and researched 10 market-leading project management software platforms, evaluating their functionality, usability, integrations and customer support so we can make the most useful recommendations to US businessesOur rigorous testing process means these products have been scored and rated in five main categories of investigation and nine subcategories. We then gave each category score a ‘relevance weighting' to ensure the product's final score perfectly reflects the needs and requirements of Expert Market readers.Our main testing categories for project management software are:Pricing: The financial considerations associated with using a project management solution, e.g. licensing fees, subscription plans, or additional charges for advanced features or add-ons.Ease of use: This is where we get people just like you to test out the products to focus on evaluating the ease of use and user experience of the project management solution. We assess factors such as the user interface, navigation, and task organization.Features: The functionalities and capabilities offered by the project management solution, including features such as task management, team collaboration, and project planning and scheduling.Integrations: The number of third-party software platforms the system integrates with, and whether it easily connects with market-leading providers.Security: The number of security measures offered by the providers, as well as accreditations for data security.Customer Support: The assistance and resources provided by the project management solution provider to users, including phone support, email or chat support, and online forums. Verdict While there are several stellar project management platforms out there, we have to pick monday.com as our absolute favourite. Its interface is the best on the market, being both usable and packed with features, and it’s not too expensive. Most importantly, it scores supremely well with customers, pulling in a 4.5/5.If you needed another option, we also love ClickUp. It scores slightly less well than monday.com when it comes to customers, but it’s a bit more affordable, and offers better customer service.Either way, project management software is an incredibly useful tool that we recommend to any business looking to undertake a lengthy project. FAQs What is project management software for? Project management software is intended to make managing projects simpler and streamlined. With long-term projects, there is a lot to keep in mind, such as budgets, deadlines, team composition and responsibilities, as well as the sheer amount of tasks to do. Project management software can help you sort and keep on top of all of these elements, allowing for a smooth work experience. Which is the best project management software? While each business will have different needs, we found monday.com and ClickUp to be the general best project management platforms, both scoring a 4.6 in our research. They’re both extremely easy to use, priced generously, and score very well with customers. Why is project management important? Project management ensures that a project doesn’t get away from you. Without strict guidelines and regulations, it’s very easy for a project to become uncontrollable, go over budget, and pass its deadline. With project management, it’s very easy to reign in the project and make sure it doesn’t become an endless and confusing mess. It’s also important for managing multiple projects at once. What is the most commonly used project management tool? While this data isn’t really public knowledge, the most popular project management software platforms are monday.com and ClickUp, both of which reach the top of our list of favourites. Zoho and Jira also get a shout out because their parent companies make a lot of other software, so they cover more ground and likely get a lot of users through their name. Written by: Zara Chechi Business Services Expert Zara is a Payments Expert, specialising in writing about Point of Sale systems. With a Law Degree from City University of London, she has used her legally-honed research and analytical skills to develop expertise in the Business Services world. Featured in FinTech Magazine, she quickly became an expert in payroll, POS systems, and merchant accounts. Reviewed by: James Macey Senior Business Software Researcher James draws on his 4+ years experience as a researcher to offer specialized advice on a wide range of categories from CRM to Fleet Management. He believes all businesses can grow if they use the right tools and services.