The Best Free Project Management Apps

Missed deadlines, unhappy clients and a budget that’s spiraling out of control. Sound familiar?

You’ll be all too aware of just how much there is to think about when it comes to managing projects, but there are tools on hand to make things easier. Some of these apps are completely free, but how do they compare to paid options?

Top 6 Free Project Management Apps

We’ve tried and tested some of the top free apps available right now to see if they’re up to the task.

Trello

You might not be using Trello but you’ve probably heard of it. Twenty-five million people have signed up to use Trello since its launch in 2011. Trello is a straightforward task manager that’s perfect for team collaboration and keeping track of jobs. Assign tasks to the right team member and they’ll be able to see what’s next on their plate and when it’s due.

The free version of Trello allows you to have unlimited boards and users as well as attachments of up to 10MB in size. If you need to upload bigger attachments, then you’ll need to upgrade to the Business Class plan that’s $9.99 per user, per month.

Best for: Smaller businesses that need a way of visually creating a work process that all team members can easily follow.

Bitrix24

If you’re already comfortable with Gantt charts but you need a tool that offers other important features like sales automation and lead management, then Bitrix24 might be the free app for you.

It unites CRM, project management, workflow automation and even HR tools into one accessible platform. Bitrix24 can be a challenge to master, especially if you’re new to tools like this.

With the free version, you’ll have access to unlimited projects for up to 12 users and 5GB of online storage. If you need more users or storage, then you’ll need to upgrade to the Plus plan that costs $39 per month.

Best for: Project Managers who use Gantt charts and have enough time to master a tricky platform.

Targetprocess

Technical and development teams will love the custom workflows and capacity planning features that Targetprocess offers. A little niche for some businesses, Targetprocess is ideal for development projects because it allows you to plan sprints and track team capabilities.

The specialized features are heaven for some but hell for others, so it really depends on your specific business needs. The free ‘Team’ version allows you to create up to 1,000 projects but you’ll need to upgrade to the $25 per user, per month version for access to the full list of features.

Best for: Development teams that work on sprints who would appreciate the social media-style notifications.

Asana

The ultimate to-do list. Asana is a project management tool that takes your large projects and breaks them down into accessible sections and lists. You can easily track how much of the project has been completed and which tasks are falling behind schedule.

Unlike a normal to-do list, staff can collaborate on lists and with integrations, they can track their time and use reporting tools. Fifteen users can work on the free Asana plan and access the basic features. To use project timelines, task dependencies and advanced searches, upgrade to the $19.99 per user, per month version.

Best for: Upgrading your to-do list so that it’s powerful enough to manage your projects.

Teamweek

Keeping track of remote workers is a challenge. It’s difficult to convince staff who are regularly out of the office to keep on top of project management apps so you’re never exactly sure which tasks are being worked on and which are completed.

Teamweek is an easy-to-use mobile app that offers all of the basic features you need to manage projects like timelines, a calendar and shared resources. It integrates with other tools you might already be using like Slack and Chrome so it’s easy to get started right away.

The free version is for up to five users, so if your team is bigger than that, you’ll need the $39 per month upgrade.

Best for: Small businesses that want a simple tool to manage staff that aren’t based in the office.

Freedcamp

Easy to set up and even easier to use, Freedcamp’s free version has more features than many of its competitors. Share and edit files, create discussion boards, send invoices and use project templates to keep on track of tasks.

Track how much time you’ve spent on a task and add milestones for others to work towards. It’s great for those who are looking for a tool that makes it easy to visualize current projects, but you’ll need the paid version to access the project reporting feature. It’ll cost you an initial $5.99 and then an extra $1.99 for each user (each month) you add.

Best for: Teams looking for free unlimited projects, users and storage that want access to excellent customer service.

Free or Paid?

The free versions of these project management tools give you the basic features you need to keep track of tasks, log time and collaborate with others. Ideal for smaller teams, but if you’re responsible for larger projects with a lot of moving parts, then you’ll probably need the more advanced functionality offered by paid versions.

It might take a few trial periods before you find the right tool to suit your requirements. Have a play with the free versions of these tools to see what works and what doesn’t.

The largest teams that work on major change events will need something different entirely. To avoid wasted weekends and ineffective spreadsheets that the biggest projects need, you need an orchestration platform like Cutover. The Cutover platform allows you to properly manage complex change events and actually allows you to orchestrate and manage change – while giving full visibility into every process.