Cheap Project Management Software in 2024: Finding the Best Value
Project management systems don’t need to cost a small fortune. We’ll help you save money with this roundup of cheap project management software so you can find the right tools for the job at the best price.
Written by Dan Ginn (Writer)
Reviewed by Jackie Leavitt (Chief Editor)
Facts checked by Eugenie Tiu (Editorial Assistant)
Last Updated: 2024-04-17T04:39:25+00:00
All our content is written fully by humans; we do not publish AI writing. Learn more here.
If you’re on a tight budget and you’re looking for some cheap project management software, then you’ve arrived at the right place. We’ve tested and reviewed a wide range of project management software products, so we know which services offer the best value for your money. We’ve even compiled our team’s collective experience into the ultimate project management list, if you want to give that a read.
Key Takeaways:
- For cost and features, nTask is the best tool for those needing a cheap option. It has a decent free plan, but only allows for up to five users.
- ClickUp is great for project and resource management. It also offers productivity tools for time tracking and workload management.
- monday.com is the best project management software available, bar none. It’s a little more expensive, but if you have the budget, it’s worth it.
- All things considered, Asana offers the best free project management solution.
There are plenty of project management software options available, and most companies will try to lure you in by providing the best price possible with a glittering array of features.
If there’s a certain project management platform you have your eye on, but the price is too expensive, there most certainly will be other options that better meet your economic needs.
In this article, our expert reviewers will show you five options, ensuring that there’s going to be something that strikes your fancy. As always, we’ve reviewed each project management tool mentioned below, so we’re certain they will improve your project management and keep your costs low.
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04/17/2024
Updated to reflect changes in the naming of Asana’s pricing plans.
The Top Cheap PM Software
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What Makes the Best Cheap Project Management Software?
The term “cheap” is often synonymous with poor quality. That’s not the case with this article, as our core objective is to show you the products that still have enough of the core tools needed to help you manage projects.
While cost is the heartbeat of this article, we have gone through each service with a fine-tooth comb to see what they’re offering. The criteria we use include how easy each service is to use, how many (quality) features you get for your money, and how each project management software company handles your data. Here are the top choices that offer bang for your buck.
- nTask — Excellent balance between cost and features
- ClickUp — Cheap and great for project and resource management
- monday.com — The number one project management tool
- Trello — The best kanban board on the market
- Asana — Fantastic free plan
The five best cheap project management services are nTask, ClickUp, monday.com, Trello and Asana, all of which offer very affordable prices and generous free plans.
nTask tops the list of the best cheap project management software because it has all the features you need, a solid free plan and extremely affordable paid plans. ClickUp is a close second, as it offers exceptional value while still offering premium tools for project management.
As always, monday.com shows up in an article like this because it’s pound-for-pound the best project management software on the market. Although it’s a little more expensive than nTask and ClickUp, it’s still pretty affordable for what you get. Finally, Trello and Asana are here because of their ease of use, affordability and their feature-rich free plans.
The 5 Best Cheap Project Management Software
Below, we’ll break down each service that we’re recommending. We’ll show why each one offers value, as well as some reasons you may wish to select a different option on the list.
1. nTask
More details about nTask:
- Pricing: Free; Premium plan costs $3 per month when paid annually
- Provider website: ntaskmanager.com
Pros:
- Excellent pricing
- Plenty of features
- Easy to use
Cons:
- Privacy needs improving
nTask comes in as the best project management software that’s cheap and full of features. For those who prefer different views of projects and tasks, nTask ticks plenty of boxes, providing kanban, Gantt chart and standard list views.
Although to-do lists and note-taking tools come with the free plan, you’ll need to upgrade to the Premium plan for kanban boards and Gantt charts.
Upgrading to the Premium plan shouldn’t be a cause for concern. nTask has managed to get its pricing down to $3 per month if you pay annually (it’s $4 for a monthly subscription). With that, you can create an unlimited number of projects and set task dependencies and milestones for a more agile approach to project management.
Although we wouldn’t consider nTask to be a basic project management software, the company has done a great job of making the product easy to use.
The arrangement of its features within the user interface is clearly laid out, and you won’t spend much time figuring out how to navigate the software. It’s not always easy to make quick changes to tasks, as you have to navigate multiple tabs first, but other than that, nTask is free of complications.
Excellent Gantt Chart View
Gantt charts can be a little hit or miss, depending on which project management software you’re using. With nTask, you can enjoy a well-designed Gantt chart view that’s not cramped and difficult to read like some other options. It’s so good that it almost rivals TeamGantt, the best Gantt chart on the market (learn more in our TeamGantt review).
For all that’s good with nTask, it’s not without its drawbacks. The company likes to take a lot of user data and use it for marketing purposes. It won’t sell it to third parties, but users can expect to receive sales emails and calls to action trying to get you to upgrade your plan.
If you can live with that, considering the great value and all the features you would expect from a leading project management tool, it’s hard to deny that nTask offers a great value for money. If you would like to learn more about the product, check out our full nTask review.
- Maximum 5 team members.
- No minimum or maximum team members.
- No minimum or maximum team members.
- Self-hosted option. 50 team members minimum.
2. ClickUp
More details about ClickUp:
- Pricing: Free; Unlimited plan costs $5 per user per month, billed annually
- Provider website: clickup.com
Pros:
- Cheap
- Most feature rich tool
- Good free plan
Cons:
- Poorly designed features
If you need to improve your task management and add some order for your workflow, ClickUp is fantastic for those new to using project management tools — it’s one of the best Gantt chart software. What’s more, ClickUp is one of the best free project management software options available, with most of its core features available on the free subscription.
For its most affordable paid plan, Unlimited, ClickUp offers Agile tools, project timelines and workload planning to set deadlines and allocate tasks to different users. ClickUp also has some native time-tracking tools — something missing from nTask. It also comes with 24/7 support that can be accessed through live chat, no matter where you are in the world.
ClickUp has its own built-in document creator, which can be used by multiple users for collaboration and feedback. You can easily share docs with users or, if you prefer, you can integrate cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive to share documents and other file types.
1,000 Monthly Automations with ClickUp
Although the best project management software services make life easier for project managers and other users, a lot of the day-to-day work can be cumbersome. With ClickUp’s cheapest paid plan, you can implement up to 1,000 automations per month, removing the need to do those niggling tasks.
The project manager can automate assigning tasks, status updates and task prioritization. It requires some initial implementation, though after that you can set triggers within tasks that dictate when an automated task needs to happen. ClickUp has done well to incorporate this into its software and it will certainly make life easier for you.
If you want cheap and cheerful, alongside something that helps with task management and project planning, then ClickUp is likely for you. For all that’s good, it isn’t perfect. The desktop version of the project management app can sometimes be sluggish and unresponsive. That said, for the most part it works well.
Additionally, its project views (kanban, Gantt, etc.) are good, they just don’t offer as much functionality as some of the other options in this article. So all in all, ClickUp is for the basic to midrange user who has a budget to stick to. For those who fit this description, ClickUp could be the way to go. To find out if it is for you, read our ClickUp review.
- Basic functionality with some limitations
- All prices per user
- All prices per user
3. monday.com
More details about monday.com:
- Pricing: Free; Basic plan costs $8 per month, billed annually
- Provider website: monday.com
Pros:
- Well-designed features
- Simple to use
- Good security
Cons:
- Costlier than other tools
All things considered, monday.com is the best project management software money can buy. The reason it’s not number one in this article is because it’s more expensive than the other options. It’s still well priced, and for those who can afford a little extra, here’s why monday.com is great.
Considering the features-to-cost ratio, monday.com’s Standard plan offers the best value for the money. For $10 a month on a one-year plan, you get the use of Gantt charts, kanban boards, over 200 templates and 20GB of file storage.
monday.com has a beautiful design, and it’s also an easy-to-use project management software. More importantly, the features function well and you’ll seldom — if ever — feel frustrated when you manage tasks and create projects. It’s the best project management tool for multiple projects.
The platform provides excellent security for your files and data. monday.com is SOC Type 2 certified, which means its security measures have been put under deep scrutiny, with the conclusion that the company is doing everything right.
monday.com only uses your data to improve the product. We’re glad to say the service doesn’t sell your information to third parties, although it may use it to market its own products in the future.
Hundreds of Integrations
While many project management software services offer some form of app integrations, few offer as many as monday.com. At the time of writing, the service allows for up to 250 third-party app integrations on the Standard plan. Users can integrate services like Zoom, Outlook, Zapier and Slack, which opens the door to improved communication and automation within your entire team.
It’s difficult to find a flaw with monday.com, which is why it’s the top project management software you can use even if you belong in specialized fields such as in the construction industry. In the past, we criticized its free version; however, recent updates have shown vast improvements in terms of features, no longer making it feel like merely a gateway to the paid subscription.
If the Standard plan was a little cheaper, it would be number one in this article. If you won’t settle for anything less than the best, then monday.com should be your project management software tool of choice. You can learn more about it by reading our monday.com review.
- Maximum users: 2
- Minimum users: 3
- Minimum users: 3
More plans
- Minimum users: 3
- Enterprise-level features.
4. Trello
More details about Trello:
- Pricing: Free; Standard plan costs $5 per month (billed annually)
- Provider website: trello.com
Pros:
- Best kanban board
- Easy to navigate
Cons:
- Limited view options
If you’re a hardcore kanban fanatic, then Trello is what you need. First, it offers one of the best free project management tools on the market, which allows for up to 10 boards per workspace and an unlimited number of cards. You also get access to some cool project templates that help create new boards more quickly when compared to doing the full process manually.
For only $5 per month, you open the door to unlimited boards, the ability to create custom fields and unlimited file storage. Regardless of the plan, Trello is also one of the more intuitive project management software solutions available, especially in the kanban market. It’s easy to use, responsive and has several design customization options, so you can find the right aesthetic.
However, if you don’t need the customizations or an unlimited number of boards, we’ll double down and say Trello’s free version is more than enough, especially for personal projects. You still get unlimited storage space, it’s just that your file size is limited to 10MB per upload, which should still be enough if you’re mainly working with documents.
Trello’s Ease of Use
While we often use this section for standout features, we shouldn’t overlook usability as a driving factor in choosing the right project management software. Trello has designed such a strong user interface that it requires very little thought process to use. Creating new boards and tasks is a walk in the park, and you won’t find yourself stumbling through how to navigate the app.
If you’re working in teams, Trello has designed a simple pop-up menu within cards that allows you to set due dates and assign tasks to other members of your board. The bottom line: Trello has done all the simple things right in terms of design, and several other project management software companies should take note.
The truth is, while Trello is an excellent project management solution for kanban methods, beyond that it’s limited. If you’re looking for a more robust option, with tools for time tracking, long-term planning and reporting, this project management solution isn’t for you.
However, if you need a task management tool with a broad array of features that let you implement the kanban approach, it would be hard for us to recommend a better service than Trello.
Factor in the affordability and ease of use, and you’ll soon understand why it’s one of the most popular project management software services around. To learn more about the platform, read our full Trello review.
- Unlimited users, 10 boards, Unlimited power-ups, Unlimited storage
- Price is per user, Unlimited boards, Custom fields, Invite guests
- Price is per user, Several new views
- Price is per user, Advanced admin & security settings
5. Asana
More details about Asana:
- Pricing: Free; Starter plan costs $10.99 per month, billed annually
- Provider website: asana.com
Pros:
- Excellent free plan
- Wide range of features
- Versatile
Cons:
- Pain plans are expensive
- Lack of customer support
At first glance, Asana looks like another variant of Trello — that’s why we did a Trello vs Asana head-to-head. On deeper inspection, Asana offers far more versatility than Trello and comes with features that go beyond its popular kanban board.
In fact, Asana — the best monday.com alternative — is one of the leading all-encompassing project management software tools in the space. Beyond task management, you can use Asana for things like long-term planning, time tracking, team collaboration and more — many of which exist on Asana’s free plan.
If you’re not looking for timeline views and a dashboard, Asana is one of the best timeline project management tools, and its free plan will certainly suffice.
The first paid tier, the Starter plan, is a little more expensive than all the other paid options in this article. Again, it’s mainly the stellar free version that makes Asana part of this conversation. The Starter plan costs $10.99 per month on an annual subscription. With that you get more in-depth reporting, advanced security and more views of your projects.
So Much Unlimited
Even on Asana’s free plan, there are plenty of unlimited features at your disposal (learn more in Asana pricing guide). That’s out of sync with many other project management software providers, as providers like to limit usability to get you onto a paid subscription — kudos to Asana for breaking that trend.
Users can develop an unlimited number of projects, all of which can be worked on simultaneously. You get unlimited storage, and can create tasks to your heart’s content. For communication, users can leave an unlimited number of comments on the card and create unlimited tasks within each workstation.
While Asana has many great things going for it, we would be remiss not to mention its flaws. The most obvious one is the lack of customer support. Although it offers useful guides and information, there’s no option to speak with the support team unless you’re on the Enterprise plan.
Asana also goes in hard when staggering its features across its plans. While other project management apps are more liberal, Asana really wants you to pay top dollar to get the most out of its service.
That aside, Asana does balance things out with its awesome free subscription, and those features will likely be sufficient for most types of users (like freelancers). To learn more about Asana, check out our Asana review. While still at it check out the ClickUp vs Asana comparison guide to learn how the two tools compare.
- Up to 10 users
- Price is per user. unlimited users, expanded features
- Price is per user. unlimited users, even more features
- Custom pricing, advanced security features
Final Thoughts
Above are five project management software tools that excel in features and keep costs to a minimum — some are even free. However, if your budget is limited and you’d prefer to not pay a single penny for your project management software, check out our selection of the best free project management software.
Overall, nTask offers the best cheap paid option, and comes with enough features to improve your project management. Remember, if you only want the best tool available, monday.com is what you need. It’s the best project management software for marketing and a great project management tool for designers.
If you want the best free tool, Asana should be your choice. Whichever option you select, it’s unlikely you’ll be disappointed.
Which is your favorite cheap project management tool? Is there a more affordable option you feel should be in this article? How much are you prepared to pay for your project management software? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading.
FAQ
No. At the time of writing Google doesn’t offer a fully fledged project management tool to its customers.
Google doesn’t currently offer its own take on a project management tool.
No. Microsoft Project starts at $10 per user per month, with more robust plans priced at $30 and $55 per user per month.