20 Best Free Resource Management Software Shortlist
Here are my picks for the 20 best free resource management software tools, out of 27 tools that I reviewed.
Struggling to figure out who's working on which projects, prioritize work for your team, or meet project deadlines, but don't have the funds to invest in fancy software? There are plenty of free resource management software tools available for teams and organizations on a budget.
Here are my picks for the best free resource management software tools on the market and notes on my personal experience using each one to help you simplify the process of choosing the right fit.
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Compare Software Specs Side-by-Side
While the tools on this list have freemiums or free versions available, most also have a paid version that typically comes with more features or customization options. Quickly compare these prices below.
| Tool | Best For | Trial Info | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Best for profitable resource management | 30-day free trial available | From $7/scheduled user/month | Website | |
| 2 | Best for visual workload management | Free plan available | From $9/seat/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 3 | Best for multiple resource views | 14-day free trial + free plan available | From $10/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 4 | Best for real-time workload visibility | Free plan + free demo available | From $4/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 5 | Best for facility management | Free trial available | From $100/month | Website | |
| 6 | Best for real-time task tracking | Free plan available | From $10.99/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 7 | Best for software development teams | 7-day free trial | From $7.91/user/month | Website | |
| 8 | Best for creating custom templates | 14-day free trial + free plan available | From $10/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 9 | Best open source RM software | 15-day free trial + free plan + free demo available | From $49/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 10 | Best for flexible resource allocation | 30-day free trial | From $9.50/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 11 | Best for scheduling and financial management | Free 14-day trial | From $5/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 12 | Best for providing a centralized view of project resources | 14-day free trial | Pricing upon request | Website | |
| 13 | Best for time management | Free version available | From $2.50 per user per month | Website | |
| 14 | Best for tracking project costs | Not available | From $8 per user per month | Website | |
| 15 | Best for freelancers and small teams | Free version available | From $30 per member per month. | Website | |
| 16 | Best for unlimited tasks and members | Free plan + free demo available | From $7/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 17 | Best for agency resource management | 14-day free trial + free demo available | From $10/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 18 | Best for AI-powered resource planning | 14-day free trial + free demo available | From $10/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 19 | Best for time and resource management | Free 7-day trial available | From $9/user/month (billed annually) | Website | |
| 20 | Best with project collaboration features | Free plan available | From $4/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
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Accelo
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.4 -
Wrike
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.2 -
Forecast
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.6
Overviews of The Best Free Resource Management Software
Here’s a brief description of each of the free resource management tools on my list. I’ve included what each one does best, plus screenshots to showcase some of the features.
Float is a resource management platform designed for project-based teams that need visual scheduling, capacity planning, and workload tracking in one place.
Who Is Float Best For?
Float is a good fit for agencies, consultancies, and professional services teams that manage multiple projects and need clear visibility into how their team's time is allocated.
Why I Picked Float
I picked Float because it ties staffing decisions directly to project profitability. I use the project cost estimation feature to model resourcing scenarios before work starts—applying bill rates and cost rates to see how different staffing choices affect margins in real time. I can save an estimate as a baseline and compare it against actuals as the project progresses, so I can see where scope crept or margins slipped. The reporting layer pulls utilization, budget spend, and profitability into one live view, so my team doesn't have to piece together spreadsheets to determine if a project is on track financially.
Float Key Features
- Drag-and-drop scheduling: Assign and adjust tasks on a visual timeline by dragging blocks across team members' calendars.
- Capacity management: View each team member's available hours against scheduled work to spot over- or under-allocation at a glance.
- Time-off and public holiday tracking: Log approved leave and regional holidays directly in the schedule so availability is always accurate.
- Live project dashboard: Monitor scheduled hours, logged time, and budget progress across all active projects in a single view.
Float Integrations
Float offers native integrations with Slack, Google Calendar, Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Asana, Jira, Trello, QuickBooks, Xero, and Harvest, and connects with Zapier. An API is available for custom integrations.
What's Free?
Float offers a 30-day free trial with access to all features and unlimited users. After the trial, you’ll need to choose a paid plan to continue using the platform.
New Product Updates from Float.com
Float Introduces Timeline Shifting and Billing Access Update
Float introduces timeline shifting and updates billing privileges, enhancing project management efficiency. These updates help teams adjust project schedules more easily while maintaining control over billing permissions. For more information, visit Float.com's official site.
monday.com is a work management platform that lets teams organize resources, assign tasks, track workloads, and visualize project timelines using customizable boards and dashboards.
Who Is monday.com Best For?
monday.com is a good fit for small to mid-sized teams in tech, marketing, or creative industries that need a visual way to manage projects and resources across multiple workstreams.
Why I Picked monday.com
I picked monday.com as one of the best because of how well its visual workload view translates resource data into something you can actually act on. When my team is juggling multiple projects, I can open the Workload view and immediately see who's over capacity and who has bandwidth—without digging through spreadsheets or chasing status updates. I also like that you can switch between Gantt, Kanban, and Timeline views on the same board, so the data doesn't change, just the lens you're using. The customizable dashboards pull live data across boards, which means I can track resource utilization at the team level without building separate reports.
monday.com Key Features
- Task assignment and ownership: Assign tasks to specific team members with due dates, priority levels, and status labels directly on the board.
- Time tracking: Log hours spent on tasks natively within monday.com to monitor how team time is being allocated across projects.
- Automations: Set up no-code automation rules to trigger status changes, send notifications, or reassign tasks based on defined conditions.
- Guest access: Invite external collaborators to specific boards without giving them access to your full workspace.
monday.com Integrations
monday.com offers hundreds of integrations through its built-in integrations and marketplace, including tools like Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot, and Google Workspace. It also supports Zapier and provides an API for custom integrations.
What's Free?
monday.com offers a free-forever plan for up to 2 users. The free plan includes up to 3 boards, limited integrations, and basic features, but does not include timeline or Gantt views.
New Product Updates from monday.com
monday.com's AI Blocks Now Available to All Users
monday.com AI Blocks are now available to all users, enabling teams to integrate AI directly into workflows. This rollout helps automate tasks and improve productivity across projects. For more information, visit monday.com's official site.
Wrike is a project management platform that gives teams resource planning, workload management, time tracking, and multiple ways to visualize and allocate resources.
Who Is Wrike Best For?
Wrike is a good fit for cross-functional teams in mid-size to enterprise organizations that need a centralized platform to manage tasks, projects, and team capacity.
Why I Picked Wrike
I picked Wrike as one of the best because of how many ways it lets you look at the same resource data. Most tools lock you into one or two views, but Wrike gives you Board, Table, Gantt, Calendar, Chart, and more—all switchable without leaving your project. I particularly like the workload view, which shows each team member's task load at a glance so I can spot who's overcommitted before it becomes a problem. The resource bookings feature also lets me reserve time from a specific person or job role and check their availability against estimated hours, which is genuinely useful when planning across multiple concurrent projects.
Wrike Key Features
- Time tracking: Log hours directly on tasks and generate time reports to monitor how team effort is being spent across projects.
- Custom request forms: Build intake forms that automatically route incoming work to the right team or project when submitted.
- Task dependencies: Link tasks so that scheduling shifts automatically cascade to dependent work when timelines change.
- Project templates: Save and reuse project structures, including task lists, assignees, and timelines, to spin up new projects faster.
Wrike Integrations
Wrike offers hundreds of integrations through its built-in integrations and marketplace, including tools like Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Salesforce, and Slack. It also supports Zapier and provides an API for custom integrations.What's Free?
Wrike offers a free-forever plan for small teams with up to 5 users. The free plan includes basic task and project management features but limits access to advanced features, custom workflows, and most integrations.
GoodDay is a resource management platform that brings together project planning, workload tracking, task assignments, and time management in one workspace.
Who Is GoodDay Best For?
GoodDay is a good fit for small to mid-sized teams that need a centralized workspace to manage projects, tasks, and team workloads across multiple departments.
Why I Picked GoodDay
GoodDay earns its spot on my shortlist because of how well its workload view surfaces real-time capacity data across the whole team. I can see exactly who's overloaded and who has bandwidth, which makes reassigning tasks mid-sprint a much faster decision. The timeline view layers task dependencies on top of that, so I'm not just looking at individual loads—I'm seeing how bottlenecks ripple across the project. That combination of workload visibility and dependency tracking makes it especially strong for resource management.
GoodDay Key Features
- Custom statuses and workflows: Build project-specific workflows using custom statuses that reflect your team's actual process steps.
- Time tracking and timesheets: Log time directly on tasks using a built-in timer, and generate daily or weekly timesheets for accurate project-level reporting.
- Request forms: Create custom intake forms to capture and route work requests from other departments or external stakeholders.
- Portfolio views: Group multiple projects into portfolios and monitor status, progress, and priorities across all of them from a single view.
GoodDay Integrations
GoodDay offers native integrations with Google Drive, Slack, Microsoft 365, Jira, Trello, GitHub, and Dropbox, and it connects with Zapier. An API is available for custom integrations.
What's Free?
GoodDay offers a free-forever plan for up to 15 users with unlimited tasks and projects. Some advanced features and integrations are only available on paid plans.
Caspio is a no-code application builder that lets you create custom resource management tools, manage databases, automate workflows, and set user permissions for your team.
Who Is Caspio Best For?
Caspio is a good fit for teams and organizations that need to build custom resource management apps without relying on a development team.
Why I Picked Caspio
I've included Caspio in my top picks because I love how it lets facility teams build exactly the resource tracking app they need, rather than forcing them into a rigid pre-built tool. The marketplace includes a role-based asset management template that tracks physical assets across multiple locations — something facility managers deal with constantly when juggling equipment, rooms, and maintenance schedules. I also use Caspio's triggered actions to automate maintenance alerts when a record is updated, so nothing slips through the cracks. Pair that with scheduled tasks for recurring data cleanups and status updates, and this creates a facility management workflow that automates most routine tasks.
Caspio Key Features
- Drag-and-drop visual app builder: Design custom resource tracking apps using a point-and-click interface without writing any code.
- AI-powered report generation: Describe what you need in natural language and Caspio auto-generates reports and app components from your data.
- Approval workflow automation: Build multi-step review and approval flows with escalation rules to manage resource requests across teams.
- Cloud database with Microsoft SQL Server: Store and query all your resource data in a structured, scalable database backed by enterprise-grade infrastructure.
Caspio Integrations
Caspio offers integrations with email, SMS, PayPal, and built-in PDF generation, plus supports scheduled data import/export. You can connect to thousands of other apps through Zapier and Make, and an API is available for custom integrations.
What's Free?
Caspio offers a free-forever plan with basic features, limited to one app, up to 500 data records, and 50 MB of file storage. Advanced features, integrations, and higher usage limits require a paid plan.
Asana is a work management platform for teams that lets you organize projects, assign tasks, manage workloads, and collaborate in real time using lists, boards, and calendar views.
Who Is Asana Best For?
Asana is a good fit for cross-functional teams in tech and digital environments who need a structured way to manage tasks, projects, and workloads across product, engineering, and design.
Why I Picked Asana
I picked Asana as one of the best because real-time task tracking is where it genuinely shines. My team uses Asana's live project views to see exactly who's working on what, with task statuses updating across lists, boards, and timelines. I especially like the workload view, which shows each team member's assigned tasks at a glance so I can spot bottlenecks before they become blockers. The My Tasks feature also lets each person prioritize their own queue without losing sight of the broader project.
Asana Key Features
- Goals and milestones: Link individual tasks to broader team goals and track progress toward milestones directly within a project.
- Custom fields: Add fields like priority, budget, or status to tasks so your team captures the right data for every workstream.
- Project templates: Start new projects using pre-built templates for common workflows like sprint planning or product launches.
- Task dependencies: Mark tasks as waiting on others so your team knows the correct order of work before moving forward.
Asana Integrations
Asana offers 200+ native integrations, including Slack, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Dropbox, Salesforce, Jira Cloud, GitHub, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Tableau. It connects with Zapier and provides an API for custom integrations.
What's Free?
Asana offers a free-forever plan for up to 10 users. The free plan includes unlimited tasks, projects, and messages, but access to advanced features and some integrations is limited.
Jira is a project and resource management platform designed for teams that need task tracking, agile boards, customizable workflows, and workload visibility.
Who Is Jira Best For?
Jira is a strong fit for software development teams that work in agile environments and need to manage sprints, backlogs, and engineering workloads in one place.
Why I Picked Jira
Jira earns its spot on my shortlist because it's one of the few free resource management tools built specifically around how software development teams work. I like that the Scrum and Kanban boards aren't just visual aids—they give my team a live view of who's working on what, how much is in progress, and where work is piling up. The timeline view is especially useful for mapping dependencies across sprints, so I can see when one team's delay is about to block another's. Jira's capacity and workload tracking also lets me catch overallocation before it becomes a missed deadline.
Jira Key Features
- Backlog management: Organize, prioritize, and rank issues in a structured backlog that feeds directly into sprint planning.
- Custom workflows: Build issue workflows with configurable statuses and transitions to match how your team moves work forward.
- Reporting dashboards: Access built-in reports like burndown charts, velocity charts, and cumulative flow diagrams to track team progress.
- Automation rules: Set up no-code automation triggers to handle repetitive tasks like issue assignment, status updates, and notifications.
Jira Integrations
Jira offers 3,000+ native integrations through the Atlassian Marketplace, including GitHub, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Confluence, Bitbucket, Trello, Zendesk, Salesforce, and Zoom. It includes an API for custom integrations and connects with Zapier.
What's Free?
Jira offers a free-forever plan for up to 10 users. The free plan includes basic features but limits storage to 2 GB and does not include advanced admin controls or premium support.
Runn is a resource management platform for teams that need project scheduling, capacity planning, forecasting, and reporting in one place.
Who Is Runn Best For?
Runn is a good fit for small to mid-sized teams in professional services, consulting, or software development that need structured resource planning across multiple projects.
Why I Picked Runn
I picked Runn as one of the best because of how much flexibility it gives you when building project templates. You can create a template from scratch or save an existing project as a template—which is genuinely useful when a project went well and you want to replicate it. Each template can include phases, milestones, role assignments, placeholder resources, and a full budget setup, so my team isn't starting from zero every time a familiar project type comes in. I also like that each template has its own financial dashboard, so I can see projected time, cost, and revenue before a project even kicks off.
Runn Key Features
- Resource scheduling: Drag-and-drop timeline lets you assign people to projects and adjust allocations across your team in real time.
- Capacity forecasting: View each team member's availability and workload across future weeks and months to spot gaps before they become problems.
- Actuals tracking: Connect timesheets to your project plan so you can compare planned hours against time actually worked.
- People management: Store each person's role, skills, and tags so you can filter and find the right resource for any project quickly.
Runn Integrations
Runn offers native integrations with Harvest, Clockify, WorkflowMax, and QuickBooks Online, and it connects with Zapier. An API is available for custom integrations.
What's Free?
Runn offers a 30-day free trial of the Standard plan with no credit card required. There is no free-forever plan, and the trial includes full access to Standard features for up to 20 resource seats.
Bitrix24 is a resource management platform that combines project planning, workload tracking, team collaboration, and time management tools in a single workspace.
Who Is Bitrix24 Best For?
Bitrix24 is a good fit for small to mid-sized teams that need a free, all-in-one platform to manage projects, resources, and team communication without paying for multiple tools.
Why I Picked Bitrix24
Bitrix24 earns its spot on my shortlist because it's one of the few resource management tools that gives you full access to its source code through the on-premise edition. I find that especially valuable for teams that need to tailor the platform to fit specific workflows rather than adapting their processes to fit the software. In practice, my team can modify UI elements, build custom integrations via REST API and SDK, and even add custom branding—all without being locked into a vendor's update cycle. The workload management and task reporting tools are also solid for tracking how resources are actually being used across projects.
Bitrix24 Key Features
- Gantt chart: Visualize project timelines and task dependencies across multiple projects in a single view.
- Time tracking: Log time spent on individual tasks and generate reports to monitor team capacity.
- Resource planning calendar: Schedule team members across tasks and projects to manage availability and avoid conflicts.
- Kanban board: Organize and move tasks through custom workflow stages to track progress across workstreams.
Bitrix24 Integrations
Bitrix24 integrates with tools like Google Workspace (Gmail, Calendar, Drive), Microsoft 365 (Outlook, OneDrive, Exchange), Dropbox, Box, Xero, and Mailchimp. It also offers a large marketplace of apps and connectors to extend functionality, along with an API for custom integrations.
What's Free?
Bitrix24 offers a free-forever plan for unlimited users with core project management, task tracking, and communication features. Some advanced tools, storage, and integrations are only available on paid plans.
Silverbucket is a resource management platform designed for project-based organizations that need to plan, allocate, and track team workloads and skills across multiple projects.
Who Is Silverbucket Best For?
Silverbucket is a good fit for mid-sized professional services firms, consultancies, and engineering organizations that need structured visibility into how people are allocated across projects.
Why I Picked Silverbucket
Silverbucket earns its spot as one of the best on my shortlist because of how it handles allocation flexibility without sacrificing structure. I particularly like the drag-to-select interface, which lets you allocate a percentage of capacity across any date range in seconds — no modals, no context switching. You can assign to a named person or drop in a role placeholder and fill it later via a resourcing request, which is exactly how real project pipelines work. The scenario planning feature is also worth calling out: you can model tentative allocations across multiple unconfirmed bids simultaneously, surface capacity conflicts before anything is signed, and convert those tentative allocations to confirmed with a single click.
Silverbucket Key Features
- Competency-based matching: Score candidates 0–100 across availability, skills, and role specifications to identify the best fit for any project role.
- Holiday and absence management: Track holidays and absences directly in the planner so availability data reflects who is actually free before you make resourcing decisions.
- Custom export builder: Select any combination of data sections — utilisation, hours, income forecasts, or actuals — and export to PDF or Excel in a single report.
- Gantt chart timeline: Plan and track individual project tasks on an interactive Gantt view, linked to resource availability so your plan stays grounded in real capacity.
Silverbucket Integrations
Silverbucket offers an API for custom integrations and can connect to ERP systems through custom setup.What's Free?
Silverbucket offers a free trial with instant access and no credit card required. There is no mention of a free-forever plan; the trial provides access to all features without user or integration restrictions during the trial period.
eResource Scheduler is a resource management platform designed for teams that need to schedule, allocate, and track resources across multiple projects, with built-in financial management and reporting tools.
Who Is eResource Scheduler Best For?
eResource Scheduler is a good fit for project managers and resource planners in mid-sized to large organizations who need visibility across team schedules and project financials.
Why I Picked eResource Scheduler
I picked eResource Scheduler as one of the best because of how tightly it connects scheduling and financial data in a single view. Most resource management tools treat scheduling and budgeting as separate workflows, but eResource Scheduler auto-updates cost, revenue, and profit figures directly from planned schedules and logged timesheets. I like that you can set billing and cost rates at the resource, role, or project level, so when my team's assignments shift mid-project, the financial picture updates in real time without any spreadsheet reconciliation. The drill-down reporting also lets me click into any cost or utilization metric to see exactly where hours and money are going across clients, teams, or time periods.
eResource Scheduler Key Features
- Gantt chart scheduling: A visual timeline view that shows resource allocations day by day and project by project, with drag-and-drop editing to reassign or shift bookings instantly.
- Capacity planning: Color-coded heatmaps and capacity forecast reports that flag overbooked or underutilized resources, with auto-alerts triggered when allocations exceed available capacity.
- Resource request and matching: A built-in request workflow that surfaces ranked resource recommendations based on availability, skills, and role, with visual indicators for sourcing gaps.
- Role-based access controls: Configurable permissions that let you control who can view or edit schedules, keeping sensitive data visible only to the right people.
eResource Scheduler Integrations
eResource Scheduler offers native integrations with Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Google Calendar, and Slack, and provides an API for custom integrations. It also connects with Zapier.
What's Free?
eResource Scheduler offers a 14-day free trial with access to all features. After the trial, continued use requires a paid subscription, and there is no free-forever plan.
Acuity PPM
Best for providing a centralized view of project resources
Acuity PPM is a project portfolio management platform that gives teams tools for resource allocation, project tracking, and centralized visibility across the portfolio.
Who Is Acuity PPM Best For?
Acuity PPM is a good fit for project management offices (PMOs) and portfolio managers who need to oversee multiple projects and resources across an organization.
Why I Picked Acuity PPM
I picked Acuity PPM as one of the best because of how it pulls resource data up to the portfolio level, giving my team a single view of where capacity is tight across all active projects. The resource capacity planning feature lets you build project-level resource plans and then aggregate them so leadership can spot over-utilized team members. I also like the portfolio roadmap, which lets you zoom in and out between strategic and tactical views to catch scheduling conflicts before they become blockers. That combination of resource visibility and roadmap context is something I don't often see in tools aimed at newer or leaner PMOs.
Acuity PPM Key Features
- Project status reports: Centralize project status updates in one place, replacing presentation software and giving leadership a consistent view of project health across the portfolio.
- Work intake management: Create, submit, and manage new project requests through a structured demand management process to control what enters the portfolio.
- Project scoring and prioritization: Evaluate projects using a configurable scoring model and visualize them in a risk-value bubble chart to support investment decisions.
- Portfolio risk gauge: Measure the overall level of risk across your active portfolio to flag when the collective risk profile needs attention.
Acuity PPM Integrations
Acuity PPM offers an API for custom integrations. No native integrations are listed, and Zapier support isn't mentioned.
What's Free?
Acuity PPM offers a free trial so you can test the platform before committing. Details about user limits or feature restrictions during the trial are not specified on the website.
Sinnaps is a project and resource management platform that lets teams plan projects, allocate resources, track workloads, and visualize schedules with interactive Gantt charts.
Who Is Sinnaps Best For?
Sinnaps is a good fit for small to mid-sized teams that need a straightforward way to plan projects and manage resources without a steep learning curve.
Why I Picked Sinnaps
I picked Sinnaps as one of the best free resource management tools because of how it handles time-sensitive scheduling through its critical path detection. When I'm working across multiple tasks with dependencies, Sinnaps automatically identifies the critical path in my project and flags which activities directly affect the end date—so I know exactly where to focus attention when timelines are at risk. I also like that its Gantt-flow view calculates the optimal workflow based on task dependencies, rather than just displaying a static bar chart. That means when one task slips, the schedule adjusts automatically instead of leaving me to manually recalculate downstream impacts.
Sinnaps Key Features
- Resource consumption graph: Overlay multiple resource graphs directly on your Gantt-flow to compare planned vs. actual resource usage across activities.
- Spent resource reporting: Log real costs and hours against individual activities, with support for splitting a single resource across multiple dates, locations, or suppliers.
- Project templates: Convert any completed project into a reusable template or process to replicate planning structures across future projects.
- PERT-based auto-scheduling: Automatically calculate project planning based on task dependencies, durations, and milestone dates using PERT methodology.
Sinnaps Integrations
Sinnaps offers an API for custom integrations. No native integrations are listed, and Zapier support isn't available.
What's Free?
Sinnaps offers a free-forever plan that includes unlimited projects and up to 5 users per workspace. Some advanced features and larger team sizes require a paid plan.
Dovico is a resource management platform designed for tracking time, managing project budgets, allocating resources, and generating detailed project reports.
Who Is Dovico Best For?
Dovico is a good fit for small to mid-sized project-based teams that need to track time and monitor project budgets closely.
Why I Picked Dovico
Dovico earns its spot as one of the best on my shortlist because of how tightly it connects time tracking to project cost visibility. I like that every time entry your team logs immediately updates real-time project cost data, so you're never waiting until month-end to find out a project has gone over budget. The budget milestone notifications are particularly useful—Dovico alerts you when a project hits a spending threshold, which means I can catch cost overruns before they become a real problem. I also use the multiple billing rates and currency support to track costs accurately across different team members and client contracts without any manual reconciliation.
Dovico Key Features
- Expense tracking: Log project expenses and attach receipts directly to entries for accurate cost records.
- Approval workflows: Route timesheets through manager approval before they're finalized, with time lockout to prevent edits after approval.
- Vacation and leave tracking: Record vacation and leave time alongside project hours in a single system.
- Custom ad hoc report builder: Build custom reports from scratch to pull the exact project and team data you need.
Dovico Integrations
Native integrations are not listed on Dovico's website; API or Zapier support is not clearly documented.
What's Free?
Dovico offers a 30-day free trial with access to all features. After the trial, you’ll need to choose a paid plan to continue using the platform.
Cirkus is a resource management platform that combines task assignment, scheduling, and team collaboration so you can handle projects and resources in one place.
Who Is Cirkus Best For?
Cirkus suits freelancers and small teams that need a simple way to manage tasks, schedules, and resources.
Why I Picked Cirkus
I included Cirkus on my shortlist because its free Starter plan works for freelancers and small teams without forcing an upgrade. I like that the free Starter plan includes unlimited tasks, projects, and bookings for up to three users—so my team can run full project cycles without hitting an artificial ceiling. The freelancer project guests feature is particularly useful; I can bring in external collaborators on specific projects without adding them as full workspace members. Custom templates also let me reuse recurring project structures, which saves real setup time when kicking off similar jobs back to back.
Cirkus Key Features
- Recurring tasks: Set tasks to repeat on a schedule so routine project work is created automatically each cycle.
- Requests and approvals: Submit and manage approval workflows directly within projects, keeping sign-off processes tied to the relevant tasks.
- Subtasks: Break down larger tasks into smaller, trackable steps to give your team a clearer picture of what needs to happen and in what order.
- Time reporting: Log and review time spent across tasks and projects to keep a record of how work hours are being used.
Cirkus Integrations
Cirkus offers native integrations with Slack, Apple Calendar, and Google Calendar, and has an API for custom integrations. It also connects with Zapier.
What's Free?
Cirkus offers a free-forever Starter plan for up to three users. This plan includes unlimited tasks, projects, and bookings, but advanced features like custom branding and priority support require a paid upgrade.
ClickUp’s free plan offers unlimited tasks and members, meaning it is a powerful project management solution. But it is limited to five spaces—the high-level groups you can use to organize work—and 100 MB of storage.
It’s easy to create tasks and assign them to team members. You can also add dependencies to ensure work is completed in order. If you are worried about deadlines, you can use the sprint feature to mark priorities and ensure everyone knows what they need to do to finish in time.
The highlight of the free plan is Gantt chart access, which helps you schedule tasks and view project progress. These show information from all your spaces, projects, and tasks in a single, easy-to-read view. Although the Gantt chart feature is limited to 100 uses per month.
The free plan has access to the tool’s 50 plus native integrations as well as Zapier. But you can’t integrate with external cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox. If you want to upgrade, the paid plan is $5 per user per month.
Productive is an all-in-one work management software for agencies. It has resource, project, time, and budget management tools.
Why I picked Productive: This software's scheduling and resource planning tools help you maximize your team's output. The capacity planning feature helps you spot over- and under-utilized resources and maintain healthy workloads for your staff. You can also assign tasks based on people's skill sets and availability.
In addition to resource management, the platform can handle your project and task management needs. And what's more, you can track employee time in the system to inform your client billing – which can also be handled by the software. It's truly an all-in-one tools that handles your core work management needs.
Productive Standout Features & Integrations
Features include placeholders, time off requests and approvals, capacity planning, task and project management, time tracking, multiple views (list, table, calendar, timeline, and board), client billing, project budgeting, and reporting tools.
Integrations include Dropbox, Exact, Google Workplace, Jira, Harvest Economic, Outlook, Microsoft Calendar, Slack, QuickBooks, and Xero. A Zapier integration is also available, which can unlock more integrations with a paid account.
Celoxis is a powerful project portfolio management software that offers advanced AI-driven resource management capabilities, allowing organizations to optimize their resource planning and enhance team productivity.
Why I picked Celoxis: It offers auto staffing, an AI-powered capability that automates resource allocation based on skill set, availability, and workload. This ensures that the right resources are assigned to the right tasks without the need for manual intervention, eliminating the risk of overallocation or underutilization. Additionally, Celoxis simplifies resource management further by using simple command functionality, enabling project managers to assign and adjust resources without requiring complex technical knowledge.
Celoxis also provides detailed time and performance tracking across all tasks, offering valuable insights into resource utilization, effort, and costs. By using real-time visibility and workload balancing tools, Celoxis ensures that resources are allocated optimally, even when managing teams across multiple time zones and projects. Additionally, the platform’s interactive workload charts and capacity planning tools enable managers to compare planned vs. actual effort, ensuring projects stay on track and teams maintain a sustainable workload.
Celoxis Standout Features & Integrations
Features include sophisticated analytics and customizable dashboards, which facilitate what-if analyses and dynamic project planning. It also includes intake management, custom workflows, Kanban workflows, portfolio monitoring, advanced scheduling, Gantt charts, time tracking, and automated alerts.
Integrations include Microsoft Project, Excel, Google Drive, Outlook, Salesforce, JIRA, Slack, Trello, QuickBooks Online, Zapier, and more.
Bonsai Agency Software is a comprehensive platform designed to help agencies manage resources effectively. It offers tools for project planning, time tracking, and budget monitoring, all within a single interface.
Why I picked Bonsai Agency Software: Bonsai's resource planning and forecasting tools let you allocate work based on your team's capacity and track utilization in real-time. This helps ensure that projects are staffed appropriately and deadlines are met.
Your team can also easily log hours, providing a clear view of project progress and individual contributions. You can monitor your team's availability and utilization and set custom billable and cost rates for members, tasks, and projects. This level of detail aids in accurate billing and financial planning.
Bonsai Agency Software Standout Features & Integrations
Features include forecasting for staff shortages before your project officially starts, which can help you start and complete your projects on time and hire proactively. The tool also has strong reporting capabilities that allow you to track and forecast profitability based on billed work, hourly rates, budget, and your current margins.
Integrations include QuickBooks Online, Zapier, Calendly, Xero, Stripe, and PayPal.
Zoho Projects is a cloud-based project management software that teams can use to plan, collaborate, and track the progress of their projects.
Why I picked Zoho Projects: Users can build profiles for both internal and external collaborators with defined roles to enable human resource planning and management. Tasks can be assigned directly to people, and a resource utilization chart helps users determine who's available and equipped to take on various projects and tasks.
The software has timesheets to track billable and non-billable hours, ensuring both employee and client time is represented in timesheet reporting. Invoicing is connected with the time tracking tool, and budgets can be set for each project to keep track of finances.
There are various pre-built reports like task status reports, Gantt charts, and planned vs. actual reports. Users can also create custom reports, which can be saved and shared with team members.
Zoho Projects Standout Features & Integrations
Features include task management capabilities that let users create and assign tasks, set deadlines and dependencies, and track progress, collaboration features like commenting, mentions, chat, and document sharing, a reporting engine for real-time insights, templates, and issue tracking workflows.
Integrations include all the apps from the Zoho ecosystem, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, Jira, Basecamp, Dropbox, Zendesk, and Slack. You can also access thousands of additional apps using Zapier.
Other Free Resource Management Software
Here are some tools that did not make it to the top 20, but are worth a look if you didn’t find the right option above.
- Hub Planner by Milient
Resource management software for project-based businesses
- Ganttic
For project visibility
- Resource Guru
For its user-friendly interface
- Teamwork.com
For accurate resource forecasts
- TeamGantt
For Gantt charts
- Kantata
For professional services project teams
- Toggle Plan
For time tracking
Related Reviews
Check out these tools closely related to project management software that we’ve tested and evaluated:
- Resource Management Software
- Workflow Management Software
- Time Tracking Software
- Task Management Software
- Collaboration Tools
- Productivity Tools
- Resource Scheduling Software
- Resource Management Software for Agencies
- Project Management Calendar Tools For Scheduling
- Open Source Resource Management Software
- Redmine Alternatives
- Free Project Management Software
- Media Resource Management Software
Selection Criteria for Free Resource Management Software
I used the following framework to keep my evaluation structured and fair, and took into account common buyer needs and pain points like limited budgets and the need for core functionality without unnecessary frills:
Core Functionality: (25% of total score)
- Managing resource scheduling
- Tracking resource availability
- Monitoring project timelines
- Allocating resources efficiently
- Providing basic reporting capabilities
Additional Standout Features: (25% of total score)
- Real-time collaboration tools
- Integration with third-party software
- Customizable resource views
- Mobile accessibility
- Advanced analytics or forecasting
Usability: (10% of total score)
- An intuitive user interface
- Minimal training to use
- Clear navigation
- Clean design aesthetics
- Smooth workflows
Onboarding: (10% of total score)
- Interactive product tours
- Step-by-step guides or tutorials
- Pre-built templates for setup
- Live or recorded webinars
- Accessible customer success resources
Customer Support: (10% of total score)
- Responsive live chat or email support
- A comprehensive knowledge base
- Access to user communities or forums
- Troubleshooting resources
- Customer support across different time zones
Value For Money: (10% of total score)
- A generous free tier of features
- Essential functionalities included at no extra cost
- Limited paywalling of critical tools
- Transparent pricing for upgrades
- No hidden fees
Customer Reviews: (10% of total score)
- Ease of use highlighted in customer feedback
- Praise for the quality of customer support
- Reports of consistent feature performance
- High adoption rates among teams
- Strong retention or loyalty
How to Choose Free Resource Management Software
Here are some factors to keep in mind as you're choosing a free resource management software tool:
| Factor | What to Consider |
|---|---|
| Free Offer Scope | Assess what’s included in the free version of the software. Look for limitations like user caps, storage size, or missing features to make sure it meets your team’s basic needs. |
| Scalability | Consider whether the software can grow with your team. Tools that offer paid plans or modular upgrades will save you from having to switch platforms later. |
| Integrations | Make sure the software integrates with tools you already use, like Slack, Google Workspace, or Trello, to streamline your workflows. |
| Ease of Use | A user-friendly interface reduces the learning curve. Opt for tools with intuitive dashboards and quick onboarding for your team. |
| Customization | Look for features like custom workflows, labels, or dashboards that adapt to your team’s unique processes. |
| Collaboration | Check for features like shared calendars, real-time updates, and task assignments to keep your team aligned. |
| Reporting | Choose software that offers clear, actionable insights through visual reports or dashboards, even on the free plan. |
| Support Options | Free tools often lack customer support. Check for self-service resources like knowledge bases, forums, or tutorials to help your team troubleshoot issues. |
What is Free Resource Management Software?
Free resource management software refers to tools that allow you to plan, allocate, and optimize resources without incurring any cost for the software itself. These solutions are particularly valuable for small and medium-sized businesses, non-profit organizations, and startups with budget constraints.
Free resource management software typically includes features such as project and resource scheduling, task assignment, time tracking, and collaboration tools. This type of tool often comes with limitations on features, storage, or number of users compared to its premium counterparts, but it still offers valuable capabilities for teams seeking cost-effective ways to improve their project and resource management processes.
Features of Free Resource Management Software
Let’s go over the features commonly found in resource management software, and which ones are usually included in free vs. paid plans.
Typically Free Resource Management Software Features
- Basic scheduling tools: Allow you to assign resources to tasks and projects with drag-and-drop functionality.
- Resource availability tracking: Helps monitor which team members or assets are available for current or future assignments.
- Simple reporting: Provides basic insights into resource utilization and allocation so you can make sure resources are being used efficiently.
- Integration with common tools: Connect with popular platforms like Google Calendar or Slack to streamline workflows.
- Mobile access: Offers the ability to check schedules or assignments on-the-go through mobile apps.
- Team collaboration tools: Including shared calendars and task boards to keep everyone informed and aligned.
- User management: Lets you add or remove users and assign roles to control who can access specific resources, such as for IT services.
Typically Paid Resource Management Software Features
- Advanced forecasting tools: Allow you to predict future resource needs based on historical data and project pipelines.
- Customizable dashboards: Provide tailored views and metrics to suit individual team or business requirements.
- Detailed analytics: Offer in-depth insights into resource performance, costs, and utilization for better decision-making.
- Role-based permissions: Provide secure access by limiting features or data visibility based on user roles.
- Automation capabilities: Reduce repetitive tasks like resource reallocation or notification triggers.
- Integration with premium tools: Connects with advanced platforms like CRM systems, accounting software, or ERP solutions.
- Time tracking and invoicing: Tracks billable hours and integrates directly with invoicing tools for client billing.
- Priority support: Guarantees faster response times and access to dedicated support teams for troubleshooting.
Benefits of Free Resource Management Software
Implementing free resource management software provides several benefits for your team and your business. Here are a few you can look forward to:
- Cost savings: Get essential resource management tools without adding to your expenses, making it ideal for small teams or startups.
- Improved organization: Use scheduling and task management features to keep projects and resources in one place, which reduces confusion.
- Better resource visibility: Track who’s available and what’s being worked on to avoid overbooking or underutilizing team members.
- Easy collaboration: Shared calendars and team tools make it simple for everyone to stay on the same page.
- Quick setup: Many free tools have user-friendly interfaces and templates that let you get started with minimal effort.
- Basic integrations: Connect with popular tools like Google Calendar or Slack to fit into your existing workflow.
- On-the-go access: Mobile apps let you check schedules and manage tasks from anywhere, so you and your team can stay productive.
Read more: Looking to manage your inventory resources? Check out our full list of inventory resource management software.
Costs & Pricing of Free Resource Management Software
I realize you came to this article looking for the best resource management software options that are available for free. However, since free plans only offer limited features, there's a good chance you'll need to scale your plan up in the future.
The table below summarizes common plans, their average prices, and typical features included in resource management software solutions:
Plan Comparison Table for Resource Management Software
| Plan Type | Average Price | Common Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | $0 | Basic scheduling tools, resource availability tracking, simple reporting, and team collaboration features. |
| Personal Plan | $5–$25/user/month | Advanced scheduling, integrations with third-party tools, custom views, and mobile app access. |
| Business Plan | $25–$50/user/month | Detailed analytics, time tracking, role-based permissions, and customizable dashboards. |
| Enterprise Plan | $50–$100+/user/month | Advanced forecasting, automation features, priority support, and enterprise-level integrations. |
Free Resource Management Software Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to common questions other people ask about this topic.
What is the best resource management software?
The best resource management software is the one that helps you make the most of your current resources. For some teams, this means employees who are members of project teams. For others, this includes freelancers and other external contributors.
Try to find a tool that lets you look at all those resources important to you in one place. In this list of the best resource management software, you’ll find plenty of options to consider if you are ready to make the jump to paid tools.
What key features should I look for in resource management software?
Most resource management software has similar features. But as the tools on this list are free, you’re unlikely to get access to them all. When choosing software, consider which features are most important to your team and prioritize them.
- Task management: Resource management software tends to have task management functionality. This can include the ability to create tasks, assign them to team members, set dependencies, and create subtasks. It’s perfect for remote teams.
- Project tracking: Tracking gives a complete overview of how a project is progressing. You can track all the tasks within a particular project and how much time and money you have spent on each one.
- Multiple views: Gantt charts, calendar views, and Kanban boards all provide insight and visibility into the work your business is doing. This helps you manage project resources more effectively.
- Time tracking: Some of the tools on this list help employees track the time they spend on a particular project. Other tools integrate with time-tracking software to get the same functionality.
- Projections: Projections and forecasting estimate the resources that are required to complete a project. This can show if a project is on track or running over budget.
What are the benefits of resource management software?
Using resource management can provide multiple benefits:
- Displays current resource allocations
- Helps you determine true resource capacity
- Tracks resource utilization
- Predicts future resource availability
- Reduces unnecessary downtime
- Improves hiring decisions

What's Next?
If you're in the process of researching free resource management software, connect with a SoftwareSelect advisor for free recommendations.
You fill out a form and have a quick chat where they get into the specifics of your needs. Then you'll get a shortlist of software to review. They'll even support you through the entire buying process, including price negotiations.
