10 Best Free Project Management Software & Freemiums

Smartsheet is a cloud-based project management tool that helps teams organize and track their workflow.

Why I picked Smartsheet: It consists of a drag-and-drop interface that allows users to create task lists, assign tasks to team members, and monitor progress. Gantt charts give users a visual representation of how tasks relate to one another. The software has both a web-based and mobile app, so users can access their projects from any device.

More advanced project management features like resource management, budget tracking and project expenses, and risk management are also included in the platform. Users can store files, generate reports, and collaborate with colleagues virtually in the software. Updating data sheets and sending reports can also be automated, saving users from doing this work manually.

The software's secure sharing feature keeps sensitive documents confidential and gives team members access with granular sharing control. Users can generate custom reports to see how their projects progress over time.

Smartsheet Standout Features & Integrations

Features include a mobile and web app, intelligent automated workflows, content and portfolio management, resource management, team collaboration, calendar view, and reporting tools.

Integrations include tools like Slack, Google Drive, Salesforce, and Dropbox.

Wrike is an award-winning project management software for teams of five up to an unlimited number of users. The tool allows users to customize workflows, dashboards, reports, and request forms and get advanced insights with reporting tools, resource management, and allocation.

Why I picked Wrike: Its simple interface lets you switch between Kanban boards, drag-and-drop Gantt charts, and traditional workload views.

Wrike is easy to navigate with an interface that has distinct spaces for folders and tasks. You can switch between the home screen and timesheets, dashboards, calendars, reports, and stream (for notifications and messages). It also has a dedicated help center with interactive training, videos, a ‘Getting Started’ guide, and a community.

Wrike also offers a variety of specific solutions depending on the type of team or organization — including marketing teams and professional service teams, and the tool offers a variety of templates for common organizational processes.

Wrike Standout Features & Integrations

Features include task lists, schedules, customizable workflows, file sharing, real-time communication and collaboration, dashboards, reports, requests forms, and resource management and allocation.

Integrations include 400+ pre-built native integrations, including the most popular file management software from Microsoft, Google, and Dropbox, along with sales and marketing software from Salesforce and Marketo.

Wrike Free is the best free work management software plan on the market. Those with a free plan can have unlimited users on their account, and with real-time edits and updates, app and cloud storage integrations, and newly added subtask management.

FigJam is a collaborative whiteboard and project management tool developed by Figma. It's designed to facilitate virtual brainstorming, ideation, workflow design, strategy and planning, and team collaboration.

Why I picked FigJam: This isn't your typical project management software with task lists and Gantt charts. Instead, the platform offers a more visual and interactive way to manage projects. It's like having a physical whiteboard, but online and with more features. The whiteboard is infinite, so you can zoom in or out as far as you need.

What makes FigJam a helpful project management tool is its pre-built templates. It has ready-made whiteboard layouts for project kickoff brainstorms, project roadmaps, project timelines, and flowcharts to design your workflows. It also has templates for things like weekly and daily status meetings, and many more.

FigJam Standout Features & Integrations

Features include pre-built project management templates, audio and live chat, stamp and emoji reacts, external collaborator access, calendar and timeline widgets, bitmoji avatars, music player, and mobile app.

Integrations include Figma, Microsoft Teams, Asana, Jira, Mixpanel, and Github.

What's Free: A free plan is available with unlimited users and up to 3 FigJam files.

Miro is a cloud-based collaboration software that provides users with one central platform that allows them to conveniently access all the files, conversations, data, and resources needed for successful project management.

Why I picked Miro: Its Kanban boards help set up pipelines, speed up progress tracking, schedule sprints, and manage resources efficiently.

Miro has a free plan that includes a workspace with editable boards, and ready-made and community-made templates, and it is ideal for small businesses or individuals who want to try the software before upgrading to a paid account. Its templates come with pre-built elements like text boxes and colors so you can customize them according to your needs and preferences. Plus, it offers helpful features like comment fields and due dates, which allow teams to track the progress of their projects better.

Miro provides several collaboration options that make it easier for team members to brainstorm ideas from anywhere in the world in real time. Voting polls, video conferencing capabilities, and mind mapping allow teams to jot down their thoughts in an organized manner quickly. Additionally, users have access to chat boxes where they can communicate with each other instantly while working on projects together remotely or in person. Miro lets you set due dates, assign priority levels, and even provide detailed descriptions and comments on each task—ensuring that everyone knows what jobs must be completed and when they are due. 

Miro Standout Features & Integrations

Features include video chat, an activity timer, voting polls, boards and templates for brainstorming, task libraries for list making and assigning, feedback exchange channels, and the ability to work simultaneously.

Integrations include over 100 apps you can connect to, including Slack, Zoom, Google Drive, Sketch, Figma, Jira, Confluence, and Microsoft Teams.

The software can be accessed from anywhere via desktop or mobile devices with an internet connection so that you can stay updated on your team’s workflows.

Zoho Projects is a freemium project management software solution that allows project managers to map out their work breakdown structure with relative ease, using Zoho’s free project planner with core modules such as issue tracking, tasks, subtasks, task lists, and milestones.

Why I picked Zoho Projects: The project management system lets you categorize tasks and identify the most basic work items by assigning the right tags.

When it comes to project planning, Zoho Projects provides a built-in Gantt chart tool that is included in the free version. With a Gantt chart view, you can easily map out every step of your project and determine what the project timeline will look like.

Additionally, Zoho Projects’ free project management software comes with a color-coded calendar to help keep users up to date on all upcoming tasks, work items, meetings, and events. The free version also comes with a level of customizability, as it allows small businesses and startups to customize their portal with their company logo and a unique domain name.

Zoho Projects is endlessly scalable and flexible using its marketplace of tool connectors and app add-ons. Pick between hundreds of integrations, free and paid options, for customer relationship management, asset management, marketing, design, and more. You can sort add-ons by pricing, user rating, and/or functionality. Certain add-ons are limited to paid Zoho Projects plans, but many are open to freemium users, like Hubspot, DocuSign, and SugarCRM.

Zoho Projects Standout Features & Integrations

Features include roadmapping, project management, task scheduling/tracking, customer management, prioritization, and notifications.

Integrations include Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Zendesk, and ServiceNow. Integrations via Zapier and Zoho Flow are also supported. Being part of the Zoho ecosystem allows you to connect to several of Zoho’s own services for Sales, Marketing, CRM, customer service, and others.

Zoho Projects’ free subscription applies to teams of up to three active users.

Hub Planner is a cloud-based resource scheduling software that offers a range of functionalities that help to streamline project planning by maximizing the use of your resources.

Why I picked Hub Planner: Although not a project management tool per se, it's an easy-to-use platform that helps project managers keep track of their resources, schedules, and timelines in real time. The platform offers a simple and intuitive user interface where you can schedule and allocate resources quickly, a real-time view of resource availability, and details on how it impacts your project phases and financial spending.

Hub Planner Standout Features & Integrations

Features include resource management, PTO planning, timesheets, reporting, skills matching, task management, templates, drag and drop scheduler, project budgets, approval flow, and a smart scheduler.

Integrations include DIY options via the Hub Planner API and webhooks. Additionally, you can access thousands of apps using a Zapier account.

Freedcamp believes that collaboration is for everyone, so by making their core features free, startups, small businesses, and freelancers are able to take full advantage to complete almost any project.

Why I picked Freedcamp: Their software helps streamline projects, processes, workflows, as well as track time and issues. They also understand that work is done out of the office, so they provide users with iOS, Android, and desktop integrations.

Freedcamp is built for high-performance teams and freelancers. All plans include unlimited tasks, projects, and calendar features.

Freedcamp Standout Features & Integrations

Features include file editing, password sharing with your team, email notifications, smart quote that lets you reply to specific text in a comment, and the ability to duplicate projects to streamline work.

Integrations include thousands of apps available through Zapier and custom integrations that can be built using the developer API.

Redbooth is a well-rounded and flexible project management tool that can be adapted for use in small and mid-sized teams.

Why I picked Redbooth: They rolled out an AI component in early 2018: “Smart Redbooth.” It uses a prediction algorithm for various aspects of task assignment, such as selecting the best member for the task or predicting the amount of time needed to complete the task.

Redbooth also provides higher-level project management tools such as Gantt charts and the ability to turn work processes into templates.

Redbooth Standout Features & Integrations

Features include multiple task management views (timeline, list, and board views), dashboards, and reports, whose intuitive graphic visualizations are above average.

Integrations include dozens of apps: Box, Slack, Zapier, WebEx, Evernote, Clockify, Dropbox, Google Drive, and several others. It also integrates with Gmail and Outlook in order to quickly convert emails into tasks in Redbooth. They offer a mobile app for both iOS and Android.

Hubstaff Tasks is a project management tool with multiple task tracking and collaboration features. Its interface is based on the Kanban methodology, making it easy to learn.

Why I picked Hubstaff: The app lets you organize tasks in different project stages, which are represented by columns. Each task can be categorized using color-coded labels. You can create checklists within each task and track them from the project view using progress bars. Files can also be attached to task cards, but has limited storage.

Switching to the Sprints view displays all your assigned tasks, organized by sprint. You can move tasks to current or future sprints or to the backlog with a drag-and-drop mechanism similar to Kanban. Custom workflows let you automate assigning tasks to team members at different project stages and moving them forward with one click.

Hubstaff Standout Features & Integrations

Features include custom workflows, invoicing, scheduling, attendance, client budgets, payments & payroll, timesheet approvals, expense tracking, and time off management.

Integrations include over 30 different tools, including Asana, Breeze, Insightly, Pivotal Tracker, Paymo, Jira, Slack, Payoneer, Gusto, and Salesforce.

Podio defines team roles and how your team works best by tailoring project processes step by step. Podio shines in its ability to build low code and customizable solutions, as well as its accessible, seemingly endless features. Web and mobile capabilities, task management, apps, and workspace management are all available with the free plan that offers up to 5 users.

If you have fewer project needs, you’ll be more than fine with Podio’s free plan, but in my opinion, larger teams will be more suited to the tool’s paid plans.