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10 Best Workflow Management Software Of 2023

The Best Workflow Management Software

Here’s my selection of 10 of the best workflow tools for creating repeatable process and keeping your teams and tasks on track.

  1. 1. Wrike — Best for reconnecting siloed teams
  2. 2. monday.com — Best for automating manual processes
  3. 3. Pneumatic Workflow — Best for accessing a pre-built workflow template library
  4. 4. Smartsheet — Best workflow management software for spreadsheet lovers
  5. 5. Lucidchart — Best diagramming application for workflow management
  6. 6. Jotform Enterprise — Best for B2B-oriented enterprises
  7. 7. beSlick — Best workflow management software to identify and improve work processes
  8. 8. Kintone — Best for designing custom workflow apps
  9. 9. Kissflow — Best enterprise workflow management software
  10. 10. Quixy — No-code workflow management software

Workflow management software is a must-have to keep teams unified and on track, especially with the increasing complexity that comes with rapid growth. This software can support you as you schedule tasks, collaborate with your team, manage workloads, and evaluate progress—to help ensure that your project is delivered properly and that the quality of the project is maintained.

While the benefits of this powerful software are plenty, it’s critical that you choose the best workflow management for your team, your business goals, and your budget.

The 10 Best Workflow Management Software

Discover what the best workflow management platforms have to offer. Feel free to check out how I picked the software on this list at any moment.

1

Wrike

Best for reconnecting siloed teams

Wrike is an intuitive workflow management software suitable for teams of five or more, and offers an unlimited number of users. The software enables mangers to customize workflows, dashboards, reports, and request forms.

Why I picked Wrike: The software’s interface enables users to visualize priorities as Kanban boards, interactive Gantt charts, and traditional workload views. Wrike also features automation such as custom request forms that auto-assign tasks, push notifications, and deadline tracking.

Managers can access insightful data through KPI reports, resource management and allocation, and more. The workflow management software also offers a variety of different solutions depending on the type of team or organization, including marketing teams and professional service teams.

Wrike Standout Features & Integrations

Features include personalized app experience via AI Work Intelligence, user and team workload management functionality, account-wide work schedules, shareable dashboards, interactive workflow views, and more.

Integrations are offered natively for over 400 popular platforms including Microsoft, Google, Dropbox, Salesforce, and Marketo.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2 2544

Free plan available

From $9.80/user/month

Pros

  • In-app chat to reduce switch cost for collaboration
  • Easily visualize workflow performance
  • Individuals and teams can track workloads
  • Comprehensive workflow modeling

Cons

  • Limited to 10 workflows per space
  • High learning curve to fully utilize
  • Not suitable for small organizations
2

monday.com

Best for automating manual processes

monday.com is a project management software used across diverse industries, rapidly growing teams, and enterprise organizations. monday.com sits at the intersection of project management and workflow management software. It simplifies complex workflow processes by streamlining management to focus on structure and transparency.

Why I picked monday.com: you can create tasks on a board and then add the steps required to reach task completion. monday.com is highly customizable and easy to use right out of the box. I also find that it’s incredibly easy to import data from other workflow management software, and even spreadsheets!

Its workflow management software also offers various workflow views that can be arranged by list, geographical map, kanban board, or Gantt chart. These workflows can then be visualized in dashboards to create a bird’s-eye view of the progress and data workflow managers need to monitor. I find information especially useful for workflow managers that sit between their teams and the executive suite and need to communicate complex data sets through visual dashboards.

monday.com Standout Features & Integrations

Features include workflow templates inside of their workflow operating system (Work OS), with workflow automation, data visualization, robust workflow customization for task boards, managing task status, assignees, due dates, hours spent, and more.

Integrations through Zapier include Slack, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Jira, GitHub, Trello, Dropbox, Typeform, and others.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7 8065

14-day free trial + freemium plan available

From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats)

Pros

  • Large workflow template library to jumpstart planning
  • Work OS—A specifically designed workflow system for custom workflow apps
  • Lots of integrations to support 3rd party data
  • Out-of-the-box workflow automation recipes

Cons

  • Initial customization takes time
  • Limited export functionality for reports
  • Minimal multi-lang support
3

Pneumatic Workflow

Best for accessing a pre-built workflow template library

Pneumatic Workflow is a workflow management solution that helps teams identify, organize, and coordinate sets of tasks. You can use it to streamline your organization’s processes into workflows with automatic task assignments.

Why I picked Pneumatic Workflow: Their software helps teams effectively minimize routine errors, improve communication between teams, boost productivity, eliminate redundancy, and automate task management. Their workflows can be launched in four ways, namely running the workflow manually, sharing kick-off forms, using external SaaS systems, and using the Pneumatic public API.

Using Pneumatic Workflow, you can build assembly lines to pass the results of certain tasks along to the next team member quickly and efficiently. You can also select pre-built workflows from their free template library, or run unlimited workflows from one template. Their free template library includes all the popular workflows you'd expect, including employee onboarding, content development, purchase approval, customer retention, feature release, and more.

Pneumatic Workflow Standout Features & Integrations

Features include a workflow template builder, workflow variables & tools, a tasks interface, highlights, shareable kick-off forms, automations, activity highlights, urgent prioritization, video-based workflows, informative data dashboards, comments and mentions, and a WYSIWYG editor.

Integrations are available through their API or by connecting a paid Zapier account.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6 4

14-day free trial + free plan available

From $10/user/month

Pros

  • They offer a 30-day money back guarantee if you are unsatisfied with their platform
  • You can easily collaborate with guest (external) project stakeholders
  • Their freemium plan includes enough features to get small teams started

Cons

  • Limited chat support window (9 am to 5 pm CST)
  • Not many built-in software integrations
4

Smartsheet

Best workflow management software for spreadsheet lovers

Smartsheet is a work management platform modeled after spreadsheets that enables users to organize tasks, schedules, processes, and more. It is an excellent workflow management software solution for managers currently using Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel for workflows and looking for an upgraded experience.

Why I picked Smartsheet: One of my favorite aspects of Smartsheet is that it automates calculations, even across multiple sheets. That automation enables workflow managers to gather data across multiple workflows and spaces without needing to write complex formulas.

Reporting is a strong feature of this workflow tool, with editable summary reports that can be easily exported to Excel or Sheets. The Critical Path feature highlights all the tasks that directly impact a project completion date so workflow managers can easily keep an eye on important milestones.

Smartsheet Standout Features & Integrations

Features include custom spreadsheet import, workflow automation, data visualization, custom branding, and workflow automation with built-in formula calculations.

Integrations through a REST API and webhooks include Microsoft Office and Teams apps, Google Drive, Jira, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Slack, Box, and Tableau.

Learn more about this workflow management software in my in-depth review of Smartsheet

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4 7399

Freemium version available

From $7/user/month

Pros

  • Workflow process notifications keep users on track
  • Cross-sheet data sharing for holistic reports
  • Great alternative to Google or Excel spreadsheets
  • Low/no-code workflow automations

Cons

  • Can be difficult to access support resources for answers
  • Limited change-tracking functionality
  • Set limit to rows per spreadsheet
5

Lucidchart

Best diagramming application for workflow management

Lucidchart is a cloud-based workflow management solution. This centralized platform helps you create flows of business processes, then share process maps with colleagues. Key features include feedback management, graphs, data import, customizable templates, and an infinite canvas for building out intelligent diagrams of your most critical workflows.

Why I Picked Lucidchart: You can also use the software to build organizational charts and upload employee data, identifying the requirements of various team members. Critical documents can be managed by configuring user access and providing view-only licenses.

Lucidchart provides a range of tools and features for creating a variety of diagrams, such as flowcharts, wireframes, network diagrams, and more, and allows multiple users to collaborate on the same document in real-time. Additionally, it offers integrations with popular tools and services, team management features, and mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Lucidchart Standout Features & Integrations

Features include real-time collaboration, diagram templates, shape library, interactive designs, data import & export,mobile app, automated diagramming, commenting, reviewing, and third-party integrations.

Integrations include Slack, Salesforce, GitHub, and LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and fits within a suite of additional Lucid Software products for collaboration and ideation (Lucidspark) and cloud visualization (Lucidscale).

Lucidchart has a limited free version where you can create up to 3 documents.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6 1575

7-day free trial + free plan available

From $7.95/user/month

Pros

  • User-friendly interface
  • Mobile apps available
  • Wide range of diagrams, shapes, & templates

Cons

  • Revision history with versioning limited to Team plan & above
  • Some customization limitations
6

Jotform Enterprise

Best for B2B-oriented enterprises

Jotform Enterprise is a a powerful, easy-to-use data collection process for businesses of all kinds who are looking to optimize their workflow management processes. With Jotform, businesses will have access to offline forms, surveys for product feedback and reviews, collaboration tools, approvals for automated workflows, and conditional logic for a personalized customer form experience. They specialize in B2B businesses but can be adapted to a wide range of customer markets and industries.

Why I Picked Jotform Enterprise: Jotform Enterprise offers companies an easy-to-use tool that makes closing deals, collaborating with coworkers, signing waivers, and collecting form responses a more seamless process. Jotform Enterprise provides you with a wide range of workflows, forms, reports, and automation tools that can be used to build custom applications tailored to your needs. It also allows you to create customized forms for collecting data from customers or employees and then create automated workflows based on this data.

Jotform workflows can automate everyday tasks such as customer onboarding, order processing, invoicing, approvals, reminders, notifications, and follow-ups, allowing businesses to save time by eliminating manual processes.You can set up automated form submissions so that all incoming data is automatically sent to the designated destination, like your customer database or email account.

Additional features include workflow automations, conditional logic, e-sign documents with automated signing orders, webhooks, API, and helpful ways to integrate feedback into your workflow. 

Jotform Enterprise Standout Features & Integrations

Features include form building tools, mobile responsiveness, payment integration, conditional logic, data collection and management, form branding, multi-language support, SSL encryption, and integration with third-party apps.

Integrations include Google Drive, Google Sheets, Slack, Dropbox, PayPal, Stripe, Salesforce, Mailchimp, and Airtable. It also can integrate with Zapier to automate workflows and connect JotForm with over 1,000 other apps and services but this requires a Zapier account and may incur additional costs.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2 27

Free plan available

Pricing upon request

Pros

  • Cost-effective, even for Enterprise plans
  • Mobile-responsive forms & surveys
  • Wide range of workflow templates

Cons

  • Data visualization options are limited
  • Required Zapier for most integrations
7

beSlick

Best workflow management software to identify and improve work processes

beSlick is a workflow management software for small to mid-sized businesses. The software has an excellent workflow builder that supports decision branching, loops, and dependent due dates within a familiar process flowchart view.

Why I picked beSlick: Creating workflows is as easy as selecting the workflow builder, choosing from their robust template library, and assigning task owners and due dates. Teams can set different owners for each step in a task, as well as customize notifications for owners. Tasks can also be automatically scheduled as recurring to ensure they’re not missed.

My favorite aspect of beSlick is the built-in workflow process management reporting. By serving up process quality analytics, feedback, and when steps can’t be completed, managers can measure and improve workflows.

beSlick Standout Features & Integrations

Features include workflow performance insights, guest access to tasks and projects, group and individual task management, and task process tracking.

Integrations include common platforms available through Zapier.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.6 10

14-day free trial

From $10/user/month

Pros

  • Workflow implementation and support
  • Discounts available for yearly subscribers and Good Causes
  • Ability to identify workflow improvement opportunities
  • Powerful workflow builder

Cons

  • No public API (is on the roadmap)
  • Workflow time tracking not native
  • Can't batch export workflow data
8

Kintone

Best for designing custom workflow apps

Kintone is a customizable workflow management platform used by enterprise teams and organizations worldwide. Users can build a variety of “apps” either from scratch, using templates, or from existing spreadsheets.

Why I picked Kintone: It's easy to build a custom workflow management app—all you have to do is drag and drop elements onto the app-builder screen and click build! Elements include rich text fields, date fields, drop-down menus, number fields with built-in calculations, spaces for attachments, user or group selection menus, related data from other apps, tables, and more. That flexibility in creating apps carries over to how a team adapts—Kintone’s flexible workflow management platform allows users to improve their workflows and adjust as needs change.

As a workflow management platform, Kintone facilitates the ability to track all facets of your teams’ workflows across all the apps you create. That data can range from individual tasks and projects to multi-step approval processes with branching conditionals.

Kintone Standout Features & Integrations

Features are subjective to the “apps” being used for workflow management (giving you complete control over what you need). Common features include in-app communication, customizable filters, customizable reports and dashboards, and multi-step workflows.

Integrations through either API or Zapier include Slack, Gmail, Google Calendar, Outlook, Tableau, Dropbox, Salesforce, HubSpot, Eventbrite, WordPress, QuickBooks, MailChimp, and many more.

Kintone Pricing & Plans

Kintone pricing begins at $24 per user per month with a minimum of 5 users and a 30-day free trial (no credit card required). There are also discounts available for nonprofits and educators. While it doesn’t offer any free plans, Kintone does provide a free custom app build as part of the free trial process.

30-day free trial

From $24/user/month

Pros

  • Onboarding support to help you set up
  • Comprehensive mobile app
  • Low-code customized & automated workflows
  • Discounted plans for education, NGO, and government

Cons

  • Per-user storage capped at 5GB (all plans)
  • Some workflows are dependent on external apps
  • Minimum 5 Users per plan
9

Kissflow

Best enterprise workflow management software

Kissflow is a low-code workflow management software solution that combines projects, cases, and collaboration within its core functionality. This solution is ideal for teams or projects whose makeup, processes, or framework require flexibility.

Why I picked Kissflow: The platform is highly intuitive, requiring little to no effort to utilize. Users can either build on top of existing app categories like HR, Finance, or Procurement, or build one from scratch. The visual interface lets users drag and drop elements to create any number of apps with low-code or no coding required.

The customizable workflows and dynamic routing let users adapt when requirements change or as teams scale. Users can prioritize work and easily delegate work to team members. Users get instant notifications when an item is complete or requires action.

Kissflow Features & Integrations

Features include workflow process reporting, task flow tracking, trigger-based workflow automation, and custom reporting like KPI dashboards and ad-hoc reports configuration.

Integrations are offered natively or through Zapier include Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, MailChimp, Slack, Microsoft Outlook, and others.

Kissflow Plans & Pricing

Kissflow pricing begins at $360 for up to 30 users a month and offers a free demo. No free plan is available.

Free demo available

From $18/user/month

Pros

  • Community feedback voting for roadmap features
  • Loads of configurable workflow design features
  • Built-in, holistic workflow modeling

Cons

  • Requires longer time to implement and onboard
  • Not tailored for small organizations
10

Quixy

No-code workflow management software

Quixy is a user-friendly no-code business application platform that empowers users with no coding skills to automate workflows and processes. Users can assess, design, model, implement, monitor, and modify any processes using simple and efficient drag-and-drop design.

Why I chose Quixy: the workflow management platform provides dozens of pre-built workflow applications for a variety of use cases, such as CRM, project management, HRMS, travel and expense management, helpdesk and incident management, and much more. The software also offers automation options, and users can build custom workflows and processes to fit the needs of their team or department. The tool also includes capabilities for tracking project and task milestones.

The platform is rated Leader – Asia Pacific for No-Code Application Development on G2 and is ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 certified.

Quixy Standout Features & Integrations

Features include business rules and validation, mobile app, annual platform support, customizable workflow UI and designer, and more.

Quixy’s API allows integration with other third-party apps and tools.

Quixy Plans & Pricing

Pricing starts at $10/user/month. A 21-day free trial is available

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.9 82

21-day free trial

From $10/user/month when billed annually

Pros

  • Excellent data tables and app referencing
  • Workflow building requires zero coding skills
  • Simple drag and drop workflow design

Cons

  • Could benefit from larger variety of app templates
  • More online help content welcomed
  • No in app collaboration with other users in the workflow

Need expert help finding the right Workflow Management Software?

We’ve joined up with Crozdesk.com to give all our readers (yes, you!) access to Crozdesk’s software advisors. Just use the form below to share your needs, and they will contact you at no cost or commitment. You will then be matched and connected to a shortlist of vendors that best fit your company, and you can access exclusive software discounts!

Summary Of The Best Workflow Management Software

Here’s a table summarizing basic info about the tools described in this article. View pricing as well as the availability of free trials to make a quick side-by-side comparison.

Tool Free Option Price
1
Wrike

Best for reconnecting siloed teams

Free plan available

From $9.80/user/month Visit Website
2
monday.com

Best for automating manual processes

14-day free trial + freemium plan available

From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats) Visit Website
3
Pneumatic Workflow

Best for accessing a pre-built workflow template library

14-day free trial + free plan available

From $10/user/month Visit Website
4
Smartsheet

Best workflow management software for spreadsheet lovers

Freemium version available

From $7/user/month Visit Website
5
Lucidchart

Best diagramming application for workflow management

7-day free trial + free plan available

From $7.95/user/month Visit Website
6
Jotform Enterprise

Best for B2B-oriented enterprises

Free plan available

Pricing upon request Visit Website
7
beSlick

Best workflow management software to identify and improve work processes

14-day free trial

From $10/user/month Visit Website
8
Kintone

Best for designing custom workflow apps

30-day free trial

From $24/user/month Visit Website
9
Kissflow

Best enterprise workflow management software

Free demo available

From $18/user/month Visit Website
10
Quixy

No-code workflow management software

21-day free trial

From $10/user/month when billed annually Visit Website

Other Workflow Management Software Worth Considering

I haven’t had a chance to review these properly, but if the tools included in the review aren’t working for you, consider checking out these additional BPM tools:

  1. Forecast

    Best for managing your projects, resources, and finances in one

  2. Pipefy

    Build shareable forms, portals & actions

  3. Cflow

    Best workflow management software for growing organizations

  4. Avaza

    iPhone, iPad, & Android friendly workflow app

  5. DocuWare

    Best for document management & e-signatures

  6. Asana

    Best workflow management software that’s free and easy to use

  7. Camunda Platform

    Best for automating processes across diverse endpoints

  8. Hive

    Best small business workflow management software

  9. Planview Clarizen

    Workflow app for PMOs & professional services

  10. ProcessMaker

    Low-code iBPMS for enterprise-level processes

How I Picked the Best Workflow Management Software

To decide which tools to feature in this list, I evaluated and compared the details for a number of popular workflow management tools. I weighed a variety of key factors and functions that would be top of mind for businesses of all sizes.

This is the set of criteria I considered to determine the best and most useful workflow management software:

Automation

I examined each tool’s time-saving automation functionalities, such as automatically assigning tasks, sending push notifications, routing documentation, reducing repetitive processes, sending status updates, and generating reports. The best software should include automation tools with customization options when it comes to workflows, notifications, business rules, process automation, and more. You can support your team with an entire ecosystem of business process management software (AKA BPM tools) for creating efficient, optimized workflows.

KPI reports

KPI and metrics reporting not only gives team members insight into their task or project status but also gives management a quick look at where inefficiencies may be occurring so you can make changes to optimize business processes. The best workflow management software should offer clean and easy-to-interpret KPI dashboards.

Deadline tracking

Even with a dashboard, it’s easy to lose sight of deadlines when you’re juggling dozens of workflows. To be most useful, a workflow tool has to offer a clear system for SLA indicators. each tool’s pricing plan is based on its simplicity, transparency, and value. Workflow management software should add a layer of structure and visibility to your workflow process. I looked for tools that employ notifications, color-coding, and dashboard views that display tasks by the due date in order to help you manage deadlines.

Integrations

Nearly all projects require using multiple tools. So, your workflow management software absolutely must play nice with other apps that you and your business use. I looked at how each of these workflow management tools might integrate with your calendars, CMS, development tools, databases, email and communication tools, payment processing apps, and more. I also delineate whether integrations are native or require Zapier.

Price

The value that you get from a workflow management tool has to align with the price you’re paying. It also must be within the scope of your budget. The best workflow software for you and your team won’t require you to pay for features you don’t need or users you don’t have. I evaluated the price based on features available at the standard vs. premium plans, based on per-user or feature pricing models, and how the overall offering matched the average seen on the market.

Workflow Management Software FAQs

Find answers to common questions other people ask about this topic.

Workflow Management Software Buyer's Guide

Here's a buyer's guide covering 2 use cases and information to help you choose the right workflow management tool.

Use case 1: Coordinating people-centric workflows

This use case focuses on organizing people by bringing their tasks, files, status updates, and comms into one place, with a clear structure to the flow of work.

This is often the case in businesses including:

  • Digital agencies, development agencies, creative agencies (etc)
  • Project and product teams or departments within companies
  • Professional services companies

If you're among these users, the type of workflow software that's most useful for you will usually be focused on:

  • collaboration
  • scheduling
  • file sharing

You also will want all these features in a no-code environment that simply organizes your business processes in a central place. Most of the products in my list here fall into this category.

Use case 2: Coordinating system-centric workflows

This use case focuses more on connecting business processes or systems together, integrating their functions and tech systems to create a unified workflow.

This is more common in enterprise companies, as well as in sectors including:

  • IT and software
  • Manufacturing and logistics
  • Transportation

If you're among these users, the type of workflow software that is most useful is often an enterprise-grade solution. At the very least, you need access to a REST API and SLA manager to help you orchestrate across multiple systems.

At this level, though, many companies may go beyond a workflow SaaS product and use an Integration Platform As-A-Service (iPaaS) such as Make (formerly known as Integromat) offering connectors to unify their business process systems.

Who is going to use the workflow management software?

  • How many people are on your team?
  • Who is going to use the tool, and do you require role-based access control? What other stakeholders will be involved in using or accessing the tool (ex. clients, management, and others)?
  • You’ll also need to ask yourself what types of people will be using the tool in order to decide if you require something code-based or with low code or no code.
  • Does this tool fit in with your existing toolkit and integrate with the right tools?
  • Does it align with your use cases?
  • If this is one of the first tools you’re adding, will it scale and expand in order to meet your needs as you grow? Ask yourself whether your team will use it online, or if they need something that works offline as well.

Cost of workflow management software

Prices fall into a wide range from $0-$40 per user per month. Most SaaS workflow tools are priced per user, which highlights the importance of considering how many team members will use it—as well as how many team members are going to be using it in the future.

Make sure you look at how the cost will increase as you scale—not only will your costs increase with each team member, but you may also need to bump up your plan to a more expensive tier as your business needs increase.

What's Next?

Tools aside, as a project manager you can quickly align teams and find bottlenecks by scheduling a workflow diagramming session. Our complete guide to workflow diagrams has an example of how one of those sessions helped a team, and all the workflow diagram basics you need (+ templates!).

Other related reads:

Why do vampires make poor project managers? Because they refuse to meet with stake holders. You can find more fun and PM-related content in our Insider Membership Newsletter. Subscribe now.

By Ben Aston

I’m Ben Aston, a digital project manager and founder of thedpm.com. I've been in the industry for more than 20 years working in the UK at London’s top digital agencies including Dare, Wunderman, Lowe and DDB. I’ve delivered everything from film to CMS', games to advertising and eCRM to eCommerce sites. I’ve been fortunate enough to work across a wide range of great clients; automotive brands including Land Rover, Volkswagen and Honda; Utility brands including BT, British Gas and Exxon, FMCG brands such as Unilever, and consumer electronics brands including Sony. Ben's a Certified Scrum Master, PRINCE2 Practitioner and productivity nut.

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4 Comments

  • Ben, thank you for the great guide to choosing workflow software. I would also add role-based access control and routing as well as backup and security as important criteria that all workflow management software should have.

    Reply

  • Hi ,first at all congratulations for your article, strong content and very useful. I will suggest to include LeanDNA and Tableu.

    Reply

  • Any reason you missed https://tallyfy.com ? :)

    Reply

    • It's there!

      Reply