Web-based project management tools are an excellent solution for project managers who cannot be physically present in an office at all times. The best project management software for you will have a robust online platform with web-based resource management, timesheets, invoicing, portfolio management, project plans, workflow management, and more. Relieve yourself of being a helicopter manager and consider web-based collaboration software to bridge any gaps in accountability.
I’ve built this list of trustworthy, reliable online project management tools to address all of these needs and then some.
Best Web-Based Project Management Tools List
Here’s a shortlist of the best web-based project management tools:
- monday.com - Best interactive and aesthetic UX
- Wrike - Best web based Agile project management tool
- MeisterTask - Best free web based project management tool
- Kanbanize - Best web-based Kanban software
- Hive - Best web-based PM software for agencies
- Teamwork - Best online PM software for marketing teams
- ProjectManager - Best PPM tool
- Mavenlink - Best for third party integrations
- Smartsheet - Best project template gallery
- ClickUp - Best for a robust feature set
Below you’ll find an overview of each of the 10 best remote project management tools, with screenshots, feature overviews, and pricing.
Web-Based Project Management Software Comparison Criteria
Here’s a summary of my evaluation criteria:
- User Interface (UI): Is the interface clean and attractive on both PC and smart devices? Can users easily follow a task from conception to completion within the app? Does unnecessary clicking and menuing get in the way of interface functionality?
- Usability: Is it easy to learn and master? Does the company offer good tech support, user support, tutorials, and training? Web-based project management requires being up-to-date while you are on the move; does the PM tool work on all popular mobile phone types (Android and iOS)? Is the mobile app robust and comprehensive?
- Integrations: Out-of-office PMs may require several different web-based solutions in their daily toolkit. So, is the app easy to connect with other web-based tools and apps, like time trackers, workflow management software, resource management software, and others?
- Value for $: PMs looking for web-based software will often need more than one tool to fulfill all their needs. Therefore, low cost or freemium software options are important. Plus, does the web-based PM app have simple, scalable costs per user for easy growth?
Web-Based Project Management Tools Key Features
- Accessible on any device using apps or browser access
- Reliable auto-saving features for all pages and work
- Built-in communication, messaging, and tagging
- Built-in meeting organization, including note-taking or video conferencing integration
- Easy calendars and scheduling with adjustable permissions/edit access
- Offline access available for no-WiFi zones (ie: during travel)
- Time tracking and task management overviews for managers on-the-go
Overviews Of The 10 Best Web-Based Project Management Tools
Here’s a brief description of each of the web-based project management tools on my list showing what it does best, plus screenshots to showcase some of the features.
monday.com - Best interactive and aesthetic UX
Access a completely free plan with forms, communication with context, and unlimited viewers.
monday.com is a scalable, flexible, and secure web-based project management tool that sports some of the most user-friendly and encouraging interface graphics around. The bright colors, gamification of task completion, and easy drag-and-drop mechanisms can encourage software adoption by even the least techy team members. Plus, hundreds of add-ons, widgets, integrations, and automation ensure that every user can design an experience that works best for their unique needs.
monday.com costs from $14/user/month and offers a free version with 1 board per dashboard.
Pros
- Offers a free version of the web-based tool
- Document template gallery is hugely helpful
- Can customize your boards to display only what you need most
Cons
- Time and calendar views limited to paid plans
- Integration with Zoom video conferencing is limited to paid plans
- May not be robust enough for large organizations
Wrike - Best web based Agile project management tool
Easily assign project and task owners so you can hit your targets fast and produce quality work.
Wrike’s versatile and easy-to-use web-based platform adapts to however your team organizes their work so that managers don’t have to be on-premise to ensure high impact results. The customization offered for Wrike’s workspace has the potential to help Agile teams accelerate their work and easily adapt to change. Built-in proofing and approvals help to accelerate your activity stream and multiple reporting views keep you abreast of developments as they happen.
Wrike costs from $9.80/user/month and offers a free plan for up to 5 users.
Pros
- Excellent free plan for small businesses and teams
- Dashboards to track progress of anything at a glance
- Easy, comprehensive email integration
Cons
- No mid-levels of priority, only none or High
- Additional options for inbox filtering (by topics, project, assignees, etc.) would be welcomed
- Sluggish when downloading large files for editing
MeisterTask - Best free web based project management tool
Comprehensive free web based project management for web browsers and smartphones.
MeisterTask allows project managers to organize and manage tasks in a beautifully designed, customizable environment. Kanban-style project boards allow teams to create streamlined, automated workflows that can be accessed anywhere by app or web browser. Their comprehensive free plan allows for unlimited project members and customizable project boards. Plus, collaboration between free and paid accounts is permitted.
MeisterTask costs from $8.25/user/month and offers a free version for up to 3 projects.
Pros
- A supportive free version of the tool for entry-level users
- Easy to navigate, user-friendly panel UI
- Good communication features: commenting, tagging, assigning
Cons
- No analytics for team performance
- No offline access at this time
- Some detailed task definitions may be difficult to implement
Kanbanize - Best web-based Kanban software
Build out strategic boards using Kanban style cards for task management.
Kanbanize offers flexible, web-based Kanban Boards and built-in Business Rules so that you can automate all your team’s existing processes, dependencies, and interactions. PMs will especially enjoy the ability to forecast the end dates of any initiatives based on the flow of child cards anywhere in the Kanban card hierarchy.
Kanbanize costs from $99/month and offers a 30-day free trial.
Pros
- Quick bottleneck identification
- They offer a free eBook guide to Kanban for easy training help
- Good time tracking solution
Cons
- Some customizations can be challenging to arrange
- No iOS app
- No built-in chat system
Hive - Best web-based PM software for agencies
Unite agency teams using Groups and Messaging specific to each client.
Hive allows each client team member to pick how they want to see campaign progress – Kanban Board, Gantt Chart, or Table. Try bolstering remote meeting efficiency with the Hive Notes tool to demonstrate clear next steps, assignees, responsibilities, and important deadlines. With Hive’s proofing and approvals solution, managers can share creative documents and enable web-based feedback quickly and easily.
Hive costs from $12/user/month and offers a free demo and a 14-day free trial.
Pros
- Tool supports several views like Kanban, Gantt, and List
- Creating task and project cards is simple
- Can forward emails directly to Hive to create projects
Cons
- Cannot attach multiple files to a project request
- Could improve invoice tracking and financial features
- Can’t easily move urgent actions to the top
Teamwork - Best online PM software for marketing teams
Organize your work around quarterly goals and empower every marketer to hit their targets.
Used by Spotify, PayPal, Disney, and Netflix, Teamwork is a web-based project management solution that empowers you to manage multiple projects with ease. Users can easily break down complex projects into multiple levels of tasks and subtasks so you can plan in depth. You can even customize each marketing client’s access permissions for everything from adding comments on tasks all the way through to adding tasks, milestones, and even logging time.
Teamwork costs from $10/user/month and offers a free version for up to 2 projects and 5 team members.
Pros
- Free version of the web based tool is great for individuals or small teams
- Time tracking in both desktop and mobile versions
- Flexible project elements can be turned on and off (tasks, time, risks, billing, etc.)
Cons
- Limited 3rd party integrations compared to others
- Some reports are tough to fully customize
- Over-enthusiastic about email notifications
ProjectManager - Best PPM tool
Access portfolio dashboards, reports, roadmaps, and calendars.
ProjectManager.com is an award-winning web-based project management system that boasts an impressive suite of project portfolio management (PPM) tools. Real-time dashboards, all-in-one roadmaps, and multiple project views are just a few of the features available to PMs looking to organize their portfolio on a granular or holistic level. You’ll especially appreciate the robust PPM reporting system, which gives you a birds-eye-view of everything you’ve got going on.
ProjectManager costs from $15/user/month and offers a 30-day free trial.
Pros
- Easy to create job schedules and make milestones
- Downloading and uploading job specific documents is simple
- Enables real-time communication with clients
Cons
- Schedules that aren’t perfectly linked may break during a task date change
- No offline access
- Don’t offer task trees showing the entire roadmap paths
Mavenlink - Best for third party integrations
Connect to popular systems with developer tools and industry-leading API documentation.
Mavenlink uses their own creation, the M-Bridge, to ensure a seamless connection between all of your web-based project management software using this service-centric integration platform. You’ll be able to easily manage every stage of your project lifecycle, from planning and bidding to staffing and billing. CRM, Financials, HCM, and more are all accessible through this one-size-fits-all web-based PM tool.
Mavenlink costs from $19/user/month and offers a 10-day free trial.
Pros
- Strong integration with Jira, G Suite, Microsoft Dynamics, and Salesforce
- Real time view of budgets and burn rate
- High-impact and organized reporting stack
Cons
- More customization options on project and task status welcomed
- Mobile app doesn’t always display the same information as the website
- No global search feature, must scan channel-by-channel
Smartsheet - Best project template gallery
Workers can easily report potential issues on their phones via QR codes posted at job sites.
Not only does Smartsheet have everything you have come to expect from a great web-based project management tool but they also have one of the best project template libraries in the biz. Every subscription tier has access to hundreds of templates sorted by industry or type. Here you’ll have access to Gantt charts, construction estimators, legal contract management, customer lifetime value (CLV), team productivity documents, performance evaluation sheets, and anything else you can think of.
Smartsheet costs from $14/month and offers a 30-day free trial.
Pros
- Ability to quickly add someone as a viewer or editor
- Fantastic dashboard creation and customization
- Live on-demand reporting
Cons
- Dependencies could be more formula driven
- Could use smoother import/export to and from MS Excel
- Rows and columns are more limited than competitors
ClickUp - Best for a robust feature set
Build and store internal or external docs, wikis, knowledge bases, tables, and more.
ClickUp’s web-based project management app offers over 100 proprietary features to choose from, letting power users highlight what they want and hide what they do not use. Choose simple task lists or more advanced workflows (called “Statuses”) to track updates and progress remotely. Paid plans offer unlimited storage, unlimited users, unlimited dashboards, guests and permissions, goals and portfolios, and custom fields.
ClickUp costs from $5/user/month and offers a free version for 5 Spaces and 100mb of storage.
Pros
- Robust free version of the tool available
- All paid plans offer unlimited file storage space
- Gantt charts are easy to read and very flexible in design
Cons
- Free version has no read-only permissions
- Attaching tasks in emails results in strange formatting
- Creating new projects can be a little confusing at first
Summary Of The Best Remote Project Management Tools
Other Web-Based Project Management Software
Here’s a few more that didn’t make the top list.
- Basecamp – Best for software development teams
- Scoro – Best for educational institutions
- Forecast – Best AI forecasting and analysis
- Zoho Projects – Best for automation of complex tasks
- Clarizen – Best for Project Portfolio Management
- Asana – Best visual task lists
- Trello – Best customizable task cards
- Paymo – Best invoicing and estimates
- Nifty – Best for legal case management
- KeyedIn – Best manufacturing ERP
- Workzone – Best for healthcare teams
- ProWorkflow – Best for ORG charts
- EasyProjects – Best Business Intelligence Reports
- Sciforma – Best Enterprise-centric project and portfolio management software
- Freedcamp – Best open source web-based project management tool
Which Web-Based Project Management Tools Do You Use?
What web-based project management tool do you and any stakeholders prefer? Are you thinking about upgrading or switching over? Is there any web-based project management software that you would add to this list? What kind of web-based project management tools do you like the best? Sound off in the comments.
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