Planning a project isn’t just about making a to-do list anymore. Whether you’re managing a remote team, juggling client deadlines, or coordinating across departments, staying on track requires clarity, collaboration, and the right tech to support you.
The good news? There’s a project planning tool out there that fits your team’s size, workflow, and budget.
The challenge? Picking the one that actually makes planning easier.
This guide is here to help. We’ve reviewed the best project planning software tools —so you don’t have to. Let’s dive in.
🔎 Did you know? When NASA built the James Webb Space Telescope, project planning spanned over 20 years, involving 258 suppliers across many U.S. states and 13+ countries. What kept the project on track? Rigorous phased planning and seamless coordination.
Why Project Planning Tools Matter
Project planning has changed. Teams are now:
- Working remotely or in hybrid setups
- Running multiple projects at once
- Needing real-time updates and integrations
- Prioritizing visibility across stakeholders
Without the right system, things fall through the cracks—tasks slip, deadlines move, and teams burn out. The right tool gives your team a shared space to align, plan, and get things done without the chaos.
It’s not about having more features—it’s about having the right ones.
🚨 Insight: Nearly 1 in 4 projects experience scope creep, delays, or budget overruns due to poor planning and lack of visibility. The right project planning software helps teams stay aligned, manage complexity, and deliver on time.
Best Project Planning Tools at a Glance
Tool | Best features | Best for | Pricing* |
---|---|---|---|
ClickUp | 15+ views, automations, dashboards, 1000+ integrations | All team sizes | Free plan; Customization available for enterprises |
Hive | Kanban, Gantt, built-in chat, time tracking | Small to mid-sized teams | Free plan; Paid plans from $12/user/month |
Monday.com | Dashboards, automations, time tracking | Small to large teams | Free plan; Paid plans from $12/user/month |
nTask | Gantt charts, time tracking, issue/risk tracking | Freelancers and small teams | Free plan; Paid plans from $3/user/month |
TeamGantt | Gantt charts, time tracking, workload views | Gantt lovers and planners | Free plan; Paid plans from $19/month |
MeisterTask | Kanban boards, automation, Slack + GitHub integrations | Agile teams, creative teams | Free plan; Paid plans from $14.50/user/month |
ProofHub | Flat-fee pricing, proofing, time tracking | Teams that want everything built-in | Paid plans from $45/month |
Teamwork | Client collaboration, budgeting, time + invoicing | Agencies and client projects | Free plan; Paid plans from $5.99/user/month |
Toggl Plan | Visual drag-and-drop timelines, milestones | Visual thinkers, designers | Free plan; Paid plans from $9/user/month |
Trello | Kanban boards, Power-Ups, reminders | Simpler project needs | Free plan; Paid plans from $5/user/month |
Wrike | Custom workflows, dashboards, advanced PM features | Enterprise-level projects | Free plan; Paid plans from $9.80/user/month |
Asana | Timelines, task tracking, team dashboards | All industries and teams | Free plan; Paid plans from $10.99/user/month |
Miro | Whiteboarding, templates, team workshops | Remote or hybrid collaboration | Free plan; Paid plans from $8/user/month |
Jira | Agile boards, sprint tracking, developer integrations | Dev teams and tech companies | Free plan; Paid plans from $8.15/user/month |
Paymo | Project + time tracking + invoicing | Freelancers, small businesses | Free plan; Paid plans from $5.9/user/month |
🔎 Did you know? 44% of workers have experienced multiple abandoned projects without explanation — a reflection of poor planning, misaligned priorities, and ineffective leadership.
15 Best Project Planning Tools
How we review software at ClickUp
Our editorial team follows a transparent, research-backed, and vendor-neutral process, so you can trust that our recommendations are based on real product value.
Here’s a detailed rundown of how we review software at ClickUp.
And now, read on to know about the best when it comes to project management tools:
1. ClickUp
Manage your projects, workflows, docs, and collaboration in one AI-powered workspace.
ClickUp, the everything app for work, is an all-in-one project management and productivity platform built for teams of any size. Whether you’re mapping out timelines, tracking milestones, or managing cross-functional sprints, ClickUp gives you total visibility and control over your project planning—no matter how complex things get.
With 15+ customizable ClickUp Views (like Gantt, Calendar, and Timeline), built-in time tracking, automation, and ClickUp AI, this platform adapts to your workflow, not the other way around.
ClickUp AI helps project managers streamline planning by generating project timelines, summarizing meeting notes, and assigning priorities in seconds.
Here’s a sample ClickUp Brain ( ClickUp’s AI) output.
ClickUp also offers a variety of project planner templates designed to help you quickly set up and manage projects with best practices built in.
🧰 Best for: Teams and organizations that want a flexible, visual, and all-in-one project planning tool.
👥 Team size: Freelancers, startups, small businesses, mid-sized companies, and large enterprises
💡 Ideal use case: Perfect for teams managing multiple projects with shared resources, cross-functional dependencies, and real-time collaboration.
✨ Best features
- ClickUp Tasks: Create, assign, and track tasks with due dates, priorities, and statuses.
- Customizable Workflows: Design workflows that match your team’s processes using custom statuses, ClickUp Custom Fields, and ClickUp Automations.
- Gantt Charts & Timelines: Visualize project timelines, dependencies, and milestones to plan and manage schedules.
- ClickUp Docs: Create project documentation, knowledge bases, and collaborative notes directly within your workspace.
- Resource Management: Allocate team members, track workloads, and manage capacity.
- ClickUp Goals: Set, track, and align project goals and key results (OKRs).
- Collaboration Tools: Use chat, comments, and real-time editing to keep everyone aligned.
- Templates: Start quickly with project templates for various methodologies (Agile, Waterfall, etc.).
- ClickUp integrations: Connect with tools like Slack, Google Drive, GitHub, and more for seamless workflows.
- ClickUp Dashboards: Monitor progress, bottlenecks, and KPIs with customizable dashboards and reports.
- ClickUp Time Tracking: Log time spent on tasks for accurate project estimation and billing.
Check out how project managers are using ClickUp Automations 👇
👍 Pros
“Great tool for project tracking and utilization. I like the ability to customize project tracking and create multiple spaces that interconnect.”
— G2 reviewer
👎 Cons
“There isn’t a lot I dislike about ClickUp, but it would be great if you could bulk update over all available fields and not just a selected few.“
— G2 reviewer
💰 Pricing
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (3,500+ reviews)
- G2: 4.7/5 (5,400+ reviews)
💡 Pro Tip: Use ClickUp’s project planning templates to fast-track your next campaign, sprint, or website launch.
2. Hive
Hive is a project management and team collaboration tool designed to help teams stay aligned across tasks, timelines, and conversations. With native messaging, email sync, time tracking, and Kanban boards, Hive simplifies project planning for remote and hybrid teams. It’s especially useful for teams that want to manage communication and execution without switching between multiple apps.
🧰 Best for: Teams that want built-in communication tools alongside project planning features.
👥 Team size: Small to mid-sized teams (5–100 users)
💡 Ideal use case: Ideal for cross-functional teams juggling multiple deadlines who need transparency, fast updates, and in-app messaging to move projects forward.
✨ Best features
- In-app Hive Chat and Hive Mail for real-time communication
- Flexible project views: Gantt, Kanban, calendar, and table
- Time tracking, workload management, and reporting tools
- Portfolio view for managing multiple projects
- Native integrations with Slack, Zoom, Google Workspace, and more
👍 Pros
“It does “almost” everything we need and we use it on a weekly basis. It helps us keep track of each item that needs to be handled in a particular file.”
— Capterra reviewer
👎 Cons
“Hive more than doubles the amount of tedious, manual data entry required for every project.”
— Capterra reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Solo (Free)
- Teams: $12/user/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (150+ reviews)
- G2: 4.6/5 (370+ reviews)
💬 Why It Matters: Real-time dashboards aren’t just for tracking progress—they help teams spot bottlenecks and celebrate wins together.
3. Monday.com
Monday.com is a flexible work OS that gives you control over how you plan and manage projects. With dozens of project views, color-coded workflows, and powerful automations, Monday makes it easy to tailor your project planning to your team’s style.
Whether you’re mapping dependencies or checking progress at a glance, Monday helps teams stay organized and move fast—without losing visibility.
🧰 Best for: Teams that want customizable project dashboards with automation and robust integrations.
👥 Team size: Small to large businesses
💡 Ideal use case: Great for fast-moving teams managing multiple projects across departments that need real-time visibility and team accountability.
✨ Best features
- Highly visual, color-coded project dashboards
- Gantt, Kanban, Timeline, and Calendar views
- Workflow automation and approval flows
- Dashboards with workload and project health tracking
- Integrations with 200+ tools including Slack, Zoom, and Excel
👍 Pros
“It has made it easy for us to work on our routine operations by helping us plan beforehand.”
— Capterra reviewer
👎 Cons
“Initially, the interface can be a little confusing because there are so many different options and tools to use.”
— Capterra reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Free (up to 2 users)
- Basic: $12/user/month
- Standard: $14/user/month
- Pro: $24/user/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (4,000+ reviews)
- G2: 4.7/5 (8,000+ reviews)
💡 Proven Strategy: From ancient pyramids to modern software, great projects always start with a plan.
4. nTask
nTask is a lightweight project management tool built for small teams and solo professionals. It offers just enough structure to help you organize work—without overwhelming you with features you won’t use.
You get Kanban boards, time tracking, issue management, and Gantt charts all in one affordable platform.
🧰 Best for: Freelancers and small teams managing simple to moderately complex projects.
👥 Team size: 1–20 users
💡 Ideal use case: Ideal for small teams looking to manage multiple projects, track tasks, and assign responsibilities with minimal setup.
✨ Best features
- Clean UI with multiple views: Gantt, Grid, Board
- Time tracking and timesheet approval
- Risk management and issue tracking modules
- Team chat and file sharing
- Meeting notes with action items
👍 Pros
“The free version offers plenty of funcionalities including multi agent colaboration.”
— G2 reviewer
👎 Cons
“The interface is not very intuitive .”
— G2 reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Free plan
- Premium: $3/user/month
- Business: $8/user/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: Not enough reviews
- G2: Not enough reviews
🚀 Fast fact: Project planning software: the unsung hero behind on-time, on-budget project delivery.
5. TeamGantt
TeamGantt is a visual project management tool centered around—you guessed it—Gantt charts. Its drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to build timelines, assign tasks, and monitor workloads without the complexity of traditional tools.
It’s perfect for teams that love timelines but don’t want to deal with clunky spreadsheets.
🧰 Best for: Teams who rely heavily on Gantt charts for planning and need something user-friendly.
👥 Team size: Small to mid-sized teams (3–50 users)
💡 Ideal use case: Ideal for marketing teams, client services, or agencies managing overlapping deadlines and resource schedules.
✨ Best features
- Drag-and-drop scheduling with task dependencies
- Workload management and team availability tracking
- Portfolio and timeline views
- Time tracking and baseline comparison
- Project templates and mobile access
👍 Pros
“TeamGantt has the ability for multiple collaborators to interact in real–time and visualize progress together. “
— G2 reviewer
👎 Cons
“it has a considerable number of functionalities that at first made me take some time to fully understand how to link interdependent activities.”
— G2 reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Free plan
- Lite: $19/month
- Pro: $49/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
Capterra: 4.6/5 (200+ reviews)
G2: 4.8/5 (800+ reviews)
💡 Pro Tip: The secret to fewer, better meetings? Collaborative agendas and real-time updates, all in one place.
6. MeisterTask
MeisterTask is a sleek, Kanban-based task manager perfect for teams that follow Agile workflows. With automation, integrations, and intuitive boards, it helps teams stay productive without unnecessary clutter.
🧰 Best for: Agile teams and creatives who prefer visual task boards and light automation.
👥 Team size: Freelancers, startups, small to mid-sized teams
💡 Ideal use case: Great for managing editorial calendars, product sprints, or design workflows.
✨ Best features
- Customizable project boards and workflow stages
- Built-in automation and recurring tasks
- Real-time collaboration with comments and @mentions
- Project templates and roles/permissions
- Integrates with Slack, GitHub, Microsoft Teams
👍 Pros
“The program is visually elegant, simple to use, and has all of the features required to get started in the free edition. “
— G2 reviewer
👎 Cons
” I wish there were more customization options for the task boards and templates.”
— G2 reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Free plan
- Pro: $14.50/user/month
- Business: $29/user/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (850+ reviews)
- G2: 4.6/5 (150+ reviews)
🎨 Did you know? The term “Gantt chart” is over 100 years old? Modern project planning software keeps this classic tool alive—and supercharged!
7. ProofHub
ProofHub is an all-in-one project management and team collaboration tool that offers Gantt charts, custom workflows, and strong access control. Designed for simplicity, it combines task management, discussions, time tracking, and proofing into one interface.
🧰 Best for: Small to mid-sized teams that want a flat-fee, all-in-one project management platform.
👥 Team size: 5–100 users
💡 Ideal use case: Ideal for creative teams and client services teams that need task coordination, proofing, and project tracking in one place.
✨ Best features
- Table, Gantt, Calendar, and Board views
- In-app chat and discussions
- Time tracking and reports
- File proofing and version control
- Roles and permissions for team and client collaboration
👍 Pros
“Fast and good UI for managing multiple projects with many users”
— G2 reviewer
👎 Cons
“Time management in projects is little bit tricky.”
— G2 reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Essential: $45/month
- Ultimate Control: $89/month (flat fee for unlimited users)
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (40+ reviews)
- G2: 4.5/5 (30+ reviews)
📮ClickUp Insight: 30% of workers believe automation could save them 1–2 hours per week, while 19% estimate it could unlock 3–5 hours for deep, focused work.
Even those small time savings add up: just two hours reclaimed weekly equals over 100 hours annually—time that could be dedicated to creativity, strategic thinking, or personal growth.💯
With ClickUp’s AI Agents and ClickUp Brain, you can automate workflows, generate project updates, and transform your meeting notes into actionable next steps—all within the same platform. No need for extra tools or integrations—ClickUp brings everything you need to automate and optimize your workday in one place.
💫 Real Results: RevPartners slashed 50% of their SaaS costs by consolidating three tools into ClickUp—getting a unified platform with more features, tighter collaboration, and a single source of truth that’s easier to manage and scale.
8. Teamwork
Teamwork is a client-focused project management tool designed to help agencies and service teams plan, collaborate, and deliver projects efficiently. It combines task management with budgeting, time tracking, invoicing, and client access features.
🧰 Best for: Agencies and client services teams needing full-cycle project planning with billing and time tracking.
👥 Team size: 5–100 users
💡 Ideal use case: Ideal for agencies managing multiple client projects and needing visibility into time, budgets, and team capacity.
✨ Best features
- Task lists, Gantt charts, board views
- Built-in time tracking and invoicing
- Client access with permissions
- Workload and budget management
- Project templates and file management
👍 Pros
“The platform’s ability to centralize communication, track progress, and manage resources has significantly improved project delivery”
— Capterra reviewer
👎 Cons
“Important updates got lost because of the structure of the tasks”
— Capterra reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Free plan
- Starter: $5.99/user/month
- Deliver: $9.99/user/month
- Grow: $19.99/user/month
- Scale: Custom pricing
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (600+ reviews)
- G2: 4.4/5 (1,000+ reviews)
💡 Pro Tip: Always build in buffer time. Even the best-planned projects face surprise delays—whether it’s feedback loops, approval gaps, or tool hiccups.
9. Toggl
Toggl Plan offers a lightweight alternative to traditional project tools. It’s great for teams that want visual timelines, quick setup, and flexible drag-and-drop scheduling.
🧰 Best for: Designers, marketers, and agencies that prefer visual planning without the bulk.
👥 Team size: Freelancers and small teams (1–20 users)
💡 Ideal use case: Ideal for creative projects where visual planning and flexible timelines are a must.
✨ Best features
- Drag-and-drop timeline builder
- Task boards and milestones
- Color-coded plans for clarity
- Unlimited project timelines
- Integration with Toggl Track
👍 Pros
“Toggl allows for easy duplication of tasks and collaboration with team members.”
— G2 reviewer
👎 Cons
“The project tracking is not fully intuitive.”
— G2 reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Free plan
- Team: $9/user/month
- Business: $15/user/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (1,800+ reviews)
- G2: 4.6/5 (1,500+ reviews)
🚀 Fast fact: A good project plan isn’t just about tasks and timelines. It’s also about expectations. The clearer your plan, the fewer “Wait… what?” moments later.
10. Trello
Trello is a Kanban-based tool that uses cards and boards to help teams organize tasks and track progress. It’s known for its simplicity and flexibility—ideal for individuals or small teams looking to manage day-to-day tasks.
🧰 Best for: Small teams or individuals who want an easy visual planning tool.
👥 Team size: Freelancers and small teams (1–10 users)
💡 Ideal use case: Great for editorial calendars, personal projects, or basic team workflows.
✨ Best features
- Drag-and-drop task cards
- Lists for stages or categories
- Power-ups for added features (calendar, timelines, forms)
- Automations via Butler
- Due dates, reminders, and checklists
👍 Pros
“It is very useful for collaboration as it allows users to share boards and assign tasks to team members.”
— Capterra reviewer
👎 Cons
“Trello’s formatting options are limited, which can make it difficult to display information in certain ways.”
— Capterra reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Free
- Standard: $5/user/month
- Premium: $10/user/month
- Enterprise: $17.50/user/month
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (22,000+ reviews)
- G2: 4.4/5 (12,000+ reviews)
💡 Pro Tip: Don’t just assign tasks—assign accountability. A name next to a due date isn’t just admin. It’s clarity, ownership, and fewer follow-ups.
11. Wrike
Wrike is a powerful project management and collaboration platform with robust features for teams that need structure and scalability. It includes workflows, Gantt charts, proofing tools, and real-time dashboards.
🧰 Best for: Mid-sized to enterprise teams managing complex, multi-layered projects.
👥 Team size: 20–500+ users
💡 Ideal use case: Great for PMOs, operations, and marketing teams juggling portfolios of concurrent projects.
✨ Best features
- Gantt charts and timeline planning
- Custom workflows and approval automation
- Time tracking and resource allocation
- Real-time dashboards and reports
- 400+ integrations
👍 Pros
“We can make custom views, blueprints, item types, request forms, etc… to fit into each team’s needs.”
— G2 reviewer
👎 Cons
“Having so many ways to view your work can overwhelm my team sometimes”
— G2 reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Free
- Team: $9.80/user/month
- Business: $24.80/user/month
- Enterprise & Pinnacle: Custom pricing
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (2,500+ reviews)
- G2: 4.2/5 (3,500+ reviews)
📚 Bonus Read: Check out these Wrike alternatives!
12. Asana
Asana is a work management tool that helps teams map out plans, assign tasks, and collaborate in real time. Its flexible structure suits everything from simple to-do lists to complex multi-stage workflows.
🧰 Best for: Cross-functional teams looking for a simple, visual task and project management tool.
👥 Team size: All sizes, from startups to enterprises
💡 Ideal use case: Perfect for managing content calendars, product launches, or team goals in a collaborative workspace.
✨ Best features
- Timeline, calendar, Kanban, and list views
- Custom templates and fields
- Task dependencies and milestones
- Team collaboration through comments and mentions
- Integrations with Slack, Zoom, Google Drive, and more
👍 Pros
“It helps me on a daily basis to organize all my projects and tasks.”
— Capterra reviewer
👎 Cons
“Sometimes tasks and boards can get a little over-crowded.”
— Capterra reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Basic: Free
- Premium: $10.99/user/month
- Business: $24.99/user/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (12,000+ reviews)
- G2: 4.3/5 (9,000+ reviews)
📚 Bonus Read: Check out these Asana alternatives!
13. Miro
Miro is an online whiteboard and visual collaboration tool. It’s ideal for mapping workflows, planning projects, and hosting workshops—especially when your team is remote.
🧰 Best for: Remote or hybrid teams who prefer visual, collaborative planning.
👥 Team size: 2–500+ users
💡 Ideal use case: Ideal for project planning, brainstorming, and agile ceremonies like retrospectives or sprint reviews.
✨ Best features
- Infinite whiteboards with sticky notes and diagrams
- Project planning and roadmap templates
- Presentation and screen sharing
- Real-time collaboration with reactions and voting
- Integrations with Jira, Trello, Slack, and more
👍 Pros
“I use it every day for diagrams, brainstorming sessions, retrospectives, organization, documentation, and research”
— G2 reviewer
👎 Cons
“its vast flexibility can be overwhelming for new users.”
— G2 reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Free
- Starter: $8/user/month
- Business: $16/user/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (1,300+ reviews)
- G2: 4.8/5 (4,800+ reviews)
📚 Bonus Read: Check out these Miro alternatives!
14. Jira
Jira is the go-to project tool for agile software teams. Built by Atlassian, it helps track sprints, plan features, and squash bugs—with advanced customization and developer-friendly features.
🧰 Best for: Agile development teams using Scrum or Kanban.
👥 Team size: Small startups to large software teams
💡 Ideal use case: Best for teams building software products or tracking technical projects.
✨ Best features
- Scrum and Kanban boards
- Backlogs, epics, and user stories
- Advanced reporting (velocity, burndown)
- Workflow automation and custom fields
- Integrations with GitHub, Bitbucket, Figma, and more
👍 Pros
“The visual tools like Kanban and Scrum boards are especially helpful for staying organized and keeping everyone aligned.”
— G2 reviewer
👎 Cons
“Jira can feel a bit overwhelming at first, especially for new users.”
— G2 reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Free (up to 10 users)
- Standard: $8.15/user/month
- Premium: $16/user/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (13,700+ reviews)
- G2: 4.3/5 (5,600+ reviews)
📚 Also Read: Check out these Jira alternatives!
15. Paymo
Paymo combines project planning, time tracking, invoicing, and reporting—making it a good choice for small businesses and freelancers who want everything in one place.
🧰 Best for: Freelancers and small businesses managing client projects and billing.
👥 Team size: 1–50 users
💡 Ideal use case: Apt for agencies that need project visibility, timesheets, and financial tracking in a unified platform.
✨ Best features
- Task planning and Kanban boards
- Time tracking and activity logs
- Invoicing and estimates
- Team scheduling and availability view
- Project templates and client access
👍 Pros
“Get a bird’s-eye view of your team’s schedule.”
— G2 reviewer
👎 Cons
“The pricing of Paymo comes at a higher end.”
— G2 reviewer
💰 Pricing
- Free
- Starter: $5.9/user/month
- Small Office: $10.9/user/month
- Business: $16.9/user/month
⭐ G2 & Capterra reviews
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (400+ reviews)
- G2: 4.6/5 (500+ reviews)
📚 Also Read: Check out these Paymo alternatives!
Choose the Best Project Planning Tool for Your Team
Whether you’re launching a new campaign, managing client deliverables, or keeping internal projects on track, having the right project planning tool makes all the difference. The best tools don’t just help you stay organized—they give your team clarity, save time, and reduce the back-and-forth.
Out of all the options, ClickUp stands out as the most flexible, customizable, and scalable solution for project planning. With 15+ views, built-in time tracking, AI-powered automations, and 1000+ integrations, it adapts to the way you work—not the other way around.
So if you’re ready to bring your team, tools, and timelines together in one place?
👉 Try ClickUp for free and start planning smarter today.