How To Get Started

Thanks to its extensive offering, the initial onboarding process lets you choose what you want to use Paymo to: plan projects, manage tasks, track time, or create invoice). Each goal will trigger a different set of activation emails, packed with specific tips and tricks for a faster onboarding.

Don’t worry, you still won’t start from scratch, as Paymo offers 9 different project templates to play around with.

There’s also a detailed Knowledge Base to explore every module step-by-step on your own. As well as a lively community forum where existing users can share thoughts with each other on how to best use Paymo for their given industry.

Paymo doesn’t have a project import feature so you’ll have to build your projects from scratch, then save them as a template for later use. You might turn to their fully-documented API to code one on your own, or use Zapier to import data from other tools via a spreadsheet or CSV file.

How Easy Is It to Use

Despite having lots of features, Paymo’s interface is fairly easy to get used to, making it a good choice for team members and managers alike. The sidebar is customizable so you can only keep at hand the modules you rely on the most. Similarly, you can create shortcuts to the views you access on a daily basis.

Regular team members can use the My Tasks area to see the upcoming tasks they need to take care of. They can also register time in various ways - manually, in bulk, or through the desktop and mobile apps - with all the time records being automatically centralized in a common timesheet.

Managers, on the other hand, will find the Team Scheduler module useful as it will give them a bird’s-eye view over the team’s workload and availability, to prevent any over bookings. They can also create time reports based on tracked time with just a few clicks to evaluate the team’s productivity, offer raises for high performance, or send them to a client as proof of work.

These time entries can be turned into invoices you’ll be able to customize to better reflect your brand. The project accounting module also allows you to generate accurate estimates based on existing project data, keep all your expenses organized in a single place, and get paid via payment gateways for your work.

For international users, Paymo is available in 23 languages including more exotic ones like Japanese, Mandarin, Polish, and Norwegian.

The tool also works with the apps you already use like Slack, QuickBooks Online, Xero, Google Calendar, or Adobe CC.

Pricing

After the 15-day free trial is over, you can pick between two pricing plans:

• Small Office: $11.95/user/month. Ideal for small or growing teams who need integrated task management (including Kanban boards) and time tracking.
• Business Plan: $18.95/user/month. An option for medium and large businesses looking to take control of all aspects of their projects.

For the full list of features under each plan, check out the complete pricing list.

There’s also a 20% discount offered for annual payments and a free plan for freelancers.

Nonprofits are eligible for a 50% discount on any of the paid plans, while schools, colleges, and universities can use the paid plans for free for 1 year. Refunds do not apply.

How To Get Started

Asana has a low learning curve and you’ll see a welcome video on signing up which will help you get started. There’s a knowledge base (the Asana Guide) which is split into 3 parts so you can go straight to the topics that are relevant to your familiarity with the app. You can directly import tasks from a CSV file, spreadsheet, or email instead of adding all activities by hand.

You can browse how other people are using Asana with their customer use cases page, and head into the community for more. The community area covers integrations (including those for your developers and API tips and tricks), helpful hints, team onboarding, feedback, and announcements.

How Easy Is It to Use

While Asana’s lack of reporting and advancement task management tools might put off managers when it comes to opting for this PM tool, the rest of your non-technical team is likely to get accustomed to the interface from the very first minutes of using it. Yet, Asana doesn’t leave out all features for project managers, providing a Timeline view (their version of a Gantt Chart) and Portfolios to allow them to get a general overview at everything that goes on within the company.

Personalization options are limited to paid plans with custom fields available with a Premium plan and above and custom branding at Enterprise level only. The UI remains colorful and fun, something you’ll probably remember Asana for once you press the Tab + B command to fill your screen with cats (no typo here).

Asana is available only in 6 languages at this moment: English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Portuguese.

The tool is easy to connect to other apps you’re already using like Slack, QuickBooks Online, Xero, Google Calendar, or Adobe CC through their native integrations

Pricing

• Basic: This free option is for up to 15 users who are looking to get started with managing their first projects.
• Premium: $10.99/user/month billed annually for small and medium teams who are looking to plan their work and create reports based on it.
• Business: $24.99/user/month billed annually for larger teams handling multiple project portfolios.
• Enterprise: The plan is commonly used by enterprise teams, providing extra security and support. Pricing is tiered and you’ll have to contact them for a quote for your organization.

To see all features you’ll get with a plan, check out their pricing list.

A 30-day trial applies to the Premium plan, but you’ll have to give your credit card info. Nonprofits can get a discount with Premium and Business annual plans. No refunds available.

How To Get Started

It’s easy to register for an account and get a signed letter directly from the CEO, which is a nice touch.

There are 7 videos as your initial training sequence but no knowledge base if you just want to browse what the tool can do. You can find user-generated content on YouTube but as with all cloud-based systems, the product is frequently updated so be careful if you choose to rely on third-party created user guides as they might not be up-to-date. There’s no import feature though, so you’ll have to create all projects and tasks from scratch.

How Easy Is It to Use

Just like Asana, Basecamp is definitely a project management tool that’s better suited for teams and not managers. With missing features such as a resource scheduler, invoicing and budgeting, or limited reporting, Basecamp remains strong on the collaboration side of it all.

Project and team managers, on the other hand, will enjoy using Hill Charts to get a visual look at where each stage of the project is. Besides these, only the Stuff I’ve Assigned and Activity sections can be used to monitor any changes around a project so managers will still have to turn to external tools or paper-based documents for other duties like risk management or simply seeing who’s being overworked in a team.

The current version of Basecamp is only available in English, so it’s not really the most international-friendly tool you could opt for.

Basecamp integrates with 50+ tools like Zapier, Retool, Slickplan, Instabug, etc.

Pricing

At $99 month for your whole business, it’s certainly a transparent price structure. There’s a free plan with limited features for personal usage.

Here’s their pricing page so you can see everything you’ll get with the plan. Check out their refund policy to understand if refunds apply to your case.

Basecamp is free for students and teachers (only when used for classroom activities) and offers a 10% discount for NGOs.

How To Get Started

When you sign up to Wrike you’ll hit a welcome video, and the process to create an account is easy. As you get started, you can work through the walkthrough tutorial. There’s live in-app and phone support 24/7 and a detailed knowledge base as well.

The team runs regular webinars and there is a community forum.

If the standard offerings aren’t enough, the company offers consulting services to help you get ready to launch Wrike to your teams.

To avoid having an empty workspace from day one, data can be imported from Excel, MS Projects Files, or Outlook Tasks. Quite a few templates are available to help you with your goals from managing events to launching a product.

How Easy Is It to Use

Due to its complexity, the interface isn't intuitive to work with for first-time users and the onboarding and set-up process are frequently seen as lacking by current users. The search function though does its job to help you find a task you’re working on even when you’ve had it with the interface.

To keep up with the changes that go on in the app you’ll have to adapt to Wrike’s notification system. Notifications are only available via email or desktop and you’ll have to edit your email notification settings to prevent it from spamming your inbox with every tiny change. Ideally, it would be best if you’d select the time of day when you want to get your daily emails.

Aside from these weaker features, Wrike manages to reunite features that both project managers and team members will find useful. From Gantt Charts and strong reporting through Wrike Analyze to real-time discussions and a proofing tool to help creative teams deliver work faster.

International users get more attention through the following languages: English, French, Portuguese (Brazilian), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish.

Their integration list, although not the best one, is gradually growing and currently includes tools like Salesforce, Tableau, Box and more.

Pricing

There are 6 pricing plans, each adding more features:

• Free: Small team with low budget looking to manage tasks together? This plan will do for now.
• Professional ($9.80/user/month): Choose this plan if you’re a small team looking for collaboration and full project planning features like Gantt Charts and shareable dashboard.
• Business ($24.80/user/month): If you’re aiming to get 5 to 200 users on the system, this is a good plan for you. It introduces more functionality including report templates, resource scheduling, time tracking, user permissions, and your own branded workspaces. This is the plan where Salesforce integration kicks in, and it comes with 50GB of storage.
• Enterprise (custom pricing): All the other features, plus enterprise-grade functionality like password policies, network access, IT-controlled admin permissions, and 2-factor authentication.
• Wrike for Marketers (custom pricing): A plan designed for creatives with Adobe Creative Cloud extension, document and video proofing workflows and a tailored workspace. You need to sign up a minimum of 5 users on this plan.
• Wrike for Professional Services (custom pricing): The same as the Enterprise plan but with the Adobe Creative Cloud extension, their resource management tool, and only 50GB storage.

Check out their pricing list for all features. University students can use a 15-user Wrike Professional account for free. Refunds only apply in countries where these are mandatory by law.

How To Get Started

When you create an account, the process of learning how to use the tool immediately starts via email. Once you enter the app you’ll be guided by a video and step-by-step workspace explanation through the app. For extra help, turn to their support page where most guides come with handy videos to guide you through setting up your bases.

We can safely say they have the most templates available among all project management platforms (they send you emails to remind you of them) and you can even reach out to their Universe creator’s community to see how other clients use the tool. And since we’re talking about a database tool above all, their strong import feature will help you bring all your external data into Airtable.

How Easy Is It to Use

If you’re expecting to get a simple database-like tool, you’re wrong. You can customize and add your own text, number, and rich fields. And if you get bored of the table view, you can always switch to the Calendar view, Kanban board, or as a visual gallery and just drag-and-drop tasks to reorganize them according to priority or deadline.

Be warned though, team members who strongly dislike spreadsheets will have a hard time using this tool. The search function also lacks as you can only search for workspaces or bases so you’ll have to remember where a file or task is. If you need to do reporting, bear in mind this feature is limited to creating charts via their beta Blocks.This offers a set of extra functionalities users can add to their database like a time tracker, map, 3D model explorer, video chat, countdown timer, and others.

Airtable is not just for managing projects, sales, or CRM. Recruiters for instance can create application forms (yes, using the same tool we’re talking about) and gather all applicant data directly into Airtable.

Airtable is only available in English and can be integrated with 30+ tools like Zapier, Facebook, JotForm, Pocket, Typeform, and more.

Pricing

There are 4 plans you can choose from once your 14-day Pro trial is over:

• Free (free): Basic plan to get your first database running.
• Plus ($10/user/month billed annually): For teams who are growing their projects database. The only differences between this plan and the free one are at the usage limits: records/base, attachment space/base, and revision history time.
• Pro ($20/user/month billed annually): For teams who have multiple databases to work with and need advanced table and field customization options.
• Enterprise (custom cost): For large companies juggling endless data they need access too for up to 3 years. Extra security features are only included with this plan.

Here’s the full pricing list. Special plans apply to NGOs and educational institutions. Refunds are available only for EU citizens if they make a request within 14 days of purchase.

How To Get Started

When you sign up, and after you’ve gone through the welcome video, you are prompted with five predefined board examples to illustrate what you can do with the tool depending on your workflows. One of those lets you start from scratch so you can have a go before entering your ‘real’ data.

Data can be imported from an Excel or Google Sheet doc, Trello board, Facebook Ad account data, Basecamp lists, or just bring all your projects from Asana to monday.com.

The project management tool offers 24/7 support for everyone and VIP support with an account manager for Enterprise clients. There are daily webinars to help you get started too.

How Easy Is It to Use

At a first glance, monday.com appears to be yet another project management tool that’s right only for regular team members due to its collaborative features, fast learning curve, and fun, bold interface. Yet, its Dashboard feature makes it a good fit for managers too. Besides the fun quote, music playlist, and llama farm widgets, these dashboard items work like reports. For sales, team activity, or even bug tracking if you want to. Instead of Gantt Charts you’ll get their Timeline view and the resource scheduler is replaced by a simple workload widget in this app.

Safe to say a manager could do everything from just the dashboard. In fact any user can create a dashboard with his/her points of interest so they won’t have to search for a task you’re working on across multiple boards. But even the search function is made easy as you don’t even need to remember the name of a task or board to find it. Just type in [YOUR NAME] working on and you’ll get all activities you’re currently in charge of.

For those of you who’d rather use monday.com in your native language, this project management tool is available in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hebrew, German, Chinese, Italian, Russian, and Dutch.

Any integrations? Yes, like Slack, Shopify, or Twilio. The number of integrations is limited to your plan though.

Pricing

There are 4 plans available from Monday once your free trial is over. The pricing feels complicated (albeit flexible) as there are different prices for teams of 5, 10,15, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 200+ users. There are discounts available too: save 18% when you sign up for a year and 32% if you subscribe for 24 months. The following prices are monthly fees for a team of 5 users:

• Basic ($39 per month): Basic features to get started with a small team.
• Standard ($49 per month): The plan contains most features a regular team will need, especially if you want to start bringing in some guests to your boards.
• Pro ($79 per month): With its unlimited storage and complete set of monday.com’s advanced features like time tracking and private boards, look into this plan if your team and business is past the development stage.
• Enterprise (custom cost): Just like its name, this plan is best suited for large companies who are looking for a boost in security perks.

Here’s the complete pricing list. Discounts apply to NGOs and educational institutions. Refunds apply only to yearly or two-yearly plans that you cancel within 30 days since you buy them. For monthly plans you won’t get a refund.

How To Get Started

If you’re interested in more than project management, when you sign up, you can choose to try other products in their portfolio (like chat for example).

After signing up, you’ll receive an email that redirects you to a series of videos, but you can also book a daily webinar. During the trial you receive a series of emails, reminding you to try different types of actions in the app, nothing “spammy” though. There’s no live chat function available, so you’ll need to patiently wait for a response or try to find the answer yourself in the help section.

No pre-defined templates for projects to go with. Data from your past projects can be imported via CSV files or from tools like Asana or Trello.

How Easy Is It to Use

Teamwork is the kind of complex software that won’t be easy to start with. It’s like a sophisticated board game with tons of rules that require a lot of time to learn. But if you manage to get past this (it will take a while though), the software becomes pretty intuitive to use.

There are a few things worth mentioning, that really facilitate and improve the overall experience with the product: projects can be organized into folders, and files can be added directly to projects (making sure this way that everything related to a project is kept in the same place); there’s file versioning, multi-user assignment for tasks, copy projects feature, bulk edit, and a “trash can” - very useful in case you’ve deleted something by mistake.

In case you miss anything (hard to believe since the tool already comes packed with features), choose from their integrations, including Chatify, Float, and Slack.

Teamwork’s available in lots of other languages like French, Persian, Estonian, Norwegian, and more.

Pricing

After a 30-day trial, choose among 4 project management plans:

• Free forever(free): For small teams of maximum 5 users who need just basic PM features.
• Basic ($56.25 per month for 5 users): A good solution for small and medium agencies who are looking for extra integrations and file editing.
• Premium ($93.75 per month for 5 users): Project portfolios anyone? This is Teamwork’s advanced plan that comes with security features but is limited to a maximum of 100 users.
• Enterprise (custom cost): Nothing really special except that it’s the only option you can go for if you have a team/company that’s larger than 100 members.

These are all base fees and you’ll have to pay extra for additional users.

Check the complete pricing list. Discounts apply to NGOs and for annual plans. No refunds.

How To Get Started

Podio, as with many of the project management tools in this article, has an online knowledge base. There are quick start guides, a guided tour and more. The online help is heavy on customer use cases so you can see how other companies are making the tool work for them.

It’s worth reviewing the online help because the learning curve is relatively steep. Podio works on apps: you turn your processes and work items into apps to track and manage them. Once you understand the concepts and building blocks behind the system it’s going to make sense, but the jargon and features take a little while to get used to.

Project data can be imported from Excel to get you started but there are no project templates yet.

How Easy Is It to Use

Podio is not exactly the most fun tool you can use. And certainly not if you’re a designer or more creative person. In fact, it’s safe to say it’s not the project management app employees will enjoy using daily.

It’s not even a project management platform as much as it is a CRM solution that’s better suited for teams who juggle multiple clients (we’re talking hundreds) and databases. This being said, its CRM function is spot on, allowing you to manage all kinds of data related to your clients and projects, even helping you close a sales deal.

The tool provides endless customization opportunities in terms of functionality while it seriously lacks when it comes to colorful personalization options that other tools like Asana or Redbooth have. As if the 100+ extra apps weren’t enough, you can also integrate Podio with tools like Evernote, Box, Campaign Monitor, and even more.

Podio is now available in 12 languages including German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese, and Swedish.

Pricing

Podio offers 4 plans:

• Free (free): The plan’s free for up to five users but you only get the task management + apps and workspaces features.
• Basic ($9/user/month): The same as the free plan but you get unlimited external users and items + user management features.
• Plus ($14/user/month): Very similar to the Basic plan as the only real benefit you’ll get is the automated workflows feature.
• Premium ($24/user/month): Take your activity further advanced workflow management, interactive sales dashboards, the ability to sync contacts, and visual reports.

These are all base fees and you’ll have to pay extra for additional users.

Check their full pricing too. You can get a 20% discount if you purchase a yearly plan. Refunds apply. Students can use the tool for free and a 10% discount if given to nonprofits and startups.

How To Get Started

Most users claim they’ve made several calls to the support team to set up their accounts. Quick advice from us in case you choose to test this tool: check all resources like tutorials, videos, webinars, and the knowledge base before you get started. Otherwise, you’ll give up after 5 minutes. The first email you’ll receive will guide you through all this educational content.

At the bottom of your workspace you’ll see a handy chat bar to immediately get in touch with the support team. Or via this contact form or email. Just to be sure.

Existing data can be imported from Jira and Basecamp or MPP/MPX/XLS/JSON/CSV files. No ready-made templates are available but you can reuse your own projects as templates for your next work.

How Easy Is It to Use

So why does a seemingly complete tool have slightly lower reviews than its competitors? It’s simply just time consuming. Let’s just set this straight: Zoho Projects is not the most intuitive PM tool out there and you’ll definitely need to go through all learning materials beforehand. You’ll have to click on tasks and Edit a lot of time to change something and the shortcuts are limited too.

Yes, the tool is full of features, even some others project management apps don’t have like an issue tracker, but you first need to find them. The search function will become your best friend at this point and by the time you get a hang of the rest of the app, you’ll be a power searcher.

Its strong features when it comes to managing tasks, resources, and issues make it an ideal tool for project managers, but other team members might not enjoy using the app as much besides the handy chat feature which can help members of an organization get in touch with each other in real-time.

International users get users to 17 languages like Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Chinese, or Spanish.

One of the advantages that Zoho Projects has is the seamless integration with their other tools including Zoho CRM and Zoho People along with a few other third-party tools like Google Tasks and Box.

Pricing

There are 4 Zoho Projects pricing plans to choose from:

• Standard: $18month for 6 users. This plan was created to give small teams the opportunity to manage their projects and do time tracking but the tool remains much too complex for companies that are just getting started.
• Express $50/month for 15 users. Basic features + Gantt Charts and timesheet approval.
• Premium $100/month for 20 users. Probably your best choice if you do decide to opt for this tool (again, only for larger companies) as it will give you just the right features to do your work while managing a big team. Work - Planned vs Actual and Resource Utilization chart to name just two.
• Enterprise $150/month for 25 users. Only an option if you need one of the most advanced Gantt Charts ever. Users are actually complaining about its complexity.

To see a complete list of features you get and clarify the total cost according to your number of team members, check out the pricing list. Yearly discounts are available.

10-day Premium trial available. For non-profits or student discounts, reach out to their support team as there’s no universal discount for these categories. Refunds apply.

How To Get Started

Upon sign-up you’ll get access to a intro video into the tool which comes in handy for first-time users. Otherwise, the tool is fairly difficult to get accustomed to, especially if you’ve been using an entirely different project management app before. To save you from aimlessly clicking throughout the tool, head to the Learning Center for lots of helpful guides to using each feature. They have a community too, where you can get in touch with other users for their best tips and you can always reach out to their customer support team.

Since the tool is table-based, you can import new data from a spreadsheet, Microsoft Project project, or Trello board. The premium Data Uploader add-on lets you bring in data from your own ERP, CRM, or database. You can also choose from multiple pre-made templates to get started.

How Easy Is It to Use

I’ll be honest and tell you that Smartsheet is probably one of the hardest tools on this list to get accustomed to using. Especially if you’re not a spreadsheet user. Instead of projects, you’ve got sheets. I highly recommend you get this project tracking template (or a similar one) before you get started to lower the time you’d spend on setting everything up. UI-wise, I’d place Smartsheet above Zoho but slightly below Airtable which brings in a pop of color to your tables.

For these reasons, Smartsheet remains a tool for larger organizations that will probably only come in handy for managers who handle multiple databases (similar to Airtable) and even collect data through custom Smartsheet forms. Stakeholder communication is made easy through multiple sharing options even when sending access to someone outside of your organization. The resource management feature is quite decent (and similar to MS Project if you ask me), allowing managers to see over and under allocated team members, of course, all from a spreadsheet. All allocations can be adjusted from the same table.

The tool integrates with third-party apps like Okta, Salesforce, SAP, Box, or Slack.

Smartsheet probably has the most language options international users can choose from from French, Spanish, and German to Arabic and even Irish.

Pricing

Smartsheet offers 4 pricing plans:

• Individual ($14/month billed annually): This plan was created for a single user to get access to Smartsheet features like automated workflows and collaborating with external stakeholders.
• Business ($25/user/month billed annually): This is their first plan dedicated to groups and teams, coming with dashboards, activity streams, reporting, and user management options.
• Enterprise (custom cost): Probably your safest bet as an enterprise looking to use this tool. Just keep in mind you’ll have to pay extra for some features like professional support or add-ons with Salesforce and Jira.
• Premium (custom cost): Pretty much the same as the Enterprise plan but you get Premium support and app integrations + you won’t have to pay for certain extra features like in the Enterprise option.

Check their full pricing. You can get a discount if you represent a nonprofit. Smartsheet currently has one of the longest trials available standing at 30 days. Refunds don’t apply unless otherwise specified.

How To Get Started

Once you sign up you’ll be prompted to choose your primary use for Bitrix24. Then you’ll be guided through a step-by-step onboarding process to get used to the interface and invite other team members.

You can opt to receive regular training materials when you sign up, so keep an eye for the small box you need to tick. New data can only be imported within the CRM from a spreadsheet or vCard, Outlook, GMail, Yahoo!Mail records. There are no predefined templates to choose from, but you’ll get a few tasks to introduce you into the tool.

How Easy Is It to Use

Setting up your business and having just a few team members? You can definitely get the tool for cheap and use it as a website and landing page builder in addition to the CRM and project management features. Due to its complexity, the tool remains difficult to get used to and it certainly doesn’t have the friendliest interface which many users describe as “clunky”.

Honestly, Bitrix24 is a tool for the “business owner”. Create your website, open an online shop, send invoices and even email campaigns, and handle all your clients and leads. All this and more in one tool. Regular users will probably find it tedious to use as there are no fun features for them.

Bitrix24 supports languages like English, Turkish, Chinese traditional, Chinese Simplified, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, Polish, and Japanese.

The project management software integrates with other apps like SendPulse, Zapier, and RingCentral.

Pricing

Bitrix24 offers 6 pricing plans for the cloud tool. Discounts are available depending on the length of the contract. Here are the prices for 1-year plans:

• Free (up to 12 users): This plan gives small teams access to basic task management, team communication, and CRM features.
• Start+ ($19/month for 2 users): Includes a CRM and the Websites feature so you can start a business.
• CRM+ ($55/month for 6 users): Similar to the previous one, this plan includes some CRM marketing features that will allow you to send out campaigns and build customer segments.
• Project+ ($55/month for 24 users): This plan has limited CRM options, thus the price which is the same as for the CRM+ plan but for more users.
• ($79/month for 50 users): Access to all features at an Advanced level. This is a better option than the simple Project+ plan if you want strong CRM features in addition to the task management and collaboration ones.
• ($159/month for unlimited users): Access to all features at a Pro level.

Their on-premise version starts from $1,490.

Check their full pricing. Partial refunds apply.

How To Get Started

The onboarding process is not the best. Because there really isn’t one. However, upon sign up you’ll get a preexisting project model you can test out a bit before adding your own data. This project is created as a step-by-step guide to using the task management feature.

No other existing templates can be used. Importing is limited to documents you can bring in from Word, RoboHelp, or a PDF file.

How Easy Is It to Use

ProProfs Project doesn’t necessarily have a steep learning curve, but the UI of the workspace could definitely use a revamp in order for regular users to actually enjoy using it. I wouldn’t really categorize ProProfs Project as being a must-have for a specific industry. Rather it’s the tool you could use when starting out a team or project. However, as your business grows you might need to switch to a different tool that can provide a better collaborative environment for your team, stronger reporting, resource scheduling, and maybe even industry-specific features like issue tracking or file versioning for design files.

Compared to other tools like Paymo or ActiveCollab that reunite all project-related features in one unified workspace, ProProfs isn’t that complex and thus is a bit less cluttered. Of course, this means there aren’t as many options and filters to choose from, which again supports my claim that it’s much better suited for teams looking for basic features.

Integrations are not the strongest part of ProProfs despite the many tools the company offers including live chat, quiz and survey building, and a help desk.

This PM tool is available in other languages such as French, German, Spanish, and Italian.

Pricing

ProProfs Project offers 4 plans you can choose from after your 15 days of trial:

• Free (up to 10 users): Perfect for individuals or small teams dealing with a maximum of 3
• Solopreneur ($19/month unlimited users): Maximum 10 projects.
• Team ($49/month unlimited users): Maximum 50 projects.
• Unlimited ($199/month unlimited users): Unlimited projects. A good choice for large agencies and organizations.

All projects include ProProfs Project’s features but you’re limited in terms of number of projects, branding, and integrations.

Check their full pricing. No refunds.

How To Get Started

There’s a really quick overview video to welcome you to the tool when you get started, and a help centre with tutorials, troubleshooting guides and general ‘get started’ information.

It’s all self-directed, but if you still need help you can submit a ticket request and someone will get back to you. Importing existing project data from another tool can only be done via a spreadsheet. When creating a new project (known as workspace in Redbooth) you can choose from their own templates for inspiration or create yours.

How Easy Is It to Use

Very easy. The only issue I’ve had was having to click the Save button after changing a task’s name. Otherwise, the tool is very intuitive to use, even more so if you’re already accustomed to other similar format software like Paymo or Asana.

I enjoyed testing their Redbooth Predict™ feature (available to some extent with all plans). Once you have enough data, this smart AI-based tool will give you suggestions related to what due date is best for a task or who should be assigned to the task. Another reason why regular users might enjoy this tool is the clear Dashboard. The focus here is mainly on each individual’s tasks so you won’t get distracted by what your teammates need to take care of or changing priorities on different teams.

This project management tool is available in English, French, German, and Spanish.

Redbooth has a few integrations you can work with (Box, TestLodge, Evernote, etc.) but the list is far from being a comprehensive one.

Pricing

Redbooth offers 4 plans you can choose from after a 14-day trial:

• Free (for up to 2 users): The free way for you to use Redbooth’s basic task management, basic Gantt Chart, and even collaboration features as an individual user or duo.
• Pro ($12/user/month with no user limit): Task management + time tracking for small teams that are just crafting the future of their projects. This plan should be enough for any small to medium team even as it offers all of their Gantt Charts functionalities and you even get access to their video meetings. Perfect for remote teams too.
• Business ($18.75/user/month with no user limit): Extra space, assignable subtasks, trend reports, and integrations with Microsoft OneDrive for Business, Okta, and OneLogin.
• Enterprise (contact for price): 500GB of file storage space, phone support, and free training. It’s really a plan for very large teams as there are no real bonus features you can take advantage of.

Consult the full pricing list here. Annual discounts available.

You can get a 25% discount if you represent non-profits or educational institutions or are a teacher or student. Groups of minimum 3 students can get a 50% discount. No refunds though.

How To Get Started

Onboarding will take you through a step-by-step process to get accustomed to the interface. The customer support can help you with the tool from Monday to Friday. Otherwise, stick to using their learning resources and training videos to become a pro user of each feature.

Data can be imported from a spreadsheet or MS Project but there are no available templates to test out the tool on.

How Easy Is It to Use

Due to its complexity, LiquidPlanner will definitely take a bit longer to get used to. This app in particular is unlike most other project management tools. It doesn’t exactly have a task list, but is not a spreadsheet either. Instead, all tasks, projects, events, and templates are sorted in one big list of cascading items. To rescue the regular users, they have access to a to-do list page where they will only see the tasks they’re in charge of. I guess the best advice when using LiquidPlanner would be not to panic if something looks complicated because there are much simpler alternatives to organizing your work.

Organizing your files here can pose problems as there’s no individual module for storing your images and docs. You just add them to individual tasks. The search function and its handy filters will help you find them faster.

Only available in English. Supported integrations are very few and include Zapier and Dropbox.

Pricing

After the 14-day trial, choose from 2 plans available with this project management tool:

• Professional ($45/user/month with an annual contract): The LiquidPlanner option for smaller teams handling multiple projects.
• Enterprise (contact for price): Increased security for large organizations.

Here’s a detailed look at their pricing. Discounts and special packages apply to education providers. No refunds available.

How To Get Started

The set up process will have you choose an existing project template. Onboarding is otherwise limited so you’ll have to go through their entire help page or reach out to customer support for extra help. For certain features, you’ll get a video pop-up upon first use. You’ll get occasional emails guiding you to change your settings or customize your workspace. Projects can be imported from Basecamp or MS Project.

How Easy Is It to Use

ActiveCollab used to have a very outdated look but they’ve recently updated their interface which was dragging them down in comparison with their competition. This makes it much more enjoyable to use for regular users and a top choice for project managers as well.

While missing project portfolios can keep larger teams from accurately getting a look at all projects, ActiveCollab has strong task management features complete with Kanban boards and Gantt Charts. You might already be accustomed to using these since they have a similar to set up to the views in other project management tools.

Reports can be created for all types of work in addition to tracking expenses and sending out invoices and estimates to get paid for your work. The time management and workload management (this is their resource scheduler) make it easy for managers to supervise work and reassign tasks when employees are overbooked. Just add in some data first before trying the tool. Otherwise, it could take you longer to get accustomed to using features like the report builder when the learning curve for ActiveCollab is in fact fast.

The tool’s available in multiple languages you can choose from the start including French, Hungarian, Chinese, and Spanish. You can integrate ActiveCollab with 3rd-party tools like Xero, Slack, or Stripe. Not too many options though.

Pricing

After the 14-day trial, you’ve got one pricing option + an extra bundle:

All task management, client communication, and team collaboration features for $7 + $4 if you’re a larger team that needs features like profitability, workload management, invoicing, and online payments. Have a look at the complete pricing.

Along with annual discounts, a 50% discount is available for educational institutions and non-profit organizations. No refunds.

How To Get Started

There’s a large support portal online, and from within the app itself, there is contextual help based on where you are. You can ask for a guided 15-minute demo tour. Choose the date and time, and the next available account manager will hop online to show you around.

If you’d rather learn by doing, there’s a trial site filled with demo data so you can play without accidentally billing one of your clients. There are no ready-made templates for you to start from but you can definitely test the tool’s multiple demo projects. You can also import data from a CSV, .XLS, or.XLSX file.

How Easy Is It to Use

This is one of those project management tools that may appear overwhelming to use at first. Particularly for regular users who don’t always need its multitude of filters and settings. Luckily, your employees can be well off just by hanging in the Tasks module where they’ll keep track of everything they’re in charge of. Plus, the search function will help you find anything in a matter of seconds.

Managers on the other hand will see Scoro as an all-rounder: project planning, timesheets, team planner, budgeting, and even detailed reporting complete with demo samples to give you an overlook from the start. A Gantt Chart features would add a plus to the suite though.

In the Scoro Marketplace you’ll get access to multiple integrations with 3rd-party tools like Mailchimp, PayPal, Zapier, GitHub, Evernote, or Dropbox. Or you can create your own integration using the API.

For other languages, you can opt for others like Russian or Finnish along with English.

Pricing

Podio offers 4 plans:

Scoro’s features mean it places itself in the very expensive bracket for project management software tools. They have a fairly complicated pricing system so make sure you check out their pricing page in great detail before picking one. The cheapest, Essential plan, starts at $26/user/month. There are separate hubs (feature packages) to suit your specific needs: Work (from $37/user/month for creative and professional services teams), Sales (from $37/user/month for teams looking to manage sales), and Business (from $61/user/month).

Onboarding for all these plans starts at $899 or you can get free self-onboarding for free for teams of up to 9 people.

Better head to their pricing page to clarify which plan is right for you according to your needs and team size.

14-day trial. Discounts apply for annual payments. No refunds available.

How To Get Started

The biggest issue with Freedcamp is that there’s no onboarding process to take you through the app or at least present the workspace’s elements. Your only choice is to turn to their knowledge base, YouTube channel, or customer support to save some time.

The project setup process though is clear and will help you start work without an entirely blank canvas. No ready-made project templates though but you can import data from an XLS file.

How Easy Is It to Use

The tool is surprisingly easier to use than it might seem at first but a lack of onboarding materials makes for one of the slowest learning curves in the industry despite the friendly UI. I particularly enjoyed their drag-and-drop function which made creating and editing tasks a breeze.

As for the target users of Freedcamp, I’d say it works just as well for both managers and team members. Employees can easily get accustomed to the task management interface and create bookmarks (shortcuts) or just use the advanced search function in case they ever get lost. Learning how to use the tool will take a bit longer for managers though. Why? Well, you’ve technically got 2 different interfaces to work with. One with your Dashboard, projects, all tasks, reports, and other widgets. And another workspace for each project. This is where you’ll find options like discussions, file management, calendar, and even an issue tracker for a specific project.

Freedcamp only integrates with Zapier, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox, but you can use their API to create yours.

The tool is conveniently offered in languages such as German, Russian, Greek, and Hebrew with other upcoming ones planned out too.

Pricing

After the 14-day trial, you can choose from 4 plans which are considerably cheaper than most other options:

• Free: Includes all of Freedcamp’s core apps for task management, file organization, and collaboration.
• Minimalist ($2.49/user/month): A cheap option if you’re looking to integrate the tool with Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox (although you might not need this since you get unlimited storage anyway) and have subtasks and recurring tasks/events.
• Business ($8.99/user/month): This is the first plan that’s better suited for teams since you get reporting capabilities and data snapshots.
• Enterprise ($16.99/user/month billed annually): Everything in the Business plan + your typical security features for large organizations.

See the full pricing list here. Annual discounts available.

Free Minimalist plans (for less than 30 monthly active users) and other discounts apply to nonprofits and schools. Refunds only apply in case of major bugs in their project management system.

How To Get Started

WorkflowMax has one of the most complex educational programs as you’re basically forced to learn how to use it. So all learning materials are presented to you at the very beginning through 7 complete steps. I guess it’s a good way of making sure users won’t complain about a steep learning curve.

To actually start using the tool you’ll first need to activate your account from the very first email you get from them. At this point, you’ll get a second “onboarding” process that will take you through the interface of this PM software. You can opt to get “demo data” so you won’t start with a blank workspace. And of course, you’ll get another video pop-up in case you missed the previous ones.

Any data can be imported from a CSV file. Only two ready-made templates are available for you to start working on projects (called jobs in WorkflowMax).

How Easy Is It to Use

So we’ve had tools that seemed hard to use but turned out to be easy to implement, and now we have WorkflowMax. Despite all learning materials, the outdated UI makes it difficult to find certain features and especially settings which are all cluttered in an interface that honestly looks like a slightly edited Google Docs.

All design aspects aside (and not to mention it’s not really a tool regular users will love getting back to each day), WorkflowMax is a quite powerful option if reporting is vital to you. You’ve got dozens of printable reporting options although they are not customizable or shareable. Plus, it can help you get paid by creating quotes and invoices.

Its strongest capabilities, and the only reason you want to go with this option, besides the fact that you might already be a Xero user, lie in the CRM. Although not the best on the market, it can help you keep track of your leads, clients, suppliers, and purchases along with all related financial aspects.

Team collaboration is limited to email exchanges but you can send status updates to your stakeholders complete with an audit trail.

Only available in English. The tool obviously integrates with Xero (since they were acquired by Xero) along with other add-ons like Zendesk, SuiteFiles, or Deputy.

Pricing

14-day trial available with the possibility to opt for a $15/month plan for one user. The plan works as a CRM module to help small and medium businesses handle their projects, clients, and leads.

When creating a WorkflowMax account you’re technically getting a Xero account so WorkflowMax is just an add-on to Xero.

No refunds or discounts. Check the full pricing details here.

How To Get Started

When you sign up, you’ll be sent an email to activate your account and be guided through the process of setting up your account, inviting team members, setting up integrations, and even importing projects from other apps.

If you get stuck, support is available 24/7 and there’s a knowledge base with tutorials, a demo page, and a YouTube channel. When setting up your first project you can choose from multiple templates and even import data from other PM tools like Trello and Jira, or from a CSV file.

How Easy Is It to Use

ClickUp is one of those PM apps that could seem easy to use at first but will in reality require a bit of extra training. Mainly due to its cluttered interface. But that’s a normal thing with complex apps.

From a manager’s point of view, choosing ClickUp can seem like a complete package since they provide project portfolios and advanced task management features. The resource scheduler and reporting tools are yet to be further developed though, but smaller teams could do with them at their current stage too.

Users, on the other hand, will enjoy ClickUp’s customizability and emojis to add the fun factor to their daily task management habits. There’s an offline mode you can use to work from anywhere and even turn off your wi-fi every now and then to focus on the duties at hand. Guests have special roles in this app as they can view, comment, edit, or get complete access to a task they’re assigned to.

From the moment you create your first project, there are multiple integrations you can choose to work with including time tracking tools like Harvest, communication software like Slack, or must-have file storage solutions such as Box. This project management platform is currently only available in English but they’re taking suggestions for future language updates.

Pricing

There are 4 plans you can choose from to use ClickUp:

• Free: It gives you access to the basic features, 100MB for storage, and unlimited tasks and users. No guests and permissions included here though.
• Unlimited ($9/month/user): Free features along with goals, portfolios, unlimited storage, reporting, and integrations. This is a great plan to get started and still have access to tons of features.
• Business ($19/month/user): Besides the extra guests, improved security, and Workload feature, this plan is similar to the Unlimited one in terms of core project management features.
• Enterprise (custom cost): The same as the Business plan but you’ll get attention and support during onboarding and as you use the tool along with Single Sign-On, increased API limits, contract review and HIPAA, and advanced permissions.

Annual discounts apply. You can get a refund within 30 days if you’re not happy with the tool. Universities and NGOs also get access to a discount if you inquire. Head over to their project management tool’s pricing page for all details.

How To Get Started

Upon signing up you’ll be presented with a video to take you through the entire app. This “tutorial” is a perfect introduction into the tool so you won’t feel totally unfamiliar with the interface. You can always reach out to the support team in case of further issues.

Data can be imported from spreadsheets. You can convert client requests (done via project intake forms) into new projects.

How Easy Is It to Use

When it comes to usability, Easy Projects looks like it would be difficult to get used to but it’s actually pretty intuitive. The task management features in particular don’t take much time to get accustomed to. Even for regular users who have full access over their calendar so they can request a vacation, travel day, or simply a leave of absence themselves.

This project management tool is ideal for managers who are looking to keep a close eye on all activities until project delivery, create strong reports, and even get paid. The saved views you create are a quick way for you to create shortcuts to the tool modules you use most often. You’ll also get a few samples of these views from the moment you sign up for inspiration.

Guests are a solid part of the tool as they can submit project requests via forms you send them and they have access to a guest portal as well.

The app integrates with other tools like Zapier, Zendesk, or Toggl to replace the missing time tracker.

Besides English, Easy Projects can be used in other languages such as French, German, and Polish.

Pricing

There are 2 plans you can choose from after the 15-day trial:

• Business ($24/user/month billed annually): All features needed by small and medium teams. Storage space is only 50GB though.
• Enterprise (custom cost): Everything in the Business plan + advanced security and Gantt Charts.

At an extra cost, you can get more security features and options such as flexible rate cards and billing reports. To see if these match your needs, go to their pricing page.

Volume and term discounts are available. No refunds.

How To Get Started

The set-up process will take you through setting up your first Trello board. So when you start using the tool you’ll already have data to work with. On-screen cues will guide you to personalize your workspace.

The only ways in which you can import card data into Trello are via Zapier or spreadsheets. For some inspiration and Trello board templates, they have hundreds of community-created boards to choose from.

How Easy Is It to Use

By far one of the easiest tools to use on this list. This is of course due to its few features which are all centered around task and collaboration management. Trello ultimately remains a tool for regular users whether you want to use its boards for personal task organization, for small business projects, or schoolwork.

There’s plenty of power-ups (these are their integrations) you can opt to add to your boards including maps, voting, checklists, and a bunch of third-party tools like Typeform or Evernote. So for missing time tracking and resource scheduling features (project management tools Paymo or Monday include these) you can definitely add a power-up.

Lots of languages to choose from (which is great considering the tool is also aimed at students of all ages) including: French, German, Spanish, Chinese, and Italian.

Pricing

There are 3 plans you can choose from and there’s no trial since the paid plans are just giving your extra space, power-ups, and support:

• Free: All of Trello’s task management and collaboration features including unlimited personal boards, cards, and lists.
• Business Class ($12.50/user/month): Includes unlimited team boards and power-ups + extra security options so it’s the best option for agencies or small and medium teams.
• Enterprise ($20.83/user/month for 20 users and above): Very much like the Business Class plan but you’ll get stronger security and organization-wide permission levels.

For extra features and power-ups you get access for free to Trello Gold for 1 year and pay $5/month after your first year.

Check the complete pricing here. Annual discounts apply. Other discounts are available for education providers and non-profits. Refunds are available.

How To Get Started

Signing up gives you the opportunity to choose from a series of templates from the start. All templates are tailored to your department and needs. You’ll get an introductory email and a private template designed as an onboarding process to help you understand how the tool works. For extra help, there’s their help page that’s just as emoji-friendly as the rest of the app.

Importing data is strong in Notion as you can bring in your current data from Asana, Evernote, and Trello or even from a CSV, XLS, DOC, TXT, or MARKDOWN file.

How Easy Is It to Use

If you’re a fan of Kanban boards, you’ll probably go for Trello. If you live and breathe checklists, Notion is the better option. Plus, emoji fans will enjoy the super fun lists they can create for anything from simple tasks, to meeting notes, roadmaps, and checklists. Thanks to its simplicity and lack of extra features besides what you need for task management, it will also take you roughly 5 minutes to get the hang of the tool and probably less than an 1 hour to become a pro user.

But as in Trello’s case, Notion remains a project management tool (or rather productivity software) for regular users and individuals and not so much for small businesses. Not for managers. The collaboration options are limited to real-time comments and user permissions along with your regular email, desktop, or mobile notifications.

The tool’s only available in English but you can technically write all your task lists and notes in a different language so there’s not really a purpose for other languages.

Notion integrations are not currently available but custom integrations and integration workflows are in plan with tools like Asana, Slack, or Trello.

Pricing

Choose from 4 plans that offer the same features but with different limitations as follows:

• Free: All of the Notion task management and collaboration features limited to 1,000 blocks and 5MB which is definitely too little for teams or agencies.
• Personal ($5/month): This plan is created for individual users so the collaboration aspect is limited and you only get 30 days of version history on your Notion pages.
• Team ($10/user/month): The plan for teams. Includes collaboration but is limited by the 30 days of version history.
• Enterprise (custom cost): You get unlimited everything + security options but the tool is not really made for large organizations due to its few features.

See the complete pricing. Annual discounts apply. The Personal plans are free for students and teachers. Refunds are available.

How To Get Started

The onboarding process will take you through setting up your first project and all of its steps. This way you’ll quickly get accustomed to using the workspace. At least the project view. You’ll have to choose between a series of predefined workflows depending on your type of team. Consider these as their project templates.

Another fun thing I liked is that when you want to create a new report (for costs, hours/project, people allocation, etc.) you first see an example, so you’ll know what to expect. No external data import option though.

How Easy Is It to Use

Getting used to Runrun.it as a regular use is easy. However, you’ll need a bit of time and project activity in order to use their smart features efficiently. Once you move your cards through multiple board columns, the tool automatically calculates delivery dates by taking into account your other priorities. Simultaneously, it calculates for how long a task stays in one stage so you can identify the steps that are causing bottlenecks in your workflow. Their Predictive Burnup® chart can be used for smart estimates of future project deadlines.

Although the tool strongly relies on Kanban boards, a Gantt Charts view is available via reports. You can view the tasks you’re in charge of or responsible for in a task list format too (see the Tasks, Teams, and Me module). Finally, collaborating is non-complicated here as communication is done in real-time on individual tasks, via the common Bulletin board at a company level, and through face-to-face meetings.

The tool’s only available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Integrations are limited to what you can do using Zapier or via the API.

Pricing

After the 14-day trial you’ll be able to choose from 2 plans to use this project management tool:

• Free: For small teams of up to 5 users.
• Corporate (starting at $10/user/month for minimum 5 users): Includes all of Runrun.it features like managing tasks, creating reports, and collaborating (except for face-to-face meetings).
• Enterprise ($49/user/month): Everything that comes with the Corporate plan but you’re paying considerably more money for some extra security options, face-to-face meetings, and an activity log. Additional fees apply for the security features.

Check the complete list of prices to get your final cost based on the number of members of your team. Annual and volume discounts apply. No refunds unless required by law like in Europe.

How To Get Started

During onboarding, you’ll set up your company’s teams. A pop-up video will get you accustomed to the workspace before you create your first project. For extra help on getting started, turn to their help center or support team.

There’s no import function and no project templates to match your exact needs. However, your workspace comes with a demo template for each team type you’ve added into the system. This way you’ll be able to get the hang of the tool without actually starting work in it.

How Easy Is It to Use

Flow’s workspaces are easy to get familiar with. Plus, they accommodate a regular user’s needs for displaying tasks in a to-do list format or as a Kanban board. But really that’s it: a task management tool with collaboration resuming to comments and workgroups.

Their best, but not excellent, feature for managers remains the Workload. This allows you to do just what it’s name says: view a team’s workload in a calendar or list view. It can only be used to get a general look at what your team is working on but there’s no way to see who’s overbooked based on the number of hours they’re putting in. There are no project portfolios and no Gantt Charts (except for their basic Timelines) like you’d find with other tools such as Paymo or ClickUp. Reporting is also limited to exporting your tasks (if you can call that reporting…) All in all, not a tool for the project manager.

This project management tool integrates with apps like Box, Slack, or Harvest for time tracking. Flow is only available in English.

Pricing

At the end of your 30 free days of trial you’ll get to choose from 2 plans:

• Starter ($7.50/user/month): To get work started with unlimited teams, projects, and tasks.
• Pro ($14.95/user/month): The only reasons you’d opt for this plan instead are because you get the resource management options here (although you could try them out in the trial too) along with the project timelines which work in a similar way to basic Gantt Charts without dependencies or other specifics.

Check the full list of prices. Annual discounts apply along with a special discount you can inquire about if you’re a non-profit. No refunds.

How To Get Started

To sign up for the 10-day trial (definitely not enough if you want to test it together with your team), you first have to request the trial. The onboarding process in Mavenlink is quite simple. Upon sign up, you’ll be guided to build your first project and invite other teammates.

24/7 support is available and you can access their help center or training courses too.

Projects and tasks can be imported via templates created in a CSV file. No ready-made templates.

How Easy Is It to Use

Mavenlink is a tool for managers. Other team members will find the interface tough to get used to and certainly not fun. Their strong asset relies on permission levels and reporting options, both of which are a great add-on for admins. But this is not a perfect tool for project managers either due to its missing risk management features and due date alerts.

Reporting can really be useless if you can’t even get a reminder when a deadline is approaching. I’ve had to always refresh the tab to see my last changes so I rest my case that this might not be the best option considering its costs.

For Mavenlink integrations with tools like Slack, Jira, or Salesforce, you’ll need to pay an extra fee. But they do have a solid integrations management platform called M-Bridge that you can use to create your own add-ons via their API.

Available Only in English.

Pricing

With Mavenlink, choose from 5 plans but keep in mind you have to buy them on an annual contract only:

• Free: This plan is hidden so use this link to create one. The first 10 days you’ll get the trial with more features and then the plan will just be downgraded.
• Teams ($19/user/month): For up to 5 users to get started with basic collaboration and task management.
• Professional ($39/user/month): Includes time tracking but there are no project portfolios or resource scheduling options in this plan although it’s quite expensive.
• Premier (cost upon request): This is the plan you’re looking for at an enterprise level if you need resource planning and portfolios.
• Enterprise (cost upon request): This is the only plan you can opt for if you need advanced reporting. Only 1TB for file storage so you might have to store them separately.

Have a look at their full list of prices. Non-profit discounts apply. No info related to refunds is available so feel free to ask them nicely.

How To Get Started

To begin using Azendoo you’ll need to first create a project with a few tasks. No real onboarding process here besides an intro video you’ll find on the left side of the workspace. There’s a learning center with ebooks for beginners too. Definitely a better choice than their help page - which is one of the worst for the project management tools on this list.

Data can only be imported from Trello and Evernote. No project templates to choose from.

How Easy Is It to Use

Azendoo is very much a hybrid. Think Slack comes together with Facebook and a to-do list, if that makes sense. Easy to use nevertheless, no doubt about that. Fun fact: the Activity stream looks a lot like Facebook’s wall.

So briefly put, the tool is super user-friendly and does its job for task management (tracking time included) and collaboration which includes direct messaging so you can technically replace Slack. Apart from this though, Azendoo doesn’t really excel at anything. Compared to other PM tools like Paymo or Scoro, there’s no resource scheduling, no invoicing, not even a solid reporting tool for managers besides basic time reports.

You’ve got though quite a few integrations to choose from including Typeform, Mailchimp, and Workable but none really replace the missing features despite making the tool more suitable for certain teams like recruitment or marketing.

Azendoo is available in multiple languages like Spanish, French, or German.

Pricing

14-days trial with a possibility to choose from 3 Azendoo plans:

• Teams (€6.67/user/month): Basic features for small teams but you do get unlimited boards and projects along with the Project Timeline view.
• Business (€15.00/user/month): Unlimited guests and workspaces. This is the first plan that includes time tracking.
• Enterprise (€24.17/user/month): Just some extra security features, invoice billing, and unlimited storage.

Have a look at the full plans. You can get a discount for yearly payments. Students can use the tool for free for 1 year. For other special discounts, non-profit organizations and school representatives can send in an inquiry. No refunds available.

How To Get Started

During onboarding you’ll select the exact features you need for your projects and create your first project. Quite a few pre-existing project templates to choose from here. At this point you can already import data from a CSV file.

Then you’ll be taken to an intro video so you can get accustomed to the tool. Fun (or scary) fact: They have a set of videos customized for certain names and they might mention yours too. 🤯 You’ll also get extra videos on the side to continue the learning process.

How Easy Is It to Use

The tool is fairly easy to use, yes, that includes the Gantt Chart. Plus, there are lots of filters and personalization options including ones you might have never thought you needed. Like changing the font size of your views.

The only issue you might have (and I accidentally stumbled upon too) as some current users pointed out is that since there’s no Undo option if you randomly click on the chart or make a wrong move, your dependencies will instantly be derailed. So you have to fix everything manually. But this is really the case for any Gantt Chart with no Undo option.

Overall? A tool for anyone who’s looking to get a full-featured Gantt Chart option. For managers really, but not difficult (and not so fun either) to use for regular team members.

The tool’s interface is only available in English. TeamGantt integrates with very few tools since they already have many features. These third-party apps include Slack and Trello along with their own API.

Pricing

3 pricing plans are available with TeamGantt:

• Free: Need Gantt Charts for a single project? The free plan will do for a team of 3 people.
• Standard team ($49.75/month for up to 5 members): Unlimited projects for starter teams.
• Advanced team ($74.75/month for up to 5 members): Large team or enterprise? This is the only plan that includes reporting and time tracking.

There’s a 14-day trial for the Standard and Advanced plans. Check the full pricing to see the exact costs according to your team’s size. No refunds. Along with yearly discounts, teachers can request a free plan.

How To Get Started

Onboarding is limited to setting up your account so here’s their help center to learn beforehand. No predefined templates to work with either but you can import data from XLS files.

Get a demo by all means before you decide to purchase a subscription for this PM tool so you can clearly see how your workflow fits in here.

How Easy Is It to Use

Even without a strong onboarding process, learning to use the tool is easy. Especially if you’re already familiar with similar tools. Of course, you don’t get any fun elements like the llama farm in Monday.com or unicorns in Asana, but the tool helps you get your job done without worrying your changes weren’t saved. Plus, it has everything a freelancer needs to ensure they’ll get paid fairly.

As for Agile team managers, you might want to look at the higher priced plan if that suits your budget. This is the only way for you to get access to the Planner which shows you all tasks your team members are working on and helps you assign new tasks and stories. Advanced budget management, timesheets, and approvals are a part of this plan, but if you can do with reporting only (which is likely not the case) the Pro plan will do.

Nutcache can be integrated with tools you’re already using to take care of your work like PayPal, Slack, or GitHub. Not too many options though.

This project management tool is currently available in English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Pricing

After the Pro trial, choose from 3 pricing plans:

• Freelancer ($8.95/month for 1 user only): Includes time tracking and unlimited invoices/estimates/projects so you can fully control your business.
• Pro ($6/user/month): On top of the benefits for freelancers, you have project templates and reports so managers can monitor work and spot bottlenecks.
• Enterprise ($12/user/month): Team management and the Agile planner for your stories is only available with this top tier plan.

Check the full pricing. Refunds only applicable where required by law. When you sign up for a yearly plan you get 3 free months.

How To Get Started

No onboarding or project set-up process. Just an intro video after which you can book your demo since you might need it. Or just turn to their support page or team.

If you go to your projects you’ll find a demo which will help you get used to the interface a bit. No ready-made project templates to choose from. Existing data can be imported from Asana, Basecamp, or a CSV file.

How Easy Is It to Use

ProofHub won’t take too long to get accustomed to. The slow interface and small bugs that had me refresh the page several times to see my tasks though turn ProofHub into a project management tool that doesn’t really excel at usability. So, yeah, in case you click on a task and get nothing in return, hit that refresh button. 😐

This project management tool is ideal for managers who are looking to keep a close eye on all activities until project delivery, create strong reports, and even get paid. The saved views you create are a quick way for you to create shortcuts to the tool modules you use most often. You’ll also get a few samples of these views from the moment you sign up for inspiration.

ProofHub remains a tool for regular users (if they can cope with the bugs). Collaboration features are decent with all announcements, topics, and one-on-one messages and they have a proofing feature that’s perfect for design teams. As for managers, you’ll have to do with basic reporting and Gantt Charts.

Integrations are another not-so-strong part of ProofHub as you can only add a few tools like Box, Freshbooks, or iCal. Along with English, the tool is available in German, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, and French.

Pricing

There are 2 plans you can choose from with no per user fees (so the pricing works in the favour of larger teams):

• Essential ($50/month billed monthly): Unlimited users and core features but only 14GB storage which is by far not enough for design or advertising agencies so the file versioning feature is quite useless in this case.
• Ultimate control ($99/month billed monthly): 100GB. Still far from other tools that provide unlimited storage (Freedcamp includes this in their free plan). The extra features in this plan like project managers and managing trashed items won’t really bring in much of an impact so you’re really just going for this plan if you want unlimited projects to work on.

Have a look at their full pricing. No refunds. Discounts only for non-profits and annual payments.

How To Get Started

The onboarding process is basic with a quick project set-up process and an instructional video to teach you how to use their timeline. Or reach out to their customer support team and check out the help page which isn’t as complex since functionalities are limited in Toggl Plan.

The strongest part of this tool might be its importing. Toggl Plan boasts the ability to import your tasks from anywhere. In reality, you are limited to third-party tools like Slack, GitHub, Trello, Podio, Asana, and a few more. No project templates to choose from.

How Easy Is It to Use

The tool is very simple to use as its new design mimics Slack in terms of its menu so you’ll feel like you’re already familiar with the interface. In addition to this, the interface is bright, complete with fun colors you can use to customize your tasks.

Taking all this into account, Toggl Plan remains a tool for the regular employee. Without a doubt. The app has few features that rely on their timeline and Kanban board view, with no strong options for supervision teams or reporting.

Toggl Plan has integrations with all of the tools I’ve already mentioned you can import data from. This timeline tool is only available in English.

Pricing

14-days trial. After, you can pick from 2 plans:

• Free: For small teams of up to 5 members.
• Premium ($9/user/month): You might only want to go for the paid plan if you have a larger team and need multi-assigning on tasks or getting an annual view.

Check their full pricing. No refunds. Discounts apply for non-profits and education providers along with the 10% for annual plans.

How To Get Started

The onboarding process is pretty good as it helps you set up your first project with a couple of tasks. At this point you can opt in for Hive Messaging which helps you replace Slack and use Hive to communicate instead. The Hive Mastery bar will guide you through all steps you need to get accustomed to working with tasks in this project management solution.

The task import options are decent if you’re switching from Trello, Asana, Basecamp, or Smartsheet. Otherwise, just add in data from a CSV file. No project templates as you might know them. Instead, when you create a task you can choose from a series of templates for what I’d rather consider as subtasks (Hive calls them action cards).

How Easy Is It to Use

The tool was surprisingly easy to use. But again, it might be due to this Slack-lookalike trend tools are turning too. Their communication features are top-notch and users will definitely enjoy not having to go back and forth between Hive and Slack. Plus, you can even create new tasks with simple drag and drops or directly from the chat.

Like in Easy Projects, you can create client request forms so a task is automatically created in Hive. Hive works just as well at an enterprise level too thanks to its advanced reporting, resource scheduler, Gantt Charts, and project portfolio view. However, the tool is not as complete as they claim with missing invoicing options that would let you get paid.

The tool’s only available in English. Integrations are limited to Google Drive, Dropbox, Zapier, and Zoom though despite all add-ons you can opt for.

Pricing

The most complicated thing about Hive is its pricing.

You’ve got your base fee that’s $16/user/month and includes most collab features you might need like Hive mail, chat, and meeting notes. Features like proofing, resource scheduling, or custom analytics come with an extra cost.

For other workspace features you might want to add on, check their full pricing here to clarify your requirements. No refunds. Discounts apply for non-profits and annual plans.

How To Get Started

There’s no onboarding process, but you’ll get a few demo templates to test out this project management tool’s features. To view advanced features and get a better hold of the tool, check out their video tutorials.

Data can be imported from Trello, Asana, Wunderlist, your calendar, or using CSV files. One of their use cases is in fact as a spreadsheet software. No ready-made template though.

How Easy Is It to Use

Although the UI of Zenkit is clear (too clear if you ask me), you’ll see it hard to find certain elements. For example, I just couldn’t find the delete option for tasks so I’ll just assume you can only archive them. But what if you accidentally create one?

Moving away from this, Zenkit actually offers the most task view options I’ve seen so far. Besides your basic task list, Kanban boards, and Gantt Charts, you can also work with tables, hierarchies, mind maps, and more. And this is it really. No other features. I see Zenkit as a file management tool where you can add your tasks rather than a complete PM solution.

Zenkit is available in other languages such as Italian, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Korean.

Despite lots (too many) of missing features, they are strong on integrations so you can complete your work using other third-party apps like Box, StoryChief, ActiveCampaign, or Moosend.

Pricing

Choose from 4 plans:

• Personal (free): Can only be used for basic to-do lists or small directories of up to 500 items but you can use it with 2 other team members.
• Plus ($9/user/month): This is the first plan that includes Gantt Charts but it’s only for small teams who won’t create more than 50,000 items.
• Business ($25/user/month): This plan will bring you extra security measures along with advanced Gantt features and up to 500 workspaces so you can juggle multiple projects and keep them archived for future reference.
• Enterprise (cost upon request): Unlimited everything but doesn’t really come with extra benefits besides the unlimited workspaces.

See their full pricing. No refunds. Discounts are available for nonprofits and education providers.

How To Get Started

Upon sign up, you’ll get a couple of demo tasks that appear in the Activity board so you’ll get used to the interface and 5pm features. For extra help, contact the support team directly from the app or turn to the help page.

No other project templates to choose from. Data can be imported from Basecamp, MS Project, a CSV file, or from another 5pm account.

How Easy Is It to Use

Despite the apparently clunky interface, the tool is unexpectedly easy to use. Maybe it’s because it resembles an email inbox so much. The problem though is that 5pm doesn’t excel at any of their features. Plus, they have lots of missing features like Kanban boards, resource scheduling, issue tracking, invoicing or billing, and even fun collaboration options.

Unfortunately, there aren’t that many third-party apps to integrate 5pm with either. Only basic options like Dropbox, Slack, or Google Drive.

The tool’s available in multiple languages including French, Spanish, Korean, and more.

Pricing

5pm has a lot of plans you can opt for after your free 14 days of trial, depending on the number of users, active projects, and storage space you need. Plans start at $24/month for 5 users.

See their full pricing. No refunds. Discounts are available for nonprofits and education providers.

How To Get Started

The onboarding will take you through lots of on-screen cues that are meant to help you learn how to use their interface. You’ll get these pointers whenever you open up a new feature/section of the app.

While there are no project templates, a demo project is available but it really just has one task to guide you to their other learning materials. Definitely check that before creating your own project. Existing tasks can only be imported from CSV files.

How Easy Is It to Use

I present to you what is arguably the most cluttered interface on this list. Luckily, they make up for this huge issue with the onboarding so I wouldn’t exactly say it has a steep learning curve. Nevertheless, it’s by far not a design your team will love getting back to every day.

Plus, the missing advanced features I’ve already mentioned make it difficult to use for managers as well. While time tracking and customizable views to see only the tasks you’re reviewing can help, the tool gets a big NO due to its outdated look.

Integrations are practically nonexistent as you can only use their API for this.

This project management software is only available in English and French.

Pricing

Just like 5pm, AceProject has a lot of plans you can choose from based on your number of users, projects, and storage space. Along with the free option, paid plans start at $24/month for 10 active users.

See their full pricing. Discounts are available for non-profits.

No refunds for monthly subscriptions but a refund is available within 15 days of purchasing an annual subscription.

How To Get Started

Once you sign up, you’ll go through a quick start guide and set up your first project. No existing project templates to choose from though. I found the help page videos handy to check out before you get started. Past data you might have and want to bring into Avaza can be imported from a CSV file.

How Easy Is It to Use

I haven’t had any serious issues while testing out Avaza. The tool is full of features that can help agencies and freelancers get paid for their work while managers within large organizations will certainly find the portfolio management, Gantt Charts, resource scheduling, and reporting helpful.

Users most commonly complain about this PM tool’s speed but you’ll probably need a few months and lots of GB of data to figure that out.

The tool integrates with common tools like Stripe, GitHub, Google Docs, and even Basecamp.

Only available in English.

Pricing

Choose from 4 plans that all include Avaza’s core features. Besides the free plan, their paid options start at $9.95/month.

See their full pricing where they have a cost calculator. No refunds.

How To Get Started

The onboarding in ProWorkflow is resumed to a Welcome box with a few tutorials and an introductory video to highlight the basics of getting started in this tool. There’s an example project which I appreciate they put together since you can see how a “full” project could look like. Just a few templates you can choose from when starting a new project but they are very specific so definitely not enough for all industries. No import option.

How Easy Is It to Use

ProWorkflow has one of the most cluttered interface design I’ve seen for any tool ever. And yes, it can certainly scare a regular user and is by far not an attractive tool to work in. It was actually one of the few tools on this list I just didn’t even feel like testing.

Of course, the UI is so complex due to the tool’s variety of features. Besides the task views and limited collaboration opportunities done via comments, a team member really had nothing to do here. Instead, ProWorkflow comes in to help managers keep track of timesheets, put together reports, and manage contacts. They do have a resource scheduling feature but it’s so hard to find so check this video before you get started.

This tool for managing projects comes with just a few integrations like Box, FreshBooks, or Xero.

Only available in English.

Pricing

3 plans you can choose from but there aren’t very strong differences between them in terms of features:

• Solo ($10/user/month): Includes all task management features for 10 active projects. While this plan was created for freelancers, it doesn’t include the invoicing module.
• Professional ($20/user/month): Task and time management for small and medium teams. Includes invoicing.
• Advanced ($30/user/month): You need at least 5 users to go for this plan but you only get features like custom fields or teams editor as an extra.

All plans have limited storage space. The most you can get is 50GB with the Advanced option.

See their full pricing. No refunds. Annual 10% discounts apply.

How To Get Started

Just so you know, they ask for a credit card number when you sign up but you can skip that and still use the trial without adding in any data. Still shady...

No onboarding process or project templates to choose from when starting. Existing data can be imported from Basecamp or via a CSV file. Here’s a link to their help page for further explanations.

How Easy Is It to Use

Despite the missing onboarding, Apollo’s interface is quite straightforward and won’t pose any problems for new users. The main issues lie strictly in their missing features like resource allocation, issue tracking, or invoicing.

Besides these, members that are part of design teams will find the collaboration features and proofing handy since they eliminate back and forth email or Slack message exchange. Managers can benefit from the various types of reports they can create in literally one click, external collaborators they can bring into the system, and even Gantt Chart feature for a complete visualization of time frames.

Apollo integrations are limited to Zapier and the connections you can make via their API.

The tool’s available in lots of languages French, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, and German, including their regional variations.

Pricing

30-day trial.

Choose from as many as 6 plans. All plans provide Apollo’s core features and the difference between them is strictly regarding how many projects you can create, storage space, and number of deals, CRM users, and contacts. Plans start at $14/month for individual users and $23/month for teams.

Check the complete pricing. No refunds.

How To Get Started

The onboarding process consists of one Kanban board with a couple of steps to learn how to use the tool. No importing but there are many project templates (see workflows) you can opt for including Site Launch, Facebook Ads, or Email Marketing.

How Easy Is It to Use

To get this out of the way from the start, Brightpod has a totally different layout than other PM tools. This would technically make it very difficult to use but its lack of features, options, or filters turn Brightpod into a tool you can get used to within the first few hours of using it.

Easy usability aside, the UI of this app is not the most pleasant one. So it gets a big minus for its design along with a bunch of other cons that make it difficult to work with both for team members and managers.

Brightpod only supports integrations with Harvest, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box.

The tool’s only available in English.

Pricing

14-day trial after which you can opt for any of their 4 plans. All plans include their task management features but for time tracking and reports you’ll have to go for the Studio plan or above. Plans start at $29/month for 5 users.

Have a look at the complete pricing. Refunds available if you’re not happy with this project management tool. Discounts available for non-profits (10%) and if you buy a yearly plan (one free month to use the tool).

How To Get Started

The onboarding process is available on your main dashboard under Trial Assistant. You also get a bunch of project samples to test out the tool on. There are a couple of project templates you can choose from when creating a new project, so you can get an overall look at what your dashboard might look like. Data can be imported via CSV files.

How Easy Is It to Use

UI-wise, the design is clean enough not to be confusing for new users. Yet, I would categorize this app as a better fit for management due to its weak collaboration options that are resumed to commenting and status reports.

Despite a missing invoice creator, Celoxis comes to the aid of managers through strong reporting and a great control over team workload allocation, issues, milestones, risks, bugs, and more. Strong reporting gives them a complete look at what their teams are doing. It’s really a tool for technical teams.

Celoxis integrates with third-party apps like JIRA, Slack, Salesfroce, and Trello.

Multiple languages to choose from Arabic and Spanish to French and Italian.

Pricing

Choose from 2 straightforward plans to use depending on how you want to work with the tool:

• Cloud ($25/user/month)
• On-premise ($450/user billed once)

All plans include free clients and virtual users.

See the full pricing list here. Annual and non-profit discounts available. No refunds.

How To Get Started

After a quick onboarding and an introductory project, you’ll be able to opt for a multitude of project templates to create your first one. These are honestly some of the handiest templates I’ve seen because you can opt for boards for the Scrum framework, issue tracking, or Agile development. Projects can also be imported from Trello, Asana, or GitHub.

How Easy Is It to Use

Are you a small or medium web development or marketing team? This tool might just be for you. The Kanban boards are simple and pose no use problems for users. Task management is advanced (well, they don’t have Gantt Charts) so you can manage comments, set task relations, set tasks to repeat, and so much more. Even add code snippets to your task descriptions.

All this can be then monitored by a manager who can set estimates and milestones, manage agendas, and generate reports that are pleasing to the eye.

Disclaimer: some features like time tracking need to be activated as an add-on for each project before you’ll be able to use them.

The tool only connects with a few tools like Slack, GitHub, or Google Calendar.

Only English.

Pricing

Choose from 4 plans to use Ora after the 30-day trial:

• Free: For up to 3 users (yes, you can’t use it if you have more) but only includes basic add-ons.
• Startup ($6/user/month billed monthly): This plan can only be used by small teams of up to 8 members and includes recurring tasks and task relationships.
• Professional ($8/user/month billed monthly): Includes all of Ora’s current and future features with no user limit.
• Enterprise ($20/user/month billed monthly): Only has extra security features as a benefit.

See the full pricing list here. Annual, educational, and non-profit discounts available. No refunds.

How To Get Started

When you sign up for a trial in FunctionFox, you’re literally getting started with a demo. This means you get a pre-populated project to begin with and test out its features. You can also turn to their help page for more tutorials since the tool is so different from what you might have tested so far. No other project templates though.

How Easy Is It to Use

The UI in FunctionFox is unlike other PM apps you might be familiar with and despite testing out so many tools, I had a hard time with this one. Taking this into account, this project management system is one of the hardest to get used to. Add the fact that its many features just make it too cluttered for a regular user or a small team.

Instead, managers will surely find it handy when it comes to managing projects, tasks, teams, clients, and estimates. There’s even a separate module for CEOs (can be used by any manager/admin) where you’ll get a look at all these vital business elements.

No integrations available.

As for languages, it’s only available in English.

Pricing

Pick from 3 plans after the end of your demo trial but keep in mind that the first user comes at a costly extra price:

• Classic ($5/user/month): Includes time and budget tracking. $35/m for the first user
• Premier ($10/user/month): The first plan that includes Gantt Charts. $50/m for the first user
• In-house ($20/user/month): Advanced reporting and custom job fields. $150/m for the first user

Go to their complete pricing list here. Academic and non-profit discounts. You can request a refund too.

How To Get Started

The sign-up process is literally a breeze. You’ll also be welcomed by a pre-filled project to guide you through the interface. No other pre-existing templates to pick. Tasks can be imported from spreadsheets so you don’t start with an empty workspace.

How Easy Is It to Use

Although the UI of the tool and its task management features are on point, Breeze lacks a lot when it comes to its other features. Users frequently complain that the time tracking option is not robust enough as well as the app having a steep learning curve due to the fact that it’s so unlike other PM options you could go for. In particular, menu positioning and difficulties finding certain options.

In general, where one feature lacks, another functionality tries to save the day. For instance, while reporting can be done in one click only, managing project portfolios is almost impossible. As for time tracking, I couldn’t even find the timer but their help page and clients mention the option. It was probably an outdated feature, so we might assume you can only track time using their integrations.

Only available in English and can be integrated with Harvest for time tracking and iDoneThis for collaboration. Other integrations options available via their API or Zapier.

Pricing

Go for any of the 4 plans Breeze offers. All plans have the same features as the distinctions lie in the number of users you have on your team. Plans start at $29/month for 5 users.

How To Get Started

At first, there seemed to be no onboarding at all but you could choose from 3 sample projects. When I wanted to create my first project though, I was guided through a series of small tips for using the tool. You’ll get a demo every time you use a new feature. No pre-existing project templates. Existing data can be imported from tools like Asana or Trello.

How Easy Is It to Use

Back to cluttered interfaces. But not the extreme kind (see AceProject). Menus are everywhere. 😲 It’s manageable though due to its colorful UI so users don’t really complain about the design.

Instead, a frequent complaint is the lack of new feature updates from the Forecast team. This may be in part due to its many already existent features. If you want to imagine a day in the life of your team using Forecast, regular team members will mostly spend time in the My Tasks area. Meanwhile, managers will switch from timesheets to schedules and reports. The Schedule module works as a basic Gantt Chart replacement but is missing key attributes like task dependencies or a critical path.

Lots of integrations to choose from including tools like Xero, Slack, or GitLab.

Available in English, French, Danish, and Spanish.

Pricing

Choose from 3 plans:

• Standard ($30/user/month): Honestly, this plan will do for most teams but it includes almost all of the Forecast features.
• Premium ($49/user/month): Some security features and premium integrations.
• Enterprise (cost upon request): Another case of an enterprise plan where you only pay for the security features which, btw, you also get with the Premium plan. Can’t really see the benefit (or difference for that matter) of this plan.

Check the full pricing. No refunds. Discounts are available for yearly plans.

How To Get Started

When you start using the tool, you can choose to start with sample data (or just with an empty workspace if you don’t want to later spend time deleting everything).

You’ll be taken through a guide to the Productive features. No templates to choose from creating a new project. Company and client data can be imported from CSV files.

How Easy Is It to Use

I enjoyed seeing they had a target market for which they created specific features: salespeople. Along with the regular boards you can create for sales, there’s a specific Sales module that lets you take deals or prospects through your set sales funnel. Complete with revenue, expenses, and profitability indicators.

This focus on one niche has also made the interface a bit too complicated for first-time users. No complaints from existing users though.

The few integrations you can opt for include Jira, Xero, and Exact.

The interface is entirely in English but in-app documents can be translated into any language.

Pricing

One plan only for $15/month/user billed monthly. Easy choice.

Check out their pricing page for all details. Have a look at their terms and conditions to see if refunds apply in your case. Discounts are available for yearly plans, education providers, and non-profits.