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We rank vendors based on rigorous testing and research, but also take into account your feedback and our commercial agreements with providers. This page contains affiliate links. Advertising Disclosure
When your plate is already filled with multiple tasks, trying to find an effective way to manage them is often quite daunting. There are so many tools out there and everyone has an opinion on what works best – for them.Finding the best task management software that’s affordable and user friendly can help you create a system that works for you. Features like ready-made templates help streamline task monitoring, while time trackers and reports keep you on top of your tasks.
To help you find the best one for your specific needs, I’ve thoroughly tested all the major players in the market, and to me, the clear winner is monday.com. With great customization and ability to scale, it’s a versatile software that offers a lot of value for anyone trying to juggle too many tasks.
What We Look For in the Best Task Management Software
As I tested different project management software, I made sure to look for crucial features for task management, including:
An intuitive user interface. I looked for intuitive and user-friendly interfaces with a clean layout, easily accessible menus, and customizable options to accommodate diverse preferences. My top choices also offer a diverse set of project views to help your team manage tasks more easily.
Task organization and prioritization. I also considered whether each software offered efficient organization features, like the ability to set priorities, due dates, and tags, which play a crucial role in keeping you organized and focused.
Collaboration tools. Collaboration is vital for many teams, so I assessed how well the task management software facilitates teamwork. I sought out features like shared task lists, team member assignments, and real-time updates to ensure seamless collaboration.
Integration with other apps. The ability to integrate with other applications can significantly enhance workflow. I chose task management software that offers seamless integration with email clients, direct messaging apps, and productivity tools.
Fair pricing. I prioritized task management software that has competitive and budget-friendly pricing, ensuring your team will receive excellent value for your money. Some of my picks also offer free plans ideal for freelancers or small teams.
You can use monday.com’s automations center to help you streamline recurring tasks
After exploring dozens of task management software, I found that monday.com is hands down the best overall solution in the market. monday.com’s impressive features, sheer versatility, and customization capabilitiestruly cater to users of all backgrounds – whether you’re a solo freelancer, a startup team, or a well-established enterprise, monday.com offers the tools you need to stay on top of your tasks.
The interface is simple and beginner friendly, with a flexible drag-and-drop system so you can quickly organize and reorder tasks on your project board. Don’t let its simplicity fool you, though – it’s also great if you need more advanced functionality to handle complex task management. If your team often deals with repetitive tasks, you can set up automations and create workflows to streamline the process, making it easier to manage your workload.
After using monday.com extensively, I can confidently say that it excels as an all-in-one task management solution for teams. With a selection of unique board views like Chart and Workload, your team can keep track of task management in a way that works for them. If you’re looking for a unique way to visualize your tasks, you’ll appreciate monday.com’s Blank view, which allows you to customize your data from a selection of widgets.
Features and Benefits
Customizable templates. monday.com offers over 200 templates for various industries ranging from freelance to product management and education. You can easily adapt any of these templates and task columns to suit your project’s needs.
Built-in time tracker. On the Pro plan and above, you’ll get a time-tracking widget. You can use this to monitor time spent on tasks and assess whether your team’s time is being optimized.
Third-party integrations. With seamless integrations with popular tools like Google Drive, Trello, Slack, and more, monday.com ensures smooth collaboration and data synchronization across platforms.
Mobile app. The mobile app (available on iOS and Android) keeps you connected on the go, letting you manage and organize tasks from anywhere. This robust app also offers four unique views, including Battery, which lets you see your project’s progress at a glance.
ClickUp’s Kanban board view easily lets your team and stakeholders know how your tasks are coming alongClickUp shines with its awesome collaboration tools, making team task management a breeze. With features like live collaboration, real-time chat, comments, and task assignments, ClickUp fosters transparent communication and ensures everyone is on the same page, even for the most complex projects.
With a range of features available for free, including unlimited users and unlimited tasks, sprint management, and an AI writing assistant, ClickUp’s free plan is incredibly generous. However, starting at $7.00/user, the paid plans are also very affordable, making it one of the most budget-friendly task management software I’ve explored.
Although it may not be as intuitive as monday.com, ClickUp strikes a perfect balance by offering a user-friendly interface and plenty of onboarding resources. This makes it an excellent choice if you’re looking for powerful collaboration capabilities without a steep learning curve.
Features and Benefits
Vast library of templates. ClickUp provides an extensive collection of pre-built templates for various industries and workflows, streamlining task management. Each template also comes with tips on how to best set up and use the template.
Task types. You can easily create and group tasks based on categories like sprints, testing, milestones, and more. This also allows your team to set up a database for frequently used tasks.
Bulk action toolbar. This time-saving feature allows you to make bulk changes, such as adding or deleting tasks, updating task statuses, and managing assignees. If you have several tasks that need to updating at the same time, this can simplify the process.
Whiteboards. ClickUp’s collaborative whiteboards help your team brainstorm together and create tasks directly from your shared ideas.
If your team knows the merits of a well laid out spreadsheet, they’ll appreciate Smartsheet’s grid-inspired task view
Smartsheet undoubtedly stands out as another solid choice for task management, particularly for handling complex projects that have a lot of moving parts or require extensive data analysis. I appreciated the various view options available, including its signature grid option, where you can potentially add as many columns as you need and create and edit formulas like you would in Excel.
You can track task progress with ease usingSmartsheet’s task completion column, which allows you to quickly update your progress (manually or with a formula) without having to wait until the task is complete. It’s a great feature if you often deal with multiple dependent tasks at once. Visually, you can also sort rows by category, including status, modified date, and assignee. Smartsheet is flexible enough that you can select multiple criteria for grouping.
That being said, I found that Smartsheet does come with a bit of a learning curve compared to my top two choices. However, if you’re willing to invest time in mastering its capabilities, Smartsheet can be an excellent tool for your task management needs.
Features and Benefits
Advanced reporting and dashboard features. Smartsheet’s dashboards and reporting features provide valuable insights into project progress, helping you streamline your task management and make data-driven decisions.
Privacy and security. With Smartsheet’s data protection, you can safeguard your task management with industry-leading security. It is also compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) Cloud Computing protocol.
Task dependencies. Smartsheet allows users to establish task dependencies, ensuring task completion in the correct order to maintain project flow. If the task duration or preceding task changes, Smartsheet will automatically adjust all the dates in the series.
Resource management. This feature allows you to track and allocate team resources efficiently with tools for scheduling, time tracking, and budgets. You’ll be able to ensure tasks are evenly distributed across team members.
Jira’s dashboard allows you to easily see a detailed overview of your work to better manage your tasksJira, designed with Agile teams in mind, is a powerhouse task management software that excels in facilitating task management for tech-oriented teams with streamlined workflows, sprint planning, and progress tracking. While it may have initially gained popularity in the tech world, it’s a versatile software suitable for any large team that follows the agile methodology.
Each issue (task) recorded in Jira displays pertinent information like assignee, status, due date, and priority so your teammates can get caught up on any task. What’s more, you can collaborate directly on the issue by sending feedback, adding comments, attaching documents, tagging team members, and adding collaborators as part of a “watch” list.
One notable aspect is Jira’s free plan, which can accommodate teams of up to 10 users. This offering is an excellent entry point for smaller teams or startups with limited budgets, providing essential task management capabilities without the need for a financial commitment upfront. But while I admire Jira’s free plan, if your team requires more advanced task management tools, I’d recommend monday.com or ClickUp.
Features and Benefits
Scrum and kanban boards. Jira offers customizable Scrum and Kanban boards, allowing your team to visualize and manage tasks in a way that suits your workflow.
Task automations. You can use preset templates or create your own custom automations to help expedite the task management process and ensure your workflow remains calibrated. Jira allows custom automations on all its plans, including the free plan.
Cross-project boards. If your team is handling a large project with various stages, breaking it up into cross-project boards can keep your team members focused on their own tasks while providing a larger overall view for management and stakeholders.
Roadmaps. Jira’s roadmaps provide a clear overview of project progress and upcoming tasks, aiding in long-term planning.
Teamwork’s interface is simple and clean, with great features like a built-in time tracker
While Teamwork didn’t earn a place in the top three, it’s still a fantastic task management software that’s ideal for beginners. It’s incredibly simple to use, which makes onboarding and adapting to the platform a breeze for the entire team. Setting up a task takes minutes, and the customizable dashboard lets you quickly see task progress, milestones, and logged time for all your projects.
Personally, one of Teamwork’s standout features is its fantastic ability to collaborate with clients or freelancers. You can add collaborators outside of your organization to your projects for free and manage access on a case-by-case basis. This means they can comment on tasks, log time, and even create new tasks depending on their access permissions.
However, Teamwork’s simplicity comes at a price. If you’re looking for advanced features that my top picks offer, you’ll have to look at some of its higher-tier plans. Nevertheless, I encourage you to try out its free plan if you’re looking for a straightforward approach to task management and want a quick solution for collaborating with clients or freelancers.
Features and Benefits
Multilingual availability. Teamwork offers its software in more than 40 languages, making it an accessible and budget-friendly option for global teams and collaborations.
Client management tools. You can easily track billable hours for tasks and create invoices for your clients with these free tools. The time-tracking tool can also help your team evaluate how to best maximize its resources.
Reporting tools. To help stay on top of your team and understand how they work on tasks, Teamwork offers advanced analytics through reporting features. You can customize your dashboard by adding a unique name and customizable template that includes active tasks, logged time, and upcoming events.
Variety of integrations. Teamwork offers integration with communication and productivity apps like Google Drive and Slack so your team and collaboration can keep on top of tasks.
Zoho Project makes it simple to set due dates, priority tasks, and subtasks – and you can collapse unused sections
Zoho Projects is a notable project management software because of its array of task-specific features that cater to both the needs of freelancers and small teams. While it may not claim the top position, Zoho Projects still offers a reliable and straightforward task management solution that doesn’t compromise on functionality.
Its intuitive interface streamlines project planning and progress tracking, making it an excellent choice for those seeking an accessible and user-friendly platform. In particular, Zoho’s Feed is helpful in keeping your team up to date on all tasks, regardless of project. You can track task progress or directly reply to your teammates.
Zoho Projects shines with its task-specific capabilities, including reminders, recurring tasks, time tracking, and creating automations. It may not boast as many advanced features as the top contenders, but its focus on simplicity makes it a solid option for teams looking to enhance their productivity without overwhelming complexity.
Features and Benefits
Task assignee workload. You can monitor your team’s task workloads to balance assignments and maximize productivity.
Project milestones. To motivate your team, Zoho Projects lets you set project milestones for a series of tasks. Setting achievable goals for your teams can help them easily work toward a mutual goal.
Task dependencies. You can set up task dependencies (predecessors/successors) for your workflow to ensure a logical sequence of completion.
Bug tracking. Track and resolve software issues efficiently with Zoho Projects’ bug tracking capabilities.
Discover the Best Task Management Software For Your Specific Needs
Depending on your specific requirements, each of these software options brings valuable strengths to the table, ensuring a seamless and efficient task management experience. Any of these would serve you well and help make your task management more effective.
If you’re looking for customization and scalability, monday.com is my top recommendation. It offers a ton of task management features and is easy to use (and genuinely nice to look at).
However, if you’re on a budget and seeking advanced features, ClickUp is an excellent alternative, providing a robust free plan with many task management and collaboration capabilities.
On the other hand, Smartsheet stands out for complex task management. It’s especially useful for handling intricate projects and diverse workflows for teams that need granular reporting capabilities.
See the 6 best task management software side by side:
Free Plan
Best Feature
Best For
Monthly fee on cheapest plan
monday.com
✔
Variety of customization options for tasks
Teams looking for a full-featured task management software that offers a large suite of integrations
The best task management software ultimately depends on your specific needs and preferences. However, if you value customization and scalability, monday.com emerges as a strong and versatile option. It offers a user-friendly interface, ample room for tailoring workflows, and can adapt to teams of any size or industry.
How can I organize my tasks for free?
If you want to organize your tasks for free, ClickUp is an excellent choice. It offers the most comprehensive free plan available. With ClickUp’s vast library of features, including customizable dashboards, task prioritization, and collaboration tools, you can efficiently manage your tasks and projects without any financial commitment.
How can I organize my team’s tasks easily?
To easily organize your team’s tasks, consider using task management software like Jira or Smartsheet. Jira’s Agile-focused features make it ideal for tech-oriented teams, while Smartsheet’s versatility caters to various industries. Both provide task tracking, collaboration tools, and customizable workflows to streamline your team’s productivity and organization.
What features should I look for in task management software?
When choosing task management software, look for an intuitive interface, task organization tools, and collaboration features. You’ll also want to consider integrations, cross-platform support, progress tracking, email reminders, and robust security. Check out our top project management software in 2024 for some great options.
Ashley Hague is a freelance writer with over five years of experience. She specializes in writing about credit card processing, fintech, e-commerce, and business formation services. She helps companies around the world start and maintain their businesses with helpful how-tos, guides, and more. When she’s not working, Ashley can be found working on creative film projects or trail running.
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