22 Free Project Management Software Tools For 2022

Udn Webber

Managing Editor

Looking for powerful free project management software ?

There’s no doubt that project management software helps you become more productive in managing your workflow.

How do we know?

Because you can track tasks completed, the time spent, and compare that to your performance over the long run.

And when you use project management software correctly, most of the challenges of managing virtual teams go poof.

The good news is that you can improve your productivity… for free!

Nearly every team I’ve been on has used some type of project management software, and the other teams should’ve used project management software.

If your team has never used any project management software or tools before, this list will give you a great headstart regarding the different options to try out.

In this article, we’ll highlight the top options and help you find the best free project management software that will fit your team, your personality, and your needs, no matter what task you need to accomplish!

Read our related article on the best task management software .

Let’s begin our search.

What Are The 22 Best Free Project Management Software?

Here are the 22 best free and easy to use project management software to help you start managing projects right away.

1. UDN Task Manager

What if you had one project management tool that the whole organization could use… for free?

And what if the tool were one of the most highly rated project management software tools … for free?

Let us introduce you to UDN Task Manager !

What you get in the free version of UDN Task Manager :

Most companies demand premium prices for what UDN Task Manager delivers for free.

You enjoy access to unlimited users, tasks, and multiple product features in the Free Forever plan . There are no limits to which task management options or which project management features you can use!

The result? An effective project plan, every time

UDN Task Manager is conscious of how work actually gets done, which sparked our motivation to obsessively create features to enhance productivity.

And because UDN Task Manager interacts with so many essential team collaboration tools, your team will hum along as it’s always done… just faster and more efficiently on multiple projects.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an individual user or project manager, UDN Task Manager has you covered. 😊

There’s a free plan available to your team, along with an upgrade to unlimited storage for just a few dollars more a month. Feel free to try out the free version with all the features, and upgrade to unlimited storage at any time.

Learn how to import a CSV file of your tasks into UDN Task Manager .

What people think about managing projects with UDN Task Manager :

“The UDN Task Manager team is amazing. I have used just about every project/list management software in the market, and UDN Task Manager blows them away.” – G2Crowd

“I love UDN Task Manager ! I did a TON of research on different project management platforms and tried them all out. UDN Task Manager was by far the best. I then had to convince my team to switch over from our previous tool, and they all love UDN Task Manager . Even my team member who thought Trello was the best system has been convinced. It’s a really nice tool and has helped my team to be more efficient and organized with all the various projects we have.” — G2Crowd

“Click up is highly customizable, which allows me to adjust the view according to my team’s needs. The interface is very contextual and intuitive. Despite the high complexity of the tool and the variety of options it gives, it is easy to use from the very first time. I like the ability to filter, the micro-interactions, the tone of voice and it is clear that the product designers of this tool were thinking out of the box when creating it.” — G2Crowd

Ready to try UDN Task Manager ? Get it for free here.

2. MeisterTask

Any Kanban board fanatics in the house? MeisterTask is the way to go for you guys. This project management software tool tries to make Kanban boards more practical.

Your tasks, comments, notes, due dates, etc, are all set up like Kanban boards in one place. It’s a flexible project board and cloud-based project management tool.

But is it flexible enough to fit your workflow?

Well, in MesiterTask’s free version, you can’t create any timeline or agendas.

*project management has left the chat*

What you get in the free version of MeisterTask:

What people think about managing projects with MeisterTask:

“The one thing I’m not really happy with is the inability to batch move tasks from one section to another. I don’t know why we can do that! You can only move one task at a time. Also, the scroll bar is pretty small and hard to click on because it’s pretty skinny. The free version doesn’t support recurring tasks, so that’s something to be aware of if you are not going to pay for it.” – Capterra Verified Review

3. Nifty

Nifty is a free project management tool that aims to keep you focused on managing your work, not tool. Collaborate with your team and clients in one app with a variety of features like chat, tasks, docs, and calendar. Create a plan of action for your projects and automate your progress tracking.

Set goals and timelines, collaborate on tasks, establish a knowledge hub, create docs and wikis and balance workloads.

Visualize your project in Nifty as Milestones (similar to Gantt view), or choose from its other three views including Timeline, its board-like Swimlane view, or from a birds-eye with Master overview.

What you get in the free version of Nifty:

What people think about managing projects with Nifty:

“Nifty is a product that excels in many client environments. Its ease of use makes it a powerful tool for managing our client portfolio.” — Stefan Schmidt, Executive Partner, Hemmersbach

4. Trello

Trello has become a popular free project management app in the last few years by introducing the Kanban board approach to the masses. And you can use it even if you don’t use Agile or Scrum project management methodologies .

However, Trello isn’t perfect.

Not a fan of Kanban boards?

Sorry, but you have nowhere to flee since Trello doesn’t have any other kind of views.

Check out our Trello and UDN Task Manager comparison and list of Trello Alternatives .

What you get in the free version of Trello:

What people think about managing projects with Trello:

“So far Trello is doing a great job. What is advertised is done as expected. The only thing I will like to mention is the modern user interface. I would really like to have a new and fresh look for this software which will make the user experience more effective.” — G2Crowd

5. Wrike

Wrike is a simple project management tool that works well for small teams.

They also have an activity stream dashboard that helps you see who’s working on what. Their issue tracking can help a range of development teams too.

But can its free version solve all your project management issues ?

Unfortunately, no. Wrike’s free version is quite limited. You’ll lose out on their best features and a ton more until you upgrade to their premium plan .

What you get in the free version of Wrike:

What people think about managing projects with Wrike:

“Sometimes changing some options will affect all the folders; other times you want an option to be applied to the sub-folders, but it will only be applied to your main folder. Setting up the tool can be quite a long process without adequate training” — Technology Advice

Not sure about Wrike anymore? Take a look at our Wrike and UDN Task Manager comparison!

And for good measure, here are the top 9 Wrike alternatives .

6. Bitrix24

Be a master of none or a niche player? That’s an age-old question.

Bitrix24 is an intuitive free project planning software and project management solution that tries to solve multiple business needs at once. Great for some businesses, especially small businesses, but it kind of depends on both your personality and your team’s habits.

The annoying bit is, you’re probably using several of these tools already. In that case, integrating may be better than going all out for a one-stop-shop solution that’s confusing!

But as a free project planner , it offers you tasks, Gantt charts, and task dependencies. The only cap is with the number of users and storage.

Need more insight? Check out our detailed Bitrix24 review .

What you get in the free version of Bitrix24:

What people think about managing projects with Bitrix24:

“Bitrix is riddled with whimsical graphics that smooth over the transitions from page to page. They ultimately slow down the experience and draw the eye away from the more critical business elements of the page. On top of that, helpful reminders reminiscent of ‘Clippy’ show to block key functions of the page, making them hard to ignore and, at the end of the day, frustrating.” — G2Crowd

7. Teamwork Projects

Teamwork Projects is a very well-known project management system or software geared more for audiences needing enterprise management with single sign-on, HIPAA compliance, and premium support.

Their paid plans have many feature options for teams and offer a suite of tools such as billing and invoicing.

However, their free tier is quite limited.

Many clients and teams will pony up for those advanced features, but it’s a risk if you don’t want to be locked into a long-term pricing plan. For instance, in the Pro plan, you get lots of integrations such as Dropbox and Slack, way more storage, and up to 50 users.

What you get in the free version of teamwork projects:

What people think of Teamwork Projects:

“The software seems to be popular just in Europe, so there are a few third-party apps which have developed something connected to Teamwork, but it has access to the API and webhooks to compensate.” — G2Crowd

8. Asana

Asana is a very well-known project management software tool that’s used by a lot of teams.

Users generally like Asana because it’s a visually appealing tool that utilizes projects and sections to keep work organized and gives the team clarity about who’s in charge of what in your project planning.

This project management software is simple to use compared to most other project management software solutions. You can quickly move your task and assign work with their drag-and-drop feature.

What bothers us is Asana’s reliability with its rapid growth. And all we want for Christmas is less downtime!

Unsure whether you should commit to Asana for the long-term? Check these Asana alternatives .

Here’s what you get in the free version of Asana:

What people think about managing projects with Asana:

“Asana’s feature set and complexity require a relatively steep learning curve for the uninitiated. That hampered roll-out efforts in my organization, along with the fact there is no desktop app for Asana. After nearly a year, I’m still figuring out all the features and best uses, so it would be nice to have a variety of case studies/examples from which to glean best practices.” – Capterra

Take a look at our Asana and UDN Task Manager comparison!

9. Todoist

In Todoist, it’s easy to quickly capture thoughts and ideas on your phone and then get reminded about them later.

You can plug in deadlines, like pay bills in three days, and the project management app will automatically remind you.

However, you don’t get any real-time collaboration features in the basic free version.

Also, did you know Todoist was built as a personal task management app and not as a project management app for businesses and team collaborations? So to easily manage your teams and their tasks, you’ll have to opt for the paid plan or a different tier version.

Read our take on Todoist vs. UDN Task Manager and learn about other top alternatives to Todoist .

Here’s what you get in the free version of the Todoist app:

What people think about managing projects with Todoist:

“I haven’t found a way to get integration with Google Calendar in a way that works for me. It syncs tasks, but the manner in which it does so isn’t fluid with the way that I work, so that is probably due to user error or my personal preference and less likely a reflection of the program.” — G2Crowd

10. Airtable

Airtable is a beautifully designed, table-meets-database solution. It takes what you love about Excel and Google Sheets and puts a modern web-based project on it.

Bonus: Check out this guide on Google Sheets project management ! 💜

Think of Airtable as a fancy spreadsheet that helps you track inventory, lists of reference items, or as a bootstrap CRM.

Essentially, Airtable is a super-friendly, non-intimidating database for the 21st century, disrupting traditional database management systems that rely on SQL or other complex languages.

If you’ve used Excel as a project management tool in the past, then you may want to look at Airtable. However, we don’t recommend spreadsheets for project management.

Why?

Because dedicated top free project management tools do the job better!

Take a closer look at the tool in our Airtable review and read about Airtable’s best alternatives .

Here’s What You Get In The Free Version of Airtable:

What People Think About Managing Projects with Airtable:

“I hate that it doesn’t have reminder/follow up capabilities especially knowing they advertise as a team collaboration tool that’s used for customer service.” — G2Crowd

Compare Airtable and UDN Task Manager for project management.

11. TeamGantt

Like how Gantt charts make everything clear as day?

Then TeamGantt is made for you.

It’s a free project management software with a sole focus only on Gantt charts.

This software tool is impressive at building out and visualizing Gantt charts so you can see what tasks may overlap and who’s responsible for what.

It’s also a great tool for measuring team and individual progress against project milestones .

The funny thing is for a software that takes pride in their Gantt charts, you get just ONE Gantt chart in the free plan. Yikes!

Here’s what you get in the free version of TeamGantt:

What people think about TeamGantt:

“The free version only allows one project. The next step up is not that expensive though.” — G2 Crowd

Looking for great Gantt chart software? Read our article on the top free Gantt Chart software and if you’re a construction company, our article on the best construction project management software .

12. Freedcamp

Freedcamp gives you multiple views, including a list, Kanban board, and Gantt chart view.

It also has a wall for social communication and private tasks, along with white labeling for client spaces, invoicing, and CRM capabilities.

But here’s the thing, the free plan is very limited, and the paid plans begin at $1.49 per user per month.

And in their own words, it’s a “minimalist” plan!

We wish that they went even more minimalist with a free plan, though.

Here’s what you get in the free version of Freedcamp:

What people think about Freedcamp:

“I don’t like the fact that it has no mobile application. That would be great to communicate and manage tasks straight from the mobile.” — G2Crowd

13. Redbooth

Need to streamline your team’s work and to help them focus on your most important tasks? Redbooth has you covered.

It features a simple, user-friendly interface that helps teams feel comfortable right away. Managers feel empowered to change workloads and resources very easily.

On the downside, Redbooth doesn’t let you assign tasks to multiple people.

Clearly, the fact that there’s no “I” in “team” doesn’t apply here.

Here’s what you get in the free version of Redbooth:

What people think about managing projects with Redbooth:

“File storage is extremely unhelpful. When you upload attachments to tasks, they are just stored as files within a master file, and it takes significant time to organize them separately. We wound up ignoring this feature altogether.” — Capterra

Check out how UDN Task Manager compares to Redbooth .

14. Basecamp

Basecamp is a popular project management and team communication software for easy team collaboration.

If you’re looking for a simple task manager with real-time communication features for your team members, then Basecamp can be a great pick.

But for a free tool, it’s quite…stingy when it comes to other features.

Take a look:

Here’s what you get in the free version of Basecamp:

Need more details? Check out our comprehensive Basecamp review and list of Basecamp alternatives .

What people think about managing projects with Basecamp:

“ When it was used for a small team to collaborate, it was great. When I started using it for client communication and deliverables, it frustrated both me and my team.” — Capterra

15. ActiveCollab

If you’re a fan of simple design, Kanban boards and a sleek UX, take a look at ActiveCollab . An easy-to-use tool that allows you to manage projects, communicate with your team, and collaborate with clients.

Divide projects into tasks with flexible start dates and deadlines that you can assign to the team or invite clients to view as needed.

ActiveCollab can be visualized as a list or in Kanban view, has an integrated stopwatch to track time on tasks and has an integrated app to chat or share files.

What you get in the free version of ActiveCollab:

What people think about managing projects with ActiveCollab:

“Our team manages all of our projects through ActiveCollab, and that includes budgeting, tasks, and time management. Without it, we’d be lost in a sea of emails and Slack messages.” — Capterra Verified Review

16. Paymo

Paymo is a great option for single users and team managers looking at resource management. It also offers Kanban boards and time tracking that allows freelancers to keep track of time tracked for every client easily.

What’s the biggest downside ?

Paymo’s free plan can only cope with a single user.

What happens when your team grows?

You either need to start paying or migrate to an entirely new platform.

Here’s what you get in the free version of Paymo:

What people think about Paymo:

“Absolutely love the granular control on the reports and ability to manage users, projects, tasks and more.” — Capterra

17. Podio

Podio is almost like a cocktail of project management and messaging software. It offers conversations in the app, and you get an overview of all your tasks.

It supports numerous integrations with popular software like ZenDesk, Evernote, and Google Drive.

What it doesn’t support is workflow automations in the free plan.

No automation in the world of tech.

How do we feel about that 😯 ?

Here’s what you get in the free version of Podio:

What people think about managing projects with Podio:

“Reliable communication with the team through the chat function. Good personal task management and also knowledge management. Even though we stored our files in a cloud service, we ‘indexed’ and sorted our knowledge through Podio.” — Capterra

18. Hitask

If your team isn’t large and don’t want to pay for a project management tool, take a look at Hitask. This simple project management software is free for up to five users and gives you unlimited tasks and projects.

You’ll also get half a gigabyte of space.

Any downsides?

Hitask’s free plan doesn’t allow any sharing.

Clearly, sharing is caring isn’t one of their mottos!

Here’s what you get in the free version of Hitask:

What people think about Hitask:

“This product is very easy to use, but the user interface is not very intuitive. The pricing is fair, considering what you will get in return. If you plan to use this for a personal reason, then this tool may be sufficient.” – Capterra

19. Zenkit

When looking for the best free management software, consider Zenkit. With Zenkit, you’ll get a decent spread of features and templates for easy workspace setup.

While they do make setup easy, the 5000 item limit can be a barrier to entry for most busy teams.

What you get in the free version of Zenkit:

What people think about managing projects with Zenkit:

“It is easy to use from day one since most tools are structured very user-friendly. I like the efficiency it provides for sharing information and tasks with my team.” — Capterra

20. Toggl Plan

Toggle Plan is one of the best free project management tools for effective team planning and task management.

The software is very easy to use, and suits project managers managing small teams.

However, had you any idea there is a Toggl Track integration (for time tracking) available for Toggl Plan?

Guess who doesn’t get to use the integration? You , a free plan user.

To get Toggle Track on your Toggl Plan, you’ll have to cough up $8 per user per month!

What you get in the free version of Toggl Plan:

What people think about managing projects with Toggl Plan:

“I felt the mobile experience was lacking. It’s amazing for long term planning, even weekly planning, but gets awkward when it comes to daily planning or planning in fine detail for timetabling. It’s great for regular arrangements, but gets messy when it comes to extraordinary events.”— Capterra

21. Zoho Projects

Zoho project is another efficient project management solution. Whether you need to manage documents, collaborate with your team conveniently, or have bugs fixed with an issue tracker , Zoho can handle it.

What it can’t handle is being a bit generous with the features on their Free Forever plan.

On top of that, some people also think it’s not the easiest to understand, especially when it comes to the setup.

I mean, shouldn’t the setup be the easiest step of all?

What you get in the free version of Zoho Projects:

What people think about managing projects with Zoho Projects:

“User interface can be a little confusing (difficult for newbies).”— Capterra

22. Yodiz

Last on this list of free project management software is Yodiz. This software aims to simplify project planning and project tracking with smarter insights.

Yodiz is a great option for teams who use Agile and Scrum methods. You can also use Yodiz’s Zapier integrations to connect with apps like Slack and GitHub or calendar apps like Google Calendar.

But for a tool that aims to simplify project planning, Yodiz doesn’t offer Gantt charts even on their starter paid plan.

You really don’t get what you paid for! 😩

What you get in the free version of Yodiz:

What people think about managing projects with Yodiz:

“Help documentation is basic – Comparatively Fewer integrations, but with Zapier integration – now it is possible to connect hundreds of applications.”— Capterra

Get All-in-one Project Management At No Cost 💰

You want the best. And you want it for free.

Possible?

Absolutely!

However, don’t forget, ‘free’ isn’t the only thing that matters.

Your chosen free project management software should be able to do the job. At the same time your whole team should be able to get on board and use its advantages without even considering opting for the paid plan.

The worst situation is when you enthusiastically embark on a new project tool, only to be stymied by its lack of features and functionality, baiting you into the solution’s paid plan.

So why not try UDN Task Manager ?

It’s got more free features than any other best free project management apps we listed here.

Whether you want to Assign Tasks , create Goals , Time Tracking , use Automations , the possibilities are endless.

Sound like a sweet deal for zero dollars?

Then get UDN Task Manager for free today because you deserve efficient and easy project management that doesn’t burn a hole in your pocket.