7 Best Project Management Tools and What Makes Them Stand Out

By using project management tools, you can ensure most of your business processes run smoothly.

With them, you can enable your team to prioritize important tasks, avoid distractions, and ensure your budget doesn't get out of control.

What's more?

Project management tools can drive results that impact your revenues while also enabling employees to see how their actions contribute to the company goals.

Tracking project progress constantly is crucial because research shows that companies lose?11.4% ?of their investment from poor project performance.

If you don't want poor performance, you need project management tools that ensure you don't lose out on resources, time, or revenue.

So, which project management tools are the best in the market?

Discover them below.

Project Management Tools: Key Features, Pros, Cons, and Pricing

Which project management tools help you improve internal communications and keep your teams organized?

Check out seven best project management tools, including details on what makes them stand out and their pricing:

1.?Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project is one of the most powerful project management tools out there. It is ideal for companies with complex project management needs and those who are already using Microsoft products.

But what makes it stand out among project management tools?

It supports multiple methodologies, including Scrum, custom workflows, and Kanban boards. You can use it for hybrid methodologies, agile, and waterfall project management.

Key Features

• Centralized view of projects and tasks
• Customizable to suit various project management methodologies
• Numerous project management views, including the grid view and Gantt chart view
• Detailed reports with the ability to customize them to your needs
• Timesheet submission feature to track how team members spend time on projects and non-project activities
• Resource management feature to track your team's capacity, management-related costs, etc.
• Project scheduling feature to help you define time frames and plan your task calendar

Pros

• Rich functionality
• Integrations with Microsoft tools
• Different views and tracking options
• Highly customizable

Cons

• Challenging for beginners.

Usability

• Moderately easy to use

Tool Level

• Intermediate/ Expert

Pricing

• Cloud-Based Solutions:
• Project Plan 1:?$10 per user/ month
• Project Plan 3:?$30 per user/ month
• Project Plan 5:?$55 per user/ month
• On-Premise Solutions:
• Project Standard 2019:?$620
• Project Professional 2019:?$1,030
• Project Server:?Contact their sales team for more details.

2.?Jira

Jira can help you manage Scrum and agile teams, organize project tasks, and record software bugs. It's a project management tool that is ideal for?startups, small businesses , mid-size companies, and enterprises. You can use it to manage entire project phases and collaborate.

Key Features

• Customizable Kanban and Scrum boards that help project managers visualize workflows or view real-time progress of tasks
• Numerous reports to help project managers gain insights into real-time performance
• Customizable workflows to help the project manager extend functionalities
• Supports other use-cases, including product launches, large-scale events, operational performance, and others
• Control over what team members have access to for security purposes
• Roadmaps that offer a clear vision of products in development plus APIs to help project managers automate processes
• Developer tools and third-party integrations

Pros

• Customizable workflows
• Roadmaps with a single dashboard view
• In-depth project reports and analytics
• Numerous third-party integrations
• Rich automation features

Cons

• This project management tool has a steep learning curve.

Usability

• Moderately easy to use

Tool Level

• Intermediate/ Expert

Pricing

• Free Plan:?$0 for 10 users/ month
• Standard Plan:?$7 per user/ month
• Premium Plan:?$14 per user/ month
• Enterprise Plan:?Contact their sales team

3.?Asana

Among the many project management tools out there, Asana is the one of the easiest to use. It gives project managers control over how they view task lists and automate processes.

What's more?

Asana makes it easy to assign tasks, track, and manage collaborations. With this project planning tool, you can be sure that every team member knows their deadlines and responsibilities.

Key Features

• Offers multiple project views you can switch between and the ability to customize your dashboard
• Ability to automate processes, set up custom rules or triggers, and eliminate repetitive tasks
• Enables team collaboration with numerous file management, group, and team communication options
• Supports both Scrum and agile project management
• Easily integrates with communications?tools like Zoom , Slack, Dropbox and others
• Offers portfolios to help your project manager track projects from strategy to execution

Pros

• Flexible and easy to use
• Numerous integrations
• Feature-packed free version
• Works great for different-sized businesses
• Effective team collaboration tools

Cons

• This project management tool can be overwhelming for new users.

Usability

• Easy to use

Tool Level

• Beginner/ Intermediate

Pricing

• Basic Plan:?Free forever
• Premium Plan:?$10.99 per user/ month
• Business?Plan:?$24.99 per user/ month

4.?Wrike

Wrike is one of the online project management tools tailored for professionals and agencies. It has robust features that you can tailor to any industry or use across multiple projects and departments.

Most importantly, it's one of the cloud-based project management tools, meaning you can access it easily via desktop, web-based browsers, or mobile.

Key Features

• Consolidated user interface with a 360-degree view of customizable options and detailed overview of important tasks and workloads
• Project portfolio management to help manage projects from strategy to execution.
• Offers real-time analytics into team performances, project statuses, approvals, pending task lists, etc.
• AI-powered project risk prediction and smart automation to help project managers leverage advanced tools like voice commands, document processing, and smart replies.
• Customization options for interactive Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and purpose-built project templates
• Custom request forms to help your project manager gather details and auto-assign tasks
• Has an automated approval process to ensure team members get notified and auto-assigned

Pros

• Numerous integrations with?email marketing tools , communication tools, productivity apps, and other tools
• Automated insights and resource management
• Enterprise-grade security
• Rich functionality
• Free plan with great features

Cons

• This project management tool has a steep learning curve for beginners.

Usability

• Moderately easy

Tool Level

• Intermediate/ Expert

Pricing

• Free Plan:?$0
• Professional Plan:?$9.80 per user/ month plus free trial
• Business Plan:?$24.80 per user/ month plus free trial
• Enterprise Plan:?Contact their sales team

5.?Basecamp

Basecamp is one of the online project management tools that combine team communication and project management functionalities. It offers numerous team collaboration tools, including message boards, real-time group chat, automatic check-ins, and more.

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