Ranked on how useful the free plan is for running real projects,
how easy the tool is for a team to adopt, and how well it grows
once you outgrow the free tier.
ClickUp has the most generous free plan of any major tool: its
Free Forever plan lets you add unlimited members and unlimited
tasks, so the whole team works in one place without paying.
Tasks, docs, whiteboards, forms and sprints live in the same
workspace, and every project can switch between list, board,
calendar and table views. Subtasks, dependencies, multiple
assignees and custom statuses are included for free. The catch
is storage (60 MB for the whole workspace) and a few advanced
features, such as Gantt charts, time tracking and dashboards,
that come as a limited number of trial uses.
Free plan includes
- Unlimited members and tasks
- List, board, calendar and table views
- Docs, 3 whiteboards, sprints and kanban boards
- 5 active automation rules, 100 runs
- 24/7 support, no credit card required
Limits
- 60 MB of file storage
- Gantt, time tracking and dashboards as trial uses
- 5 Spaces, guests get full access
- A learning curve: ClickUp does a lot
Upgrade: Unlimited $7 per user per month
billed yearly ($10 monthly) for unlimited storage, Gantt charts,
time tracking and guest permissions; Business $12 for
dashboards, timelines and workload.
Why it's #1: it is the only major tool where
the whole team can join for free with unlimited tasks, and the
same workspace grows into Gantt charts, time tracking and
automations for $7 per user.
Try ClickUp free
ClickUp pricing
ClickUp review
ClickUp vs monday.com
monday.com is the tool most teams find easiest to adopt.
Projects live on colorful boards that read like a spreadsheet:
one row per task, with status, owner, dates and priority
columns you change in one click. More than 200 templates cover
project plans, marketing calendars, sales pipelines, HR and
operations, so you start from a working board instead of a
blank page. The free plan is small, 2 seats and 3 boards, but
it is free forever, not a trial.
Free plan includes
- Up to 2 seats
- Up to 3 boards and 3 docs
- 200+ templates and 8 column types
- iOS and Android apps
- No credit card required
Limits
- Items are capped (unlimited from Basic)
- No timeline, Gantt or automations on Free
- Paid plans are billed per seat, in seat bundles
Upgrade: Basic $9, Standard $12 (timeline and
Gantt views, automations, guest access), Pro $19, per seat per
month billed yearly.
Try monday.com free
monday.com pricing
monday.com review
Asana vs monday.com
3
Trello
Best free kanban board
Trello is still the simplest way to move cards across To do,
Doing and Done. The free plan covers up to 10 collaborators per
workspace and 10 boards, with unlimited cards, unlimited
Power-Ups, due dates and assignees. It stays a kanban tool on
the free tier: calendar, timeline, table and dashboard views
are part of Premium.
Free plan includes
- Up to 10 collaborators per workspace
- Up to 10 boards, unlimited cards
- Unlimited Power-Ups, 250 automation runs a month
- iOS and Android apps
Limits
- Board view only
- 10 MB per file
- Timeline and calendar views are paid
Upgrade: Standard $5, Premium $10 (views and
AI), per user per month billed yearly.
Visit Trello
monday.com vs Trello
Trello vs Asana
Asana's free Personal plan is built for one or two people
managing their own projects. The interface is one of the
cleanest in the category and it connects to 100+ apps for free.
Timeline and Gantt views, guests and team features start with
the Starter plan, so it is a weaker free choice for a whole
team.
Free plan includes
- Up to 2 users
- Unlimited tasks and projects
- 100+ free integrations
Limits
- No timeline or Gantt view
- No guests on the free plan
Upgrade: Starter $10.99 (timeline and Gantt,
unlimited free guests), Advanced $24.99, per user per month
billed yearly.
Visit Asana
ClickUp vs Asana
Asana vs monday.com
Asana vs Jira
Trello vs Asana
Wrike is built for structured project work: projects, tasks,
owners and schedules, with a kanban board and a spreadsheet-like
table view on the free plan. It is also one of the few free
plans with desktop apps for Windows and Mac. Interactive Gantt
charts and dashboards come with the Team plan, for 2 to 15
users.
Free plan includes
- Project and task management
- Board and table views
- Web, desktop and mobile apps
- No credit card required
Limits
- No Gantt chart or dashboards
- Essential task management only
Upgrade: Team $10 per user per month
(interactive Gantt charts, dashboards, AI), Business $25.
Try Wrike free
6
Jira
Best for software teams
Jira is free forever for up to 10 users, with scrum and kanban
boards, backlogs, sprints and a basic timeline. For developers
it is the standard. For marketing, operations or client
projects it feels heavy: the vocabulary (issues, epics, story
points) is made for software delivery.
Free plan includes
- Up to 10 users
- Scrum and kanban boards, backlog
- Basic timeline
Limits
- Community support only
- Advanced planning on higher plans
Upgrade: Standard $9.05 per user per month
billed monthly, or $900 a year for up to 10 users.
Visit Jira
Asana vs Jira
Notion mixes pages and databases, so your project brief, notes
and task tracker sit side by side. Databases support subtasks,
dependencies and custom properties, with board, calendar and
timeline views. It is free and unlimited for one person; once
you add teammates, the free plan limits how many blocks you can
create. You also build your own system, which takes time.
Free plan includes
- Unlimited pages and blocks for individuals
- Databases with subtasks and dependencies
- Basic forms, sites and Notion Calendar
Limits
- Block limit with 2+ members
- 5 MB file uploads, 7-day page history
Upgrade: Plus $10 per member per month,
Business $20.
Visit Notion
Zoho Projects is the rare free plan with a real Gantt chart and
finish-to-start task dependencies. It is free for up to 5 users
and 3 projects, with subtasks, a whiteboard, 5 GB of storage and
mobile apps. If your small team plans with dates and
dependencies rather than kanban cards, start here.
Free plan includes
- Up to 5 users, 3 projects
- Gantt chart with task dependencies
- 5 GB storage, iOS and Android apps
Limits
- 3 projects
- No time tracking, budgets or custom views
- 50 workflow actions a month
Upgrade: Premium per user per month, with
unlimited projects and timesheets, and a 15-day free trial.
Visit Zoho Projects
Airtable turns a spreadsheet into a database: linked records,
field types, views and forms. It is ideal when your project
tracker is really a database (content, inventory, requests).
The free plan is designed for individuals and very small teams,
with limits on records, automations and API calls; timeline and
Gantt views are paid.
Free plan includes
- Unlimited bases
- Grid, kanban, calendar and form views
Limits
- Record, automation and API limits
- No timeline or Gantt on free
Upgrade: Team $20 per user per month billed
yearly, Business $45.
Visit Airtable
Basecamp puts everything about a project on one page: message
board, to-dos, a kanban card table, schedule, docs and chat.
The free plan gives you one project for personal use. Its paid
plans are flat monthly prices with no per-user fees, which
makes it cheap for agencies that invite many clients.
Free plan includes
- 1 project for personal use
- To-dos, card table, schedule, docs and chat
- No credit card required
Limits
- One project at a time
- No Gantt chart
Upgrade: Freelancer $25 a month (3 projects,
20 users), Studio $59 a month (10 projects, unlimited users).
Visit Basecamp
OpenProject is open source. The Community edition is free with
no user minimum when you host it on your own server, and covers
work packages, Gantt charts, boards and time tracking. It suits
organizations that want their data in-house and have someone to
install and update it.
Free plan includes
- Unlimited users (self-hosted)
- Gantt charts and work packages
- Community forum and guides
Limits
- You install, host and maintain it
- Enterprise add-ons are paid
Upgrade: from €5.95 per user per month,
25 users minimum, for enterprise add-ons and support.
Visit OpenProject
GanttProject is a free desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux
that has been developed since 2003. It runs offline, keeps your
files on your computer and focuses on the essentials: task
scheduling, a Gantt chart and resource allocation. It opens
Microsoft Project files (MPP, MPX, XML), which makes it a
popular free alternative to MS Project.
Free plan includes
- Full desktop app, no subscription
- Gantt chart, scheduling and resources
- Opens Microsoft Project files
Limits
- Single-user desktop files
- Collaboration needs the optional cloud service
Upgrade: not needed. GanttProject Cloud is an
optional pay-as-you-go service for sharing.
Download GanttProject
4. Asana
5. Wrike
7. Notion
9. Airtable
10. Basecamp
11. OpenProject