There are many project management applications available but to get the best bang for the buck, a little research is required.

The first thing to do is to ask questions like: Why do I need a project management tool? What are my pain points and what do I hope to achieve? This will help you in having a clear idea of what you aim to accomplish, what features are a must have, what are a nice to have and what you can live without. Thus equipped with a mental list you can dive in and do your research.

With tons of online project management tools available a click away, it can be a bit overwhelming, to say the least! But not to worry, here is a list of some of the most popular and user friendly project management tools available in the market.

Asana

Asana is one of the most popular tools that is used the worldover. It has a very user friendly and easy to use interface. Asana makes managing the team workflow fairly easy. It allows team members to create tasks, set deadlines and monitor progress. It has a pretty neat system that allows you to keep track of conversations and attachments in any given task. If you have a small team, Asana is free up to 15 members.

Trello

Trello is an ideal tool for a small startup and it employs a visual approach to managing projects. A Trello board is filled with cards – you can organise your cards with your thoughts, conversations, tasks and updates on the board. Trello is free with no time constraints, you can always upgrade if needed.

Podio

Podio is a flexible online tool that makes it ideal for startups and enterprise. For a well organised and functioning team, Podio provided transparency and accountability. Podio basic plan starts at $9 a month.

Basecamp

Basecamp has a simple and easy to use interface, that makes it effortless to collaborate with your team and clients. This is summed up very nicely on their website as ‘Basecamp is a saner, calmer, organized way to manage projects and communicate company-wide.’

A great feature is that, you can replace routine status meeting with automatic check-in. Using discussion threads makes it easy to look back and see why certain decisions were made, instead of looking over emails, chats or meetings.

It is free for teacher & students, 50% off for non-profit & charities. They have a flat fixed pricing for $99/month, for unlimited users and projects.

Jira

Jira Software has been built specifically for software development teams, so that every member of the team can plan, track, and release great software.

More than 1,000 add-ons can be added to enhance Jira. Explore add-ons on Atlassian Marketplace.

Freedcamp

Freedcamp is empowering people to accomplish more together. This is through a free and simple system, where there are unlimited users, unlimited projects, unlimited storage and no time limits.

Staying organized has never been easier, having sticky notes to visualize the team workflow is one of the ways of achieving that. Another is to have tasks, milestone and events all in one place to get a clear bird-eye view.

Wrike

Wrike helps users in accomplishing more, by staying on track and achieving results. It takes complex projects and simplies the workflow so that members of the team are not stressed and the project stays on course. From the initial project request, to tracking work in progress and to final reports, all information is readily available on Wrike.

It is free for up to 5 users and professional plans starts off at $9.80/month for 5, 10 or 15 users.

ProofHub

ProofHub is a cloud based project management tool, which helps in managing projects and collaborating with team members and clients. It’s very effective in managing and organizing project tasks to be on time and within the budget.

Smartsheet

Smartsheet is an online project management tool that manages and automates collaborative work in many companies. It is an ideal application to enhance operational visibility and makes managing tasks easier for small and large teams. It has a good reviews, because it is easy to use and easy to deploy.

Teamwork

Teamworkprojects is a project management app for professionals. It makes it easy to have all tasks in one place, collaborate and work in real time. Features like tracking time spent on a team project has never been easier. It’s a great tool to keep task organised, on who, what and when the tasks are being conducted. It closes communication gaps and provides more visibility, which increases team performances.

Final Thoughts

It’s a good idea to research what tools are available in the market and find the best one that meets your needs. Remember your main goal is to have a project management app that makes your team more efficient and productive. So a tool that is easy to use, all your team members can manage and gets the best results is the one to aim for.