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Asana: Best for remote teams
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monday.com: Best for scalability
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Todoist: Best for simple task management
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Trello: Best for beginners
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Smartsheet: Best for spreadsheet users
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ClickUp: Best for growing businesses
Task or project management software is more than just a to-do list. You can use it to set deadlines, track progress, delegate subtasks and much more. However, with so many task management software on the market, it can be challenging to pick the right one for your business.
SEE: Hiring kit: Project manager (TechRepublic Premium)
On this page, you will find a compiled list of top task management software for 2023. We have also shared our methodology, highlighting the parameters we used for compiling this list. You will get to learn about key features to look for in task management software, so you can pick a tool that is the right fit for your business.
Best task management software
| Free Version | Mobile App | Time Tracking | Calendar View | Starting Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asana | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $10.99 |
| monday.com | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $8.00 |
| Todoist | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $4.00 |
| Trello | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | $5.00 |
| Smartsheet | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | $7.00 |
| ClickUp | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $5.00 |
Jump to:
- What are key features of task management tools?
- How to choose task management software
- Review methodology
Asana: Best for remote teams
Asana is a complete task management solution offering a variety of features, including ready-made project templates, reporting dashboards, and automation. You can even integrate it with your tech stack to streamline your business operations. One of the top features of Asana is security and privacy features that enable businesses to keep their data safe. The scalability offered by Asana makes it ideal for companies of all sizes, including enterprises.
Pricing
- Basic: Free forever.
- Premium: $10.99 per user per month, billed annually.
- Business: $24.99 per user per month, billed annually.
- Enterprise: Contact sales for a custom quote.
Standout features
- Extensive integrations: Integration with popular third-party apps, such as Zoom, Salesforce, Dropbox, Slack, and Tableau, extends Asana’s functionality.
- User interface: Beginners will find it easy to start using Asana’s simple dashboard, while more experienced users will appreciate the quick access to advanced features and customization tools.
Pros
- Powerful integrations.
- Support for Agile and scrum.
- Excellent team collaboration tools.
Cons
- Limited mobile app.
- Time tracking features need improvement.
- Does not offer task assignments to multiple users.
For more information, read the full Asana review.
monday.com: Best for scalability
monday.com is one of the most popular task management software on the market. With five pricing plans, monday.com is highly flexible. It also offers plenty of automated workflow tools. The visualization tools include maps, kanban boards, calendars and timelines. However, some of these views are only available in paid plans.
Pricing
- Free Plan: No cost.
- Basic: $8 per user per month.
- Standard: $10 per user per month.
- Pro: $16 per seat per month.
- Enterprise: Customized.
Standout features
- Automation: monday.com’s code-free automation tools allow users to save time on manually updating workflows and status updates and setting due date alerts, so they focus on tasks that require more personal attention.
- Built-in time tracking tools: monday.com offers built-in time tracking tools for both desktop and mobile versions, which several competitors are missing.
Pros
- Unlimited documents for all plans.
- Outstanding tracking features for tasks.
- Highly customizable.
Cons
- Expensive.
- Time tracking is only available in high-tier plans.
For more information, read the full monday.com Work OS review.
Todoist: Best for simple task management
If you are looking for easy and simple task management and productivity software, you can consider using Todoist. It is designed to have a clean and intuitive interface. You can create tasks, assign them to users, set up priorities and use tracking tools to check progress. Todoist also offers a feature to invite non-users, such as clients, to collaborate on your tasks.
Pricing
- Free plan: No cost.
- Pro: $4 per person per month, billed annually.
- Business: $6 per user per month, billed annually.
Standout features
- Priority levels: Todoist allows users to set up priority levels for different tasks, and it highlights the day’s most high-priority tasks.
- Personalized views: Users can personalize their views with labels, filters and themes as well as connect with emails and calendars to centralize their work in one place.
Pros
- Automatic syncing.
- User friendly.
- Non-users can view and collaborate on tasks.
Cons
- Limited views.
- Users roles only available in the paid plans.
- Missing advanced features such as reporting or analytics.
See how Todoist compares with Asana and Trello.
Trello: Best for beginners
Trello is a web-based task management and collaboration software. The layout features cards, boards and lists, which can be customized according to user preferences. The responsive web design is optimized for tablets, smartphones and desktops. In addition, users can configure notifications settings according to their needs.
Pricing
- Free: No cost.
- Standard: $5 per user per month.
- Premium: $10 per user per month.
- Enterprise: Starts at $17.50 per user per month.
Standout features
- Kanban boards: Trello makes it easy to manage tasks through its kanban boards, with cards and lists providing a visual interface that is easy to use for beginners.
- Templates: Users can make their lives easier and save time using the in-built templates for task management.
- Butler automation: Trello’s Butler feature offers several automation tools — for example, users can create commands and rules to minimize repetitive or redundant work.
Pros
- Advanced features on the free version.
- Real-time updates.
- Client-access tools.
Cons
- Limited size for attachments.
- Not suited for large or complex projects.
- No native time tracking.
See how Trello compares with Jira and Wrike.
Smartsheet: Best for spreadsheet users
Smartsheet is a spreadsheet-style task management software that is highly customizable. It offers several task management tools, including content collaboration, and shareable calendars. A drawback of Smartsheet is that the spreadsheet-style interface can be overwhelming for some users.
Pricing
- Pro: $7 per user per month.
- Business: $25 per user per month.
- Enterprise: Price on request.
Standout features
- Enterprise-grade data security: One of the outstanding features of Smartsheet is its data security features, which include two-factor authentication, 256-bit encryption and a single sign-on feature. It is also compliant with HIPAA, ISO, GDPR and other standards.
- Reporting and analytics: The powerful reporting and analytics feature of Smartsheet allows users to identify business trends, track task progress and forecast potential issues with task completion.
Pros
- Highly customizable.
- Powerful tools for data security.
- Advanced reporting and analytics.
Cons
- Steep learning curve for users not familiar with spreadsheets.
- Autosave doesn’t work in real time.
For more information, read the full Smartsheet review.
ClickUp: Best for growing businesses
ClickUp is a cloud-based task management solution suitable for businesses of all sizes. It offers task automation, custom field data and task assignment features. Using ClickUp, users can customize tasks based on priority. The activity stream updates the status of tasks in real time. Users can also set up notifications for specific tasks.
Pricing
- Free plan: No cost.
- Unlimited: $5 per person per month.
- Business: $12 per person per month.
- Business Plus: $19 per person per month.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing.
Standout features
- Task customization: ClickUp allows users to customize tasks by creating custom fields or editing priority settings. The customization tools include creating task descriptions, adding comments, formatting text and more.
- ClickApps template library: ClickApps offers a variety of ready-to-use templates created by the ClickUp community. Users can even create and duplicate frequently used templates. The templates can be applied to tasks and subtasks.
Pros
- Unlimited users on all plans.
- Team chatting tools.
- Suitable for solo users and teams.
Cons
- Interface feels clunky.
- Limited automation per month.
For more information, read the full ClickUp review.
What are key features of task management tools?
Automation
The automation features allow users to save time and energy on repetitive, time consuming or redundant tasks. Another benefit of automating tasks is that it reduces errors. While most task management software offers automation, some are more customizable than others.
Collaboration
One of the major advantages of using task management software is that it provides some structure to team collaboration. Users can receive information and share updates with their coworkers and managers. This could be done via a real-time chat feature or other tools.
Time tracking
Built-in time tracking tools allow users to stay on top of task schedules, track billable and non-billable hours, and forecast any hurdles to task completion.
Views
With top task management software, you get a variety of views, such as lists, cards and kanban boards. The views provide an effective and simple layout for each stage of the task.
How to choose task management software
Whether you are a large enterprise or solo user, you could benefit from task management software, as it provides a structure to organize, assign and track tasks. When choosing the right task management tool, you need to consider what problem you are looking to solve and how the software helps you solve that problem.
Some of the most important things to consider include the user interface, collaboration, pricing structure and unique features. If your working model requires you to share tasks or projects with clients, choose software that offers these features. Keep in mind that not all task management software allows you to share tasks with non-users such as clients or guests.
The user interface must be intuitive, so your team doesn’t face a steep learning curve. Most task management software offers a kanban-style dashboard; however, some are based on a spreadsheet model. You must also consider whether you want a web or cloud-based system or an on-premises version.
While top task management software should offer basic features such as project views and subtasks, you want to consider the unique features. This includes two-factor authentication, real-time collaboration, task dependencies or any particular feature that is a must-have for your business.
Lastly, you want to consider the price point. Ideally, you want to test the software before you make the decision, so if there is a free version or free trial available, you should use that facility. Most free task management software lack advanced features, but you will get a feel for the user interface and core functions.
Review methodology
To determine the best task management tool, we research an extensive list of task management tools. We used expert insights, customer reviews, software specifications, pricing structure, third-party integrations, unique features and several other metrics to compile this list of top task management software for 2023.
Read next: 7 best project management ticketing systems for 2023 (TechRepublic)
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