12 best project management tools for creators and small businesses

Right as you’re about to close your computer, a deadline notification pops up on your screen. Your heart sinks. That project you were supposed to turn in today totally slipped under your radar.

If only there was a way to have your work organized in one practical location so you never miss a deadline again.

With project management software, you can have that and more.

In this guide, we’ll take a tour through the 12 best project management tools to help you stay on track with your business, get more done from home , and actually enjoy the process.

12 best project management tools

Editor’s note: All pricing is accurate at time of writing, but naturally subject to change over time. Hopefully, it only changes in the money-saving direction.

Trello

If you like to-do lists, you’ll love Trello . Trello is a popular project management tool that uses a Kanban layout to organize tasks, workflows, and other important information for your business.

Kanban boards are Trello’s bread and butter, but you can upgrade to the premium version for calendars, timelines, tables, and advanced dashboards.

Features:

• Trello has built-in templates for project management.

• Detailed task cards allow you to add checklists, upload file attachments, assign teammates, add comments, and add due dates.

• Zapier integration if you need more advanced features.

Who it’s best for:

• Creators who primarily need project management features and are less concerned with building workflows

• Users who want a diverse library of Kanban board templates to help them get started

• Teams that need small business project management software

Pricing:

• Free plan

• Standard: $6/month

• Premium: $12.50/month

• Enterprise: Starts at $17.50/month/user

Asana

Asana is known for being a flexible organizational system for individuals and teams alike. One thing I like most about Asana is that you can easily switch between a list view, board view, and calendar view with just a few clicks, all on the free plan.

Asana users get unlimited tasks and projects. You can also choose from premade templates and time-saving automations to cut out busy work.

Features:

• Asana makes it possible to collaborate with a team. You can assign tasks, message teammates, and share important due dates.

• The free plan includes a calendar view, board layout, and list view.

• The premium and business plans include a timeline view, extra dashboards, and advanced reporting.

• Asana has 100+ integrations, including time-tracking integrations.

Who it’s best for:

• Creators who are new to project management and want a clean to-do list interface

• Small teams who want built-in messaging and lots of integrations

Pricing:

• Free plan

• Premium: $13.49/month

• Business: $30.49/month

Airtable

If you like spreadsheets, you’ll love Airtable . Airtable allows you to organize, sort, and connect the information in your business using interactive spreadsheets.

Airtable allows you to see what’s going on in your business from several angles using views. Sort tasks using a grid view, gallery, calendar, Gantt board, Kanban board, or timeline.

You can also use automations to streamline your work. Airtable integrates with dozens of apps so you can use it as a hub for all things digital in your business.

Features:

• Airtable includes several templates to help you get started faster.

• Their unique interface designer allows you to build your own applications.

• The sync feature allows you to pull data from many sources and see it all in one place.

Who it’s best for:

• Data-loving creators looking for a smart spreadsheet alternative

Pricing:

• Free plan

• Plus: $12/month

• Pro: $24/month

• Enterprise: Custom pricing

ClickUp

ClickUp is one of my favorite tools to stay on track and organize big picture projects alongside day-to-day tasks. They claim that their software saves users one day per week, and after trying it out, I believe them.

ClickUp has a visually appealing interface that allows individuals and teams to track progress, visualize goals, and communicate. Within each card, ClickUp lets you add custom fields, checklists, subtasks, and due dates.

There’s also an interactive document feature so you can edit, collaborate, and store important information all in one place.

Features:

• All ClickUp plans come with unlimited tasks and members.

• There are advanced teamwork features like document collaboration tools, time tracking, and workload management.

• You have the ability to set goals and create custom dashboards.

• The advanced features have a learning curve at first, but overall the tool is extremely powerful.

Who it’s best for:

• Solo creators who want customizable task cards that hold lots of information

• Teams and small businesses who want a powerful collaboration and organization tool

Pricing:

• Free plan

• Unlimited: $9/month

• Business: $19/month

• Business Plus: $29/month

• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Amazing Marvin

Amazing Marvin combines clean minimalism with unique features that are perfect for productivity enthusiasts.

With Amazing Marvin, you can customize your dashboard to your exact preferences. You can color-code tasks, organize your day, and use different views to get a big-picture look at what’s coming up. All you need to do is drag and drop your tasks to arrange your schedule.

It also has positive incentive games you can use to stay motivated. For example, you can configure your settings so when you complete tasks, you receive rewards.

Features:

• Amazing Marvin lets you organize your day however you want. You can create sectioned to-do lists and use time blocking to manage your workload.

• Helpful productivity tools for project management are built-in.

• There’s a day-to-day planner as well as a week, month, and year view.

• If you want to build healthy habits, there’s also a daily habit tracker.

Who it’s best for:

• Individual creators who don’t have a team

• Creators who want a daily planning tool with advanced features like time-blocking and habit tracking

• Creators who like trying new productivity tricks and games to avoid burnout

Pricing:

• Monthly subscription: $12/month

• Lifetime deal: $300/life

Monday.com

Monday.com is a productivity tool that helps creators save time through custom workflows and automations that minimize busywork.

Monday.com mainly functions as a board system, but higher-tiered plans come with timeline, Gantt, and calendar views.

The platform also comes with hundreds of templates designed for different industries to help you get started quickly. Whether you’re working on software development, brainstorming a new content calendar, or managing freelance clients, Monday likely has a template that fits the bill.

Features:

• Over 100,000 teams use Monday to stay organized.

• Monday has lots of integrations, including a Zapier integration.

• This tool is great for team collaboration because it has real-time document editing.

Who it’s best for:

• Creators with teams who want to use custom automations and workflows

Pricing:

• Individual: Free plan for teams of 1–2 people

• Basic: $10/person/month

• Standard: $12/person/month

• Pro: $20/person/month

• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Friyay

Friyay brings the joy back to finishing tasks. It functions like a toolbox: a colorful, time-saving, productivity toolbox.

It’s completely customizable, and you can build your own dashboard with all the modules you need and nothing you don’t.

Friyay also has a simple pricing system. For most creators, the free plan is sufficient. It includes all the Friyay tools and unlimited basic users, guests, and collaborators. If you need to add team members with more advanced capabilities, you’ll pay for them on a month-to-month basis.

Features:

• Build a work hub with modules like to-do lists, notes, file sharing, team chat, time tracking, goal tracking, and more.

• Create an informational wiki to store important information for your business.

• Everyone has access to timeline views, calendar views, Kanban boards, and project views.

• Friyay has integrations with Google Drive, Slack, Box, Dropbox, and Trello.

Who it’s best for:

• Creators and small businesses who want to design their own set of productivity tools from the Friyay building blocks

Pricing:

• Free workspace: Free forever

• Premium workspace: $4 — $16/month/person depending on the type of user

Notion

If you’re a fan of simplicity and clean design, give Notion a try. Just take a look through their vast template library, and you’ll probably see something that catches your eye.

Notion is a way to keep track of your documents and projects in one place. One cool feature is that all the data you put in Notion is interconnected. If you have a deadline on your calendar, you can link it to a task card or a team memo for quick reference.

Notion shines for both teams and individuals. Teams can use built-in collaboration features, and independent creators can organize their business and personal life in one place.

Features:

• Easily create a team wiki and store internal documents to keep everyone on the same page.

• The default settings come with a daily journal, a reading list, a calendar, and a to-do list already set up, but there’s so much more you can do with it.

• You can create projects and to-do lists with detailed task cards.

• Because Notion combines note-taking and to-do lists, it’s great for writing-heavy fields.

Who it’s best for:

• Individuals and teams who want a way to organize written notes and plans

• One of the best project planners for teams looking for a centralized place to store documents and internal how-to information

Pricing:

• Personal: Free

• Personal Pro: $5/month

• Team: $10/month

• Enterprise: Customized for large teams

nTask

nTask is a powerful project management tool for small business owners who need maximum functionality in one place.

While some project planning tools depend on integrations, nTask comes with many features built-in, making this ideal for those who prefer simplicity out of the box.

nTask really shines as a team management tool. It has built-in time tracking and even allows users to create timesheets. It also has a unique meeting planner where participants can add agenda notes and helpful information to each meeting scheduled.

Features:

• The free plan comes with a list, calendar, and grid view, perfect for managing day-to-day tasks.

• The premium plan includes Gantt boards and Kanban boards for handling bigger projects.

• You can ensure everyone knows what to do by assigning tasks to team members and giving them a priority level.

Who it’s best for:

• Creators with a team because nTask offers team management tools like meeting planners and timesheets

Pricing:

• Basic: Free for individuals and up to five team members

• Premium: $4/person/month

• Business: $12/person/month

MeisterTask

Rather than adding extra features, MeisterTask focuses only on a dashboard, tasks, and projects. It’s intuitive to use, quick to set up, and customizable to your workflows.

Start by glancing at your helpful dashboard to see all your tasks and projects in one place. Within each project, you’ll have a Kanban board for detailed task tracking.

Features:

• MeisterTask is hosted in the EU with over 2 million users.

• All users have an agenda space where they can arrange their task lists and plan their day.

• There are plenty of integrations with popular software.

• It’s easy to collaborate with team members through comments and mentions.

Who it’s best for:

• Creators who want their software based in the EU

• Teams who want to collaborate in one place

Pricing:

• Free plan

• Pro: $8.25/month/user

• Business: $20.75/month/user

• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Basecamp

Basecamp is a business and project management tool designed for teams that work remotely. It offers one centralized hub for your communications so everyone knows what to do.

For each department or project you have, there’s a dashboard with a message board, a to-do list, a schedule, and a space to upload files. There’s also a chat room feature where the entire team can ask questions and collaborate.

Members have their own area where they can see new assignments, meetings, and bookmarked items.

Basecamp gets rave reviews from its customers, and 9 out of 10 users say that they have a better handle on their business since signing up.

Features:

• Basecamp is great for teams and has features like a message board, automatic check-ins, and a group chat function.

• It’s easy to create to-do lists and schedules that can be delegated to teammates.

• You have the ability to upload documents and collaborate on them in one location.

• Basecamp also offers client collaboration features, perfect for anyone who wants a convenient space to work with customers.

Who it’s best for:

• Teams who want a central hub for all their projects

• Freelancers who want a place to collaborate with their clients

Pricing:

• Personal: Free

• Business: Flat rate of $99/month no matter how big your team is

Wrike

Wrike gives teams the ability to manage project tasks, share files, and build efficient workflows.

Wrike lets you organize tasks in Kanban boards, calendars, lists, and Gantt views. It’s also possible to collaborate with outside freelancers and clients.

Project templates make it easy to get started, and Wrike has plenty of communication tools so you can stay in touch with the whole team from day one.

Features:

• Wrike has built-in time tracking, resource management, and workload management.

• It integrates with dozens of other tools in your business stack.

• Each user gets a customizable workspace where they can see their tasks for the day.

• Wrike offers several plans suitable for complex projects across different industries, as well as a free version for individuals.

Who it’s best for:

• Teams or professionals looking for advanced small business project management tools

• Marketing teams and service teams, since Wrike has specialized plans for these industries

Pricing:

• Free plan

• Professional: $9.80/person/month

• Business: $24.80/person/month

• Enterprise: Custom for big businesses

• Pinnacle: Custom for big businesses

The best project planning tools come in all shapes and sizes, and we hope this guide helps you find the right fit for you!