Finding the best project management software for freelancers can be overwhelming If you’re running your own freelance business and you want to keep track of everything like;
- Tracking how the hours that it takes to complete projects or tasks
- Keeping records of clients who haven’t paid up and what to do
- Staying on top of all of your accounting
Using the right project management software can go a long way in helping you manage your time and juggle multiple tasks at once
Whether you’re just starting out as a freelancer or you’ve been doing it for years.
But with so many different types of project management software available, it can be hard to figure out which one will work best for your needs.
So to help you decide, I have reviewed and combined the best project management software for freelancers you can use to manage your projects and time effectively
These are software that is currently used by freelancers. Just to know you’re not alone.
CHOOSING PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
There are thousands of project management software solutions available, so it can be difficult to know which option is best for your needs.
But finding a solution that’s right for you really comes down to three things: Your budget, your team size, and how many projects you want to manage at once.
For example, as a freelancer, you need a tool that can help manage one project at a time, choosing Project H from Microsoft might be a good choice as it’s designed specifically with freelancers in mind.
WHAT’S THE BEST PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE FOR FREELANCER?
If you’ve ever tried to find a good, free project management software, then you know that there are so many options out there.
In fact, most of them have similar functionality with just slight variances in approach and layout.
That’s why we thought it’d be fun to test out 9 different programs and see which ones work best for freelancers. Here are our top picks.
#1: BASECAMP
Basecamp is easily one of our top picks for project management software.
Not only is it free up to 15 users and unlimited projects, but you can also integrate your
- calendars (Google Calendar and iCal),
- email (Gmail, Outlook),
- files from Google Drive, Dropbox, and Flickr;
A whole lot more than some other project management software! It’s hard to beat that kind of offering.
What we like about Basecamp:
Well, thought features, easy-to-use interface, video conferencing capabilities, and mobile access on iPhone and Android make it incredibly user-friendly.
Where do they fall short?
Probably in their dashboard/analysis module which isn’t as extensive as that of LiquidPlanner or Primavera Next.
Still, it doesn’t take away from what is an all-around great tool for any company or individual looking to manage their projects with ease.
FEATURES OF BASECAMP
Basecamp is a project management software for freelancers.
- It allows you to create projects, allocate tasks, and schedule events.
- The system allows you to upload files and images directly from your desktop, share them with co-workers, and schedule meetings in order to coordinate efforts more efficiently.
- Basecamp also has a chatbox feature that helps you communicate online more efficiently and keep track of discussions between teammates.
- It also offers native mobile apps for iOS and Android devices which allow team members to view project files on their smartphones or tablets.
- While most services listed here provide free tiers, Basecamp is one of few that offer paid plans as well as paid add-ons like priority support and invoice generation software.
Basecamp is one of the leading project management software for freelancers as well as small companies.
- It provides a clear understanding of project status at any time.
Moreover, it has a number of features that enhance the process of handling projects and workflows, including milestones, to-do lists, messages, and comments.
PRICING
Basecamp is an excellent software to manage projects.
It has a very simple pricing model, where you can start with a free plan and upgrade to paid plans when you grow and need more features.
The pricing of Basecamp project management software starts from $20 per month. The company offers a 14-day free trial.
#2: TRELLO
Trello is a visual project management software that offers flexible options for how you want to set up your workflow.
From setting due dates and maintaining checklists to sharing files with clients, Trello is a powerful tool that helps freelancers organize projects, tasks, deadlines, and more.
It is an easy-to-use project management software that uses a simple web and mobile app interface.
If you need something simple and straightforward (and free), Trello can’t be beaten.
With Trello, you can create multiple boards to manage different aspects of your freelance business.
FEATURES OF TRELLO
- Real-time collaboration and quick, seamless communication
- Trello’s card-based structure enables you to move tasks from one column to another, which helps you organize your work by project.
- It has a clean dashboard. minimalist user interface with bright colors and sharp typography.
- The app also integrates with existing cloud storage solutions like Dropbox and Google Drive for team collaboration across devices.
PRICING
Trello charges per user per month but offers a basic account with unlimited storage of cards and attachments.
Pricing starts at $3 per month (which gets you one user) and goes up to $30/month (for 10 users).
Trello offers a free 14-day trial (for up to 5 users).
From the free plan, users can set up boards, lists, and cards as they see fit in order to create different stages of each project.
The team behind Trello works hard to keep their prices low and feels strongly about keeping Trello accessible to everyone.
#3: WRIKE
If you don’t need to collaborate with clients or team members, you can use Wrike instead of Trello.
It features the ability to assign tasks,
- set due dates and reminders,
- organize tasks into projects and workspaces,
- uploads files from Dropbox and Google Drive; and
- manage your tasks through a web browser or mobile apps.
All plans are free up to two users—one primary user and one additional user.
However, each person after that costs $6 per month.
If you decide that Wrike is not for you, you can always switch over to a different project management software—the good news is there are plenty of choices available!
FEATURES OF WRIKE
Wrike’s features include task lists, time tracking, automated reminders and alerts, a reporting system for project status, and an integrated messaging system.
- It makes it easy to coordinate with team members across multiple projects from your desktop or through its iOS app.
- It integrates well with major cloud services like Box and Google Drive so you can access files from within Wrike.
- The tool also has built-in support for translation and translation management software
- So you can keep content flowing smoothly as you work across multiple teams of freelancers who speak different languages.
PRICING
Wrike has a free version and several paid versions.
It is free for small teams up to 15 users; after that, it costs $3 per user per month with additional features available in higher tiers.
The entry-level plan, Team Starter, costs $12 per user per month with no limits on file storage or users. That will get you time tracking, Gantt charts, task dependencies, and more.
You’ll have to pay more for powerful features like social media management and project reports, though.
#4: ASANA
Despite being relatively new to the business, Asana has some of the top project management skills in place and even hosts your projects online.
This allows you to work from anywhere, as long as you have a reliable internet connection.
It includes features like instant notifications, checklists and works great with mobile devices. It has one drawback though
If your company has more than 15 users or is looking to outsource project management tasks then Asana is not your best option.
But for smaller teams of freelancers or those who are just starting their businesses, it’s perfect!
FEATURES OF ASANA
- Asana’s features include task and project management, a real-time messaging system, and an easy-to-use interface.
- The software offers many opportunities for collaboration among team members, including attachments and comments.
- For freelancers looking for collaborative software that is already familiar and easy to use, Asana is a great choice.
ASANA PRICING
Asana’s free version.
Free plan: Asana has a free version that’s decent enough to use, it allows teams of up to 15 users to connect via email or an API
Premium plan: $100/month gets you administrative controls.
If your team is a small handful of people, Asana Premium costs $200/month.
Enterprise-level: $4,000/month – best for a larger company that wants to get training and support from Asana reps.
#5: CLICKUP
ClickUp is a next-generation and easy-to-use project management software for freelancers. It makes it easy to manage projects and collaborate with team members.
It is designed specifically for entrepreneurs, freelancers, creatives, and anyone who is looking to stay organized and manage their workflow.
ClickUp allows you to create tasks, subtasks, due dates, assign projects and milestones to specific people, track progress on a project timeline, and more!
Whether you are just starting out or have been working as a freelancer for years – ClickUp is here to help with task management that fits your needs.
From task lists to social media integration, ClickUp has a number of features designed to make collaboration easy.
FEATURES OF CLICKUP
- ClickUp features a strong and intuitive interface that simplifies task management, making it a great tool for freelancers.
- It provides everything you need to manage projects on your own without having to hire an entire team of project managers.
- The software is incredibly easy to learn and understand, and its email notifications are highly customizable.
- If you’re looking for a simple but powerful project management tool, Clickup may be just what you’re looking for.
CLICKUP PRICING
At $12 per user per month, Clickup’s pricing is on par with that of Basecamp, Asana, and similar project management software.
The important thing to note is that Clickup provides its features without any sort of contracts or minimum commitments.
If you don’t like it – or if you find a better alternative – you can switch at any time.
There are no lock-in clauses to keep you from making changes.
#6: FRESHBOOKS
Freshbooks is one of the most popular projects management tools for freelancers.
It is an invoicing and timesheet management software, which is cloud-based, making it very easy to access from any device or location.
Since Freshbooks was started by ex-developers who needed something better than what they had as independent workers, it has a lot of powerful features for freelancers and small businesses.
Features like time tracking, forecasting, accounting reports, and scheduled invoices are some of its best selling points.
Also, Freshbooks was designed with simplicity in mind – from a user interface perspective at least.
FEATURES OF FRESHBOOKS
- Freshbooks offers a streamlined and easy-to-use interface that lets you set up and manage projects with relative ease.
- Freshbooks comes with several useful features, such as invoicing and estimates, credit card management, cloud storage, and project templates.
- You can also integrate Freshbooks with other software applications like Google Analytics, PayPal and Shopify so that there are no delays in payment.
FRESHBOOKS PRICING
Freshbooks is a simple, intuitive tool that you can use to manage your business.
It has three pricing plans to meet your needs.
The unlimited plan is free if you have fewer than 2 people working on it.
In fact, Freshbooks is the first of these nine project management software options that don’t cost any money at all upfront.
If you do need support, you can pay an annual fee of $89 per month or $10 per user and it includes unlimited users and chat support.
#7: MONDAY
Monday is an easy-to-use project management software for freelancers, start-ups, and small businesses.
Monday offers all of your project management tools (notifications, team communication, project planning, file sharing) within one beautifully designed app.
It’s a great way to get everything you need for effective project management on your smartphone or tablet as well as online and on any other device that supports HTML5.
Monday offers time tracking, invoicing, and money transfer to your clients in multiple currencies with powerful reporting features available via a simple drag and drop interface.
You can easily track time spent on projects with customizable billable rates per client and billed projects exportable in PDF format.
FEATURES OF MONDAY
Monday is an online project management software for freelancers and small businesses.
- Its most attractive feature is that it manages your tasks, deadlines, and task due dates for you.
- You can also add other projects to your Monday dashboard from third-party services like Asana and Trello.
Another reason Monday excels as a project management software for freelancers:
- It integrates with major CRMs, including Basecamp and TSheets.
Allowing you to easily see what a client is expecting of you without having to check multiple systems or email chains back and forth.
- It works across devices (desktop, web browser) and has integrations that make collaborating with your team easy.
MONDAY PRICING
Monday is a project management tool that costs $19 per month.
In order to use Monday, users must be on Windows or Mac and have an Internet connection.
There are some basic plans for freelancers, but enterprise clients will need to purchase full versions of Monday.
You can test out Monday completely free before deciding whether it’s right for you and your needs. With 14-day trials available, there’s no risk in testing out all of Monday’s features.
#8: TOGGL TRACK (PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE)
Toggl is one of the best project management software for freelancers and if you are looking for time tracking software, then Toggl track (proprietary software) is a great option.
It’s easy to use, simple to understand, and has advanced features that can help you manage your workflow and projects.
The software allows you to break down your tasks into very small parts, giving you more insight into what is actually taking place during each activity.
Toggl track (proprietary software) will automatically count tasks as complete after a specific period of time and based on that information allow you to track progress in real-time.
FEATURES OF TOGGL
- Toggl project management software has a simple and user-friendly interface.
- They claim to do one thing and do it well, so you can count on your data is accurate and up-to-date.
- To add a new timer entry, all you have to do is click into any of your projects and then click on Start Timer – that’s all there is to it!
- Its real value lies in the reporting functions that allow you to see how productive you are per project, team member, or hour of the day.
- Toggl integrates with Slack, Asana, GitHub, and Google Calendar for convenient integration with your other favorite business tools.
- It is affordable and easy to use.
TOGGL PRICING
Toggl is a web-based time tracking software that has a simple pricing structure.
It costs $9 per month per user and comes with unlimited users, billing, reporting, and add-ons like Mobile Time.
For example, many of its project management software competitors cost more than ten times what Toggl track (proprietary software) does.
It’s one of our favorite project management software choices if you’re looking for a reliable service that won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
#9: WORKFLOWY (TO-DO LIST)
Workflowy was created by project management software developer and founder Mike Kusner.
The platform focuses on getting things done methodology but also helps with organizing your to-do list using folders.
What makes Workflowy unique is that it’s extremely simple and easy to use, even for new users who aren’t familiar with project management software.
It takes less than 10 minutes to go from signing up and importing your own lists (such as tasks you want to get done) into Workflowy
Which is ideal if you don’t have time to learn all of its features.
But no worries, if you already know-how project management software works, you can use Workflowy in conjunction with other services.
FEATURES OF WORKFLOWY
- Workflowy has the cleanest dashboards and a simple interface that’s easy to get to grips with.
- It is fast, web-based, and incredibly flexible.
- With Workflowy, you can create as many lists and sub-lists as you want
With different color coding, set due dates for tasks if necessary and create individual task sub-lists if you need to break down your work into smaller pieces.
- Workflowy has one of the best and most efficient keyboard shortcuts systems I have ever come across in project management software for freelancers.
- You can also export your data in any format you wish so it will be compatible with other popular project management software for freelancers such as Trello.
WORKFLOWY PRICING
Workflowy project management software is available at different pricing levels, starting at $4.99 per month.
Although Workflowy is designed to be used for free on any device or operating system, including mobile devices,
Customers who subscribe to one of Workflowy’s paid plans will get access to more advanced features and won’t see any ads when using them.
#10: REDBOOTH:
Redbooth is one of my favorite project management tools because it’s relatively inexpensive, easy to use, and super functional.
While it isn’t quite as pretty as some of its peers, I love that it gets out of my way so I can do what I need to do.
It also has a free version that allows you to manage up to 10 projects (which should be plenty for most freelancers).
You can upgrade your account or you can add in-app purchases if you want extra features. Their Pricing starts at $3/monthly for 1 user.
Redbooth does have quite a few unique features under its belt that make it worthwhile for larger organizations, especially when working across different time zones.
FEATURES OF REDBOOTH
Redbooth software is designed specifically for freelancers and small businesses.
- Intuitive and attractive interface, easy-to-use project management features, and data backup that keeps information secure.
- Freelancers can manage their workload by setting tasks on a Kanban board with drag-and-drop functionality to move tasks as they progress through their project management software.
- It has task reminders and notifications which allows users to stay on track with their projects.
- Redbooth has video conferencing capabilities to enable interaction with other team members for more collaborative work environments.
- Also, remote users can log in from any location at any time with Redbooth
Working from home or coffee shops around town gives project teams flexibility without sacrificing the quality of work done or productivity achieved.
REDBOOTH PRICING
Redbooth is a great project management tool for freelancers. It’s really inexpensive at just $4 per user per month, and it has a large feature set.
The interface is incredibly easy to use and Redbooth makes it simple to add people from your team without forcing you to invite everyone at once.
You can do an unlimited number of tasks in any project, which is something that isn’t available on many other project management software tools.
#11: TEAMWORK DESK:
Teamwork Desk is a powerful project management software that can help you increase productivity and get more done.
The software offers services such as time-tracking, invoicing, estimates, CRM integration, and more. It allows you to collaborate on your projects with colleagues from around the world.
You can also customize your tasks according to priority, schedule them, add deadlines and create reports on team activity and progress.
Teamwork lets you create teams within your organization that you can use to share files and messages while also letting you assign tasks to each member based on his or her skill set.
It also supports Gantt charts and a whole lot more features for better project management.
FEATURES OF TEAMWORK DESK
- It is a powerful and easy-to-use platform that is used by small and medium businesses of all kinds.
- It has all of your collaboration tools in one place, allowing you to easily access files, messages, tasks, and more from wherever you are.
- It’s fully customizable and offers additional features such as time-tracking tools, file sharing, and many more customization options.
- With their different plugins, there are no limits to what Teamwork can offer!
- Teams working remotely or from different locations can use Teamwork for their business model
It’s incredibly easy to use and pretty basic but can be expanded upon if you want more features.
PRICING
Teamwork Desk has a free option for personal use
Prices start at $10 per user/month on a SaaS (Software as a Service) pricing model, so it’s an affordable option and allows you to get started quickly without much investment.
Pricing includes a 30-day free trial.
It’s worth noting that unlike some of its competitors, Teamwork Desk does not have discounts for organizations that are purchasing project management software in bulk.
This means small businesses might be put off by relatively high prices, and large companies may find it impossible to justify their expense.
