Category Compare: Project Management vs. Task Management Software

Project management and task management aren’t the same thing—in fact, one is part of the other. This report will identify the similarities and differences between the two software products to help you understand which one is better suited for your requirements.

What is project management software?

Project management software helps plan, schedule, and execute projects to achieve predefined business goals. It allows users to define and control project budgets, assign tasks, track task deadlines, schedule resources, and manage stakeholder communication to deliver projects on time.

The software is mostly used by project managers working on product development, software development, event management, and marketing projects, among others.

What is task management software?

Task management software helps individuals and teams organize, manage, and complete daily deliverables. It allows users to create tasks, track their progress, and collaborate with teammates on projects.

Team managers and project managers use the software to categorize tasks on priority, schedule workflows for individual contributors on a series of tasks, and create progress reports on all tasks.

What do they have in common?

Both project management and task management tools facilitate task management and progress reporting. Most—if not all—project managers operate at the task level, which means they divide larger projects into smaller individual tasks. They can use task management software for this purpose.

Project management software, on the other hand, is suitable for projects that have multiple interdependent tasks—i.e., the project doesn’t move forward unless the tasks are completed in the defined order.

Project management software features

Task management software features

Which tool is right for you?

If your daily workflow involves individual tasks that are not part of any project, choose a task management solution. But if you work on projects that have multiple stakeholders and dependent tasks, a project management solution would be more suitable.

Once you get an idea of which software to use, head to our project management and task management software category pages where you can find a sortable list of products, software reviews from verified users, and comprehensive buyers guides.

Want to narrow down your search to the most popular and highest-rated products? Check out Capterra’s Shortlist reports for the top project management software and task management software tools—our reports are based on an analysis of thousands of user reviews.

18 top-rated project and task management software

These 18 products, listed in alphabetical order, are among the top rated in both software categories:

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Note: Reviews and ratings data in the product cards is as of Oct. 26, 2021. New reviews may have been added since the publication of this article, so the reviews data in this piece may not reflect current conditions.

The products in the category comparison images are examples to show a feature in context and are not intended as endorsements or recommendations by Capterra. They have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication.

Methodology

To be included in the list, the products must:

1. Be listed under Capterra’s 2021 Shortlist report for project management and task management software. Learn more about the Capterra Shortlist methodology here.
2. Meet our software market definition for project management and task management software:
• Project Management: “Project management software helps teams plan and manage workflows, organize tasks and activities (which can include projects and processes), and collaborate in a shared workspace. These tools capture work execution, providing live notifications and views relevant to different stakeholders. Their target audience is non-technical business users. Key features include task/work management, collaboration, and reporting/project tracking.”
• Task Management: “Task management software helps individuals and teams organize, manage, and complete tasks. These tools allow users to create tasks, track task progress, and collaborate in groups.”