Project PlanningProgram & Project Management

6 Top-Rated Free Project Planning Software

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Barkha Bali

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As a project manager, you’re responsible for creating comprehensive project plans to identify potential roadblocks early on, determine the timeline and budget, and manage your team’s workload. Fortunately, there are project planning software tools to simplify the planning process and facilitate seamless execution. 

If you’re new to using project planning software or seeking an affordable option, starting with a free tool is a great way to evaluate software usability before purchasing a paid plan. To help you make the right choice, this article highlights, in alphabetical order, six top-rated free project planning software tools based on verified software reviews.

We’ve categorized these products into three groups: dedicated project management software, work management software with project planning capabilities, and time tracking software with project planning features. Regardless of the category, all tools include the core project planning software features—project visualization and resource management.

What is free software?

Free software refers to software that users can access without incurring any costs. To meet this criterion, a software solution should grant users free access to either all or some of its features. Software requiring payment after a specific time frame does not qualify as free software.

1. Clovine

Clovine is a project management tool that offers Gantt charts to plan and visualize project timelines and identify critical tasks, potential bottlenecks, and possible delays or deviations. It also provides Kanban boards to organize tasks into different workflow stages (e.g., to do’s, in progress, done) and view progress at a glance. It lets you create and manage to-do lists for individual tasks and subtasks and set deadlines and reminders for each task. You can also automate labor cost calculations based on the task duration and assigned team members.

Clovine’s free plan supports up to three project managers and 100 team members. If your project team grows, you’ll have to switch to a paid plan. Also, note that the free plan includes one cloud workspace with 500MB storage, but with its paid plans, you can get advanced workspaces with up to 10TB storage.

Free features:

  • Mind maps: Brainstorm project ideas with team members and visualize them using mind maps. This feature breaks down complex projects into manageable subtasks to identify dependencies between tasks and prioritize them accordingly.

  • Member management tool: Assign tasks to specific team members or groups based on their competence, schedule, and expertise. This feature allows you to delegate responsibilities, manage team roles and permissions, and track individual performance for project reporting.

  • Budgeting: Create a budget plan for your project based on historical expense records. This feature helps identify potential cost overruns right at the start of a project and make informed resource allocation decisions.

Customer support options: 24/7 customer support and a knowledge base

Who should consider Clovine?

Small-business owners or project managers, particularly those emphasizing proactive cost management, can consider Clovine. Its automated labor cost calculation feature notifies project managers of any discrepancies between the planned budget and actual expenses when a task schedule deviates from its plan (whether delayed or completed ahead of time) impacting labor hours and requiring potential resource adjustments. Besides labor costs, project managers can register and manage various project expenses, such as materials, equipment, and travel costs. By providing an overview of the actual costs incurred during project execution, these registered expenses help create accurate budget estimates for future projects.

Analysis performed December 2023

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Cost to upgrade

$7.99 per user, per month

Billing cycle

Monthly

Device compatibility

2. Everhour

Everhour is a time tracking platform with project planning features. It lets you create elaborate project plans with tasks and estimates and save them as templates to be reused for similar projects. It offers list and board views to visualize project plans and stay updated on each task’s progress. You can generate custom project reports and use filters to drill down into the project data. You can also tailor the data to your needs by using conditional formatting and highlighting specific data sets within individual cells.

Everhour’s free plan offers unlimited time and project tracking for up to five team members. It also lets you generate unlimited project reports and share them with internal or external stakeholders. Upgrading to a paid plan unlocks unlimited users and advanced features such as a resource planner, invoice templates, and flexible billing options.

Free features:

  • Project dashboard: Visualize project plans on a centralized dashboard. You can add tasks, subtasks, dependencies, resources, time estimates, and budgets for each project on the dashboard. 

  • Time estimates: Add the estimated time to complete project tasks for better planning and workload management. This feature also lets your team members record the time spent on each task.

  • Resource availability management: See how your team’s time is allocated across projects and tasks to identify available resources. You can also determine potential resource constraints or overallocations for proactive adjustments.

Customer support options: Email and knowledge base

Who should consider Everhour?

Everhour is worth considering for businesses or project teams prioritizing precise time tracking for each project. As a time tracking tool first, Everhour lets users track the time spent on each task or project for accurate billing and invoicing. Project managers can gain valuable insights into project profitability by comparing the time spent against the estimated budget. Additionally, the platform enables project managers to share time data with team members and stakeholders, fostering transparency and accountability in project management.

Analysis performed December 2023

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Cost to upgrade

$5 per user, per month

Billing cycle

Annual

Device compatibility

/ Pro tip

Check the project visualization options in the free plan, including Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and calendar views. Each caters to a different project management style—Gantt charts provide a timeline-based overview, Kanban boards offer visual task tracking, and calendar views offer a date-centric perspective. Choosing a tool with the right view enhances clarity and organization, aligning with your preferred project planning approach.

3. Notion

Notion is a work management system with project planning capabilities. It has pre-installed project templates that can be customized to include specific fields, tasks, time estimates, and other details. It offers board and calendar views to visualize project workflows, dependencies, and progress. Additionally, it lets you drag and drop tasks into the project workflow and use priority levels (high, medium, low) to organize tasks based on urgency. You can grant access to team members to collaborate on project plans, documents, and tasks. You can also assign tasks, roles, and permissions to each team member.

Notion’s free plan connects up to 10 guest collaborators (external to your workspace, such as contractors or clients). If your projects often include more than ten external collaborators, upgrading to a paid plan might be the right choice.

Free features:

  • Project sprints: Outline your project sprint goals, set durations, and add relevant tasks from your project database. The software automatically creates a new sprint upon completion of the current one to ensure workflow continuation.

  • Teamspaces: Create a dedicated space for your team to access project documents, tasks, discussions, and resources. You can add team members and manage their access and permissions within the teamspace.

  • Task management: Define tasks with descriptions, assign them to team members, and set due dates. You can view the status of each task in the progress bar on the dashboard and get notifications about upcoming deadlines.

Customer support options: Email and knowledge base

Who should consider Notion?

Notion’s sprint automation feature makes it a considerable option for Agile project management teams that follow iterative development processes. It allows users to define each sprint’s goals, stages, duration, actions, and tasks and visualize them on a dedicated dashboard. Project managers can adjust the sprint fields based on changing project requirements. Once a sprint is completed, the software automatically creates a new one to maintain workflow continuity and avoid delays between sprints.

Analysis performed December 2023

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Cost to upgrade

$8 per user, per month

Billing cycle

Annual

Device compatibility

4. Project.co

As a dedicated project management tool, Project.co offers Gantt charts to visualize and manage your project timeline. Its drag-and-drop functionality lets you make adjustments to task durations and dependencies. The platform uses low-, medium-, and high-priority tags to identify critical tasks and avoid delays. To foster real-time communication and collaboration, the software allows your team members to discuss tasks directly within the task view and @mention stakeholders to get instant feedback/responses. 

Project.co’s free plan supports up to 10 active projects and three users. If you upgrade to the paid plan, you can create unlimited projects and access advanced features such as AI assistance, document proofing, priority support, and unlimited tools per project.

Free features:

  • Scheduler: Leverage the project schedule dashboard to view items on a timeline grouped by resource such as allocated task or person. You can use a list, board, or calendar view to visualize active projects.

  • Collaborative notes and planning documents: Create and manage collaborative notes and documents within the platform. Team members can simultaneously edit and contribute to the same notes in real time. They can also tag specific team members or stakeholders within the notes and get real-time feedback.

  • In-built timer: Track the actual time spent on tasks by using a timer or manually adding time entries. You can also generate detailed reports to compare allocated versus actual work hours. 

Customer support options: Knowledge base and video tutorials

Who should consider Project.co?

Project.co is worth considering for project managers who want to eliminate communication bottlenecks and inefficiencies slowing down their project schedule. Its collaborative notes and documents offer a real-time solution to support coordinated project planning. This feature helps team members have discussions directly within project documents, annotate tasks for clarity, and track changes. This eliminates the need for multiple email chains and fragmented discussions. Additionally, project team members can access and contribute to the same set of notes in real time, allowing everyone to see the latest updates and modifications.

Analysis performed December 2023

/ Pro tip

Examine collaboration features, including real-time editing, commenting, and file sharing. These features centralize project-related documents, standardize communication and information sharing with project stakeholders, and improve team coordination.

5. Runrun.it

Similar to Notion, Runrun.it is a work management system with project planning capabilities. It offers Kanban boards to visualize project plans and workflows, as well as advanced search filters to drill down into project data. It keeps a centralized record of all project-related decisions, attachments, documents, and conversations with internal and external stakeholders. Additionally, it uses machine learning to analyze your team’s workflow and calculate the time left for each task at each process stage. This allows you to proactively address issues and optimize your project plan for faster completion.

Runrun.it’s free plan supports up to five users, 20 project boards, and unlimited guests. If your project team grows, you’ll need to switch to a paid plan. You can also consider an upgrade if you deal with sensitive projects and require robust data security measures such as two-factor authentication and IP filters.

Free features:

  • Project templates: Use pre-installed templates and customize tasks, milestones, and dependencies to complete the project plan. You can save the customized templates and reuse them for similar projects in the future.

  • Burnup charts: Estimate the project delivery timeline with burnup charts. These charts analyze task types, work schedules, and priority levels to create a dynamic model of project progress. This model continuously learns and adapts as tasks progress, factoring in unexpected delays or changes in workload.

  • Cost mapping and control: Associate costs with specific tasks within the project. These could include expenses related to materials, services, or other resources. This feature helps identify potential budget overruns early on, enabling proactive cost control and budget management.

Customer support options: Call, chat, email, and knowledge base

Who should consider Runrun.it?

Runrun.it’s predictive burnup charts make it a viable option for project managers who need accurate and reliable completion estimates. Traditional burnup charts are often static and don’t adapt well to changes in project dynamics, leading to inaccurate estimates and missed deadlines. Runrun.it, however, offers dynamic and responsive predictive burnup charts that continuously monitor work schedules and task priorities, as well as record unexpected delays or alterations, to enable a more realistic estimation of project delivery timelines.

Analysis performed December 2023

Trial/Free Version

  • Free Trial
  • Free Version

Cost to upgrade

$8 per user, per month

Billing cycle

Annual

Device compatibility

6. Teamwork.com

Like Clovine, Teamwork.com is a dedicated project management software platform. It provides real-time data on your team members’ capacity and allows you to easily add, edit, or reassign work and shift priorities. You can use Gantt charts to visualize your project timeline and arrange tasks based on priority and urgency, and a drag-and-drop editor to adjust project workflows or add dependencies. You can also @mention project stakeholders to get their input or approval.

Teamwork.com’s free plan supports up to five users and two project templates with limited workload capacity. Upgrade to a paid plan for unlimited templates, unlimited workload capacity, shareable dashboards, and other advanced features.

Free features:

  • Workload capacity: Monitor the tasks and responsibilities assigned to each team member. This feature lets you assign or reassign tasks and shift priorities to prevent overloading individuals and optimize team productivity.

  • Project dashboard: Use the dashboard to gain insights into task statuses, timelines, and overall project health. This dashboard works as a visual command center for effective project monitoring.

  • Project budgets: Define project budgets and track spending throughout the project lifecycle. This feature lets you categorize and record project-related expenses, including invoices, receipts, and miscellaneous costs. It sends alerts when a project reaches a certain percentage of its budget or when individual expense categories exceed thresholds.

Customer support options: Call, email, and knowledge base

Who should consider Teamwork.com?

Teamwork.com’s budget categorization feature makes it a viable option for project teams that need to navigate complex budgets with granular expense tracking. It helps users break down their project budget into smaller, more specific categories. This approach makes it easier to see where money is being spent within the project. Budget categorization avoids lumping everything into one general budget, where it's harder to identify cost drivers and potential areas for cost savings. With detailed breakdowns, project managers can make better decisions about resource allocation, prioritize spending on critical areas, and make adjustments as needed.

Analysis performed December 2023

/ Pro tip

Ensure the free plan supports task dependencies and subtasks. Task dependencies define the precise order in which tasks must be completed and map out clear timelines to avoid scheduling conflicts, while subtasks break down complex tasks into manageable components. These features contribute to a more detailed and accurate project plan, promoting better resource allocation and coordination.

What is the cost to upgrade from free project planning software to a paid one?

Project planning software upgrades can be as low as $5 per user, per month, or go all the way up to $199+ per month, depending on various factors—features, number of users, number of projects, and more. Most project planning tools typically include the following subscription plans:

  • Free trials: No-cost trial plans range from seven to 21 days and give users access to either all or limited features of the software. These are ideal for businesses that wish to try out a tool before purchasing it.

  • Free versions: Free plans offer perpetual access to limited software features. These are ideal for small-business owners or project teams on a budget.

  • Entry-level plans: Start at $5 per user, per month, and offer basic features. This option is suitable for small businesses or project teams with basic feature requirements such as task management, resource allocation, and basic reporting.

  • Mid-tier plans: Range from $9 to $59 per month and offer advanced features such as unlimited tasks, multiple project views, team collaboration tools, customizable dashboards, and advanced reporting. These are suitable for businesses that have outgrown entry-level project planning solutions but don’t require the full range of functionality offered by enterprise-level tools.

  • High-end plans: Cost over $199 monthly and offer a range of advanced features, including unlimited projects, AI project planning, unlimited users, training sessions, and more. These are ideal for cross-functional project management teams and departments that need a customized solution.

Hidden costs associated with project planning software

Besides the software license, additional costs may include:

  • Training expenses: Initial training for new users and ongoing training for updates or new features can lead to additional costs.

  • Data migration costs: Migrating data from your existing system to the new tool may require expert assistance, which can add to the software implementation cost.

  • Transaction and processing fees: Some software solutions charge a fee based on the number of transactions or the volume of data processed.

Frequently asked questions when selecting free project planning software

Here are some questions to ask project planning software providers before making a final purchase:

Does the free plan include project planning templates?

Project planning templates establish a standardized approach to creating project blueprints. They often come with predefined sections and categories, such as resources, tasks, and dependencies, that prompt users to consider various aspects of the project. Before making a decision, check if the free plan of your shortlisted software has pre-installed templates to accelerate the planning process.

Is there a limit on the number of project plans I can create?

Some free plans may restrict the number of active projects you can have. It’s important to know if there’s a limit on the number of project plans you can create in the free version, especially when handling multiple projects simultaneously. This will help you decide if the free project planning solution aligns with your project requirements and meets your business goals.

Can the software integrate with other project management tools?

You need up-to-date information on resources, finances, and client needs to create detailed project plans. This involves gathering data from various project management, collaboration, and communication tools. So, it’s crucial for the free project planning software to seamlessly connect with your team’s existing tools. When software systems work well together, they help your project team communicate, share info, and complete tasks faster. This reduces manual work and makes project planning more collaborative and transparent.


Looking for Project Management software? Check out Capterra's list of the best Project Management software solutions.

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About the Author

Barkha Bali profile picture

Barkha Bali is a writer at Capterra, providing expert insights to help small businesses identify the right software for their needs by analyzing user reviews data for the highest rated products in relevant software categories. She has worked in finance, lifestyle, education, and medical. With expertise in marketing and content strategy, Barkha’s work has been featured in Medium and educational websites. When not working, she can be found re-watching “The Office” or “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”

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