5 Best Simple Project Management Software

So, you are in the market for a simple project management software.

Ideal, because in this article we have our compilation list for our top picks, and we compare the features and pricing for you. 

If you just want the best choice, we’ve added that right at the top of the article as this was what is most requested by our customers and what we see the best feedback with. So, that’ll be the “can’t go wrong” option. 

Otherwise, feel free to explore all the options we’ve reviewed on the market to find something that might fit you a little better.

Enjoy the list!

The Best Simple Project Management Software

In the bustling world of project management, simplicity often equates to efficiency. As teams juggle multiple tasks, a straightforward and intuitive project management software becomes invaluable.

These tools, designed for ease of use, ensure that teams can focus on the task at hand without getting bogged down by overly complex features. The emphasis is on clarity, user-friendliness, and streamlined processes.

1. Monday

Monday integrates client emails, collects leads with forms, and refines marketing campaigns through scrupulous analysis that greatly enhances your relationship with clients and creates more business opportunities. It’s an easy-to-use platform that simplifies organizational tasks for sales and marketing teams.

Monday Features

Here are some features that make Monday a unique CRM:

• Software development: Monday provides templates to help your technical team quickly organize tasks, find bugs and improve iterations. You can add indicators to let the team know what you are working on and analyze the resource allocation. Every project has a specific ID that can be used; to track it among other tasks. Clients will automatically be alerted once the error is solved to reduce downtime and keep customers updated.
• HR structuring: Monday lets users manage recruiting process and track employee progression through its HR tools such as Applicant Tracker, Employee Engagement, Attendance Tracker, Recruitment Tracker, and Vacation Tracker. You can boost the team spirit of your employees by creating specific goals and giving constructive feedback on their work.
• Inventory Management: Businesses can record product and asset details while setting automation to get regular updates about sales and inquiries. You can create new templates to match the company’s requirements and integrate Monday with other applications to make the tasks easier. Moreover, Monday generates a unique QR code for each product so your clients can coherently buy the inventory.
• Marketing and Creative attributes: Monday can bridge the gap between creative thinking and marketing strategies by merging them into a single platform. You can create visualizations on campaign effects, share ideas and create personalized operations to make information accessible for employees.
• Sales operations: Monday offers CRM customization to make the leads attainable and manage all opportunity stages at a single interface. You can see the combined effect of marketing and sales campaigns to make adjustments accordingly. Moreover, businesses can centralize the available data for ease of use and synchronization of operations.
• IT workspace: You can add educational content for new recruitments to learn skills faster and ensure quality work. Monday lets you set access permissions for tasks and strictly follows security protocols to prevent cyber attacks on your CRM database. You can integrate IT tools and put technical work in order on Monday.

Monday Pricing

Monday CRM offers 4 pricing options depending upon your business size and requirements.

“Individual” plan is free of cost and lets users record work-related activities. 

“Basic” plan is priced at $10/month for a single user and offers 5GB storage along with customer support.

“Standard” plan is worth $14/month for a single user and offers additional collaboration tools. 

“Pro” subscription costs $27/month for an individual and offers chart view along with time tracking.

“Enterprise” plan is made specifically for large businesses and includes quality security features. You can contact support to get a quote on the “Enterprise” package.

2. Trello

Trello allows your project teams to work together and maintain coordination between all departments within your business organization. It empowers project management by providing; the necessary tools and workflows to keep up with the scaling demands.

Trello centralizes your project details in one collaborative location, making it easier to track, manage and complete multiple tasks.

Trello Features

Here are some exclusive features of Trello:

Multiple Views: Trello offers users the ability to switch between their preferred; views and brings a unique perspective to project management. It enables you swiftly execute your ideas into actions by providing clear visibility into every ongoing task. Trello Board view breakdown the project into multiple steps and updates the Workspace every time a task is near completion.

Dashboard: With the dashboard, you can gain actionable insights into your business processes so you can prevent bottlenecks and maintain efficiency. It allows users to customize key metrics and anticipate a team’s requirements.

Trello Maps: Trello provides inbuilt interactive maps tl track field services and views the locational information pertinent to every project. It’s a valuable feature for businesses that have agents in the field and allows managers to track the latest updates regarding what’s happening in different project sites.

Butler: Trello offers an automation feature named “Butler” that allows you to create no-code integrations, workflows and bots to automate repetitive procedures. You can set pre-defined instructions for every automation and ensure the system quickly updates the relevant members every time a task is completed. You can turn on the suggestion feature, and Trello will identify your repetitive actions to suggest single-click automation that simplify your workload.

Power-ups: With Trello’s featured Power-ups, users can add third-party plugins to enhance the functioning within their Workspace. You can integrate valuable tools like; Jira, Google Drive, Slack and any other relevant sources to access your files and documents within Trello’s unified database.

Template creation and customization: Users can switch between templates to provide their teams with a blueprint for efficient project management. You can access the templates made by other users and create new ones to share with the Trello community. It helps you go digital with your work management and allows customization to the existing templates so they can meet your specific project requirements.

Trello Pricing

Trello offers 4 Pricing options for businesses to use the platform for project management.

The “Free” plan offers unlimited storage along with intrinsic project management tools and is best for teams looking to get acquainted with Trello.

The “Standard” plan offers advanced checklists, along with the basic features included in the “Free” pricing option. It is priced; at $5/user/month upon annual billing.

The “Premium” plan offers a dashboard view to get analytical insights along with the features included in the “Standard” pricing option. It is priced; at $10/user/month upon annual billing.

The “Enterprise” plan allows users to maximize Trello’s functionality and create unlimited workspaces. It is priced; at $17.5/user/month upon annual billing. 

3. Asana

All important projects involve groups of people coming together to achieve a shared goal. Asana is a tracking and project management software that allows teams to collaborate on tasks and track progress. It simplifies communication and data sharing, allowing you; to stay up-to-date with the latest project requirements.

Asana features

Here are some exclusive features of Asana:

• Workflow builder: Asana provides visual tools to efficiently create workflows that simplify your execution and management tasks, helping your teams stay connected from initiation to completion. With the workflow builder, you can systemize; the information intake and capture ideas more easily.
• Workload management: With Asana’s coherent workload management, you can ensure your teams are not overwhelmed by the tasks and can easily schedule their work. Project managers can get a clear overview of what’s happening inside the workspace to promote balance.
• Resource Allocation: It allows you to reassign high-priority tasks to more suited employees with just a few clicks. You can easily analyze the current progression and send the relevant details to the assigned personnel for a seamless transition.
• Views and Reporting: Asana provided real-time analytics and insights through AI-powered reporting tools that assist you in setting realistic objectives for your teams. You can specify the criteria and generate reports to see progress across projects.
• Project Synchronization: It enables users to see contextual information regarding the same task across different project teams without duplications. So project managers can assess the employee’s work performance.
• Data security enhancement: Asana allows you to export data to a dedicated server for your business, boosting network security. Users can easily delete or reset their current workspaces to start anew effortlessly.
• Mobile accessibility: Asana is accessible from iOS and Android devices to help you stay on top of project management anytime, anywhere. You can update task status, check schedules and have conversations with your teams.
• Robust rest API: Asana supports seamless integration with several reporting tools and allows automation; to quickly execute tasks across other platforms. You can connect GitHub, Harvest and Slack to track project status or view any recent code edits.

Asana Pricing

Asana offers 3 Pricing options for users to serve their unique project management requirements.

The “Basic” plan is for individuals or businesses looking to get started with Asana and understand its core function. It’s a free subscription plan that provides rudimentary features of Asana.

The “Premium” plan provides access to Asana’s “Workflow Builder” and lets users create multiple timelines within the interface to manage and reassign overlapping tasks. It is priced; at $10.99/user/month upon annual billing.

The “Business” plan is for enterprises looking to maintain scalability and handle the huge workload. It provides access to all exclusive features of Asana. “Business” plan is priced; at $24.99/user/month upon annual billing.

4. Basecamp

Basecamp is a highly effective project management software that allows users to collaborate and track project status whether working closely or remotely. You can access all interactions and project data within a single platform and transform the way you pursue tasks.

Basecamp features

Here are some exclusive features of Basecamp:

Scalability: Unlike most project management tools, Basecamp does not charge organizations based on the number of users, helping you control costs while your business scales. So as your business requirements increase, Basecamp will start becoming more cost-effective for your operations.

Campfire: Campfire is the team chat feature offered by Basecamp; that connects you with your colleagues and team members. You can conversate, share documents or send links to reports in a two-way communication channel.

Automatic Check-ins: Basecamp allows users to create automatic check-in schedules to get regular task updates from their employees or subordinates. Basecamp will ask the inputted question on the set periods and organize the responses so you can go through them easily.

Client access: With Basecamp, you can add clients into relevant workspaces so they can oversee the progress. You can decide what is visible to your clients by setting a task status as “Team only” or “Client view”. If you accidentally share an ongoing project or a private file, you can simply switch the task status to keep it from the clients.

Scheduling: You can design milestones and integrate them into the calendar. So you don’t miss out on crucial deadlines or events. Moreover, Basecamp allows you to personalize the notifications. So you are not bombarded with work mails or reminders outside your work hours.

Cascading Notifications: Basecamp identifies which device you are using currently and sends project notifications on that device. If you’re on a laptop or a desktop, you’ll not get updates on your mobile and vice versa. It streamlines your work updates and helps you stay organized.

Trix: Basecamp offers a no-code text editor consistent with all devices. You can create content, write HTML codes for your website or drag in files and images from the database to simplify text editing tasks.

Colorcoding: With colorcoding, you can highlight valuable; documents, images or files to make them easily identifiable. It eliminates the need to scour through the entire database or project lifecycle to locate a relevant record.

Basecamp Pricing

Basecamp offers 2 Pricing options for users looking to incorporate efficient project management software into their personal life or business.

The “Basecamp Personal” provides 1GB storage and allows you; to add up to 20 users. You can manage 3 Projects simultaneously with this plan. It’s a free subscription plan and is perfect for students of small-scale businesses.

The “Basecamp Business” provides you complete access to all available functionalities of Basecamp; You can add unlimited users without paying any extra amount. It is priced; at $99/month.

5. Hive

Project management tools are crucial for every business; to track the work status of several teams within the organization efficiently. Hive is made for fast-scaling businesses and allows you to follow the progress of every project through its innovative and customizable Dashboard.

Hive Features

Here are some exclusive features of Hive:

• Project management: Hive is compatible with teams of every size. It simplifies project tracking by providing multiple flexible views of ongoing projects, enabling project managers to; easily assign tasks and maintain accountability. Hive allows you to switch between the Gantt charts, Status view, Label view, Team view and a Table view to give a better outlook on your tasks.
• Team-wide Resourcing: It is a time management tool that creates a unique dashboard; for your resourcing requirements. Users who have access to resourcing workspace can create and view their personalized schedules to stay on track, while the project managers can book resources or assign tasks for fast-paced action.
• Time-Tracking: With Hive, you can track the time taken for project completion in the same workspace where you manage your project details. Moreover, Hive offers timesheet reports, allowing managers; to track the billable hours of employees, assess their work rate and get overall visibility into every team’s operations.
• Task Prioritization: Users can set the priority status; to every task through action cards and enable teams to focus on completing urgent assignments to avoid missing the deadline. Moreover, you can set urgency levels for projects nearing the deadline date, and Hive will automatically place them above other ongoing tasks with higher priority levels.
• In-app messenger: Hive simplifies interaction within your teams or organization by providing instant messaging services within its platform. Your employees can create groups, send documents in a two-way chatbox and easily connect with their project managers. You can create messaging groups for every department or project within your organization to store interactions in one communication channel.
• Proofing and Approvals: You can turn on this feature by scrolling to the “Hive apps” section. It enables your employees and workspace users to set up approvals, add annotations for proofing, request reviews from teams and add automation to change the status of a file or project after the approval.
• Automation: Hive allows users to manage the automation function based on organizational role and task requirements. Your analytical department can get valuable insights into ongoing operations and team-wide data to create reports. Similarly, your employees can create workflows to automate repetitive tasks, identify risks, group individual actions and streamline the workflow.

Hive Pricing

Hive offers three pricing plans for teams looking to; efficiently manage their projects and scale their business operations.

“Hive Solo” is for start-ups, Solopreneurs or users that are just getting started with their business. It’s a free subscription plan that gives users access; to unlimited storage space plus basic project management and collaboration features.

“Hive Teams” is priced at $16 and allows users to manage multiple projects at once. It provides Time-Tracking and lets you add any amount of users in the workspace according to your requirements.

“Hive Enterprise” is a customized pricing option for large-scale businesses having unique requirements. It provides you with a dedicated support service team and all functionalities offered by Hive. 

Why use a simple project management tool at all?

The beauty of simple project management tools lies in their ability to declutter the project landscape. They offer teams a clear, unobstructed view of their tasks, milestones, and deadlines without overwhelming them with excessive features.

This clarity ensures that team members can quickly understand their responsibilities, track their progress, and collaborate efficiently.

Moreover, for teams that may not have extensive experience with project management software, or for projects that don’t require intricate planning, a simple tool is ideal.

It reduces the learning curve, ensures quick onboarding, and allows teams to hit the ground running without the need for extensive training or setup.

Why should companies opt for a simple project management tool?

In the diverse landscape of project management, not every project or team requires a tool laden with advanced features.

Sometimes, the focus is on getting things done efficiently without the bells and whistles. Here’s where simple project management tools shine.

Firstly, these tools are designed for intuitiveness. Their user-friendly interfaces ensure that team members, regardless of their tech-savviness, can navigate the platform with ease.

This inclusivity ensures that every team member, from a seasoned manager to a new intern, can contribute effectively without feeling lost in the software.

Secondly, simple project management tools often come with a shorter learning curve. Companies can save valuable time and resources that would otherwise be spent on training sessions and troubleshooting.

The straightforward nature of these tools means that teams can start using them almost immediately, ensuring that projects aren’t delayed due to software complexities.

Additionally, the streamlined nature of these tools often translates to cost-effectiveness. Without a plethora of advanced features, which many teams might not even use, these tools are often more affordable.

This makes them an excellent choice for startups, small businesses, or any organization mindful of its budget.

Lastly, simplicity doesn’t mean a compromise on efficiency. These tools still offer core project management features like task tracking, collaboration channels, and deadline reminders. What they do is eliminate the noise, focusing on the essentials and ensuring that teams remain productive without any unnecessary distractions.

Simple Project Management Software, A Summary

In the realm of project management, there’s a growing appreciation for tools that prioritize simplicity and user-friendliness. Simple project management software offers a refreshing approach, emphasizing clarity, ease of use, and core functionalities.

For teams seeking an efficient way to manage their projects without the clutter of redundant features, these tools are a perfect fit. Among the myriad of options available, Monday stands out distinctly.

Its blend of simplicity, combined with essential features, positions it as a top choice for those seeking streamlined project management. For teams aiming to optimize their workflow without the software learning curve, Monday is a compelling choice to consider.

What Project Management Software would you recommend?

In short, It’s Monday.com.

It’s a platform that simplifies communication across teams and helps hit goals faster, with team management software that maximizes productivity and empowers everyone to work smarter together. You can’t go wrong with Monday.com.

“🚀Try Monday.com For Free, It’s my favorite Project Management Software to use and recommend.” -Scott Max

Monday.com is a user-friendly project management platform that offers powerful tools to streamline complex workflows for larger companies, ensuring efficient operations and delivering impressive project outcomes. Monday.com has you covered for your: Team Projects, Service, Sales, CMS, Operations, and Marketing needs.

For more details, read our Monday.com Review.