Managing teams, no matter their size, is an incredibly complex task. It involves knowing each team member’s skills and workloads and creating a plan to make individuals act as cogs in a larger mechanism.

This kind of precision demands the best team management software. There are many options to choose from, but which is right for you? Here are some of the top options in the industry and the pros and cons of each.

2024 Best Team Management Software Rankings

1. ProjectManager

ProjectManager is a front-to-back work management solution without a complicated setup. It’s designed to take all aspects of a project into account, from the planning stage through the end of the project, as well as everything necessary for team management.

Take a look at three of the most notable ways ProjectManager takes team management software to the next level, then try out these features yourself with a free 30-day trial.

See What Team Members Are Working on

ProjectManager’s team management feature was created to drive teams forward. This page shows all the information you need about who is working on what tasks and projects so that you understand their workload. It also means you know exactly where to direct your questions about details.

Whether you’re a manager or a team member, you can use the team page as a directory to connect with other stakeholders and stay on the same page. When you know what everyone is working on and how much is on their plate, it’s simpler to form stronger teams.

Collaborate in Real Time

Every aspect of ProjectManager was designed with teams in mind, so all of our features are built to encourage and support collaboration. One of these is our task management feature. Whether you’re working from a task list or a kanban board, you can add additional team members by simply searching their name or department. Team members receive updates automatically so no changes go unnoticed.

Need to chat directly with a team member? Keep this correspondence in the task itself by leaving a comment and tagging specific team members. The days of toggling between email chains and projects are over. Now, all the information you need is in one location.

Balance Workloads with Ease

ProjectManager’s workload feature eliminates the need to memorize who is working on what. This tool gives a visual representation of what team members are working on, how long they’ve been and will continue to work on them, upcoming gaps in workload and more. This information is necessary to assign the right people to tasks.

To manage a team effectively, it’s crucial to know how much everyone has on their plate. When workloads become too heavy, this can lead to burnout, frustration and in the worst cases, failure to complete tasks.

When you consider ProjectManager’s ability to organize teams, assign work, balance resources and track progress in one, easy-to-use software, it’s clear that it’s the best team management software of 2024. Ready to try it for yourself? Click here to get started for free.

Pricing

• Starter plan: $0 user/month
• Team plan: $11.50 user/month
• Business plan: $20.50 user/month

Q&A

• Does ProjectManager offer a free trial? Yes, ProjectManager has a 30-day free trial
• Does ProjectManager have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

2. Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a member of the Microsoft Office 365 family and was developed to serve as a communication platform for teams using MS Office.

MS Teams is entirely geared toward quick, easy communication, much like Slack. Tools like these are very handy for supplementing other software and boosting communication via a network of chats and channels. This allows employees to create and follow different threads to stay updated on the latest information. Not all messages, and especially quick questions, are worthy of an email and in this case, MS Teams is especially useful.

The Downside of MS Teams

Unfortunately, in order to use MS Teams for project management purposes, users must toggle between MS Teams and MS Project. This constant back and forth can lead to miscommunication, unseen messages and general confusion. Additionally, you must commit to the full suite of Office 365 applications in order to access MS Teams.

If your team does wish to use a team management software other than MS Teams, they’re stuck using one application for communication and one for project management. This can become inconvenient, especially for large teams.

Pricing

• Free plan: $0 user/month
• Microsoft Teams Essentials: $4 user/month
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $5 user/month
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50 user/month

Q&A

• Does Microsoft Teams offer a free version? Yes, Microsoft Teams offers a free plan
• Does ProjectManager have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

3. Asana

Asana is work management software with team management capabilities. Many teams choose Asana for its simplicity and seemingly user-friendly interface.
Each of these is a cornerstone of project management, and, for some teams, this is totally adequate. But, for most, these features are extremely limiting, both for the projects themselves and for team collaboration.

Tasks can only be assigned to one person, even if the task requires a team of individuals. In this case, each team member must be assigned to a separate but individual task. This means team members cannot leave each other messages within tasks or share important documents and information.

Additionally, while Asana does now offer Gantt charts as a “timeline feature,” these Gantt charts aren’t fully functional and not as robust. The same goes for other advanced project management software capabilities, such as workload management and timesheets.

Pricing

• Premium plan: $10.99 user/month
• Business plan: $24.99 user/month

Q&A

• Does Asana offer a free trial? Yes, Asana has a 30-day free trial
• Does Asana have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS.

4. Teamwork

Teamwork is team management software designed to facilitate stronger, more united teams. Much like Asana, Teamwork lets users create tasks and manage workloads with kanban boards. That being said, Teamwork simplifies things even further, making it well known for its straightforward, user-friendly interface.

As we’ve said, Teamwork revolves around simplicity. But at a certain point, this means sacrificing functionality. Unfortunately, this is where Teamwork finds itself in trouble. The tool falls short as a team management solution, as there aren’t much more users can leave on besides a few work management and communication features. Even for the smallest teams, this poses a big issue and sets a precedent for poor collaboration.

Additionally, Teamwork is similar to Office 365 in that it encompasses a suite of tools. Why is this such a bad thing? In order to plan and manage a project from start to finish and chat with team members, users must jump between multiple tools. This is an unnecessary extra step that slows teams down rather than empowers them to get more done together.

Pricing

• Deliver plan: $10 user/month
• Grow plan: $18 user/month

Q&A

• Does Teamwork offer a free trial? Yes, there’s a 30-day free trial
• Does Teamwork have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS.

5. Basecamp

Basecamp is a project management tool with a heavy focus on team management and, especially, team communication. It’s meant to be the one-stop “basecamp” for the entire team to come together and collaborate while increasing individual productivity.

Basecamp’s most notable feature is its message boards, making it a good communication tool. Conversations are organized by project, rather than by users so everything about a project can be found in one location. This structure isn’t common, but it can be a good fit for the right team (probably a small team).

Basecamp’s major weakness is its limited capabilities. As far as a productivity tool goes, it’s very effective. Users can collaborate and work from personal to-do lists with ease. But as far as managing projects, Basecamp is severely lacking.

Basecamp does not offer any features to create and follow detailed project plans, like Gantt charts, task lists, kanban boards and more. This means team members are cornered into managing their workload from to-do lists alone. As you can imagine, this can make it extremely challenging to see the big picture and understand the project as a whole. Additionally, it requires team members to bounce between tools, one for messaging and another for more advanced project management features.

Pricing

• Basecamp Business: $99 per month

Q&A

• Does Basecamp offer a free trial? Yes, there’s a 30-day free trial
• Does Basecamp have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS.

6. Trello

Trello is team management software for people who love to work with kanban boards. It helps teams collaborate on its ubiquitous boards, lists and cards. The visual tool is ideal for those who are new to project management and want a tool to build workflows. Managers can use the dashboard view to avoid roadblocks and keep teams productive.

That said, one of the major roadblocks has been put up by the app itself. If you want to unlock the power of the tool, you’re going to have to sign up for expensive upgrades. It’s a bit of the old bait and switch. Even if you put the money down for the more comprehensive software, it’s not equipped to deal with larger projects.

Pricing

• Standard: $5 user/month
• Premium: $10 user/month
• Enterprise: $17.50 user/month

Q&A

• Does Trello offer a free trial? Yes, Trello has a 14-day free trial
• Does Trello have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

7. ClickUp

ClickUp is a team management software that focuses on productivity at any time across many industries. It helps teams with multiple views, from list to board, calendar to Gantt and more. It’s also very customizable. Collaboration is fostered with chat, proofing and other features. Managers will appreciate the real-time reporting to help keep their team on track.

All those features feel at first as if you’ve hit the jackpot, but in time you’ll realize the features fall short. It can be overwhelming and unintentionally get in the way of team productivity. Another hurdle to clear is the steep learning curve. The many features and customization is going to take a lot of time and effort to master. As a team management software, you might throw your hands up in frustration and look for a better-designed tool.

Pricing

• Unlimited: $5 user/month
• Business: $9 user/month
• Business Pro: $19 user/month

Q&A

• Does ClickUp offer a free trial? No, ClickUp doesn’t have a free trial
• Does ClickUp have a mobile project planning app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

8. Monday.com

Monday.com is team management software that’s ideal for marketing campaigns and sales pipelines, but also for general task management and even bug tracking. It’s a highly customizable tool that allows for strong communication, collaboration and visibility. Among the features that stand out are its time tracking, dashboards and integrations with external tools such as Jira, Slack and more.

The promise of those integrations is more than the software can deliver, though. They’re missing many that users probably want. That might seem a minor criticism, but considering the price, you’ll want more than less. Even if you have the money to pay for the tool, it’s best to factor in a long training period as the tool is hard to learn. That’s especially odd as they market it to a general public that is not necessarily aware of project management. Project managers will be disappointed by the difficult time-tracking feature and lack of key project details, such as start and end dates, deliverables, etc.

Pricing

• Basic: $8 user/month
• Standard: $10 user/month
• Pro: $16 user/month

Q&A

• Does Monday offer a free trial? Yes, Monday.com has a 14-day free trial
• Does Monday have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

9. Wrike

Wrike is team management software that organizes your projects and fosters collaboration while also tracking progress. Some of the features that will attract managers are Gantt charts, reporting tools and security. Many like the three-pane view for task management. It shows a dashboard for resource management, a place to add new tasks, and, finally, a view of all your tasks. Having this in one place is convenient.

It would be nice if a Gantt chart was included in that view as it’s an essential team management software feature. But you’re not getting access to the Gantt chart unless you’re willing to pay for an upgrade. The same is true for the in-app time for time tracking. That’s going to cost you, too. Of course, before you upgrade you have to onboard your team. That process might sour you before you even get started using the software.

Pricing

• Professional plan: $9.80 user/month
• Business plan: $24.80 user/month

Q&A

• Does Wrike offer a free trial? Yes, Wrike has a 14-day free trial
• Does Wrike have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS.

10. Airtable

Airtable is a team management software that manages work, visualizes data and provides stakeholders with information from multiple sources. You can automate repetitive tasks, use other automation to keep teams focused on more important work and build product roadmaps. The software works as a spreadsheet, which is going to help those who are familiar with Excel but are looking for more than Excel can offer.

That spreadsheet feel is also going to alienate many users who want team management software that works better with teams. Like Excel, there’s a steep learning curve but unlike Excel, there’s no formula bar. There’s also a major hole in the communication department as there’s no tab for general discussions. That can get in the way of team collaboration. It’s also one of the more expensive tools rated here. Users might prefer to just stick with Excel, but those who think that way should look over the rest of our list. There are some solutions that put Excel fast disappearing in the rearview mirror.

Pricing

• Plus: $10 user/month
• Pro: $20 user/month

Q&A

• Does Airtable offer a free trial? Yes, Airtable has a 14-day free trial
• Does Airtable have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

Team management software is a crucial part of successfully managing any project, and without diligent team management, projects can fail altogether. For this reason, intuitive team management tools are a must-have feature of any comprehensive PM solution. ProjectManager puts everything you need in one location, allowing teams to plan and manage projects while boosting collaboration within every feature. See how we integrate team management into all of our tools by trying it yourself for free.