Best Free Project Management Software in 2025

Project management software has become a crucial component of modern business operations, with a majority of high-performing project teams leveraging the platform. Interestingly, some of these applications don’t come with a price tag. Free project management software enables business teams to manage and delegate tasks, track the progress of team members, organize project schedules, and provide accurate forecasts of project durations without the costs. Some systems even have collaboration tools with which managers can arrange and streamline workflows. If you’re planning to use one, you can try our category leader, monday.com, or our other recommendations.

Project management systems are equipped with a wide range of sophisticated features designed to streamline the workflows of nearly any type of organization. Software companies normally offer several price packages with varying feature inclusions based on businesses’ scale and operational needs. While larger operations can avail of premium and enterprise packages, smaller ones can go with basic, intermediate, and free ones. There are also free trials that give businesses a taste of how a software system works.

Vendors furnish project management software free plans so organizations can try their features and see how they fit into their business model. The features are limited, as users who prefer to have a more expansive toolset are prompted to upgrade to a paid subscription. However, some software providers afford users generous free plans that streamline the workflows of small operations without the need for immediate upgrades. Our list of best free project management software systems includes monday.com, Wrike, Zoho Projects, ClickUp, and Infolio.

• Small businesses that aim to manage team tasks. Small operations can get overwhelmed with tasks when faced with an uptick in sales, given their limited manpower and basic operational structures. Free online project management software systems simplify task assignments and delegation and allow managers to monitor daily productivity within the interface.
• Mid-market firms that plan to create project management offices. Mid-sized firms need a software system that helps regulate and standardize project management practices within the organization. Freeware project management software systems help businesses establish a project management office and suggest workflows with which operations can be streamlined.
• Large enterprises that handle multiple concurrent projects. Dealing with multiple simultaneous projects is a tough challenge without the proper tools. Free project management software with Gantt chart features helps in this regard since it enables managers to schedule projects, manage the tasks of multiple teams, track team productivity, and provide accurate forecasts of when each project milestone will be achieved.

Large enterprises typically have a bigger need for project management solutions, given the scale and complexity of their operations, the high volume of projects they regularly deal with, and the higher expectations of their clientele. Using project management software for free significantly helps since these grant solutions to various business areas, bearing functionalities for task management, project scheduling, task and productivity monitoring, and project data analytics. Free project management software online enables enterprises to test these features and see how they fit their business models before agreeing to subscribe to a vendor’s enterprise plan.

• monday.com: This all-in-one collaboration platform enables businesses to streamline their operations through customized and automated workflows, task management tools, and a range of communication solutions. This free project management software download also carries over 200 templates for establishing and managing one’s digital workspace.
• Wrike: This end-to-end project management system offers comprehensive solutions for task management, workload management, document collaboration, and time tracking. It also has a Gantt chart for project scheduling. With its features, businesses can take advantage of this project management software online free of charge.
• Zoho Projects: This multifunctional project management software helps businesses with a wide range of tools, including those for project planning, task management, expense tracking, and resource utilization. It also offers a number of custom widgets, fields, and views.
• ClickUp: This comprehensive project management system aids businesses of all scales in managing tasks, enhancing team communications, tracking task progress, and customizing workflows. It provides different task views for convenient task management.
• Infolio: This flexible project management tool helps team managers delegate and monitor tasks through Kanban boards and an interactive calendar. It is also equipped with a host of communication channels for team members to conveniently hold discussions.

Free project management software can be divided into four general categories:

• On-premise: Regarded as in-house tools, on-premise systems are software solutions that are installed on computers. Free project management software downloads can be obtained from a vendor’s website.
• Individual software: These web-based platforms are designed for smaller and simpler operations such as those of small businesses and micro businesses.
• Mid-sized software: Designed for mid-sized firms, such offline or online free project management software serve as centralized platforms that suggest or customize workflows for operations.
• High-end software: These systems streamline large operations with complex workflows and an expansive workforce. These can handle multiple simultaneous projects across different offices. You can find a wide variety of this type of project management software free online.

Free project management software systems may come with varying features since they may differ in core competencies. However, there are a number of features that are typically present in nearly all project management solutions. The following are examples of important features and capabilities you can get from project management software – free of charge:

• Task Management: Project management systems enable managers to plan and distribute tasks to team members. Each task can only be accessed by parties assigned to it and can have subtasks if they bear hierarchical requirements.
• Task Monitoring: The software allows managers to monitor the status of tasks and see if these have been assigned, are in progress, or have been submitted. Deadlines can also be set for each task so that team members would know their working pace.
• Collaboration Tools: The top free project management software systems have a host of communication solutions to help team members complete tasks, give updates, and provide notes. These can include comment sections, forums, and live chat tools or integrations, among others.
• File Management: Project management systems enable users to store and attach files to tasks and task updates. These include word documents, images, and videos, all of which can be checked by managers and supervisors.
• Project Scheduling: Some of the best free project management software systems have scheduling functionalities such as Gantt charts and interactive calendars through which projects and tasks can be scheduled.
• Cost Management: Top-tier project management platforms are capable of tracking expenses, documenting transactions, tracking budgets, and giving forecasts.
• Data Analytics: Project management systems use powerful analytics engines to turn data into actionable insights, presented as detailed charts and tables. Besides displaying project performance, these reports can also reflect a company’s earnings and expenses per project.
• Security: Project management platforms are protected by layers of security, which can come in the form of layered authentication, access controls, permission rules, and sometimes data encryption.

• Streamlined task management. Business teams use free online project management software systems to easily plan, categorize, and distribute tasks to team members. In addition, managers can add subtasks for compounded activities and set task dependencies. Since the platform affords visibility into all team activities, managers can use it to maximize the utilization of their teams.
• Ensures timely delivery of outputs. Managers can set deadlines for each task, which can be seen by all parties assigned to it. Free project management software systems also record the duration of each task in real time, so managers can see if everything is going according to schedule. Adjustments to the deadline can easily be made as needed.
• Efficient project scheduling. Free project management software with Gantt chart and calendar functionalities enables managers to fit projects within a timetable. As such, users can refer to the scheduling features to see the company’s capacity to take in more projects at any given time. The Gantt chart can also serve as a reference when giving project forecasts to clients.
• Boosts collaborations. Free open source project management software are equipped with a variety of communication tools that allow team members to discuss tasks and provide updates. These can include comment sections on tasks, interactive file sharing, and live chat tools or integrations.
• Convenient file sharing. Team members can attach documents and other types of files for each task and task update. This allows managers to affix resources to project specifications and their members to submit documents within the interface.
• Detailed reporting. By leveraging data analytics, free project management software can generate online reports that reflect the condition of each project, touching on relevant factors like task durations and completion rates, project cash flow, and productivity of each team member. Companies can formulate strategies based on the reports.
• Integrates with other business tools. When you download free project management software, you’ll find that these systems typically integrate with a host of widely used business looks like instant messaging apps, collaboration solutions, CRMs, and accounting platforms. In this way, fewer errors are committed and the flow of information is smooth within all workflows.
• Protects sensitive information. Project management platforms are equipped with security features per task like access controls, permission rules, and multilayered authentication to ensure that information surrounding any project stays only within the team and other relevant parties.

• Increased usage from remote teams. With COVID-19 normalizing remote work, the use of project management tools has become a standard these days. Online businesses leverage it to connect with workers from different locations, including those from other countries, with the platform serving as a digital office. As such, project management systems will likely incorporate collaboration tools like instant messaging and videoconferencing to further improve connectivity.
• PMTQ as an employment metric. As the use of project management systems becomes more prevalent, companies will place a higher premium on one’s project management technology quotient (PMTQ). This can also become a metric for selecting aspiring employees.
• Challenges posed by BYOD. An increasing number of companies are implementing bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies, which can cause compatibility and security issues with project management systems. Software providers are bound to recognize this, thus future updates of project management software could eventually include better mobile and security features.

• May increase project complexity. Some project management systems carry complex formats and features that may end up complicating previous workflows, especially simple projects. Finding one that simplifies not just the steps in the operational process but also entire workflows is essential.
• Slow workflow adoption. An advanced project management system may have all the tools necessary to streamline project workflows, but if users don’t devote time and effort to learn its features and incorporate the software into operations, the results will not be satisfactory. Some effort is necessary to simulate and enhance workflows.

• On-premise. Systems of this kind are installed on desktop computers. An advantage of on-premise platforms is that you can use them even without an internet connection. However, hardware issues could stop these apps from functioning. You would know a platform is on-premise if it prompts you to download the application or if a software provider’s website states “project management software free download.”
• Cloud-based. Cloud-based project management systems work digitally like a website and can be accessed on any device. This deployment type requires an internet connection and enables easier collaborations.
• Hybrid. Hybrid systems carry on-premise and cloud-based interfaces so that users can choose the deployment type that they prefer. These enable users to work online and offline.

Project management software may have free plans and free trials but they also have paid plans that offer more comprehensive features and serve more users. Here are the three basic payment schemes being offered by software providers:

• Free. Project management software vendors offer free plans so that prospective buyers can check a platform’s features and how they fit one’s business, before upgrading to a paid plan. Some free plans, however, carry enough functionalities to be used as is without the need for upgrades when leveraged by small business and micro-business users. As such, many SMEs are now able to use the best project management software free of charge.
• Monthly Subscription. In this plan type, users have to pay for their subscriptions every month, otherwise, they would lose access to the software. The monthly rates may be slightly higher than those of annual subscriptions, but users can more easily opt to discontinue an app’s use since their every payment only covers one month.
• Annual Subscription.  In this plan type, users have to pay for a year’s worth of using an app. As an incentive, software developers normally offer lower annual subscription rates than monthly plans.

Free project management software comes as a good deal since you get to try a system’s features and observe how it fits your business model at no cost. The free plans let you sample the applications of the leading software providers before opting for a paid plan that’s suited to your business needs. What’s more, if a free plan’s offerings are sufficient to streamline your operations, you won’t need to upgrade to a paid plan at all, perhaps until you decide to scale up your business. This is good news for businesses who want to try online project management software free of charge.

If you have enough free time, you have the luxury to try multiple free plans until you find one that goes in accordance with your operational style and integrates with your current tech stack.