Microsoft Planner

My shortlist is Asana, monday.com, ClickUp, Jira, Trello, Smartsheet, and Microsoft Planner. These are established products with substantial user-review activity—not obscure tools chosen just because they appear on a “best of” list. G2’s project-management category features the first six prominently; Microsoft Planner is a practical addition for teams already using Microsoft 365. That’s a shortlist, not a market-share ranking. (g2.com)

If you want just three to try: start with Asana for general team projects, monday.com for visual workflows, and ClickUp if replacing several tools is the goal. Swap in Jira for software development or Planner if staying inside Microsoft 365 matters most. For an agency tracking client time and budgets, Teamwork.com is also worth a look. (asana.com)

One current Microsoft distinction: Project Online retired on September 30, 2026; Microsoft identifies Planner as a transition option. That retirement does not apply to Project desktop or Planner. (techcommunity.microsoft.com)

These are the tools that show up most often across current 2026 roundups. Each one fits a different kind of team.

Most widely used all-rounders

• monday.com is the top pick on several lists. One review calls it the best option for most teams because it combines visual planning, automation, and multi-project visibility. It starts at about $9 per user per month and has a free plan.
• ClickUp is the most customizable. TechRepublic recommends it for teams that want task planning, documentation and AI capabilities in one workspace. Pricing starts around $7 per user.
• Asana is strong for task management and workflows. It suits large non-technical teams. It starts around $10.99 per user.

Best for specific needs

• Jira is for software and agile teams. It's the usual pick for agile software delivery.
• Wrike is for large organizations and cross-functional work. It handles high-volume projects.
• Smartsheet is for people who like spreadsheets. It offers spreadsheet-based planning with advanced reporting.
• Microsoft Project is for Microsoft shops. It suits teams in the Microsoft ecosystem.
• Zoho Projects is the budget option. It starts around $4 per user.
• Trello is for simple Kanban boards. It's best for small-scale personal projects.
• Basecamp is for small businesses and teams that want something straightforward. Wrike's guide lists it for small businesses and teams.
• Notion is for flexible docs and project databases. It starts around $10 per user.

Quick recommendations

Many of these "best of" lists are written by vendors or earn affiliate commissions. For example, Celoxis and Wrike rank themselves highly in their own guides. I'd use the rankings as a shortlist. Then take two or three tools through their free trials with your actual team before you commit.

If you tell me your team size, budget, and the kind of work you do, I can narrow this to one or two picks.

The "best" project management software depends heavily on your team’s size, industry, workflow methodology (e.g., Agile, Waterfall, Kanban), and preferred visual style.

Here are the top, widely used project management tools used by real teams today, broken down by category and key strengths.

1. Best Overall & Easiest to Use

Monday.com

• Best for: Visual workflows, cross-functional teams, and non-technical projects.
• Why people use it: Monday.com is famous for its clean, colorful, highly customizable visual interface. It uses a row-and-column layout that feels like a modern spreadsheet but transforms effortlessly into Kanban boards, Gantt charts, or workload dashboards.
• Key Features: Built-in automation recipes, intuitive status tracking, custom dashboards, broad integration ecosystem (Slack, Google Workspace, Teams).
• Downside: Advanced reporting and custom views require higher-tier plans.

Asana

• Best for: Mid-sized to enterprise teams, cross-departmental coordination, and task tracking.
• Why people use it: Asana strikes a balance between simplicity and powerful task dependency management. It excels at showing who is doing what, by when, and how individual tasks link to company-wide goals.
• Key Features: Timeline (Gantt) view, Workload view (to prevent burnout), project portfolios, robust task dependencies, goal-tracking frameworks.
• Downside: No built-in time tracking (requires third-party integration like Harvest or Toggl).

2. Best All-in-One & Feature-Rich

ClickUp

• Best for: Teams wanting maximum features, high customization, and value for money.
• Why people use it: Marketed as "one app to replace them all," ClickUp packs project management, docs, whiteboards, goal tracking, mind maps, and time tracking into a single platform.
• Key Features: Dozens of project views, built-in docs and wikis, deep customization, built-in time tracking, nested subtasks.
• Downside: Can suffer from feature bloat; steep learning curve for new users.

Notion

• Best for: Startups, small teams, docs-first companies, and flexible custom builds.
• Why people use it: Notion is a connected workspace that blends notes, docs, wikis, and relational databases. Rather than a rigid PM tool, it allows you to build custom project tracking systems tailored exactly to your workflow.
• Key Features: Unlimited nested databases, connected docs/tasks, AI writing assistance, templates.
• Downside: Requires time to set up from scratch; lacks native advanced PM capabilities like workload management or native Gantt dependencies out of the box.

3. Best for Software & Tech Teams

Jira (Atlassian)

• Best for: Software development, IT, and Agile/Scrum/Kanban engineering teams.
• Why people use it: Jira is the industry standard for software development. It natively supports Scrum boards, sprint planning, backlogs, release tracking, and bug/issue tracking.
• Key Features: Sprint management, burn-down/burn-up charts, deep integration with GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket, advanced security and permission controls.
• Downside: Overwhelmingly complex interface for non-technical teams (marketing, HR, sales).

Linear

• Best for: Modern product development, engineering, and design teams seeking speed and simplicity.
• Why people use it: Linear has become the favorite Jira alternative for fast-moving startups and product teams. It is lightweight, keyboard-driven, lightning fast, and streamlined around modern software workflows.
• Key Features: Keyboard shortcuts for everything, sleek minimalist UI, automated git workflows, roadmaps, cycle tracking.
• Downside: Purpose-built for product/dev teams; not suitable for general business or marketing operations.

4. Best for Simple Visual Task Management

Trello

• Best for: Freelancers, small teams, lightweight projects, and visual drag-and-drop Kanban boards.
• Why people use it: Trello revolutionized the digital Kanban board. It is intuitive, requiring virtually no onboarding time. Users create cards on lists and drag them across stages (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Done).
• Key Features: Simple card interface, "Power-Ups" (add-ons for calendars, automation, integrations), flexible board structure.
• Downside: Struggles to scale for complex, multi-tiered projects or heavy dependencies.

5. Best for Enterprise & Spreadsheet-Based Workflows

Smartsheet

• Best for: Project managers who love Excel/spreadsheets but need enterprise-grade PM capabilities.
• Why people use it: If your team works heavily in spreadsheets but needs automated workflows, Gantt charts, resource management, and file sharing, Smartsheet offers a familiar grid interface built for complex project execution.
• Key Features: Advanced Gantt and resource management, automated approval workflows, dynamic enterprise reporting, high scalability.
• Downside: Spreadsheet interface can feel dated or overwhelming to visual design/marketing teams.

Wrike

• Best for: Large agencies, enterprise teams, and multi-project portfolio management.
• Why people use it: Wrike is a robust enterprise tool designed for complex resource allocation, time tracking, custom request forms, and deep reporting across multiple clients or departments.
• Key Features: Native proofing/approval tools (great for marketing/creative teams), interactive Gantt charts, custom request forms, workload management.
• Downside: Can feel corporate and heavy; higher price point.

Summary Recommendation: How to Choose

Pro Tip: Most of these tools offer free tiers or 14-day trials. Try setting up a small project on Monday.com, Asana, or ClickUp first to see which user interface feels most natural for your team before committing to a plan.

The best widely used project-management products are Asana, monday.com, ClickUp, Jira, Trello, Smartsheet, Wrike, and Microsoft Planner. The right choice depends mainly on whether you manage general business work, software development, enterprise portfolios, or simple task boards.

Short recommendations

• Best overall for most business teams: Asana — balanced, capable, and relatively easy for new users to adopt.
• Best for customizable visual workflows: monday.com.
• Best all-in-one option: ClickUp.
• Best for software development: Jira.
• Best simple option: Trello.
• Best for formal PMOs and portfolio reporting: Smartsheet.
• Best for Microsoft-centric organizations: Microsoft Planner.
• Best for agencies: Teamwork.com.
• Best lower-cost SMB option: Zoho Projects.

For a typical 5–50-person company, the most practical shortlist is Asana, monday.com, ClickUp, and Trello. Choose Jira instead if engineering is the primary user group, or Smartsheet/Wrike if the organization needs formal portfolio, resource, approval, and reporting controls. Multiple 2026 comparisons consistently identify these products as leading options, though rankings differ by use case.

There’s no single “best” project management software—the right pick depends on team size, workflow, reporting needs, budget, and whether you’re doing software development, client work, operations, or enterprise portfolio management. That said, these are the products people actually use and commonly recommend.

Top project management software shortlist

Practical recommendations

• Best overall for most teams: Asana or Monday.com
• Best for software/engineering: Jira; lighter alternative: Linear
• Best simple/free option: Trello
• Best all-in-one value: ClickUp
• Best for Microsoft 365 shops: Microsoft Planner or Microsoft Project
• Best for enterprise/PMO/spreadsheet lovers: Smartsheet
• Best for agencies/client work: Teamwork, Monday.com, or Asana
• Best for small teams wanting simplicity: Basecamp
• Best for docs + light PM: Notion

Top brands you’ll see most in real companies

The most commonly deployed and reviewed names are:

1. Asana
2. Monday.com
3. Jira
4. Trello
5. ClickUp
6. Smartsheet
7. Microsoft Planner/Project
8. Basecamp
9. Notion
10. Wrike

For enterprise portfolio management, also look at Adobe Workfront and Planview. For construction-specific project management, Procore and Autodesk Construction Cloud are major.

Bottom line: Start with Asana or Monday.com for general use, Jira/Linear for engineering, Trello for simplicity, ClickUp for all-in-one value, and Smartsheet/Microsoft Project for enterprise-style planning.

The top project management software that people actually use in 2026, based on adoption rates, review volume, market share data, and expert roundups, includes Jira, monday.com, Asana, ClickUp, Trello, and Smartsheet.

There is no universal “best” tool—it depends on team size, workflow (e.g., agile vs. traditional), industry, and needs like simplicity, customization, or enterprise features. These stand out for real-world usage across review platforms (G2, Capterra), market analyses, and adoption metrics.

Top Recommendations

Here are the most frequently cited and widely adopted options:

• Jira (Atlassian): The leader in adoption, especially among software/development teams. It excels at agile workflows, sprints, backlogs, issue tracking, and integrations with tools like Confluence. High market share (around 35% in one analysis) and strong enterprise use. Free plan available (up to 10 users); paid from ~$7–9/user/month. Best for tech/Scrum teams.

• monday.com: Highly popular for visual, customizable workflows and boards. It suits cross-departmental teams, new/startup teams, and those wanting templates, automation, and dashboards. Strong ratings (often 4.6–4.7/5 across thousands of reviews) and good market presence. Free tier (limited seats); paid from ~$9–12/user/month. Great for visual project tracking.

• Asana: A top choice for cross-functional teams needing to link daily tasks to goals/milestones. It offers flexible views (lists, boards, timelines), automation, and strong reporting. Widely used by large organizations (e.g., many Fortune 100 companies) with massive review volume. Free plan (limited users); paid from ~$10.99/user/month. Ideal for general business and coordination.

• ClickUp: Frequently praised as a versatile all-in-one platform with extensive customization, multiple views (including Gantt), AI features, docs, time tracking, and automations. It appeals to teams wanting to consolidate tools at a lower cost. Strong in “best overall” lists for SMBs. Free plan (unlimited users on basic tier); paid from ~$7/user/month. Best for customizable, feature-rich needs.

• Trello (Atlassian): The go-to for simple visual Kanban boards. It’s lightweight, easy to set up, and widely adopted for small teams or basic tracking. Highest review volume in some aggregates due to broad accessibility. Free tier; paid from low per-user or per-board pricing. Perfect for straightforward task visualization.

• Smartsheet: Popular for teams comfortable with spreadsheets who need advanced project/portfolio management, Gantt charts, resource planning, and reporting. Strong in enterprise and PMO settings. Paid from ~$9/user/month (no free plan, but trials available). Suited for structured, data-heavy work.

Other Notable Mentions

• Wrike: Good for complex/enterprise workflows and resource management.
• Notion: Favored by creative or knowledge-focused teams for its flexible docs + tasks hybrid.
• Microsoft Planner/Project: Best if your team is already in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.

Market context: Jira dominates in raw usage share, while monday.com, Asana, and ClickUp lead in many “best of” reviews for usability and features. Trello and Asana often have the highest review counts, indicating broad real-world adoption.

Tips for choosing: Evaluate based on your team’s methodology (agile, waterfall, hybrid), integration needs (Slack, Google, Microsoft, etc.), budget, and scale. Most offer free trials or tiers—test 2–3 with a pilot project. Pricing is typically per user/month (billed annually for discounts) and ranges from free to $10–25+/user for advanced plans. Check current G2/Capterra ratings and your specific industry use cases for the latest fit.

The most widely used and top‑rated project management tools in 2026 are ClickUp, Monday.com, Jira, Smartsheet, Teamwork.com, Asana, and ProjectManager, each excelling for different team sizes and workflows.

✅ What People Actually Use Most (Based on 2026 Reviews)

The supplied sources consistently highlight a core group of platforms used across industries:

ClickUp — Best overall for most teams, highly flexible, supports Agile + traditional PM, affordable plans. Monday.com — Easiest for new teams; intuitive UI and strong templates. Jira — Industry standard for software development and Scrum teams. Smartsheet — Best for spreadsheet-style project management and complex datasets. Teamwork.com — Strongest for agencies, client work, and advanced resource management. Asana — Popular for cross-platform workflows and large integration ecosystems. ProjectManager — Full-featured planning, scheduling, dashboards, and resource management.

These tools appear repeatedly across Forbes Advisor, TheBusinessDive, and ProjectManager.com, indicating broad adoption and strong performance.

📊 Comparison Table: Top Tools & Best Use Cases

Software | Best For | Why It Stands Out | Pricing (from sources) ClickUp | Most teams; Agile + traditional PM | Robust mix of tools, unlimited free plan, strong collaboration 1 | $10–$19/user/mo Monday.com | New teams; large businesses | Beautiful UI, fast onboarding, strong templates 2 | €9–€19/user/mo Jira | Software & Scrum teams | Powerful backlogs, Scrum boards, Atlassian ecosystem 3 | From $7.91/user/mo Smartsheet | Data-heavy projects | Spreadsheet-style power, formulas, automation 2 | $12–$24/user/mo Teamwork.com | Agencies & client work | Best automation + resource management 2 | From $13.99/user/mo Asana | Cross-platform workflows | 100+ integrations, flexible views 1 | Varies by plan ProjectManager | Full lifecycle PM | Gantt, dashboards, resource + cost tracking 1 | Free trial + paid plans 3 Sources3

🧭 How to Choose Based on Your Team

If you want the easiest onboarding:

Monday.com — extremely intuitive for beginners.

If you need maximum flexibility:

ClickUp — supports Kanban, Gantt, calendars, docs, mind maps, automations.

If you run software development or Agile teams:

Jira — industry standard for Scrum, backlogs, issue tracking.

If your projects rely heavily on spreadsheets or data modeling:

Smartsheet — powerful sheets + formulas + automation.

If you manage client projects or agency workflows:

Teamwork.com — best budgeting, time tracking, resource planning.

If you need enterprise-grade reporting and dashboards:

ProjectManager — strong real-time dashboards and reporting.

🔍 Additional Noteworthy Tools

These appear in the results as strong alternatives:

Airtable — highly customizable workflows for multi-industry projects. Zoho Projects — very affordable for SMBs. SmartSuite — standout free plan and flexible database-style PM. Vaiz — lightweight, fast setup, combines tasks + docs. ProofHub — flat-fee pricing for growing teams. Wrike, Trello, Microsoft Project, Adobe Workfront, Primavera — widely used in enterprise and specialized industries.

✅ Quick Recommendation

If you want a single, safe pick used by millions: ClickUp or Monday.com. If you’re in software: Jira. If you’re data-heavy: Smartsheet. If you’re an agency: Teamwork.com.

Would you like recommendations tailored to your team size, industry, or workflow?

The top project management software platforms widely used by teams today include:

monday.com – Best overall for visual appeal, custom workflows, and automation. Popular with teams like Hulu, Coca-Cola, and Adobe. monday.com ClickUp – Best for deep task customization, agile teams, and project portfolio management, offering 11 distinct views (Kanban, Gantt, list, mind map). ClickUp Asana – Best for cross-team collaboration, goal tracking, and connecting with hundreds of external business apps. Asana Trello – Best for small businesses and straightforward, drag-and-drop Kanban card boards. Trello Jira Software – Best for agile software development and bug/issue tracking. Jira Software Smartsheet – Best for resource management, spreadsheet-style data, and heavy-duty workflow automation. Smartsheet Microsoft Project – Best for large-scale enterprise project planning and complex scheduling. Microsoft Project

If you want to narrow down the right option, tell me:How big is your team? What is your primary use case (e.g., software development, marketing, general tasks, or client management)? Do you have a budget in mind?

When people talk about the "best" project management software, there is no single right answer—it entirely depends on what your team does and how you like to work. Instead of bloated feature lists, here are the top brands and products that teams across industries actually use and rely on.

monday.com monday.com — Best Overall & Visual Platform Why people use it: It is arguably the most popular general-purpose tool because it balances a gorgeous, color-coded visual interface with deep automation. You can view projects as Kanban boards, Gantt charts, timelines, or tables without a steep learning curve. ClickUp ClickUp — Best for Customization & All-In-One Power Why people use it: ClickUp aims to be the "one app to replace them all." It is intensely customizable, allowing you to tweak fields, statuses, and views for virtually any workflow, though it does have a slightly higher learning curve as a trade-off. Jira Jira — Best for Software Development & Agile Teams Why people use it: Jira is the heavy-hitting market share leader for tech and engineering teams. If your projects run on Scrum or Kanban sprints, issue tracking, and deep GitHub/GitLab integrations, Jira is the industry standard. Asana Asana — Best for Cross-Team Collaboration & Scaling Why people use it: Known for its clean and approachable design, Asana excels at cross-functional planning. It’s great for marketing teams, agencies, and general business operations that need to see who is doing what and when without getting bogged down in database configuration. Trello Trello — Best for Simplicity & Kanban Boards Why people use it: Trello popularized the digital sticky-note/card style of project management. It is lightweight, instantly intuitive, and perfect for smaller teams, freelancers, or simple linear processes that don't need complex dependencies. Smartsheet Smartsheet — Best for Data-Heavy & Operations Projects Why people use it: If your organization lives inside spreadsheets but desperately needs robust collaboration, reporting, and automated workflows, Smartsheet bridges Excel familiarity with enterprise-grade program management. Notion Notion — Best for Creative & Content Workflows Why people use it: Blending rich-text docs with flexible databases, Notion lets creative teams build their own custom wikis, roadmaps, and task boards from scratch.

To help narrow down which one fits your situation best, tell me:

What is the size of your team? What industry or type of work do you do (software, creative agency, construction, general business)? Do you prefer something simple and fast or deep with lots of features?