As part of the team, I’m incredibly proud to work with a platform that helps people organize work and life to maximize their time. As someone who relies on the tool every day–every hour that I’m plugged in–finding alternatives that are as good is a tall order.
Still, I understand no single tool can fit everyone’s unique needs.
continues to improve features based on user feedback. Yet, there are times when a alternative is what a team needs—whether it’s because the tool feels too complex for smaller teams or because they need a more specific solution.
Having tried various project management software, I know each tool offers something unique. With that in mind, I’ve put together this list to provide my honest perspective so that you can make an informed choice when choosing one for yourself and your team.
Top 13 Alternatives and Competitors in 2024
What Should You Look for In a Alternative?
lets you be strategic when managing projects, tasks, goals, and nearly all business operations. So, if I’m looking for an alternative, I’d prioritize the following key features:
- Team collaboration: The tool must centralize communication and offer a unified workspace that keeps everyone in your team informed and updated
- Customization: Look for flexible views, custom fields, and templates. A good project management tool should adapt to your needs, not the other way around
- Automation: I use to automate repetitive tasks and workflows, which saves time and reduces errors; the alternative you choose must let you do so (otherwise, what’s the point?)
- Reporting and analytics: Make sure the tool provides real-time updates and shareable reports to measure project success and inform stakeholders—you shouldn’t need to collate and analyze this data manually
- Scalable pricing: Flexible plans that grow with your team’s needs are essential because costs can pile up quickly. Look for predictable plans that fit both your current needs and future growth
- Data security: Your chosen app should come with strong admin controls, privacy permissions, and access levels to keep your data safe
- Integration with existing tools: It should work with your current stack of tools, simplifying workflows and reducing unnecessary switching between apps
- Mobile access: If you and your team manage tasks on the go, having a handy mobile version keeps life smooth
- Easy onboarding and setup: The easier it is to get up and running, the quicker your team can use it effectively. A simple onboarding process with free trials, tutorials, and guides for quick adoption is what you should be looking for
Now that you’ve covered the basics let’s look at the best alternatives out there.
The 13 Best Alternatives
We have curated a list of the top 13 alternatives to help you make the right choice and get more done faster.
1. Monday.com (Best for custom workflow visualization)
Monday.com is a popular alternative for many, especially because it offers a live view of tasks moving through your organization. This helps you identify bottlenecks, ripple effects, and capacity issues quickly. The Workload Widget provides a real-time, color-coded view of team capacity. Meanwhile, Board Views allows you to build custom dashboards, bringing together timelines, budgets, and workloads.
The platform also automates workflows without you having to code them, letting you build custom workflows in the Automation Center. You can also use its customizable project management templates to get up and running quickly when drafting project plans, charters, reports, etc.
What really stood out for me is its Column Center. This feature lets you add columns to a table to track progress or pull data from other platforms.
These features make this tool a strong alternative when we compare Monday.com to tools like and Asana.
Monday.com best features
- Manage unlimited projects on a visual interface with 27+ work views
- Collaborate in real time with updates, comments, and file sharing
- Use custom work forms to collect feedback
- Sync data with 200+ integrations
- Access via mobile app for remote teams
Monday.com limitations
- The layout can be confusing to some users
- Sometimes, the automations fail, and notifications get delayed
Monday.com pricing
It comes with a 14-day trial, after which you can pick one of the following plans:
- Free: Up to two users
- Basic: $12/month per user
- Standard: $14/month per user
- Pro: $24/month per user
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Monday.com ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (12,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (5,000+ reviews)
2. Asana (Best for task management)
I’ll be honest—sometimes ’s powerful features can feel a bit overwhelming to navigate. For teams that want a lot more simplicity, I recommend Asana.
Asana focuses solely on project and task management without added extras like docs or whiteboards. Its Work Graph links tasks, files, messages, and goals, showing how changes to one task can impact others. Based on your work context, it also suggests next steps, like notifying reviewers when a task is marked complete.
Like Monday.com, this task management software is equally smart about capacity planning. Its Workload Intelligence feature offers more realistic timelines based on actual performance, ensuring better resource management and realistic project timelines.
Asana best features
- Use multiple project views like boards, lists, and timelines
- Apply templates for task management
- Collaborate remotely with native tools
- Build workflows with zero code
- Gain real-time insights with reporting tools
- Integrate with 200+ apps, including
- Access via Mobile app for Android and iOS
Asana limitations
- The complex learning curve for new users
- Large projects can be difficult to handle
- No built-in document and knowledge management (unlike )
Asana pricing
- Personal: Free (for up to 10 users)
- Starter: $10.99/month per user
- Advanced: $24.99/month per user
Asana ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (9,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (13,000+ reviews)
3. Trello (Best for simplicity)
Kanban boards are a boon for managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects, and Trello has become synonymous with Kanban-style lists. I have used Trello extensively in the past. While most Kanban project management tools offer similar features, I love the colorful, intuitive Kanban boards in Trello.
What stands out, though, is its no-code automation tool, Butler. It creates custom workflows to automate repetitive tasks with rule-based triggers.
Card Aging is another interesting feature. It highlights neglected tasks by making them visually fade and crack like old paper. It’s subtle, but I can quickly spot stalled tasks at a glance without digging through reports or setting reminders.
Trello’s simplicity makes it a preferred task management tool for beginners and organizations executing smaller tasks.
Trello basic features
- Choose different task views, including calendars, timelines, tables, and others
- Use 150+ Power-ups or mini integrations
- Integrate with 200+ marketing, productivity, and communication tools
Trello limitations
- Limited advanced features to manage complex projects, including no native table and Gantt views (unlike )
- Notifications can get confusing when using multiple boards
Trello pricing
- Free (allows up to 10 boards)
- Standard: $5/month per user
- Premium: $10/month per user
- Enterprise: $17.5/month per user
Trello ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (13,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (23,000+ reviews)
4. Wrike (Best for advanced performance tracking and reporting)
Wrike has been a popular name in the project management space for over two decades, and it shows. It covers all the standard features you’d expect and offers unique tools like scalable workflows, proofing, and real-time project planning to keep teams in sync.
Wrike AI, which analyzes teamwork patterns, impressed me the most. For example, it identified that my design team needed 20% more time for video projects and adjusted timelines automatically.
The tool’s reporting is also impressive. It creates performance fingerprints that show each team’s ideal way of working. The live dashboards are another plus. They adapt to whoever’s viewing them: Executives see big-picture KPIs, while team leads get detailed, daily metrics.
To learn more, check out this detailed review of Wrike.
Wrike best features
- Create visual project dashboards with personalized reports
- Collaborate across teams with feedback-friendly features
- View projects and tasks in Gantt Chart, Kanban, or Calendar formats
- Analyze progress with detailed project performance reports
- Connect with 400+ third-party integrations
Wrike limitations
- The learning curve may prove steep for some users
- Advanced features like budgeting are only available in paid plans
Wrike pricing
- Free
- Team: $10/month per user
- Business: $24.80/month per user
- Enterprise and Pinnacle: Custom pricing
Wrike ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.2/5 (3,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (2,000+ reviews)
5. Airtable (Best for managing large databases)
Airtable can be perfect for enterprises that rely on complex databases too large for simple tools like Excel and Google Sheets.
Airtable stands out from its alternatives by keeping your databases intuitively connected. For example, its Relationship Engine links customer records to orders, inventory, and suppliers in real time, keeping information synchronized.
I particularly liked how I could create applications directly from our data without a single line of code. You can build tools like product planners and billing systems with drag-and-drop widgets like charts, tables, and images.
This means that my sales team could use it as a CRM, the warehouse team could use it for inventory management, and the finance team could make it part of their billing system—from the same synchronized data source.
Airtable best features
- Customize dashboards and templates for roles and functions
- Navigate with an intuitive interface and multiple views
- Access connected data in real time
- Automate repeated workflows
- Integrate with popular third-party tools
Airtable limitations
- Limited reporting features for complex databases
- A difficult learning curve for users who are shifting from simpler spreadsheets
Airtable pricing
There’s a 14-day trial of the Team plan, apart from these plans:
- Free
- Team: $24/month
- Business: $54/month
- Enterprise Scale: Custom pricing
Airtable ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (2000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (2000+ reviews)
6. Nifty (Best for goal tracking and roadmap planning)
This was my second time using Nifty, and it excels in tracking goals and milestones. Its Goal Forecasting feature uses machine learning to predict whether your team will hit project goals based on past performance. It then alerts you to potential risks before they affect progress. Not many tools provide such an advanced level of insight.
I also like how Nifty visually links milestones, showing their impact on short-term projects and larger objectives, essentially providing a built-in roadmap.
With features like collaborative Gantt charts and live project presentations, Nifty has become one of the smartest project management software available today.
Nifty best features
- Automate reporting and monitor project progress
- Manage multiple project portfolios in one space
- Use multiple views to keep an eye on projects: Kanban, List, Gantt, and Swimlane
- Collaborate with built-in discussion channels and video conferencing
- Use a simplified task management system
Nifty limitations
- Limited customization capabilities
- Lacks recurring reminders
Nifty pricing
Irrespective of the plan, you get a 14-day free trial to try out the software.
- Free
- Starter: $49/month
- Pro: $99/month
- Business: $149/month
- Unlimited: $499/month
Nifty ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (400+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (400+ reviews)
7. Smartsheet (Best for Excel-loving enterprises managing complex projects)
If you add Excel and strong project management features into a mixing pot, you’ll get Smartsheet. It is an excellent alternative for the healthcare, construction, and education industries.
Smartsheet excels at handling repetitive tasks across large teams and departments. Take the Data Mesh feature: It syncs updates across teams without disrupting workflows. For instance, when someone from the HR team adds a new employee, Smartsheet automatically updates the IT sheet with laptop and software info, the Finance sheet with salary details, and creates an onboarding checklist in the Training sheet.
Additionally, Smartsheet’s advanced formulas go beyond calculations by triggering workflows, such as, say, notifying stakeholders when the project budget hits 80%. These unique features set Smartsheet apart from other project management tools. For a deeper understanding, check out this detailed showdown between Smartsheet and .
Smartsheet best features
- Optimize workflows with integrated proofing and approval tools
- Communicate with teams in real time
- Use agile project management templates
- Connect with 100+ third-party integrations
Smartsheet limitations
- Limited customization options for dashboards
- Could use some extra templates
Smartsheet pricing
- Free (for up to two task editors)
- Pro: $7/month per user
- Business: $25/month per user
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Smartsheet ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (17,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (3,000+ reviews)
8. Hive (Best for AI-powered team collaboration)
I think Hive stands out more for its team collaboration features than its project management ones.
Don’t get me wrong—managing projects on the platform is almost as smooth as its competitors. However, I was impressed by its ability to predict team behavior. It often reported things like ‘The design team finishes creative tasks 30% faster when they start after 11 AM.’ And it was right!
Hive’s Team Flow analyzes the team’s work patterns. It pointed out that our content team performed better with a 2-day gap between writing and editing.
Another feature is the Meeting Action Center, which auto-transcribes notes and assigns tasks. It also suggests ways to improve meeting efficiency.
I even appreciated views like Portfolio for project overviews and My Actions for focusing on my tasks and keeping everything organized.
Hive best features
- Convert messages to tasks easily
- Collaborate while taking notes and chatting
- Host and track interactive meetings
- Track time and generate timesheet reports
- Use its built-in AI assistant (HiveMind)
- Automate tasks with a no-code tool
- Connect with 1000+ apps like Slack and Google Drive
Hive limitations
- Limited functions in the mobile app compared to the desktop version
- A limited number of integrations
Hive pricing
- Free
- Starter: $1.50/month per user
- Teams: $5/month per user
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Hive ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (200+ reviews)
9. Teamwork.com (Best for client-facing agencies and businesses)
Using Teamwork.com for the first time? You’ll love its comprehensive view of your clients and profits in one space.
The Profit Engine tracks real-time profitability and shows which clients and projects were profitable.
The customizable Client User Roles system allows you to give clients access to relevant info, such as milestones or hourly progress.
Teamwork.com’s insights also support resource allocation and planning. For example, in our case, the Resource Scheduling Optimizer shows that assigning senior designers to smaller tasks wasn’t cost-effective. This offered me suggestions for better client pairings to improve profitability.
Teamwork.com best features
- Use time-tracking tools for accurate billing and tracking
- Generate detailed reports for better project insights
- Collaborate easily with clients using advanced features
- Improve organization by categorizing projects
Teamwork.com limitations
- It may feel overwhelming to new users
- Lacks a calendar view
Teamwork.com pricing
- Deliver: $13.99/month
- Grow: $25.99/month
- Scale: $69.99/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Teamwork.com ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (1000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (800+ reviews)
10. Basecamp (Best for teams that prefer highly focused project management)
Sometimes, less really is more.
Basecamp takes the Marie Kondo approach to project management–it keeps things simple, focusing on the most essential tools.
Its most remarkable feature is Hill Charts, which track project progress by showing if a task is still challenging or nearing completion.
Basecamp also organizes team communication: quick questions go to pings, essential updates are on message boards, and casual chats happen in campfires. This clear structure helps users easily find what they need.
Basecamp’s minimal setup and specialized features make it perfect for non-technical teams who prefer simplicity over advanced tools.
Basecamp best features
- Communicate in real time with chats, comments, and file-sharing
- Create to-do lists with tasks, subtasks, and deadlines
- Automate check-ins for regular task updates
- Manage projects using Agile and Scrum methodologies
- Stay updated with real-time message boards
- Integrate with 50+ data sources
Basecamp limitations
- Lacks time tracking and cross-project views
- Some users find it challenging to navigate and use all its features fully
Basecamp pricing
Basecamp comes with a 30-day free trial and two simple plans:
- Basecamp: $15/user per month
- Basecamp Pro Unlimited: $349/user per month
Basecamp ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.1/5 (5000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (14,000+ reviews)
11. nTask (Best for freelancers and solopreneurs)
Planning, managing, collaborating, and analyzing—nTask does it all at affordable rates, making it a go-to for freelancers and solopreneurs.
I could access unlimited workspaces, tasks, meeting management, time tracking, and integrations even on the forever free plan.
Upgrading to paid plans unlocks advanced features like the Gantt Timeline View, which adjusts tasks based on availability and dependencies.
The Premium plan also includes budgeting tools that analyze project data and suggest contingency funds. It also includes invoice generation and payment tracking, providing a comprehensive view of project finances.
nTask best features
- Switch between multiple project views (board, grid, list, and calendar)
- Monitor tasks with detailed tracking tools
- Set up recurring tasks for daily, weekly, or monthly schedules
- Integrate with 1,000+ tools like Apple Calendar, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams
nTask limitations
- Attaching documents and images to tasks can be difficult (unlike , where it’s as easy as clicking a button)
- The user interface could be more intuitive
nTask pricing
- Basic: Free
- Premium: $4/month
- Business: $12/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
nTask ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (10+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.2/5 (100+ reviews)
12. Notion (Best for built-in documentation and knowledge bases)
I once thought of Notion as just another note-taking tool, but later realized how conveniently it blurs the line between documentation and knowledge management.
Its Block Architecture lets you transform documents instantly, turning paragraphs into tables, Kanban boards, or calendars without losing data. All your documents and knowledge bases are linked. This way, a product spec can pull in customer feedback, link to engineering tasks, and display live metrics in one clean view, automatically updating them.
In short, Notion provides a living knowledge system that adapts to your team’s needs. This makes it ideal for marketing, product development, or operations teams who need dynamic, interconnected information at their fingertips.
When you compare Notion with , you can see that both the tools have built-in collaboration and AI for working with repetitive tasks.
Notion best features
- Take meeting notes, simplify tasks, and stay on track
- Connect with others in real time when working on documents or media
- Create and manage content effectively
- Integrate with Trello, Slack, Google Drive, and more
Notion limitations
- Lacks time tracking and Gantt charts
- Managing multiple projects can be cumbersome
Notion pricing
- Free
- Plus: $12/seat per month
- Business: $18/seat per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Notion ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (5.000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (2,000+ reviews)
13. Jira (Best for software development teams)
When I first started with Jira, I felt it wasn’t beginner-friendly, but it has now become a top choice for IT project managers and finance, marketing, and HR professionals.
Originally an issue-tracking tool for software developers, Jira is now a capable project management platform used across several industries. It is especially useful for Agile project management: Create user stories, plan sprints, assign tasks, and track progress with Kanban boards and Gantt charts.
When my team set up a sample Agile workflow, Jira broke it into sprints and organized tasks into two project types:
- Company-managed projects: Admin-controlled workflows for larger teams
- Team-managed projects: Flexible workspaces for smaller teams
Jira provides multiple views, real-time updates, automated workflows, and customizable templates to enhance productivity and keep projects on track.
Jira best features
- Automate workflows easily
- Get access to templates for HR, marketing, IT, and more
- Integrate with Atlassian Work Management and 2000+ popular apps
- Manage tasks effectively on Android and iOS
Jira limitations
- Complex interface with a steep learning curve
- Slow loading times may impact efficiency and performance
Jira pricing
- Free: Up to 10 users
- Standard: $8.15/month per user
- Premium: $16/month per user
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
JIra ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (6.000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (14,000+ reviews)
While all these tools offer useful features, they also have significant drawbacks, preventing them from being exceptional.
Users often complain about Jira’s sluggishness and complexity, for example, or find Notion’s AI expensive. Basecamp and Trello are good at what they do but lack advanced features that bigger teams can’t do without.
’s Project Management Platform may not be perfect, but it doesn’t shy away from packing a punch—no matter how small or large your team and how simple or complex your workflow is. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what one of our customers had to say:
Appreciation like this motivates the team to update and improve the platform constantly. We roll out new features and functions every other month!
The latest updates we’ve launched
If you opt for one of the alternatives from the list above, you might miss out on newer features.
Chat
In most project management tools, your actual work is disconnected from conversations about work. You may be managing and checking tasks off in one place (let’s say, Trello) while sharing reports and updates in another (perhaps Slack).
With Chat, project, document, and knowledge management come together in one platform, enhanced manifold with ’s native AI.
The possibilities are endless, but to give you a glimpse, here’s what this convergence offers:
- Conversations mirror your workspace—chat directly in Spaces and Lists to make sure chat discussions align with their corresponding tasks or projects
- Convert any chat message into a task with a single click, leveraging ’s AI capabilities. This feature captures the context of discussions and creates actionable tasks, eliminating the need for manual task creation and ensuring that no important conversation is lost
- Use AI CatchUp, which summarizes missed conversations, and AI CleanUp, which identifies action items from your messages to help you stay organized and focused on what matters most, reducing information overload
- Collaborate in real time with live video calls and screen sharing via SyncUps. Additionally, you can schedule meetings and view team members’ workloads directly within the chat interface, facilitating smoother communication and better project management
Dashboards
Features like Dashboards recently got some exciting updates. This customizable feature now lets you add cards to create various reports directly from your dashboard, making it even more versatile.
You can also use task dates in your reports. You can visualize standard date fields of your tasks (like when they were created, started, updated, completed, or closed) in pie, bar, or line graphs to track progress effortlessly.
This gives you a clear, real-time overview of KPIs, progress, and team performance at a glance. Plus, you can share entire dashboards with stakeholders, making it easier for everyone to be on the same page.
Automations
Even Automations has gotten smarter. Now, it can automatically update AI summaries whenever tasks change–without lifting a finger. Just use the ‘Task Updated’ Trigger for AI Custom Fields, and your tasks will always reflect the latest changes.
Another handy addition? You can now duplicate automations instead of recreating them manually every time. Want them to pop up in other locations? You can automate that as well.
’s full range of features that complete your toolkit
And that’s nowhere close to being all. You still have a wide range of productivity-boosting features to help you out.
- Automate tasks: With Brain, automate tasks like writing descriptions, summarizing documents, and creating content, saving valuable time for your team
- Collaborate on documents: Use Docs to create, edit, and manage shared documents, wikis, and knowledge bases within the platform
- Get started with templates: A library of ready-made templates gives you a jump-start on your tasks
- Track and manage tasks: Use Tasks to create, assign, and track tasks using customizable fields, priorities, and dependencies. You can also use Views, which includes List, Board, Calendar, Gantt, and Timeline, allowing flexibility in task visualization
- Monitor progress: Track project milestones, deadlines, and overall progress with interactive charts and timelines with the Project Tracking feature. Also, use Goals to create measurable objectives, such as numbers or currency, and link them to relevant tasks
- Manage time better: With ’s native time tracking, you can log hours directly within tasks and generate comprehensive time reports
- Manage projects on the go: A full-featured app for iOS and Android designed to keep you productive anytime, anywhere
Also, did you know you can access most of these in our free plan alone?
Please let us know if there’s something we’re missing or something you dislike about .
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