Small-business project managers often use spreadsheets to track their team’s tasks, a cumbersome and time-consuming process for both managers and team members.

Instead, project managers should use task management software to automate task tracking and visualize task status. These solutions come with features such as built-in calendars and Kanban dashboards, which help managers track tasks more effectively than manual spreadsheets.

If you’re worried about affordability, never fear! Many task management solutions on the market offer free versions, which allow businesses to start using the software right away without spending a fortune.

In this article, we will look at six top-rated free task management solutions (presented alphabetically) in Capterra’s directory, each of which has an overall user rating of at least 4.5 out of 5 (read more about our methodology here).

This article looks at six highly rated free task management software options. See the full list of free task management software solutions here

The 6 free task management software options we’ll cover are listed below, in alphabetical order.

6 top-rated free task management software solutions

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Ease-of-use rating: 4.5/5

Customer Service rating: 4.5/5

Airtable is a cloud-based task management solution with features including task scheduling, Kanban dashboards for task tracking, color coding for task prioritization, task commenting, and file sharing.

Airtable’s free plan allows users to create unlimited bases and includes a mobile app, team calendars, and task management. The free version places limitations on file storage (up to 2GB), revision history (up to two weeks), and records (row limit) per base (1,200).

Pros Cons Users like the availability of pre-built project templates (e.g., marketing campaign trackers, product catalogs, blog editorial calendars, event planning tracker, etc.). Users reported that it takes a while to get used to the software’s user interface, and its multitude of features can be confusing for novice users.

Cost to upgrade: Plus ($12/user/month), Pro ($24/user/month), and Enterprise (custom pricing). Discounts are available for annual subscriptions.

Mobile apps: iOS, Android

Most suitable for: Marketing agencies, UI/UX designers, and small teams that need a flexible tool for tracking tasks and project-related information.

Highly rated by: In the past year, 81% of Airtable’s user reviews on Capterra came from individuals at small businesses across a variety of industries. The top five were marketing and advertising, computer software, higher education, design, and nonprofit.

Task view in Airtable (Source)

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Overall rating: 4.5/5

Ease-of-use rating: 4.5/5

Customer Service rating: 5/5

ClickUp is a cloud-based productivity and task management solution. The tool offers features such as dashboards for viewing tasks, drag-and-drop task reordering, and Gantt charts for task planning.

ClickUp’s free plan allows unlimited users (project members) and unlimited tasks. The plan also lets you create sub-tasks, track time, and collaborate in real time. You’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan for unlimited file storage, Gantt charts, and reporting functionality.

Pros Cons Users reported that ClikUp’s customer support team is highly responsive and efficient. Users would like the free plan to offer more file storage (currently limited to 100MB).

Cost to upgrade: Unlimited ($9/user/month), Business ($19/user/month), and Enterprise (custom pricing). Discounts are available for annual subscriptions.

Mobile apps: iOS, Android

Most suitable for: Small teams that want a collaborative tool for task management.

Highly rated by: In the past year, 87% of ClickUp’s reviews on Capterra came from individuals at small businesses across a variety of industries. The top five were marketing and advertising, computer software, IT services, design, and education management.

Task management view in ClickUp

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Overall rating: 5/5

Ease-of-use rating: 4.5/5

Customer Service rating: 4.5/5

Flowlu is a cloud-based collaboration solution that includes task management features such as file sharing, time tracking, and task planning (with Gantt charts). The tool also includes functionalities beyond task management, including invoice management and accounting.

Flowlu’s free plan allows up to two users to share files and create projects, invoices, and quotes. However, you’ll have to upgrade for advanced task management capabilities, such as creating recurring tasks, accessing project templates, and extended calendar functionalities.

Pros Cons Users like the many features of the tool that allow them do more than task management, such as creating project budgets and generating invoices. Users would like to see more functionality beyond basic task management included in the free plan.

Cost to upgrade: Team ($39/month, up to eight users), Business ($74/month, up to 16 users), Professional ($149/month, up to 25 users), and Enterprise ($299/month, unlimited users). Discounts are available for annual subscriptions.

Mobile apps: iOS, Android

Most suitable for: Companies that want a project management solution with additional business management functionalities such as accounting and client management.

Highly rated by: In the past year, 65% of Flowlu’s reviews on Capterra came from individuals at small businesses, 22% from medium, and 13% from large. Most reviews came from users in the computer software industry, followed by financial services, higher education, and nonprofit.

File sharing view in Flowlu (Source)

Read user reviews for Flowlu

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Ease-of-use rating: 4.5/5

Customer Service rating: 4.5/5

Glip is a cloud-based task management tool that offers features including discussion boards, video conferencing, and document sharing.

With Glip’s free plan, you can create tasks, manage team calendars, and communicate with unlimited guest users via chat. However, you’ll have to upgrade for exporting compliance reports and data retention.

Pros Cons Users report positive experiences with Glip’s customer support. Users would like improvements to the mobile apps, such as the ability to sort and filter tasks.

Cost to upgrade: Glip offers a single paid plan at $5/user/month.

Mobile apps: iOS, Android

Most suitable for: Freelancers and remote teams that need constant communication when managing projects and tasks

Highly rated by: In the past year, 84% of Glip’s reviews on Capterra came from individuals at small businesses across a variety of industries. The top five were computer software, IT services, marketing and advertising, consumer services, and hospital and healthcare.

Task management view in Glip (Source)

Read user reviews for Glip

Overall rating: 5/5

Ease-of-use rating: 4.5/5

Customer Service rating: 5/5

Pipefy is a cloud-based workflow and project management solution that comes with features such as Kanban dashboards for task visualization, business process workflow mapping, and task management.

Pipefy’s free plan allows you to create pipes (process workflows) using pre-built templates. The free plan also includes mobile app functionality, but places limitations on the number of users (up to 10) and pipes (up to five).

Pros Cons Users mention that creating process workflows for different projects on Pipefy is easy. Users would like improvements in Pipefy’s reporting functionality, such as the ability to customize dashboards to view an entire organization’s performance.

Cost to upgrade: Professional ($12/month, five to 10 users), Business ($22/month, 10 to 50 users), and Enterprise (custom pricing, over 50 users). Discounts are available for annual subscriptions.

Mobile apps: iOS, Android

Most suitable for: Sales teams practicing Agile project management.

Highly rated by: In the past year, 80% of Pipefy’s reviews on Capterra came from individuals at small businesses across various industries. The most reviews came from users in the marketing and advertising industry, followed by apparel and fashion, construction, and entertainment.

Creating process workflows in Pipefy (Source)

Read user reviews for Pipefy

Overall rating: 5/5

Ease-of-use rating: 4.5/5

Customer Service rating: 5/5

Samepage is a cloud-based collaboration software that offers features such as document management (including real-time editing), file sharing, chat, activity feeds, calendar management, and web conferencing.

Samepage’s free plan accommodates unlimited members and guests, offering features such as file sharing, team chat,task management and collaboration. However, there are limitations on file storage (up to 2GB) and user management functionalities.

Pros Cons Users find the interface of Samepage intuitive and easy to navigate. Users would like improvements to the software’s app notification management

Cost to upgrade: Pro ($9/user/month) and Enterprise (custom pricing). Discounts are available for annual subscriptions.

Mobile apps: iOS, Android

Most suitable for: Freelancers, startups, and teams that need to communicate via real-time chat and video conferencing.

Highly rated by: In the past year, 79% of Samepage’s reviews on Capterra came from individuals at small businesses, 11% from midsize businesses, and 10% from large companies. The most reviews came from users in nonprofit sector, followed by education management, computer software, and the health and wellness industry.

Collaborating on documents in Samepage (Source)

Read user reviews for Samepage

Methodology

We updated this article on June 12, 2019, with new software options and removed software that no longer meets our market definition, was outdated, or no longer free.

We evaluated the products in Capterra’s task management software directory (as of May 8, 2019) to determine if there is a free version, and if it met our inclusion criteria.

Free products: For the purposes of this article, we classified a product as free if:

It offers a free, stand-alone version of the software.

It is not a trial version of the software where you must purchase a product version after a limited amount of time.

Criteria: Once a tool was classified as free, we analyzed that tool according to the following criteria:

It has at least 10 reviews published on Capterra’s site.

It meets our task management software definition.

Is it task management software? We evaluated verified free products with at least 10 reviews against our task management software definition:

Task management software helps individuals and teams organize, manage, and complete tasks. These tools allow users to create tasks, track task progress, and collaborate in groups.

This check verified basic task management capabilities and appropriateness for the category.

Products were classified as task management software if they contained all of the following core features:

Task scheduling: Create a task; assign to a user; schedule a due date. Add a description of the task and designate the task as part of a project.

Create a task; assign to a user; schedule a due date. Add a description of the task and designate the task as part of a project. Task progress tracking: Show task progression as “percent complete,” using a percentage, a fraction or with shading. View task history and setup alerts/notifications.

Show task progression as “percent complete,” using a percentage, a fraction or with shading. View task history and setup alerts/notifications. Task editing: Move a single or multiple task using drag-and-drop or copying a task list. Select multiple, individual tasks and “bulk edit” or assign new designations such as task labels, task priority, etc.

Disclaimers

The content in this piece that provides opinions and points of view expressed by users does not represent the views of Capterra.

The applications selected in this article are examples to show a feature in context and are not intended as endorsements or recommendations. They have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication.