Free Project Management Software
Which project management and task tools a startup team can use for free today, how many members and projects the free plan covers, how much storage it includes, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each tool's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Project management tools change their free plans from time to time: confirm the terms on the tool's page before your team moves its work there.
Project management tools a startup team can use for free today include ClickUp (Free forever, unlimited members), Superlist (Free forever), Linear (Free for everyone, unlimited members), Todoist (Free plan for personal use), and Trello (Free for up to 10 collaborators). Each of the 12 free plans below links to the tool's page that states it, with its main limit, its storage, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
A small team needs one place where the work is written down: what is being built, who owns it and when it ships. Almost every project management tool has a free plan, and the right one can carry a startup for a long time.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. A free plan can stop at a few members, a few boards or projects, a small amount of storage, or keep views and automations for paid plans. Each tool below shows what is free, its main limit, its storage, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the tool's own page with the date we read it.
Which tools we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the tools'. Some of these tools pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which tools are listed or where.
Project management tools with a free plan
Tools for planning projects, tasks and sprints as a team, with a free plan to start.
- 1
ClickUp
Teams that want unlimited members for free
ClickUp's Free Forever plan has unlimited free members and 5 Spaces, with 60 MB of file storage. Its first paid plan, Core, is $9 a user a month.
- Payment card
- No credit card required (source: clickup.com)
- First paid plan
- Core: $9 a user a month (source: clickup.com)
Start free at ClickUpTerms read on clickup.com on ClickUp: the free allowance and how to start ClickUp for Startups: what startups get - 2
Linear
Software teams that want a free issue tracker
Linear's Free plan is free for everyone, with unlimited members, 2 teams and 250 issues, and 10MB file uploads. Its first paid plan, Basic, is $10 per user a month.
- Main limit
- 2 teams, 250 issues (source: linear.app)
- First paid plan
- Basic: $10 a user a month (source: linear.app)
Start free at LinearTerms read on linear.app on Linear: the free allowance and how to start Linear for Startups: what startups get - 3
Trello
Visual boards for small teams
Trello's Free plan is free for up to 10 collaborators per Workspace, with up to 10 boards and 10MB per file. Standard is $5 a user a month when billed annually.
- 4
Jira
Software teams that need Jira's free tier
Jira's Free plan is free forever for up to 10 users, with 2GB of storage and 150 automation steps per subscription per month.
- 5
Nifty
Small teams that want unlimited free members
Nifty's free plan is free to get started, with unlimited members, 2 active projects and 100 MB of storage. Pro is $79 a month, billed monthly.
- Payment card
- No credit card needed (source: niftypm.com)
- First paid plan
- Pro: $79 a month, billed monthly (source: niftypm.com)
- 6
Wrike
Teams that need free essential task management
Wrike's Free plan is essential task management at $0 a user a month, with no credit card required. Team is $10 a user a month.
- Payment card
- No credit card required (source: wrike.com)
- First paid plan
- Team: $10 a user a month (source: wrike.com)
Start free at WrikeReferral linkTerms read on wrike.com on Wrike: the free allowance and how to start - 7
Plane
Small teams of up to 12 people on a free plan
Plane's Free plan has core features, with a seat limit of 12 users. Its Pro plan is $6 per seat a month.
- Main limit
- Up to 12 users (source: plane.so)
- First paid plan
- Pro: $6 a seat a month (source: plane.so)
- 8
monday.com
Freelancers and teams of up to 2 people
monday.com's free plan is free forever for up to 2 seats, with up to 3 boards. No credit card is needed to start.
- Main limit
- Up to 3 boards (source: monday.com)
- Payment card
- No credit card needed (source: monday.com)
- 9
Asana
One or two people running personal projects
Asana's Personal plan is free forever for one or two people, with unlimited files of up to 100MB each. Starter is $10.99 per user a month, billed annually.
- First paid plan
- Starter: $10.99 a user a month (source: asana.com)
Start free at AsanaTerms read on asana.com on Asana: the free allowance and how to start Asana for Startups: what startups get
Task and team tools with a free plan
Lighter task lists and team tools, with a free plan for small teams.
- 1
Superlist
Small teams that run work as shared lists
Superlist's Free plan is free forever, with up to 5 private and shared lists and 25MB uploads with 500MB storage. Basic is $5 a person a month.
- What's free
- Free forever (source: superlist.com)
- First paid plan
- Basic: $5 a person a month (source: superlist.com)
Start free at SuperlistReferral linkTerms read on superlist.com on Superlist: the free allowance and how to start - 2
Todoist
Individuals who want a free personal task list
Todoist's Beginner plan is free for personal use, with 5 personal projects. Pro is $5 a month, or $60 billed yearly.
- First paid plan
- Pro: $5 a month, $60 billed yearly (source: todoist.com)
- 3
Basecamp
Personal projects with up to 3 other people
Basecamp Personal is free forever for one project, and lets you invite up to 3 people. Freelancer is $29 a month, and the Free account needs no credit card.
- Payment card
- No card needed on Free (source: basecamp.com)
- First paid plan
- Freelancer: $29 a month (source: basecamp.com)
Project management startup programs
Programs from project management companies that give startups a discount on paid plans.
- Atlassian for Startups (Jira, Confluence, Loom)
Atlassian · VC / accelerator-backed
Free for 12 months
Also useful for team productivity
Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.
Compare the top options
How this comparison is built
The list covers project management and task tools a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each tool's terms. Every term comes from the tool's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A cap on members, projects or storage, or views and automations kept for paid plans, can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the tool states them. Some of these tools pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a tool appears, and no tool pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free project management software?
It depends on team size. By the terms each tool states, ClickUp and Linear are free for unlimited members (ClickUp with 5 Spaces, Linear with 2 teams and 250 issues), Trello is free for up to 10 collaborators, Jira for up to 10 users and Plane for up to 12 users, while monday.com's free plan covers up to 2 seats.
Is ClickUp free?
Yes. ClickUp's free plan is free forever for unlimited members, with 5 Spaces and 60 MB of file storage, and needs no credit card. Core costs $9 a user a month.
Is Asana free?
Yes, for 1 or 2 people: Asana's free plan is free forever and stores unlimited files up to 100MB each. Starter costs $10.99 a user a month.
Is Trello free?
Yes. Trello's free plan is free for up to 10 collaborators, with up to 10 boards per Workspace and unlimited storage at 10MB per file. Standard costs $5 a user a month, billed yearly.
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