With limited resources and ambitious goals, startups need the right project management tools to streamline workflows, enhance collaboration, and enable growth.
In this article, I’ll share the 10 best project management tools for startups, focusing on features that are particularly valuable for small and growing businesses.
These tools will help your team:
- Stay organized and productive.
- Communicate effectively across remote or hybrid setups.
- Manage resources and timelines efficiently.
Ready to explore? Let’s dive in.
Factors to Consider When Choosing Project Management Software for Startups
Before diving into the tools, it’s important to know what to look for.
Consider these key factors to ensure the tool fits your startup’s needs:
1. Scalability
Your startup is likely to grow, so choose a startup project management software tool that can handle increasing team sizes, more complex projects, and evolving workflows.
At the same time, make sure that its pricing is reasonable enough so that it won’t explode in your face as you scale.
2. Usability
Startups don’t have time for steep learning curves, as they’re always racing to get palpable results as soon as possible.
Look for intuitive tools that require minimal training so your team can get started quickly.
3. Customization Options
Startups often have unique workflows, which must be tailored to their dynamic and fast-paced environments.
These workflows can include everything from product development to investor outreach and more.
Choose a platform that lets you tailor templates, dashboards, and task management systems to your specific needs.
4. Collaboration Features
Effective teamwork is crucial for optimal efficiency and productivity levels.
Tools with built-in communication features, file sharing, and real-time updates will keep your team connected and aligned at all times and in all environments.
5. Affordability
Budget constraints are common in startups, as they’re yet to pave their way in the business world.
This is why you should look for tools that offer generous free plans or affordable entry-level pricing without sacrificing key features.
What Are the Best Project Management Tools for Startups?
Here are the best project management tools for startups out of the 50+ tools I analyzed:
1. SmartSuite: End-to-end project management solution with features that enable managing all business processes - from budgeting to product development and more - from a single platform.
2. Nifty: All-in-one tool for remote collaboration and project management.
3. Basecamp: Scalable project management software that prioritizes team communication.
4. ProofHub: User-friendly project management with unlimited users on all plans.
5. Teamwork: Ideal for service-based startups managing client projects.
6. Notion: Provides a central knowledge and project hub.
7. Asana: Powerful project management software for handling complex, multi-phased projects.
8. Trello: Simple and visual project management software.
9. Monday: Highly customizable platform for startups looking for flexibility.
10. Wrike: Manage and coordinate startup teams across departments or locations.
1. SmartSuite
SmartSuite (that’s us) offers the best project management software for startups in 2025 due to its ease of use, workflow automations, and team collaboration features.
Our platform enables startups to manage their entire business journey from a single, integrated solution.
Startups love SmartSuite because of its rich and versatile features, scalable pricing plans, and a wide range of project management templates built specifically for startups.
Let’s take a closer look at some of startups’ favorite SmartSuite features: 👇
Feature #1: Comprehensive project management toolkit for startups
SmartSuite has a wide range of features that enable startups to efficiently take care of every business operation and workflow, eliminating the need for using tons of different software solutions simultaneously.
With SmartSuite, startups can tackle:
- Planning and executing business strategies that position them for success: SmartSuite's intuitive dashboards allow you to develop your entire business roadmap, set milestones, due dates, objectives, and goals, and track and steer their execution.
- Marketing campaigns: In addition to creating marketing strategies and making sure that your team is on the same page, SmartSuite lets your team collaborate effectively on design ideas, run competitor analysis, set up and analyse comprehensive content strategies, and even collaborate on creating content in its SmartDocs.
- Product development and management: Thanks to powerful functionalities like scrum boards, tracking and analyzing customer feedback to prioritize features, and more, you can centralize and streamline the entire product development process.
- Recruiting and hiring: SmartSuite provides templates for hiring plans, candidate interviews, salary ranges, new employee onboarding, and employee evaluations.
- Investor relationship management: SmartSuite helps you raise the needed capital by streamlining all parts of this critical process, from investment documentation to investor communications.
Feature #2: Startup-specific templates
Startup teams already have a lot on their minds, so building everything from scratch just adds fuel to the fire.
SmartSuite helps startups get started by providing a wide range of fully customizable templates for various workflows and operations startups usually need, including:
- SWOT Analysis to visualize all strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for your business in a single platform.
- Sales CRM Lite to help you effectively manage all your customers from a unified dashboard with powerful automation features to reduce your manual workload.
- Fundraising CRM for better management of your investment pipeline.
- Idea Box for real-time brainstorming on anything from marketing strategies to handling potential employees’ issues at the workplace.
- Goals and Objectives to set up and track key goals and objectives across individual employees, teams, and your organization as a whole.
Feature #3: Real-time collaboration
Many startups operate in a hybrid or fully remote environment, meaning it is crucial for a project management platform to offer features that enable real-time team collaboration anytime, anywhere.
SmartSuite makes sure that all your team members are kept in the loop at all times by providing multiple options for managing remote work and overcoming its obstacles, such as:
- Communication center: You can talk to team members within the platform, right next to a specific project. You can also attach important files, share links, and more, keeping a constant flow of ideas and boosting efficiency across levels.
- Mentions: Quickly@mentions to easily get the coworker you need to look at a particular task or project segment.
- Real-time updates allow multiple team members to view, edit, and work on shared projects without overlapping or delays. Every action taken in a project is immediately visible to the rest of the team, ensuring that everyone is always working on the latest version.
- Member Directory: This lets you connect with team members, see who’s online, check out their interests and skills, and reach out no matter where they’re working.
- Mobile app for iOS and Android: This way, team members can access and edit projects and reply to comments and inquiries on the go.
Feature #4: Efficient resource allocation
Being able to efficiently and reasonably allocate resources is often a make-it-or-break-it for young startups dealing with limited resources.
SmartSuite has a solution for everything, from time tracking to efficient workload assignment:
- Budget and cost tracking: You can set up visual dashboards to track expenses monthly, ensuring that your designated budget is realistic and that you stay within its limits.
- Time tracking: This is especially useful for remote teams in addition to improving workload coordination, as it provides insight into billable hours, product development time, etc.
- Task assignment: The platform allows you to see which team members are available for work at any given time, assign the right team member a task, and receive updates as tasks near completion.
Pricing
SmartSuite has a free forever plan with access to 250+ automation actions, team collaboration, multi-dashboard views, and more.
There are four paid plans:
- Team: Starts at $10/user per month, including Gantt charts, timeline views, 5000 automation runs, and time tracking.
- Professional: Starts at $25/user per month and adds two-factor authentication, Gmail & Outlook integrations, and unlimited editors.
- Enterprise: Starts at $35/user/month and includes access to audit logs, data loss prevention, and 50,000 monthly API calls.
- Signature: A customized plan tailored to your organization’s needs and team size with no predefined limits.
If you want to try SmartSuite before subscribing, there’s a 14-day free trial.
Pros & Cons
✅ Generous free plan.
✅ Military-grade security.
✅ Intuitive interface that requires minimal to no training for most workflows.
✅ Versatile task management and automation functionality.
✅ Comprehensive dashboards and reports for tracking projects in real-time.
✅ Highly customizable, fit for startups across industries.
❌ Fewer native integrations compared to platforms that have been on the market longer.
2. Nifty
Best for: Handling simpler workflows for remote teams.
Nifty combines task management, team collaboration, and project tracking into one platform, making it ideal for startups looking to simplify their workflow.
Its intuitive interface and versatile features make it suitable for managing both internal projects and client-facing tasks.
Who is it for,?
Startups seeking an intuitive all-in-one tool for collaboration and project management.
Top Features
- Milestone tracking lets you track progress with visual milestones to ensure your team meets deadlines.
- Team collaboration features such as a built-in chat, file sharing, and discussions keep everyone aligned in real-time.
- Project portfolios let you organize projects in folders based on operations, account ownership, client delivery, or more and track their execution and progress.
Pricing
Nifty has a free forever plan for unlimited users that includes two projects and access to the platform’s core features.
For more advanced features, you’ll have to subscribe to one of four paid plans:
- Personal: $12/user/mo, includes 40 projects, everything in Free and time and budget tracking.
- Pro: $16/user/mo, includes everything in Personal, 100 projects, automations, and cross-project overviews.
- Business: $25/user/mo, everything in Pro, unlimited projects, goal tracking, and more customization.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, everything in the Business plan, and more advanced security and support options.
There’s also a 14-day free trial for its paid plans.
Pros & Cons
✅ Easy to use.
✅ Solid mobile app.
✅ Robust integrations with other productivity and planning tools such as Google Calendar and Outlook.
❌ Lack of advanced project management features such as comprehensive resource allocation.
❌ Its chat feature doesn’t work as seamlessly as it should.
3. Basecamp
Best for: Keeping your team on the same page through robust collaboration and project organization features.
Basecamp is a straightforward project management tool that emphasizes team communication and task organization.
Its simplicity makes it a go-to for startups that want to focus on productivity without dealing with overwhelming features.
Who is it for?
Startups prioritizing communication and simple project organization.
Top Features
- Lets you centralize team discussions in one place, reducing the reliance on endless email threads through message boards and Campfire chat, its built-in chat feature.
- Comprehensive data visualization options for understanding where your projects stand at a glance.
- Docs and files let you store all relevant project files and documentation in one accessible location.
Pricing
Basecamp has a free forever plan that lets you work on one project. It includes access to all of Basecamp’s essential features such as message boards, chats, docs and files, etc.
If you need more, you can choose between two paid plans:
- Basecamp Plus: $15/user per month, which adds unlimited projects and 500 GB of storage space.
- Basecamp Pro Unlimited: $299/month billed annually, all-inclusive, lets you onboard everyone in your organization, everything in Plus and 5 terabytes storage space, Timesheet upgrade, Pro Admin controls, etc.
Both paid plans offer a 30-day free trial.
Pros & Cons
✅ Enables seamless team communication within the platform.
✅ Real-time notifications on important project updates.
✅ Lets you onboard your entire organization for a fixed fee.
❌ Limited task management features.
❌ Time tracking is available only on its most expensive plan.
4. ProofHub
Best for: Scalable and intuitive project management.
ProofHub offers a wide range of features for task management, team collaboration, and project tracking, all in an intuitive interface.
The fact that it doesn’t have a per-user pricing is especially appealing to budget-conscious startups.
Who is it for?
Startups looking for an easy-to-use yet efficient project management and collaboration tool.
Top Features
- Comprehensive task and project management tools let you organize tasks using Kanban boards, Gantt charts, and calendars.
- Announcements let you share important updates and celebrate milestones across teams, notify teammates of new guidelines, and confirm priority changes to keep everyone in the loop.
- Custom roles and permissions ensure security and privacy by giving you control over who can access specific projects or information.
Pricing
ProofHub has two paid plans that are unique by letting you onboard as many team members as you want for a fixed price:
- Essential: $45/mo, provides access to all core features, such as chats, project and task management tools, announcements, etc.
- Ultimate Control: $89/mo for the first three months and then $150/mo, everything in Essential plus more advanced features such as automations, advanced reports, activity logs, etc.
Pros & Cons
✅ Scalable pricing.
✅ Solid customization options.
✅ Simple and intuitive interface.
❌ Issues with task notifications.
❌ Limited integrations.
5. Teamwork
Best for: Managing client-oriented tasks and projects.
Teamwork is designed with client-facing businesses in mind, offering features like task billing and time tracking.
It combines project and team management features with a comprehensive tool stack for handling client services, all in one place.
Who is it for?
Service-based startups managing client projects.
Top Features
- Time tracking lets you track time spent on certain tasks as well as billable and unbillable hours for charging clients accurately.
- A vast library of project templates for common workflows, such as client onboarding, bug tracking, marketing campaign execution, etc.
- Collaboration tools to keep clients and teams aligned, including options for collecting feedback in real-time, a built-in chat, etc.
Pricing
Teamwork has a free forever plan for up to 5 users and access to its most basic features.
More advanced users can choose from four paid tiers:
- Deliver: $13.99/user/mo, minimum 3 users, includes automations, forms, project status reports, etc.
- Grow: $25.99/user/mo, minimum 5 users, everything in Deliver and advanced budgeting, comprehensive reports, etc.
- Scale: $69.99/user/mo, minimum 5 users, everything in Grow and unlimited retainer management, resource scheduler, etc.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, everything in Scale and advanced security, premium support and designated infrastructure.
Pros & Cons
✅ Robust analytics and reporting.
✅ Excellent time tracking capabilities.
✅ Intuitive forms function for deploying forms both internally and externally.
❌ Unintuitive user interface.
❌ Its mobile apps don’t support all desktop features.
6. Notion
Best for: Creating a centralized knowledge and project organization hub.
Notion combines task management, document collaboration, and team communication into one platform, making it an excellent choice for startups with content- and document-heavy workflows.
Its flexibility allows startups to create custom workflows, whether for product roadmaps or content calendars.
Who is it for?
Notion is best suited for early-stage startups that want a simple yet powerful way to manage notes, tasks, and team collaboration in one place.
Top Features
- Intuitive drag-and-drop interface for building your own project boards, task trackers, or wikis.
- Comprehensive databases for organizing tasks, files, and team notes.
- Notion AI can help you generate and edit various docs, search databases, analyze data for actionable insights, etc.
Pricing
Notion has a free forever plan that can be used by small teams with very basic collaboration and project management needs since it provides very limited access to its features (collaborative workspace, integration with Slack, GitHub, and other productivity and communication apps, etc.).
If you need more, you can subscribe to one of three plans:
- Plus: $12 per seat/month, everything in the Free plan plus unlimited blocks for teams and file uploads, custom automations, etc.
- Business: $18 per seat/month, everything in Plus, plus private spaces, advanced analytics, more sophisticated security, etc.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, everything in Business, plus advanced security and permissions, workspace analytics, etc.
If you want Notion AI, you’ll have to pay an additional $10 per user per month.
However, there are certain benefits for startups when it comes to Notion’s paid plans:
- Non-paying Notion customers with under 50 employees who have raised under $10 million in funding and are affiliated with one of our startup partners can get 6 months of Notion for free to use with unlimited AI
- Non-paying Notion customers with under 50 employees who have raised under $10 million in funding and are not affiliated with Notion’s partners can get 3 months free with unlimited AI.
Pros & Cons
✅ Doesn’t have as many advanced project management features as other tools in the list.
✅ User-friendly interface, doesn’t require any tech-savviness.
✅ Lets you create notes, manage projects, build databases, and organize tasks all in one place.
❌ Isn’t really mobile-friendly.
❌ No offline access.
7. Asana
Best for: Managing complex, multi-step projects.
Asana is a robust tool that excels at managing large projects with multiple stakeholders.
Its intuitive design makes it a top choice for scaling startups looking to track project progress, assign tasks, and manage workflows seamlessly.
Who is it for?
Asana is a good choice for startups handling complex workflows.
Top Features
- Task automation with custom rules to streamline various workflows and tailor them to your needs.
- Project dashboards let you visualize deadlines and deliverables.
- Goals let you create business objectives, assign tasks that lead to their achievement, and monitor their progress in real-time.
Pricing
Asana has a free plan designed for individuals and small teams of up to 10 members, including unlimited tasks, projects, messages, and more.
However, if you want access to its AI and other advanced features, you’ll have to upgrade to one of four paid tiers:
- Starter: $10.99/user/mo, everything in the Free plan plus up to 500 team members, Asana AI, automations, etc.
- Advanced: $24.99/user/mo, everything in Starter, plus more automations, time tracking, advanced analytics, etc.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, no seat limits, more advanced integrations for cross-department work.
- Enterprise+: Custom pricing, and more advanced security, built for enterprise businesses that need to meet strict compliance requirements.
Pros & Cons
✅ Integration with over 200 apps, including Slack and Salesforce.
✅ Robust security.
✅ Highly customizable, so it can accommodate various work styles and needs.
❌ Learning curve.
❌ Its chat feature leaves a lot to be desired.
8. Trello
Best for: Visual task tracking and management.
Trello is known for its intuitive Kanban boards, which make it a favorite for startups looking to keep track of tasks visually.
It’s perfect for managing straightforward workflows, like tracking customer onboarding or marketing campaigns.
Who is it for?
Trello is ideal for startups that need a straightforward, visual way to manage projects.
Top Features
- Calendar view for scheduling tasks.
- Drag-and-drop cards to assign and manage tasks visually.
- Automation with Trello’s Butler to handle repetitive actions.
Pricing
Trello has a free version of its project management platform that includes automation features and up to 10 seats.
If you need more, you can choose from three paid plans:
- Standard: Starts from $5 per user/month and adds unlimited activity log and 250 workspace command runs/month.
- Premium: Starts from $10 per user/month and adds unlimited workspace collaborators and built-in automation.
- Enterprise: Starts from $17.50 per user/month for 50 users and includes 24/7 enterprise admin support and SAML SSO via Atlassian Access.
If you want to try it before subscribing, Trello offers a 14-day free trial.
Note: On the Enterprise plan, you get a per-seat discount the more users you bring to the platform.
Pros & Cons
✅ Very simple and easy-to-use interface.
✅ Lots of versatile project board templates to help you get started.
✅ Wide range of native integrations and plugins to keep your tool stack connected.
❌ Limited options for managing more complex projects.
❌ Limited mobile functionality.
9. Monday
Best for: Creating tailored project management workflows for various business needs and objectives.
Monday simplifies project management with its drag-and-drop interface, flexibility, and powerful automation features.
This makes it ideal for startups that want to put a bigger part of project management on autopilot while staying in control of every project’s progress.
Who is it for?
Startups needing a customizable, user-friendly platform.
Top Features
- Intuitive automation builder lets you streamline all kinds of workflows.
- Visual dashboards provide real-time monitoring and updates on team progress.
- Versatile templates for workflow automation to help you get going.
Pricing
Monday has a free plan for up to 2 users with up to 3 boards, unlimited docs, 200+ custom templates, etc.
For more features, there are 4 paid plans to choose from:
- Basic: €12 seat/month, includes unlimited free viewers, unlimited items, 5GB file storage, etc.
- Standard: €14 seat/month, everything in Basic, the first plan to include automations.
- Pro: €24 seat/month, private boards, Chart View, etc.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, built for enterprise-grade businesses.
Pros & Cons
✅ Lets you set up custom roles and permissions to ensure that certain projects or tasks are visible and editable only by appropriate team members.
✅ Lots of options for customizing project boards and views.
✅ Robust automation features.
❌ Automations are available only on the Standard plan and above.
❌ Learning curve.
10. Wrike
Best for: Managing projects across cross-functional startup teams.
Wrike is a versatile platform with advanced AI, project tracking and automation tools.
As such, it’s particularly well-suited for startups managing multi-department or client-facing projects.
Who is it for?
Wrike provides sophisticated project tracking, cross-tagging, and collaboration tools, making it ideal for startups with teams across different departments or locations.
Top Features
- Intuitive form builder for request forms you can use within your organization or with clients.
- Customizable dashboards let you tailor views for individual team members and teams.
- AI-powered tools for predicting risks, optimizing workflows, and setting up automations faster.
Pricing
Wrike has a free forever plan that provides access to its essential project management features as well as a board and table view of your tasks.
Its four paid tiers offer a wider range of features:
- Team: $10/user/mo, 2-15 users, unlimited projects, 50 automations/user/mo, Gantt charts, Calendar, etc.
- Business: $24.80/user/mo, 5-200 users, everything in Team and 200 automations/user/mo, real-time reports, AI features, etc.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, 5-unlimited users, everything in Business and 1000 automations/user/mo, advanced security, etc.
- Pinnacle: Custom pricing, 5-unlimited users, everything in Enterprise, 1500 automations/user/mo, more customization options.
There’s also a 14-day free trial for all of its paid plans.
Pros & Cons
✅ Highly customizable and flexible.
✅ Robust analytics and reporting tools.
✅ Project Blueprints let you standardize common workflows, driving consistency across your organization.
❌ Not suitable for smaller projects and teams as its functionality can be overwhelming.
❌ Steep learning curve.
Bulletproof Your Startup with SmartSuite
Every tool on this list can enhance your startup’s efficiency, productivity, and collaboration.
However, if you’re looking to streamline operations and set your startup up for long-term success, SmartSuite might be your best bet.
The platform addresses the unique challenges startups face - ranging from strategizing your next product launch and managing investor relationships to keeping your team aligned in a remote environment - thanks to its:
- End-to-end project management capabilities.
- Startup-specific templates.
- Real-time collaboration features.
- Robust resource management, and more.
Ready to take your startup to the next level?
Book a demo with SmartSuite today and experience firsthand how it can transform the way your team works!
