Creative projects are challenging, and they can sometimes seem impossible to manage. And it’s why so many teams rely on the best creative project management software to get projects from ideation to completion.
While there are a lot of steps in every creative project, having the right software helps you get everything under control so you meet deadlines, avoid bottlenecks, and empower teams to stay creative without too much hassle of the workflow.
Luckily, there are plenty of options and here we’ll look at the top 15 project management software for 2023. We’ll cover key features, pros, cons, and how to choose the best software for your needs.
Read on the discover a list of powerful tools you can add to (or replace) your current tech stack. ⚡️
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Summarize this article for me pleaseHow Different Industries Use Creative Project Management Software
Let’s be real—there are a ton of different agencies, businesses, and organizations that rely on creative work. And with that work comes a need to manage those projects. Whether it’s creative ads, copy, designs, audio, or visuals, design teams need creative project management software to reach the finish line.
Here’s how the industry uses this software to work better as a team:
Tracking time and expenses
Team leaders need to keep track of the time spent on a creative project. This helps create a record of the money used on things like materials and labor.
Assigning tasks
Assigning tasks or subtasks to other team members makes it easier to work with everyone else on the project. It allows you to keep track of the progress of each individual or team, resulting in a smooth-running, successful project.
All-in-one management
A project management software program offers you the ability to create a document library for all the files related to your project to be kept in one place. This makes it easier for you and your team members to access all documents about the project without any hassles.
Efficient status updates
Creative teams often need to provide regular updates—especially when your clients request the work. You can send these updates via email or text messages, and ensure everyone is up to speed on the progress of their tasks and the overall progress of the project.
Inputs from multiple sources
It’s also essential to import information from multiple sources and use it to make better decisions. This means that you can combine all the relevant information from emails, spreadsheets, software logs, documents, and more to figure out a course of action that is best suited for your project.
Summarize this article for me pleaseBest 15 Creative Project Management Software
1. ClickUp
ClickUp has a unique user experience that makes it highly convenient to use for any project including marketing projects. This platform offers hundreds of customizable features and over 15 ways to view your work—these features are crucial for growing businesses as they give your team the flexibility it needs as they scale.
Aside from the customizable features, ClickUp also lets you create and save your own templates to save time and keep the process consistent, and if you need help getting started, check out the template center for a variety of ready-to-use templates.
Key features
- ClickUp Notepad: This is an exclusive feature of the software where you can create a text-based project. It can be used by companies with an online presence and need to engage with their customer base
- ClickUp Mind Maps: Mind mapping requires a particular skill, and the people in your team will benefit a lot from this feature. It enables users to build an online presence by posting ideas, thoughts, or processes instead of using just words
- ClickUp Docs: This feature allows you to create a project and assign it to a different team member. The software will help you organize your documents so that users can easily find them
- ClickUp Forms: ClickUp forms help you build online forms for your company. The online forms have various fields where users can enter the required information. These fields then become part of the database and are accessible by your team members
- ClickUp Whiteboards: This feature is similar to Mind Maps, but is best used in a team setting. It is a collaborative project management tool where you can add notes and share your ideas with other team members
Pros
- Fully customizable platform
- Custom statuses and custom fields
- Ready-to-use templates and the option to save your own templates (check out these creative brief templates!)
- 1,000+ integrations
- Mobile app
Cons
- Limited ClickUp views on mobile application
- Learning curve due to the number of available features
Pricing
- Free Forever Plan: Best suited for personal use
- Unlimited Plan: Best suited for a small team. You will be required to pay a monthly subscription fee of $7 per member
- Business Plan: Best suited for medium-sized companies. A monthly subscription fee of $12 per member is required to get you started
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
2. Paymo
Paymo is a cloud-based collaborative whiteboard application. It’s ideal if you’re looking for an app with unlimited storage, high-quality presentations, and enhanced productivity, since it supports cloud storage.
Key features
- Time tracking: You can track time spent on specific tasks using Paymo’s time tracker
- Planning and scheduling: There are different methods to plan meetings, events, and other tasks
- Team collaboration: You can share whiteboard using Dropbox, Box.com, Google Drive or OneDrive
- Customization: Provides multi-language interface and global support
Pros
- Real-time collaboration
- Powerful time tracking tool
- Cloud-based
Cons
- Its user interface isn’t as intuitive as some on this list
- Higher learning curve to adopt
Pricing
- Free:
- Starter: $4.95 a month
- Small Office: $9.95 a month
- Business: $20.79 a month
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
3. Flow
Flow is a web-based communication tool that supports sticky notes and similar types of markups that enhance swift visual project management on any project.
Key features
- Tagging: You can add different tags to your ideas and share them with your team members
- Planning and scheduling: You can set up recurring calendar events, including checklists, across your teams
- Scaling up: Flow envisages scaling up to be very useful for large teams having multiple projects and has a self-hosted feature. This allows you to create new application instances for each project that you have or need to manage
Pros
- Great for effective team organization
- Over 300 connectors for seamless integration with Microsoft products
- The flexibility of being an online or hybrid application to suit your functionality needs
Cons
- Lacks a centralized orchestrator to aid in centralized deployment and monitoring
Pricing
- Flow Basic: Monthly subscription fee of $6 per user
- Flow Plus: Monthly subscription fee of $8 per user
- Flow Pro: Monthly subscription fee of $10 per user
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
4. Asana
Asana is an excellent project management app with a streamlined and straightforward interface that allows you to create tasks, to-do lists, and projects, assign them to anyone and track their progress.
Key features
- Customizable dashboards: Powerful dashboards to monitor your progress, making it easy to see areas of focus and improvement.
- Focus mode and individual task lists: Assign tasks and track progress in one place. Easily filter your task list for timeliness or importance, and quickly add and jump between functions and assigners.
- Prioritization: Prioritize tasks with the drag and drop feature or use labels to streamline your progress.
Pros
- Easy to use
- Integrates with Google Calendar and Gmail
- Customizable, with an easily searchable interface
- Free trial available
Cons
- Limited to tasks, to-dos, and projects
- Lacks a centralized tracking system
Pricing
- Basic: It’s free and suitable for beginners
- Premium: Charges a monthly subscription fee of $10 per user or $13.49 when billed annually
- Business: Suitable for teams and companies needing to manage work across initiatives. Charges a monthly subscription fee of $24.99 per user or 30.49 when billed annually
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Bonus: See how Asana compares to Monday.com!
5. Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a task management tool that allows you to organize and collaborate over large projects and tasks. You can create tasks, workflows, notes, and dashboards and easily develop a shared calendar to keep everything in sync.
Key features
- Project resource management: Design teams, add, manage and track team members
- Integrated collaboration: Enhances collaboration between teams by allowing them to share sheets, spreadsheets, documents, and other files in real-time
- Streamlined solution center: The solution center allows you to identify your business and work needs to efficiently access the right help and resources. You can also create your workspace and set up customized templates to fit your creative workflow
Pros
- Availability of management dashboard
- Supports tasks, to-do lists, and notes
- Integrated collaboration features
- Supports calendar and time management features
- Easily share files with coworkers
Cons
- Visual components could be more customizable
- Some think the user interface is difficult
Pricing
- Basic: Free
- Pro: Charges $14 per month for individual use
- Business: Charges $25 per month per user
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
6. Monday.com
Monday.com is an ideal app for projects that need to be delivered on time with minimal fuss. The app’s primary purpose is to offer a seamless and straightforward way for projects, teams, and organizations to work together.
Key features
- An intuitive user interface: The app is designed to be easy to use, so whether you’re using a desktop or mobile device, you will be able to sync your schedules with your calendars
- Prioritization of people management: You can specify VIP statuses and other specific groups of people. You can set these groups to share only your calendars, which respects the privacy of others
- Reporting and analytics: You can view the number of accepted appointments and those that weren’t. You can also view detailed analytics on who accepted a position, what time it was scheduled for, and who canceled their schedule
Pros
- Integrated mobile app for easy scheduling
- Supports social calendars
- Unified scheduling
- Supports time and text notes
Cons
- Dashboard panels require modification
- The interface needed to post on social media
Pricing
- Enterprise plan: Free
- Basic: Charges a monthly subscription fee of $8 per user
- Standard: Charges a monthly subscription fee of $10 per user
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
See how Monday compares to Asana!
7. Notion
Notion is a great, open-source productivity project application that allows users to collaborate on projects and tasks while offering an easy-to-use interface.
Key features
- Strings-based note-taking: Organize notes by strings and easily search across the entire app
- Fluid Kanban view: This feature outlines your tasks, projects, and to-dos in a fluid, easily navigable card layout
- Markdown support: Markdown support lets you format your notes with syntax highlighting and formatting patterns
Pros
- Works across different devices
- It comes with a clutter-free interface with built-in customization
- Easy to use
Cons
- Text formatting is challenging via copy/paste
- It takes time to set up, especially team collaboration
Pricing
- Personal: Free
- Personal pro: Charges $4 per month per user or $5 if billed annually
- Team: Charges $8 per user per month or $10 if billed annually
- Enterprise: The subscription fee is $15 per user per month
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
8. nTask
nTask is a task management tool aimed at providing team collaboration and task management in one application. It comes with several features, including task lists, pre-built board templates, and time tracking, among others.
Key features
- Kanban Board: A visual way of tracking tasks using cards and moving them through different columns
- Task management: Allows multiple users to complete a task collaboratively
- Time tracking: This allows you to track how much time you spend on each task
- Issue/bug tracking: Allows you to create, manage and track issues related to your project
Pros
- Excellent customer support and feedback system
- An easy-to-use interface that allows you to always be in control of everything
- Great mobile apps for accessing tasks on the move
- Video conferencing facility
Cons
- Requires more customization and formatting options
- No plugin for Outlook
Pricing
- Premium: Ideal for individuals getting started with project management. It charges $3 per user per month with a 14-day premium trial
- Business: Charges $8 per user per month with a 14-day premium trial
- Enterprise: Comes with all features of the business plan and charges $15 per user per month
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars
9. ProProfs Projects
ProProfs Projects is an excellent project management tool that has enough features to suit even the most demanding requirements. It is also suitable for remote workers.
Key features
- Task lists: A visual way of tracking tasks with color-coding representing their status
- Task management: Includes a robust project calendar with due dates for tasks such as research projects, reports, and assessments
- Collaboration tools: Lets you share enterprise resources across multiple teams to complete various projects in a seamless manner
- Milestone tracking: Keeps track of different planning stages and time-boxes for each milestone
Pros
- Easy to use due to its simple interface
- Great reporting features
- Great for remote workers
Cons
- Lacks customization features
- No templates available
Pricing
- Essentials: $2 per user per month or $480 per year
- Premium: $4 per user per month or $960 per year
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
10. FunctionFox
FunctionFox is a robust project management tool that works across multiple web browsers and mobile devices. It was built to serve the needs of its users by providing simple, intuitive, and affordable tools that help streamline their daily work cycles.
Key features
- Reports: Includes a variety of information that provides detailed insight on tasks, budgets, and other areas of your business.
- Project tracking tools: Helps you keep track of tasks and reviews.
- Sync: Lets you sync projects, tasks, and files across all devices.
- Task management: A task list that keeps track of each activity in a project with so much more than just managing tasks like due dates, attachments, comments, and notes.
- Collaboration tools: It allows you to organize all your team members for different projects using the drag-and-drop feature.
Pros
- Reliable communication
- Easy to use and integrate with other systems
Cons
- User navigation can be confusing
Pricing
- Basic: Free and allows up to 10 users
- Standard: $ 7.50 per user per month
- Premium: $14.50 per user per month
- Enterprise: Averagely $20 per user per month
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
11. Hive
Hive is a web-based project management software. It’s designed to help people manage projects and tasks by tracking time, work, resources, and deadlines.
Key features
- Action cards: Helps you specify actions to be taken
- Flexible project views: It lets you organize projects based on the type of work involved
- Project management: Lets you assign tasks to team members, track each
- Time tracking: Keeps track of the time spent on each task
- Resource tracking: A comprehensive resource management tool
- Attachment manager: Organize and manage different types of attachments that you can use in your project
Pros
- Over 50 native integrations
- Two-factor authentication
- Unlimited tasks
Cons
- Limited mobile functionality
- Inability to create dependent tasks
Pricing
- Hive Solo: Free and allows up to 2 users
- Hive Teams: $16 per user per month or $12 if billed annually for unlimited users
- Hive enterprise: $25 per user per month
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
12. Planview Clarizen
Planview Clarizen is a project management software that can manage projects, tasks, and time in three ways: by project, team, and time.
Key features
- Salesforce integration: Integrates with Salesforce so that you can use the software to manage your Salesforce team
- Scheduling: Creates a schedule for your project, task, or time
- Task management: Create tasks and assign them to team members
- Time tracking: Keep track of the time spent on each task
Pros
- Simple design and easy-to-use interface
- Flexible time tracking feature
- 2-factor authentication option
- Highly configurable admin panel
Cons
- Limited mobile functionality
- Can be slower to run
Pricing
- Enterprise plan: $45 per user per month
- Unlimited plan: $60 per user per month
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
13. Ziflow
Ziflow is an online tool that allows administrators to manage users, email, and tasks in three ways: by user, project, and task. The admin can create custom fields to collect the details needed to successfully manage user accounts, email, and tasks. The administrative team can also view the detailed project information of their Ziflow account by accessing a dashboard; the dashboard helps in multiple views like a timeline of events.
Key features
- Centralized asset management: It includes CRM for assets, attachments, files, and contacts
- Workflow automation: Automate email consent, online sign-in, signature, and signature approval
- Intake forms: Record and store a visitor’s details; capture the requirements, ideas, and feedback
- Centralized collaboration and review: Invoicing and review management tasks are automatically created, signed, and saved
Pros
- Flexible user management
- Wide range of annotation shapes, video proofing
- Convenient interface
Cons
- Some report issues with displaying notes and downloading PDFs
- Longer loading times needed
Pricing
- Personal: Free
- Starter: $18 per user per month
- Business: $45 per user per month
- Enterprise: $60 per user per month
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
14. Avaza
Avaza is an accounting and project management tool that brings these two fields together to help you complete tasks faster.
Key features
- Project progress dashboards: Visualizes project location, task status, and cost graphs.
- Project budgeting: Organize and track budget by project, customer, location, and individual.
- Timesheet entry and billing: It records time spent on projects with billing and invoicing.
Pros
- Automate Processes
- Generates invoices from estimates and monitors project expenses
- Integrated project management and collaboration tools
Cons
- Sub-tasks lack due dates
Pricing
- Free plan: $0
- Startup plan: $9 per user per month
- Basic plan: $19 per user per month
- Business plan: $39 per user per month
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
15. RedBooth
RedBooth is a project management software that allows you to create and manage your projects from any device. It is highly scalable and easy to use. It also allows you to add voice commands for context-sensitive help.
Key features
- API: Integrates with other services such as Dropbox and Google Docs
- Collaborative editing: Share files and spreadsheets by other members
- Agile Methodologies: Richly customizable and integrated with the software’s Agile Methodologies
- Chat/messaging: Send and receive files, email, and video messages
Pros
- Provision of virtual workspaces
- Advanced reporting tools
- Provision of private cloud
Cons
- Reporting issues can be hard to track work capacity per employee
- Some users find the dashboard confusing
Pricing
- Basic plan: $13 per user per month
- Business plan: $30 per user per month
- Enterprise plan: $60 per user per month
Ratings
- G2 rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
- Capterra rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
Summarize this article for me pleaseDesign Your Work Life With ClickUp
Project management software is an essential tool for any business since most projects have a long schedule and need to be managed efficiently and automatically.
As such, the ideal project management software has to have all the modern and essential features that enable you to manage your project flawlessly without having to invest too much unnecessary effort.
And when you’re collaborating and managing a creative team of designers, copywriters, and so on, you’ll need a powerful and flexible project management tool that can adapt to their workflow preferences and provide them with the customizable features they’ll need to let their creative juices flowing!
In that case, ClickUp is your best bet—enjoy a sleek user interface, get access to hundreds of high-end features, templates, and so much more! 🎨👩🎨
Questions? Comments? Visit our Help Center for support.