Project updates need not be painful. Nor do they need to have you drowning in spreadsheets.
They can be exciting, instead. Imagine clearly overseeing the big picture—the interconnectedness of every task, the subtle shifts in momentum, and the emerging patterns that could make or break your project.
As a project manager who’s been there and done that—wrestling with endless email chains and deciphering countless confusing reports—I’m here to share the tools that have helped me achieve my goals.
I’ve compiled a list of the best 15 status reporting tools as my top recommendations. These recommendations are based on my experiences with status reporting tools and the ClickUp team’s research.
15 Status Reporting Tools for Improved Project Management
- What Should You Look for in Status Reporting Tools?
- The 15 Best Status Reporting Tools
- 1. ClickUp (Best for all-in-one project management and task status tracking)
- 2. Trello (Best for status report visualizations)
- 3. Asana (Best for task-based reporting with team collaboration)
- 4. Monday.com (Best for status tracking of collaborative projects)
- 5. Airtable (Best for visualizing project data and status reports in a low-code interface)
- 6. Basecamp (Best for simple project and team communications)
- 7. Smartsheet (Best for spreadsheet-based project status tracking)
- 8. Wrike (Best for complex project planning and tracking)
- 9. Notion (Best for knowledge management and status tracking on one platform)
- 10. Zoho Projects (Best for affordable custom project management with advanced reporting)
- 11. Jira (Best for Agile teams and issue tracking)
- 12. Microsoft Project Portfolio Management (Best for large-scale project portfolio status tracking)
- 13. Hive (Best for real-time updates and team collaboration)
- 14. Plecto (Best for real-time data visualization for status tracking)
- 15. Geckoboard (Best for visualizing project status with customizable dashboards)
Summarize this article for me please⏰ 60-Second Summary
Here are the top 15 status-reporting tools:
- ClickUp: Best for all-in-one project management and task status tracking
- Trello: Best for status report visualizations
- Asana: Best for task-based reporting with team collaboration
- Monday.com: Best for status tracking of collaborative projects
- Airtable: Best for visualizing project data and status reports in a low-code interface
- Basecamp: Best for simple project team communications
- Smartsheet: Best for spreadsheet-based project status tracking
- Wrike: Best for complex project planning and tracking
- Notion: Best for knowledge management and status tracking on one platform
- Zoho Projects: Best for affordable custom project management with advanced reporting
- Jira Best: for Agile teams and issue tracking
- Microsoft Project Portfolio Management: Best for large-scale project portfolio status tracking
- Hive: Best for real-time updates and team collaboration
- Plecto: Best for real-time data visualization for status tracking
- Geckoboard: Best for visualizing project status with customizable dashboards
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Should You Look for in Status Reporting Tools?
When you’re choosing a status reporting tool, there are a few key features to keep in mind:
- Real-time tracking: Look for a tool that provides instant updates on the project’s timeline so everyone on your team is aware of changes as they happen
- Customizable dashboards: Project dashboards that you can tailor to your needs help highlight the most important data for your team’s progress
- Integrations and automation: Tools that connect seamlessly with your existing software—like Slack, Google Drive, or your CRM—make project management a more connected experience
- Scalability: Your reporting needs may grow as your team does, so it’s essential to choose a solution that can evolve alongside you
- Ease of use and support: Tools should be intuitive and offer helpful customer support resources
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe 15 Best Status Reporting Tools
Creating a clear and accurate picture of your project’s progress begins with effective status reporting. This analysis helps identify potential roadblocks and delays, ensuring that you address the areas that need attention, proactively. There’s a tool for every reporting style—you just have to find the one that best fits your team’s needs.
I’ll now cover all the status reporting platforms that offer the essentials for creating and sharing insightful project updates.
1. ClickUp (Best for all-in-one project management and task status tracking)
If you’re looking for a tool that goes beyond basic status reporting, you’ll be as thrilled to discover ClickUp for Project Management as I was.
The average knowledge worker switches between different applications nearly 1200 times per day. This constant context-switching costs organizations up to 9% of productive time per employee annually.
As the everything app for work, ClickUp consolidates your tasks, goals, notes, and conversations into one interface. This, plus the platform’s native AI, makes it easier to visualize and report on all your projects—without switching across dozens of siloed apps.
📮ClickUp Insight: Context-switching is silently eating away at your team’s productivity. Our research shows that 42% of disruptions at work come from juggling platforms, managing emails, and jumping between meetings. What if you could eliminate these costly interruptions?
ClickUp unites your workflows (and chat) under a single, streamlined platform. Launch and manage your tasks from across chat, docs, whiteboards, and more—while AI-powered features keep the context connected, searchable, and manageable!
Track project progress using ClickUp’s Custom Task Statuses which clearly show whether a task is to-do, in progress, or done. But don’t limit yourself to these categories. For instance, you can tweak these labels to ‘Design’, ‘Develop’, ‘Test’, and ‘Ready’ for your software projects or ‘Pending’, ‘Packaged’, ‘Shipped’, and ‘Delivered’ for your eCommerce orders.
Consolidate this information across multiple tasks and projects (yes, even cross-functional ones!) using ClickUp Dashboards. Its 50+ custom cards, including pie charts, bar graphs, burnup and burndown charts, line graphs, and more, are excellent for real-time project monitoring and status-reporting automation.
Want to learn how to create a project management dashboard? Here’s a step-by-step explainer!
ClickUp Brain also enhances status reporting by using AI-powered insights, automation, and knowledge management to streamline updates and decision-making. You can use it to:
- Automatically summarize project updates, meeting notes, or long task threads, making it easier to generate clear, concise status reports
- Analyze tasks, due dates, and completion rates to provide real-time insights and action items from across your workspace
- Draft daily standups, weekly project status reports, or executive summaries based on real-time data
- Scan discussions in ClickUp Chat, comments, and Docs to surface relevant details for a report—like risks, blockers, or approvals needed
If you prefer the structure of classic OKRs in goal setting, you would also love the ClickUp Goals feature.
I used this to set up time-bound goals and add target metrics or completion percentages. Based on my experience with ClickUp alternatives, I believe ClickUp Goals is the easiest way to quantify progress and get clarity on what’s needed for success.
ClickUp’s pre-built templates further simplify status reporting by offering structured formats for tracking project progress and goals.
ClickUp’s Project Status Report Template is ideal for organizing updates, action items, and project highlights, giving stakeholders a comprehensive view of project status in one place.
You can regularly update the template with key metrics or milestones to maintain a clear snapshot of project progress. Customize the template sections to sync with your team’s unique reporting needs, such as adding a risk assessment section if your project has complex dependencies.
Use the Goals and OKRs feature alongside the project status report template to keep performance targets and project updates linked for easy reference.
💡Pro Tip: Create a custom view in your ClickUp Dashboard that filters tasks by:
⛳️ Status (e.g., “In Progress,” “Blocked”)
⌚️ Priority (e.g., “High Priority” only)
📆 Due Date (e.g., “Tasks due this week”)
Save different filtered views for executives, team leads, or specific departments to give them only the insights they need—no fluff.
ClickUp best features
- Create dependencies for high-priority tasks first to visualize critical project paths better and ensure top priorities remain on track
- Combine dependencies with ClickUp Milestones to mark key stages in your project, giving stakeholders a clear roadmap of progress
- Use the @mention feature to tag team members, ensuring quick responses and better accountability in project tracking
- Visualize task progress in 15+ custom ClickUp Views, including Gantt charts, Kanban boards, lists, and calendars
- Customize notifications and alerts to never miss an important status update
- Ensure seamless collaboration with ClickUp’s Integrations with popular tools like Slack and Google Drive
ClickUp limitations
- Some users have reported a learning curve due to the extensive features
ClickUp pricing
- Free Forever
- Unlimited: $7/user per month
- Business: $12/user per month
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
- ClickUp Brain: Add to any paid plan for $7 per Workspace per member per month
ClickUp ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (9,500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (4,000+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about ClickUp?
💡Pro Tip: Schedule weekly, monthly, or quarterly status report meetings to review goal progress. Use ClickUp Goals during these meetings to update team members on what’s been accomplished and what still needs attention.
2. Trello (Best for status report visualizations)
You will find Trello useful if you need simplified, visual status reporting Its intuitive Kanban board system and card-based layout lets you organize and track tasks visually.
Each card represents a task. You can drag and drop tasks into different stages and label them based on priority. You can also add more context on the task within the cards, ensuring easy access to information like task due dates and assignees. Trello is a fit for for teams looking for a straightforward, visually appealing way to keep track of status updates.
Trello best features
- Create checklists and subtasks within cards to break down larger projects
- Set and track deadlines for each task to keep status reports accurate
- Add files and leave comments to keep all status updates centralized
- Integrate easily with external tools to boost reporting capabilities
Trello limitations
- Limited reporting options without paid Power-Ups
- Not as valuable for larger projects with complex dependencies
Trello pricing
- Free
- Standard: $6/user per month
- Premium: $12.50/user per month
- Enterprise: $17.50/user per month (billed annually)
Trello ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (13,500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (23,000+ reviews)
🧠 Fun Fact: The name Trello comes from the word trellis, which was the codename for the project in its early stages.
3. Asana (Best for task-based reporting with team collaboration)
Asana is known for its simplicity and straightforward features for project management, which include task assignments, real-time status tracking, and detailed reporting options.
Asana’s timeline view can help you easily track project progress, while its portfolio feature offers a simultaneous overview of multiple projects. I found this useful for project managers handling several teams.
Asana best features
- Mark key points in the project to track overall status progress
- Create custom fields for more specific reporting based on your project’s needs
- Generate detailed status reports with custom filters
Asana limitations
- Users have reported glitches in pasting text into tasks
- Reporting features can be improved, e.g., by including ways to see the team’s throughput in hours
Asana pricing
- Personal: Free forever
- Starter: $13.49/user per month
- Advanced: $30.49/user per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
- Enterprise+: Custom pricing
Asana ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (10,500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (13,000+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about Asana?
4. Monday.com (Best for status tracking of collaborative projects)
I used Monday.com to build workflows and dashboards while collaborating with multiple teams. Its customizable workflows and visual interface make it ideal for collaborative projects with dynamic status reporting.
The visual status tracking is intuitive, and the tool integrates well with the most commonly used apps, such as Slack and Google Workspace.
Monday.com best features
- Visualize team workload to ensure status reporting reflects team capacity
- Share files, comment, and tag team members directly in tasks
- Build personalized dashboards for specific status-tracking needs
- Automate task status updates and notifications to save time
Monday.com limitations
- Limited data management features compared to tools like ClickUp
- It can get expensive for larger teams
Monday.com pricing
- Free
- Basic: $12/seat per month
- Standard: $14/seat per month
- Pro: $24/seat per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Monday.com ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (12,500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (5,000+ reviews)
5. Airtable (Best for visualizing project data and status reports in a low-code interface)
Airtable combines the functionality of a spreadsheet with the power of a relational database, offering a unique way to manage project data and track status across tasks.
I have experimented with this platform to implement RAG status tracking and customize several status report formats. It easily lets you create a grid, calendar, Kanban, or gallery view to visualize project status.
Airtable best features
- Customize tables to track project details in ways that fit your workflow, ideal for teams handling data-rich projects
- Use integrations to connect Airtable with tools like Slack, Dropbox, and Google Calendar for cohesive, automated project management
- Use status tracking templates to fit any type of project, helping you get up and running faster
- Use formulas to calculate status updates automatically as data refreshes
Airtable limitations
- Can be overwhelming for users unfamiliar with database structures
Airtable pricing
- Free
- Team: $24/seat per month
- Business: $54/seat per month
- Enterprise scale: Custom pricing
Airtable ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (2,500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (2,000+ reviews)
6. Basecamp (Best for simple project and team communications)
Basecamp is a straightforward project management tool that simplifies team communication.
It includes a distinctive ‘Hill Charts’ feature that intuitively allows teams to update and track project progress. Team members use it to drag project scopes into position, visually representing work status.
This gives managers a powerful second-order view that shows the current status of each task and how work is progressing and evolving over the duration of the project.
Basecamp best features
- Use central message boards to keep discussions organized and accessible to the entire team
- Share files and documents in one collaborative space for seamless status-tracking
- Leverage built-in team chat to communicate real-time status updates
- Set up daily or weekly automated check-ins to keep everyone updated on project status
Basecamp limitations
- Some users find the default display unappealing and difficult to change
Basecamp pricing
- Free trial
- Basecamp Plus: $15/user per month
- Basecamp Pro Unlimited: $299/month (billed annually)
Basecamp ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.1/5 (5,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (14,000+ reviews)
🧠 Fun Fact: Basecamp was initially developed as an internal tool for 37 signals to manage projects and clients.
7. Smartsheet (Best for spreadsheet-based project status tracking)
👀 Did You Know? Lack of access to necessary information negatively impacts the morale of 88% of employees.
Smartsheet combines the familiarity of a spreadsheet with project management capabilities.
The platform allows users to build sophisticated status reports with multiple columns tracking initiatives, ownership, progress, and contextual notes. Teams can leverage cell linking to automatically pull data from existing project tracking sheets, reducing manual reporting effort.
Smartsheet best features
- Generate project status reports based on project data for accurate status updates
- Visualize task progress and status with Gantt-style charts
- Connect Smartsheet with tools like Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace for seamless collaboration
Smartsheet limitations
- Limited dashboard styling options
- A higher learning curve compared to other tools
Smartsheet pricing
- Pro: $12/member per month
- Business: $24/member per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
- Advanced Work Management: Custom pricing
Smartsheet ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (18,000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (3,000+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about Smartsheet?
8. Wrike (Best for complex project planning and tracking)
An advanced project management software, Wrike comes with built-in tracking and high-precision status reporting capabilities. It’s designed to help teams stay organized and productive.
The platform offers multiple data visualization methods, including pie charts, graphs, and dynamic activity streams that chronologically display tasks and project milestones. You can also analyze time-based trends by month, quarter, or year, helping teams gauge project trajectory and spot potential issues early.
Wrike best features
- Tailor views and workspaces to reflect your teams’ needs with 360° visualization
- Automate workflows, including approvals, request forms, and blueprints, so that teams can focus on their most valuable work
- Access instant insights and real-time dashboards that support data-led decisions and Agile leadership
Wrike limitations
- Steeper learning curve compared to other tools on this list
Wrike pricing
- Free
- Team: $10/user per month
- Business: $25/user per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
- Pinnacle: Custom pricing
Wrike ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.2/5 (3500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (2500+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about Wrike?
9. Notion (Best for knowledge management and status tracking on one platform)
I found Notion quite versatile and valuable for teams looking to consolidate project status updates with team documentation in one place.
Notion’s status property allows for granular tracking, preventing the common pitfalls of inconsistent status reporting. The system prevents team members from creating undefined status categories, ensuring standardized communication.
You can add custom fields like project milestones, challenges, and next steps, creating comprehensive status reports that provide deep insights into project progression.
Notion best features
- Track tasks using databases that can be customized to display data in lists, calendars, or boards
- Use a variety of pre-built templates for different types of documents, such as articles, project status reports, and presentations
- Link status reports to project documents for easy reference
Notion limitations
- Some users have reported the need for an offline version
- Doesn’t scale well for complex, cross-functional projects
Notion pricing
- Free
- Plus: $12/seat per month
- Basic: $18/seat per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
- Notion AI: Add for $10/member per month
Notion ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (5500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (2000+ reviews)
10. Zoho Projects (Best for affordable custom project management with advanced reporting)
Zoho Projects offers customizable dashboards that allow project managers and teams to quickly get an overview of the project status, task progress, and chosen KPIs.
The platform’s reporting system includes innovative features like chronology Gantt charts, resource utilization graphs, and variance reports that help teams understand project trajectory and potential risks. Users can easily slice and dice project data, creating insightful visualizations without requiring technical expertise.
Zoho Projects best features
- Ensure status reports reflect the most current information with real-time updates
- Easily track the status of individual tasks, milestones, and dependencies, making it clear where the project stands at any given time
- Generate detailed project status reports highlighting project progress along with insights into resource allocation, time spent, and budget usage
- Automatically generate and send status reports based on pre-set intervals (e.g., daily, weekly, or monthly)
Zoho Projects limitations
- Several essential features are absent in this tool, such as the table view column sorting, filtering on multiple columns, and auto-populating task fields
Zoho Projects pricing
- Free
- Premium: $5/month
- Enterprise: $10/month
Zoho Projects ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (450+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (700+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about Zoho Projects?
11. Jira (Best for Agile teams and issue tracking)
Atlassian’s Jira is popular among Agile teams, especially for software development projects. It offers detailed status tracking for tasks, sprints, and issues.
Though ClickUp does a better job here, I still like the variety of built-in reports it offers, including burndown charts, velocity charts, and sprint reports that Agile teams will find very useful.
Jira best features
- Create custom reports that can be saved, shared, or added to dashboards
- Track bugs, tasks, and enhancements with detailed project reporting options for visibility
- Use the powerful filtering system to create custom queries using JQL, which can pull specific data for status reports
Jira limitations
- Can be complex to set up and use for non-software teams
- Some users report a reduced speed during peak work hours
Jira pricing
- Free
- Standard: $7.53/user per month
- Premium $13.53/user per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Jira ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (6000+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (15000+ reviews)
12. Microsoft Project Portfolio Management (Best for large-scale project portfolio status tracking)
One of Microsoft Project PPM’s key strengths is its ability to help you manage entire portfolios of projects. Portfolio managers can view the status of all projects within the portfolio, prioritize them based on strategic objectives, and adjust resources and timelines to ensure successful outcomes.
This is particularly useful for senior leadership and stakeholders who must make informed decisions about project prioritization.
Microsoft Project Portfolio Management best features
- Track project timelines and dependencies with customizable Gantt charts
- Allocate resources across projects and track utilization for better team planning
- Use Power BI for dynamic reporting and analytics to keep stakeholders informed
Microsoft Project Portfolio Management limitations
- Some users have found it too feature-heavy (and, therefore, complex) for smaller projects and simpler workflows
- More expensive than other project management tools
Microsoft Project Portfolio Management pricing
- Planner Plan 1: $10/month
- Planner and Project Plan 3: $30/month
- Planner and Project Plan 5: $55/month
- Project Standard: $679.99/user (one-time purchase)
- Project Professional: $1,129.99/user (one-time purchase)
- Project Server: Custom pricing
Microsoft Project Portfolio Management ratings and reviews
- G2: 4/5 (1500+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (2000+ reviews)
13. Hive (Best for real-time updates and team collaboration)
Although Hive is a versatile project management tool offering various customization options and collaboration features, I liked its automated reporting the most.
Automated reports can include task progress, project health, team performance, and upcoming deadlines. You can also schedule regular updates for them to send to stakeholders, saving time on status-tracking.
Hive best features
- Choose from Kanban, Gantt, calendar, and table views to organize projects based on team needs
- Collaborate directly within tasks and projects to keep communication centralized
- Use the Time Tracking feature to generate status reports that provide insights into resource allocation, time spent on tasks, and overall project efficiency
- Leverage task comments and feedback loops to provide updates and share insights directly within the project
Hive limitations
- Switching between timeline views can be challenging
Hive pricing
- Free: Free forever
- Starter: $1.50/user per month
- Teams: $5/user per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Hive ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (550+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (200+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about Hive?
14. Plecto (Best for real-time data visualization for status tracking)
For teams seeking to boost engagement and motivation through data transparency, Plecto specializes in creating real-time dashboards that visualize project status.
Beyond traditional reporting, Plecto incorporates gamification elements like live performance notifications, competitive tracking features, and real-time recognition. This approach transforms reporting from a mundane task into an interactive, motivational tool that drives organizational performance.
Plecto best features
- Visualize team performance data in real time, with customizable dashboards tailored to your reporting needs
- Create widgets to track specific project statuses
- Connect with other tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Google Sheets for seamless data integration
Plecto limitations
- May not be ideal for traditional project management tasks
Plecto pricing
- Medium: $230/month (billed annually)
- Large: $360/month (billed annually)
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Plecto ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.2/5 (30+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (30+ reviews)
15. Geckoboard (Best for visualizing project status with customizable dashboards)
Geckoboard is designed for real-time reporting and data visualization. It transforms data tracking by providing context through goals, status indicators, and real-time updates.
It is ideal for managers who need quick snapshots of key metrics and works well for teams focused on customer support, sales, and other performance-driven functions.
Geckoboard best features
- Display real-time data from multiple sources, ensuring your team stays updated on important metrics
- Create customized charts and dashboards to suit your team’s specific data-tracking needs
- Easily integrate with other tools like Slack, Google Analytics, and Zendesk for centralized reporting
Geckoboard limitations
- It has limited project management capabilities
Geckoboard pricing
- Essential: $55/month for 3 users
- Pro: $219/month for 10 users
- Scale: Custom pricing
Geckoboard ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (45+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (100+ reviews)
What are real-life users saying about Geckoboard?
Summarize this article for me pleaseChoose the Best Status Reporting Tool
My top work priorities are monitoring project progress for our editorial ops and ensuring seamless team communication. After evaluating all these tools, ClickUp remains my top recommendation.
ClickUp Dashboards let you create customized reports with custom cards for task progress, workload, time tracking, and more, while Goals let teams track objectives, key results, and progress in a structured way, aligning everyone with company priorities.
What makes ClickUp different is its all-in-one project management capabilities. It can adapt to multiple project types, scale for all sizes of projects and organziations, and doesn’t need you to modify your existing workflows.
Its ability to integrate various project management features into a single platform makes it invaluable for anyone looking to improve project transparency and reporting.
So, why wait? Try ClickUp for free and replace your scattered tools with a single, powerful project management solution.
Everything you need to stay organized and get work done.
