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Task management tools: summary and key takeaways
Built for client work: These tools connect tasks to budgets, timesheets, and client deliverables, not just to-do lists.
What this list covers: 10 tools reviewed for team task tracking, with pricing, features, and fit for delivery teams.
Top pick: Teamwork.com leads for teams where profitability and on-time delivery matter most.
Key differentiator: Look for resource visibility, time tracking, and reporting baked in.
I've worked in teams where the task board looked pristine on Monday and completely unraveled by Wednesday. Tasks slipped between tools, time logs lived in spreadsheets, and nobody could answer the simplest question: are we on track? That experience is one of the reasons I joined Teamwork.com, and it shapes how I evaluate every tool on this list.
If your team delivers client work, the stakes are higher than a missed internal deadline. Late delivery erodes trust, scope creep eats margin, and scattered task tracking makes both problems invisible until it's too late. This guide reviews 10 task management tools through that lens.
What is task management software?
Task management software helps teams create, assign, prioritize, and track work from start to finish. It replaces scattered to-do lists with a shared workspace where everyone sees what needs to happen and when. For more, see our complete task management guide.
Good task management software answers these questions:
What is every team member working on right now?
Which tasks are at risk of missing their deadline?
How much capacity does the team have for new work?
Where is time actually being spent versus where it should be?
How I reviewed and selected these tools
I evaluated each tool against the criteria that matter for teams delivering client work. The framework draws on Gartner's evaluation criteria and G2's task management category data adapted for delivery teams. Here's what I looked for:
Task creation and assignment: Owners, dates, dependencies, and subtasks
Team collaboration: Comments, file sharing, real-time updates
Time tracking: Logging hours directly against tasks
Reporting: Dashboards, workload views, project health
Pricing: Reasonable at 10 to 100+ seats
AI and automation: Beyond basic rule triggers
Client work fit: Budgets, profitability, client deliverables
Integrations: Slack, Google Workspace, HubSpot, and more
Pro tip
Start your evaluation by listing the three workflows that cause the most friction. Test each tool against those scenarios, not feature lists.
The biggest mistake I see teams make is choosing a tool based on a demo rather than a real project trial.
Quick glance: 10 best task management tools
Tool
Teamwork.com
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Teamwork.com is purpose-built for teams that deliver client work, connecting tasks to time tracking, resource scheduling, budgets, and profitability in one platform.
Best features:
Task boards and list views: Manage tasks in the view your team prefers — board, list, or table — with subtasks, dependencies, and recurring tasks that keep complex deliverables organized.
Resource scheduling and workload planning: See who's overloaded and who has capacity at a glance. The Workload Planner lets you drag and drop tasks to rebalance work across the team before deadlines slip.
Built-in time tracking: Eliminate double-entry by logging time directly against tasks. Timesheets feed automatically into budget and profitability reports.
Budget and profitability tracking: See real-time margin data per project or client, with billable and non-billable time tracked in one place. This separates Teamwork.com from tools built for internal teams.
AI Project Wizard and Smart Scheduler: Generate a full project plan from a brief description, then let the Smart Scheduler assign tasks based on team availability and skill sets.
Invanity, a UK-based digital marketing agency, switched to Teamwork.com and saw results fast. They cut project planning time by 50%, reduced weekly workload management effort by 80%, and improved on-time delivery by 20% (full story).
Limitations:
The interface has a learning curve for teams that have only used simple to-do apps
Advanced reporting features are limited to higher-tier plans
The free plan caps at five users, which may not work for growing teams evaluating the tool
Pricing:
Free: $0 (max 5 users)
Basics: $9.99/user/month (billed yearly)
Accelerate: $24.99/user/month (billed yearly)
Optimize: Custom pricing
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Ratings and reviews:
"It makes it easy to organize tasks, set priorities, and track progress across multiple projects without feeling overwhelmed." — Soumyajit B., Jr. Product Analyst, G2
Monday.com
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Monday.com is a visual work management platform that uses color-coded boards and automations to help teams track tasks across multiple workflows.
Best features:
Customizable dashboards: Pull data from multiple boards into real-time dashboards for a high-level view of project status. You can build widgets for timelines, workload distribution, and budget tracking without leaving the platform.
Workflow automations: Set up rule-based automations (status changes trigger notifications, dates trigger moves) without code.
Multiple board views: Switch between Kanban, timeline, calendar, and chart views to visualize progress.
Integrations ecosystem: Connects to 200+ tools including Slack, Google Drive, Salesforce, and HubSpot, making it easy to centralize work from multiple platforms.
Limitations:
Time tracking requires a higher-tier plan or a third-party integration
Pricing uses a per-seat model with a minimum of three seats, which adds up for larger teams
The visual-first approach can feel cluttered for teams managing complex, multi-phase client projects
Monday.com works well for visual, automation-heavy task tracking but lacks integrated time and budget tools for client delivery.
Pricing:
Free: $0 (up to 2 seats)
Basic: $9/seat/month (billed annually)
Standard: $12/seat/month (billed annually)
Pro: $19/seat/month (billed annually)
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Asana
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Asana is built for cross-functional team coordination, with timeline and portfolio features that give managers visibility across projects.
Best features:
Timeline view: Visualize task dependencies and spot bottlenecks before they affect deadlines. The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to adjust schedules when priorities shift mid-project.
Portfolios: Track multiple projects in a single view with status indicators and progress percentages, useful for operations directors overseeing a portfolio of client accounts.
Goals and milestones: Link day-to-day tasks to higher-level objectives, keeping the team aligned on what matters beyond the task list. Progress rolls up automatically so leadership can track goal completion without manual updates.
Limitations:
Native time tracking isn't available; teams rely on integrations with tools like Harvest or Toggl
Budget and profitability tracking aren't built in, making it less suitable for teams billing clients by the hour
The free plan is limited to two users, which rules it out for team evaluations
Asana shines well for internal cross-functional coordination but requires third-party add-ons for time tracking and budget visibility.
Pricing:
Personal: $0 (up to 2 users)
Starter: $10.99/user/month (billed annually)
Advanced: $24.99/user/month (billed annually)
Enterprise: Custom pricing
ClickUp
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ClickUp brings task management, docs, whiteboards, and goals into a single workspace, aiming to replace multiple tools with one unified platform.
Best features:
Custom views: Choose from 15+ view types (list, board, Gantt, calendar, mind map) and configure each with custom fields and filters. Different team members can see the same project through the lens that works for their role.
Built-in docs and whiteboards: Create project briefs, SOPs, and collaborative documents inside the workspace. Docs link directly to tasks, keeping context and action items in one place.
ClickUp Brain: An AI layer that generates task summaries, drafts project updates, and automates routine text-based work. It can also answer questions about your workspace data.
Limitations:
The sheer number of features creates a steep learning curve, and new users often feel overwhelmed during onboarding
Performance can lag with large workspaces and many nested views
The mobile app doesn't offer full feature parity with the desktop experience
ClickUp's feature depth is a strong draw, but expect a longer onboarding period before your team gets full value.
Pricing:
Free Forever: $0
Unlimited: $7/user/month (billed yearly)
Business: $12/user/month (billed yearly)
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Wrike
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Wrike is an enterprise-grade work management platform with strong proofing and approval workflows. It's well suited for teams managing content-heavy deliverables.
Best features:
Gantt charts with dependencies: Drag-and-drop scheduling with automatic dependency tracking that adjusts downstream dates when timelines shift. The visual layout makes it easy to communicate project plans to stakeholders.
Proofing and approvals: Review and mark up files (images, PDFs, videos) directly in Wrike, streamlining creative review. Approval workflows let you set required reviewers and track sign-off status per deliverable.
Cross-tagging: Assign tasks to multiple projects without duplication, keeping a single deliverable visible across client accounts and internal initiatives without creating redundant work items.
Limitations:
The interface feels dense compared to lighter tools like Trello or Todoist, which can slow adoption for smaller teams
Advanced features like resource management and time tracking require the Pinnacle plan
Reporting customization options, while powerful, take time to configure properly
Wrike suits large enterprise teams with complex approval chains and multi-stakeholder review processes. Smaller delivery teams may find the interface heavier than they need.
Pricing:
Free: $0
Team: $10/user/month (billed annually)
Business: $25/user/month (billed annually)
Pinnacle: Custom pricing
Trello
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Trello uses a simple Kanban board model that makes it easy to get started with minimal setup.
Best features:
Kanban boards: The drag-and-drop card-based interface is intuitive enough that most teams can start using it within minutes. Cards support checklists, attachments, due dates, and labels for lightweight task detail.
Power-Ups: Extend Trello with integrations and add-ons for time tracking, calendars, automation, and reporting. The Power-Up marketplace covers most gaps in Trello's native feature set.
Butler automation: Create rule-based automations on the board (move a card when complete, assign a member when labeled) without leaving Trello. Butler also supports scheduled commands and custom button actions.
Limitations:
Limited visibility across multiple boards; there's no built-in portfolio or cross-project reporting view
Scales poorly for complex, multi-phase projects with many dependencies
No native time tracking, budget management, or resource planning features
Trello is ideal for lightweight task tracking and works well as a visual inbox for small teams. Teams managing client budgets or complex multi-phase deliverables will outgrow it quickly.
Pricing:
Free: $0 (up to 10 collaborators per workspace)
Standard: $5/user/month (billed annually)
Premium: $10/user/month (billed annually)
Enterprise: $17.50/user/month (billed annually)
Smartsheet
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Smartsheet adds project management capabilities on top of the familiar spreadsheet interface. It's a natural next step for teams outgrowing Excel.
Best features:
Grid view with PM features: Work in a spreadsheet-like grid with Gantt charts, card views, and calendars. Conditional formatting and cell-level formulas bring spreadsheet logic to project tracking.
Automations and alerts: Build workflows that trigger notifications, move rows, request approvals, or update statuses based on conditions you define.
Dashboards: Create real-time dashboards aggregating data from multiple sheets. Leadership gets a high-level view of project health, team performance, and key metrics without opening individual sheets. Charts, summaries, and reports update automatically.
Limitations:
The spreadsheet metaphor can feel limiting for teams that need structured project hierarchies (projects, milestones, subtasks)
Collaboration features like comments and mentions are less fluid than dedicated PM tools
Higher-tier plans are required for features like resource management and proofing
Smartsheet works best for teams that think in rows and columns and need detailed data manipulation. Teams that prefer structured project hierarchies with nested subtasks may find the flat grid limiting.
Pricing:
Pro: $9/member/month (billed yearly)
Business: $19/member/month (billed yearly)
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Jira
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Jira is the dominant task tracking tool for software development and IT teams, with sprint planning and roadmap features tightly aligned with agile methodologies.
Best features:
Sprint planning and backlogs: Organize work into sprints, prioritize backlogs, and track velocity over time. Burndown charts and sprint reports help teams improve estimation accuracy across iterations.
Roadmaps: Visualize long-term plans and communicate delivery timelines to stakeholders with a view that connects epics, stories, and tasks across multiple sprints.
Customizable workflows: Define status transitions matching your team's actual process, with rules that gate progress on conditions. You can require fields, approvals, or linked issues before a task moves forward, enforcing process discipline across the team.
Limitations:
The terminology (epics, stories, sprints) assumes agile familiarity, which can alienate non-technical teams
Configuration complexity means setup often requires a dedicated admin
Not designed for client work workflows; lacks built-in budgeting, time billing, or client-facing features
Jira clearly excels for engineering teams running agile sprints but feels cumbersome for agencies, consultancies, or other non-technical delivery teams.
Pricing:
Free: $0 (up to 10 users)
Standard: $7.91/user/month (billed annually)
Premium: $14.54/user/month (billed annually)
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Notion
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Notion combines task management with documents, wikis, and databases in a single highly flexible workspace.
Best features:
Relational databases: Build custom task trackers, CRM-style tables, or content calendars using linked databases. Relations and rollups let you connect tasks to clients, projects, or sprints in ways that fit your workflow.
Templates library: Hundreds of community and official templates for project trackers, meeting notes, and team wikis. You can duplicate and customize any template to match your workflow.
AI-assisted writing and search: Use Notion AI to draft content, summarize meeting notes, extract action items, or search your entire workspace with natural language queries. The AI integrates into any page or database.
Limitations:
No native time tracking, resource planning, or budget management features
Performance slows noticeably in large, database-heavy workspaces
The open-ended flexibility means teams must invest time building their own structure
Notion suits teams that strongly prioritize documentation and knowledge management over structured, opinionated PM workflows. Client delivery teams will miss native time tracking, resource planning, and budget features that purpose-built PM tools offer.
Pricing:
Free: $0
Plus: $10/member/month (billed annually)
Business: $20/member/month (billed annually)
Enterprise: Custom pricing
Todoist
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Todoist is a lightweight task management tool built for speed and simplicity. It's designed for personal productivity and small team coordination.
Best features:
Quick capture with natural language: Type "Review client deck tomorrow at 2pm #marketing" and Todoist parses the due date, time, and project label automatically. The speed of task entry is Todoist's strongest advantage over heavier tools.
Karma and streaks: Gamification elements that reward consistent task completion, useful for building personal productivity habits. Daily and weekly goals keep completion rates visible.
Labels, filters, and priorities: Organize tasks with custom labels and priority levels, then create saved filtered views that surface exactly the right tasks for your current focus. Filters combine multiple criteria for precise control.
Limitations:
No Gantt charts, resource planning, or workload views; it's not built for multi-project team management
Collaboration features are basic compared to tools designed for team delivery
Limited reporting; you can't track project health, team utilization, or budget performance
Todoist works well for personal productivity and small teams with simple needs but isn't built for client delivery operations.
Pricing:
Beginner: $0 (free)
Pro: $5/user/month (billed yearly)
Business: $8/user/month (billed yearly)
AI workflow automation vs. traditional automation
Most task management tools offer automation, but there's a meaningful difference between rule-based triggers and AI-driven intelligence. Traditional automation requires a human to define every if-then rule in advance.
I've spent entire afternoons re-assigning tasks after a single client changed their timeline. AI-powered task management goes further. Instead of executing pre-defined rules, it analyzes patterns in your data to make suggestions or take actions you didn't explicitly program.
Teamwork.com's AI Smart Scheduler looks at team availability, skill sets, and historical workload. It recommends assignments so managers don't have to check every calendar. The AI Project Wizard generates a complete project plan from a text description, replacing the manual process of duplicating templates.
This matters for delivery teams because client work is inherently variable. Rules handle the predictable parts; AI handles the judgment calls. PMI's 2025 research confirms that organizations using AI-enabled PM tools report higher on-time delivery rates.
Teamwork.com's Sprint to AI report found that 92% of client-facing teams say their current tools fall short in resource planning and time tracking. AI-driven automation turns fragmented data into actionable scheduling decisions.
Hard truth
The real AI payoff isn't a dramatic shortcut. It's compounding small time savings across hundreds of tasks per month. Two minutes saved per assignment adds up to 30+ hours per quarter.
Why Teamwork.com stands out for task management
The tools on this list all handle the basics of task creation, assignment, and tracking. The difference is what sits around those basics.
The teams that gain the most from switching tools aren't chasing features; they're eliminating the friction of reconciling data across three systems. For delivery directors, the questions that matter are whether the project is profitable, the team is utilized well, and the client gets their deliverable on time.
Teamwork.com is the only tool on this list purpose-built for that use case. Tasks, time, workload, budgets, and profitability live in one system, so data flows from task to timesheet to budget report without reconciliation (see the Invanity story).
The broader tools (Monday.com, Asana, Wrike) treat time tracking and budgets as add-ons. Trello, Todoist, and Notion lack the operational depth delivery teams need. Jira isn't built for agencies or professional services. If your team delivers work to clients and needs tasks, time, budgets, and capacity in one place, Teamwork.com is built for exactly that.
FAQs about task management tools
Here are answers to the questions delivery teams ask most often about task management software.
What is task management software?
Task management software helps teams create, organize, assign, and track tasks through completion. It centralizes work so everyone sees what's due, who owns it, and where things stand. See our task management guide for more.
What features should I look for in a task management tool?
Start with the essentials: task creation with subtasks and dependencies, multiple view options, team collaboration features, and reporting dashboards. For delivery teams, also prioritize built-in time tracking, resource planning, and budget management. If those features require a separate tool or third-party integration, the added friction will reduce adoption.
What's the difference between task management and project management?
Task management focuses on individual work items: creating, assigning, and completing specific tasks. Project management is broader, covering planning, budgeting, risk management, and stakeholder communication. Most PM platforms include task management, but not all task tools offer full PM capabilities.
Are there free task management tools?
Yes. Several tools on this list offer free plans. Options include Teamwork.com (up to 5 users), Trello (up to 10 collaborators), ClickUp, Jira (up to 10 users), Notion, and Todoist. Free plans typically limit users, storage, or advanced features. For client work teams, paid plans generally deliver the visibility and integrations needed.
How do I choose the right task management tool for my team?
Identify your core workflow first: Are you managing client deliverables with budgets and timesheets, or coordinating internal projects? List the features you can't compromise on. Then trial your shortlisted tools against a real project, not a demo. Factor in pricing at your actual team size.
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