15 Free Task Management Software Tools
Let’s review the most popular free task management tools. Task management can be defined by a combination of daily actions such as creating, prioritizing, assigning, scheduling and updating tasks. Task management can be part of usually bigger process such as projects or stategic initiatives. In current digital world task management tools are a de facto choice to organize work and share knowledge between team members. With such tools people can be more productive and deliver better results.
Such essential use case also means that there are quite a few products to choose from when looking into free task management options. Hence, we have created a comparison table and described each tool with it’s pros and cons.
Comparison of the free task management tools
| Teamhood | Trello | TeamWork | Meistertask | Proofhub | Todoist | Asana | Clickup | nTask | Airtable | Flow | Hitask | Quire | Accelo | Taskworld | |
| Subtasks | ✅ Infinite | 1-level | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Recurring tasks | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ||||
| Task dependencies | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ||||||||||
| Multiple assignees | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ||||||||||
| Time tracking | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ||||||
| Synchronised task copies | ✅ | ||||||||||||||
| Comments & mentions | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Limited collaborator roles | ✅ | ||||||||||||||
| Tags | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |||
| Due dates | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| Notifications | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Kanban board | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| Kanban swimlanes | ✅ | ||||||||||||||
| Gantt chart | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |||||||
| Multiple views | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ||
| Board mailboxes | ✅ | ||||||||||||||
| Custom dashboards | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |||||||
| Workload management | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ||||||||||
| Proper Free version | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
What is free task management software?
Task management software is defined as one that is suitable for the above-mentioned activities such as creating, scheduling, assigning, and updating projects or personal tasks. The key criterion is that it needs to be a free task management product.
Task management software can have but is not be limited to features such as Kanban boards, Gantt charts, Time Tracking or similar work management solutions. Best practices usually come from specific methodologies. We are super biased on Kanban because it just makes so many things easier, like visualizing the work processes, providing two dimensions for statuses and task groups, and measuring precise flow data.
Task management practices help teams become more focused, efficient, and organized. All of this is due to the fact that tasks are clearly planned, assigned, prioritized, and completed.
Free Task management tools
As mentioned before, there are many options for tools, but there are also advanced features like task prioritization, recurrences, subtasks, notifications, dependencies, and more, which can be used not straight away but after getting more familiar with a product. Hence, we review those as well.
1. Teamhood – free task management software as the best overall product
Capterra score: 4.9/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Teamhood is a free task and project management software based on Kanban methodology. It is a flexible platform that keeps the interface easy to use and easy to adapt. Such free task management software can easily save you tons of time and bring faster business results.
With Teamhood you have at least a few options for how you will manage your tasks:
- Gantt view for long-term planning and tracking overall progress.
- List view to see more like an Excel sheet of the full work scope ahead. Best free task manager choice.
- Kanban view for easy management, execution, task prioritization, and collaboration.
- Estimate the time needed to finish tasks, and visualize those estimations on the workload view to get a clear picture of how busy your team members are.
- Use time-tracking and time sheet reports to compare estimates versus real-time taken.
- Various collaboration features will let you enjoy asynchronous communication and faster results.
Pros: Visual, easy to start and use, hefty free plan, powerful structuring options, unique Kanban structure.
Cons: Some integrations can be done only via the Zapier platform. The documentation feature is less powerful than other options.
Free plan: Unlimited users, projects, and many advanced features such as custom fields. Max 100 MB file storage.
2. Trello – simple free task management option
Capterra score: 4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Trello is a well-known free task management software on the market. Simple kanban style tool for personal or small team task management. A good option for first-time users of digital task management tools.
Pros: Easy to start, many templates, simple UI.
Cons: Missing some core project management features. Limited Kanban to board only. No proper Gantt chart.
Free plan: Free for the basic package, unlimited users, limited to 10 boards, limited features.
3. Teamwork
Capterra score: 4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Teamwork is a comprehensive task management tool designed to help teams streamline their workflows, collaborate effectively, and manage projects with ease. With a focus on flexibility and customization, Teamwork offers a range of features that cater to businesses of various sizes and industries.
Pros: Multiple views, collaboration features, and project focus.
Cons: Many fundamental features are only in the paid plan. Has some learning curve. Not flexible structure.
Free plan: Free base version, limited to 5 users. Limited features. Limited storage.
4. Meistertask
Capterra score: 4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
MeisterTask is a versatile and visually appealing free task management tool that is suitable for individual users and small teams. With its intuitive interface and Kanban-style boards, MeisterTask allows users to manage tasks effectively, collaborate in real time, and customize their workflows to suit their needs.
Pros: User-friendly, flexible, good collaboration features.
Cons: No time tracking, custom fields not included in the free tier, not suitable for medium or large-sized projects and teams.
Free plan: Max 3 projects, unlimited users, no custom fields, limited fundamental features.
5. ProofHub
Capterra score: 4.6/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
ProofHub is one more free online task management software. It offers task and content collaboration features. It is optimized for content creation and feedback. Mainly opting for marketing teams.
Pros: Collaboration and content annotation features. Simple UI.
Cons: Limited ability to customize fields. No free tier.
Free plan: Only trial, with no proper free tier.
6. Todoist
Capterra score: 4.6/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
As a free task management tool, Todoist allows users to create projects, assign tasks, set due dates, and add labels for categorization. The tool also provides a “Karma” points system to gamify productivity and help users stay motivated.
Pros: Offline mode, simple UI, mobile app.
Cons: Fundamental project management features like workload view, Gantt view, and some essential progress reporting. Seems better suited for personal projects or small teams.
Free plan: Max 5 projects, max 5 collaborators, max 5 MB files.
7. Asana
Capterra score: 4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A popular tool from the older generation. Still have a simple list-style approach with fundamental collaboration features. It has various integrations with other business systems.
Pros: Simple GUI, good collaboration features, stable and well-developed.
Cons: Does not have advanced features like a built-in Gantt chart, time tracking, and recurring tasks. You need to install plugins on top.
Free plan: Up to 15 users, a lot of feature limitations, projects count limitations.
8. ClickUp
Capterra score: 4.7/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Clickup recently became a popular tool for small business task management because of its feature richness. The platform is being constantly improved with new features added.
Pros: many features. No user limitation in the free plan. Flexible structure.
Cons: Steep learning curve, complex GUI, poor quality and stability overall.
Free plan: Unlimited users, many features. Can be pricey when upgraded.
9. nTask
Capterra score: 4.2/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
nTask is a comprehensive task management tool designed to help teams effectively plan, organize, and track their work. With its user-friendly interface and robust feature set, nTask enables efficient collaboration and communication among team members, facilitating the management of tasks, projects, and resources.
Pros: Decent reporting, collaboration features, and easy GUI.
Cons: No task display as a Kanban board. nTask offers only a list view. No proper free plan.
Free plan: Free for personal use but no proper free plan.
10. Airtable
Capterra score: 4.7/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Airtable is like an online Excel sheet with a flexible data structure. GUI is a bit outdated but still delivers decent UX.
Pros: Flexible and adapts to various teams.
Cons: Can be harder to configure or start using. Takes time to perform changes. No advanced project management features.
Free plan: Max 5 users, limited features. Max 2GB file storage.
11. Flow
Capterra score: 4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Flow is a good option for a simple and free task manager tool. Plan teams’ tasks and visualize them in Kanban, List, or Calendar views. Has nice color-coding abilities.
Pros: Simple app suitable for personal or small team usage.
Cons: Missing essential PM features. Kanban is limited only to the board. Slightly outdated interface.
Free plan: Only free trial.
12. Hitask
Capterra score: 4.0/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hitask is a versatile and user-friendly free task management tool designed to simplify and streamline your work process. With its intuitive interface and powerful features, Hitask is perfect for individuals, teams, and businesses looking to improve their productivity and stay organized.
Pros: Customizations, integrations, and very simple GUI for fast learning.
Cons: No Kanban board option or Gantt chart available. List view only.
Free plan: Free for the basic package with feature limitations.
13. Quire
Capterra score: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Quire is an innovative, free task management app designed to help teams and individuals break down small and medium projects into manageable tasks. With its hierarchical structure and intuitive interface, Quire boosts productivity and fosters collaboration for enhanced project outcomes.
Pros: Offline access, task nesting/hierarchy. Easy UI.
Cons: No Gantt chart, does not scale well, not many advanced features for bigger teams.
Free plan: Free for basic features, max 10 users, and max 400MB storage.
14. Accelo
Capterra score: 4.4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Accelo is a free task management tool designed to help with project tasks for growing businesses. With its automation features and seamless integrations, Accelo simplifies task management, enhances team efficiency, and ultimately drives business success.
Pros: Integrated CRM, other integrations. Suitable for larger projects and teams.
Cons: Complicated to use. Accelo is a powerful tool, however, it feels complicated from the first look and not as easy to start as others on this list.
Free plan: Offers only a free trial, no dedicated free plan.
15. Taskworld
Capterra score: 4.4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Taskworld is a great task management app for those that like Trello, but want a few more features. You will be able to visualize tasks on Kanban boards and track their progress together with the team. Taskworld also has a built-in time tracking feature so that you will not need an integration.
Pros: Built-in chat, performance tracking, decent UI.
Cons: Scalability. Just like Trello, this tool is best suited for personal use or small teams. As it lacks scalability and features for larger projects.
Free plan: Unlimited projects, 1GB storage limit, no guest users.
2019 - Present Co-founder and CEO @ Teamhood.
2015-2019 Head of software engineering department at Danske Bank.
2017-2018 Partner Associate Professor at Vilnius University. Lecturer of Software Architecture course
2011 - 2015 Managed numerous smaller IT teams at Prewise.
Co-founder of RaveIT, Eylean, No Brakes Games
Certified Agile product owner and practitioner. Managed large scale enterprise projects as well as launch of small startup products.
MSc of Software Engineering at Vilnius University.
Hobbies: Racing, MTB cycling, Windsurfing
