What strategies do you use to manage your business projects more creatively?
As a part of the SaaS industry for the past 15 years, I have been researching the concept and found that businesses are now getting better results using creative project management software.
But which creative project management tools deliver the best outcomes?
Let’s find this out.
Here, I have offered a detailed review of my personal experience with the 10 best project management software and their features.
Let’s get started.
| Tools | Best For | Cost |
| ProProfs Project | Simplified Project Management | Free trial available. Paid plan starts at $39.97/month. Billed annually. |
| Asana | Managing Multiple Projects Together | Starts at $10.99/user/month. Billed annually. |
| Wrike | Real-Time Collaboration | Starts at $9.80/user/month. Billed annually. |
| Monday.com | Third-Party Integrations | Starts at $24/month. Billed annually. |
| Teamwork.com | Time-Tracking and Budgeting | Starts at $5.99/user/month for a minimum of 3 users. Billed annually. |
| Trello | Customer Relationship Management | Starts at $5/user/month. Billed annually. |
| ClickUp | Remote Project Management | Starts at $7/user/month. Billed annually. |
| ProjectManager | Real-Time Data and Reporting | Starts at $13/user/month. Billed annually. |
| Basecamp | Scheduling Projects | Starts at $350/user/month. Billed annually. |
| Hive | Template-Based Management | Starts at $1/user/month. Billed annually. |
Best Creative Project Management Software
1. ProProfs Project – Best for Simplified Project Management
ProProfs Project is a cloud-based project management software that helps you easily plan, track, and deliver projects.
I like its simple and intuitive interface that lets you create tasks, assign them to team members, set deadlines, and monitor progress, all in a single dashboard. You can also use it to manage your budget, invoices, and expenses.
One of its best features is enterprise project management, where you can track work progress & meet deadlines smoothly, stay connected with your team, and discuss the projects. Even its project scheduling system is something really helpful for organizations.
My favorite feature of the tool is its ability to set up task notifications so that everyone is on the same page with the project status.
What You Will Like:
- Easy collaboration features, allowing team members to work together effortlessly.
- Time tracking capabilities to provide accurate insights into project progress.
- Gantt charts that offer a visual representation of project timelines.
- Customizable reports, which can cater to specific project management needs.
- Project portfolio management to create a centralized space where multiple projects can work together.
What You May Not Like:
- Free trial lasts only 15 days, which might not be sufficient for all users to explore all the features.
- There is no dark mode for the tool.
Pricing: Free trial available. Paid plan starts at $39.97/month. Billed annually.
2. Asana – Best for Managing Multiple Projects Together
(Image Source: Asana)
If you are looking for creative agency project management software, go for Asana, which helps you organize and manage multiple projects simultaneously. You can create projects, tasks, subtasks, and milestones and assign them to different teams or individuals.
You can also use it to communicate with your team, share files, and get updates on your project status.
I love its features that allow you to view and manage all your projects in one place and switch between different views such as list, board, timeline, or calendar, managing multiple projects simultaneously, offering a centralized platform for effective collaboration.
What You Will Like:
- Task prioritization and dependency tracking features to ensure project efficiency.
- Kanban-style boards that provide a visual and organized approach to task management.
- Advanced search and reporting features for in-depth project insights.
- Customizable project views can tailor your workspace according to your needs.
- Time tracking feature to ensure accurate monitoring of project timelines.
What You May Not Like:
- Limited customization options that restrict flexibility for users.
- Advanced features are restricted to premium plans.
Price: Starts at $10.99/user/month. Billed annually.
3. Wrike – Best for Real-Time Collaboration
(Image Source: Wrike)
The best project management software for creative teams allow real-time collaboration, fostering seamless communication and coordination among team members.
If you are looking for all these features in a single tool, I would suggest you go with Wrike.
The platform allows you to create and assign tasks, set dependencies, and track progress using Gantt charts. You can also use it to chat with your team, share feedback, and approve work.
Not only this, but it also integrates with various tools such as Slack, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Adobe Creative Cloud and allows you to edit documents and images directly within the app.
What You Will Like:
- Real-time editing and commenting features to facilitate immediate collaboration.
- Interactive Gantt charts to get a dynamic overview of project timelines.
- Dynamic request forms that streamline task creation and assignment.
- Automated task assignment features to facilitate overall workflow efficiency.
- Comprehensive reporting tools offer detailed insights into project progress.
What You May Not Like:
- The mobile apps have limited functionality and do not support all the features of the web version.
- The Gantt chart view is only available in paid plans and can be slow to load and update
Price: Starts at $9.80/user/month. Billed annually.
4. Monday.com – Best for Third-Party Integrations
(Image Source: monday.com)
Monday.com is one of the most popular creative project management software that offers a versatile platform to connect with various apps and tools.
It connects with over 40 third-party tools, such as Gmail, Zoom, Salesforce, and Shopify, and allows you to sync data and trigger actions across different platforms.
I also like its features which help you manage your projects, workflows, and processes. You can create boards, columns, and rows to organize your data and customize them to suit your needs. You can also use it to automate your workflows, track your time, and generate reports.
What You Will Like:
- Customizable workflow templates that provide flexibility for different projects.
- Visual project tracking features for simplified progress monitoring.
- Automation features that streamline repetitive tasks for enhanced efficiency.
- Time tracking capabilities that contribute to accurate project monitoring.
- Cross-platform accessibility that allows for seamless collaboration.
What You May Not Like:
- Limited storage in lower-tier plans and require additional solutions.
- Most of the advanced features are locked behind high-cost plans.
Price: Starts at $24/month. Billed annually.
5. Teamwork.com – Best for Time-Tracking and Budgeting
(Image Source: Teamwork.com)
If you are looking for project management tools for creatives, Teamwork.com could be an excellent partner in time-tracking and budgeting.
The tool helps you plan, execute, and deliver your projects on time and within budget. You can create tasks, subtasks, and task lists and assign them to your team members. You can also use it to track your time, expenses, and invoices and manage your resources.
But my favorite feature of the tool is its ability to invite clients and contractors to collaborate on projects and control what they can see and do with granular permissions and privacy settings.
What You Will Like:
- Powerful resource management tools that facilitate efficient allocation of team members.
- Choose from different views, such as list, board, or chart, to visualize your projects and tasks, and integrate with other tools, such as Slack, Google Drive, or Zapier, to enhance productivity.
- Milestone tracking features to mark key project achievements.
- Document sharing and storage for easy access to project-related files.
- SSL encryption and other security features to protect sensitive data.
What You May Not Like:
- Limited automation options, and it requires additional manual effort.
- It involves a steep learning curve for some advanced features.
Price: Starts at $5.99/user/month for a minimum of 3 users. Billed annually.
6. Trello – Best for Customer Relationship Management
(Image Source: Trello)
Trello is a project management software for creative teams and it uses boards, lists, and cards to represent your projects, tasks, and ideas.
I love its customer relationship management features that help the sales team manage their leads and accounts effectively. You can create boards for different stages of the sales pipeline, add cards for each lead or account, and use power-ups, automation, and integrations to track and update your sales data.
In short, it offers a simple and flexible way to organize your CRM and see everything at a glance.
What You Will Like:
- It has Kanban-style boards that provide a visual and intuitive task organization method.
- Drag-and-drop task organization to simplify project management.
- Smart collaboration features to enhance communication among team members.
- Customizable boards and cards allow users to tailor their workspace.
- Create boards for different types of content, add cards for each, and use due dates, labels, checklists, and attachments to manage your content workflow.
What You May Not Like:
- It has only basic reporting options that do not meet the needs of data-intensive projects.
- Lacks built-in time tracking features and requires additional tools.
Price: Starts at $5/user/month. Billed annually.
6. Trello – Best for Customer Relationship Management
(Image Source: Trello)
Trello is a project management software for creative teams and it uses boards, lists, and cards to represent your projects, tasks, and ideas.
I love its customer relationship management features that help the sales team manage their leads and accounts effectively. You can create boards for different stages of the sales pipeline, add cards for each lead or account, and use power-ups, automation, and integrations to track and update your sales data.
In short, it offers a simple and flexible way to organize your CRM and see everything at a glance.
What You Will Like:
- It has Kanban-style boards that provide a visual and intuitive task organization method.
- Drag-and-drop task organization to simplify project management.
- Smart collaboration features to enhance communication among team members.
- Customizable boards and cards allow users to tailor their workspace.
- Create boards for different types of content, add cards for each, and use due dates, labels, checklists, and attachments to manage your content workflow.
What You May Not Like:
- It has only basic reporting options that do not meet the needs of data-intensive projects.
- Lacks built-in time tracking features and requires additional tools.
Price: Starts at $5/user/month. Billed annually.
7. ClickUp – Best for Remote Project Management
(Image Source: ClickUp)
ClickUp is one of my favorite creative project management software because of its comprehensive features for teams working from different locations.
You can create tasks, subtasks, checklists, and goals and assign them to your team members. You can also use it to chat with your team, share files, and track your time.
One of the best features of the tools is that it offers over 15 views to display your work, such as a list, board, box, calendar, or map, and allows you to customize them to fit your preferences.
What You Will Like:
- Customizable task views that cater to diverse project management needs.
- Multiple assignees per task, which can facilitate collaborative efforts among team members.
- Time tracking and reporting features that contribute to accurate project monitoring.
- Goal tracking and objectives & key results (OKRs) tracking features that enhance overall project alignment.
- Built-in document editing features that reduce the need for external tools.
What You May Not Like:
- Slightly overwhelming for simple projects with minimal requirements.
- Limited storage in the free plan may pose challenges for data-intensive projects.
Price: Starts at $7/user/month. Billed annually.
8. ProjectManager – Best for Real-Time Data and Reporting
(Image Source: ProjectManager)
I would consider ProjectManager as one of the best creative project management software because it helps you plan, monitor, and report on your projects in real time.
You can create tasks, milestones, and dependencies and assign them to your team members. You can also use it to track your progress, budget, and risks and generate real-time reports and dashboards.
I also like its custom dashboard that helps you monitor the health, progress, time, cost, and workload. You can also see six widgets that show you key metrics and indicators.
What You Will Like:
- Real-time project dashboards to offer immediate insights into project status.
- Comprehensive reporting tools that cater to diverse project management needs.
- Resource management features for facilitating efficient team allocation.
- Time tracking capabilities, which can contribute to accurate project monitoring.
- Collaboration and communication tools that streamline team interactions.
What You May Not Like:
- The level of customization is not sufficient for their specific needs.
- Does not work in the offline mode.
Price: Starts at $13/user/month. Billed annually.
9. Basecamp – Best for Scheduling Projects
(Image Source: BaseCamp)
Basecamp is another good creative project management software that helps you schedule your projects so that you can manage your project timeline and deadlines.
You can create projects, to-do lists, and events and assign them to your team members easily. You can also use it to chat with your team, send messages, and upload files.
The best thing I found about the tools is its all-in-one management concept, which offers all the tools for project management and team collaboration, such as task lists, docs, files, calendars, messages, and automatic check-ins.
By keeping everything organized at one place, it reduces complexity and enhances project management efficiency.
What You Will Like:
- Contains Hill Charts, which are visual representations of where projects really stand so that you can see the progress, identify problems, and communicate status.
- Allows users to invite clients to specific projects and control what they can see and do for transparent and smooth communication.
- Create custom reports to check the status, progress, and performance.
- Has a version of direct messages to chat with your team members individually or in small groups.
Built-in calendar, which ensures comprehensive project scheduling.
What You May Not Like:
- Lacks essential features such as tags, labels, time tracking, Gantt charts, custom fields, etc., making it unsuitable for projects with advanced project management needs.
- Does not have a built-in feature to prioritize tasks or assign them different levels of urgency or importance
Price: Starts at $350/user/month. Billed annually.
10. Hive – Best for Template-Based Management
(Image Source: Hive)
Although you would wish to be extremely creative, you can never overlook the template-based project management style of a tool like Hive that allows the teams to streamline workflows and improve efficiency.
You can create your own custom templates or use the ones provided by Hive in their template library.
The template library includes templates for agile development, client projects, content calendars, complex timelines, new hire onboarding, creative workflows, roadmaps, and strategic planning.
Besides, I like its features that help to assign actions and subactions to different members of your team, as well as add labels, dependencies, due dates, and project visibility.
What You Will Like:
- Use placeholders to insert actions from a template into a new project quickly.
- Track the progress and performance of projects using advanced analytics tools that show key metrics like workspace productivity, resource utilization, budget variance, and more.
- Set up alerts to notify you when something goes wrong or needs attention.
- Collaborate with your team using communication and collaboration tools like chat, comments, mentions, video calls, file sharing, and more.
- Easy integration with tools like Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, JIRA, Salesforce, and Zapier (with a paid plan).
What You May Not Like:
- No way to specify task progress percentages, which can make it difficult to track the status of a project.
- Attaching files or other media types is extremely difficult.
Price: Starts at $350/user/month. Billed annually.
Evaluation Criteria
The evaluation of products or tools chosen for this article follows an unbiased, systematic approach that ensures a fair, insightful, and well-rounded review. This method employs six key factors:
- User Reviews / Ratings: Direct experiences from users, including ratings and feedback from reputable sites, provide a ground-level perspective. This feedback is critical in understanding overall satisfaction and potential problems.
- Essential Features & Functionality: The value of a product is ascertained by its core features and overall functionality. Through an in-depth exploration of these aspects, the practical usefulness and effectiveness of the tools are carefully evaluated.
- Ease of Use: The user-friendliness of a product or service is assessed, focusing on the design, interface, and navigation. This ensures a positive experience for users of all levels of expertise.
- Customer Support: The quality of customer support is examined, taking into account its efficiency and how well it supports users in different phases – setting up, addressing concerns, and resolving operational issues.
- Value for Money: Value for money is evaluated by comparing the quality, performance, and features. The goal is to help the reader understand whether they would be getting their money’s worth.
- Personal Experience / Experts’ Opinions: This part of the evaluation criteria draws insightful observations from the personal experience of the writer and the opinions of industry experts.
Ready to Pick the Best Creative Project Management Tool?
After an extensive analysis of some of the best project management software for creative teams, it’s time to pick the ultimate option.
1. Which one of the above tools appears the best with its features?
Still quite confusing, right? Let me help you out.
Here, I have shortlisted 3 good tools from my list above, and let’s see a recap of each:
Option 1: ProProfs Project
ProProfs Project is an efficient project management tool with a user-friendly interface. It simplifies task creation, assignment, and deadline setting in a centralized dashboard. The software excels in enterprise project management, aiding seamless progress tracking, team collaboration, and project discussions. Another good feature is its task notification system, ensuring everyone stays informed on the project status.
Option 2: Teamwork.com
Teamwork.com is a top choice for creative project management, aiding in time tracking and budgeting. It facilitates seamless project planning, execution, and delivery with task assignments and resource management. It contains client and contractor collaboration features, offering granular permissions and privacy settings for enhanced control.
Option 3: Hive
Hive stands out with its template-based project management, promoting creativity while streamlining workflows. It has customizable templates, from agile development to creative workflows, which enhance efficiency. Also, features like task assignments, labels, dependencies, and project visibility contribute to effective team collaboration and project organization.
So, which one of the above tools sounds the best?
I would recommend the ProProfs Project for its overall efficiency and smart features that aid in managing a single project or multiple projects simultaneously. It also offers detailed reports and analytics features to track the success of your project and carry it out as planned.
Sounds a good deal to me!
Learn More About Creative Project Management Software
What is creative project management software?
Creative project management software is a specialized tool designed to streamline and facilitate the management of creative projects in fields like marketing, design, advertising, and content creation. It serves as a centralized platform for collaboration, communication, and organization, helping teams execute and deliver creative projects.
Watch: What is Project Management? Learn How to Start Managing Projects Online
What are the features of creative project management software?
Creative project management software features include task and project tracking, collaborative file sharing, real-time communication tools, resource allocation, time tracking, and customizable workflows. These features enhance team coordination, improve project visibility, and ensure that creative projects are completed on time and within budget.
How To choose creative project management software?
When selecting creative project management software, you can consider factors such as ease of use, scalability, integration capabilities with other tools, collaboration features, and customization options. It’s essential to align the software’s functionality with your creative team’s specific needs and workflows to maximize its effectiveness.
Watch: How to Choose the Best Project Management Software
What are the benefits of creative project management software?
Some major benefits of creative project management software are increased productivity, improved collaboration, enhanced communication, better project visibility, streamlined workflows, and the ability to meet deadlines efficiently. By providing a centralized platform for project management, these tools empower creative teams to focus on their work, minimize errors, and deliver high-quality projects on time.
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