The current research states that by 2027, the world will need 88 million employees in various project management roles. That’s more than a quarter of the US population, and it goes to show the importance of cloud project management software. It’s not feasible to hire this many people to do the job a simple piece of software can do, which is precisely why these solutions matter.
Listed below are a few options you can browse if you’re interested in one. The tools we’ve picked are the best in the business based on their features, prices, customer support, integrations, and more.
Our Pick for the Best Cloud Project Management Software: Monday
Our top pick is Monday because it excels in all areas of project management. But if you need more, here are the main reasons we recommend it:
- Monday offers outstanding usability across industries and company sizes. It’s hard to find a specific use case where it can’t be helpful.
- The tool is straightforward, and there’s no need to spend hours teaching people to operate it.
- The developers have designed the tool to make it effortless for any organization to start creating and managing projects with the help of various templates.
- You’ll get to use a variety of integrations and automations.
- A wide range of features will be at your disposal, including time tracking tools, scheduling solutions, smart notifications, and more.
Best Cloud Project Management Software 2024
We’ve researched the market and found several dozen exciting software solutions for various companies, teams, and entrepreneurs. However, after analyzing their features, pricing plans, and a lot more, we’ve ended up with a list of ten excellent services for you to choose from. The best of them are listed below, along with the reasons why:
- Monday — Overall best project management cloud software on the market
- ClickUp — Best agile solution for cloud-based project management
- Smartsheet — Top user experience in a project management tool
- Resource Guru — Most useful for scheduling needs
- Wrike — Leading construction project management cloud software
- Teamwork — Works best for client work and client collaboration
- WorkOtter — Perfect for IT, consulting and engineering SMEs
- Zoho Projects — Finest project management software for commercial real estate
- Celoxis — Best-suited project management tool for team collaboration
- Kintone — Great for creating custom project workflows
Best Cloud Project Management Software — Compared
Do you want to know more about our recommendations? Keep reading, as the following paragraphs and sections will give you detailed reviews of each service so you can make an informed choice.
1. Monday — Overall Best Project Management Software in the Cloud
Monday is an award-winning project management software and cloud-based tool that’s effectively perfect for most businesses. It’s highly customizable, affordable, and filled with features and integrations. It’s bound to fulfill all of your project management needs.
As Monday is one of the leading management tools on the market for a wide range of needs, we already did a more detailed Monday.com review you can check to see if it’s worth the price.
Starts at (monthly price) | Free trial or free plan | Customer support | Mobile app |
$8 per user | Free trial for all plans + Free plan | 24/7 email and contact form | Android and iOS |
Key features:
- Central dashboard — Monday has an excellent dashboard that acts as a central hub for all your projects and tasks.
- Views — You can use various views like calendar, timeline, and chart to track the progress of each project.
- Ghantt charts — Monday has some of the best Ghantt charts in the business. You can use them to create a detailed view and timeline for any project.
- Files — The tool offers a highly collaborative space where the whole team can easily upload, share, finalize, and organize various files.
Pros:
- Various ready-to-use templates
- Countless types of fuels are supported
- Well-designed and detailed dashboard
- Highly customizable
- Numerous helpful automations
Cons:
- No live chat support
Pricing:
- Individual — Free
- Basic — $8 per user/month
- Standard — $10 per user/month
- Pro — $16 per user/month
- Enterprise — Custom pricing
2. ClickUp — Most Agile Cloud Project Management Software
ClickUp is one of the leading project management tools on the market, but it’s also the top pick if you care for agility. It’s incredibly versatile and can be used by most companies, regardless of size. Planning, communication, automation, and project execution are always effortless with ClickUp.
Read our full ClickUp review to learn more about the free cloud-based project management software and the paid plans.
Starts at (monthly price) | Free trial or free plan | Customer support | Mobile app |
$5 per user (annual plan) | Free plan | 24/7 email and chat | Android and iOS |
Key features:
- Intuitive UI — ClickUp has a highly-intuitive UI that can scale with you. This also means that it’s very customizable.
- Numerous project views — The tool is made to accommodate various businesses, which is why it offers many different views to visualize your projects according to your preferences.
- Communication and collaboration tools — ClickUp has a whole suite of tools for communication and collaboration, including chat views, email, comments, and more.
- Cloud storage — You don’t have to worry about having enough storage capacity with ClickUp. It offers plenty of storage and integration with Dropbox and Google Drive.
Pros:
- Great for in-team communication
- Free training offered
- High level of customization
- Incredible agile and versatile
- Superb time tracking features
Cons:
- Could be more intuitive
- You need time to adjust to it
Pricing:
- Free plan
- Unlimited — $9 per user/month
- Business — $19 per user/month
- Business plus — $29 per user/month
- Enterprise — Custom pricing
3. Smartsheet — Most User-Friendly Cloud Project Management Software
Smartsheet is a project management tool that works as a spreadsheet, so it’s great for customization. However, where it truly excels is user experience. It’s won numerous awards and is perfect for users who appreciate detailed spreadsheets and easy project management.
It’s also one of the best enterprise project management software solutions as it offers that same level of UX for large corporations.
Starts at (monthly price) | Free trial or free plan | Customer support | Mobile app |
$7 per user | Free trial | Phone and email | Android and iOS |
Key features:
- Legal project management — The tool offers a wide range of fantastic project management resources for legal needs.
- Smartsheet Solution Center — Here, you’ll get the core capabilities of this tool, including integrations, boards, templates, workflows, and so much more.
- Custom automations — Smartsheet has excellent abilities when it comes to data entry and daily task automation.
- Integrations and connectors — The tool can easily integrate with most major tools companies use, but it also has around 70 special apps called connectors that solve specific needs.
Pros:
- Fully customizable dashboards
- More than 70 original app integrations
- Numerous automations
- Resource tracking reports
- Many resources for legal firms
Cons:
- No dynamic filters in the dashboard
- Very steep learning curve
Pricing:
- Pro — $7 per user/month
- Business — $25 per user/month
- Enterprise — Custom pricing
4. Resource Guru — Best Scheduling Cloud Project Management Software
Resource Guru excels at project management, and it’s perfect if scheduling is one of your essential needs. It’s not one of the best scheduling apps on the market for no reason, especially considering that many renowned brands, including NASA, use it.
Starts at (monthly price) | Free trial or free plan | Customer support | Mobile app |
$2.5 per user (annual plan) | Free trial | Phone and email | Shortcut for website |
Key features:
- Simple rebalancing — You can quickly move a project from one timeline to another, efficiently rebalancing your workload.
- Resource scheduling — Resource Guru’s strongest feature lets you schedule everything you need to keep your employees at their most productive levels.
- Resource management — With this tool, resource management is simple, fast, and incredibly efficient due to its many solutions.
- Capacity planning — The tool lets you have a clear view of everything yet to come, making planning and scheduling much more straightforward.
Pros:
- Most plans are highly affordable
- Vast range of scheduling features
- Trusted by many renowned organizations
- Easy-to-use drag and drop feature
- Great calendar view
Cons:
- Lacks some vital project management features
- No undo button when dragging and dropping a booking
Pricing:
- Grasshopper plan — $3 per user/month
- Blackbelt plan — $5 per user/month
- Master plan — $8 per user/month
5. Wrike — Best Cloud-Based Construction Project Management Software
Wrike is an excellent example of a valuable and highly flexible project management tool. It’s filled with workflows, custom dashboards, and other features that allow it to adapt to your needs and your industry, which is why it’s also one of our top picks for the best agile project management tools. However, it does that best for the construction industry, making it one of the top construction project management software in the cloud you’ll ever get to use.
Starts at (monthly price) | Free trial or free plan | Customer support | Mobile app |
$9.80 per user | Free trial and free plan | Email, phone, live support | Android and iOS |
Key features:
- Visual proofing — The feature makes Wrike ideal for any type of creative task. You’ll also get to use things like automated approval processes.
- Work Intelligence — This AI-powered feature offers smart automation and attractive solutions like risk forecasting in workflows.
- Purpose-specific templates — Wrike offers an extensive collection of templates created for a specific purpose, like product delivery, employee onboarding, and more.
- Folders — This is Wrike’s unique organizing unit for all resources and tasks within a project. The tool uses drag-and-drop features to make organization easy and quick.
Pros:
- Robust workflow management
- Useful for organizations of all sizes
- Great for both project and non-project tasks
- Unattended projects get flagged
- Easy to use
Cons:
- Hard to pick the right plan
- Needs more integrations
Pricing:
- Free plan
- Professional — $9.80 per user/month
- Business — $24.80 per user/month
- Enterprise — Custom pricing
- Pinnacle — Custom pricing
6. Teamwork — Top Client Work Cloud Project Management Software
Teamwork has an extensive suite of features and offers an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it one of the best project management tools on the web. It excels at client work, making managing and working with clients easy. This is especially true as it includes services like billing and invoicing, so you’ll have everything you need to maintain perfect client relationships.
Starts at (monthly price) | Free trial or free plan | Customer support | Mobile app |
$10 per user (annual plan) | Free trial and free plans | Phone and email | Android and iOS |
Key features:
- Workflow automations — Teamwork is filled with various workflow-oriented automations that help save time for the entire organization.
- Client collaboration — Clients get the chance to participate in projects with options like comments on deliverables, milestones, and more.
- Reports — Teamwork offers quick and straightforward task reports that let you see how a project is going, how quickly it’s moving forward, and the problems you need to fix.
- Advanced features — Teamwork has a collection of handy advanced services like resource allocation, time tracking, and budget management.
Pros:
- Includes many customization options
- Added client-facing options like billing and invoicing
- Intuitive design and simple interface
- Lots of storage space on paid plans
- Both free plan and long free trials available
Cons:
- Doesn’t have image or PDF markup tools
- Could use more integrations
- Needs more security features on the lowest plans
Pricing:
- Free plan
- Deliver — $12.50 per user/month
- Grow — $22.50 per user/month
- Scale — Custom pricing
7. WorkOtter — Ideal for IT, Engineering, and Consulting Small/Medium Enterprises
WorkOtter is one of the best cloud computing project management software solutions on the web. It’s ideal for various small and mid-sized enterprises, particularly in the IT, consulting, and engineering industries. The user interface is incredibly easy to use, and the entire tool is valued for being quick to set up.
Starts at (monthly price) | Free trial or free plan | Customer support | Mobile app |
N/A | Free demo | 24/7 email | Only mobile site |
Key features:
- Standout user experience — WorkOtter offers some of the most useful and easy-to-manage project and resource management solutions, which is a big deal as it’s primarily useful for enterprises.
- Customizable dashboards — You can create various dashboards from scratch and customize them on the go.
- More than 100 templates — WorkOtter has many templates created by actual clients, so you’re bound to find one or more that will be useful.
- Two-way syncing — This feature ensures that everything you do in WorkOtter is synced to all devices using the system, all in near real-time.
Pros:
- Very intuitive user interface
- Useful to most company sizes
- Easy to set up
- Dashboards and reports highly customizable
- Makes communication very easy
Cons:
- No exact pricing system
- Some features missing from mobile
Pricing:
- You need to request a quote to get a personalized price
8. Zoho Projects — Best Real Estate Project Management Software Tool
Zoho represents an entire suite of business tools for various company departments like sales, CRM, marketing, and project management. The last one is of interest to us, and this is where the specific tool from Zoho comes in — Zoho Projects. It’s made for all types of businesses, which is evident from the large user base Zoho boasts, but it’s still most suited for real estate firms.
Starts at (monthly price) | Free trial or free plan | Customer support | Mobile app |
$5 per user | Free plan and free trial | Email and phone | Android and iOS |
Key features:
- Task automation — You can easily automate routine tasks and set up automatic email alerts, task statuses, task field updates, and more.
- Time tracking — The time tracking feature is seamlessly integrated into the whole tool, so it’s easy to track work on every task, whether or not it is billable.
- Integrations — Zoho is notable for having a wide range of integrations, including integration of Zoho’s own tools.
- File sharing — The tool lets you create and download presentations, documents, spreadsheets, and various other files for every specific project.
Pros:
- You can have an unlimited number of projects
- Numerous communication tools
- Easy to use and set up automations
- Useful free plan
- Robust time tracking tool
Cons:
- Needs more reporting features
- The searching feature could be better
Pricing:
- Free plan
- Premium — $4 per user/month
- Enterprise — $9 per user/month
9. Celoxis — Best Cloud Project Management Software for Team Collaboration
Celoxis is a typical project management tool with various options and lots of value for different types of companies. It’s most suited for medium and large organizations, especially if you choose the higher plan. This cloud-based enterprise project management software is effectively a blend of classic project management and contemporary and advanced features.
Starts at (monthly price) | Free trial or free plan | Customer support | Mobile app |
$20 per user (three-year plan) | Free trial | Email and phone | Only mobile site |
Key features:
- Dynamic project pipelines — Celoxis is highly optimized for larger companies, so you can expect highly dynamic and agile features.
- Numerous reports — The app offers a wide range of tools ideal for business owners and decision-makers in the company as they bring them valuable insights.
- Accounting — Celoxis offers detailed insight into various accounting elements of a project, including details on the budget, expenses, profits, and more.
- Project request tracking — You can organize project requests in a single space and create various tasks from emails, spreadsheets, and forms.
Pros:
- Makes collaboration easy
- Easy to understand pricing system
- Good customer support
- A comprehensive suite of advanced features
- A wide range of reports for decision-makers
Cons:
- Lacks billing and invoicing features
- No free plan
- Can be very complicated for new users
Pricing:
- Cloud — $25 per user/month
- On-premise — $450 per user (billed once)
10. Kintone — Best Cloud-Based Project Management Software for Creating Custom Workflows
Kintone is an excellent customizable project management tool that’s highly popular worldwide. It’s used by over 23,000 companies, including notable names like Japan Airlines and Volvo Trucks North America. It makes it easy to create whole project tracking apps within its platform with simple drag-and-drop no-code features.
Starts at (monthly price) | Free trial or free plan | Customer support | Mobile app |
$120 for 5 users | Free trial and free demo | Only mobile site |
Key features:
- Project tracking apps — Kintone is unique in the way that it lets you create entire apps with simple drag-and-drop tools. This gives you a lot of flexibility in what to add and how to make the project workflow.
- Filter and prioritize tasks — You can easily filter and prioritize specific tasks, making it easy to stay on top of the most important projects.
- Permission controls — The tool lets you set specific permission controls and view version histories.
- Real-time reporting — The reporting feature is quite robust and lets you follow things like team workload, project status, overdue tasks, and more.
Pros:
- Ideal for both project and CRM management
- Lets you easily track numerous projects and tasks
- Completely connects information across devices
- Highly flexible pricing system
- Data-rich reports
Cons:
- Lacks a single-user plan
- Limiting storage space
- Unappealing and complex interface
Pricing:
- $24 per user per month, but the minimum number of users is five, and the minimum price is $120 per month. You can then add users for an additional charge
Best Cloud Project Management Software — Comparison Table
You’ve seen our top picks, and you’ve seen their pros and cons, pricing plans, and key features. Now is the time to compare them all so you can easily pick one based on important parameters like price, customer support, and top features.
Here’s a short project management cloud software comparison table that should help you quickly compare all of our top picks:
Brand | Best for | Starts at (monthly price) | Free plan or free trial | Customer support | Mobile app |
Monday | Overall best | $8 per user | Free plan + free trial | 24/7 email and contact form | Android and iOS |
ClickUp | Most agile | $5 per user (annual plan) | Free plan | 24/7 email and chat | Android and iOS |
Smartsheet | Most user-friendly | $7 per user | Free trial | Phone and email | Android and iOS |
Resource Guru | Best for scheduling | $2.5 per user (annual plan) | Free trial | Phone and email | Shortcut for website |
Wrike | Best for construction firms | $9.80 per user | Free trial and free plan | Email, phone, live support | Android and iOS |
Teamwork | Best for client work | $10 per user (annual plan) | Free trial and free plans | Phone and email | Android and iOS |
WorkOtter | Best for SMEs | N/A | Free demo | 24/7 email | Only mobile site |
Zoho Projects | Best for real estate firms | $5 per user | Free plan and free trial | Email and phone | Android and iOS |
Celoxis | Best for team collaboration | $20 per user (three-year plan) | Free trial | Email and phone | Only mobile site |
Kintone | Best for custom workflows | $120 for 5 users | Free trial and free demo | Only mobile site |
What Is Cloud Project Management Software?
A project management tool is used to organize the work on a project from start to finish. It lets you coordinate planning, monitoring, collaborating, and delivering a specific project. To help you achieve this, the tool offers a wide range of features that aim to make organization easy and fast.
A typical project management tool is cloud-based, but a few operate as non-cloud-based project management software. Usually, cloud-based is the way to go as it offers better security, safe storage, and various other benefits.
The critical thing to know is that the latest project management statistics show that these tools are handy for a wide range of companies as they offer many necessary features for a reasonable price. Without them, your organization would have to use complicated internal systems to set up and pay additional employees to handle various project management tasks.
Why Do I Need Cloud-Based Project Management Software?
If you’re unsure whether you should even get a project management tool, here are a few benefits that will help you fully appreciate them.
Ease of Setup and Use
Most of the best project management tools on the market are effortless to set up and use. This is because they are cloud-based and made to be as simple and intuitive as possible. Bear in mind that some will require a bit of training, but once that’s done, everyone will be fully capable of utilizing all of the tool’s benefits.
Cost-Effective Solution
Every product in this industry is highly cost-effective, even those not on this list. That’s because they make the planning part of your work easier, so you don’t have to use robust tool suites and project managers. You only need the task and project management software, and that’s it. What’s more, you can even use free project management cloud software solutions to a degree.
Complete Overview of All Projects
Likely, the main benefit of a good project management tool is that it provides you with a comprehensive overview of where you’re at with every one of your projects. You can see how specific tasks are going, if there are any problems, whether the team is running late with a project, and more.
Templates
Most cloud-based project management tools have various ready-to-use templates for dashboards and workflows. You can easily find one that suits your needs the most and customize it to fully iron out the details and make it ideal for a specific project.
Easy Collaboration
Cloud project management software is not only beneficial for planning, but it’s also perfect for collaboration and communication. Every team member can easily access the tool to stay on top of their tasks. The service will also allow you to share files and communicate over various mediums, including comments on specific tasks.
Automation
Although the tool might seem like a lot of work, it isn’t, especially when you factor in the various automations. Most project management software solutions have a range of automations that make life easier and save time for team members. This includes time tracking, reminders, project status updates, notifications, and a lot more, including some highly specific automations.
No Need for Additional Hardware or Software
Once you set up a cloud project management tool, there’s no need to add any other software or hardware piece. Everything is done on the cloud, and you are not required to purchase additional licenses, specialized computers, or anything else. You’ll get to use dedicated apps, but it’s optional and as simple as any other app.
High Security
Cloud project management tools are always incredibly secure as they are operated by companies investing heavily in server maintenance and security. This is achieved with technologies like SSL certificates and data segregation, so you can be sure that everything will remain inside the company.
How to Choose a Cloud Project Management Software — Main Factors to Consider
To pick a great project management tool, you need to check a few essential factors first, as they will help you decide which program is the best for your needs.
Features
The core of every project management tool is its features suite. You need to check what kind of features you need and choose the application with the most, if not all, of your needs. Cloud project management tools have various capabilities, including scheduling, task creation and customization, project management, and much more.
Integrations
When it comes to management, every company uses a wide range of tools, which is why you’ll want the project management solution you choose to integrate easily with most apps you’re using. Each service differs here, but you’re bound to find the leading apps like the ones from Google and Microsoft in most cases.
Price
The price is the most significant factor, especially once you consider that cloud-based project management tools have pricing systems based on the number of users. You’ll pay that price monthly, so even the slightest difference in price can significantly affect your budget.
There are many free cloud project management software solutions, even on our list, but these are typically specific plans a paid service offers. What’s more, they are usually very limited in what they offer.
Ease of Use
User experience matters with every software tool, and project management tools are no different. If you want to avoid long training sessions, choosing a platform with a gentle learning curve is best.
Customizability
Every project management tool needs to handle various types of projects that tend to differ between industries, company sizes, and more. That’s why you want the solution you pick to be highly customizable.
Company Size and Industry
Project management tools are used by various companies, regardless of their industry and size. However, each tool works best for a particular company size and industry, so it’s something worth checking before you choose.
Bottom Line — What Is the Best Cloud-Based Project Management Software Tool?
So, there it is; everything you need to know about cloud-based project management tools and which ones are the best to use in today’s market. Each tool we’ve reviewed is best for a specific need, but the overall best one remains Monday.
Monday is ideal for teams, entrepreneurs, companies, and even enterprise-level organizations, regardless of the industry. It’s easy to set up and use, highly flexible, and affordable. Most of all, it offers a robust suite of tools and features, so you’ll get everything you need to manage a project from start to finish. Test it with a free trial and see if it works for your company.