Free Asana Alternatives to Successfully Track the Progress of Your Project

From game-changing alternatives like TimeTracking to other nifty tools, we’re diving into the world of free Asana alternatives that will help you successfully track your team’s project progress without burning a hole in your pocket. With these top 12 tools, you can monitor tasks, deadlines, and team progress effortlessly. Let’s dive in:

12 Free Asana Alternatives For Project Management

1. Basecamp

Basecamp is a user-friendly project management and team communication software suitable for small and large teams. Unlike Asana, Basecamp offers a streamlined and easy-to-navigate interface, which can be overwhelming with its extensive feature set.

Basecamp’s straightforward interface and simplified features let you navigate and use the tool easily. Basecamp focuses on providing a clean and efficient project management solution to avoid getting lost in a maze of unnecessary complexities.

Flexibility and adaptability set Basecamp apart as a viable alternative to Asana. You can set up unlimited teams and projects, customize functionalities within them, and enjoy real-time communication capabilities. Basecamp empowers you to tailor the tool precisely to your team’s needs without sacrificing simplicity.

Key benefits of using Basecamp

• Basecamp provides a central location for team communication, progress updates, question-asking, and file sharing.
• You can create project-specific to-do lists and assign tasks to team members.
• The check-in feature facilitates recurring question-based check-ins.
• It integrates with numerous add-ons, power-ups, and extensions to enhance functionality.
• It allows unlimited users and projects with a flat fee, ensuring cost-effective project planning for success.

The tool is ideal for — marketing firms, ad agencies, design shops, client services firms, IT firms, consultants, etc.

2. Infinity

Infinity is an all-in-one project planning and management tool that helps organize all your projects the way you want, collaborate seamlessly with your team, and store all your data in a single place. From 7 views and 22 attributes to various customization options and automation, Infinity can simplify collaboration for teams of all sizes. 

It also offers over 50 ready-made templates to help you get started more easily and integrations to connect to your daily tools. You can decide how to use it — the web, desktop, or your mobile device.

Key benefits of using Infinity

• Neatly organize data into boards, folders, subfolders, and items.
• Choose how to display your data: tables, columns, charts, lists, forms, Gantt charts, or calendars.
• Use 20+ custom attributes to add more context and clarity to projects.
• Automate routine tasks to work better and more efficiently.
• Comment, mention, assign tasks, and more to help your team do their best work.

The tool is ideal for — All business sizes.

3. Trello

Trello is a prominent project management tool — one of the most popular free Asana alternatives. Trello organizes projects into boards inspired by Kanban, a workflow management method. A board is filled with task cards containing notes, attachments, images, documents, and other data to collaborate with teammates.

It lets you create custom boards, lists, and cards to organize your projects and tasks effortlessly. Assign tasks to team members, set due dates, and add comments for seamless collaboration.

Trello adapts to your unique needs with customizable workflows and integrations with popular tools like the TrackingTime button, empowering you to work how you want. You can attach files, checklists, and labels to cards to provide all the necessary information to collaborators. 

Key benefits of using Infinity

• Trello lets you create commands to automate almost any action with Trello’s Butler.
• Trello’s cards can be customized to fit your team’s specific needs, making it a flexible tool for managing different projects.
• You can easily create boards, lists, and cards to represent your projects and tasks visually.
• Integrates with various applications, expanding its functionality and enabling smooth workflow integration.
• The mobile app enables on-the-go access, letting you manage your projects and tasks from anywhere.

The tool is ideal for — All business sizes.

4. Hive

Hive is a project planning and management tool helping thousands of teams work faster. It brings all your workplace tools to one dashboard where you can manage projects, chat with coworkers, send emails, and start Zoom calls without leaving the window. 

Hive offers task management, project planning templates, customizable to-do lists, and time management features to align with your daily workflow. It automates processes for increased efficiency and access information from various sources with seamless integrations.

Key benefits of using Hive

• Hive is available on web browsers and desktop apps for Mac and Windows iOS and Android mobile apps. 
• It offers 6 different project layouts.
• Lets you add more applications like resourcing or timesheets for effective time management.
• Native collaboration tools like messaging, email, and note-taking.
• Integrates with 1000+ other popular workplace tools.

The tool is ideal for — All business sizes.

5. Nifty

Nifty is an all-in-one project management workflow solution bringing communication and collaboration into a single space for scalable work management. The built-in direct messages, project discussions, and task comments bring multi-layered communication into Nifty to eliminate the gap between feedback and action.

Nifty extends its accessibility to include guests, allowing clients and freelancers to join specific projects seamlessly without needing a subscription. This feature creates a more inclusive collaboration experience, where external individuals can actively participate in projects without subscription obligations.

Key benefits of using Nifty

• Roadmap Milestones collect tasks and track their completion progress to automate reporting for project stakeholders. 
• Stores project knowledge, developer documentation, marketing content, and more as Nifty docs or with two-way editable Google Docs Sheets and Slides.
• Elevates your workflow with if/then automation, letting you focus on key tasks.
• Progress reporting and task accountability scales across your Workspace with Overviews, Workloads, All Tasks, and My Work to make your daily work actionable while providing insights at scale.

The tool is ideal for — Tech teams and agencies.

6. ClickUp

ClickUp is a work management software and a free Asana alternative for companies and teams of all sizes. It lets teams manage projects, collaborate smarter, and bring all their work under one tool.

ClickUp offers extensive customization features, surpassing Asana. Users can use custom fields, automated workflows, and seamless integrations to tailor their projects precisely. ClickUp seamlessly integrates with over 1000 work tools, ensuring efficient work processes. 

Its mobile app provides a user-friendly interface to manage projects comprehensively and you can access the web version features on the go.

Key benefits of using ClickUp

• Collaborative Docs to work on SOPs, reports, and copy with your team in real-time.
• Multiple assignees and watchers to keep everyone aligned.
• Whiteboards to brainstorm, keep ideas, and organize workflows, which can be turned into actionable tasks.
• Automation to save time on repetitive tasks or cross-functional work.
• 100+ native integrations to bring all your apps into one platform.

The tool is ideal for — Medium to large businesses

7. SmartTask

SmartTask is an easy-to-use work management tool that can scale without burning a hole in your pocket. It boasts multiple project views — List, Kanban, Calendar, and Timeline. 

Ideal for remote teams, it has features like chat, task comments, and native video calls. Other features include native time-tracking, resource management, and an in-built CRM. For client-centric workflows, you can invite guest users to your projects. 

You can use project templates or set things up from scratch. Regardless, you will speed up your business workflows with it.

Key benefits of using SmartTask

• Easy to set up, especially with onboarding support.
• Allows simple integrations to access features like chat and video conferencing for team members to stay connected.
• Allows simple email invites with contractors and clients at the press of a button. 
• Helps with sales workflows and time-tracking isn’t restricted to the most expensive plan. 

The tool is ideal for — Small and medium businesses.

8. Paymo

Paymo is a versatile project management software to manage projects, track worked hours, and get paid fairly.

In Paymo, users manage their tasks and projects to match their work style, choosing between multiple task views (list, table, Kanban, Calendar, and Gantt), tweaking workflows, assigning tasks, setting priorities & deadlines, and keeping track of their hours worked. Team collaboration is streamlined, with in-app communication, notifications, and file management.

Paymo is a viable Asana alternative thanks to its invoicing and financial tracking features. Users can convert tasks or time outstanding into invoices, bill clients, and get paid via online payment gateways. 

Key benefits of Paymo

• Focus on pressing tasks with ‘My Day’ and ‘Dashboard’.
• Log hours and update project status for accurate progress tracking.
• Lay out employee & project schedules on a timeline with the Team Scheduler.
• Generate detailed reports and visualize key metrics with time management and financial widgets.
• Organize work in a neat workspace with a user-friendly interface and intuitive navigation.

The tool is ideal for — Small businesses, freelancers, and self-employed.

9. ActiveCollab

ActiveCollab is a project management platform for enhanced collaboration, assignment tracking, and completing projects on time. An integrated stopwatch lets each team member track time. All the time records can be viewed and sorted through individual and team Timesheets. 

With ActiveCollab, communicating with clients doesn’t need to clutter up emails. You can invite unlimited clients to projects. The in-app chat lets teams exchange messages and files quickly while they can use discussions and notes for public announcements and documents. 

Managers can benefit from advanced reports that let them see their team’s performance clearly and assess which projects are the most profitable and manage the entire business in one place.

Key benefits of ActiveCollab

• It has enhanced collaboration and communication with teams and clients.
• The balanced workload for all team members.
• Let’s keep track of projects and meeting every deadline.
• Frequent tracking of spent time and money.
• Managing every aspect of work through one app.

The tool is ideal for — Digital marketing agencies, creative professionals, and freelancers.

10. GanttPRO

GanttPRO is a distinguished project management software solution based on Gantt charts. The chart is one of the best tools for planning and managing projects for in-office and remote teams. 

The platform helps small businesses and large enterprises schedule work activities, track tasks, allocate resources, define deadlines, and collaborate with everyone involved. It empowers teams to create unlimited projects and work with unlimited resources, even using a free trial. 

GanttPRO has various user-friendly Gantt chart templates that provide an easy start for any team. You can even export and import timelines.

Key benefits of GanttPRO

• Intuitive Gantt chart for advanced planning.
• Task and resource management.
• Сost and budget management.
• Handy reporting and time tracker.
• Helpful templates for an easy start.

The tool is ideal for — small businesses and large enterprises.

11. Toggl Plan

Toggl Plan is a simple project and resource management software. It comes with drag-and-drop timelines to manage your team and project schedules. These timelines give a clear overview of your team’s workload and project progress. As a result, you can easily allocate people to projects and tasks without conflicting with other project schedules or time off.

The Team timeline helps visualize your team’s capacity, thus letting you know if you can take on more projects or need to hire more people. 

Key benefits of the Toggl Plan

• Plan, manage, and track team and project schedules with simple, visual, drag-and-drop timelines.
• Get a clear overview of your team’s capacity for more work.
• Manage team workloads visually to ensure no team member is over or under-worked.
• Bill clients accurately by tracking time spent on tasks using the Toggl Track integration.
• Track project progress by comparing actual vs. estimated effort and percentage of tasks completed.

The tool is ideal for — Marketing and creative agencies, consultancies, architects, legal firms, accountants, software teams, etc.

12. Chisel

Chisel is a product management software that helps teams build better products faster. It provides a single place to manage product roadmaps, collect feedback, and track progress. 

It is a powerful tool that helps product teams build better products faster. It is easy to use and affordable, making it an excellent option for teams of all sizes.

Product teams can create and manage product roadmaps and share them with stakeholders and team members to collaborate in real-time. You can easily collect feedback from customers and users through surveys, polls, and direct messages.

Key benefits of using Chisel

• Teams can align their product vision and strategy for better decision-making and a more cohesive product.
• Can integrate with various sales, engineering, & customer support tools.
• Teams can collect and act on customer feedback for more user-friendly products that meet customers’ needs.
• You can track progress and identify bottlenecks for faster product development and time to market.
• It saves time and money.

The tool is ideal for — product management and development teams.

Track Your Projects with Free Asana Alternatives

These low-cost to free Asana alternatives are ideal for project tracking without breaking the bank. With a host of features each product offers, choosing the right one is up to your specific requirements.

Consider these aspects before bidding farewell to Asana:

• Budget
• Team size
• Daily requirements

Once you know all your needs, choosing the best Asana alternative becomes straightforward.

About the Author

Mehdi Hussen is a SaaS marketing and organic growth consultant. He helps SaaS businesses drive organic growth and customer acquisition through SEO and data-driven content marketing strategies. Mehdi spends his spare time musing about startup growth strategies, personal productivity, and remote work. Connect with him through Twitter. 

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