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Best Project Management Apps for Teams 2022
A growing number of people are working in a virtual office. In order to communicate and get things done, the right platform is needed. We searched for the best app - and we found it!

Table of Contents
Trending for a reason
Practically everyone working online in 2021 has heard of Asana. If you haven't - you've been missing out. This awesome platform has been gaining thousands of new users with each passing day. We must agree that the attention it has been getting is fully deserved.
Why we chose Asana:
- A robust solution enables you to manage multiple teams at once
- The options are too numerous to mention yet each can be of great value to an experienced team leader
- Great for use in business as well as more personal projects
- Perfectly free yet fully functional for small teams of 14 people or less
- Most functional app of all the platforms tested, which is great for working on the go (or when you're not ready to get out of bed)
- Larger teams cost more at $10.99 per user/mo for Premium or $24.99 per user/mo for Business
If you're looking for an all-encompassing solution that will be easy to use yet reliable at all times - this is the one to go for.
Read Asana's Full ReviewPlay it smart
Tired of constructing every single project from scratch? Don't want to bother with Google Sheets? Would prefer to start with a good template? Then this app is the one for you.
Why we chose Smartsheet:
- Offers a large array of presets - depending on what sort of business you run
- The interface can be tweaked to suit your needs and completely exclude unnecessary features from your view.
- Dozens of templates for every sort of task and project
- Free to use for 30 days, $14 per month afterward
Smarthsheet is a good solution for those who don't have time to fiddle with complicated steps but, instead, want to start working immediately.
Read Smartsheet's Full ReviewMuch more than just the basic solution
The third spot on our list is reserved for Basecamp 3. An amazing platform for anyone running a big business, this could be the solution to most (if not all) of your project-planning and task-managing problems.
Why we chose Basecamp 3:
- An excellent system for really large businesses
- Ability to adapt to just about any type of project
- Massive amount of cloud storage space that allows you to upload huge media files
- The Personal plan is completely free, while an extremely comprehensive Business plan will set you back $99 per month
Despite the somewhat steep price, we simply had to include this one. It's too good to miss.
Read Basecamp 3's Full ReviewEverything We Recommend
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Our PickAsana is the easiest way to manage team projects and your individual tasks. From the small stuff to the big picture, Asana organizes work so you and your teams are clear on what to do, when to do it, and how to get it done.
✓ USE ASANA WHEREVER YOU ARE
Access Asana on mobile or on the web. Project management doesn’t stop at your desk—no matter where you are, stay focused and keep your team’s work on track.
✓ GET ORGANIZED
Set up different projects to bring your team’s work together in one shared space. Break the workload down into manageable tasks and give them a clear owner and due date. Choose a project view that suits your style—lists, kanban boards, or calendar.
✓ IMPROVE FOCUS
Boost your productivity with My Tasks, where you can see all the work that’s been assigned to you in one to-do list. Prioritize your work easily—drag & drop tasks into Asana’s built-in sections, create your own custom checklist sections, or sort by different dimensions.
✓ STAY CONNECTED
Keep collaboration going, wherever you are. Communicate with your teammates by liking, commenting, or attaching files directly to tasks. And get automatic updates about the projects and tasks that matter to you delivered directly to your Inbox.
✓ AND DO EVEN MORE— ALL WITH ONE TOOL
Visit the web app to see how all of your projects are progressing with Portfolios. Personalize task management with Custom Fields to capture important information about your tasks. Choose timeline view for projects to see a Gantt chart with task dependencies. And unlock the ability to track company goals and milestones with Goals.
Join more than 100,000 organizations and millions of users worldwide who trust Asana to stay organized and in control of their work.
Asana’s WORK GRAPH™️ represents every task, project, and goal in your organization. Which means the Work Graph™️ creates integrity, visibility, and coordination between every team and every department. All in one place.
Download the Asana work management app now.
By downloading Asana, you agree to our Terms of Service, which you can find at https://asana.com/terms.CostFreeFreeIn-App PurchasesNoNo -
Runner UpGetting started is easy! Either sign in with your existing Smartsheet account or enter your email to sign up for a free 30-day trial. Join millions of other innovative users and upgrade to a paid account at any time.
Maximize the productivity of your team on the go. Use Smartsheet, a work execution platform that empowers better collaboration and decision making. Smartsheet accelerates innovation in 190 countries for 80,000+ leading brands—including 75% of the Fortune 500.
Manage projects and tasks, automate workflows, collaborate with your team, and maximize productivity, anytime, anywhere!
With Smartsheet you can:
COLLABORATE WITH YOUR TEAM
• Seamlessly create, share, and collaborate with your team on projects, wherever you are, between desktop and mobile.
• Access your projects, tasks, workflows, and sheets anytime.
• Get business collaboration tools on your mobile device.
• Review and edit documents and sheets that your team is working on.
ORGANIZE PROJECTS & TASKS
• Use sheets to oversee tasks and workflows, plan projects, and maximize the productivity of your team.
• Add assignees, due dates, followers, checklists, predecessors, and files to your tasks and follow the progress of your projects.
• Choose how to visualize tasks switching between grid, card, Gantt, and calendar views with the same data.
• Keep everyone on the same page. Attach files from Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and more.
• Send automated update and approval requests to streamline work and reduce the need for meetings.
• View or edit your sheets on any device.
AUTOMATE WORKFLOWS
• Implement simple and powerful automated workflows in minutes.
• Automate repetitive processes by sending alerts, requesting approvals and updates, and locking rows based on sheet changes and preset times.
WORK IN ONE PLACE
• See work alongside key conversations, decisions, and rationale in one place—improve project visibility across your organization.
• Share spreadsheets with others to view, edit, or add comments, and collaborate anywhere.
COLLECT INFORMATION WITH FORMS
• Collect data from the field with forms, capture and upload images, or scan barcodes with your mobile device.
• Easily collect and act on error-free, consistent data from internal and external stakeholders.
• Quickly create forms that automatically map to the columns in your sheets.
• Ask the right people the right questions with conditional logic in forms.
• Provide easy access by embedding forms on dashboards and websites, or by sharing a unique link.
TAKE ACTION & INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY
• Get notifications to your Inbox about the projects, tasks, and workflows you’re following.
• Act on requests and approvals or update status in card view on the go.
VIEW WORK STATUS IN REAL TIME
• Easily view and manage your dashboards, sheets, and more in real-time from your phone, so you always know the status of work.
• Give project owners, stakeholders, and leadership a robust, real-time view into the status of top KPIs, critical trends, and summary reports.
• Rapidly adapt to changing conditions and identify trends with easy-to-use widgets that display live data, charts, and key metrics.
• Easily customize Smartsheet to show and share what matters. Use Smartsheet's easy-to-use drag-and-drop UI.
WORK SEAMLESSLY WITH YOUR FAVORITE APPS
• Smartsheet's out-of-the-box integrations enable real-time synchronization and visibility with many of the apps you use, so you can easily track tasks, compile data in spreadsheets, and work and collaborate with your team, all in one place.
BUILD PURPOSE BUILT APPS WITHOUT CODING
• WorkApps is a no-code platform for building intuitive web and mobile apps to streamline your business and simplify collaboration.
Smartsheet is the leading work execution and project management platform. Smartsheet is built to plan, capture, manage, automate, and report on work at scale.
To learn more about Smartsheet, visit https://www.smartsheet.com.CostFreeFreeIn-App PurchasesNo$94.99 per item -
Also GroovyUse your company's Basecamp 3 account on-the-go, or start up your own Basecamp today with a free 30 day trial. Plans start at $99 a month. Details here: https://basecamp.com/pricing
Graduate to Basecamp.
All growing businesses run into the same fundamental problems. Hair on fire, buried under email, stuff everywhere. The good news? Basecamp solves them.
✔ Everything will be in one organized place
✔ Everyone will be on the same page
✔ Projects will get off the ground faster
✔ You'll know exactly what’s going on
✔ You'll free up time spent on meetings
From 2004 all the way up to today, more and more businesses are choosing the Basecamp way. Over 4,000 businesses signed up last week to get results.
The problems teams deal with mostly boil down to stuff scattered in too many places — emails, chat threads, Word docs, etc. That makes things easy to miss and hard to find, which leads to communication gaps, preventable emergencies, and extra work.
Single purpose project management and chat apps can't fix this problem — they can only make it worse. Basecamp is different. It combines all the tools teams need in a single, straightforward package that makes work feel like less work.
We use Basecamp to make software (Basecamp!), discuss ideas, plan marketing campaigns, share pet pics — you get the idea. It's a one stop shop for all the things teams do together.
Hungry for more? See the full feature list here: https://basecamp.com/3/featuresCostFreeFreeIn-App PurchasesNoNo
The 411 from our Appventurer
How we tested?
This is a category that is very close to our line of business. In fact, for work, we constantly rely on such platforms to reach our goals. This is why we at AppGrooves approached this task with particular attention to detail. Considering the number of features available as well as the innate ability of each app to adapt to the needs of different industries was essential. They are, after all, intended to be used by bankers, media people, and those working in retail alike.
Of course, the speed of execution and the presence (or, hopefully, absence) of crashing was a top priority. We also asked an important question - does the app work on its own, or do you have to keep referring to the website?
Last but not least, we also paid attention to the visual aspect. After all, if you use any of these for work, chances are you will be staring into them for hours. It will be better if they're easy on the eye.
Why get the app?
We live in a time that is markedly different than the years we've gone through so far. Why we need such apps in 2021? Because of the pandemic, of course. Staying safe is everyone's top priority, and picking one of these for your business will make this so much easier. They are covid-safe, through and through.
Apart from that, we should also mention the natural advantages of remote work. From flexibility to reduced costs - more and more businesses and employees are seeing the benefits of this model. In such circumstances, a good communication tool is an absolute must.
You can literally take your business to the next level with one of these bad boys. Delegate tasks, send messages, plan well ahead - and be able to monitor even the slightest bit of the process. From start to completion, your project will be a success.
More About Asana: Our Pick
Asana seems to have garnered a good deal of praise in the last year or so. Its enormous popularity appears to rest on its great quality, so we decided to give it a go and see if it lives up to its fame. Surprisingly enough, we got exactly what we expected - a thoroughly good, easy-to-use platform that covers all the needs the average business person may have. We practically have no complaints. Let's start at the beginning, shall we?
You begin your journey by setting up a profile - or simply signing in with Google. You can then join an existing team or create your own. The first page you will be confronted with is a list of projects that you will slowly but surely populate with important tasks. You will be able to sort them by most recent and even look through any saved favorites. It is possible to search by task name, description, users involved, and apply many other criteria to filter the entries.
It is also possible to review individual tasks, always have a clear notion of the due dates, and receive a notification whenever a deadline is approaching. Everything is at the palm of your hand and no more than a few taps away. The inbox will serve to store private messages and notifications of any mentions. Starting a new conversation will also be beyond easy, and attaching important files is only limited by your internet connection speed.
Currently, active tasks are not the only thing you can browse through. Already completed and even archived projects will also be available - even if they're a couple of years old. Unlike Slack, which tends to wipe everything away after a while (unless you pay, that is), Asana stores your entire database for a very long time.
Notifications, as well as emails, are available to remind you of any important events or due dates but, if you need to, you can always snooze them for a limited amount of time. This will give you a chance to rest and recharge your batteries. If anything goes wrong with the app, you can always contact customer support (through your browser) but, chances are, this won't be necessary. The software is sturdy and, in our experience, performs without a flaw. The layout leaves zero room for mistakes.
However, the pricing can sometimes be a source of confusion, so it's important to note how that bit works. As of 2021, you can use Asana with up to 14 other people free of charge. If you want to include more members in your team, there are a couple of options available to you. Premium will set you back $10.99 for each additional user, while Asana Business (which comes with several additional perks) will cost $24.99 per user. These are prices worth paying for such a reliable platform.
Snags but not drags:
It would be unfair to our readers to pretend that Asana is perfect. It isn't. Nothing in this world is. This app does, however, come pretty darn close. Perhaps the biggest challenge we encountered is the ease of use. While it ran smoothly for us - seasoned professionals in the business - we noticed a few odd bits that the beginner may struggle with. The whole system may take a day or two to get used to. Afterward, anyone will be able to take full advantage of its powerful features.
This substantial piece of software has another, albeit minor, issue. Getting mentioned or tagged in a post automatically generates an email (which can be turned off) and a notification. The latter tends to be a few minutes late, which, in lines of work where every second count, could prove a bit frustrating. Still, the general majority of business people won't even notice this tiny flaw.
More About Smartsheet: Runner Up
When it comes to apps as comprehensive as this, the possibilities are practically endless. We are talking about a solution that covers many different scenarios. Compared to its competitors, it offers something quite different. Let's put it this way - Asana is a blank canvas you can paint on, Smartsheet is a box of tools you can play with.
Once you sign up, you will face the most important question of all - what is it that you would like to achieve? The first option is to manage projects, which is something most users are likely to opt for. Another allows you to track requests and is an excellent way to go if you are in a business that relies heavily on customer service.
There are two other scenarios that the apps cover - capturing information and visualizing it. This sets Smartsheet apart from all other platforms and positions it at the cross-section between Asana and Google Sheets. It is an excellent system to use if you are working in analytics of any kind - be it banking, media, or even healthcare. You will quickly get a clear idea of where you stand and how you can improve your performance.
Our main goal was, of course, to manage projects in our company. That's what we focused on, and, in that respect, the app performed as good as any. Within this part of the platform, additional presets and templates were available to use. Each was tailor-made for a certain task - from regular projects, organizing individual tasks to covering barcode inventory management, bug tracking, and event planning. It's about as comprehensive as it gets.
Of course, with such a massive platform, it is easy to get lost. Luckily, the search function makes plowing through thousands of individual tasks a lot easier. You can also push notifications to take action immediately - if that is what your job demands. Creating conversation is equally easy.
Perhaps our only complaint is that going back to square one is borderline impossible. If you've picked one major goal to focus on - be it project management or data gathering - you will need to perform quite a bit of digital gymnastics to create another separate ecosystem devoted to a different kind of objective. Once you pick your template, you're pretty much stuck and need to create a completely new account to manage the other thing. If you are working for more than one company, you will definitely need to do this.
Still, with the sheer number of scenarios covered and the wealth of templates and presets available, this app had to be included in our top 3. If only the last bit were a bit easier, it could've beat Asana. Still, for now, its second spot is guaranteed.
More About Basecamp 3: Also Groovy
Awesome as they may be, Asana and Smartsheet are apps best suited for small to medium-sized teams. Basecamp 3, on the other hand, allows you to dream big. No conglomerate is too large for its scope. In fact, if you go for the premium option, there is no limit to the number of team members you can add. Seriously. Still, let us cover the basics first.
The beginning is standard enough - sign up, create a new team, launch a new project, and you're good to go. Functionality is consistent. There is no lag, no glitches, and the app is free from the tendency to crash that some others have a habit of cultivating. In short, the technical aspect is more than sound, even if we do tend to be nit-picky in this department.
There is nothing to complain about, and the navigation can only be described as smooth sailing. The visual theme is nice enough - a tasteful combo of while, yellow, and black - that gives an impression of a busy beehive.
With Basecamp 3, it is very easy to track your assignments, save drafts, plan well in advance, and manage more than a few entirely separate teams. In fact, this is the bit where the app shines the brightest.
As we have already mentioned, this platform aims to cover more ground than any other. It offers most of the options its competition has - but on a larger scale. Naturally, this will come at a price. No less than $99 per month, in fact, which is something that will discourage most small business owners.
This will, of course, be understandable. The app does, after all, focus on major players in the field, companies employing hundreds or even thousands of professionals. For such corporate giants, this platform is practically ideal. Managing a large team yet keeping it simple enough for anyone to understand is in itself an art.
Again, the price for the Pro plan is pretty hefty but, for your money, you will be getting quite a few features that will serve well any big business. Unlimited users, unlimited projects, 500 GB of storage space, and so much more. Still, due to the price tag, we couldn't give this excellent app the top spot. After all, we do care about our reader's finances and, if you're just starting, you simply won't be able to invest that much into the process. For any big player, however, this will be your go-to for sure. If in doubt, you have an entire month's time to test the Pro version for free.
Other Apps Considered
This surprisingly large platform offers a considerable number of options that can be tweaked to suit just about any line of business. It is mostly a good solution but, unfortunately, suffers one major drawback. Larger files such as audio tracks or videos can take forever to upload. We're talking hours for some genuinely chunky pieces - regardless of the speed of your connection. Also, the app has a tendency to buffer an entire video before playing, which makes things even slower. Many users will be forced to use DropBox instead, which creates unnecessary confusion. It's not a good look for an app that aims to be all-encompassing and a go-to solution for remote work.
A middle of the road solution, it is not exactly memorable in any way. The app is simply not quite there yet. Scheduling tasks is a bit slow and not as streamlined as one would wish it to be. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it won't. The rest of the features are more or less ok, but the app itself remains barely average. It is good enough to be used if you are forced to do it but not exactly great enough for you to choose it on your own.
With deep nesting tasks and robust API, Quite boasts an easy user interface with no clunky bits. Everything tends to run smoothly but, the more you use it, the more tiny little flaws you will discover. For example, the platform doesn't allow you to add more than 20 different projects, which is a limit that even a small-scale business will reach. It may work if you have no more than 3 employees but, in all other circumstances, you will be better off opting for another solution. If we also add restricted offline usage to the mix, it is quite obvious that Quire won't get a passing grade from us.
This little ecosystem boasts some pretty cool features like searching team members by their phone number and using filters to look for specific reports. Extremely configurable and adaptable to anyone's needs, it, unfortunately, suffers from severe connectivity problems. Even if your wifi is solid and you're standing right next to the router, it may still report an error. We found this quite odd and definitely not something that would recommend the app to a wide user base. This has, obviously, soured our experience. We are, after all, talking about a communication platform and, nowadays, said communication happens online. A definite pass - until they fix this bit, at least.
This up and coming contender is not yet quite as famous as some of the others. It is, however, well worth a try. It is not only useful in business but also in life. Yes, MeisterTask crosses that boundary and can cover projects such as organizing a wedding or moving house. Of course, its main focus is still the corporate world. It is flexible enough but will sometimes crash while you're trying to update a task - and exhibit a few other minor glitches along the way. These are growing pains that this relatively new app will soon overcome. Luckily, the crash usually won't affect your progress, and all of your changes will somehow be saved. Odd but true. In a year or two, perhaps, this could be a serious threat to Asana.
The colorful design and a wealth of features are the hallmarks of this app. It is playful yet serious enough to cover most of your needs. Still, the features will often strike you as poorly arranged. The interface is not intuitive at all. It takes a good deal of time to get used to. Sometimes you will simply feel as if you were running in circles. Such a steep learning curve makes this platform less than ideal. In our book, a project management app is no good if you have to spend a long time teaching yourself how to do it - only to go back to square one once you try to help your employees figure it all out. Definitely not something for those who are short on time and need an oven-ready solution.
Somewhat similar to monday.com, it is another one you need to devote your time to. This will be fine if you have someone to show you the ropes - otherwise, it's a "no" from us at AppGrooves. Upgrading is also something you should commit to at your own peril. Don't get us wrong - it's an ok app once you get the hang of it - but it's also the sort of thing that you will use only if your boss absolutely demands it. Otherwise, you will likely skip it - just like we intend to do in the future.
Stefan Racic
My phone tends to be filled to the brim with apps I am either trying on for size of using on a regular basis. I use them for a variety of tasks, including sketching and creating art, keeping in touch with friends, being up to date with the latest news, learning about diverse spiritual practices and, of course, playing games!
With over 10 years of experience as a translator and writer, I channel my creativity into writing about things I enjoy. My education in business (I hold a bachelor's degree in operations management) is but one part of expertise. I have worked for art magazines, spiritual blogs, news and business sites, and now I explore the fascinating world of apps.
My previous work is as diverse as my interests. Fresh out of college, I was employed as a translator and interpreter at the fringes of the corporate world and the NGO sector. After switching to writing, I first focused on business news, then shifted to working for a series of art magazines (WideWalls perhaps being the most well known), and even wrote content for a couple of spirituality-focused apps for Labyrinthos Academy. Little did I know that I would eventually devote a good chunk of my time to writing about all sorts of interesting new apps out there.
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Even before the pandemic, the business world has already been shifting online. The process was slow but constant. COVID-19 has served as the final push. The move was inevitable.
Still, this new sort of mode comes with its challenges. To get things done, we need a safe and secure platform to serve as a virtual workplace. It also needs to be fast and fully functional. So, which one is the best? We found the best answer is Asana for its fantastic features at an affordable price, but we have a few other picks for large businesses and freaks in the spreadsheets.