Best Free Project Management Tools (And Their Limits)

Compare free plans for ClickUp, Asana, Monday, Trello, Jira. What's actually free and when you'll be forced to upgrade.

📊 Ranked by estimated monthly cost (advertised price + recurring documented fees)•🔄 Prices change often — confirm on the vendor's site before buying.•9 tools compared
#1

Slack

Team messaging and collaboration hub. Free plan has a 90-day message history limit that forces upgra

$0/mo$8/mo

estimated monthly cost (advertised + recurring fees)

90-Day Message History Limit: +$0/moPer-User Cost at Scale: +$0/moSlack Connect External Channels: +$8/mo
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#2

Linear

Modern issue tracking for software teams. Free for up to 250 issues, then $8-$14/user/mo. Clean and

$0/mo$12/mo

estimated monthly cost (advertised + recurring fees)

250 Active Issue Limit on Free: +$0/moGuest Access Requires Plus: +$6/moAdvanced Features on Plus Only: +$6/mo
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#3

Trello

Atlassian's visual Kanban board tool. Free plan is limited by Power-Up restrictions, automation caps

$5/mo$20/mo

estimated monthly cost (advertised + recurring fees)

Power-Up Limit on Free: +$5/moAutomation Command Caps: +$5/moView Restrictions: +$5/mo
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#4

ClickUp

All-in-one project management with docs, whiteboards, and goals. Free plan is generous but paid plan

$10/mo$37/mo

estimated monthly cost (advertised + recurring fees)

Per-Seat Multiplication: +$0/moAI Brain Add-on: +$27/mo60MB Storage on Free: +$0/mo
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#5

Calendly

Scheduling automation platform. Free for 1 event type, then $10-$16/seat/mo — but team features, rou

$0/mo$37/mo

estimated monthly cost (advertised + recurring fees)

Team Features Require Teams Plan: +$6/moRouting Add-On: +$6/moSMS Notifications: +$25/mo
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#6

Asana

Work management platform for teams. Free for up to 10 users, then per-seat pricing with minimum seat

$0/mo$53/mo

estimated monthly cost (advertised + recurring fees)

Seat Minimum on Paid Plans: +$13/moAI Features Add-On: +$10/moPortfolio & Goals Feature Gate: +$17/mo
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#7

Monday.com

Work management platform with customizable workflows. Minimum 3-seat requirement and per-seat pricin

$12/mo$72/mo

estimated monthly cost (advertised + recurring fees)

Minimum 3-Seat Requirement: +$18/moZero Automations on Basic: +$9/mo250 Actions/Month on Standard: +$21/mo
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#8

Zoom

Video conferencing and collaboration platform. Free plan has a 40-minute meeting limit. Add-ons for

$13.32/mo$161.32/mo

estimated monthly cost (advertised + recurring fees)

40-Minute Free Meeting Limit: +$0 per useZoom Phone Add-On: +$10/moZoom Rooms Add-On: +$49/mo
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#9

Jira

Atlassian's issue and project tracker, the industry standard for software teams. Free for 10 users,

$8.15/mo$546.15/mo

estimated monthly cost (advertised + recurring fees)

10-User Free Tier Ceiling: +$0/moMarketplace Add-On Stacking: +$30/moAdmin & Configuration Overhead: +$500/mo
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