Best Project Management software comparison in 2026
Select desired functions and get a comparison of which project management software alternative suits your needs best.
How did we compare them?
Easy8 is our platform, so read this comparison knowing that. To keep it useful, every claim here is checkable: prices come from each vendor's public pricing page (checked August 2026), deployment facts from vendor documentation and news from vendors. We compared each tool on five criteria:
- Project planning depth: Gantt Charts, dependencies, baselines, agile boards
- Scope beyond projects: helpdesk, knowledge management, time tracking, finance
- Pricing: entry cost, what the cheap tier actually includes, cost at 10+ users
- Deployment and data control: cloud, private cloud, on-premises
- Fit: the team each tool genuinely serves best
Top 6 Project Management software comparison
Prices are list prices per user per month with annual billing, checked in August 2026.
|
Easy8 |
Jira |
ClickUp |
monday.com |
Asana |
MS Planner |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hybrid project management (Agile + Waterfall) |  |
 |
|
|
|
|
| Gantt Chart & dependencies | |
|
|
|
|
|
| Resource management | |
|
|
|
|
|
| Built-in time tracking | |
|
|
|
 |
|
| Helpdesk ticketing | |
|
|
|
|
|
| Knowledge base | |
|
|
|
|
|
| AI features | |
|
|
|
|
|
| On-premises | |
|
|
|
|
|
| Open source available | |
|
|
|
|
|
| Free version | |
|
|
|
|
|
| Starting price (per user/month) | €6.90 | $7.91 | $7 | €9 | €10.99 | $10 |
What features should project management software include?
Before comparing brands, agree on the capabilities your team actually needs. These are the ten that separate a task list from a project platform:
- Task management: assignees, due dates, priorities, subtasks and checklists. Every tool here covers the basics; the differences appear in dependencies and recurring work.
- Gantt Charts: visual timelines with finish-to-start logic. Standard in Easy8, Smartsheet, Wrike and ClickUp; a paid upgrade in monday.com and Microsoft Planner; absent in Basecamp.
- Agile boards: Scrum and Kanban with backlogs and sprints. Jira defines the category; Easy8, ClickUp and monday.com cover it well for mixed teams.
- Resource management: see who carries too much, who has room, and what that does to the plan. This is where cheap tiers thin out fastest; check whether the plan includes it or sells it as an add-on.
- Time tracking: timers and timesheets tied to tasks. Built into Easy8, ClickUp and Wrike; missing natively in Asana and Basecamp, where teams bolt on another subscription.
- Reporting and dashboards: portfolio views, burndown, budget versus actuals. Smartsheet and Easy8 are strongest out of the box at this price level.
- Collaboration: comments, mentions, file sharing and shared docs. Basecamp and ClickUp make this the core of the product.
- Automations and integrations: rules that move work along, plus connections to your stack. Asana and monday.com lead on no-code rules; Easy8 connects through n8n, whose public directory lists 1,800+ ready-made integrations (n8n.io, August 2026).
- Work beyond projects: helpdesk tickets, knowledge bases, CRM. Most tools ignore this; Easy8 builds it in, which is the difference between a PM tool and a WorkOps platform.
- Deployment and security: certifications, data residency, and whether an on-premises option exists at all. See the deployment section below; the market has narrowed to very few choices.
Score your shortlist against these ten before you look at a single price. A tool missing your must-have feature is expensive at any price.
Try Easy8 free for 30 days
See whether one WorkOps platform can replace your project, helpdesk and knowledge stack. Securely. Full feature access, cloud or private cloud, and our team helps with setup.
What do users say about Easy8?
Vladimir Zharov
"Easy8 met our needs out of the box. The product is feature rich and the price is low compared to products with similar features. We are satisfied with the performance of the product and would not hesitate to choose it again."
Elmar Branch
"We use Easy8 to simplify our work in managing projects. We made a few tweaks ourselves to this Open source application but we are overall very satisfied."
Easy8 is IPMA-compatible project management software
SHINE Consulting Ltd.- holder of accreditation of the Project Management Training Program “Project Management in Practice” (International Standard IPMA) and is also a member of the PMI R.E.P. Registered Education Provider. **The PMI Registered Education Provider logo is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
