The Best Project Management and Collaboration Tools for Remote Working Teams

In the last year so many businesses have shifted to a distributed format to keep running during the pandemic and have decided to keep working remotely due to the higher productivity they’ve found and after getting positive feedback from their team members from the remote work experience!

However, managing large teams and projects online is not easy at the start.

Why a Reliable Project Management & Collaboration Tool Is Essential For Remote Teams?

The secret to a successful project is an effectively aligned teamwork and cooperation.

This can’t be attained without a fluid online communication. Deadlines have to be met, instructions have to be given. Ideas float around as well.

This is where online project management tools come in, from group chats, video conference, to digital boards, online calendar and scheduling system, documents group editing and more… they provide handy and secured features to communicate and efficiently achieve different type of remote work tasks, both synchronously as well as asynschronously.

Choosing Your Remote Project Management Tool

What are the features to consider while choosing the most suitable software for your team? 

• Worth: Considering the investment, is the system giving you the optimum features for your needs?
• Usability: The complexity of the tool can become a challenge when effectively adopting it, especially for employees with minimum prior experience. The simpler and more user-friendly it is, the better.
• Adoption: How easily can such a tool be adopted by your organization, and incorporate different functions of your business and their unique workflows into one platform.
• Integration: Integration makes sure all your tools work correctly and in harmony with each other, so is fundamental to check if your product management tool can be effectively integrated with the ones you already use in your organization.

List Of Top Management Tools to Choose From

Here’s a list of the best project management and collaboration tools.

1. Asana
2. Basecamp
3. Clickup
4. Monday
5. Teamwork
6. Todoist
7. Notion
8. Trello

 Read on to explore which one is best for your business and team.

1.   Asana

The software founded by Moskovitz and Rosenstein came into origin in 2012. And soon revolutionized the project management experience. It basically keeps a check on the work in progress. It includes monitoring the person conducting the task, deadlines, and significant operations.

Jonathan Berthold, VP Customer Acquisitionat PathIQ says:

“I’ve used Asana to manage projects with teams internally, as well as projects with freelancers. The integration w/ programs like Slack & Harvest makes it pretty useful for full-scale agency management. Best part of Asana is using custom fields.”

Lidia Infante, Senior International SEO Strategist at Rise at Seven, agrees:

“It allows a lot of personalisation, tags and sections are helpful for organisation, the collaborator feature is good for keeping track of others and the forms are useful for dev and design teams. Plus it’s super user friendly.”

For the longest time, it has been unbeatable among many of its kind. With various updates over time, it’s still a decent platform for some exclusive tasks.

Asana is four-tier:

• Basic (free version)
• Premium ($13.49 per person per month)
• Business ($30.49 per person per month)
• Enterprise (company should be contacted for price quote)

What makes the app distinct is its flexibility. The recent addition of templates allows users the experience of their choice. One is a more customized type where users get to choose the parts of their projects to be tracked. The other is a more restricted model. It doesn’t allow for too much flexibility.

Another unique feature includes its ability to manage ongoing work as well as project-based tasks. While most project management apps only manage complex projects. Examples of the tasks it can handle include marketing campaigns or fundraisers.

The perk is it introduces new features annually. The current one is the Project Overview tab. It comprises a landing page. This has a summary of information for plans shaped using Asana.

Asana Goals is another recent feature. However, it’s available only for Business and Enterprise accounts. It enables users to set goals and review the progress made towards them.

Others are Custom rules builder, Admin Console updates, and Workload and Portfolios.

Asana has Android and iOS versions available as well in addition to native use on any browser.

Its security includes the TLS 1.1 protocol. For users, it allows retaining private information without hindering collaboration.

PROS

• Flexible, fast, and contemporary design
• Proficient free version
• Various features

CONS

• Lacking resource management tools
• Not idyllic for graphics-intensive tasks
• Budgeting and expense tracking not included

Are you an Asana user and would like to leave your review? You can do it so in the Asana profile in our Remote Work Tools section here!

2. Basecamp

Basecamp was introduced in 2004. It may often be identified as a project management software but is actually a collaboration app. This is due to its flexibility and lack of Gantt charts.

Alex Wright, Head of Search at Clicky Media, says:

“We’re currently using a mix of Basecamp and Toggl Plan – I’m finding that Toggl Plan is much better for setting up weekly/monthly workflows, but Basecamp is good for basic task management!”

It works on both Windows and macOS. Android and iPhone versions are also present.

The offered services can be broken into:

• Basecamp Personal: Limited, but free: 3 projects, 20 users, 1GB storage space.
• Basecamp: US$ 99 per month.

You start by creating a team, choosing your username, and the type of project you want to conduct. It lets you choose between a card-style or list-style homepage.

Project management on Basecamp is not complex. It doesn’t require scheduling and deadlines. These are the distinguishing features of project management apps.

The privacy policy is very suitable. Since everything is private by default, users can specifically allow others to only view certain parts of their project. Features such as “view-only access” enable you to let clients view projects without edits.

In-depth features include:

• Message Board: Used for declarations and progress renews
• Campfire: Allows real-time discussions
• To-dos: for task management
• Schedule: A calendar that can be personally synced
• Automatic Check-ins: For entering status accounts
• Docs & Files: Where people upload work-related content.
• My Stuff: To show tasks you’ve been assigned

Pros

• Tremendously easy to set up
• Flat monthly price for unlimited users
• Supports integration with other apps and services
• Flexible

Cons

• Networks can feel siloed
• Restricted reports

Are you a Basecamp user and would like to leave your review? You can do it so in the Basecamp profile in our Remote Work Tools section here!

3. Clickup

Clickup entered the list of project management software in 2016 and soon became an all-round solution for productive task management. Now 200,000+ teams in companies like Uber, Airbnb, and Google are using the app. Other than the browser versions, it’s available for Android or iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms.

Simon Stafferton, Owner and MD of Stafferton Consulting, says:

“We have also used all others in the list before, the only one that ticks all boxes is Clickup. It can be as simple or as complex as you want, is so flexible and a pleasure to use. Love it! We focus on the work now, not the tools.”

Pricing schedules are as follows:

• Starting from: $5.00/month
• Pricing model: Free, Subscription
• Free Trial: Available

The cloud-based project management platform encompasses various scheduling features:

• Time Estimates: Enables time estimation and task splitting between assignees
• Start And Due Dates: Allows putting deadlines to task for milestone achievement
• Scheduling: To add spontaneous tasks to the Time-view schedule and stay on-top-of of deadlines
• Calendar Sync: To sync third-party calendars with planned assignments in ClickUp
• Automation: Allows automation of recurring tasks in project roadmap using customizable sequences of Triggers, Actions, and Conditions,
• Goals: Divides project tasks into distinguished Goals and Targets to help track attainments and preserve progress momentum
• Kanban Board: To carry out Agile workflow management using simple statuses to aid accurate interpretation of project progress
• Mind Maps: Allow users to draw free from Mind Maps to coordinate project-related proposals easily

Pros

• Easy-to-use user-interface
• Feature-rich and free forever versions
• Offline Mode working from anywhere and task syncing whenever an internet connection is available
• Convenient for project managers to plan tasks and cope timelines with the interactive Gantt Chart view
• Clip for screen recording
• Notepad to jot down ideas
• Notifications enabled on browser, web, and mobile app

Cons

• Users can’t export Dashboards from ClickUp
• Too many selections for customization.

Are you a Clickup user and would like to leave your review? You can do it so in the Clickup profile in our Remote Work Tools section here!

4. Monday

Previously known as “daPulse”, Monday came into the market in 2012. It isn’t essentially a project management app. More like a group of exceedingly personalized spreadsheets. Here teammates register their tasks and report progress by status updates and appropriate information.

Kara Thurkettle, Senior Marketing Consultant at Coderus says:

“Monday – I love it. The customisation options are great in terms of layout but the automations inside save loads of time notifying people when stuff is ready. Each team member has their own dashboard as well laying out their weekly schedule, quote of the day and more.”

Available versions include web apps or mobile devices (iOS and Android). The initial setup is not very complicated. It uses a customizable grid(called boards) for structure and allows user preference for the format in which tasks are organized and managed.

The pricing plan is a little different than the usual pricing plans. The app doesn’t charge per head. Instead, it applies certain limits on users when it comes to billing. For example, a group of up to 20 people will cost $199 each month.

You can assign columns according to your requirement. There’s an additional option of templates as well. The boards can be organized into folders. The privacy options allow you to choose which boards should be visible to whom.

The features include:

• Activity Logging
• Customizable Fields
• Due date tracking
• Email updates
• Execution board
• Motivational tool
• PipeDrive integration
• Relevant updates
• Tags and Keywords
• Time tracking by project
• User access controls
• Visual progress display
• Survey
• Workflow management

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Features

The remarkable thing about Monday.com is its status as a CRM solution. This is credited to its rudimentary sales and CRM features, plus integrations to third-party tools. It comprises numerous tiers to accommodate expanding businesses as well as enterprise users.

Pros

• Modern user interface
• Sufficiently customizable
• Offers in-app robotics

Cons

• Unreasonably confusing pricing and packages
• Inconsistent and Complicated navigation options
• 14-day trial inadequate to understand the app

Are you a Monday user and would like to leave your review? You can do it so in the Monday profile in our Remote Work Tools section here!

5. Teamwork

Teamwork made the dream work with its debut in 2007. The outstanding feature is its defined interface. The setup is not complicated. All you need to do is make an account, invite collaborators and start entering data.

Billie Geena, SEO Consultant, says:

“Teamwork, is a life saver for me. I love been able to see my day planned out in front of me and I can just pause my timer and refocus when I need to.”

The app contains both iOS and Android versions. Its privacy feature is flexible, allowing the admin to choose the degree of access and visibility to each client.

It has four levels of service:

• Free Forever
• Pro
• Premium
• Enterprise

An initial sign-up for an account will automatically provide you with a 30-day trial of the Premium service. You don’t require a credit card for this.

Its features are customizable depending upon different projects. These include:

• Dashboards: Organized data on graphs, info boxes containing project status, number of tasks, active tasks, time spent on tasks, and billable hours
• Gantt charts: Comprising milestones, adjustable timelines, log progress by noting the percent completion of a job, adjustable priority levels, etc.
• Kanban boards (optional): vertical columns containing task cards
• Triggers: Automations ca be set up that automatically move a task card into a certain column automatically and triggers other actions
• Workload (premium feature): A resource management tool to monitor progress relative to deadlines
• Time-tracking: To track working hours
• Billing tools: To track expenses charged to be charged to clients
• Client Users (For paid plans): To communicate with clients and outside parties

Pros

•  Easy-to-use and intuitive design
• Optimum customization options
• Includes billing and invoicing

Cons

• No PDF or image markup tools

Are you a Teamwork user and would like to leave your review? You can do it so in the Teamwork profile in our Remote Work Tools section here!

6. Todoist

This top-tier project management software comes with optimum reliability and extensive features that make it the best among its peers. The simple interface prevents the versatility of features from intimidating any user. It also works on any mobile, tablet, or computer OS.

Melissa Popp, Digital Strategist at RicketyRoo, says:

“Todoist and Trello for me. While the day job uses ClickUp to manage our clients, I find leveraging Todoist for everything else I do outside that helps me stay super focused. Trello is my go-to for managing content marketing calendars. Paired with Todoist, I never miss a beat.”

The service offered is a three-tier one:

• Free version
• Premium ($4 per month/$36 per year)
• Business ($6 per person per month/$60 per person per year).

An additional benefit is a discount to educators, nonprofit organizations, and students.

You start with creating color-coded projects. This aids in distinguishing the projects. Then you add tasks. An additional option of subtasks is also present. These are as easy to access as tasks.

Other features include some core task features

• Labels: Function as tags and can be color-coded
• Custom Filter: To view specified tasks only
• Reminder Options
• Shorthand enabled

Miscellaneous features are:

• Automatic Scheduler
• Automatic Backups
• Templates
• Reports (premium): Keeps track of completed tasks and generates a daily updated productivity report
• Plugins: To add tasks via Outlook etc

Pros

• Cross-platform support.
• Impressive features, including natural language input.
• Optimum interface.
• Collaboration features.
• Offline function option.

Cons

• Some important features are unavailable to free users.

Are you a Todoist user and would like to leave your review? You can do it so in the Todoist profile in our Remote Work Tools section here!

7. Notion

Founded in 2016, Notion is a hybrid between a task manager and a note-taking app. Although the interface is a little haphazard, the app still has soaring potential. Available versions span PC, MacOS, and popular mobile and tablet OS.

Chad M. Crabtree, SEO Manager at Career Karma, says:

“Notion is easily the most versatile productivity app I’ve tried—and I’ve tried them all. Not only does it offer flexible knowledge management, but it also makes project management straightforward and onboarding simple.”

There are four service levels:

• Personal (free)
• Personal Pro ($5 per month)
• Team ($10 per person per month)
• Enterprise ($25 per person per month)

To get started, an email and a password are required. A Google/Apple authentication will also make do. The second step is choosing from the limited options of teams it provides. This is a significant drawback since not everyone works in the specific below-mentioned ones.

• Design
• Engineering
• Human resources
• Marketing
• Product Management
• Sales and Support

The features include:

• Sample Content: An unnecessary variety may be suitable to some but for others is a hassle
• Web Clipper: Allows saving pages from the internet to your Notion account.
• Icons and Background images
• Multiple Fields
• Text blocks
• The collaboration enabled for multiple teammates to view the same documents.
• Enabled @ comments
• Efficient importer tool

Most of the features Notion offers are limiting and all-over-the-place. This ends up making the app significantly less user-friendly. The user interface is not very easy to navigate either. The excessive tabs and options make it hard to choose from, however, depending on the type of functionality and flexibility you’re looking for, it can compensate.

Amir Shahzeidi, SEO Lead at Uscreen, says:

“Notion is the best project management tool for SEO and marketing campaigns. It offers a good balance of simplicity and complexity, allowing us to create complex and customized workspaces for content calendar, content pipeline and project tracking and reporting. It can be as advanced and complex as you need it to be, and as simple and easy to use, as you want it. I can totally recommend Notion to any marketing and SEO team. I think SEOs would love the tool as it’s similar to G Sheets and Airtable.”

Pros

• Perfect Evernote importer tool
• Collaboration supported
• Optimum template support

Cons

• Haphazard structure
• Lacks OCR, email forwarding, sketching, scanning, audio recording, or PDF annotation
• Mediocre web clipper

Are you a Notion user and would like to leave your review? You can do it so in the Notion profile in our Remote Work Tools section here!

8. Trello

Trello presents multiple independent online boards where anything you’re working on – and everyone involved in the project, are represented. It offers an easy way to share updates and keep track of upcoming deadlines and due dates remotely.

This board-based structure extends seamlessly across computers, Androids, or iPhones. Although initially designed for use by software teams, today it’s used to manage projects and tasks of all types. Jen Penaluna, SEO specialist, says:

“I have a personal board with lists for: outstanding, in progress, waiting on client, waiting on internal teams, complete. Each card then has more details/links & a deadline. All colour coded to things like: management, client work, development, training etc. I can update each card with key dates of progress (also to show lack thereof for accountability). My team and managers have access so they can see what I have on my plate & what actions are assigned to them.”

The easy-to-start boards utilize lists and cards to organize virtually everything related to the project for ease of access and keeps every team member updated.

Trello Cards

Each card in the Trello represents a specific task making it easy to manage, track and follow up on the project. Within a single board could be several cards, each of which contains checklists, timelines, conversations, and relevant attachments.

Pros

• Easy to use board and card system
• Easy editing options with customization features
• Allows collaboration among team members for project success
• Well displayed timeframes and real-time updates
• Data storage for future reference
• Information secure from threats

Cons

• Too many boards may make it hard to locate specific tasks
• It’s purely project-friendly only
• Trello relies on internet connectivity
• with no offline accessibility
• The comments section may need improvements.
• It has interaction limitations for file imports.

Trello has all the tools you need to manage your projects. The app offers communication and collaboration features that would help you implement any small or big project and better communicate and collaborate with your team members. If you face challenges with project management, you can now remotely manage any project with the help of Trello. Everything about your project has a place in this fantastic software.

Are you a Trello user and would like to leave your review? You can do it so in the Trello profile in our Remote Work Tools section here!

This concludes the list of some frequently used and efficiently functional project management software and their specifications. We hope this list will provide you with enough intel to choose one catering to your specific needs.

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