7 New Personal Project Management Software Reviewed for 2024
Project management can feel daunting at times, especially when you’ve already got a lot on your plate. But the right personal project management software can transform that chaos into clarity, helping you stay organized, on track, and maximize productive in both personal and professional projects.
Why Do You Need a Personal Project Management Software?
The beauty of personal project management tools is that they help break down large projects into smaller, manageable tasks. Whether you’re organizing a big event, juggling household chores, or working on a creative project, having everything laid out in a structured, easy-to-follow plan can make a world of difference.
With the right app, you’ll be able to:
- Simplify your workload by planning and organizing tasks in a way that suits your schedule.
- Stay on track with clear milestones and deadlines.
- Maximize productivity by focusing on one task at a time without getting overwhelmed.
What is Project Management Software?
At its core, project management software helps you plan, execute, and track the progress of a project from start to finish. Projects usually consist of multiple tasks that are interconnected—one task may depend on the completion of another. With the right project management software, you can map out these dependencies and track the entire process in one place.
If you’re working with a team, collaborative features ensure everyone is on the same page. But if it’s an individual project, you can focus purely on your tasks and the order in which they need to be done, without distractions.
7 Best Personal Project Management Tools for 2024
Now that I’ve highlighted why you need a project management tool, here’s a curated list of the best personal project management software for individuals to help streamline their work in 2024.
1. Nifty
By using Nifty, we’ve found the sweet spot between powerful task management and ease of use—helping us tackle both business and personal projects effortlessly. Whether you’re managing a product launch or simply organizing your daily to-dos, Nifty can help you bring order to chaos.
How Nifty Helps Tackle Personal Projects
At Nifty, we’ve built our platform with flexibility in mind—so it’s not just for businesses and teams. We use Nifty ourselves to manage everything from product launches to organizing team events and personal tasks. Here’s how it helps us:
- Breaks Projects into Manageable Tasks: We use Nifty to split big projects into smaller tasks, which makes planning and execution much easier. It’s like having a roadmap for all our ideas and projects.
- Schedule Planning & Task Prioritization: Nifty’s Calendar view helps us plan timelines and set deadlines. We can drag and drop tasks across the calendar to adjust due dates as plans change.
- Customizable Views for Any Project: Whether it’s a work-related initiative or something personal like organizing a team event, we can choose different views (Kanban, List, Calendar, etc.) to match the specific needs of the project.
✨ No credit card required. Play with Nifty.
Nifty not only helps you manage tasks but makes the process of project management feel seamless and personalized. Here’s a breakdown of the key features that truly make Nifty stand out, based on how we use it ourselves every day.
1. Visual Roadmaps to Keep You on Track
One of my favorite features in Nifty is the visual roadmap. Setting up a clear timeline aligned with your goals keeps everyone (or just yourself) focused on what needs to get done. When collaborating with others, this roadmap communicates objectives clearly and aligns everyone on what’s important.
2. Multiple Views for Your Preferred Workflow
Nifty’s flexibility shines through in its variety of views. Personally, I love switching between the Kanban view for tracking progress, the Calendar view to visualize deadlines, and the Swimlane view when I want to see how tasks stack up across different stages of a project. You can even arrange tasks in a list view if that’s more your style.
3. Boosting Productivity with Integrations
Productivity is at the heart of everything we do at Nifty, and it’s why we integrate with tools you’re already using. For instance, I find the 2-way calendar sync with Google and Outlook to be a game-changer, allowing me to manage both my tasks and meetings in one place. The result? A smoother, more intuitive workflow that saves time.
4. Enhanced Task Details with Notes and Docs
Whenever I need to add more context to a task, Nifty’s Notes and Docs features come in handy. I can quickly attach notes directly to tasks or integrate with Google Docs to ensure all the important information is right where it needs to be. It’s like having a centralized hub for all project-related information.
5. Automatic Reporting for Real-Time Updates
No one enjoys manually updating progress, which is why Nifty’s automatic reporting is such a relief. I can set up workflows that trigger updates whenever something changes, ensuring that everyone stays informed without me having to lift a finger. It keeps everything running smoothly without the extra effort.
6. Seamless Imports and Integrations
We made sure that bringing your data into Nifty is as simple as possible. I’ve personally imported projects from other tools like Asana, ClickUp, and Trello, and it’s an incredibly smooth process. Plus, with integrations like Zapier, Slack, Zoom, Google, Github, and many more, Nifty truly connects with the software that drives your work.
Whether you’re managing a team or just yourself, Nifty is designed to simplify, organize, and supercharge workflows for individuals. We built it this way because, as users ourselves, we understand the need for flexibility, efficiency, and clarity in every project. And with these features, I’m confident that Nifty will do the same for you.
Nifty offers a free forever plan to get you started with paid plans starting at only $7/month with all core features included.
What people say about managing projects in Nifty:
Nifty seems to me to be a super useful and accurate application to use on a daily basis. I can organize my day and create tasks for it as well as manage work and personal projects. – G2
I’ve tried Trello, Asana, Airtable, Notion, and more, but Nifty stands out. I can quickly view everything, start discussions, host Zoom calls, and integrate Google Drive files—all in one place. Plus, I can invite clients as ‘Guests’ while keeping personal and team projects separate. – G2
Nifty is an incredibly flexible tool that I use both for business and personal tasks—even my kids use it to stay focused on schoolwork. It’s easy to use and far more user-friendly than similar products. Nifty keeps me on track with awesome notifications and task reminders. – G2
✨ No credit card required. Free forever.
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2. Asana
Asana is another popular personal project management software that was launched in 2011. It is the preferred task management tool for many because it works amazingly for teams and individuals.
This software packs many helpful features and has even added a few more since its launch. Project managers can use the tool on any platform through the web or project management app for iOS and Android applications. Just like Nifty, Asana also helps you with proper schedule planning, project planning, and management.
Some of the features you’d enjoy with Asana include:
- Manage multiple projects efficiently. Like Monday, Asana has a straightforward interface that allows you to simultaneously work on as many projects as you want.
- Easy organization plus multiple sort factors. The checklist format makes it possible to organize and rearrange tasks. It also lets you sort by the deadline or start date.
- Clarify tasks better. This tool lets you add elements that explain each task, including comments, notes, tags, and links. You may also set triggers for some tasks to be dependent on others.
- Shortcuts and real-time changes. Asana notifies you of changes from collaborators while letting you perform multiple actions through shortcuts.
- Helpful app integrations for more options. Asana integrated readily with several tools, such as Dropbox, Hubspot, Zoom, and Slack.
Asana’s Basic plan is free forever and lets you use many features. However, if you want more, the Premium plan is just $10.99/month. There’s also the Business plan at $24.99 and the Enterprise plan for custom needs.
3. ClickUp
ClickUp is a fantastic project management tool that combines everything you may need to set up tasks and achieve them. It is also one of the most affordable since it gives a lot of features for free.
Check out the best features below:
- Customizable dashboard and view: ClickUp’s dashboard gives you a quick view of projects and project progress. However, you may customize the view to get specific information about projects. The interface is also customizable, depending on whether you prefer a Gantt view, calendar, list, board, or box.
- Collaborate better with teams. The workload management on ClickUp lets you know who’s working on what and how much workload they have. You can also add quick comments.
- Prioritize more important tasks. ClickUp has a function for setting custom priority levels, so you know what comes first. Reminders also make sure you’re not missing out on deadlines.
- Custom fields. This feature allows adding more details about tasks, like notes, contact info, or links to files and documents.
- Seamless importation and integration. You can import data from other project management tools to ClickUp. It also allows integration with CRM and chatbot tools, such as Slack, Google Calendar and Drive, Zapier, GitHub, Zoom, Outlook, etc.
In addition to the Free Forever plan, ClickUp has an Unlimited plan for $5, a Business plan at $12, and the Business Plus plan at $19/month.
4. Wrike
Wrike is a simple project management tool ideal for those who prefer to work in a spreadsheet. Like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, Wrike has columns and rows for arranging and managing tasks.
Wrike’s key features include the following:
- Wrike templates. Wrike helps you get started with several templates, whether you’re planning a project, an event, a marketing company, or a product roadmap.
- Progress project status update feature. Wrike lets you take absolute control of your projects by allowing you to assign a status to them. For example, you can specify tasks in progress, canceled, completed, or on hold. Depending on the task status, you may also attach colors like green, red, or yellow.
- Quickly glance at projects and create reports. The Gantt chart feature on Wrike lets you peek at the status of projects. It also makes it easy to generate weekly or monthly reports of tasks.
- Integration with several tools. You can integrate Wrike with other tools like Zapier, HubSpot, Google Sheets, WordPress, etc., to get more functions from a single tool.
In addition to Wrike’s free plan, there’s a Professional plan at $9.80/month for small teams and the Business plan at $24.80/month. Enterprise and Pinnacle plans are custom plans for larger teams with special project management needs.
Check out: 10 Free project management software to try in 2024
5. Basecamp
Basecamp is another project management software that’s been around for over ten years. As a result, it has built an excellent reputation as a wonderful tool for personal project management.
The key features are as follows:
- Seamless collaboration. Basecamp allows direct messaging with collaborators. You may also message more people using the group chat feature.
- Total control over projects. You can set your work hours so you only receive notifications during your set time.
- Give and receive feedback quickly. This tool lets you get quick feedback, approvals, and progress reports. You can also give instantaneous feedback to collaborators using the applause button.
- Get more through integrations. Basecamp allows integration with time tracking, analysis, and reporting tools.
- Availability on multiple platforms. The software is also available on a desktop and has a project management app available for Android and iOS platforms.
Basecamp has a free plan that gives 1GB of storage and three projects. It also has a paid plan at $99/month. The paid plan gives you unlimited projects, unlimited users, 500GB storage, templates, support, and much more.
Read also: Best Agile Project Management Tools for 2024
6. Zoho
Zoho Projects is a project management software from Zoho, a provider of CRM solutions. It lets you plan, collaborate, organize, and manage projects. It uses Gantt charts to plan your tasks and give you an overview of projects, importance, and deadlines.
Key features include:
- Integration with other valuable tools. Zoho readily integrates with other tools from Zoho as well as tools like Google, Microsoft, Slack, Dropbox, GitHub, etc.
- Generate invoices with inbuilt time tracking. Not only Zoho helps you generate invoices, but It also has a timesheet function that lets you record billable and non-billable minutes automatically or manually.
- Quick in-app chats for collaboration. With Zoho Projects, you won’t need external messaging apps. That’s because it has an inbuilt app for messaging and sharing information with collaborators.
- Intuitive and customizable interface. Zoho Projects’ interface can be customized to your preference. You can change themes, switch modes, and personalize using a wide range of fields.
Zoho Projects has a free plan that allows up to three users. It also has a Premium plan at $5/month and Enterprise at $10/month.
7. Trello
Trello is another top personal project management software for individuals to take control of projects. It is one of the easiest to use, especially for those who enjoy using the Kanban board feature.
Here are some of the features that make Trello stand out:
- Availability on all platforms. With Trello, you can plan and manage projects wherever you are because it’s a free project management app that is available on Android and iOS platforms. Meanwhile, the web version is perfect for when you’re not on the move.
- Smooth click-and-drag interface. As stated earlier, Trello uses the Kanban board method. This technique is ideal for organizing projects by simply clicking and dragging tasks in the form of notes and cards.
- Assign users and elements to tasks. You can attach additional information to tasks through the comment feature. You may also collaborate with others by assigning them to relevant projects.
- Ability to create multiple projects. Trello allows the creation of unlimited tasks by creating more boards. This also means you can specify details, like the deadline for each project.
- Unlimited automation. Trello’s Power-Up feature comes in handy for accessing other view formats, opening up a task for voting, deleting old tasks automatically, etc.
- Useful integrations. Trello allows you to integrate with other tools like Zapier, Slack, and Gmail to do more from a spot.
Trello has a free plan, a Standard plan at $5/month, and a Premium plan at $10/month. There’s also an Enterprise plan starting at $17.50 for 25 users.
👉 Looking for enterprise level tools? Check this detailed comparison of best enterprise project management software
People have managed personal projects with checklists before the coming of project management apps. The problem is there’s only so much you can do with checklists due to their undynamic nature. They only allow you to compile a list and mark it as done or not.
What’s the need for personal project management software for individuals?
Meanwhile, custom project management apps and software can do much more. Unlike checklists, you can easily break down a larger list into smaller ones to streamline the workflow. You can rearrange, add or remove tasks, set new deadlines, or even add relevant documents to each task or list.
The size of modern projects makes them practically impossible to pull off without project management tools. Not only will these tools give you project templates, but they will also have more features for managing multiple projects. Let’s understand it with the help of an example!
For example, if you want to develop a custom mobile app, you would first need to choose the right personal project management software, then you would create a project with a title like my custom mobile app development, then you would create key milestones and set the specific due dates:
- Planning
- Design
- Development
- Q&A and Deployment
Following this, you would create individual tasks for each milestone and would house tasks like:
- Choosing which technology to use
- Which OS to use
- What features to be included
- UI/UX designs
- Selecting vendors
Not to mention, following this, you would also need to assign tasks to external developers, designers, and marketing folks to each task (unless you are going it all on your own), communicate with them, and much more. At some stage, you might also need task management software to stay on track.
As you can see, we are just getting started and there’s already an overwhelming amount of work to do, even for developing just one custom mobile application. Clearly, the simple example above demonstrates the need for personal project management software like Nifty.
Conclusion
Project management tools can significantly improve how individuals manage their tasks. By choosing from the best paid and free project management apps, you can take charge of your activities and manage projects better.
Nifty is the best free project management tool for individuals out there. It has the best features for managing projects as a project manager or individual who wants better results. Asana is another decent option, and Trello is perfect for those who prefer to work on Kanban boards.
However, there are other excellent options like Wrike for those who prefer spreadsheets and Zoho for Gantt charts. Basecamp and ClickUp are the other project management tools that make up the list.
FAQs
What's the best project management software for individual users?
There are many solutions out there, but these 7 are considered the best project management software for individual users:
1. Nifty
2. Asana
3. ClickUp
4. Wrike
5. Basecamp
6. Zoho
7. Trello
How do you keep track of your personal projects?
It’s simple, use a personal project management software like Nifty.
How do you manage multiple personal projects?
You need to prioritize tasks, segment your time between projects, have a productive workspace, and use personal project management software like Nifty to manage them.