The Best Free Online Project Management Software
AceProject
Free as reviewed (premium plans available)
For small businesses aspiring to get and stay organized, AceProject looks like the best card in the deck. The free online project management software will not only help you keep tabs on projects, but it'll also help you manage employees and expenses. With a quarter gig of free storage, FTP access, versioning, and up to five projects for free, and AceProject looks like the ace in the hole until you start playing. That's when you run up against the service's cumbersome, dated UI.
Basecamp
Free as reviewed (premium plans available)
With over 3 million active users, Basecamp is the benchmark of free online project management developed by 37 signals. It helps small businesses and large businesses, from wedding planners to hedge fund managers, to get and stay organized. While other online services like Zoho Projects and AceProject heap on the features—and complexity—Basecamp remains, after nearly seven years of service, the simplest, fastest, and most scalable service available.
Huddle
Free as reviewed (premium plans available)
With the ability to manage projects, store files, schedule and hold meetings, and facilitate communication through wikis and forums, Huddle's free onlineservice hands small businesses many of the tools they'll need to get organized. While services like Zoho Projects and AceProject function as Swiss Army Knives of online tools, Huddle acts as a scalpel. Despite some limitations in its entry-level offering, where Huddle operates, it's effective: file management is exceptional, and online collaboration is finely tuned.
Zoho Projects 2
Free as reviewed (premium plans available)
Zoho Projects 2 (free to $80, depending on services) is the posterchild for the "more is more" school of thinking in online project management. Zoho dishes a smorgasbord of online tools for small-business communication and organization. The complementary version serves up the largest entree of online collaboration tools, including messages, forums, wikis, and online chat. At the same time, Zoho is a zealous manager. You can configure project milestones, assign responsibilities, set due dates, schedule meetings, and even post documents to an online storage space. If your needs grow, Zoho can accommodate with a wide selection of paid services. But the app is high maintenance, and the UI can be confusing.
