Best lists / Best free project management tools
Updated June 2026 · Independent, no paid placements
The good news in project management is that several free plans give you unlimited users. I ranked these on how many people you can add free and how much the tool can do before you hit a paywall.
| # | Tool | Best for | Free tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linear | Software teams | Unlimited members |
| 2 | Trello | Simple boards | Unlimited members |
| 3 | ClickUp | All-in-one workspace | Unlimited members |
| 4 | Notion | Docs plus light PM | Unlimited blocks for individuals |
| 5 | Plane | Open-source teams | Unlimited (self-hosted) |
Best for: Software teams
Blazing-fast project management for software teams. Free for small teams.
Linear's free plan supports unlimited members and is the fastest, most opinionated issue tracker out there. If you ship software, this is the one your team will not fight.
Pricing
Free plan available
Best for: Simple boards
Visual kanban boards for project management. Unlimited cards, 10 boards free.
Trello gives unlimited members free with a Kanban board anyone can use in five minutes. It does not scale to complex programs, but for a small team's visible to-do list it is unbeaten on simplicity.
Pricing
Free plan available
Best for: All-in-one workspace
All-in-one productivity with tasks, docs, goals. Unlimited tasks and members free.
ClickUp's free plan includes unlimited members and a huge feature set covering tasks, docs, and goals. It can feel like a lot, but you get more functionality free here than almost anywhere.
Pricing
Free plan available
Best for: Docs plus light PM
All-in-one workspace for notes, docs, wikis, and project management. Free for individuals.
Notion is free for individuals with unlimited blocks and works as a flexible mix of docs, wikis, and simple task boards. Best when project management and knowledge base should be the same place.
Pricing
Free plan available
Best for: Open-source teams
Open source project management alternative to Jira. Self-host for free.
Plane is an open-source Linear alternative that is unlimited when self-hosted. Pick it if you want a modern issue tracker you fully control.
Pricing
Free plan available
Rankings are based on research, not paid placement. Some links are affiliate links, which never change where a tool ranks.
Linear, Trello, and ClickUp all allow unlimited members on their free plans. Self-hosted Plane is unlimited too.
Notion if you mostly write docs and want light task tracking; ClickUp if you want a fuller project management feature set free.
