The 5 best freelance project management apps

A good freelancer project management app must tick a few important boxes.

• User-friendliness: For one, it needs to be user-friendly. If it’s too hard to use, too glitchy, or just not your cup of tea, you’re probably not going to use it for long.
• Project management: The best project management apps for freelancers will allow you to create project boards, easily add tasks, get notifications, provide status updates, and organize communication threads. When deciding between different options, make sure the interface and layout match your business needs as well as your personal preferences.
• Easy collaboration: Freelancers usually need to collaborate virtually with clients, teams, and other freelancers. Make sure the app you choose has handy communication features like group chats, private messaging, commenting on tasks, centralized workspaces, and emojis (if you’re an emoji power user like us 👍).
• Integrations: Freelancers tend to use a lot of different apps to get stuff done. The best freelance project management apps enable you to integrate other apps and programs you use like Google Drive, Zoom, Slack, and others.
• Additional features: Each app has its own unique features. Be sure to explore each app’s unique advantages. As you’ll see below, some project management apps cater to specific types of freelancers.

The good news is there is no shortage of options when it comes to freelancer project management apps. The bad news is that it can be hard to choose one! But we’re here to help you out.

Tip: Most project management apps have free versions so you can try them out risk-free before investing in one.

Trello

Users: Over 1 million teams worldwide.

Good for: Freelancers who need to manage multiple projects simultaneously, like bloggers, consultants, interior decorators, and crafters.

Features: Trello helps freelancers manage projects through virtual boards. You can create a workspace for your brand or project, add lists to organize tasks, and then add cards for each task.

When adding a card, you give it a title and description. Then you can add people, labels, checklists, due dates, attachments, and more. Those involved with the task can also add comments on the task card helping to organize communication. As tasks advance through the workflow, cards can be transferred between lists.

Trello boards are intuitive and easy to read. They improve collaboration by adding transparency and intuitive organizational capabilities to projects.

App store rating: 4.5

Cost: While you can get started for free with up to 10 boards per workspace, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan if you want more advanced features.

Hive

Users: More than 1.5 million users.

Good for: Freelancers who create digital media assets, such as graphic designers, podcasters, videographers or photographers, and content marketers.

Features: Hive is a very user-friendly project management app with many of the same capabilities that other freelancer project management apps have, such as the ability to message team members and add projects, tasks, and task details. It also has a variety of integrations available, from analytics and company news pages to timesheets and automation.

There are a few key features that set Hive apart. For one, it gives you the ability to choose a layout for each project. Other tools provide a single layout. Trello’s boards use boxes, and Monday.com (see below) uses a basic list layout. Hive, on the other hand, offers a variety of interface options so you can choose which layout works best for you or seems particularly suited for each specific project.

While that’s helpful, the features that really set this tool apart are the proofing and approval functions. You can upload images and videos to a project and then require approval from designated team members, who can add feedback and annotations directly in the media. This is game-changing for freelancers collaborating with teams on digital asset creation, like videos or podcasts.

App store rating: 4.5

Cost: Hive offers a basic free level, but you’ll need Hive Teams plus the Proofing and Approvals add-on for the features described above.

Jira

Users: Over 65,000 teams worldwide.

Good for: Software developers and programmers.

Features: Are you a software developer that needs a bit more than just task management and team communication? Jira Software is a project management app made with you in mind.

It has the task boards with categories and updates but also has additional sections software developers need like version releases, issues, code, product roadmaps, and agile reporting.

App store rating: 4.7

Cost: Like many project management apps, Jira offers a free basic plan, but it is limited to 10 users. This may be fine if you’re a freelancer working with a small team. You will always have the option to upgrade as your business grows.

Monday.com

Users: Over 125,000 companies.

Good for: Freelancers of all types.

Features: Monday.com is a catch-all app that can help all types of freelancers manage projects and tasks on boards like the one pictured below.

It allows you to:

• Create workspaces for different projects.
• Add multiple boards to each workspace you create.
• Create groups within boards, such as a planning group and an execution group.
• Add items under each group and can specify who owns the task along with its status, priority, due date, and cost.
• Drag-and-drop items between groups.

Other features of the platform include notifications, a dashboard for viewing all of the tasks assigned to you, and a wide range of app integrations, widgets, and automation capabilities. Higher-end plans also include features like SalesForce integration, time tracking, and unlimited guest access.

App store rating: 4.7

Cost: There is a free plan available, but it’s limited to two team members, 500 MB of storage, and doesn’t allow guest access. For additional team members, guest access, and a variety of other features, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

If you’re still not sure which app will be the best fit for you, don’t be discouraged — there are dozens of other freelancer project management apps that may be better suited for your business. Here are some you can also explore:

• ClickUp
• Asana
• Wrike
• Paymo
• Airtable
• GoodDay
• Notion
• nTask
• Toggl Plan
• GitHub
• Kanban Tool
• Project.co
• Todoist
• Microsoft ToDo
• SquidHub
• Meister Task
• Kanbanflow
• TasksBoard
• Any.do
• Tick Tick
• Podio
• Process Street