Managing tasks is like herding cats (with a growing litter). On top of an ever-growing task list, you have to wrangle progress tracking, shifting deadlines, and the constant shuffling of the project team.
Let's face it, task management is the heartbeat of your business or projects.
But it's practically impossible to manage tasks without technology. In this case, online task management software.
In this article, we'll discuss what online task management software is and its benefits. We'll also reveal ten popular task management software tools with quick reviews and how to make the best of them so you can make an informed choice.
What exactly is task management software?
Task management software is an application that helps manage project tasks, create to-dos, identify task dependencies, and track progress. The software will typically include a wide range of features like:
- Task set-up
- Task assignment
- Task progress tracking
- Deadline setting
- Task prioritization
- Timeline view
- Task reminders
Some applications include advanced features like:
- Task templates
- Custom fields
- Timeline management
- Automation
Benefits of using task management software
Here are three (key) reasons you need task management software.
Improved efficiency (and productivity)
Have you ever felt like some time-sucking tasks could be automated?
This is precisely where task management tools shine. Most have basic features, such as updating task status, prioritizing tasks based on due dates, and sending reminders. It gets even better with AI-powered task management apps (like Motion, but more on that later).
All this means time is freed up for you and your team to get more important work done.
For example, you can automatically assign a new task to an employee who just moved their task to 'complete', instead of the manual effort.
What's next?
Increased productivity will result in increased efficiency. With more time to focus, you'll find yourself handling more work (like onboarding more clients).
Customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction (internal or external) usually rides on producing quality work consistently and delivering tasks on time. This becomes difficult when dealing with multiple, complex projects.
With a task manager, you can break your work into smaller, more manageable tasks with clear deadlines and dependencies. This way, you can focus on one step at a time, track your progress, and identify any issues or risks that may pop up.
Result?
Delivering high-quality service (or products) when you promise them that leave your customers satisfied.
Less stress
Not only has it been proven that multitasking leads to more stress, but, more sinister, it might lead to even more multitasking. Yikes!
Task management software won't only help you organize and tackle your project tasks efficiently, but has features like task progress tracking, automation, and more to ensure you stay on top of things (and avoid those last-minute panics).
Voila, less stress.
10 Best task management software for effortless efficiency
Here’s a list of the best task manager software:
1. Motion
Motion is the best AI-based task manager out there, especially if you want to automate as much as possible and never miss a deadline.
The AI takes all the task details you throw at it, like task priorities, due dates, and assignees, and whips up a schedule to ensure you complete them in time.
That’s just the cherry on top of all the basic task management you’ll need from software, including task assignment, task creation, recurring tasks, and progress tracking.
Pro tip: You also want to check out their meeting assistant. Why? Well, we all know meetings are no less than tasks. Motion’s meeting assistant can schedule your meetings whenever you prefer and automatically send you invites. You just need to show up for the meetings!
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Pro: Automated task prioritization, task scheduling, and project planning using AI.
Con: Can be costly to use for a team.
Users and pricing
- Individual plan: $19 per month, billed annually
- Team plan: $12 per month per user, billed annually
Free trial: Yes, Motion offers a 7-day free trial that you can cancel anytime.
Compatibility:
- Mobile (Android, iOS)
- Desktop (macOS, Windows)
Reviews:
- Capterra: 4.3/5 (40+ reviews)
- G2: 4.3/5 (80+ reviews)
Best suited for: Any individual or team that wants to get more done with automation and AI.
2. Todoist
It’s all in the name. Todoist operates a lot like a to-do list for effective task management. Its simple interface makes it ideal for startups and small businesses.
What makes it stand out is its natural language recognition. So, if you type in something like "call Rick every day at 5 pm," Todoist automatically sets up a daily recurring task to call Rick at 5 pm.
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Pro: Affordable for individuals as well as businesses.
Con: Limited task views.
Users and pricing:
- Beginner: Free
- Pro: $4 per month, billed annually
- Business: $6 per user per month, billed annually
Free trial: Todoist offers a free forever plan.
Compatibility:
- Mobile (Android, iOS)
- Desktop (macOS, Windows, Linux)
Reviews:
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (2300+ reviews)
- G2: 4.4/5 (750+ reviews)
Best suited for: Businesses that like the checklist approach and appreciate a simple interface.
3. Hive
Even though called Hive, it’s quite the queen in the task management world thanks to its long list of powerful features like:
- Multiple task views include Kanban, Gantt, timeline, and calendar.
- Proofing and approvals, where you can attach files and documents for quick reviews.
- Native time tracking
And here's the kicker—Hive isn't picky. Teams of all sizes can use it to manage tasks.
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Pro: Offers flexible project layouts, including more than five options
Con: Many key features are paid add-ons like analytics, timesheets, and automation.
Users and pricing
- Teams: $12 per month per user, billed annually.
- Enterprise: price on demand.
Free trial: Hive has a free-forever plan.
Compatibility:
- Mobile (Android, iOS)
- Desktop (macOS, Windows)
Reviews:
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (190+ reviews)
- G2: 4.6/5 (480+ reviews)
Best suited for: Teams that need approvals and proofing, like content and design.
4. Chanty
Chanty is more of a messaging and video calling tool with task management and collaborative features. So, there’s no denying that you can quickly hop on a call or DM team members to discuss task details without leaving the app or relying on integrations.
What’s unique? Since Chanty is messaging-based, you can convert chats into tasks and quickly assign them. Also, to turn it into a more powerful task manager, Chanty offers you a long list of integrations.
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Pro: It turns messages into tasks and has native video-calling capabilities.
Con: Limited project views.
Users and pricing
- Business: $3 per user per month, billed annually
Free trial: Chanty has a free plan.
Compatibility:
- Mobile (Android, iOS)
- Desktop (macOS, Windows, Debian, Fedora)
Reviews:
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (30+ reviews)
- G2: 4.5/5 (40+ reviews)
Best suited for: Teams relying heavily on video calls, meetings, or chats for task management.
5. Trello
Trello is your go-to Kanban project management tool, allowing you to create and manage tasks on simple cards.
Other task management features include flexible overviews, color-coded labels, integrations, and priorities. But it’s quite basic, making it easy for all team sizes to adapt.
However, templates are Trello’s true calling, making task management fast and effective.
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Pro: Has a feature-rich free plan with Trello templates.
Con: It has lots of paid add-ons (Power-Ups).
Users and pricing:
- Standard: $5 per user per month, billed annually.
- Premium: $10 per user per month, billed annually.
- Enterprise: Price on demand.
Free trial: Trello has a free plan.
Compatibility:
- Mobile (Android, iOS)
- Desktop (macOS, Windows)
Reviews:
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (23,000+ reviews)
- G2: 4.4/5 (13,400+ reviews)
Best suited for: Kanban lovers.
6. Any.do
Any.do is another simple task management software. It sorts your items into today, tomorrow, and upcoming, so you can easily see what tasks you've got on your plate.
You can also color-tag tasks to prioritize and categorize them and enhance productivity by adding notes, subtasks, and attachments.
But what’s impressive is Any.do’s templates. With 100+ options, including design sprint, inventory tracking, and sprint planning, you can be ever ready to get things done!
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Pro: Allows creating tasks and reminders from WhatsApp.
Con: The free plan is extremely limited.
Users and pricing:
- Personal: Free
- Premium: $3 per month, billed annually.
- Teams: $5 per month, billed annually.
Free trial: Any.do offers a forever-free plan.
Compatibility:
- Mobile (Android, iOS)
- Desktop (macOS, Windows)
Reviews:
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (160+ reviews)
- G2: 4.4/5 (13,400+ reviews)
Best suited for: Template lovers.
7. Quire
Quire is all about nesting. It lets you break down every little task detail into smaller (infinite) bits to help you focus better. However, if the endless nested lists aren’t your jam, you can always switch to their Kanban or timeline view for a more usual task management approach.
Quire is also big on customization. You can customize your workspace, tweak the theme, set advanced permissions, and even create your own templates.
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Pro: Supports infinite nested lists.
Con: No desktop app.
Users and pricing:
- Professional: $7.65 per month, billed annually.
- Premium: $13.95 per month, billed annually.
- Enterprise: $19.95 per month, billed annually.
Free trial: Quire offers a free plan.
Compatibility:
- Mobile (Android, iOS)
- Web app
Reviews:
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (120+ reviews)
- G2: 4.6/5 (70+ reviews)
Best suited for: Teams that like customizing to the T.
8. ProofHub
ProofHub is a robust project management and collaboration platform with powerful task management abilities like task creation and assignment, task dependencies, customizable workflows, recurring tasks, and time tracking.
When it comes to collaboration and reporting tools, ProofHub has you covered. You get to pick from various project views, have admin control, and make task management flexible and easy to access.
And guess what? All of this is at a flat rate of $45/month. This makes ProofHub perfect for small businesses.
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Pro: In-built chat and custom reports.
Con: Pricing can be high for some users, especially individuals since they offer a flat price.
Users and pricing
- Essential: $45 per month, billed annually.
- Ultimate Control: $89 per month, billed annually.
Free trial: 14-day free trial.
Compatibility:
- Mobile (Android, iOS)
Reviews:
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (90+ reviews)
- G2: 4.5/5 (80+ reviews)
Best suited for: A team that wants a centralized task management solution.
9. Flow
Flow is a fantastic platform for task management, where you can streamline your work on a simple interface. You can easily create and assign tasks (and set task dependencies), ensuring everyone knows what they need to do and when. You can even audit tasks by viewing task history.
Add to that 1000+ integrations—Flow has you covered!
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Pro: Detailed project dashboard and timelines.
Con: No free plan.
Users and pricing:
- Basic: $6 per month, billed annually.
- Plus: $8 per month, billed annually.
- Pro: $10 per month, billed annually.
Free trial: Free for 30 days.
Compatibility:
- Mobile (Android, iOS)
- Desktop (macOS, Windows)
Reviews
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (100+ reviews)
- G2: 4.3/5 (50+ reviews)
Best suited for: Small businesses who want to streamline their task management efforts using a simple solution.
10. MeisterTask
Finally, MeisterTask is an easy-to-use, open-source software, making it perfect for small businesses and startups.
This tool allows you to create, assign, and check off tasks. Only a few task management features exist, but the Kanban boards and Gantt charts are very effective.
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Pro: Customizable project dashboard appearance.
Con: You can’t assign multiple assignees to a single task.
Users and pricing:
- Pro: $6.50 per month, billed annually.
- Business: $12 per month, billed annually.
- Enterprise: Custom.
Free trial: MeisterTask offers a free plan.
Compatibility:
- Mobile (Android, iOS)
- Desktop (macOS, Windows)
Reviews:
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (1,100+ reviews)
- G2: 4.6/5 (170+ reviews)
Best suited for: Teams that deal with simple projects.
3 hot tips to make the most of your task management software
Task management software can be a workhorse for you. Here’s how to go about it:
Automate what you can
Let the task management software do the heavy lifting! Use its automation abilities for scheduling tasks, tracking progress, spitting out reports, and even scheduling meetings. This way, you save tons of time, increasing your work capacity and freeing up space in your brain for the important stuff.
Encourage collaboration within the app
Turn your task manager into a team collaboration hub. Encourage the entire team to do everything task-related in the app. File sharing and keeping all discussions and information in one place keeps it organized and transparent.
Keeping everything within the app is also a serious time-saver. You won't ever have to hunt for bits and pieces of information in different places (and we all know how time-consuming and frustrating that can be).
Use integrations
Let your task management software mingle with other tools through integration. For example, sync your calendars, schedule those Zoom meetings, store files on Google Drive, and more. This is how you turn your software into a one-stop (and Swiss army knife) solution, without app-hopping.
Say hello to Motion’s way of task management
Whether you need an intuitive interface, real-time collaboration, automatic scheduling, or robust progress-tracking capabilities, task management software will make your life significantly easier.
Or, better yet, get all of these benefits with one app.
Meet Motion!
With Motion, you can create tasks, and its AI will take over from there, automatically prioritizing and adding them to your and your team's calendars. This optimizes your project schedule so you can deliver the right task at the right time.
If that sounds exciting, try Motion for free for 7 days!
