This document summarizes and compares 10 free and open source project management software options for small businesses. It provides details on the key features and limitations of each option, including the number of users allowed, storage limits, pricing plans, and specialized tools. Harvest, Zoho Projects, Bitrix24, Trello, 2-Plan, Asana, MeisterTask, GanttProject, Orange Scrum, and Freedcamp are all highlighted and their pros and cons discussed.

1. TheTop 10 Free and Open Source
Project Management Software
ForYour Small Business

2. 10. Harvest
• Great for resource-based
project management and
reporting
• Free version allows 1 user, 4
clients, 2 projects
• Pricing scales up to $12/mo
for unlimited clients and
projects

3. 10. Harvest
• Free version is more like a
trial- timesheet approval and
multiple users come only
with the paid version
• Mobile apps don’t fully
integrate with desktop
version
• Has tons of integrations,
including Atlassian Jira,
Google Drive, Zendesk,
Quickbooks, and more
• Great analytics system
replaces traditional
spreadsheets
Pros Cons

4. 9. Zoho Projects
• As many users as you’d like
• Only limitation on free
version is storage (up to 10
MB)

5. 9. Zoho Projects
Pros Cons
• Tons of features, very
intuitive layout
• Allows users to set options
for Gantt charts
• 50 pre-made report
templates
• Free users are limited to 10
MB storage, while paid
version can be 5-30 MB
depending on the plan

6. 8. Bitrix24
• Free for up to 12 users
• Option to upgrade to more
for $99/mo
• Rivals BaseCamp, the current
go-to for most PMs

7. 8. Bitrix24
Pros Cons
• Users can choose whether to
host in the cloud or self-host
on the company’s server
• Has real-time chat features
• Free cloud storage for easy
document sharing
• New Employee Workload
Planning tool
• Small businesses may find the
free version unworkable
because of the limit on user
profiles, and the $99/mo
option could be too
expensive for some

8. 7. Trello
• Uses the Kanban system to
visually represent a project’s
progress
• Offers unlimited users and
projects, but only 10 MB of
storage
• Upgrade to Trello Gold when
you get a new user on board
and gain 250 MB for a year

9. 7. Trello
Pros Cons
• Extremely intuitive
• Backs of can be filled with
information about tasks
• Calendar function allows
users to collaborate on their
projects transparently
• No good way to look at a
project with high detail
• Cannot see task lists broken
down by user or due date

10. 6. 2-Plan Project Management Software
• Has three symbiotic, free
programs:
• 2-Plan Desktop (project
management)
• 2-Plan Team (web-based
project management with
multiple hosting options)
• Work 2-gether (Scrum-based
task management board for
one-team projects)

11. 6. 2-Plan Project Management Software
Pros Cons
• Full-featured- managers can
create animated graphical
WBS, implement top-down
and bottom-up planning, and
build project control systems
• Uses Kanban system but can
expand into larger workchart
• Abundance of features can
get overwhelming for teams
that are strapped for time
• Free option can be limiting-
only two taskboards for Work
2-gether and only three team
members

12. 5. Asana
• One of the most popular
project management apps
available
• Free for up to 15 users

13. 5. Asana
Pros Cons
• Allows users to visualize
goals, track time, assign
priority to tasks, and get
updates on projects in the
program
• Added an Android app,
conversations, and
dashboards
• Does not allow offline
use
• Reviewers find that
“sometimes it is not
intuitive enough to find
something”

14. 4. MeisterTask
• Unlimited users and projects
• Native apps for iPhone and
iPad
• Two integrations for free
users

15. 4. MeisterTask
Pros Cons
• Offers time tracking, issue
tracking, and user
collaboration
• No storage limit
• Works well with various agile
methodologies
• Still working on several
features:
• Gantt Charts
• CCPM
• Integration with Toggl

16. 3. GanttProject
• Heavy-hitter in terms of both
features and capacity
• Generates Gantt and PERT
charts, produces reports in
HTML and PDF formats, offers
scheduling and time
management tools

17. 3. GanttProject
Pros Cons
• No limit to what you can do
• Offers task assignment and
milestone implementation
• Open-source software allows
project managers to identify
workflow problem areas so
companies can set goals for
improvement
• Not recommended for
companies unfamiliar with
project management
software
• Support largely takes place
on forums

18. 2. Orange Scrum
• Best locally-hosted, free
project management
software for IT teams
• On-premise version is $0,
cloud version starts at $9/mo

19. 2. Orange Scrum
Pros Cons
• Completely customizable
• Great for those with tech
experience
• Serious coding knowledge is
needed to make the most of
this tool
• Not for beginners

20. 1. Freedcamp
• Unlimited users and projects
• Beautiful design
• Kanban or tasks
• 200 MB of storage, can be
upgraded to 1 GB for
$2.49/mo

21. 1. Freedcamp
• Scalable- add-ons are very
cheap
• Administrators can limit user
permissions down to the
client level
• Great collaboration features

22. 1. Freedcamp
Pros Cons
• Scalable- add-ons are very
cheap
• Administrators can limit user
permissions down to the
client level
• Great collaboration features
• Reviewers claim there is a small
learning curve on site
navigation
• No mobile app (though the
company is planning to release
one for iOS soon)
• No Gantt charts, task
dependencies, recurrence, or
subtasks

23. Originally written by Rachel Burger,
the full post can be found here