Having reliable project management budgeting tools is vital for any manager. It’s important to be able to track expenses while staying up to date on the progress of your project. In the following guide, we’ve evaluated and determined the best budgeting tools for project managers.
Top project management budgeting tools comparison
The software listed in the following table represents some of the best project management budgeting tools currently available. We chose these software based on their core features, pricing and ease of use.
| Time tracking | Automations | 24/7 customer support | Pricing | TechRepublic rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoho Projects | Yes | Yes | Yes | $4 per user per month | 4.2/5 |
| Teamwork | Yes | Yes | Yes | $9.99 per user per month | 3.7/5 |
| monday.com | Yes | Yes | Yes | $9 per user per month | 5/5 |
| Accelo | Yes | Yes | No | $50 per user per month | 3.7/5 |
| TimeCamp | Yes | Yes | Yes | $2.99 per user per month | |
| Wrike | Yes | Yes | Yes | $9.80 per user per month | 4.6/5 |
| Smartsheet | Yes | Yes | Yes | $7 per user per month | 3.8/5 |
| ClickUp | Yes | Yes | Yes | $7 per user per month | 5/5 |
| Jira | Yes | Yes | No | $8.15 per user per month | 4.6/5 |
Zoho Projects: Best for working with other software
TechRepublic Rating: 4.2/5
Zoho Projects is great for businesses that want to use a bundle of well-integrated tech software. You can use accounting software, such as Zoho Books and Zoho Invoice, to manage expenses. The software also provides time tracking and timesheet approval for managing payroll. Combined with its laundry list of other features, Zoho Projects is a well-rounded option for project management budgeting.
Pricing
- Free: 2 projects and 5 GB of storage.
- Premium: $4 per user per month if billed annually, or $5 per user per month if billed monthly.
- Enterprise: $9 per user per month if billed annually, or $10 per user per month if billed monthly.
Features
- You can view projects in list view according to milestones or expenses to stay on top of your spending.
- Classic project management features like task dependencies and custom status for projects.
- Task management, task duration and subtasks.
- Gantt charts for project timelines.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
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Why I chose Zoho Projects
Zoho was chosen because of its wide array of integrations, which makes it suitable for whatever workflow you have for tracking and managing budgets. It comes equipped with a variety of report and analytics tools to keep you up to date on the progress and ongoing costs of current projects.
For more information, read our full Zoho Projects review.
Teamwork: Best for collaboration
TechRepublic Rating: 3.7/5
Teamwork is an excellent solution because of its time tracking, budgeting and collaboration capabilities. The software comes with multiple plans and serves as an affordable solution for many small teams.
Pricing
- Free: 5 users and basic project management features.
- Deliver: $9.99 per user per month if billed annually, or $13.99 per user per month if billed monthly.
- Grow: $19.99 per user per month if billed annually, or $25.99 per user per month if billed monthly.
- Scale: Custom pricing.
Features
- Multiple work views like list, table and Gantt charts.
- Templates for tasks and projects.
- Intake form, collaborators and team chat for collaboration.
- Reporting for time and budgeting.
- Integrations like Quickbooks, Zapier, HubSpot and Harvest.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
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Why I chose Teamwork
Teamwork was chosen for its versatility and abundance of collaboration features. The software allows you to seamlessly stay in contact with remote team members while still effectively tracking the budget of your projects.
For more information, read our full Teamwork review.
Features
- Multiple work views like timeline, kanban and map views.
- Unlimited boards and documents in paid plans.
- 200+ templates to fit your business needs.
- Most security and protection features like HIPAA compliance in Enterprise plan.
Pros and cons
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Why I chose monday.com
Being one of the most widely used project management software available, monday.com comes with a list of must-have features for project managers. As a budgeting tool, the software has several templates to help you quickly develop a method for budgeting and task tracking.
For more information, read our full monday.com review.
Accelo: Best for customization
TechRepublic Rating: 3.7/5
Accelo is great for more established teams that need custom features for their projects. You can mix and match their different feature sets and create a workspace dedicated to managing project budgets. You can also include features for sales, customer service and analytics teams.
Pricing
- Professional: $50 per user per month.
- Business: $70 per user per month.
- Advanced: $90 per user per month.
- Elite: Custom pricing.
Features
- À la carte features for plan customization.
- Modules offered are sales, projects, tickets, retainers, billing and reports.
- General features include client and contact database, project management, work templates and project scheduling.
- All plans have standard security, task lists, timers and task boards.
- You can sync with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
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Why I chose Accelo
Accelo was chosen because of its extensive customization options. The ability to change and add special features without paying an additional cost is a useful asset as a budgeting tool for project managers. It also comes with a variety of insights to give users a clear view of project progress and budget usage.
For more information, read our full Accelo review.
TimeCamp: Best for affordable time tracking
If you’re looking for budgeting features and strong time management all in a project management tool, then TimeCamp is one of the best options. All of its plans have some sort of time or budget management feature. Its pricing is also competitive compared to other feature-rich project management solutions.
Pricing
- Free: Unlimited users and projects.
- Starter: $2.99 per user per month if billed annually, or $3.99 per user per month if billed monthly.
- Basic: $5.99 per user per month if billed annually, or $7.99 per user per month if billed monthly.
- Pro: $7.99 per user per month if billed annually, or $10.99 per user per month if billed monthly.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing.
Features
- Multiple different time tracking capabilities like auto tracking, personal timelines and weekly timesheets.
- Time budgeting features like billable time, overtime tracking and invoicing.
- Project management features like unlimited tasks, subtasks and tagging.
- Self-hosting and private SaaS.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
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Why I chose TimeCamp
TimeCamp was chosen because of the availability of its features. The time management and budgeting features provided by the software are available on all its plans, which makes it a useful asset for small or new teams. The software also comes with a variety of tracking capabilities to best fit your workflow.
Wrike: Best for resource management
TechRepublic Rating: 4.6/5
Wrike is a powerful project management tool with management features for resources, reporting and analytics. The software can also handle budgeting for your team and projects to help you get the best return on investment. It can get expensive if you want the most features it offers, but you can still get a good start with its Free plan.
Pricing
- Free: Unlimited users and 2 GB of storage.
- Team: $9.80 per user per month, billed annually.
- Business: $24.80 per user per month, billed annually.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing.
- Pinnacle: Custom pricing.
Features
- Work views like calendar, table and kanban.
- Integrations like Salesforce and Adobe CC.
- Advanced reporting and analytics.
- Google authentication and Enterprise security in all plans.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
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Why I chose Wrike
Wrike was chosen for its effectiveness in allocating and tracking team resources. The software allows you to easily set dependencies and assign tasks. Project managers can track progress in real time to identify any moments of slowdown or bottlenecks that may impact meeting deadlines or increase costs.
For more information, read the full Wrike review.
Smartsheet: Best for task tracking
TechRepublic Rating: 3.8/5
Smartsheet is a unique offering for project managers with its spreadsheet-style interface. The simplified interface can make adapting the software into a team’s workflow easier, and it comes with a variety of customization options. It can serve teams of all sizes with minimal slowdown.
Pricing
- Free: 1 user and 2 editors
- Pro: $7 per user per month if billed annually, or $9 per user per month if billed monthly.
- Business: $25 per user per month if billed annually, or $32 per user per month if billed monthly.
- Enterprise: Contact for quote.
Features
- No-code automation tools to save time on repetitive manual tasks.
- Real-time team collaboration on content with clients and stakeholders without having to share access to the software.
- Multiple views and project planning features for agile and waterfall workflows.
Pros and cons
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Why I chose Smartsheet
Smartsheet’s spreadsheet-style interface makes it a useful alternative to many other project management software currently available. It comes with multiple advanced features for project managers to save time and focus their attention elsewhere. The simplified layout also makes it easier for users to digest and understand information without a steep learning curve.
For more information, read the full Smartsheet review.
ClickUp: Best for Agile workflows
TechRepublic Rating: 5/5
ClickUp comes with several features that make it one of the most popular project management tools available. The customized views and advanced reporting options the software offers make it a highly useful resource as a budgeting tool for project managers.
Pricing
- Free: Unlimited users and projects.
- Unlimited: $7 per user per month if billed annually, or $10 per user per month if billed monthly.
- Business: $12 per user per month if billed annually, or $19 per user per month if billed monthly.
- Enterprise: Contact sales.
Features
- Agile project management features for sprints, backlogs, roadmaps and more.
- Automation features to streamline issue tracking.
- No-code customization features without the need for add-ons.
- Real-time reporting and analytics to help in setting goals and tracking the progress of individual elements of projects.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
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Why I chose ClickUp
ClickUp was chosen because it comes with customization and versatility that is particularly useful for agile workflows. The software comes with several templates and budgeting tools to make task tracking, reporting and analytics easier for project managers.
For more information, read the full ClickUp review.
Jira: Best for bug tracking and development teams
TechRepublic Rating: 4.6/5
Jira Software is one of the few project management software currently available that’s designed for issue tracking. By keeping team members informed of all aspects of a project, users can stay up to date and deal with any issues that occur both during and after a project’s completion.
Pricing
- Free: 10 users.
- Standard: Starts at $850 per year, billed annually, or $8.15 per user per month, billed monthly.
- Premium: Starts at $1,600 per year, billed annually, or $16 per user per month, billed monthly.
- Enterprise: Contact sales.
Features
- Visualization tools to examine project data through calendars, timelines and lists.
- Seamless integration with other Atlassian tools and Jira Service Management.
- Comes with multiple templates, which include those specifically for budgeting and task tracking.
- Allows you to import existing work to collect data or create project issues.
Pros and cons
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Why I chose Jira
Jira is a versatile project management solution. While it is known for being used in software development, it can be effective in a wide array of fields and organizations, such as construction or startups. With the software’s free plan, users have several tools needed to track progress and stay up to date on budget and resource usage.
For more information, read the full Jira review.
How to choose the best project management budgeting tools for your business
The key to choosing the best project management budgeting tool for your business is identifying your core needs and your current resources. Cost can be one of the biggest factors. Evaluate your team size, the complexity of your projects and how in-depth your reporting needs to be before settling on a project management budgeting tool.
If you can afford it, then you want to see who has the most relevant financial tracking and planning features. After that, you’ll want to see what tutorials and demos of those tools are available. If onboarding is too complicated or takes too long, is it worth putting your team through? On the other hand, your project may require complexity, so more feature-rich software may be the only way to effectively manage your needs.
Make sure to take advantage of the free plans and trials before sticking with software permanently.
Methodology
The tools in this article were selected according to how relevant they are to buyers looking for project management budgeting tools. Features were evaluated according to how useful they can be for managing finances, and each software was looked at fairly and in terms of its most relevant capabilities and affordability.
