10 Best Project Management Tools (2026)

Every project management tool now has AI agents. Monday.com has "monday agents," Asana has "AI Teammates," ClickUp has "Super Agents," Notion has its own Agent, Jira has "Rovo." If you took a shot every time a PM tool announced an AI agent in 2025, you'd be in the hospital.

The real question isn't whether a tool has AI. It's whether the tool fits how your team actually works. Here are 10 that do, each for a different reason.

Quick comparison

1. Monday.com

Monday.com grew from a project management tool into what it calls a "Work OS" — project management, CRM, dev tools, and service management on one platform. Revenue hit $1.38 billion in 2025. The new "monday agents" handle tasks end-to-end, and "monday vibe" lets you build workflows in plain English.

Pricing: Free (2 seats), Basic at $9/user/mo (annual), Standard at $12/user/mo, Pro at $19/user/mo, Enterprise is custom. Minimum 3 seats on paid plans.

Strengths: Gorgeous visual interface that non-technical teams love. Extremely customizable boards. The Work OS approach means you might not need separate CRM or service tools. AI features (Sidekick, Magic) generate content and automate workflows.

Limitations: Gets expensive fast — a 10-person team on Pro costs $190/mo. AI is an add-on cost on top of plan pricing. The flexibility can be overwhelming; new users often don't know where to start.

Best for: Marketing, operations, and cross-functional teams who want one visual platform for everything.

2. Asana

Asana made a smart move: AI is included free on all paid plans. No add-on, no extra charge. AI Studio rolls out prebuilt workflow templates, and the new "AI Teammates" (beta, fall 2025) let you assign tasks to AI just like you'd assign them to a person.

Pricing: Free (10 users), Starter at $10.99/user/mo (annual), Advanced at $24.99/user/mo, Enterprise and Enterprise+ are custom.

Strengths: Clean, structured interface. Portfolios and Goals give executives visibility across all projects. AI included in base pricing is a major advantage. Timesheets and budgeting tools (fall 2025) make resource management built-in.

Limitations: Free plan capped at 10 users (down from 15). No time tracking on lower tiers. The interface can feel rigid compared to Monday.com's flexibility.

Best for: Teams that want structured project management with clear hierarchy — goals, portfolios, projects, tasks — and free AI features.

3. ClickUp

ClickUp passed $300M ARR and 20M users, with AI sales growing 800% year-over-year. "Super Agents" (December 2025) are human-like agents you can @mention, assign tasks to, or DM. They execute work end-to-end and proactively flag issues.

Pricing: Free (forever), Unlimited at $7/user/mo (annual), Business at $12/user/mo, Enterprise is custom. Brain AI is an extra $9/user/mo.

Strengths: Most features per dollar of any PM tool. Free plan allows unlimited users (rare). SyncUps adds built-in video calls with AI transcription. Multi-model AI lets you pick GPT-5, Claude, or others per task. Dashboards, Docs, Whiteboards, Chat — it's genuinely all-in-one.

Limitations: "All-in-one" means complexity. New users face a steep learning curve. Brain AI as an add-on means your real cost is $16-21/user/mo for the full experience. Performance can lag on large workspaces.

Best for: Feature-hungry teams who want maximum capability at a low price and don't mind complexity.

4. Notion

Notion 3.0 (September 2025) was a watershed moment. The AI agent can work autonomously for 20+ minutes, updating hundreds of pages, building forms, searching across Slack and Google Drive. Notion 3.2 (January 2026) brought all of this to mobile.

Pricing: Free, Plus at $10/user/mo (annual), Business at $18/user/mo, Enterprise is custom. AI only included in Business and Enterprise — Plus gets a one-time 20-response trial.

Strengths: The most flexible workspace. Docs, wikis, databases, and project management in one tool. Multi-model AI (GPT-5.2, Claude Opus 4.5, Gemini 3). Enterprise Search beta connects to external tools. The agent is genuinely impressive for knowledge work.

Limitations: Not a traditional PM tool — no Gantt charts, no resource leveling, no sprint burndowns. AI locked behind the $18/user/mo Business plan. Teams used to structured PM tools find Notion too freeform.

Best for: Teams that live in docs and databases and want flexible project management woven into their workspace.

5. Jira

Jira's Rovo AI is now bundled free into all paid plans — no extra charge. Rovo Search uses natural language ("find design tickets blocking engineering"), Rovo Agents create issues and clear backlogs, and the new ChatGPT MCP connector lets you access Jira directly from ChatGPT or Claude.

Pricing: Free (10 users), Standard at ~$7.75/user/mo (annual), Premium at ~$15.25/user/mo, Enterprise is custom. Pricing scales down with more users.

Strengths: Best-in-class for software development teams. Rovo AI included free is a competitive advantage. The MCP connector is genuinely forward-thinking — access Jira from any AI assistant. Deep integration with Confluence, Bitbucket, and the entire Atlassian ecosystem.

Limitations: Terrible for non-technical teams. The interface is dense and intimidating. Configuration is powerful but complex. If your team doesn't build software, skip Jira.

Best for: Software development and engineering teams, especially those already in the Atlassian ecosystem.

6. Trello

Trello got its biggest redesign in years. AI-powered Quick Capture parses Slack messages and emails to extract tasks. Trello Planner connects your calendar for time-blocking. Mirror Cards sync across boards. It's still simple, but it's smarter.

Pricing: Free (10 boards, 10 collaborators), Standard at $5/user/mo (annual), Premium at $10/user/mo, Enterprise starting at $17.50/user/mo (50+ users).

Strengths: Simplest PM tool on this list. Drag-and-drop Kanban that anyone can learn in minutes. AI Board Builder generates structured boards from descriptions. Cheapest per-user pricing for simple needs.

Limitations: Not built for complex project management. No Gantt charts on Standard. Limited reporting. If you need more than Kanban boards, you'll outgrow Trello quickly.

Best for: Small teams and individuals who want simple visual task management without enterprise complexity.

7. Smartsheet

Smartsheet went private in January 2025 — Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners bought it for $8.4 billion. The product is doubling down on AI with Smart Agents, Smart Flows, and a Knowledge Graph that connects people, work, and content.

Pricing: Pro at $9/user/mo (annual, 1-10 members), Business at $19/user/mo (min 3 members), Enterprise and Advanced Work Management are custom.

Strengths: If your team thinks in spreadsheets, Smartsheet clicks instantly. Smart Agents monitor projects and flag risks autonomously. Scenario Planning enables "what-if" modeling. Strong in project portfolio management and resource allocation.

Limitations: Looks and feels like a spreadsheet, which non-spreadsheet people find limiting. No free plan. The interface hasn't modernized as fast as competitors.

Best for: PMOs, operations teams, and anyone who currently manages projects in Excel and wants something better.

8. Wrike

Wrike went all-in on agentic AI in 2025. Triage agents categorize tasks, Risk agents flag issues, Intake agents streamline requests, and agent chaining lets one agent trigger the next. The redesigned Gantt charts are noticeably faster.

Pricing: Free, Team at $10/user/mo (annual), Business at $25/user/mo, Pinnacle and Apex are custom. Business and above are annual only.

Strengths: Powerful for professional services firms and large teams. AI agents integrate with automations bidirectionally. Wrike Copilot offers natural language Q&A across your workspace. Strong proofing and approval workflows.

Limitations: Sold in seat increments (5-seat minimum for some plans). Annual-only billing on higher tiers. The interface is functional but not as polished as Monday.com or Asana.

Best for: Professional services, agencies, and enterprise teams managing complex cross-functional projects.

9. Basecamp

Basecamp deliberately has no AI features. While every competitor shipped agents and copilots, DHH and Jason Fried kept building a calm, simple project management tool. The flat-rate pricing ($299/mo for unlimited users) is a genuine differentiator in a per-seat world.

Pricing: Free (1 project, 20 users), Plus at $15/user/mo, Pro Unlimited at $299/mo (annual) or $349/mo (monthly) — unlimited users.

Strengths: Pro Unlimited is unbeatable for large teams — 50 users costs $6/person/mo. No learning curve. Hill Charts are a unique way to track progress. Clients and contractors are free on all paid plans. Philosophically committed to simplicity.

Limitations: No AI, no Gantt charts, no complex dependencies, no resource management, no time tracking without an add-on ($50/mo). Deliberately missing features that competitors consider standard.

Best for: Teams of 20+ who value simplicity over features and want predictable flat-rate pricing.

10. Linear

Linear is the PM tool developers actually enjoy using. It's fast (seriously fast — the UI never lags), opinionated about workflow, and AI agents are included on every plan including free. It turns customer conversations from Intercom, Zendesk, and Gong into actionable issues automatically.

Pricing: Free (250 issues, 2 teams), Basic at $8/user/mo (annual), Business at $12/user/mo, Enterprise is custom (annual only).

Strengths: Best-in-class UX among PM tools. AI Triage auto-applies labels and priorities. Salesforce integration for customer-facing teams. MCP server means Linear works from Claude, ChatGPT, and other AI assistants. Issue SLAs for service-level tracking.

Limitations: Opinionated workflow doesn't suit every team. Not designed for non-engineering use cases (though it's expanding). The free tier's 250-issue limit is tight for active teams.

Best for: Engineering and product teams who want a fast, opinionated PM tool with great AI integration.

How to choose

Small team, simple needs. Trello ($5/user/mo) or Basecamp ($15/user/mo). Trello for visual Kanban, Basecamp for structured communication.

Growing team, needs flexibility. Monday.com ($9-19/user/mo) for visual thinkers. Asana ($11-25/user/mo) for structured workflows. ClickUp ($7-12/user/mo) if you want maximum features per dollar.

Dev/engineering team. Jira ($7.75/user/mo) for the Atlassian ecosystem. Linear ($8-12/user/mo) for speed and modern UX. Both include AI at no extra cost.

Enterprise/PMO. Smartsheet ($9-19/user/mo) for portfolio management. Wrike ($10-25/user/mo) for professional services.

Docs-first team. Notion ($10-18/user/mo) if your work revolves around docs, wikis, and databases.

FAQ

Which project management tool has the best AI features?
Asana and Jira include AI free on all paid plans. ClickUp's Super Agents are the most capable but cost extra ($9/user/mo). Notion's agent is powerful but requires the Business plan. Linear includes AI on free plans.

Is ClickUp really free?
The free plan allows unlimited users and tasks with 100MB storage. That storage limit is the catch — teams exhaust it within weeks. Realistically, you'll need the $7/user/mo Unlimited plan.

What happened to Pivotal Tracker?
Shut down April 30, 2025. Broadcom acquired VMware (which owned Pivotal Labs), then retired the product. Microsoft Project Online is also sunsetting September 2026.

Do I still need Jira if I use Linear?
Probably not. Linear covers issue tracking, sprint planning, and project management for most dev teams. Jira's advantage is the broader Atlassian ecosystem (Confluence, Bitbucket) and enterprise compliance features.

Which PM tool is best for remote teams?
ClickUp (SyncUps for built-in video calls), Notion (async docs and databases), or Basecamp (designed around async communication). All three work well for distributed teams.

Need help choosing? Compare project management tools side by side, or browse all PM tools with ratings and reviews.