The Best Resource Management Software – Top 10 Compared for 2024

Resource management software allows us to get the most out of what we have. The solution provides the information you need to align and prioritize work, assess resources, gauge capacity, and quickly adjust to changing variables.

In these tough economic times, we’re all trying to do more with less to maximize the return on our investment. To work as efficiently as possible, we increasingly rely on complex, cross-functional team projects.

In these situations, strategic planning becomes almost impossible without a single source of truth that can track all these projects and monitor the business’s resources and capacity.

Undeniably, resource management tools are indispensable to a business’s success, so choosing the right one is crucial.

To help you find the perfect fit, we reviewed the leading resource management tools and compiled our top picks – the ones we felt stood out in criteria such as price-to-feature ratio, free offerings, and reputation.

If you’re ready to take your resource management to the next level, read on!

The 10 Best Resource Management Tools in 2024: Shortlist

Before we dive into the details – both the positive and the negative – of our resource management tool top picks, here’s a quick overview of the rankings and why each one made it onto our shortlist.

1. Monday – Overall, the best resource management solution for 2024
2. ClickUp – The best free resource planning tool as it offers unlimited users on its free plan
3. Wrike – The best resource management tool for complex projects
4. Smartsheet – The top spreadsheet-style project planning resource management tool
5. Teamwork – Affordable, customizable resource planning software
6. Zoho Projects – The best budget-friendly resource planning tool
7. Quire – The best resource management software for entrepreneurs and small teams
8. Awork – Easy-to-use resource management software
9. ProWorkflow – Solid resource management systems for managing a heavy workload
10. Resource Guru – A great resource management tool for remote workers

Why You Should Use Resource Management Software

Simply put, resource management is about deciding how to use your resources as efficiently as possible to maximize your company’s performance. A resource is anything you need to complete a project, such as people, space, time, money, technology, and consumables.

However, it’s not only about distributing resources.

Resource management plays a vital role in many other business processes, which is why more and more companies are looking for solutions to help them manage their resources more effectively.

Here are just some of the benefits of using resource management tools.

While each business will need different things from its resource management software, some features are essential.

The Best Enterprise Resource Planning Software Reviewed

So, without further ado, let’s get into the details of our top ten best resource management software solutions. We explore the key features, pros and cons, pricing, and more to help you decide what tool is right for you.

If you just need a quick overview, our comparison table gives you the essential details, such as the starting price, whether there’s a free version, and what it’s best for.

1. Monday – Overall, the Best Resource Management Software for 2024

Monday takes the top spot in our list of the best resource management software solutions, and not only because it’s what we use every day. Other user reviews testify to its popularity among professionals across all industries due to its wide range of features and user-friendly interface.

If you’re looking for a platform to streamline your work and communication, Monday might be just what you need.

Its software can help you track your tasks and projects. You can view your workflows in several ways, such as lists, maps, Kanban boards, or Gantt charts, to monitor your progress in whatever way works best for you.

The software is also incredibly customizable, with dashboards that let you track all the data you need in one place. And, of course, it’s got all the features you’d expect from a top-notch resource management tool, like workflow templates, automation, and task board customization.

With all your tasks, progress tracking, and team collaboration in one place, you can be sure you’ll meet your deadlines. This centralized approach not only saves you time but also improves transparency and accountability.

Another of Monday’s impressive features is its role assignment functionality. You can assign each team member a specific job, meaning they have access to everything they need to complete their tasks. It’s a great way to keep things organized and avoid confusion about who’s working on which project.

Pricing

Whether you’re a freelancer, small team, or larger organization, Monday has got you covered. There’s also a decent free plan that’s perfect for up to two people.

You can make timeline or ownership adjustments from anywhere with the monday.com app. And with seamless integration with over 40 other apps, like Slack, Google Drive, and Trello, you can stay connected and organized at home or on the go.

As well as the free plan, there’s also a 14-day free trial on all the paid plans, so you can test Monday with all its bells and whistles before committing.

2. ClickUp – The Best Free Resource Management Tool as It Allows Unlimited Users on Its Free Plan

ClickUp is a tool that has everything you need to make managing your resources so much easier. You can access a variety of helpful tools like task and time management, document collaboration, and team communication all in one place.

ClickUp’s interface is intuitive and user-friendly, so even if you’re new to project management software, you’ll find navigating and getting started easy.

ClickUp is one of the best free resource management tools out there. Its generous free plan, which allows unlimited users and tasks, sets it apart from other software.

We were also impressed by ClickUp’s Everything View, which lets you see all your tasks and projects and search for specific items, saving you time.

The free plan comes with a unique in-app video recording feature, making collaborating on projects more visual and engaging. You can easily annotate your videos with links, images, and text to make your points crystal clear.

Plus, unlike other platforms such as Quire, which require additional (and often costly) integrations for time-tracking, ClickUp has this feature built-in.

On top of that, there’s a chat functionality for real-time collaboration, two-factor authentication to keep your data secure, and plenty of customization options that allow you to create custom task statuses, fields, and views that work best for you and your team.

Pricing

Like Monday, ClickUp offers four paid plans catering to various budgets and needs.

It also has a free plan, but in terms of the amount of storage capacity included (100 MB), it comes joint last with Teamwork.

3. Wrike – The Best Resource Management Tool For Complex Projects And Multiple Industries

Wrike is a popular project management software that’s been growing in popularity due to its extensive features, such as role assignment, which helps streamline managing complex projects with multiple decision-makers.

One of the things we like about Wrike is how it helps teams collaborate. The software allows you to edit projects together in real time, leave comments on tasks, share files, and more.

Plus, features like @mentions make it simple to stay connected and ensure everyone’s on the same page.

You can tailor Wrike to fit your specific needs. With customizable workflows, templates, and fields, you can create a resource management system that works best for you and your team.

Plus, the platform supports eight different languages, so it’s great for international teams.

We particularly liked that Wrike’s free plan includes many of the platform’s resource management features. With these, you can track a project’s progress, keep an eye on your team’s workload, and spot possible bottlenecks so you can make informed decisions from start to finish.

Wrike also offers automation capabilities (although ClickUp does offer more) that can save you and your team a lot of time and effort. For example, there’s deadline tracking, push alerts, and custom request forms that can all help streamline your workflow.

Compared to Monday (which uses color and other visuals), learning to use Wrike’s platform might take longer as it’s less visually intuitive.

Pricing

If you’re an individual or a small team, the free plan is ideal for you, as it allows up to five users and unlimited projects. Wrike’s free plan also comes with a generous 2 GB of storage, second only to Zoho, which offers 5 GB.

The paid plans are a little pricier than some other options, but they all come with a 14-day free trial, so you can try before you buy.

4. Smartsheet – The Top Spreadsheet-Style Project Planning Resource Management Software

It’s a cloud-based platform that makes it easy for teams, vendors, and stakeholders to collaborate seamlessly while managing budgets, organizing schedules, and automating tasks.

Its interface looks just like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets, making it a popular choice for those used to working with spreadsheets.

The platform’s advanced analytics feature lets you combine multiple sheets into one report that you can share with anyone who needs to be kept in the loop. Plus, the activity log is a great way to see who’s been using the platform and how they’ve been interacting with it.

Our favorite feature is linked updates – changing data in the consolidated report also updates any relevant sheets attached to the report and vice versa. This makes removing outdated information a breeze and reduces the risk of human error.

If you’re concerned about getting lost in the details, the Resource Management Software by Smartsheet gives you an eagle-eye view of all your projects. With this, you can quickly see overall project progress, forecast, allocate resources, track time sheets, and create dynamic reports.

We also love the conditional formatting feature. Like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, if conditions like deadlines or the status of projects change, you can create visual cues like red cells to highlight risks or green cells to show completion.

Pricing

Like most other resource management tools, Smartsheet offers a free basic plan. What’s unique, though, is its very generous 30-day free trial. Thirty days is pretty much the perfect amount of time to play around with the features, build out the tools that work best for your needs, and then decide if it is the right platform for you.

One downfall is that the storage on the free plan is limited to 500 MB. While that works for a lot of businesses, some may need more space. For comparison, Wrike’s free storage cap is 2 GB per user.

5. Teamwork – Affordable Customizable Resource Planning Software

If you’re looking for an affordable, customizable resource management solution, Teamwork is one of the best. It lets you assign resources to tasks and projects and ensures everyone on your team has an equal workload.

Among its many features that help teams collaborate more effectively is the Gantt chart view, which is perfect for projects with multiple dependencies. With this view, you can easily see, which lets you visualize resource allocation and spot any potential bottlenecks before they become a problem.

Teamwork also has list, board, and table views so your teams can track project progress in a way that works best for them.

Another feature worth mentioning is Teamwork Chat, similar to Slack or Microsoft Teams. It’s a centralized platform where team members can discuss projects in real-time on a centralized platform.

Teamwork’s free plan contains a host of valuable features, like mobile and desktop apps, timesheets, and file sharing. And, if you work with freelancers or contract employees, the billable time-tracking and invoicing features are a great plus.

Pricing

Teamwork is one of the more affordable resource management tools on our list. It also has a decent free forever plan that includes everything you need for resource management and client work.

Of course, there are some limitations, such as the number of features and users. Also, it only offers 100 MB of storage, which is the lowest of all the resource management solutions on our list. But if you need more functionality, there are four affordable paid plans to choose from.

6. Zoho Projects – The Best Budget-Friendly Resource Planning Tool

Managing projects can be daunting, but Zoho Projects makes it much easier with its numerous collaboration features and intuitive resource management tools.

Zoho Projects gives you a clear visual overview of your resources, which makes it easy to see which ones are overused or underused. This way, you allocate resources more effectively and avoid potential bottlenecks.

Plus, it updates resource availability in real-time, making it easy to adjust schedules and assignments as needed.

Zoho Project’s free version is packed with features that simplify resource management. For example, it comes with an intuitive drag-and-drop feature that simplifies workflow design and integration with other apps in the Zoho ecosystem.

With task cloning, you can create new tasks from existing ones, saving you time and effort. You can also track project-related issues, such as errors and defects, and assign responsibility to team members for resolving them.

We were impressed by Zoho Projects’ focus on collaboration and communication. The platform offers an integrated chat box for instant messaging, and with the paid plans, you can upload files, avoiding the constant to-ing and fro-ing of project-related emails.
You can also create a separate forum for each project to keep information overload to a minimum.

Another excellent communication feature is Zoho Meeting, which lets you start video conferences straight from the task view. And to foster collaboration, Project Feeds automatically notify team members when there is a project update.

Pricing

Zoho Projects offers two paid plans, which are very affordable. So, if you need premium features, like tracking project dependencies, blueprint task automation, and setting reminders, it won’t break the bank.

What sets Zoho Projects apart is its incredible 5 GB of storage on its free plan. It’s the most generous in terms of storage. Its nearest rival is Wrike, which offers 2 GB.

7. Quire – The Best Resource Management Software for Entrepreneurs and Small Teams

Designed with small and medium-sized businesses in mind, Quire is a whiz at task management, allowing you to create, assign, and track tasks effortlessly.

Its standout feature is its infinite nested task list, an invaluable offering that lets you break down large, complex projects into smaller and more manageable tasks and subtasks.

The organized structure of nested tasks makes it much easier to see task dependencies and ensure everything is on track.

Aside from the nested task list, Quire also has a Kanban and timeline view, and you can customize all three to suit your team’s preferences.

You can seamlessly switch between the two as Quire integrates Kanban boards with nested task lists. Combining visual systems in this way makes it easier to track work. You can see the progress of everyone’s work and if someone has run into difficulties and is falling behind.

On top of that, we think you’ll like Quire’s Smart Folder if you’re juggling multiple projects. This feature lets you see all your tasks from different projects in one place.

Pricing

While the free plan (for up to ten users and eight projects) is a great starting point for individuals and small businesses, it lacks valuable features, such as Dynamic Timeline, to track project progress and spot potential bottlenecks.

Also, time reports and multiple assignees are only available on the paid plans.

Like Smartsheet, Quire offers a generous 30-day free trial on each of its paid plans, giving you plenty of time to decide whether it’s the right fit.

8. Awork – Easy-to-Use Resource Management Software

Awork is a cloud-based resource management tool that will suit teams of all sizes. It can handle numerous projects, marketing, resource, and event management tasks to streamline work and boost productivity.

With this solution, there’s no need to waste time finding information – everything is compiled in one place. You can easily coordinate your team and projects whether you’re in a client meeting or working from home.

Awork seamlessly integrates with a wide variety of third-party apps. You can directly link to popular services such as Lexoffice, sevDesk, MS Teams, Slack, and Google Drive for easy cross-app functionality.

If you need even more apps and services, you can use Zapier or the free Rest API.

We were impressed by the project workload overview. The feature helps identify conflicts or who could take on more work so you can immediately see who’s available to handle urgent tasks.

Pricing

Awork is a relatively new company, so we found it surprising that there’s no free plan, which could help attract new customers.

There are three paid plans, the cheapest of which is $11/month/user, making it the second most expensive tool on our list (ProWorkflow starts at $18/month/user).

9. ProWorkflow – Among the Best Resource Management Systems for Managing a Heavy Workload

ProWorkflow is a cloud-based project management software with a great range of features, such as capacity planning and task allocation.

One thing that sets ProWorkflow apart from other similar tools is that it doesn’t cap the number of projects on any of the paid plans.

Plus, the built-in time-tracking tool is incredibly convenient as you don’t have to use a third-party app to keep track of the time you’ve spent on different tasks or projects.

With its reporting capabilities, you can easily monitor workloads and identify who may need extra support.

We especially liked the Active Staff View. With it, you can see what each team member is working on and how they’re spending their time.

If you’re looking to integrate ProWorkflow with other apps, you can do so through Zapier, but keep in mind that you’ll need a Zapier subscription for this. Other resource management solutions, such as Monday, offer many more.

Another thing to note is that ProWorkflow has some limitations when it comes to project board options. For instance, you can’t create Gantt charts like you can with other solutions. For example, ClickUp offers unlimited Gantt charts on its free plan. project management tools. Instead, ProWorkflow has a Gantt view as part of its timeline board.

Pricing

ProWorkflow is the most expensive resource management tool on our list, and we feel it doesn’t have the features to justify the price. The five-user minimum is another drawback. There’s also no free plan or free trial, so you can’t try it before you buy it.

It’s worth noting that there’s not much difference between the professional and advanced plans. The former is only missing the client project requests, internal project requests, custom fields, and custom forms.

10. Resource Guru – A Great Resource Management Tool for Remote Workers

Resource Guru is a cloud-based resource management solution designed to streamline your resource management process.

This tool simplifies scheduling and booking, ensuring that all your resources are used efficiently, avoiding common pain points:

Resource Guru also lets you generate detailed reports to help you make data-driven decisions. The reports include information such as team performance, how resources are being used, and how project progress.

Unfortunately, Resource Guru doesn’t have apps for iOS or Android, which could be a big drawback for some businesses.

We found it to be a very user-friendly resource management tool with clear scheduling features. Resource Guru does have some customization options and a great interface, but it’s important to note that it may not be the right choice for more complex projects that need extensive integrations. However, it’s a great choice if simplicity is more important to you than advanced functionality.

Pricing

While Resource Guru may not be as feature-rich as some of its competitors, its pricing structure reflects that. With a starting price of $4.16/month/per user, its closest budget-friendly rival is Zoho Projects at $4/month/user.

Unfortunately, there’s no free plan, but Resource Guru does offer a 30-day free trial.

The Best Resource Planning Tools Compared

Now that we’ve delved into the details of the best resource management software for 2024, it’s time to bring it all together.
To help your decision-making process, we’ve compiled this TL;DR version, highlighting the key features of each tool.

How to Choose the Best Resource Management System

If you’re looking to choose the right resource management system for your business, the plethora of options can be overwhelming. While there are many systems, not all of them will be suitable for you. To help you choose, we’ve compiled a list of key factors to consider.

Pricing vs Features – Striking the Right Balance

While it’s tempting to opt for the cheapest plan, especially when on a tight budget, they may not have the crucial features you need. On the other hand, feature-rich systems can be expensive, and you may end up paying for features you’ll never use.

So, focus on the must-have features and look for systems that offer a good feature-to-price ratio.

Another thing to keep in mind is scalability. As your business grows, you’ll need a system that can handle more users without costing you more money.

Integration – Ensuring Seamless Collaboration

Integration is also important. Your resource management system should work well with the tools you’re already using or plan to use in the future, like JIRA, Dropbox, or Slack. That way, you can collaborate seamlessly across all your existing platforms.

User Interface – Enhancing User Experience

The user interface is another key factor. You want a system that’s easy to use and navigate, with reporting features that match your workflows. Free trials can be really helpful in figuring out how user-friendly a system is.

Customer Reviews – Learning from Others’ Experiences

Last but not least, customer reviews are a great way to learn about a system’s performance. Look for both positive and negative reviews to get a balanced view. If you see a lot of negative feedback, that’s definitely a red flag.

What’s the Best Free Resource Scheduling Solution?

Whether you’re an individual, a startup on a tight budget, or new to the world of resource management, a free resource management solution is a great way to get up and running.

Unfortunately, free plans do come with some restrictions, making them difficult to compare. To help you, we’ve compiled this quick overview of the best free resource management plans available in 2024.

The Final Rundown: What’s the Best Resource Management Software to Use in 2024?

The best resource management tools will ensure you get the most out of your resources, boosting efficiency and keeping your business running smoothly. So, it’s essential you choose the one that best fits your needs.

All the software solutions we’ve reviewed in this article excel at doing this and more, as they also include project management features. They also integrate with third-party apps to streamline your workflow even more.

Overall, we feel Monday is the best of the best. It’s reasonably priced (starting at $8/month/user) and packed with features. And if you’re unsure which plan is right for you, the 14-day free trial lets you test it before committing.

Resource Planning FAQs