Here’s a challenge: how much does project management software cost? According to leading review site Software Advice, over 1,000 project management systems are on the market*.
Where do you even start??
Should you price out a cheaper tool because you want to dip your toes in without much investment? Should you price out the most expensive software because it HAS to be good?
I’ll take a page from our Project Management Buyer’s Guide and suggest that you understand the factors that drive costs.
What Drives Project Management Software Costs?
Each project management software offers its own mix of tracking projects whether it’s through beautiful design, a robust feature set, different project management methodologies, or any mix of other characteristics
You will primarily see a mix of the following driving project management software cost:
- Number of users
- Training/Support Services
- Web-Based vs On-Premise Solution
- Integrations
- Workspaces or Projects Limits
- Custom Branding
- Reporting capabilities (advanced Gantt charts or graphical charts for example)
- Resource Management features
- Collaborator and Reviewer Roles
- Single Sign-On Functionality
- Storage
Workzone is a balance of the most common features teams use to get projects done effectively but still being easy to use for all levels of users. We do that by not overloading users with features that might distract or stray from the main goal of doing more in less time. Our unlimited support and training are unmatched in the industry.
For the purposes of clarity, we’re going to focus on web-based project management software but will comment on hosted solutions at the end.
How Much Does Project Management Software Cost?
Tier 1: Task Manager Software
High on usability, light on features
The Task Managers are among the most readily available tools out there because of the nature of their freemium pricing models. What Tier 1 solutions give up in power they gain in ease of use.
The most common characteristics of Tier 1 tools are:
- Solves needs of 1 team
- Usually dead simple to use
- Focus on design and aesthetics
- Reporting and other features leave much to be desired
- Lacks all projects view or inter-departmental view
This tier of software is perfect for smaller teams (up to 15 users) that will remain small in size and scope of work. When teams come from a task management tool to Workzone, they often articulate the need for “something more”. That “something more” is usually better reporting, better views across all their projects, scalable to other departments, or other functionality like task dependencies or personalized to-do lists.
How much does Tier 1 project management software cost?
Expect to see prices in from Free to $15/user.
Tier 2: Balanced Project Management Software
Balanced mix usability and features
The Balanced tier (and the one Workzone falls into) is a crowded space with similar pricing tool to tool. The biggest differentiator between these tools is the way projects are managed. The methodologies vary wildly tool to tool so each tool handles usability in their own way.
The most common characteristics of Tier 2 tools are:
- Solves needs of 1-3 teams or departments
- Attempts to keep a short learning curve for most users
- Less of a focus on design and aesthetics
- Reporting includes Gantt Charts and other features Personal To-Do Lists and Task Dependencies are common
- An all projects view aids in a project manager’s view of what’s going on
This tier works really well for teams of 15 or higher. The most important takeaway from this tier is to understand how the tool tracks projects and if that fits your short and long term goals. Every tool will track projects differently so go with the one that you can see yourself growing with.
How much does Tier 2 project management software cost?
Expect to see prices from $15/user to $45/user with options for onsite implementation or additional fees for training.
Curious about how Workzone can fit for your budget?
Tier 3: Enterprise Project Management Software
Harder to adopt, high on features
The Enterprise tier stands head and shoulders above the other tiers in pricing and features available to a team. The amount of features adds complexity to the learning curve.
The most common characteristics of Tier 3 tools are:
- Solves needs across 3+ departments
- Higher learning curve and longer implementation
- Focus on functionality over design and aesthetics
- Scale-up all the features from Tiers 1 and 2 and add more!
The Enterprise tier is great for a large company or department rollout. Usually, if you are that big, you know you are that big and need software as robust as this. Pricing will almost always be discussed as a per year contract not so much per user as the other tiers.
How much does Tier 1 project management software cost?
Expect to see prices of at least $20,000/year not including mandatory implementation packages.
What about hosted solutions?
Hosted solutions are usually reserved for larger corporations with many different needs than web-based solutions are designed to handle. To compare these web solutions to a hosted one would be wasted time.
How much will project management software cost for your team? Request a demo below and let’s talk project management!
*As of 8/30/21 on softwareadvice.com
