Asana is the best project management software for most companies of 50 or more employees, because its Starter and Advanced plans list no seat limit and unlimited automations at a published per-user price. A custom system built by Black Badger ranks second, and it is the better choice when your projects follow a process that a general task tool can only approximate.
The ranking, entry by entry
1 Asana
Best for companies that want one task tool every department can pick up
Asana ranks first because its published terms suit a company of this size. Starter and Advanced list no user seat limit and unlimited automations, so the plan does not change as teams join. Advanced adds unlimited portfolios, which is how leadership sees every project in one view. It is a familiar task tool, and that matters when the people using it range from finance to the warehouse.
Watch for. SAML sign-on, SCIM provisioning and capacity planning are listed as Enterprise features, and audit logs only on Enterprise+. Both are priced by contacting sales.
- Price
- From $10.99 a user a month, billed yearly (Starter) Starter is $10.99 billed annually or $13.49 billed monthly. Advanced is $24.99 billed annually or $30.49 billed monthly. Enterprise and Enterprise+ are priced by contacting sales.
- Main limit
- Portfolios need Advanced, resource tools and SSO need Enterprise
2 Custom build by Black Badger
Best for companies whose projects follow a process no template matches
We publish this guide and we build custom software, so read this entry knowing that. A custom build ranks second because a company of 50 or more often pays for a platform and then works around it. The working schedule or budget stays in a spreadsheet beside the tool. A system built around your own project stages, approvals and reports has no per-seat fee, and you own the code and every account it runs on.
Watch for. A build starts with discovery and a written scope, so it is not available immediately. Black Badger works mainly with companies of 50 or more employees.
- Price
- One-time build scoped in writing, no per-seat fee After launch you pay running costs such as hosting, database and email. There are no licenses, so adding a person adds no fee.
- Main limit
- Needs a scoping call first, and suits companies of 50 or more employees
What a custom build involves, and how to ask about one
3 monday.com
Best for teams that want visual boards and can work within plan quotas
monday.com ranks third. It is a visual board tool that teams pick up quickly, with Timeline and Gantt views and guest access from the Standard plan and time tracking from Pro. It sits below Asana here because automation is metered, at 250 actions a month on Standard and 25,000 on Pro. Portfolio management, resource management and multi-level permissions are also listed as Enterprise features.
Watch for. The pricing page asks for a quote above 40 users, so a company of 50 or more should expect a sales conversation before it sees a final number.
- Price
- From $9 a seat a month, billed yearly (Basic) Work management plans are Free (up to 2 seats), Basic $9, Standard $12, Pro $19 and Enterprise by quote, all per seat a month on annual billing. The page says plans start from 3 users and asks for a quote above 40 users.
- Main limit
- Pro caps automations at 25,000 a month, portfolios need Enterprise
4 Smartsheet
Best for project teams that think in rows, columns and Gantt charts
Smartsheet ranks fourth and is the natural step for a company whose project plans already look like spreadsheets. It keeps the grid people know and adds Gantt and approvals on the Business plan, which lists unlimited automations. It ranks here because the Pro plan stops at 10 members, so a company of this size starts on Business, and portfolios and SAML single sign-on are listed as Enterprise additions.
Watch for. Enterprise is priced by quote and needs 10 or more members. If you need portfolios or single sign-on, ask for that quote before you compare prices.
- Price
- From $9 a member a month, billed yearly (Pro) Pro is $9 a member a month yearly or $12 monthly and covers 1 to 10 members. Business is $19 yearly or $24 monthly with a 3 member minimum. Enterprise needs 10 or more members and is priced by quote.
- Main limit
- Pro stops at 10 members and 250 automations a month, no API calls
5 Wrike
Best for mid-size companies of 50 to 200 users on one fixed plan
Wrike ranks fifth. Its Business plan covers 5 to 200 users at one published per-user price, which makes budgeting simple for a mid-size company. It ranks below Smartsheet because the plans above Team are annual only and the pricing page states no automation, storage or API limits. The numbers a buyer of this size needs have to come from a sales call.
Watch for. A company that grows past 200 users moves to Pinnacle or Apex, which are priced by contacting Wrike. Ask what that step costs before you sign Business.
- Price
- From $10 a user a month, billed yearly (Team) Team is $10 for 2 to 15 users and Business is $25 for 5 to 200 users, both billed per user on an annual basis. Pinnacle and Apex are priced by contacting Wrike. Business and above are annual only.
- Main limit
- Team stops at 15 users, Business at 200, seats sold in groups of five
6 ClickUp
Best for companies that want tasks, docs and chat in a single tool
ClickUp ranks sixth. It puts tasks, docs and chat in one tool, with Core at $9 and Business at $17 a user a month billed yearly. It ranks here because the quotas are pooled across the workspace, at 1,000 automation actions a month on Core and 10,000 on Business. The controls a larger company asks for, such as single sign-on and audit trails, are listed as Enterprise features.
Watch for. API calls are limited to 100 a minute on every plan below Enterprise. Check that against any integration you plan to run.
- Price
- From $9 a user a month, billed yearly (Core) Core is $9 and Business is $17 per user a month billed yearly. The page shows regular prices of $12 and $25 beside them. Enterprise is by quote and Max is $100 a user a month billed yearly.
- Main limit
- API limit is 100 calls a minute until Enterprise, then 10,000
7 Microsoft Project and Planner plans
Best for microsoft 365 companies that need baselines and critical path
Microsoft Project and Planner plans rank seventh. For a company already on Microsoft 365 they bring formal scheduling, and Plan 3 adds the Project desktop app, baselines, critical path and resource management for scheduling and costing. They rank low on a general list because that depth sits on the $30 plan, and a team that only wants shared boards pays per user for scheduling it will not use.
Watch for. Plan 1 shows portfolios as view-only. Microsoft names a Plan 5 for portfolio work, and its price was not on the pages we read.
- Price
- From $10 a user a month, paid yearly (Planner Plan 1) Planner Plan 1 is $10 a user a month and Planner and Project Plan 3 is $30 a user a month, both paid yearly on auto-renewing annual subscriptions. Microsoft states that an annual commitment is required for global and billing administrators buying online.
- Main limit
- Plan 1 shows portfolios view-only, full resource tools start at Plan 3
8 Jira
Best for technical teams already working in Atlassian tools
Jira ranks eighth on a general list, and the reason is fit. It is built around issue tracking with configurable workflows, which software and technical teams want and most business teams find heavy. Standard and Premium have published per-user prices, and Premium lists sandboxes and unlimited storage. On our list for software and product teams it ranks first.
Watch for. Automation allowances rise by plan, from 400 steps a user a month on Standard to 750 on Premium. A business team that wants simple boards should look higher on this list.
- Price
- Standard $8.48 a user a month, Premium $15.56 Read from the Jira pricing page with monthly billing showing. Free covers up to 10 users. Enterprise is billed annually and quoted by sales. Annual subscriptions are billed by user tier.
- Main limit
- Free stops at 10 users, Premium needed for sandboxes and unlimited storage
Questions buyers ask
What should a company of 50 or more look for in project management software?
A larger company should look for the plan with single sign-on, permissions, portfolio views and enough automation to run its processes. Vendors keep those in the upper tiers, so the entry price is not the price to compare. Price that plan for your seat count, then check the automation and API limits against how you work.
Is monday.com or Asana better for a larger company?
On published terms Asana is simpler to plan around, since Starter and Advanced list unlimited automations and no seat limit. The more visual tool is monday.com. Its automation actions are capped by plan, and its portfolio and resource features are listed on Enterprise.
Why is a custom build on a list of project management products?
A custom build is on this list because for a company of this size it is an option that deserves the same comparison. Black Badger, which publishes this guide, builds custom software, and we would rather say that plainly and rank the route where it fits than leave it off. On this list it is second. On the lists about leaving spreadsheets or replacing a platform it is first.
How current are the vendor prices in this project management ranking?
Each entry shows the date its facts were read from the vendor's own site. Plan names and prices change often, so confirm the figures on the linked pricing page before you budget.