20+ Best Creative Project Management Software and Tools in 2024

The perfect creative project management software can balance collaboration and business-oriented features.

In the list below, you’ll find some of the best tools for creative agency project management, learn their key features, pros and cons, and what users are saying about them.

Productive is an agency project management software solution that supports integrated people management and business planning capabilities.

It’s a great choice for creative teams and design studios due to its collaboration and customization features, from various project views, to collaborative documentation, and custom task fields.

You can also invite clients to your projects, share files, and collaborate with them within your tasks.

However, what makes it different from other collaborative software is that Productive integrates advanced agency management features, such as resource planning and financial management.

This can help you integrate features from multiple tools into one cohesive platform.

Let’s explore Productive’s key features in more detail:

With Productive’s Project Management feature, you can open unlimited projects and customize how your task lists look.

There are multiple potential views, including Gantt, Kanban, Workload, List, Calendar, and more.

When working on individual tasks, you can manage them with to-dos, subtasks, and dependencies. You can also set up recurring tasks.

Any feedback can be left in the task comments, so you can be sure that all of your important information is kept in one place. This includes client feedback with the Client Portal.

To streamline repetitive tasks, you can use Automations and create your own automated workflows without code. For example, if you report task progress on Slack, you can set up an automated workflow for this.

With Docs, you can brainstorm and collaborate with team members within Productive.

You can create main pages and subpages, add images and embed videos, as well as tag specific team members on pages to get feedback or alert them to something important.

You can also customize access. Docs can be private, or created within a particular project, meaning that it’s available to all project team members.

You can also add external collaborations or entire teams, and modify access right for each individual contributor.

Use Productive AI to check your grammar, summarize or translate your text, or simply help you get your thoughts across.

With Time Tracking, you can manage non-billable and billable hours on client projects.

Time tracking can be unpopular among employees, especially when it’s very rigid or inflexible. As an answer, Productive offers different time tracking methods to help you get more accurate and reliable data:

There’s also a Google Calendar integration, which can be used to convert calendar events into time entries and link them to specific projects.

With Resource Planning, you’ll be able to balance team workloads and manage schedules across multiple projects more easily.

Resource tracking makes it easier to see who is working on which project and for how long.

You can also take employee availability into account, since Time Off requests and approvals can be handled through Productive.

You can also visualize and forecast your utilization rate across different metrics, such as skills, seniority, departments, and more.

With Budgeting you’ll be able to stay on top of your project budgets. You can set employee cost rates (salaries) and billable rates, as well as create your agency rate cards.

These can be used to send proposals to potential clients, as well as manage your budgets once a project is won.

Forecasting uses your resource scheduling to provide future insights on revenue, profit margins, and budget burn, helping you make better business decisions.

Your time tracking data is also used for Billing.

You can create invoices and send them from Productive, or use the Xero or QuickBooks integrations. Productive also supports subsidiaries and tax rate management.

Reporting doesn’t only deliver financial insights, but collects data from all your agency’s activities.

You can view utilization, estimated vs actual time on tasks, budget burn and profitability, and much more.

Reports can be created from scratch, with various customization options, or you can use one of the 50+ agency-focused templates.

To share reports, create your own dashboards, or use Productive’s Pulse.

Additional features include: Sales CRM, Revenue Recognition, Purchase Orders, Permission Builder

Productive offers seamless integrations with HR, accounting, and collaboration tools.

Integrations include Slack, Google Calendar, and Outlook for scheduling and updates; Xero and QuickBooks for accounting; BambooHR, Breathe, Humaans.io for HRM; Memtime for time tracking; and more.

You can go for a free 14-day free trial before you decide to check out a paid plan.

Kantata, previously known as Mavenlink, is an intuitive project management platform designed for creative teams. However, its most notable downside is its lack of real time reporting (Source: Capterra).

Key Features:

Pros: Customers like Kantata’s user-friendly interface, so it can be a good option for managing creative tasks.

Cons: Some users find issues with Kantata’s platform performance. Additionally, it’s not the best if you’re looking for advanced reporting features.

Learn more about in our list of the the best Mavenlink alternative options.

Scoro is an all-in-one business management software that includes creative project management features, but it can be difficult to onboard to.

Key Features:

Pros: Users really like the comprehensive reporting capabilities, as well as the abundance of customization options.

Cons: This also means that new users are facing a pretty steep learning curve, so it might not be the best for inexperienced teams.

Bigtime is a cloud-based time and billing software with project management functionality for creative professionals and agencies alike. However, some users find issue with the billing functionality.

Key Features:

Pros: BigTime provides both time tracking and billing, which makes it easier to manage projects from start to finish in one tool.

Cons: On the other hand, reviews cite issues with the QuickBooks integration, and some limited functionalities in reporting and billing.

If you want to learn more, check out our article on Bigtime alternatives.

Accelo is an automation-focused project management tool that can be great for optimizing creative workflows, but its pricing is not transparent, and it can be expensive according to some.

Key Features:

Pros: Users like Accelo’s powerful automation capabilities that help with workflow optimization.

Cons: Some have said that the interface could be more modern and intuitive. Additionally, Accelo was bought in 2024 — learn more in our article on finding the top Accelo alternative.

Rodeo was once one of the best creative project management solutions, but is no longer the best pick due to various controversies involving its founder.

You can read our old review below:

Rodeo is built specifically for creative agencies, providing a centralized platform for project planning and team collaboration.

Key Features:

Pros: Rodeo has a simple and intuitive interface that makes it a good starting point for those who might be new to project management tools.

Cons: On the other hand, some say that it lacks advanced reporting features.

Primetric is a cloud-based creative project management software for collaboration and productivity in creative teams, but its integrations are limited, especially when it comes to accounting software.

Key Features:

Pros: Primetric has won users over with intelligent resource allocation based on data analysis.

Cons: Something that still needs a bit of work is integrations, as users have reported that they’re limited in comparison to other tools in the market.

Workamajig is an all-in-one project management tool tailored for creative agencies, but some users report that the interface is outdated and difficult to navigate.

Key Features:

Pros: Workamajig combines traditional project management tool with financial management features.

Cons: Workamajig users have reported that the user interface can seem outdated, and that the platform performance can be poor at times.

For more modernized tools, check out some Workamajig alternatives.

Mosaic is a project management platform designed to facilitate collaboration and streamline workflows for creative teams, but can be underfeatured compared to more robust resource management tools.

Key Features:

Pros: Mosaic offers some solid capacity planning features that can help with managing larger teams.

Cons: Reviews state that it can take a while for the developers to fix issues. Additionally, it might not fit the bill as an advanced resourcing and forecasting tool.

We also covered Mosaic in our article on the top Resource Guru alternatives.

Active Collab is a project management and team collaboration tool, but doesn’t offer enough customization in its visual representation of workflows according to some.

Key Features:

Pros: Active Collab has a simple and user-friendly interface and good project management features, which makes it a solid choice for smaller teams on a budget.

Cons: On the other hand, it has limited reporting and analytics capabilities, and some users find that it doesn’t have very customizable workflows.

Source: Capterra

You can also find some additional options for creative professionals and freelancers in our list of the top alternatives to HoneyBook.

Avaza is an all-in-one business management tool with comprehensive features for creative professionals, but certain reviews find it difficult to use and learn.

Key Features:

Pros: Avaza offers a lot of comprehensive integration options that come in handy in bigger teams.

Cons: If you’re on a budget, then maybe skip this tool, since some advanced features may require additional paid add-ons. Additionally, Avaza might not be intuitive to some users:

Source: G2

For more info check out our guide about Avaza alternatives.

ClickTime is a time tracking and project management solution designed to help creative teams optimize their time and resources, but it can have some inefficient and tedious processes.

Key Features:

Pros: ClickTime puts a strong emphasis on time tracking, so it can be great for design projects or marketing teams that want to focus on their time-related analytics.

Cons: Some user reviews state that ClickTime requires more manual effort than necessary:

Source: G2

Paymo is a project management platform with integrated time tracking and billing features, offering solutions for creative teams and agencies.

Key Features:

Pros: Paymo has a nice, clean, intuitive, and easy-to-use interface which makes it a good choice for those just starting with project management tools.

Cons: It has limited integrations with other tools which might be a downside if you’re a part of a bigger team, or have a larger tech stack.

Teamwork is a comprehensive project management tool, but lacks some useful features for managing teams, such as time off management.

Key Features:

Pros: Teamwork is a solid tool that features project management and robust integration options.

Cons: Teamwork has some limited features, which hold it back from being a true all-in-one solution. You can also check out our article on the best alternative to Teamwork options, or go to our Teamwork vs Jira comparison to learn more.

Asana is a popular project management tool that can be adapted for creative project workflows, but isn’t the best for anything outside collaboration.

Key features:

Pros: Asana offers a user-friendly interface and navigation, as well as the possibility to manage your creative workflows.

Cons: Asana has limited features for business management, which includes budgeting and billing.

Check out our Asana vs Trello vs Jira comparison for more information.

ClickUp is an all-in-one project management platform with variety of customization features, but users frequently report issues with its performance.

Key Features:

Pros: ClickUp is famous for its highly flexible and customizable features, so you can be almost certain that you’ll find what you’re looking for.

Cons: Users very frequently report issues with bugs, slow loading times, and platform performance. You can find out more in our comprehensive review of ClickUp vs Asana vs Monday.

Wrike is a versatile project management tool that can be adapted for creative project workflows, but might not be the best for agencies that want to focus more on their financials.

Key Features:

Pros: Wrike puts a strong emphasis on real-time collaboration and a visual approach to project management which is great for creative teams.

Cons: Wrike’s budgeting features are exclusive to its most expensive plans, which is not the best for smaller teams. Learn more in our Wrike vs Airtable comparison.

Hub Planner is a resource scheduling tool that can be great for optimizing resource utilization, but is less suitable as traditional project management software.

Key Features:

Pros: Hub Planner has powerful resource management capabilities and strong project management features which makes it a solid option for creative teams.

Cons: Hub Planner doesn’t offer many integrations, and has limited features outside of managing capacity plans.

Nifty is a project management and collaboration tool built for creative teams, offering features to streamline project planning and execution.

Key Features:

Pros: Nifty is a solid single platform solution with multiple features that help with project management and time tracking.

Cons: Users have said that it has limited customization options for project views.

Notion is a versatile workspace tool with advanced features for managing documentation and knowledge, but isn’t a great option for team collaboration.

Key Features:

Pros: Notion is a fairly popular tool, especially among creative teams. It has a level of flexibility that allows users to create unique project setups.

Cons: Notion is great for knowledge management, but isn’t suitable for collaboration on client projects.

Head over to our guide to Notion vs Monday to learn more.

Ziflow is a platform for creative feedback and workflow management, but there are no built-in budgeting or invoicing features.

Key features:

Pros: Ziflow can be a great option for streamlining client communication and feedback.

Cons: Since Ziflow doesn’t have built-in budgeting, billing, or resource management features, you’ll need to invest into other software to cover these functionalities.

Hive is a fairly affordable option for creative teams, but similary to Ziflow, the budgeting and analytics features are limited.

Key features:

Pros: Users enjoy Hive’s collaboration and chatting features for supporting productivity.

Cons: If you’re for business management features such as budgeting, it would be better to consider some alternatives to Hive .

Creative project management usually has some specific requirements compared to traditional project management:

However, this doesn’t mean that creative project management doesn’t require structure.

Setting up your budgeting and resource planning processes with creative project management software can result in better project performance, overall results, and improved business health.

Creative management software is a type of platform designed specifically to help manage the unique processes and workflows associated with cretive projects. This could include projects in areas such as graphic design, video production, advertising, content creation, and more.

The software typically includes features for supporting creativity. This is project organization, task management, resource allocation, time and expense tracking, and collaboration tools to streamline communication and feedback.

Some software tools will be focused mainly on collaboration, with features such as feedback management, proofing and approvals, chat, and client access.

Other tools will include some specialized features, such as resource management, budgeting or billing.

Finally, you can also consider integrated software for managing agencies, that provides a blend of both, from collaboration to finances and reporting.

Here are a few examples of why you should use creative project management tools:

You can use the tool to set up workflows that’ll make managing projects easier. From brainstorming to writing, reviewing, and finalizing, you’ll be able to monitor project phases easily.

Everyone involved in the project can easily see the project progress in just a few clicks. Team members can see which tasks are up next, while creative project managers can monitor the overall progress and spot any potential bottlenecks.

Most of the tools offer custom workflows which means agencies can adapt their workflows to fit their project or client needs as well as customizable dashboards, so you can have all your important data at the ready.

With creative project management tools, managers can assign tasks to individuals or teams based on their skill sets, availability, and workload.

They can also set priorities and deadlines, ensuring everyone knows what they need to do and when they need to do it.

Once a task has been assigned, automatic notifications can be sent out, keeping everyone informed about changes or updates on tasks. Team members can then update their progress, mark tasks as complete, or reassign tasks if necessary, all within one tool.

Breaking up projects into tasks and to-do lists helps prevent missed deadlines and promotes accountability and a sense of ownership among the team.

Using tools allows for fast and relevant input on a project. Feedback is essential in the creative process, and the software makes it easy for team members to comment and provide input directly on the tasks or files.

Depending on the software, it may even have features like real-time editing or a chat function, allowing for immediate, collaborative feedback.

This makes for a more dynamic creative process where ideas can be shared, refined, and implemented in a matter of minutes.

Keeping track of time and expenses is vital for any project, and creative agencies are no exception.

Creative project management software often include time tracking features that allow team members to log the hours they’ve worked on specific tasks or projects. This not only helps in understanding the effort required for particular tasks, but also assists in making future estimates more accurate.

Similarly, expenses related to a project, such as purchasing stock images, hiring freelancers, or buying equipment, can also be tracked within the tool.

By centralizing this data, the software allows for easier budget management and financial oversight, which can lead to better resource allocation decisions in the future.

There are the basic things that you should consider when finding the best software for your types of projects. Features, target, industries, and price — things that we covered in our review.

When you’ve reviewed these factors, consider three additional ones: user-friendliness, scalability, and customer support.

While user-friendly UI can be a bit of a subjective thing, user reviews are still a good way to gauge it. Another is customer support.

With responsive customer support, you’ll have a much easier time of implementing your solution, even if its a more complex one.

Scalability refers to the pace at which the tool is upgraded with improvements and new features. It’s very important as it ensures that you’ll be able to keep using the same software, even as your business needs change or grow.

Each tool listed here brings unique features and benefits to the table, catering to different aspects of creative project management.

Here’s a quick summary of the best creative project management tools:

Productive is a project management software tailored for creative teams and agencies.

It supports client collaboration, file sharing, and customizable task views, enhancing team and client interactions. What sets Productive apart is its advanced resource planning and financial management features, combining multiple tools into a single, cohesive platform for agency needs.

Book a demo with Productive to learn more.

Tandem X Visuals, a social media production agency specializing in photography and video production, needed a streamlined solution to manage its fast-paced operations effectively.

When they started out, they used different tools, but realized they needed to switch to a more comprehensive solution such as Productive to support their growing needs.

What Productive brought to Tandem is more than financial management and project management features — it was the right combination of structure and freedom to do things your own way.

Learn how Productive supports the workflows of creative teams, from producers, videographers, to project managers.