The 10 best project management and task tools for freelancers in 2026

How we chose these 10 tools

We started from a common setup: one person handling three to six clients at once, for example a bakery website redesign, a brand identity and a booking app. Each tool was judged on that day-to-day work, against five criteria.

• Who holds the data, and in which format you can get it back.
• Offline work, on a train or at a client’s office with no Wi-Fi.
• The price for one person, free plan included.
• Whether you can show progress to a client.
• How long it takes before you track your first project.

Prices and limits come from the official pages (pricing, help centers), checked in October 2026. They are given in US dollars as displayed, before local taxes. No vendor paid us and this page has no affiliate links.

1. Obsidian, to keep your projects in local files

ObsidianObsidianA free note-taking app for Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android. Your notes stay as Markdown files on your own computer. Brievora is a vault, a folder of notes and views that you open in Obsidian.obsidian.md suits a solo freelancer or a very small studio that wants one place for meeting notes, briefs and project tracking, without depending on a server.

Strengths

• Every note is a Markdown file in a folder on your disk, the vault. You back it up however you like and you can read it without Obsidian.
• The app is free, including at work: since February 20, 2025, the commercial license has been optional (official announcement).
• Everything works offline, because the files live on your machine.
• Bases show your notes as a table, cards, a list or a map. Version 1.14, released on October 5, 2026, adds a native Kanban view to track projects by stage.
• Community plugins fill the gaps: calendar, advanced templates, time tracking.

Limitations

• No real-time co-editing: a client cannot comment on a page the way they would in Notion or Google Docs.
• You build the structure yourself (properties, folders, views). Expect a few hours before the system runs smoothly, or start from a template.
• Syncing between computer and phone goes through Obsidian Sync, which is paid, or through a file service you manage yourself.

Starting price: free. Obsidian Sync costs $4 a month billed annually, $5 billed monthly (official pricing). To start with a client-work structure already in place, Brievora provides a ready-made vaultvaultIn Obsidian, a vault is a folder on your computer that Obsidian opens: your notes, their attachments and your settings. Brievora is a ready-made vault.help.obsidian.md.

2. Notion, to share a workspace with clients

Notion suits a freelancer who works with a client or subcontractors in the same space and wants a wiki, databases and public pages in one place.

Strengths

• Several people edit the same page at the same time, with comments and mentions.
• Databases link clients, projects and tasks, with table, board, calendar and timeline views.
• The free plan allows up to 10 external guests, enough to open a tracking page to a client.
• The whole workspace exports to Markdown, CSV or HTML from the settings.

Limitations

• Your pages are stored on Notion’s servers.
• Offline access is set page by page, and only the first 50 rows of a database download automatically.
• On the free plan, page history goes back 7 days and each file is capped at 5 MB.

Starting price: free. The Plus plan is listed at $10 per member per month. Official site: notion.com. Detailed comparison: Obsidian vs Notion.

3. Trello, for a simple Kanban board you can share

Trello suits anyone who thinks in “To do, Doing, Done” columns and wants to show a board to a client without explaining anything.

Strengths

• You get going in minutes: lists, cards, drag and drop.
• Inviting a client to a board costs nothing, within the free plan’s limits.
• The iOS and Android apps work offline and sync when the connection returns.

Limitations

• The free plan stops at 10 boards and 10 collaborators per Workspace.
• The web app and desktop app need a connection.
• CSV export is limited to Premium. Other plans export a board as JSON, which is harder to read.

Starting price: free. Standard costs $5 per user per month billed annually, $6 billed monthly. Official site: trello.com.

4. Todoist, for a fast task list on every device

Todoist suits a freelancer who mostly needs a dependable task list, with due dates and reminders, on both computer and phone.

Strengths

• Input understands everyday language: “follow up with the bakery Friday 10am” creates the task with its date.
• The apps work offline and sync afterwards.
• Each project exports to CSV, and the Pro plan keeps automatic backups.

Limitations

• The free plan is limited to 5 personal projects, which you reach quickly with several clients.
• Nothing for briefs, meeting notes or invoicing: you will need a second tool.

Starting price: free. Pro costs $5 a month billed annually, or $60 a year. Official site: todoist.com.

5. ClickUp, to put everything in one app

ClickUp suits a freelancer or small studio that wants tasks, docs, dashboards and time tracking under one subscription.

Strengths

• The “Free Forever” plan limits neither the number of tasks nor the number of members.
• List, board and calendar views, collaborative docs and forms.
• Tasks from a Workspace export to CSV from the settings.

Limitations

• Lots of menus and settings: setup takes time and often goes beyond what one person needs.
• The free plan caps storage at 60 MB and allows a single form.
• Offline, you can create tasks and view the ones you already opened, but not edit them.

Starting price: free, paid plans available (the pricing page showed two different price grids when we checked). Official site: clickup.com.

6. Asana, for team projects with deadlines

Asana suits a freelancer embedded in a client team that already uses it, or a studio coordinating several people around deadlines.

Strengths

• Projects as a list, a board or a calendar, with one owner and one due date per task.
• A project exports to CSV or JSON from its menu.
• The mobile apps let you create and complete tasks offline.

Limitations

• Built for teams: on your own, you will use a small part of what you pay for.
• No offline mode on the web or desktop.

Starting price: free with the Personal plan. Starter costs $10.99 per user per month billed annually, $13.49 billed monthly. Official site: asana.com.

7. Things 3, for subscription-free tasks on Mac and iPhone

Things 3 suits a freelancer on Apple devices who wants to plan their day and projects in a carefully designed app, paid for once.

Strengths

• One-time purchase per platform, no subscription, and free Things Cloud sync.
• Data is stored on the device, so the app works without a network.
• Projects split into headings, areas of responsibility, and “Today” and “Upcoming” lists.

Limitations

• Only on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Vision Pro, and each platform is sold separately.
• No project sharing with a client or a colleague.
• Export is limited to the app’s SQLite database or printing to PDF.

Starting price: $49.99 for the Mac version on the US App Store, one-time purchase. A trial version is available on Mac. Official site: culturedcode.com.

8. Bonsai, to connect projects, proposals and invoices

Bonsai suits a freelancer who wants to handle client proposals, contracts, time tracked and invoices in the same tool.

Strengths

• Proposals, contracts, invoices and online payments from the Essentials plan up.
• Time tracking, tasks and unlimited projects from the Basic plan up.
• A client portal from Essentials up, and CSV export of invoices, projects, tasks and time tracked.

Limitations

• No free plan: a 7-day trial, then a subscription.
• The Basic plan includes no proposals, contracts or invoices.
• Built for admin work: for meeting notes and project documentation, a second tool still helps.

Starting price: $9 a month billed annually for Basic ($15 billed monthly). Invoices and contracts require Essentials, at $19 a month billed annually. Official site: hellobonsai.com.

9. Basecamp, for a shared project space at a flat price

Basecamp suits a freelancer or studio that invites clients into one space per project: messages, to-do lists, files and schedule.

Strengths

• Paid plans have a flat price, with no per-user fee.
• The client follows the project in the same place as you, with no email thread to piece together.
• A 30-day free trial on paid plans.

Limitations

• The free plan handles a single active project.
• The Freelancer plan stops at 3 active projects. Beyond that you move to Studio, at $59 a month.
• Designed for connected use: we found no offline mode in the documentation.

Starting price: free for one project. The Freelancer plan costs $25 a month. Official site: basecamp.com.

10. Linear, for developers who manage issues

Linear suits a freelance developer or product studio that tracks issues, cycles and releases, often alongside GitHub.

Strengths

• A fast interface you can drive entirely from the keyboard.
• Cycles, projects and priorities designed for software development.
• CSV export from any view, and a full workspace export by an admin.

Limitations

• The free plan caps out at 250 issues and 2 teams.
• A poor fit for a design or writing project, which does not break down well into issues.
• According to Linear’s documentation, offline mode is a failsafe rather than a full way of working.

Starting price: free. Basic costs $10 per user per month billed annually. Official site: linear.app.

Summary table of the 10 tools in 2026

Monthly prices in US dollars, per user when the tool charges per person, billed annually when that option exists. Taken from the official sites in October 2026.

Which tool fits your profile

• You work alone, for several clients, and want to own your data: Obsidian, with client projects organized in Bases.
• You already use Obsidian’s community Kanban plugin: our free Kanban to Bases plugin converts your boards into Bases views.
• You share most things with clients and subcontractors: Notion, or Basecamp if you prefer a flat price.
• You only want to see where each project stands, in columns: Trello.
• Today’s list worries you more than the projects: Todoist, or Things 3 on Apple.
• You want the invoice to go out from the tool that tracks the project: Bonsai.
• You write code and manage issues: Linear.
• You coordinate a small team around deadlines: Asana or ClickUp.

Two tools can live side by side, for example Todoist for the day and Obsidian for project history, as long as each piece of information has a single home.