Top Engineering Project Management Software for 2024

Your engineering team can get by using all kinds of project management software―but you’ll save time and get more value out of tailored engineering project management software. Project management software for engineers will give you tools like client management and cost control that generalist PM software may not have.

In this article, we’ll point you to some of the top trending project management software for engineers. We’ll also tell you about our hand-picked favorite options. 

Or, if you don’t see the right engineering project management software for your team, check out our Project Management Software Guide to explore many more options.

Accelo: Best for client work management

Accelo is a client management system, with a suite of six integrated software products. These include Projects, Billing, Reports, Retainers, Sales, and Tickets. You can mix and match Accelo products as needed.

Accelo Projects offers top-notch tools for managing not just projects, but also your client relationships. To control costs, for instance, Acello includes built-in time logging, budget forecasting and tracking, and billable rates. It also offers features like client signoff requests, which means your client stays in the loop. Plus, when you bundle Projects with other Accelo products, you can get seamless invoicing, client reports, and retainer routing―everything you need to manage client work. 

Accelo pros and cons

Accelo key features

Client access: Accelo’s Premium plan lets you create a client portal where clients can view project statuses, contracts, and other important information.

Budgeting: Plan and track your project budget with Accelo. You can set budgets for whole projects, milestones, or even single tasks.

Expense tracking: Accelo includes built-in time tracking, but you can track other kinds of expenses too―like costs for materials or fees.

LiquidPlanner: Best for adaptive scheduling

LiquidPlanner is a project management software that emphasizes dynamic adaptation for planning and predicting projects. Of course, it also features standard PM tools like various project views, report options, and task alerts.

If your engineering team ever faces unexpected delays, changes to the brief, or other wrenches in your plans, LiquidPlanner can keep you on track. It predicts when your project will be done, and it updates that prediction over time. LiquidPlanner even shows you best-case and worst-case scenarios, so you can set realistic expectations. 

And while LiquidPlanner isn’t the only project management software to offer adaptive planning, it has some of the best risk alerts (for when you’re in danger of falling behind), and it makes it easy to switch up priorities.

LiquidPlanner pros and cons

LiquidPlanner key features

Predictive scheduling: Get accurate estimates for task and project delivery dates. LiquidPlanner automatically updates your scheduled projects as factors change.

ASAP scheduling: Address roadblocks right away with one-click reprioritization. You can shift priorities across projects or your entire workspace with the click of a button.

Resource leveling: Deal with time off, task delays, and other resource issues. LiquidPlanner gives you a visual representation of everyone’s workload so you can simply redistribute work.

Teamwork: Best for project versioning

Teamwork offers a client work platform that includes project management, resource management, and team collaboration features. You can also upgrade to add an optional CRM, chat, and ticketing tools.

Teamwork is great engineering project management software for teams that have regular updates to project parameters or changes based on client feedback. It includes great versioning tools, so you never get confused by changes to a project. 

When you upload files, you can mark new files as updates to an existing file. Likewise, you can create detailed notebooks for each project and track the version history of those too. Your team will always know they’re working with the latest data―even if your client changes their minds multiple times. 

Teamwork pros and cons

Teamwork key features

File versioning: You can choose to upload a file as a new version of an existing file. It gives you access to all versions―without cluttering up your workspace. Teamwork even has version-specific commenting.  

Notebooks: Keep all your project notes in one central, accessible place with Teamwork’s rich text notebooks. Plus, you can create new versions of existing notebooks.

Guest access: Teamwork offers free guest access to your workspace. So whether you need to deal with clients or contractors, you can keep everyone in the loop without paying extra.

Zoho Projects: Best for budget PM software

Zoho Projects is a cloud-based project management software. It includes features like project planning, knowledge management, billing, and productivity management. Unlike the engineering project management software above, Zoho Projects offers more general project management tools.

Zoho Projects has a big advantage, though: the low cost. For less than $5 per user per month, you can use essential project management tools like Gantt charts, budgeting, and even task automation. The higher-tier Enterprise plan stays under $10 per user per month, but it adds powerful extras like resource management, portfolio management, and many customization options. 

In other words, Zoho Projects has enough PM tools to work for many engineering teams―while fitting neatly in almost any budget.

Zoho Projects pros and cons

Zoho Projects key features

Budget plans: Paid Zoho plans range between just $4 to $10 per month, making Zoho Projects much cheaper than other engineering project management software.

Task automation: Zoho Projects includes built-in automation on its paid plans. Plus, it integrates with Zapier―meaning you can automate just about anything.

Software migration: If you’re moving from another project management system, Zoho can help. It offers guided migrations from popular software like Jira, Wrike, and even Google Sheets.

Asana: Best for task management

Asana’s work management platform lets you manage products, automate workflows, and collaborate with team members. Like Zoho Projects, Asana may not have many engineering-specific tools, but it’s one of the best project management tools out there.

That’s largely because Asana makes task management a breeze. It offers more task granularity than many competitors. You can break projects into tasks, break those tasks into subtasks, and then create task dependencies. 

Asana even lets you create multiple dependencies, and it automatically adjusts project dates based on changes to a dependent task. Plus, Asana offers a simple “My Tasks” page for each team member, so everyone knows exactly what to work on each day.

Asana pros and cons

Asana key features

Task levels: Asana lets you deal with complex engineering projects by breaking them down into multiple levels of tasks and subtasks.

Dashboard: Use Asana’s clear visual dashboards to easily see the status of projects, tasks, or even whole project portfolios. Plus, use a personal “My Tasks” dashboard to stay on top of your own work.

Free plan: Asana offers an impressive free plan. Up to 15 team members can use the free plan to get basic project management tools without affecting your budget.

Choosing the best engineering project management software solution

If you want to easily manage your client relationships along with your projects, use Accelo to seamlessly integrate client and project management.

If your team faces shifting deadlines or delays, get LiquidPlanner for adaptive scheduling that will keep your projects on track.

If you expect changes to your briefs or project revisions, try Teamwork to get project versioning that keeps you organized.

If your team is working with a tight budget, use Zoho Projects to get powerful project management at a fraction of the price of other platforms.

If you need to make complex projects into digestible parts, get Asana for some of the best task management features out there.

Or, if none of our favorite project management software for engineers seems quite right to you, head to our Project Management Software Guide to explore more options.