Home / Shortlists / Best Project Management Software for Students
Best Project Management Software for Students
Students need one place for class notes, deadlines and group projects, and the answer should cost $0. This shortlist compares four project tools that all have genuinely free plans, with the cheapest paid tier in the cluster at $5/mo billed annually. Prices come from each vendor's own pricing page; the exceptions worth knowing are flagged under "What to watch".
Prices last re-checked 2026-10-05. Numbers are read from each vendor's own pricing page; any exception is flagged under "What to watch".
Which one should you pick?
- Pick Notion if you need the best pick overall. Visit Notion
- Pick Trello if you need the cheapest way to start. Visit Trello
- Pick Asana if this trade-off works for you: the group-project pick. Visit Asana
- Pick ClickUp if this trade-off works for you: the feature-max pick. Visit ClickUp
The short answer
Short answer: Best pick overall: Notion puts notes, databases and project pages in one workspace at $0/mo on the free plan, so lecture notes and the group project live in the same place. Plus is $10/mo per seat when a study group wants shared access.
| Tool | Entry price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $6/mo, or $5/mo billed annually | Per user. Unlimited boards, advanced checklists, custom fields, 250 workspace co |
| Premium | $12.5/mo, or $10/mo billed annually | Per user. Calendar/Day/Table/Timeline/Dashboard views, AI, 1,000 command runs/mo |
| Enterprise | $17.5/mo (no annual discount published) | Per user. Organization-wide permissions, SSO, 250 workspace command runs/mo |
Prices checked 2026-10-05.
Best pick overall: Notion
Notion puts notes, databases and project pages in one workspace at $0/mo on the free plan, so lecture notes and the group project live in the same place. Plus is $10/mo per seat when a study group wants shared access.
See Notion pricingCheapest way to start: Trello
Trello's free plan is $0/mo with unlimited cards, and Standard is $5/mo billed annually ($6 month-to-month) per user if a class team outgrows the free board limits.
See Trello pricingThe group-project pick: Asana
Asana's free Personal plan covers up to 10 teammates with list, board and timeline views, which is a whole seminar group at $0/mo. Starter is $10.99/mo per user when the group needs more.
See Asana pricingThe feature-max pick: ClickUp
ClickUp's free forever plan covers unlimited tasks and free plan members, and Unlimited is $7/mo billed annually ($10 month-to-month) per member - the lowest paid step after Trello.
See ClickUp pricingThe prices, plan by plan
Trello
Trello is free for unlimited cards and up to 10 boards per workspace, then $5 per user per month on Standard, $10 on Premium and $17.50 on Enterprise, billed annually.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Unlimited cards, up to 10 boards per workspace, 10MB attachment limit |
| Standard | $6/mo, or $5/mo billed annually | Per user. Unlimited boards, advanced checklists, custom fields, 250 workspace command runs/mo |
| Premium | $12.5/mo, or $10/mo billed annually | Per user. Calendar/Day/Table/Timeline/Dashboard views, AI, 1,000 command runs/mo |
| Enterprise | $17.5/mo (no annual discount published) | Per user. Organization-wide permissions, SSO, 250 workspace command runs/mo |
Prices checked 2026-10-05.
What to watch: Trello prints the annual per-user rate by default; the monthly-billing rates come from the page's monthly toggle. Enterprise is quoted at the same rate either way.
Source: https://trello.com/pricing, read 2026-10-05.
See Trello pricingClickUp
ClickUp is free for unlimited members with 100MB storage, then $7 per user per month on Unlimited, $12 on Business and a custom quote for Enterprise, billed annually.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free Forever | Free | Unlimited members, 100MB storage, unlimited tasks, board and list views |
| Unlimited | $10/mo, or $7/mo billed annually | Per user. Unlimited storage, integrations, dashboards, Gantt, 1,000 automations/mo |
| Business | $19/mo, or $12/mo billed annually | Per user. Advanced automations, time tracking, workload, 10,000 automations/mo |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom quote. SSO, advanced permissions, white labelling |
What to watch: ClickUp prints the annual per-user rate by default; the monthly-billing rates come from the page's monthly toggle.
Source: https://clickup.com/pricing, read 2026-10-19.
See ClickUp pricingNotion
Notion is free for individuals. Plus is $10 per member/mo and Business is $20 per member/mo on the rates printed on notion.com's pricing page; Enterprise is custom quote.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | For individuals: databases with subtasks and dependencies, basic forms and sites, Notion Calendar |
| Plus | $10/mo | Unlimited collaborative blocks and file uploads, custom forms and sites, unlimited charts, basic connections |
| Business | $20/mo | Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes, Enterprise Search, SAML SSO, private teamspaces, premium connections |
| Enterprise | Custom | SCIM provisioning, audit log, advanced security, domain management, zero data retention with LLM providers |
Prices checked 2026-10-05.
What to watch: The pricing page prints one rate per member/mo behind a monthly/yearly toggle ('Save up to 20% with yearly'); only the single printed rates ($10 Plus, $20 Business) are recorded here and the separate monthly-billing rates are not printed as numbers on the page we read, so they are not guessed.
Source: https://www.notion.com/pricing, read 2026-10-19.
See Notion pricingAsana
Asana is free for up to 10 teammates, then $10.99 per user per month on Starter, $24.99 on Advanced and a custom quote for Enterprise, billed monthly.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | Free | Up to 10 teammates, unlimited tasks and projects, list/board/timeline views |
| Starter | $10.99/mo (no annual discount published) | Per user. Timeline, workflow builder, 250 automations/mo, 500 form submissions/mo |
| Advanced | $24.99/mo (no annual discount published) | Per user. Goals, portfolios, workload, time tracking, 25,000 automations/mo |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom quote. SSO, SCIM, data residency, advanced reporting |
Prices checked 2026-10-05.
What to watch: Asana's pricing page shows the same per-user rate whether you pay monthly or yearly, so we record no annual discount rather than inventing one.
Source: https://asana.com/pricing, read 2026-10-19.
See Asana pricingQuestions people ask
What is the cheapest option here?
Trello. Its free plan is $0/mo with unlimited cards. Standard is $5/mo billed annually ($6 month-to-month) per user when a class team wants more boards. Every tool on this list has a real free plan, so a student can run a full group project at $0.
Which one is best for group projects?
Asana. Its free Personal plan covers up to 10 teammates with list, board and timeline views, so a seminar group can split work without a bill. Trello is the simpler fallback if the group only needs columns.
Can I keep notes and coursework with my tasks?
Notion. Its free plan is $0/mo and keeps notes, databases and project pages in one workspace, and Plus is $10/mo per seat when the whole study group needs shared access.
Which one has the most features on the free plan?
ClickUp. Its free forever plan covers unlimited tasks and free plan members, and Unlimited is $7/mo billed annually ($10 month-to-month) per member - the cheapest paid step after Trello Standard.
Do any of these survive after graduation?
Trello and ClickUp both keep free plans for personal use, so the same boards can move from coursework into a first job at $0. Asana's free Personal plan also stays free under 10 teammates.
What is the catch with the student angle?
None of these four sells a separate student discount - you are on the normal free plans. Trello Standard is $5/mo billed annually ($6 month-to-month) per user, and Asana Starter is $10.99/mo per user once a team outgrows free.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We do not accept payment for placement, and the price tables are generated from the same dataset we re-check weekly. Full disclosure. How we check prices.