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Most project management software promises comprehensive solutions, but as an architect, you’ll soon discover that few platforms cater to your specific demands. In addition to task management, you may need features for complex project planning, budgeting, and CAD integration.
Moreover, finding software that combines these features with an intuitive interface and collaboration tools can be challenging. Your projects involve intricate coordination with clients, contractors, and your team, so streamlined communication and data sharing are essential.
I tested numerous project management tools alongside an architect to identify the best options. My friend outgrew their old-fashioned ways of managing projects with spreadsheets and emails. After extensive research and hands-on testing, we identified the 10 best project management software that meet the unique needs of your architectural projects.
Our top pick is monday.com because of its user-friendly design, customization options, and robust collaboration tools – perfect for managing architectural workflows. Start a free test project on monday.com or keep reading to explore other reliable options that might suit your firm better.
What We Look For in the Best Project Management Software for Architects
You need project management software that divides projects into stages, facilitates collaboration, and supports various integrations. Here’s what I focused on while evaluating different project management software for architects.
Ease of use. As an architect, you often juggle multiple projects with different needs and deadlines, so the software must be intuitive and easy to navigate. This ensures you spend more time designing and less time navigating the software.
Task and resource management. I looked for software that lets you divide projects into stages and set different tasks and deadlines within those stages. I also looked for software that helps with resource allocation and tracking.
Collaboration features. Architectural projects require collaboration between team members, clients, and contractors. The best project management software for architects provide seamless collaboration features that let you easily share ideas and receive feedback, and updates without friction.
File sharing & document management. Architectural projects require sharing various materials. I looked for software that makes it simple to share and store files, including large ones like blueprints and CAD drawings.
Integrations. My recommendations support a wide range of integrations with other tools architects need, such as CAD software, invoicing, communication platforms, and other third-party software.
Monday.com’s user-friendly, color-coded interface helps you track progress with just a glanceMonday.com brings together ease of use, customizability, and intuitive features, making it a versatile option for different architectural projects. You can use monday.com’s customizable design templates1 to simplify and streamline your architectural workflows. The platform also helps you track resources and monitor project performance.
Particularly helpful for architects is monday.com’s WorkCanvas, a digital whiteboard that you can use to brainstorm ideas and visualize workflows with your clients and team members. It allows you to create mind maps, flowcharts, and other visuals for your projects. Most importantly, it has a dedicated Mood Board template, so you won’t have to use a separate tool for creating and sharing mood boards.
Monday.com offers a free plan which might work if you’re a one-man band. However, the 3-board limit can be restrictive for managing multiple projects or teams. To use monday.com to its fullest potential, you’ll need to invest in one of its three premium yet affordable plans. For advanced views like Gantt charts, more automations, integrations, and guest access for clients, the Standard plan provides the best balance between price and capacity.
Features
Integrates with 200+ apps. Monday.com allows seamless integration with over 200 apps, including QuickBooks invoicing and Google Calendar, helping you streamline workflows without switching platforms.
Custom automations with real-time updates. You can automate mundane tasks like deadline alerts or reminders for giving and getting approvals, which allows you to spend less writing emails to keep everyone updated and more time designing spaces.
Built-in collaboration tools. Features like file sharing, custom permissions, task assignments, and a shared workspace help maintain clear communication and accountability. Your clients can comment on specific documents, allowing you to collect feedback and share it with your team without sending and forwarding multiple emails.
Built-in reporting features. You can create detailed reports directly within monday.com and monitor project timelines, budgets, and team performance with ease. For example, the Pro Plan has a workload view that lets you see whether each team member is working beyond, under, or at capacity. You can also choose to view historical data or hide it to focus on forecasting.
This is just one of the many ClickUp templates specifically designed for architectural projectsClickUp is the most customizable project management software due to its built-in features and over 1,000 integrations. It offers templates in different categories that help you organize designs, phase your work, and manage timelines. This flexibility allows you to adapt your workflow to the specific needs of each architectural project, making it ideal if you’re handling projects of varying complexity or type.
You can use ClickUp’s dedicated architectural design templates to document and collaborate on everything from initial concepts to the final design. Additionally, with Docs in ClickUp, you can collect ideas from clients and team members to create your project plan. Next, you can use Whiteboards to create interactive visuals of your design and Board views to prepare a visual presentation for streamlined collaboration and tracking.
Whether it’s task management, time tracking, or resource allocation, ClickUp has tools to manage it1. Its free plan is among the most generous I’ve seen, including typically premium features like Gantt views. Though it has a steep learning curve, ClickUp is a great choice for both individual architects and teams. You’ll likely find that its extensive feature set justifies the initial time investment, ultimately leading to smoother execution in the long run.
Features
15+ project views. ClickUp offers over 15 customizable project views, including Calendar, List, Board, Gantt, and Workload, allowing you to visualize projects from various perspectives.
Custom statuses and fields. Create custom statuses tailored to architectural projects like Approved, Concept, Complete, Update Requested, and Review to track each project phase. Use Custom Fields like Amount, Design Concept, and Design Development to keep important details accessible and visualize design data.
Whiteboards. ClickUp’s Whiteboards are particularly helpful for architects, allowing you to create mind maps and collectively brainstorm ideas and concepts by adding images, notes, files, and other elements.
Advanced time tracking. With ClickUp’s custom timesheets, reports, and insights, you can get advanced time estimates like tracked time per task to spot potential bottlenecks or shortages. You can filter tracked time by dates, tags, and statuses to manage project timelines effectively.
Don’t get tricked by the minimalist interface, Smartsheet can handle projects of any complexity
Smartsheet is a powerful tool for managing complex architectural projects, even though its Excel-like interface isn’t the most visually impressive. It helps you organize and analyze project data for resource planning, accountability, and accurate budget forecasting. It’s especially effective for projects that require precision.
If you’re involved in building information modeling (BIM), Smartsheet supports integrated project delivery1, reducing errors and improving team collaboration. Its ability to manage diverse data in real-time makes it valuable for BIM environments.Though it has a steeper learning curve, Smartsheet is worth the investment if you handle complex projects. Unlike most of my recommendations, it doesn’t have a free forever plan. But you’ll likely find everything you need to improve efficiency and accuracy throughout your project lifecycle in its affordably priced Pro and Business plans. You can try it out and see if its features work for you with its 30-day trial.
Features
Cost and budget management. Smartsheet offers cost and budget management tools, helping your architectural projects stay on budget. For example, the Business Budget Management template lets you compare monthly actuals to budget goals, helping you maintain efficiency and avoid financial surprises.
Version control. Smartsheet lets you manage and track multiple document versions, so clients and your team always have access to the latest files while still being able to view previous versions.
Mobile access. The Smartsheet mobile app for iOS and Android lets you access project data from anywhere, essential if you’re managing multiple sites. The editable grid lets you make updates, take action on alerts, view attachments, and track progress in real time.
Automated alerts and reminders. You can send automated alerts and reminders to team members via email or the Smartsheet mobile app.
Jira integrates with over 1,000 apps solely for project managementJira is ideal for architects who need seamless integration with third-party tools. Since Atlassian owns Jira, you can use its vast range of products and apps to customize this project management tool. For example, there’s the 3D Viewer+ for Jira that allows you to embed 3D model files, including IFC, FBX, OBJ, and STL files. Jira’s Marketplace offers one of the largest selections among project management tools with over 3,000 apps.
Jira’s robust API lets you connect a wide range of design, project management, and budget-tracking tools. This setup makes Jira ideal for managing complex architectural projects that require seamless integration between multiple systems. Its free plan provides essential features for smaller architectural firms. Additionally, larger teams can take advantage of discounted pricing, making Jira a cost-effective solution for growing architectural businesses.
Jira doesn’t offer templates specifically designed for architects but you can tailor any template or customize your workflow from scratch. Jira’s built-in time tracker only relies on manual time entry, but you can integrate it with powerful time-tracking apps that handle billing and invoicing. For example, Timesheets lets you track hours, overtime, and billable time and can generate comparison reports by client, project, and employee. If you prefer a free tracker, consider Clockify.
Features
Multiple dashboards. A dashboard in Jira is a collection of “gadgets,” or pre-installed data displays, that show various types of real-time data to help you oversee work across projects. A single dashboard can contain information from one or more projects, enabling you to track progress across individual projects and your entire studio.
Custom user permissions. Dashboards can be private or shared. Jira also offers precise control over who can access, edit, or view different parts of a project. This feature is particularly useful when collaborating with clients or external contractors, ensuring sensitive information remains secure.
File sharing. Jira allows up to 2 GB per file attachment and its Premium and Enterprise plans offer unlimited file storage, making it ideal for blueprint and design sharing. You can attach files directly from your device or cloud storage options like Dropbox and Google Drive.
Resource management. You can use Jira’s predictive analytics to forecast resource requirements and efficiently allocate resources. This allows you to oversee employee capacity and determine how much work each team member can realistically handle. You can also use its resource management tools for workload analysis and set automatic alerts for critical events.
Teamwork’s user-friendly UI allows complete beginners to start managing projects right away
Teamwork is easy to use without compromising on features. Its intuitive interface enables you to manage projects of any complexity, including subtasks, dependencies, Gantt charts, workload management, and more. Despite its power, the smooth, responsive UI ensures there’s almost no learning curve. It’s an excellent choice if you are new to project management or a rapidly growing studio that needs to start using project management software immediately.
Teamwork offers many features for architecture firms, including time tracking, billing, and customizable templates that you can tailor to your workflows. It also provides templates for specific use cases like client onboarding, which can save you significant time. This particular template includes a checklist with detailed instructions, documents and contracts, timelines, milestones, and more, making client collaboration more efficient.
The lack of a markup functionality for images and other visual content could be a deal breaker If you prefer it for collaboration and feedback. Its free plan, which supports two active projects and up to 5 users, could work for individuals or small architectural studios. Alternatively, Teamwork’s affordable paid plans offer a cost-effective solution for small to medium architectural firms.
Features
Multiple account types. Teamwork provides a client view and three account types – standard users, clients, and collaborators – ensuring customized access and clear communication with clients.
Enhanced collaboration. Teamwork allows multiple team members to work on the same project, share files, and exchange ideas, keeping everything aligned. It also has an in-app chat function, allowing you to keep all communication in one place.
Real-time updates. Teamwork provides real-time updates, displaying tasks, calendars, and status changes in one dashboard. You can assign tasks, set due dates, and set task reminders at specific times.
Alerts for spending limits. This feature is especially useful for architectural projects, where budget constraints can be easily overlooked without proper tracking.
HubSpot’s neat interface can help you stay on top of every aspect of your architectural businessHubSpot excels as an all-in-one customer relationship management (CRM) and project management solution, particularly suited for large architectural firms. It allows you to oversee sales pipelines, manage marketing campaigns, and track performance metrics – all from a single platform. This integration is ideal for streamlining operations without the need to switch between tools.
The Projects tool, part of HubSpot’s Professional plan, lets you create and assign tasks and set deadlines. HubSpot also supports advanced automations, such as setting custom triggers to automate repetitive tasks like client onboarding emails. You can also automate entire workflows by setting up a sequence or consecutive timed actions related to a specific project using its self-guided templates.
While the Projects tool is available for free with basic features, advanced options require the Professional plan, which can be costly. However, having everything on one platform can significantly increase productivity across all areas of your architectural business. For instance, its AI features help you plan marketing campaigns, generate content and images, and create client reports, making the higher investment worthwhile.
Features
1,500+ integrations. HubSpot offers extensive integrations with business, finance, marketing, productivity, and other apps available within its marketplace. Additionally, you can connect HubSpot with software like AutoCAD, BIM 360, and other essential tools for architects via third-party integrations.
Simple sharing and generous storage. You can upload and share large files without size limits and store up to 5,000 files on Professional-tier plans – ideal for uploading your blueprints and 3D models.
Seamless communication. You have options like mentions, comments, emails, and in-app conversations. You can also comment on specific sections in shared files, making it ideal for providing and collecting feedback.
Comprehensive mobile app. You can manage your architectural projects on the go with HubSpot’s mobile app in iOS and Android, which supports all of the project management features, including real-time notifications.
Zoho Projects has features like “Issues” and “Phases” which are ideal for architectural projectsZoho Projects works well for small to medium architectural firms, particularly those focused on construction. With its robust task management tools, including real-time spending tracking and project update feed, you can easily run multiple construction projects simultaneously.
The software has a steep learning curve, especially when you dive into its advanced features like personalized workflow automation and custom reports. You might find it challenging to fully utilize the platform’s capabilities without significant time investment. However, Zoho Projects offers plenty of resources like webinars, help videos, and in-depth tutorials to help you understand its tools.
Striven offers almost everything within one platform if you have the budget
Striven offers an all-in-one solution for architectural firms handling complex projects with its extensive suite of features, including 500 templates, Kanban view, budgeting, accounting, performance metrics, and more. It’s ideal if you need a comprehensive tool that handles everything from finances to employees in one place.
However, Striven lacks a built-in chat app, which can be a significant drawback if you prefer quick, in-app communication. Also, it’s on the pricier side, so ensure it fits your budget before committing.
I was impressed by TeamGantt’s resources and guidance available within the projects page
TeamGantt offers a free plan for basic project management, which is quite limited but may work for simple architectural projects. As the name suggests, it excels in Gantt charts, which are beneficial for managing phases, overseeing overlaps and dependencies, visualizing project timelines, and more. If you’re a new architectural firm, TeamGantt could be a good option.
While there are other project views available, TeamGantt doesn’t offer much beyond Gantt charts and project management basics, making it unsuitable for rapidly growing or large firms or complex architectural projects. Additionally, it doesn’t offer the best value compared to other project management software with more advanced features.
Bonsai provides all the project management essentials and extras for self-employed architects
Bonsai is particularly useful for freelance architects and small firms needing streamlined project management. It provides essential project management features, including a robust contract builder, automated invoicing, and CRM capabilities.
Bonsai’s client portal gives you a centralized space to communicate and share documents like invoices and contracts with your clients. However, Bonsai’s limited collaboration features and integrations might hinder teamwork on larger projects. If your work requires extensive collaboration, consider alternatives.
Choose the Best Project Management Software for Your Architectural Business
Every architectural business has its own project management needs. Some need advanced visualization tools, while others prioritize collaboration and flexibility.
If you need an easy-to-use platform that doesn’t compromise on features, monday.com is my top pick1. It offers templates that fit architectural workflows and advanced workflow automations, and provides the overall best value for the price.
ClickUp is perfect1 if you need advanced customization and versatile features to handle different project needs. It includes a dedicated architectural design template, advanced time tracking, and document management, making it a reliable all-in-one solution for managing architectural projects.
Smartsheet is ideal1 for managing complex architectural and BIM projects, where detailed reporting and resource management are essential. Its spreadsheet-like interface excels at handling data-intensive projects.
Here’s a quick comparison of my top project management software for architects.
Free Plan
Best Feature
Best For
Starting Price
monday.com
✔
Custom automations and WorkCanvas digital whiteboard with Mood Board template
All types of architects, including new and established studios
Project management tools enable architects to organize tasks, deadlines, and resources in one place. Additionally, they help streamline communication, manage documents, and track progress.
What are the top project management software options for architects?
Top project management tools for architects include monday.com, ClickUp, and Smartsheet. Each offers features like task management, resource allocation, and collaboration. These platforms address the unique needs of architectural projects, such as coordinating with multiple teams and managing extensive documentation.
What features should I look for in project management software for architects?
Your needs will determine the best choice, but generally, you should prioritize ease of use, task and resource management, collaboration features, integrations, and document management. If you want an easy tool without a learning curve, Teamwork is the best option, but if you want to build a highly personalized solution, consider ClickUp.
Are there free or low-cost project management software options suitable for small architectural firms?
Ivana is a full-time content writer and expert reviewer passionate about tech, finance, business, and too many other things to name. After getting her bachelor’s degree in Economics, she decided to ditch a career in accounting and turn her passion into a full-time writing affair. You can find her listening to finance podcasts, reading self-help books, glamming up, and rocking bold outfits. She’s also advocating for animal welfare and women’s rights.
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