Project management software for construction: what to look for and which tools fit

Who this guide is for

This guide is for contractors, builders, fit-out and facilities teams, and owner's representatives who need to plan and track construction schedules in a general project management tool. It covers scheduling, dependencies, critical path, mobile updates, files and photos, and access for subcontractors and clients.

Be clear about the limits. The tools below are general work management products, not construction platforms. Construction-specific software exists for field operations, and work such as drawing control, RFIs, submittals and site safety records is often handled there. This site does not review those products. Every fact below comes from vendor pricing pages and help centers checked on 19 October 2026; we have not tested the tools hands-on.

What a construction schedule needs

• Phases and tasks with real durations, from preconstruction through closeout.
• Dependencies, so a slipped concrete pour moves the framing and everything after it.
• A critical path, so you can see which tasks set the completion date.
• Baselines, so you can compare today's schedule with the one the client signed.
• Mobile updates from site, including photos attached to the task they document.
• Controlled access for subcontractors, consultants and the owner, who should see their part of the schedule and no more.

General tools differ most on the last four points, and on which plan includes them.

Features that matter and why

• Gantt with dependency types. Finish-to-start covers most sequencing, but overlapping trades often need start-to-start or finish-to-finish links. ClickUp and Wrike both document all four types. Zoho Projects allows only finish-to-start on its Free plan.
• Critical path. Look for automatic highlighting that updates as dates move. Smartsheet's help center says the critical path is highlighted in red in Gantt view and updates as task dates or dependencies change.
• Baselines. Without one, you cannot show a client how far the program has drifted. Baselines usually sit on a mid or upper plan.
• Files and photos. Check storage and per-file limits on the plan you will buy. Site photos and drawings use space quickly.
• Working days and holidays. A schedule that ignores weekends and site shutdowns produces the wrong finish date. Zoho Projects, for example, lists one business calendar and holiday list from Premium and more on higher plans.
• External access. Free viewer or contributor roles can keep the paid seat count down when many subcontractors need to see dates.

The shortlist

Among the tools on this site with a Gantt or timeline view and dependencies, this guide covers these six. ClickUp is our commercial partner and is listed first.

• ClickUp. Gantt view with all four dependency types and automatic rescheduling of dependent tasks, which ClickUp's help center caps at 1,000 dependent tasks per change. Gantt is limited to 60 uses on Free Forever, and uses do not reset; it is unlimited from the first paid plan (Unlimited or Core, depending on which version of the pricing page you see). ClickUp's help center views table lists baselines from Business (its Gantt page says only that baselines are on paid plans), one version of the pricing page lists Gantt Chart PDFs from Business, and Workload view is metered until Business. ClickUp's pricing table lists Critical Path & Slack Time as not included on Free Forever, a trial on the first paid plan and included from Business, while its Gantt page says Critical Path works on the free plan, so test it in your own Workspace. Free Forever has 60 MB of storage, and guests on it always get full permissions. Mobile apps are available for iOS and Android.
• Smartsheet. A sheet-based tool with Gantt view and dependencies on every plan, starting with Pro, and its help center lists critical path on Pro, Business and Enterprise. Baselines, Timeline view, workload tracking and free Guests start on Business. Contributors are free and unlimited on every plan; the pricing page defines them as users who can view, comment, upload attachments, respond to update requests and submit forms, so they do not edit the sheet directly. Guests, free users from outside your domains who can edit and comment, start on Business. The pricing page lists construction among its industry solutions.
• Wrike. Interactive Gantt charts start on Team, with all four dependency types, milestones and a conflict monitor. Its help center lists critical path on Business, Pinnacle and Apex, and its plan comparison lists baseline tracking from Business. Gantt charts can be shared by public link with an expiry date or password, and free viewers are available on every plan.
• monday.com. The Gantt view starts on Standard. Dependencies, milestones and critical path need Pro or Enterprise. Guest access starts on Standard, and iOS and Android apps are listed on every plan, including Free.
• Zoho Projects. Gantt charts are on every plan, including Free (up to 5 users and 3 projects), with finish-to-start dependencies within a project. All four dependency types start on Premium, and critical path with up to 15 baselines per project from Enterprise. Read-only users start on Enterprise.
• Teamwork.com. Gantt, dependencies and milestones are on every plan. Critical paths start on Accelerate. Mobile and desktop apps and collaboration with third-party users are on every plan, and client users can be invited into projects from Basics.

Plans and costs to check

We do not publish prices because they change. Check each vendor's pricing page for current numbers. For construction teams, these limits matter most:

• Storage. Smartsheet lists 20 GB with a 30 MB maximum attachment on Pro, and 1 TB with 250 MB on Business. Zoho Projects lists 5 GB on Free and 100 GB on Premium. Teamwork.com lists 100 MB on Free and 100 GB on Basics. ClickUp lists 60 MB on Free Forever and unlimited storage on paid plans.
• Seat rules. Smartsheet Pro allows up to 10 Members and Business needs at least 3. Wrike's Team plan covers 2 to 15 users. monday.com plans start from 3 users.
• Free collaborators. Smartsheet Contributors and Guests (Guests from Business), Wrike viewers and ClickUp view-only guests on paid plans do not use a paid seat. Check exactly what each role can edit.
• Plan availability. Smartsheet notes that its Pro plan is available only to new customers, and its help center says the Free plan has not been available to new signups since 28 August 2024.

How to run a trial

• Rebuild one real program with its actual phases, durations and links, not a sample template.
• Delay an early task by a week and check how the dependent tasks, the critical path and the finish date respond.
• Save a baseline, move several dates, and see how the tool shows the variance.
• Have a site lead update tasks and attach photos from a phone for a few days.
• Invite one subcontractor or a colleague acting as one, and check what they can see and change.

Trial terms vary: Smartsheet lists 30 days, Zoho Projects 15 days, and Wrike, Teamwork.com and monday.com (on Pro) 14 days. Wrike, monday.com, ClickUp, Zoho Projects and Teamwork.com also have free plans, while Smartsheet's Free plan is closed to new signups.

When construction-specific software is a better fit

A general tool works well for the master schedule, preconstruction tasks, procurement tracking and internal coordination. If your daily work centers on field records, document control or contractual workflows between owner, contractor and subcontractors, construction-specific software is designed for that, and many teams run it alongside a scheduling tool.

If you go that way, decide which system owns the schedule, and keep task dates in one place so the two do not drift apart.