Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the
shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review. The largest vendors in project portfolio management software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 12 tools, reviewed
#1 Celoxis
Project and portfolio management with published per-user tiers · India · celoxis.com
Published pricing Resource planning Cloud or on-premise
Celoxis reads like a PPM product built for people who dislike sales calls.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Four published tiers from $10 to $45 per standard user per month billed annually, cheaper contributor seats, a 5-user minimum and a 14-day free trial. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Mid-sized PMOs wanting published prices
- Strengths: Gantt scheduling; Resource workload and capacity; Timesheets.
Where it falls short
The 5 full-access user minimum rules out the smallest teams, and downgrading seats is only possible after the current term ends. The company says no refunds are given for unused time.
Wrong for
A two- or three-person team, or a company that needs a polished collaboration app for creative work.
Visit Celoxis →
#2 Meisterplan
Resource-based portfolio planning with what-if scenarios · Germany · meisterplan.com
Capacity planning What-if scenarios Unlimited users
Meisterplan frames portfolio planning as a capacity problem, which is where most mid-sized companies get stuck. Its pricing page explains that users are free and unlimited, while the people, places and things you schedule, called resources, set the license price. That model lets every executive, project lead and team member see the plan without a seat fee.
- Pricing: Per resource / month. Priced by the number of planned resources and the edition, with unlimited free users and a 30-day trial. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Resource-constrained portfolios, Jira-heavy IT
- Strengths: Project portfolio management; Resource capacity planning; What-if scenario planning.
Where it falls short
Pricing depends on resource packages and an edition, and the numbers did not load as plain text on the page we read, so the cost has to be worked out in the trial or with sales.
Wrong for
A firm that needs task-level collaboration, time approval or client billing in the same app.
Visit Meisterplan →
#3 Runn
Resource and capacity planning for project teams · New Zealand · runn.io
Capacity planning Utilization Published pricing
Runn describes itself as resource management and capacity planning software for teams planning people across technical projects, and its pricing page backs that with simple numbers. Lite costs $7 and Standard $11 per resource seat monthly, with scheduling, tentative projects, utilization charts, skills and project financials from the first tier, and timesheets, custom fields and an API on Standard.
- Pricing: Per resource / month. Per resource seat per month: Lite at $7, Standard at $11, Advanced by quote. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Agencies and consultancies planning people
- Strengths: Capacity and utilization charts; Scheduling; Tentative projects.
Where it falls short
Runn plans people and money but does not govern a portfolio the way an enterprise suite does: there is no funding gate or capital planning on the pages we read.
Wrong for
A PMO that needs stage-gate governance, risk registers, benefits tracking or capital planning.
Visit Runn →
#4 Epicflow
Multi-project resource management with predictive analytics · Netherlands · epicflow.com
Predictive scheduling What-if analysis Multi-project
Epicflow targets organizations where many projects draw on the same specialists, such as engineering, aerospace and manufacturing. Its pages describe automatic planning with data-driven prioritization, a future load graph that shows demand against capacity, what-if analysis, competence management and semi-automated task assignment. The Enterprise plan adds portfolio plan adjustment based on resource constraints and business value.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Growth plan at 25 euros per person per month (22.50 on annual billing) for 20 to 50 users. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Engineering and defense multi-project teams
- Strengths: Pipeline view; Resource capacity planning; Future load graph.
Where it falls short
The Growth plan covers 20 to 50 users, up to 50 projects and 250 tasks, so the entry tier has real ceilings, and everything above 50 users is a quote.
Wrong for
A company with fewer than twenty users or a single project stream.
Visit Epicflow →
#5 Zoho Projects
Project management with a portfolio dashboard on higher tiers · India · zoho.com
Free plan Budget and EVM Portfolio dashboard
Zoho Projects is the low-cost route into portfolio reporting. The free plan covers up to 5 users and 3 projects, Premium adds unlimited projects, project budget with earned value management, timesheets and multi-level timesheet approvals, and Enterprise adds a portfolio dashboard, critical path and baselines, Power BI integration, SSO and a user hierarchy. Ultimate raises the limits further.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Free plan for up to 5 users and 3 projects, then Premium, Enterprise and Ultimate tiers. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Small businesses starting portfolio views
- Strengths: Gantt and critical path; Baselines; Project budget and EVM.
Where it falls short
Portfolio features start only at the Enterprise tier, and the pricing page we read did not show numbers, so cost must be confirmed in the checkout flow.
Wrong for
A PMO that must compare funding scenarios or model staffing across hundreds of projects.
Visit Zoho Projects →
#6 Wrike
Work management with resource planning on higher plans · United States · wrike.com
Free plan Gantt Resource planning
Wrike starts as a general work platform, then adds portfolio muscle as you climb. The pricing page lists a free plan, Team at $10 for 2 to 15 users and Business at $25 for 5 to 200 users, both billed annually. Interactive Gantt charts and shareable dashboards come early.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Free plan. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Teams outgrowing task tools
- Strengths: Interactive Gantt charts; Dashboards; Request forms.
Where it falls short
Pricing outlined on the page applies to purchases from January 21, 2026, and the vendor reserves the right to change packaging at any time. The tier that matters for portfolio work is contact-sales only.
Wrong for
A buyer who needs capacity planning and financials at a published price.
Visit Wrike →
#7 Smartsheet
Spreadsheet-style work management with portfolios on Enterprise · United States · smartsheet.com
Spreadsheet interface Automation Enterprise portfolios
Smartsheet suits organizations whose project data already lives in spreadsheets and who want structure without a retraining program. Pro adds Gantt, board and calendar views to a sheet interface, and Business adds timeline view, workload tracking, unlimited automations and free guests.
- Pricing: Per user / month. Pro at $9 and Business at $19 per member per month on yearly billing ($12 and $24 monthly). Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Spreadsheet-minded PMOs scaling up
- Strengths: Gantt, table, board and calendar views; Timeline view; Workload tracking.
Where it falls short
The features that make it a portfolio tool, Portfolios and Scenario Planning, begin on a quoted Enterprise plan with a 10-member minimum. Capacity modeling is lighter than in resource-first tools, and workload tracking arrives at Business.
Wrong for
A team that wants resource capacity modeling out of the box at a published price.
Visit Smartsheet →
#8 monday.com
Flexible boards with portfolio roll-ups on Enterprise · Israel · monday.com
Free plan Boards Enterprise portfolio
monday.com wins people over with boards that any department can shape, which matters when a portfolio is only as good as the data teams bother to enter. The pricing page lists a free plan for up to two seats, Standard at 12 euros and Pro at 19 euros per seat, shown for a 10-seat team on annual billing.
- Pricing: Per seat / month. Free for up to 2 seats. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Cross-team boards, light portfolio needs
- Strengths: Boards and docs; Time tracking; Advanced columns.
Where it falls short
Portfolio features sit on the custom-priced Enterprise plan, and the price shown on the page shifts with team size, billing period and AI credits.
Wrong for
A PMO that needs capacity scenarios and cost governance without an enterprise contract.
Visit monday.com →
#9 Kantata
Professional services automation with resource forecasting · United States · kantata.com
PSA Resource forecasting Margin
Kantata, the company formed around the former Mavenlink and Kimble products, presents itself as an AI-driven professional services automation platform. For a services firm, the pitch is practical: match people to scope by skills and availability, forecast resource demand, track financials and see margin per project.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote only: the pricing page asks you to fill in a form and says plans are tailored to company size and goals. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Consultancies and agencies selling time
- Strengths: Resource management and forecasting; Financial management; Project management.
Where it falls short
Pricing is quote-only, so budgeting needs a sales conversation. The product is shaped around client work, billing and utilization, which is more than an internal PMO needs.
Wrong for
An internal IT or product PMO with no billable time or client invoicing.
Visit Kantata →
#10 Triskell
Enterprise PPM connecting strategy, resources and budgets · Spain · triskellsoftware.com
Strategic alignment What-if scenarios Hybrid delivery
Triskell aims at organizations that want one system from strategy to project cost. Its site lists project, strategic, agile and IT portfolio management, resource and demand management, financial management and a What-if Scenario feature, with OKRs and balanced scorecards cascaded down to initiatives. It says one platform serves waterfall, phase-gate and agile frameworks.
- Pricing: Quote only. No public price list found on the pages we read; a demo and a free trial are offered. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Mid-to-large PMOs in Europe
- Strengths: Project portfolio management; Strategic portfolio management; What-if scenarios.
Where it falls short
No prices appear on the pages we read, so budgeting requires a demo. The breadth of solutions can mean a long configuration phase, and the site gives little detail on integrations or data export.
Wrong for
A company that wants to start in an afternoon from a published price.
Visit Triskell →
#11 Planview
Enterprise strategic and project portfolio management suite · United States · planview.com
Enterprise suite Scenario planning Capital planning
Planview covers nearly everything a portfolio office asks for: ranking portfolios against priorities, reallocating funding, what-if scenarios on new demand, capacity planning with alerts on out-of-tolerance assignments, budget versus actual and OPEX/CAPEX planning, intake with decision gates, and support for waterfall, Agile and Kanban teams. It states a Gartner Leader placement for Adaptive Project Management and Reporting.
- Pricing: Quote only. No pricing stated on the pages we read; sales-led with demos and trials listed. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Large PMOs with funding governance
- Strengths: Portfolio planning and prioritization; Scenario planning and what-if analysis; Capacity planning.
Where it falls short
Planview is sales-led with no price on the pages we read, and its estate of products (Portfolios, AdaptiveWork, ProjectAdvantage and others) makes it hard to know which one you are buying. Implementation is a project in itself.
Wrong for
A mid-sized company with fewer than a few dozen projects.
Visit Planview →
#12 Planisware
Enterprise PPM and SPM for R&D and engineering · France · planisware.com
R&D portfolios Capital planning Project controls
Planisware was founded in 1996 by a team from Thales, per its own history page, and it still leans toward engineering, R&D and capital-heavy organizations.
- Pricing: Quote only. No pricing on the pages we read; sold through sales, with several named product lines. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Large R&D and capital-project portfolios
- Strengths: Orchestra turnkey PPM; Horizon IT portfolio; Nova product development SPM.
Where it falls short
The page set shows no prices and no trial, so the evaluation is demo-led. Many named products mean the buyer has to work out which one applies.
Wrong for
A small PMO or an agency that wants self-serve setup and a published price.
Visit Planisware →
Questions and answers
What is the best project portfolio management software in 2026?
Celoxis ranks first of 12, best for mid-sized PMOs wanting published prices. Meisterplan is second (resource-constrained portfolios, Jira-heavy IT) and Runn third (agencies and consultancies planning people). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
What is the difference between project management and portfolio management software?
Project management tools run the work inside one project: tasks, dates, comments. Portfolio tools compare many projects against shared constraints, mainly people, money and strategy.
Do I need a PPM tool or is a work management platform enough?
A work platform with a portfolio view is enough when you mostly need status roll-ups. Smartsheet, monday.com and Wrike all list portfolio features on higher tiers.
How much does project portfolio management software cost?
Published entry prices run from about $7 per resource seat (Runn) and $10 per user (Celoxis) up to custom quotes. Celoxis lists $10 to $45 per standard user per month billed annually, with a 5-user minimum.
Which tools charge per resource instead of per user?
Meisterplan and Runn count the people being planned, not the people logging in. Meisterplan says users are free and unlimited, while resources set the license price. Runn prices per resource seat.
Is there a free project portfolio management tool?
No tool in this list offers a full free portfolio layer.
How long does it take to implement a PPM tool?
The software part takes days for self-serve products and months for enterprise suites. The slow part is data: agreeing on roles, cost rates, project templates and a scoring model.
What is resource capacity planning and why does it matter in a portfolio?
Capacity planning compares the hours or people each project needs against the supply of people in each role over time. Done at portfolio level, it shows which projects are impossible with current staffing before they start.
Can PPM software handle both agile and waterfall projects?
Many can. Triskell describes support for waterfall, phase-gate and agile frameworks in one portfolio, and Planview lists waterfall, Agile and Kanban teams with integrations for outside agile tools. Meisterplan lists Jira and Asana integrations.
Should a services firm use PPM or PSA software?
If your revenue depends on billable time, a professional services automation tool covers utilization, billing and margin alongside projects. Kantata describes itself as a PSA platform with resource management, financial management and forecasting.
Where is portfolio software from European vendors strongest?
European vendors in this ranking cluster around resource planning and enterprise governance. Meisterplan (Germany), Epicflow (the Netherlands), Triskell (Spain) and Planisware (France) all contract from inside the EU, which simplifies data-protection reviews.
