Most project tracking software is built for product teams running sprints, not a freelancer juggling 4 clients and 12 active deliverables from their home office. The good news is that the right tool for a freelancer is usually simpler and cheaper than the enterprise options. Here’s how to find it.
What freelancers actually need from project tracking
Before comparing tools, it helps to know what features actually matter for solo freelancers versus what sounds good in a feature comparison table.
What matters most:
- Task + deadline tracking. At minimum, you need a place where every deliverable lives with a due date and a status. Without this, things fall through.
- Time tracking linked to projects. If you bill by the hour, time tracking built into or integrated with your project tool means you never have to reconstruct hours from memory.
- Client visibility (optional but valuable). A way for clients to check on project status without emailing you. Even basic “here’s what’s in progress / done” reduces check-in messages significantly.
- Invoice integration. Tracked hours should flow into invoices. Any gap between tracking and billing creates work and leaves money on the table.
- Simple enough to use daily. A tool you don’t use is worse than a spreadsheet you do. Simplicity beats features.
What freelancers usually don’t need:
- Sprint planning / agile boards designed for software teams
- Resource allocation across 20+ team members
- Gantt charts for most projects
- Complex approval workflows
The tools, compared
Trello
Best for: Solo freelancers with simple projects and a small client load.
Trello uses kanban boards — cards move from “To Do” to “In Progress” to “Done.” It’s visual, low friction, and free for most solo use cases.
What works: the simplicity. You can be up and running in 10 minutes. One board per client, one card per deliverable, due dates on cards.
What’s missing: no native time tracking, no billing integration, no client portal. For billing purposes, you’d need Toggl or another tool alongside it.
Free plan: generous — unlimited cards, 10 boards, basic integrations.
ClickUp
Best for: Solo freelancers who want everything in one place and don’t mind a learning curve.
ClickUp is one of the most feature-dense project tools available. Its free plan includes time tracking, multiple views (list, board, calendar, Gantt), recurring tasks, and client-sharing via guest access.
What works: the depth. You can track tasks, log time against those tasks, and eventually generate billing reports from the same tool. The guest access lets you share a project view with clients without giving them full account access.
What’s missing: the learning curve. ClickUp has so many features that setup takes time. Many freelancers set it up, don’t fully configure it, and end up using 15% of its capability. If you’re willing to spend a few hours setting it up properly, it pays off.
Free plan: very strong — time tracking included.
Paid plans: start around $7/month.
Notion
Best for: Freelancers who want a single workspace for projects, notes, proposals, and client documentation.
Notion isn’t a traditional project management tool — it’s a flexible workspace where you build your own systems. A freelancer can create a project tracker database, a client CRM, a content calendar, and a proposal library all in one tool.
What works: flexibility and consolidation. If you currently use 4 different tools for different pieces of your work, Notion can replace most of them.
What’s missing: no native time tracking, no billing integration, no client portal out of the box. You’re building these yourself with Notion’s blocks and databases. The time investment in setup is real.
Free plan: solid for personal use. Team features require a paid plan.
Toggl Track
Best for: Hourly freelancers who need accurate time tracking above all else.
Toggl is purpose-built for time tracking. It integrates with browsers and desktop apps, has a timer you start and stop, and organizes tracked time by project and client. At end of month, you export a report and bill from it.
What works: it’s the best time tracker in this list. Simple, reliable, and has a mobile app that makes logging from anywhere easy.
What’s missing: it’s only time tracking. No task management, no client portal, no invoicing. You need another tool alongside it for task tracking.
Free plan: up to 5 users. Strong enough for most solo freelancers.
Asana
Best for: Freelancers managing multiple collaborators or who need client-facing project views.
Asana is positioned between Trello’s simplicity and ClickUp’s complexity. It handles task dependencies well, which matters when deliverable B can’t start until client reviews deliverable A.
What works: the client-sharing model. You can add clients as guests to specific projects, giving them visibility into progress without full account access. The task dependency features prevent scheduling confusion.
What’s missing: no time tracking in the free plan, no invoicing integration. Priced higher than alternatives — the free plan covers basic use but teams quickly hit limits.
Free plan: up to 15 users, basic features.
Paid plans: start around $10/user/month.
HoneyBook / Waco
Best for: Freelancers who want proposals, contracts, time tracking, and invoicing in one tool.
Some freelancers don’t want a project tracking tool plus a separate invoicing tool plus a separate proposal tool. All-in-one platforms like Waco or HoneyBook combine the client pipeline (proposal → contract → project → invoice) into one workflow.
What works: the integration. When a proposal is accepted, a project is created automatically. When hours are tracked, they feed into an invoice. The client portal shows project status and pending invoices in one place.
What’s missing: these tools sacrifice some depth in pure project management for the breadth of the full workflow. If you have highly complex project structures, a dedicated PM tool may be stronger.
Free plans: limited. Pricing typically $16–29/month.
The tool that wins long-term is the one you actually open every day. The most sophisticated project tracker that you half-use is worse than Trello with 100% consistency. Start simple and add complexity only when you have a specific problem that simple tools can’t solve.
Recommendation by situation
New freelancer, 1–3 clients, light projects: Start with Trello free. Add Toggl Track free if you bill hourly. Don’t overcomplicate it.
Established solo freelancer, 4–8 active clients: ClickUp (use the free plan, invest a weekend in proper setup) or Notion if you want one workspace for everything.
Hourly freelancer where billing accuracy is critical: Toggl Track as your primary time tracker, paired with a simple task tool. Don’t sacrifice time tracking accuracy for project feature depth.
Freelancer who hates managing multiple tools: An all-in-one like Waco or HoneyBook. The workflow integration eliminates the friction of moving data between apps.
Freelancer working with small teams or subcontractors: Asana or ClickUp — both handle multi-user collaboration cleanly and have guest access for clients.
What to look for in a client-facing project view
If you want clients to see project status without emailing you, not every tool does this well.
Good client views show:
- What’s in progress (without showing internal notes or private tasks)
- What’s completed
- What’s next or upcoming
- Due dates for key milestones
Bad client views are confusing dashboards that look like internal project management tools and generate more questions than they answer.
Before committing to a tool for client visibility, actually test the client view as if you were a client. Is it clear? Can they find what they need without training?
Setting up your project tracker (the basics)
Regardless of which tool you choose, the structure that works for freelancers:
- One space per client. Whether it’s a board, a folder, or a page — each client is isolated so nothing bleeds across.
- One task per deliverable. Don’t group multiple deliverables into one task. Granularity makes status visible.
- Every task has a due date and an owner. Even if you’re solo, due dates prevent drift.
- A “waiting on client” status. Blockers where you’re waiting on feedback or approval need their own bucket, separate from “in progress.” This keeps your own task list honest.
- A weekly review ritual. 15 minutes every Friday (or Monday) to update statuses, catch anything slipping, and set priorities for the week ahead.
The tool doesn’t matter if the habits aren’t there. A review ritual beats a perfect setup.
Related reading
- How to manage clients as a freelancer
- Freelance retainer agreements explained
- How to invoice a customer: step-by-step guide
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