I've been experimenting with different project management software trials, in search for a better way for managing my various projects and commitments. I expected all of them to have a calendar feature, Gantt chart templates, and task-assignment options where I can invite collaborators to either accept or self-select desired tasks.
Monday
I must admit that their aggressive advertisement was initially off putting but eventually worked on me. Monday.com was definitely one of the more aesthetically pleasing options but I found it quite costly and ultimately didn't purchase a subscription at the end of the trial.
Major Pro(s): You can upload documents directly to the main page. The viewer is quite beautiful and I found the controls, buttons, and layout intuitive. It's also great how you can customize the text of your progress bars, so you can relabel "Done" > "Conquered" or "Working in it > Still procrastinating" or whatever tickles your fancy.
Major Con(s): It's quite time consuming to have to populate each field, and there's no way for time-stamping uploads so you may be editing a document that is already being reviewed by another person.
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Airtable
If you're the kind of person that likes taking meticulous notes, this is probably the project management software for you. It's like a punch in the face with data - which can be very informative as well as overwhelming.
Major Pro(s): There's a neat map feature and you can upload all sorts of data points. If you have to track finances with each project, Airtable is one of the few that support that kind of functionality. Major Con(s): Overkill. It's good if you have active contributors but too time-consuming if you're just managing your own projects.
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GoogleSheets
I'm not sure if Google Sheets should even be considered for this, but I tried using it for that purpose and found it really lacked the functionality I was looking for.
Major Pro(s): It's easy to include conditional formatting and the LookUp function is very handy for managing grant funds. Major Con(s): Re-occurring events must be inputted manually. There's no means of having auto population of calendar dates that the other software options offer.
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Azure DevOps
Last but not least, I'm now using Azure DevOps, one of the free Microsoft tools out there. I don't find it as intuitive as Monday, and it definitely seems to be developed with software developers in mind. This being said, I've got a good feeling about this one.
Major Pro(s): It's free! It's also a lot more useful for project management than some of the other free tools. It's also quite minimalist, which is nice. The mini drop down menu for the major pages on the left is also quite handy.
Major Con(s): Items aren't where you would expect them to be. It could be that I'm now a bit jaded from investing a lot of time into making the other options work, but I think Azure just might be the one for me :)