Best free project management software in January 2024

We extensively research the key competitors within an industry to determine the best products and services for your business. Our experts identify the factors that matter most to business owners, including pricing, features and customer support, to ensure that our recommendations offer well-rounded products that will meet the needs of various small businesses.

We collect extensive data to narrow our best list to reputable, easy-to-use products with stand-out features at a reasonable price point. And we look at user reviews to ensure that business owners like you are satisfied with our top picks’ services. We use the same rubric to assess companies within a particular space so you can confidently follow our blueprint to the best free project management software.

The best free project management software has positive user reviews on customer review sites. Project management companies should provide customers with fast and reliable support. Using a combination of phone support, live chat and knowledge bases, customers should be able to quickly resolve issues 24/7.

Free project management software should provide a combination of basic project management features, including various project views, role assignment features, timelines, dependencies and budgeting tools, for both mobile apps and desktop platforms. Expanding on the basic feature set, additional project management capabilities, such as software integrations, customizable templates, milestone tracking, expense tracking, billing and invoicing and guest/client access, set the best free project management software apart from competitors. However, the most important factor is that the free project management software allows project managers and tasked employees to work collaboratively to meet their goals and deadlines for no cost.

The Best Free Password Managers for 2024

*Deals are selected by our commerce team

Forgetting your login credentials can send you down the rabbit hole of figuring out the password reset procedure, often just when you're in a hurry. It's tempting to reset it to something so simple you won't forget it or to memorize just one password and use it everywhere. However, both strategies set you up for failure. For instance, a hacker can easily guess or brute-force a simple password. A data breach can expose whatever complex password you create, too, thus compromising each account using it.

The potential hits—financial and otherwise—resulting from using weak passwords could cost you plenty. If you're on a tight budget and need password protection now, many of the best password managers we've reviewed offer free service plans. Below, we collect the best free password manager to help you choose.

Note that we're including the entire range of apps we've tested here instead of only our top picks. This is because the free password manager space is small. Furthermore, some big names that scored poorly would otherwise be left out, which would be a disservice to readers who might be considering those apps.

Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks

Bitwarden offers the best free tier for password management we've reviewed. Bitwarden is open-source software and its code undergoes regular audits by independent researchers, making it less vulnerable to hacks and breaches.

First-time password manager users or anyone looking for a free password manager should consider Bitwarden. Its password manager is easy to use and doesn't limit the number of passwords you can store, nor does it prevent you from syncing your vault across devices, as many free password managers do.

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LogMeOnce has a totally free version with no limit on the number of saved passwords or on the number of devices you use. The biggest value is the Beneficiary feature, which allows you to give someone else access to your credentials in the event of your demise. For free users, the feature is limited to passwords for specific apps instead of full, account-level access. Password inheritance of any kind is a rare but welcome sight at the no-cost level of password management.

LogMeOnce is ideal for people who hate passwords. The service began offering a passwordless login feature years ago, long before many competitors began adding the security feature to their products.

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NordPass, from the team behind NordVPN, is a streamlined, easy-to-use service for securely accessing your passwords via desktop and mobile apps or on the web. The free version of the service logs you out when you switch between devices and doesn't allow password sharing.

People hoping to secure their accounts with multi-factor authentication (MFA) should consider NordPass. Nord Security is one of the few companies that offers MFA options for all of its customers.

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Avira Password Manager can sync your passwords across all platforms and offers MFA. It can also store notes and credit card information in user vaults for easy form-filling to speed up online shopping.

Anyone seeking free, capable password management from a prominent company in the cybersecurity industry will appreciate Avira's password manager.

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Norton Password Manager is a free password manager that can sync your passwords across all platforms and has password hygiene tools to help you identify weak or previously used passwords in your vault. Keep in mind that the company experienced a data security incident in late 2022 which affected Norton Password Manager user accounts.

Norton is appropriate for anyone who doesn't want to have to remember their master password. Norton Password Manager allows passwordless authentication, meaning that users can unlock their vaults using their mobile device as an authenticator.

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KeePass is a free open-source password manager with a 20-year history. This is not a password manager for beginners or for people who are not familiar with old-school file management systems. Its plug-ins page offers a treasure trove of options for people who want to tinker with the application.

KeePass is an excellent password manager for those who value flexibility and the ability to customize the password management experience. You can, for example, upload it to a USB stick and run it without installing it on your computer.

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Buying Guide: The Best Free Password Managers for 2024

If you're willing to give up a little something, you can use many for-pay password managers for free. If you see a paid password manager with features you like, check out its conditions. You might be able to check it out during a free trial or use a free, feature-limited version of the premium password manager.

For example, some companies let you create and store passwords but not sync them across your devices, share credentials, or set up a password inheritance contact without subscribing to the premium service. Some services—BitWarden is a good example—are less stingy with their free versions.

This list doesn't include free password managers that limit the number of credentials you can store in your vault or don't allow cross-platform syncing. For example, Dashlane's free version limits subscribers to 25 stored logins, and Keeper's free tier only works on a single mobile device.

For most people, getting started means installing a password manager's apps for desktop and mobile, along with an extension for your browser of choice. When you log in to a secure site, the password manager captures the username and password and saves them to your vault. The best password managers capture your credentials during account creation, and when you change your password online, they offer to update the stored password for that site.

When you revisit a site, most password managers can automatically fill in the saved data. If you have more than one set of credentials, you can choose which one to use. Another handy (and common) feature of most of these browser extensions is that clicking an entry sends you directly to the site and logs you in.

Many of us are just as likely to log into a secure site from a mobile device as from a desktop computer, so finding a password manager that syncs your credentials between all your devices is vital. Most password managers use encrypted cloud storage to sync between devices. Some keep your data entirely local, syncing between databases on different devices without keeping anything in the cloud. The real benefit of having your password manager on your phone is that you can autofill credentials for any mobile apps you use.

One great thing about free password managers is that you can try several and find out which one you like best. If you're thinking of making such a survey, look for products that can import from other password managers. Otherwise, you have to go through the password capture process again for each candidate.

The point of adding a password manager app to your security arsenal is to replace each weak and duplicate password with an unguessable, strong password. But where do you get those strong passwords? Most of these apps have a password generator, many of which give you control of things like password length and which character sets to use. The very best ones perform password auditing to ease the process of identifying and fixing poor passwords.

(Credit: Bitwarden)

Automatically filling in usernames and passwords isn't so different from filling in other sorts of data in web forms. Many paid password managers can streamline the process of filling forms with personal data, such as addresses or payment card details. Among other features password managers offer is storage space for secure documents, though the allotted storage is typically insufficient to replace a dedicated cloud storage service.

In addition to using your passwords on multiple devices, you may want to share logins with other users. Some free password managers do not support secure sharing. It's also uncommon for free password managers to let you define an inheritor for your passwords, someone who will receive them in the event of your demise.

When you put all your passwords into one repository, you'd better be extremely careful to protect that repository. That's where your master password comes in. This is the password used to encrypt the contents of your password vault, so it needs to be as strong as possible. On the flip side, it is unlikely you can recover it if you forget it. Store your master password in a secure place or risk permanently losing access to your password manager.

Setting up multi-factor authentication is another way to mitigate the risk of possible attacks. Multi-factor authentication could be biometric, requiring a fingerprint, facial recognition, or even voice recognition. Some password managers rely on mobile authenticator apps; others use SMS-based methods or hardware security keys to authenticate. Allowing access only from registered, trusted devices is yet another form of multi-factor authentication.

Bitwarden is our Editors' Choice for free password management because it has impressive security features and few limitations for free users. If you're concerned about your online security, read our best antivirus and VPN roundups.

Best PDF editors 2024: Our top picks

It’s likely that you regularly come across or work with PDF files—they’re ubiquitous in our modern cross-platform world. Most of the time, when viewing a PDF, you can enjoy free software that allows you to read or comment on these files. But what if you need to edit them as well? That’s where a PDF editor comes in.

The best PDF editors allows you to edit, create, alter, and convert PDF files just like you would with any other text document. Adobe Acrobat is the most famous option for most people. But while it’s excellent both in features and utility, it’s also pretty expensive. Thankfully, in recent years a whole host of third-party PDF editors have sprung up in order to provide less expensive alternatives.

Here at PCWorld we’ve tested many of these top PDF editors and curated a list of the very best. With different use cases in mind, we’ve included picks for the best overall, best budget option, and even a recommendation for the best free PDF editor—because sometimes you just don’t want to pay for the basics. Check out our recommendations below to find the best PDF editor for you.

Update 12/18/2023: To include Foxit PDF Editor 13 as our new choice for best overall PDF editor runner-up. Read more about this excellent alternative to Acrobat in our summary below.

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC – Best overall

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Price When Reviewed: $19.90/mo I $239.88/yr

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC remains the industry standard for good reason. Its rich combination of creation, editing, reviewing, and security features are mimicked by the best alternative options, but we feel Acrobat still does it best. Its recent interface redesign makes it much easier to navigate through its robust toolset than the nested menus of yore, and its cloud subscription option puts its advanced features within reach of more individuals and small businesses. (See how it compares to the Adobe Acrobat Standard DC.)

Though many of its features are available in other, cheaper PDF editors, Acrobat is still the editor against which all others are judged.

Foxit PDF Editor 13 – Best overall runner-up

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Price When Reviewed: $179.99 (Standard version, perpetual license)

Foxit PDF Editor 13 hits all the right notes for a premium PDF editor and can even take on the formidable Adobe Acrobat. It’s packed with features that are sure to please power users—all the requisite content editing tools; review and markup features; form fill and signing support; and robust security options for sensitive documents, such as permissions, password protection, and data redaction. It supports tons of file formats, and adding hyperlinks, images, and files to a PDF is trouble-free.

Indeed, ease-of-use is one of Foxit’s great strengths. The program uses a Microsoft Office-style ribbon interface which groups tasks in a familiar and intuitive interface, making for a seamless integration with your workflow. It also provides ChatGPT integration so you can easily get help with your documents from an AI assistant. Yes, it’s priced on the higher side for a PDF editor, but with all it has going for it, Nitro PDF Pro more than earns its keep. Plus, you can try it out for free for seven days to see if you like it before making a commitment. If you’re looking for an Acrobat replacement, you won’t find many better.

EaseUS PDF editor – Best budget option

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Price When Reviewed: Free I $29.95/mo I $49.95/yr I $79.95/lifetime

EaseUs might not have the name recognition of some of the other editors on this list, but it’s more than capable of holding its own in the crowded PDF editor market. It provides all of the essential tools for managing PDF files without any of the elaborate or hard-to-understand features. It allows users to jump right in to their toolset and get straight to editing with only what they need.

While EaseUS’s features are great, they are also pretty standard fare among PDF editors. What makes it stand out is its affordable price—it’s a great value for those who regularly edit PDFs and don’t want to pay out the nose. EaseUS also offers a fully functional free version (with embedded watermarks on your edited documents) so users can take it for a spin to see if it meets their needs before they commit to paying any money.

PDF Candy – Best free option

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Price When Reviewed: Free

PDF Candy is the rare free PDF editor that offers a lot of the features you’d typically have to pay for. We’re talking scanning, multiple file-conversion options, and OCR functionality. All of this combines to make PDF Candy stand out among the multitude of lesser free PDF editors. It does have a bit of a wonky interface, but once you get the hang of it you’re off and running.

Unfortunately, while the free version has access to the expansive toolset of the paid version, you’re limited to one PDF task per hour. If you want unfettered access, you need to shell out $6 per month, or $48 per year.

PDF Expert – Best full-featured editor for Apple devices

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Price When Reviewed: Free 7-day trial, then $79.99 annually

PDF Expert is an excellent editor that fits seamlessly into the Apple ecosystem, making it our pick for Macs, iPads, and iPhone users.

While macOS does include a PDF editor in its Preview app, iOS devices don’t have a native PDF editor and PDF Expert fills that gap nicely. It has a clean and intuitive interface and offers a plethora of easy-to-use editing options such as page management, converting scanned files into editable documents, and conversion to other file formats, among other things. The pricing plan is also considerably cheaper than most of the other top picks, meaning this is a no-brainer for Apple users.

Apple Preview PDF editor – Best free option for Mac users

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Price When Reviewed: Built into macOS

Mac users needn’t look beyond the macOS for their PDF editing needs, since there is a full set of PDF markup tools already available at their disposal in Apple Preview. It has the chops to handle most personal and business PDF editing needs, including encryption, password protection, and permissions for files.

Apple Preview’s PDF features and capabilities are impressive and should be all you need for most common editing tasks. The drawback, of course, is that only Mac users can take advantage of them.

pdfFiller – Best web-based editor

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Price When Reviewed: $8 per month (annual commitment) I $20 per month (cancel at any time)

pdfFiller is a browser-based PDF editor that allows you do to just about everything PDF-related—editing, securing, sharing, creating, and storing PDF files—all from its intuitive and simple web interface. Its design is similar to a desktop app, with the toolbar across the top, and document thumbnails along the side, so it’s very easy to select the page you want to work on and perform the desired function, be it adding, deleting, or copying/pasting text; changing font style, size, and color; and so on. A standard set of markup tools is also available. It has a surprisingly deep set of features for both personal and business use. For instance the Premium plan offers an impressive legal document library, as well as SignNow support.

While incredibly versatile, not all of pdfFiller’s advanced features will suit everyone. Fortunately, there are three subscription tiers, which gives users a way to meet their editing needs without paying extra for unnecessary features: Basic for $8/mo; Plus for $12/mo; Premium for $15/mo with an annual commitment. Month-to-month options are also available, but at a higher cost, of course.

Why spend a chunk of change on a desktop editor when free online PDF editors abound? The simple answer is because you get what you pay for. Generally, free online editors will let you add text and comments, merge and split documents, and convert files to and from PDF. With rare exception, however, they won’t let you edit existing text and many have file-size and page-volume restrictions. And a lot of them will watermark your edited document. For these reasons, web PDF editors are best reserved for simple, fast editing jobs. Call in these big dogs for anything more demanding.

PDF editors come in a variety of flavors, offering varying feature sets—from basic functionality to power-user tools. It’s important to know what features best match your workflow before you commit to a PDF editor.

The most fundamental function of a PDF editor is to make PDFs, either from scratch, scanned hard copies, or by converting digital documents. A good PDF editor should be able to transform a variety of file types—from Microsoft Office formats to images to HTML—and do so seamlessly, preserving the original formatting. It should also include OCR technology to make the PDF text searchable and editable. Likewise, a good PDF editor must be able to export PDFs into other editable formats such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, HTML, or plain text, maintaining the original files hyperlinks, images, and other elements.

Another bit of magic that PDF editors unlock is the ability to modify text; insert, resize, and move images; and reorganize pages in the PDF. A good one will perform these tasks as easily as in a text document or slide deck, allowing in-line editing, dragging-and dropping graphics, and adding or removing hyperlinks.

A good PDF editor should also let you or anyone else using it add comments and other annotations to PDF files during review. It should have tools to mark up both text documents and graphic-heavy files like webpages. Common options include sticky notes, callout boxes, highlighting, freehand drawing tools, and stamps with messages like “approved,” “revised,” and “confidential.”

All businesses deal with documents containing sensitive data. Look for a PDF editor that includes security features that allow access for authorized eyes only. Good options will usually offer several levels of security, including password protection, permissions setting, and content redaction, which “blacks out” selected text and images. Most PDF editors will also offer one or more ways to electronically sign documents.

While deep PDF editing is best done on a desktop, it’s nice to be able to review and annotate files when you’re out and about. While PDFs can typically be reviewed in any PDF reader or editor, regardless of which one they were created in, consider looking for an editor that has a dedicated mobile app, is optimized for mobile devices, or allows cloud access to features through a mobile browser.

One of the great things about a PDF is that it can be read and edited in any PDF program regardless of which one it was created in. So beyond the features outlined here, let your personal preferences guide you in making your decision.

While there are a number of different types of PDF file formats, they all fall under the umbrella term of PDF documents. A PDF form is a type of PDF document that has editable form fields a user can fill out. Typically, parts of the document are static and can’t be changed in a PDF form, such as questions in a survey or instructions about filling out the form. In a PDF form, the content fields a user fills out are open to editing and can offer a list of possible answer options or can be written in freely.

Yes. They are two entirely different document formats. While you can export from one file format to another, they are not the same. Word file formats are usually used for word processing, editing, and making changes to text. PDF documents on the other hand, are most often utilized for viewing, sharing, and printing. Additionally, Word files are read and write and contain some version of the “.doc” file format. Whereas PDF files are typically read-only and contain the “.pdf” file format.

Yes. If you have a PDF document that you don’t want anyone else to edit, you can protect the file. You can do this by opening the file in Acrobat, for instance, and clicking Tools > Protect. Then you have a few options as to whether you want to simply restrict editing with a password, or if you want to encrypt the file for further safety. Once you choose how you want to protect the PDF document, you can set a password and save.

As a matter of fact, many free PDF editors allow you to merge two or more PDFs into one document. Such is the case with our top free pick PDF Candy. Open up the PDF editor application or website in your browser and search for the Merge option. It will then ask you to add the files of all PDFs you wish to merge. Once the files have been added, arrange the page order and alignment before proceeding with the merge. Afterwards, all of your previously PDF files will be merged into one new PDF document.

Yes and no. Google doesn’t provide a designated free PDF editor itself, but there are third-party Chrome extensions that you can use to help get the job done. Alternatively, you can make use of Google Drive to edit a PDF document. Simply upload the document onto your Google Drive and then select the file and right-click and select Open with > Google Docs. The file will be opened as an editable Google Docs text document. Then just make your edits and when you’re finished click File > Download >PDF Document to revert it back to a PDF file.

This method is a quick and easy way to edit a simple PDF document, but be careful as Google Docs can run into formatting issues if your original document has complex visual formatting such as tables and graphs. In this case, it is best to use a designated free or premium PDF editor.