Best all-in-one HR and project management software
PeopleMuster ranks first for a small team that wants HR and project work in one product: leave, attendance, timesheets, client projects, boards and the capacity plan share one database, all for $3 per person a month. Zoho Projects ranks second, with time-off requests and timesheets inside a project tool.
How this was judged
Ranked on whether one product, at one published price, holds both the people record (leave, attendance, reporting lines) and the project work (projects, boards, time).
Five products were compared on 24 September 2026, each price read from the vendor's own pricing page that day. A product scores highest when both halves live in it and one published price covers them. It scores lower when one half is a separate app, when the price is regional or loaded by script, or when the bill is per organisation in size bands. Disclosure: PeopleMuster is our product, and it sits where the method puts it.
The ranking
PeopleMuster
$3 per person a month, every module included, no tiers. $30 per person a year on annual billing.- Who it suits
- A small team that runs people and client projects at the same time and is tired of keeping two systems in step.
- Where it wins
- Approved leave empties that person's days on the capacity plan straight away, and hours logged against a project feed utilisation. Each client project carries health, setup and task scores, milestones and its own Kanban boards. Attendance, the org chart, devices and policies sit on the same record, so there's nothing to sync.
Zoho Projects
Free for 5 users and 3 projects. Paid tier prices load by script and could not be read. 15-day trial. Checked 24 September 2026.- Who it suits
- A team already using Zoho that wants leave requests next to its project plan.
- Where it wins
- Zoho Projects includes time-off requests and timesheets alongside projects.
- Where it falls short
- The fuller HR record is a second product, Zoho People, with its own tiers and a five-user minimum.
Keka
Plans are named on the page, with regional tabs. The base price loads by region and carries a minimum headcount. Checked September 2026.- Who it suits
- A services firm that wants HR and a PSA sold as one product and will check its own region's price.
- Where it wins
- Keka's pricing page sells HR, hiring and Projects and Timesheets (PSA) as tabs of one product.
- Where it falls short
- No clean per-person figure is published, so the bill depends on region and headcount.
Bitrix24
Flat per organisation: Basic $49 a month billed yearly ($69 monthly) for 5 users, Standard $99 ($144) for 50, Professional $199 ($289) for 100. Free for 1 to 2 users. Verified 24 September 2026.- Who it suits
- A company that wants chat, tasks and a staff directory in one workspace under a flat fee.
- Where it wins
- Kanban, Gantt and projects come from Basic up. Employee profiles, company structure and employee hours tracking are listed on Professional.
- Where it falls short
- The HR features sit on Professional, and each plan is capped at a set number of users.
ClickUp
Free plan. Unlimited $10 monthly or $7 billed yearly, Business $19 or $12 per user a month, Enterprise custom. Verified September 2026.- Who it suits
- A team that wants flexible project and task work and already has an HR system.
- Where it wins
- A free plan and low published per-user tiers for work management.
- Where it falls short
- ClickUp is sold as a work-management tool, so the people record is a separate purchase.
Questions people ask
What is the best all-in-one HR and project management software for a small team?
On one product holding both halves at one published price, PeopleMuster ranks first at $3 per person a month. Zoho Projects adds time-off requests and timesheets to a project tool, and Keka sells HR and a PSA as one product at a regional price. Bitrix24 lists HR features on its Professional plan, $199 a month billed yearly for 100 users.
What HR software do digital agencies use to manage their people and their client projects together?
Most agencies pair an HR system with a project or resourcing tool. Productive, for example, connects out to BambooHR, Personio and Rippling for employee records. PeopleMuster puts leave, attendance, timesheets, client projects and the capacity plan in one database for $3 per person a month.
What happens to project plans when someone books leave?
In PeopleMuster approved leave clears that person's days on the capacity plan the moment it's approved, and company holidays show there too. The plan is a grid of each person by day, with under, full and over bands, so you can see who's free before you book the next client job.