Best skills matrix software

PeopleMuster ranks first for a skills matrix because the skills sit on the same record as each person's role, leave and planned hours, for $3 per person a month with every module. Keka ranks second: it sells skills and bandwidth inside one product with its HR and payroll.

How this was judged

Ranked on whether the skills record lives in the same system as the people record and the capacity plan, then on published price.

Six products were compared on 24 September 2026. We read how each vendor describes itself on its own site and took each price from its own pricing page that day. Where the skills list and the people record are one system, the product ranks above a standalone tool. 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, which is two months free.

Who it suits: A software house, agency or consultancy that staffs client projects and wants to see who knows what next to who is free.
Where it wins: Admins build a skills taxonomy in categories, each skill with a description, and every profile carries a Skills & Expertise tab drawn from it. The capacity grid sits in the same system, with leave and holidays already marked, so the matrix and the plan never drift apart.

Keka

Priced by region, with plan tabs and a minimum headcount. No single per-seat figure is published. Checked September 2026.

Who it suits: A South Asian service firm that wants skills, attendance and payroll from one vendor.
Where it wins: Keka markets managing "resources, attendance, skills, bandwidth, learning, payroll, and performance in one PSA software."
Where it falls short: The base price is rendered per region and a minimum headcount applies.

Productive

Essential $10 per user a month billed yearly ($12 monthly), Professional $25 ($29 monthly), Ultimate custom. Three-seat minimum. Verified 24 September 2026.

Who it suits: An agency that wants capacity and time-off inside its project tool.
Where it wins: Capacity and time-off ship inside an agency PSA, with a 14-day trial.
Where it falls short: Not an HRIS: Productive integrates out to BambooHR, Personio or Rippling for the employee record.

Float

Starter $7, Pro $12 per scheduled person a month. Enterprise custom. Guests free. Verified September 2026.

Who it suits: A studio that wants a dedicated resource scheduler and keeps HR elsewhere.
Where it wins: A focused scheduling tool with time off, and free guest seats.
Where it falls short: Resource scheduling only, so the employee record lives in a second system.

Resource Guru

Grasshopper $5, Blackbelt $8, Master $12 per person a month. Two months free on annual billing. No setup fee, trial with no card. Verified 24 September 2026.

Who it suits: A team that wants a low per-person price on a resource scheduler.
Where it wins: Three published plans from $5, no setup fee and a card-free trial.
Where it falls short: Priced by plan, so features above Grasshopper raise the per-person price.

Runn

Lite $7, Standard $11 per resource seat a month billed yearly ($9 and $13 monthly). Advanced custom. 20-seat minimum, 30-day trial. Verified 24 September 2026.

Who it suits: A firm of twenty or more planning people across many projects.
Where it wins: Published seat prices and a 30-day trial.
Where it falls short: A 20-seat minimum, so a smaller team pays for seats it doesn't fill.

Questions people ask

What is a skills matrix?

A grid of people against skills that shows who holds which one. In PeopleMuster the skills live in a taxonomy grouped into categories, each with a description. Every person's profile has a Skills & Expertise tab drawn from it.

Who can edit the skills list in PeopleMuster?

Whoever holds the skills permissions. PeopleMuster has 64 permissions across 5 default roles, and you can create custom roles. You decide who curates the taxonomy and who only reads it.

Why keep a skills matrix in the HR system instead of a spreadsheet?

A spreadsheet goes stale the day someone joins or leaves. In PeopleMuster the skills tab sits on the same profile as department, reporting line and booked leave, and the capacity grid shares that record. You're always reading the current team.