Project management tools that don't charge for guests or clients

Good options, depending on how much access you want clients to have:

• Asana — Unlimited free guests on paid plans, so clients can collaborate without taking paid seats. Good general-purpose choice; your internal team still needs paid seats. (asana.com)
• ProjectManager.com — Free, unlimited guests on all plans, but guest access is read-only. A fit if clients mainly need to see progress. (learn.projectmanager.com)
• Ora — On its paid Professional plan, clients/stakeholders can join as free observers and comment. Note: the free Basic plan has no observers. (ora.pm)
• Thicket — Flat-rate pricing rather than per-seat: its free plan includes up to 20 people for one project; the paid plan includes unlimited team members and clients. Useful if you want clients to review and approve work. (thickethq.com)
• Sawadoo — Clients and other external guests are unlimited and free; its free plan supports up to five employees. The site says online payments aren’t live yet, so confirm the billing status before relying on its paid-plan pricing. (sawadoo.com)

Quick pick: Asana for established task/project workflows; ProjectManager.com for read-only client visibility; Thicket if avoiding per-person pricing is the priority.

One caveat: “free guests” often means external collaborators only, and permissions vary—check whether clients can edit, comment, or only view before choosing.

Most "free guest" arrangements have limits. Here are the options that come closest to not charging for clients, with the catches.

Best fits for unlimited or no-cost clients

• ClickUp: Its free plan allows unlimited members, and one review says ClickUp covers tasks, Docs, forms, multiple views, basic time tracking, and a single guest type at $0. The catch is that permission-controlled guest access requires a paid plan. Another source says the free tier takes unlimited guests, so check which guest type you need.
• Basecamp: Its paid Plus plan is listed at $15/user/month (month-to-month billing) with unlimited projects, 500 GB storage, and free guests/clients. Clients don't cost seats, but your own seats are billed. The free tier is limited to one active project with 1 GB storage.
• Asana: Guests are free on paid plans. The free plan is very restricted, since Asana's free plan holds two people in total. On Starter, unlimited free guests mean clients don't add to the bill.
• Smartsheet: Free guests start at the Business tier, which is $19/user/month. Smartsheet no longer offers an ongoing free plan for new customers, so this is paid only.

Free plans with client access

• Notion: Its free plan supports up to 10 external guests, and unlimited guests need a paid plan.
• Teamwork.com: Its free plan does not include Teamwork.com's client-user licenses, so clients must provide comments through email or another communication channel.
• Rock: Its free plan offers 3 group spaces, 5 members each, which works for a few concurrent client projects.
• GoodDay: It includes free guest/customer access (for up to 15 internal team members), though advanced admin controls are restricted.
• Agiled: It offers a free-forever plan with a branded client portal and unlimited client accounts, but storage is capped and custom domains are paid.
• Project.co: It supports unlimited client users in shared project hubs, but limits you to 10 active projects and a 1 GB total storage ceiling.

Tools to avoid if clients are the main concern

• Trello, Monday.com, Wrike, Jira: Their free tiers cap collaborators or seats, so clients consume them. Trello's free plan allows unlimited users up to 10 boards, but the Standard tier is needed for single-board guests.
• Miro: It has a free plan, but Business: $16/user/month – Adds unlimited guests and diagramming shapes.

Caveats
Free-tier limits change often, and the sources I found disagree on some details, such as whether ClickUp's free guests have full edit rights. Confirm on each vendor's pricing page before committing. If you are a solo freelancer whose clients use their own tools, Todoist or Trello may be enough at no cost. If clients need to work alongside you, ClickUp's free tier and Notion's 10-guest allowance are the strongest starting points.

Finding project management tools that allow free guest or client access can be tricky, as many platforms reserve this feature for paid tiers to encourage upgrades. However, several tools offer viable ways to collaborate with external partners without paying for extra seats.

Here are the best strategies and tools for handling client collaboration at little to no extra cost:

1. Tools with Free Guest or "View-Only" Options

Some platforms are more generous than others regarding external access.

• Notion: Offers a flexible approach where you can share specific pages with external guests. You can invite up to 10 free external guests who can view or edit the specific pages you share, making it excellent for client portals or project updates.
• ClickUp: Features a "public sharing" capability. While full, interactive guest access is often gated behind paid plans, you can use public links to give clients view-only access to specific tasks, lists, or docs without adding them to your workspace.
• Monday.com: Offers "shareable boards". While you generally need a paid plan to invite guests, shareable boards are purpose-built to let external users collaborate on specific items without seeing your entire internal workspace.
• Trello: Allows you to invite "board guests" to specific boards. While this is a great way to collaborate, keep in mind that guests on a board can see all cards on that board; there is no granular card-level privacy.

2. Best "Visibility" Workarounds

If you want to avoid the risks of accidental over-sharing (e.g., a client seeing another client's project), the best practice is often visibility, not access.

• Public/Shareable Views: Instead of adding clients as users, use the built-in "Share via link" or "Publish" features found in tools like Notion, ClickUp, and Monday.com. This allows clients to check status updates or view progress via a live link that you control.
• PDF/Report Exports: For many client relationships, a simple status report or PDF export—which many of these tools generate automatically—is safer and less confusing than granting login access.

3. Purpose-Built Tools for Freelancers & Agencies

If you frequently work with clients, consider tools designed to handle that "trifecta" of project management, time tracking, and client visibility:

• Paymo: Specifically includes features to grant clients report-only access, allowing them to track progress and timelines without seeing your internal task structure or billing details.
• Bonsai: Their plans are built for freelancers and include project management, contracts, and invoicing, often simplifying the need to juggle multiple subscriptions just to keep clients in the loop.
• Projoodle: A simple, free tool that requires no registration. You can share a link with a client, and they can work along with you without needing to create an account or log in.

Summary Recommendations

A Note of Caution: When using tools with guest access, always double-check the permissions settings before inviting a client. Ensure they are restricted to the specific project or board they need to see, rather than the entire workspace, to avoid exposing sensitive internal information.

Here are some good options if you want clients or external collaborators to participate without buying them seats:

Quick picks: Asana for flexible client collaboration, ClickUp for a free setup with lots of collaborators, or ProjectManager if clients only need to view updates. Trello can work well for a small group if clients only need access to one board.

Guest rules vary by plan, so check the linked pricing pages before choosing—especially if clients need to edit or access multiple projects.