A team task has two audiences: the person doing the work and the people depending on it. The first needs a clear action, deadline, and context. The second needs to know whether the work is moving and when the next step can begin.
Take a website launch. The designer is preparing the assets, someone is approving the copy, and another teammate is checking the mobile pages. A useful task tool makes those responsibilities visible together.
This guide compares nine tools for shared work, including Chaser, which we make. If you are choosing a personal to-do list, start with the task management tools for individuals instead.
What a team task needs
“Website” gives an assignee very little to work with. “Check the mobile signup page and post any issues by Thursday” gives them an action and a result to deliver. Whichever tool you choose, make these details easy to find:
- An owner: who is responsible for the next action?
- A deadline: when does the next person need the result?
- Context: where are the brief, discussion, and supporting files?
- A completion rule: what needs to be true before the task is done?
- A visible status: can the rest of the team see what is happening?
Use the same example task when comparing tools. That makes it easier to judge the experience of assigning, completing, and reviewing work.
Nine task management tools for teams
| Tool | A useful starting point |
|---|---|
| Chaser | Assignments, reminders, and progress in Slack |
| Asana | Shared project schedules and dependencies |
| monday work management | Boards for repeatable operating processes |
| ClickUp | Tasks and documents in one workspace |
| ProofHub | File review and approvals alongside tasks |
| Trello | Visual queues and project stages |
| Notion | Tasks connected to project documents |
| Jira | Configurable delivery workflows |
| Linear | Product and engineering work |
1. Chaser
Chaser turns Slack conversations into assigned work. Create a task from a message or use /chaser, name the owner, and set a deadline. The assignee can acknowledge and complete the task in Slack, while Chaser sends automatic reminders.
Dashboards and channel reports bring that work together for the person coordinating it. In the dashboard below, tasks are grouped by due date, with their owners and acknowledgement status visible beside them.
Recurring tasks cover regular responsibilities; reusable checklists turn a repeated process into separately assigned steps. Group tasks track each person's completion, and Slack Connect support extends assignments to external partners. This also supports cross-functional work discussed in shared channels.
The task management guide walks through the daily workflow, and the features page covers task creation, checklists, reminders, and reporting.
2. Asana
Asana connects assigned tasks to project schedules, dependencies, and reporting. It is useful for a campaign or launch where several contributors need to understand the order of work.
Map the launch's deliverables and connect tasks that depend on earlier work. Then review the timeline with the people responsible for each stage. The Asana plans show the available scheduling and reporting features. Our Asana and monday comparison explains the differences between those two approaches.
3. monday work management
monday work management uses customizable boards and visual views. An operating process can show the fields people need each day, such as owner, status, deadline, and priority.
For a service-request process, define the stages from intake to completion, then create views for the delivery team and its manager. The Gantt documentation and plan comparison explain the scheduling and automation options. The monday alternatives guide covers other tools for similar work.
4. ClickUp
ClickUp combines tasks with documents, boards, configurable views, and time tracking. A project brief can sit alongside the work needed to deliver it.
Start with one project and the statuses the team already understands. Check whether people can find the brief, update their work, and review progress in a shared view. Compare ClickUp's plans against the features used during that trial. For a broader comparison, see the ClickUp alternatives guide.
5. ProofHub
ProofHub brings task lists and boards together with discussions, file markup, and approvals. It suits teams where completing a task includes reviewing a draft or getting approval.
Try one design task from assignment to approval. Check whether reviewers can make feedback clear and the assignee can find the changes needed to finish the work.
6. Trello
Trello organizes tasks as cards moving through lists on a board. An editorial team might use Planned, Drafting, In review, and Published, with the owner, deadline, and supporting brief attached to each card.
Agree on what each stage means and who takes the next action when a card moves. Trello's additional views include a Timeline view on Premium and Enterprise. Our Asana and Trello comparison looks at boards and more structured project planning.
7. Notion
Notion connects documents, project pages, and task databases. A team can keep a brief, research, meeting decisions, and assigned actions within the same project page.
The setup works best when the team agrees which fields it will maintain. Start with owner, status, and date, then connect tasks to the notes that explain them. Notion also supports subtasks and dependencies and repeating database templates.
8. Jira
Jira supports work items, configurable workflows, boards, backlogs, timelines, and reporting. Software and business teams can model the stages work follows between a request and delivery.
Use a small project to check how tasks are created, assigned, reviewed, and completed. Its Slack integration supports creating and updating work items and syncing threads. The plan comparison covers planning and administration features.
9. Linear
Linear organizes product development through issues, projects, cycles, and initiatives. A product improvement becomes a project, with the next set of issues planned into a team cycle.
Follow one improvement through planning and delivery. Check whether developers can find their next action and whether the project lead can see progress and remaining work. Linear documents its Insights and Dashboards features, with availability in the plan comparison.
Evaluate the tool from both sides of the task
Give the same project to a teammate doing the work and the person coordinating it. Ask them to complete a few everyday actions:
- For the assignee: find the task, open its context, ask a question, update its status, and mark it complete.
- For the coordinator: find an outstanding task, identify its owner, check the next deadline, and review the project as a whole.
Include a change of plan. Move a deadline or hand a draft to a reviewer and check whether both people understand what happens next. Ask the less frequent users to participate, too; the shared view depends on their updates.
A progress report should lead to specific next actions. In the Chaser example below, two overdue approvals need attention and a mobile QA task still needs acknowledgement.
Once the team has used the tool, compare the subscription that includes the features you actually needed. Count everyone who will create, complete, or review work, and include the time needed to set up and maintain the process.
Introduce it with one project
Keep the first week focused on an active project or recurring process:
- Name the person coordinating the rollout and the result the team wants.
- Bring in the current tasks and check owners, dates, and supporting links.
- Use the tool during the normal working week, including the usual progress meeting.
- Agree where requests are created, where updates belong, and how completed work is reviewed before expanding to another project.
If your team coordinates in Slack, you can try Chaser with that first project. Its pricing page gives you the plan details to use in your evaluation.
