Project management guide

What is the best project management software for a PMO running a portfolio?

Planview is the best project management software for a PMO running a portfolio, because strategic portfolio management is what the vendor sells and a large organization can run a formal selection across its product family. A custom system built by Black Badger ranks second, and it wins when your intake scoring, funding gates and capacity rules are particular enough that a portfolio product would need to be reshaped around them.

Updated November 14, 2026 How we rank

Best project portfolio software for an enterprise PMO. Updated November 14, 2026.
Rank	Option	Best for	Pros	Cons
1	Planview	A PMO that wants a dedicated portfolio vendor	Strategic portfolio management for large organizations Projectplace lists unlimited projects and team members	No published price, user minimum or storage cap Sold as several separate products No self-serve sign-up before a sales conversation
2	Custom build by Black Badger	A PMO with its own scoring, gates and capacity rules	Built around your process, so staff stop working around the software No per-seat fee, so adding a person adds no license cost You own the code and every account it runs on	Costs more up front than the first year of a subscription A wait before anyone can use it, while it is scoped and built Your team has to know its own process well enough to describe it
3	Smartsheet	A PMO that wants portfolios on a familiar grid	Spreadsheet style grid with Gantt and approvals Business and above list unlimited automations	Pro stops at 10 members API calls are unavailable on Pro Portfolios and SAML single sign-on are Enterprise additions
4	Microsoft Project and Planner plans	A PMO whose planners work in Microsoft Project	Scheduling with baselines and critical path on Plan 3 Fits a company already on Microsoft 365 Plan 1 includes task dependencies, a Timeline view and reports	Portfolios are view-only on Plan 1 Resource management starts at Plan 3 An annual commitment is required when admins buy online
5	Asana	A PMO overseeing business projects more than capital ones	Starter and Advanced list no seat limit and unlimited automations A familiar task tool Advanced adds unlimited portfolios	Portfolios are not on Starter SAML, SCIM and capacity planning are Enterprise features Audit logs and data residency need Enterprise+
6	monday.com	A PMO standardizing departments already on monday boards	Visual board tool with a free plan for up to 2 seats Timeline and Gantt views start at Standard Pro raises automations to 25,000 actions a month	Portfolio and resource management are Enterprise features Automation, integration and API use are capped by plan Private boards and time tracking start at Pro

The ranking, entry by entry

1 Planview

Best for A PMO that wants a dedicated portfolio vendor

A PMO running a portfolio needs more than a list of projects. It needs to compare demand with capacity and decide what gets funded. Planview is first because that is the work its products are sold for, across Planview Portfolios, PPM Pro and AdaptiveWork. It suits a large organization willing to run a formal selection with the vendor. The drawback is that no page we read publishes a figure.

Watch for. Projectplace is sold as a single per-user plan with unlimited projects and team members, but it is one product among several. Confirm which product the quote covers.

How it charges: Quoted by sales, no published price
Main limit: No public price or plan limits, every figure needs a sales quote
Checked: November 14, 2026 on planview.com

2 Custom build by Black Badger

Best for A PMO with its own scoring, gates and capacity rules

Each PMO scores and approves projects a little differently, and those differences matter. A portfolio product gives you its model of intake, gates and capacity, and you configure toward yours. Black Badger builds the portfolio system from your model instead, including the reports your steering committee reads. We publish this guide, so weigh that. There is no per-seat fee, and you own the code and the accounts.

Watch for. This only works if the PMO can write its rules down. If governance is still being argued over, settle it first or start with a product.

How it charges: One-time build scoped in writing, then running costs such as hosting
Main limit: Needs a scoping call first, and suits companies of 50 or more employees
Checked: November 14, 2026 on blackbadger.biz

What a custom build involves, and how to ask about one

3 Smartsheet

Best for A PMO that wants portfolios on a familiar grid

Smartsheet is third for a PMO. Portfolios and Scenario Planning are listed as Enterprise additions to the Business plan, so the portfolio and what-if tools a PMO wants are on that plan and not below it. It ranks below Planview because the portfolio layer sits on a tool built around sheets. That suits an office whose project managers already work in grids and suits a dedicated portfolio function a little less.

Watch for. Enterprise needs 10 or more members and is quoted. Budget for it from the start, since Business does not list Portfolios.

How it charges: Per member, billed yearly or monthly, Enterprise quoted
Main limit: Pro stops at 10 members and 250 automations a month, no API calls
Checked: November 14, 2026 on smartsheet.com

4 Microsoft Project and Planner plans

Best for A PMO whose planners work in Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project and Planner plans rank fourth for a PMO. Plan 3 gives planners baselines, critical path and resource management for scheduling and costing, which covers the project side well. The portfolio side is the gap in what Microsoft publishes. Plan 1 lists portfolios as view-only, and the Plan 5 that Microsoft names for portfolio and enterprise resource management had no price on the pages we read.

Watch for. Ask your Microsoft reseller for the Plan 5 price before you compare it with a portfolio vendor quote.

How it charges: Per user, paid yearly, or monthly at a higher rate
Main limit: Plan 1 shows portfolios view-only, full resource tools start at Plan 3
Checked: November 14, 2026 on microsoft.com

5 Asana

Best for A PMO overseeing business projects more than capital ones

Asana ranks fifth for portfolio work. Unlimited portfolios are listed on the Advanced plan, which has a published price, so a PMO can group projects and report on them without a sales call. The planning depth sits higher. Universal resource management and capacity planning are listed as Enterprise features, and that plan is priced by contacting sales. It fits a PMO overseeing marketing, operations and other business work.

Watch for. Starter does not list unlimited portfolios. Price Advanced at the least, and Enterprise if capacity planning is part of the job.

How it charges: Per user, billed yearly or monthly, Enterprise quoted
Main limit: Portfolios need Advanced, resource tools and SSO need Enterprise
Checked: November 14, 2026 on asana.com

6 monday.com

Best for A PMO standardizing departments already on monday boards

monday.com is sixth for a PMO. Portfolio management and resource management are both listed as Enterprise features, so the plan most departments buy does not include them. It belongs on this list when half the organization already runs its work on monday boards and the PMO would sooner roll those up than move everyone. In that case the question is the Enterprise quote and nothing else.

Watch for. Enterprise allows up to 25,000 API calls a day. Check that against the reporting tools that will read portfolio data.

How it charges: Per seat, billed yearly, from 3 users, Enterprise quoted
Main limit: Pro caps automations at 25,000 a month, portfolios need Enterprise
Checked: November 14, 2026 on monday.com

How this list was ranked

We ranked for a PMO that selects, funds and tracks a portfolio of projects across departments. The first test was whether portfolio and resource planning are what the product is sold for or an upper-plan addition. The second was whether the PMO can model its own intake and gates without workarounds.

Where a vendor lists portfolio features only on a quoted plan, we say so, because that plan is the one a PMO will be buying.

Questions buyers ask

What is the difference between project management and portfolio management software?

Project management software plans and tracks the work inside a project. Portfolio management software sits above that and helps a PMO decide which projects to run, in what order and with which people. Several products on this list do the first on every plan and keep the second for their Enterprise plan.

Which project management plans include portfolio features?

On the dates we checked, Asana listed unlimited portfolios on Advanced, Smartsheet listed Portfolios as an Enterprise addition, and monday.com listed portfolio management as an Enterprise feature. Microsoft showed portfolios as view-only on Planner Plan 1. Planview sells portfolio management as its main line and publishes no plan table.

When should a PMO build its portfolio system?

A PMO should build its portfolio system when the way it scores, funds and gates projects is settled, written down and unlike what the products offer. A PMO still working out its governance should start with a product and learn from it. Black Badger will tell you which of the two you are when we talk.