Free Capacity Planning Tools. At this point, managing an organization’s IT infrastructure requires capacity planning. Also, it’s essential to have a tool to assist you in planning and forecasting your capacity demands so that you can assure optimal resource usage and save downtime. As a result of the growing need for affordable solutions, free capacity planning tools have grown in popularity.
To assist you in making an informed choice, we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 free capacity planning tools for 2023, together with a discussion of their advantages and disadvantages.
So let’s get going!
What Does a Capacity Planning Tool Do?
A corporation can currently evaluate its resource needs to adjust to changes in market demand by using capacity planning technologies.
In fact, managers, superiors, and department heads use these tools to keep an eye on workforces and determine how much work your present staff are capable of doing. It also allows you to figure out how many employees you currently have and whether or not they are overworked or underutilized.
Another key benefit of capacity planning tools is their ability to anticipate how many new hires your company can or will need to make in the next year and how the associated costs may impact the bottom line.
Obviously, using capacity planning tools has several significant advantages; examples include the following:
- Automate routine resource allocation processes
- Procedures for capacity management should also be simplified.
- Control workloads and output
- Remove guesswork from resource leveling and planning explicitly.
- Quickly locate any bottlenecks that exist or might develop.
- Without a doubt, using a professional capacity planning tool is necessary to reach this degree of efficiency. The capacity planning template in Excel is ineffective.
10 Best Free Capacity Planning Tools in 2023
Choosing a capacity planning tool from among the thousands of software solutions available today may seem intimidating, but it’s important to approach the task with a clear understanding of your needs.
Before investing in just any capacity planning software, keep the following in mind:
- Aspects of automation to free up time from mindless jobs
- Analytics and real-time reporting to gather relevant data
- There are so many integrations!
Thankfully, the top 10 free capacity planning tools have been identified through extensive research and online searching. Check out the well chosen materials in this collection to get started calculating the workload for your team straight now.
- ClickUp
- Resource Guru
- DELIMAWorks Manufacturing ERP
- Teamup
- Kantata
- Toggl
- Saviom
- Forecast
- Runn
- Resource Management by Smartsheet
1. ClickUp
Drag and drop jobs to see who is on time or behind schedule using ClickUp’s Workload View to reallocate resources. Teams of any size can manage projects, work together more efficiently, and combine their work from many apps into one single platform using ClickUp.
Due of its many adjustable features, ClickUp is one of the best free capacity planning tools for keeping track of workloads, efficiently managing resources, and boosting overall productivity.
More than 15 customisable visualization options are available in ClickUp, including the unique Workload view and tailored real-time reporting for a rapid, high-level overview of your progress.
Teams and enterprises from many sectors rely on ClickUp to assess their capabilities and identify growth opportunities.
ClickUp can still accomplish so much more for you, though!
Features
- There are many ClickUp Views available for managing tasks, projects, and workflows, including Calendar, List, Gantt, and Workload views.
- Use ClickUp Whiteboards to develop and put into action your concepts on a clear, useful canvas that is connected to your ClickUp workflow.
- Real-time reporting and dashboards with more than 50 customisable widgets to manage resources, track progress, and do practically any calculation
- Flexible time tracking is available across devices and browser windows and has a global timer, time estimations, billable time due dates, start dates, time reports, and more.
- With specific deadlines and progress monitoring, its Objectives feature keeps users on track.
- Using ClickUp, you can automate more than a hundred of your daily duties.
- For further customization of your tasks, processes, and workplace, there are more than 35 ClickApps available.
Pros
- You can use the platform to your advantage by taking advantage of the offered 24/7 customer assistance, webinars, and thorough Help Documents.
- For teams of any size, a robust Free Forever Plan with numerous features is available.
- Several straightforward and adaptable features to boost productivity
- A large number of pre-built templates for every use scenario
- More than a thousand integrations help arrange your work and speed up procedures
- User-friendly navigation and interface
Cons
- In the mobile app, there are only certain views available.
- Some strong qualities present a learning curve.
- The Free Forever Plan does not offer the workload view.
Pricing
- Business Plan: $12 per member per month
- Business Plus: $19 per member per month
- Enterprise: Contact ClickUp for custom pricing
- Free Forever Plan: Unlimited tasks, members, and more at absolutely no cost
- Unlimited Plan: $5 per member per month
2. Resource Guru
Resource Guru, a resource management program, can assist in identifying overworked human resources when there is a high demand for resources but a need for more readily available ones.
This program can integrate with your ERP and CRM tools and provides conventional work management capabilities to handle tasks together with your project resources.
The collaborative feature of this application allows you to see who is working on each assignment and when they plan to finish it.
Resource Guru is one of the top free capacity planning tools available as a result.
Features
- Booking Clash streamlines reservation systems to stop repeated bookings.
- Enable management to keep an eye on the vacation time of your employees and adjust workloads as appropriate.
- Track the extent to which your resources are being used.
- Making preparations to fairly divide resources among team members to prevent overload
Pros
- An availability bar that displays who is available when
- Easy resource scheduling with a drag-and-drop interface
- To exclude a resource, use custom fields like talents, department, etc.
Cons
- Native integrations with widely used office tools are absent
- No free version is available
- Gantt chart features are absent.
3. DELIMAWorks Manufacturing ERP
Large companies in the packaging, automotive, and other discrete manufacturing sectors can use the capacity planning application DELIMAWorks Manufacturing ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), formerly IQMS, to manage their production.
Unquestionably, this instrument makes it possible to follow, monitor, and trace production activity and initial data over the whole supply chain.
Nevertheless, because DELIMAWorks Manufacturing is essentially a manufacturing capacity planning tool, it is not the best choice for software development and other project management teams.
Features
- Advanced resource scheduling and planning system
- Capable of quickly identifying any manufacturing workflow bottlenecks
- Supply chain management and planning in detail
- A snapshot of the current capacity and expected demand is provided by the capacity forecasting module.
Pros
- It integrates a Gantt chart to track project accomplishment.
- Data can be exported to Microsoft Word and Excel.
- It includes a time-and-attendance tracker for simple payroll administration.
- Supports collaborative real-time forecasting
Cons
- Interface that seems dated
- It is not compatible with applications like Slack and Google Drive.
- Standard reports have little flexibility
- The adjustment to its courses can have a steep learning curve.
4. TeamUp
One of the top free capacity planning tools in 2023 is TeamUp. Teams may simultaneously plan projects, manage availability, and communicate events using TeamUp’s cloud-based calendar.
In summary, it’s a great alternative for managing capacity with additional functionality to exchange files, update calendars with many users, and work on projects together.
Also, you can change the course of events to suit your needs.
Features
- Tracking of activity and attendance
- Automated reservations, booking, and scheduling
- Calendar event reminders
- Collaboration and calendar sharing technologies that are secure
Pros
- Suitable for smaller departments or teams rather than huge businesses
- With specific color coding on a calendar, you can keep track of different participants.
- Constant synchronization with its mobile app
- Pleasant user interface
Cons
- Larger firms or teams have difficulty making critical judgments.
- It might be challenging to keep track of how particular projects or activities are progressing.
- Missing a number of crucial capacity planning components
Pricing
- Basic Plan: Free
- Enterprise Plan: $80 per month
- Plus Plan: $8 per month
- Premium Plan: $20 per month
5. Kantata
A free capacity planning tool for managing assets, funds, group collaboration, and projects is called Kantata.efore, it was known as Mavenlink.
One of Kantata’s primary strengths is its ability to depict progress in a variety of ways, including charts, diagrams, graphs, and more.
Features
- Scheduling and controlling personnel
- Using filters to quickly find information
- Facets of project planning
- Real-time reports on resources, monitoring time, project status, and other data are provided.
Pros
- Simple to use with strong features
- Many integrations, including one for email
- Provides templates for reusable projects.
- For collecting and calculating resource information, a robust database and reporting features
Cons
- It can be challenging to make changes and improvements to the platform.
- Lacking in support for mobile apps
Pricing
- Professional: $39 per user per month
- Team: $19 per user per month
6. Toggl
One of the top free capacity planning tools is Toggl. Toggl is an online time-tracking tool that helps businesses measure the amount of time spent on tasks or projects in order to determine where efficiency can be improved and how profitable their business is.
Last but not least, Toggl is an excellent capacity planning tool since it enables teams to track workflows, identify opportunities, and make wise hiring choices.
Features
- Workload management and employee tracking
- Timekeeping while offline
- Tracking of payroll and billable hours
Pros
- Enhances the management of labor schedule and tracking
- Different tools for handling different capacity planning components
- You may assess the efficiency, profitability, and cost of your staff using reliable time monitoring solutions.
- Multiple integrations
Cons
- Inadequate reporting and dashboard tools
- Inadequate productivity tools prevent proactive decision-making
- It’s one of the least expensive options on this list.
7. Saviom
One of the greatest Free Capacity Planning Tools solutions that uses machine learning for resource allocation and forecasting is Saviom.
Broadly speaking, it offers its resource planning solution to maximize your resources and eventually distribute them across numerous projects.
Features
- Planning for resource capacity and demand forecasting
- Tools and reports for talent and available resources
- Management of the workflow and scheduling
Pros
- You can decide what information to synchronize and how frequently.
- To keep track of who is working on which project, it contains a Gantt chart.
- A number of integrations
Cons
- Interface that seems dated
- There is no free plan offered and each pricing method is distinct.
8. Forecast
In order to assist with project planning, management, and comparison, Forecast leverages AI as a project management and resource capacity planning tool.
It is unquestionably one of the greatest free capacity planning tools available. Because to its clear and color-coded User Interface, determining how well your project is performing and how much progress each team member has made is simple. The management of your most precious resource, your people, is great at Forecast!
Features
- Dashboards and calculations for accurate accounting, profit, and cost data
- Task management using multiple project views, including scheduling, workflow, and resource management
Pros
- Logical interface
- Several features for project management
- It is easy to allocate assignments depending on staff availability when using the auto-scheduling tool.
Cons
- It can easily become costly.
- Lacking crucial aspects of collaboration
- Only a few integrations
9. Runn
Runn is a renowned capacity planning tool that offers data to business owners, project managers, and management planning tools teams so they can plan and forecast challenging projects in real-time.
This software also has a built-in timesheet so you can monitor the progress of your tasks and evaluate how well your schedule corresponds to the time spent.
Features
- Tools for analytics that find and predict trends
- Resource planning and capacity management both
- Planning and reporting timesheet
Pros
- Permits real-time resource changes
- Ability to import and export data
- Use this tool in a number of different ways to manage the team.
Cons
- The integration of features could take some time.
- Lacking the most common sharing and permission options
- Minimum API capabilities
Pricing
- Enterprise Plan: Contact sales for pricing
- Free Plan: Supports up to five people as well as unlimited projects
- Pro Plan: $10 per person per month
10. Resource Management by Smartsheet
To plan and capacities relevant to team hiring, utilization, as well as budget, a resource management solution called Resource Management by Smartsheet—previously known as 10,000ft—is employed.
It is without a doubt one of the best free capacity tools. To manage the work of your team on numerous projects and meet deadlines, this solution essentially consists of a spreadsheet in the traditional Smartsheet style.
Hence, Smartsheet might become your new favorite if you’re an experienced Excel user looking for a more user-friendly and cutting-edge substitute!
Features
- Budget management, involving computations and formulas
- Dashboards can be customized and show data from your reports or sheets in real time.
- Tracking of project and task status
- Your tasks can be seen in a Gantt chart, grid, card, or calendar format.
- Workflow management and automation
Pros
- Especially if you’re used to working with spreadsheets, easy to use and distribute
- Performance measures at the portfolio level that are extremely quick and available
- There are a variety of options for team collaboration that can improve the value of your spreadsheets.
- Fully integrated between Smartsheet and its resource management application.
Cons
- Lacking crucial aspects for collaboration and reporting
- Cheaper than the other items on this list
- A lack of effective time tracking tools for managing resources
Conclusion
FAQs on Free Capacity Planning Tools
What are the four types of capacity planning?
There are four major techniques used in capacity planning - 1) capacity planning using overall factors, 2) capacity bills, 3) resource profiles, and 4) capacity requirements planning (CRP). The latter is used in conjunction with material requirements planning (MRP) systems
What are the types of capacity planning?
The three types of capacity planning based on goal are lead capacity planning, lag strategy planning and match strategy planning.
What are the five steps of capacity planning?
Estimate future capacity requirements.
Evaluate existing capacity and facilities and identify gaps.
Identify alternatives for meeting requirements.
Conduct financial analyses of each alternative.
Assess key qualitative issues for each alternative.
What are examples of capacity?
All the sodas and chocolate syrups have a maximum amount mentioned on their containers. This certain amount that the pan, bottle, or any other container can hold is called capacity.
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