Project tracking freeware is software designed for controlling work in project workgroups, while such a program is distributed and used for free. Shareware has the same purpose, but developers require payments for using it – project tracking shareware has only certain trial period (30-60 days) while it can be tried out for free. Some products are intentionally positioned as freeware to attract more clients, but in practice they are not totally free – actually they may ask for paid support, paid updates, paid advanced features etc. 

Usually marketing policy of many open source tools acts in such a way – freeware is just a basic sample with poor functionality, while some critical components and modules (for example collaboration module, or functionality extension, support etc.) are distributed separately, for money. Some web based tools (like Google solutions) show the similar situation – free basic version, but paid improvements. As you can see free software is not always what it is expected to be, but when you deal with project shareware you can try it first, and then decide if you are ready to pay for it. Usually, when you pay for software, you get certain guaranties for its quality, usability and free services, like support and updates.

• Specific example :

target="_blank">VIP Task Manager is client-server system (working in real-time within your LAN or through the Internet) for professional workgroup management, which enables all team members to share common database of tasks and switch between different viewing modes in order to plan, assign, schedule, overview, control and report tasks. You can try out project tracking free trial version during 30 days.