A recent report by Wellingtone finds 52% of project managers are somewhat or very dissatisfied with their project management maturity. Nowadays, project management is often only as good as the software you have running it.

And if you’re already using project management tools like ClickUp, sometimes the grass really is greener on the other side.

While ClickUp gives its users features that help them stay organized and in touch with other team members, it lacks some key benefits.

Would a ClickUp alternative be a better idea for your agency?

Don't adapt your processes to your software tools. Software should fit your agency’s objectives and processes. That’s why we gathered a list of the 12 best ClickUp alternatives worth a look.

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Agencies looking for tons of helpful features and automation options should review Teamwork. Built with agencies in mind, it easily handles in-depth, complex project management and project scheduling for all sizes of teams.

Teamwork is especially valuable for managing client work. While ClickUp offers basic project management, it can’t stand up to Teamwork.

Teamwork has many capabilities. Advanced features like team chat, customer relationship management, and a content collaboration hub are why it tops this list.

Teamwork.com is built for agencies

Teamwork.com is built for agencies

Looking for a smarter way to keep your team’s tasks organized? See how Teamwork.com is designed to help agencies like yours better serve your clients.

Learn more

There’s no better alternative to ClickUp for client and agency work than Teamwork. Designed by former agency owners, the platform serves agency needs, helping them delight clients and deliver projects on time.

Every new feature is built, launched, and prioritized to complement and support existing workflows. Teamwork includes key client work features like integrated time tracking, invoicing, resource management and forecasting, QuickBooks integrations, and unlimited free client and freelancer collaborators.

A big drawback of some software is the time it takes to get it set up, users trained, and integrations in place. Teamwork is simple to set up and use from day one. 

Everything agencies need to start is there the second they log in. Teamwork Academy guides users through the training process, and an experienced customer support team is always on standby.

While ClickUp offers basic time reporting, Teamwork has a full suite of financial and budget management tools that provide a real-time overview of project performance so you always know what’s going on.

With Teamwork, you can easily track expenses and view budget breakdowns for any project or task at a glance–enabling you to catch issues before they affect your client work. You can also customize and pull profitability reports to show your team, boss and clients everything they need to know about a project’s performance. 

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Fast-growing agencies may need to scale their operations. They'll benefit greatly from Teamwork, which takes a scalable approach to growth.

The platform  includes stand-alone options like desk, chat, CRM, and spaces that help teams do more without overwhelming the workflow.

“Teamwork is a perfect fit for our agency. Ultimately it came down to ClickUp or Teamwork for us. Clickup needed someone to help set it all up AND it wasn’t as user friendly.” 

~Brooke Fremeau, Traffic & Resource Manager at Yellow Duck Marketing

  • Advanced time tracking: Invoice for every billable hour.

  • Timesheets: Personal and agency-level

  • Pre-built template library: Start maximizing efficiency immediately.

  • Workload resource management: Make resources quick and easy to find.

Teamwork has a free plan and three paid plans. The lowest tier, the Starter plan, costs $5.99 per user per month. Deliver is the mid-tier plan and costs $9.99 per user per month. The Grow plan is the most popular and costs $17.99 per user per month.

Teamwork.com: The ClickUp alternative designed for agencies

Teamwork.com: The ClickUp alternative designed for agencies

Learn more about how Teamwork.com is the ClickUp alternative designed with client work in mind.

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Credit: planyway

ClickUp can be complicated for some teams. Avoid frustrated users with Trello.

Small teams may find this project management software to be their best option for staying organized and focused on the highest priority tasks. Users that prefer a steady diet of data in a visually pleasing format will love the charts and boards Trello offers.

  • Kanban board cards: Organize tasks and projects in a clear format.

  • Drag-and-drop: Change due dates and assign tasks.

  • Calendar: Organizes to-do lists and syncs up with any third-party calendars

  • Dashboard: Provides an overhead view of a project’s key metrics, assigned cards, due dates, and potential bottlenecks

Users can choose from four plans, starting with Trello’s Free plan. Priced per user per month, the Standard plan is $5.00, the Premium plan is $10.00, and the top-tier plan, Enterprise, is $17.50.

Credit: Monday.com

Another appealing project management solution that may work better for some teams than ClickUp is monday.com. The tool's suite of richly designed features and a wide array of integrations, along with its ease of use, is why this software made our list.

  • Customizable boards: Assign tasks, take advantage of file sharing, and keep every team member focused on the project’s priorities.

  • No-code automation: Due date alerts, dependencies, task assignments, status updates, and more save time and reduce repetition.

  • Gantt charts: Foster team collaboration, task management, and progress tracking.

  • Real-time annotations: Collaborate and shorten feedback loops.

monday.com gives users five pricing options, including a free plan for individuals. Priced per seat per month, the Basic plan is $8, the Standard plan (most popular) is $10, and the Pro plan is $16. The top-level Enterprise plan is custom-quoted based on an agency’s specific needs.

Credit: Asana

Asana has been a noteworthy project management solution for years, with positive results. Its clean, intuitive interface and friendly layout may appeal to some users more than the somewhat complex ClickUp platform.

Teams of all shapes and sizes can benefit from Asana’s many features making users more productive and efficient. Small businesses to multinational corporations can use it to manage their projects and collaborate with on-site and remote teams. Agencies can put it to work to streamline their portfolio management.

  • Multiple project views: List View, Timeline View, Calendar View, and Board View make it easy to stay informed of upcoming due dates and milestones.

  • Task management: Break task lists into manageable pieces and give every task a clear owner.

  • Communication:  Gives users a space for private messaging, discussing a project’s progress, and contributing to general team conversations

  • Mobile app: Works with iOS and Android to let stakeholders stay up-to-date anywhere, anytime

The free plan, Basic, is one of the most feature-rich free versions on our list. Priced per user per month, the Premium plan is $10.99 and the Business plan is $24.99.

Credit: Basecamp

Users who appreciate a cloud-based tool may find Basecamp to be the best project management solution. It’s a comprehensive choice for smaller teams wanting a user-friendly way to increase productivity.

  • Campfire: A simple way to chat within each project, saving the time of searching for notes and communications

  • Card Table: View progress in real-time and cut down on meetings.

  • To-Dos: Stay organized by viewing responsibilities, progress, deadlines, and more.

  • Docs & Files: Stores and shares all the docs, files, and images a project needs in a single location

Basecamp extends its simplicity to its pricing, having only two plans. The first, Basecamp, serves freelancers, startups, and small teams for $15 per user per month. 

For larger teams, the top level, Basecamp Pro Unlimited, costs $299 per month for unlimited users.

Credit: Wrike

Teams that need extra customization and advanced features to manage large, complex projects need to look at Wrike before choosing ClickUp.

  • Automation Engine: Automates repetitive actions, provides custom reminders, and advances to the next stage of work based on status, priority, and risk

  • Custom Item Types: Build a customizable library within your workspace that mirrors current processes.

  • Cross Tagging: Improve project transparency by giving each team member a view of tasks within the projects and a broad agency view.

  • Intuitive resource management tools: Make project planning, assigning accountability, and aligning team and agency goals easy.

Wrike’s five pricing levels are sure to accommodate every budget. Along with the Free plan, they offer the Team plan for $9.80 per user per month. Their popular Business plan is $24.80 per user per month.

The highest two levels, Enterprise and Pinnacle, are custom-quoted based on specific needs.

Teams that like lots of control over their projects will quickly embrace Notion’s many organizational perks and features. Its seamless experience and the easy way it allows everything to connect with other project facets scored it a spot on our list.

  • Real-time collaboration: Remote teams can easily stay aligned and focused on their tasks and the project as a whole

  • Wikis: A single source of truth for project information

  • Timeline view: See dependencies and tasks from a bird’s eye view to better understand how every aspect fits together.

  • Customizable tools: Build templates and create PDFs, bug reports, and more to stop “reinventing the wheel” with every project.

Notion has a free plan and three paid plans. The Plus plan costs $8 per user per month, the Business plan comes in at $15 per user per month, and the Enterprise plan is custom-quoted.

If you’ve ever felt like the tools your agency uses don’t understand your agency, then Hive is the solution for you. Built from user feedback, the software is more intuitive and user-friendly than ClickUp.

  • Customizable workflows: Easy, transparent project planning

  • Hive Forms: Simple for client and product intake (The form fill option makes it even easier.)

  • Hive Chat: Connects teammates, aiding collaboration and problem-solving

  • Hive Notes: Easy sharing and editing before, during, and after meetings

The Free plan works well for small teams. The Teams plan is $12 per user per month. Enterprise is tailored to an agency’s needs and custom quoted.

Credit: Jira

Designed with the Agile methodology in mind, Jira offers teams a way to collaborate better and stay in the loop on every project stage. The tool includes key features that serve small, growing teams and larger groups well. It's especially helpful in bringing remote teams together.

  • Workflows and permissions: Customizable for your team’s convenience

  • Wide array of seamless integrations: All the project management power users need at their fingertips

  • Agile boards: Scrum boards and roadmaps break projects into tasks and subclass to avoid overwhelming the stakeholders.

  • In-depth reports: Stay informed of every facet of a project.

Jira offers a free version and three paid versions of its platform. The Standard plan costs $7.75 per user per month, while the Premium plan costs $15.25 per user per month. The Enterprise plan is a specially-quoted price based on individual agency needs.

Smartsheet is a great alternative to ClickUp for users who love to work in Excel. Built like a spreadsheet, there’s almost no learning curve for newbies. After looking at the extra features and functionality it offers, we couldn’t leave Smartsheet off this list.

  • Work Insights: Uncover and visualize key trends, activities, and bottlenecks.

  • Recurring Tasks: Automation reducing repetitive, time-consuming actions

  • Notification center: Keeps you alerted to important tasks and requests

  • Data Retention Controls: Protect customer information and data relevancy.

Smartsheet offers three paid plans. Priced per user per month, the Pro plan is $7 (maxing out at 10 users), the Business plan is $25, and the Enterprise plan is custom designed on an agency-by-agency basis.

Another cloud based project management software tool is Zoho Projects. Plan projects, foster collaboration, and track progress and results with this feature-rich ClickUp alternative.

  • Employee Time Tracking software (complete with timesheets and timers): Bill every possible dollar on a project.

  • Multiple charts and reports: Gantt charts, a resource utilization chart, task-based completion reports, and more keep users informed and better able to meet project deliverables.

  • Task management: Drag-and-drop and setting dependencies functionality

  • Team collaboration: @mentions, comments, and discussing events and due dates directly within the system

Zoho Projects offers a free plan for up to three users. The bottom paid tier, Premium, is $5 per user per month after a 10-day free trial. The top paid tier, Enterprise, is $10 per user per month after the free trial.

The final tool to make our list is nTask. This software option is especially valuable in aligning and fostering productivity in remote team management.

  • Kanban boards: Stay organized and collaborate with other team members.

  • Meeting management: Works with physical and virtual meetings

  • Software connections between teams, tasks, projects, and milestones: Track and address issues that could stall the project.

  • Real-time collaboration: Assign tasks, attach files, and receive real-time notifications.

Free for seven days, and then nTask has three paid plans to choose from. The first, Premium, is $3 per month. The mid-tier, Business, is $8 per month. Enterprise, the top tier, requires a custom-built quote.

It’s always smart to weigh your options when you’re changing or adding a tool to manage projects and stay productive. One of these alternatives to ClickUp may be your best choice for increasing team collaboration, saving time, and maximizing agency profits.

Are you trying to find a project management software tool with lots of valuable features while avoiding overwhelming interfaces and long ramp-up time?

Teamwork, built specifically for agencies, is the best choice for complete work management. It gives you everything you need and nothing you don’t, along with many ways to customize and automate your processes. Sign up today and start increasing your team’s productivity immediately.