“Every agency and SMB can be more efficient, organized, profitable, and happy with the right tools and support in place.” ~ Peter Coppinger, Founder & CEO at Teamwork
To manage your team the way they deserve, a good project management software is key. Nifty is a platform that describes itself as “the remote collaboration hub to manage projects, tasks, and communications.”
But Nifty isn’t for everyone. It isn’t always intuitive to use, and other customer reviews state that service is slow and unhelpful. Its lack of sophisticated resource and task management tools make it particularly tricky for agencies doing client work with lots of moving parts.
If you’re looking for the best Nifty alternatives, keep reading to learn about six great options for project management software that can help you get the job done.
1. Teamwork
Teamwork is a project management software providing features that improve collaboration, productivity, and profitability. It was specifically designed to help agencies manage the entire lifecycle of their client work in one place.
Teamwork provides all the features you’d expect, such as being able to create and assign tasks using ready-made templates, and tracking progress via tools for time tracking, integrations, internal chat, and more. It also has some added bonus features like financial management, robust reporting, and free access for clients to ensure every project is delivered on time and on budget.
The platform is easily customizable, too. For instance, keep up with current projects by choosing whichever view works best with your brain (such as a list, Kanban board, or Gantt chart). It’s also uber-easy to get started — you can import your current tasks and projects to Teamwork with just one click.
Streamline your agency’s project management with the software purpose-build for client work: Get started with Teamwork today.
Key features
Pre-built project management templates include tasks, custom fields, files, and tags to organize work.
Time tracking, expenses, invoicing, and budgeting capabilities help manage the financial side of client work.
Workload and resource management tools help with forecasting and resource allocation to ensure your team doesn’t get overwhelmed.
Budgeting and profitability tools that enable you to monitor project performance in real time, so you can easily course correct before it affects your clients and bottom line.
Pros
Use task dependencies to ensure that projects progress in the right order.
Streamline team collaboration with messages, @ mentions, Notebooks, and Spaces features.
Keep a close eye on profitability by project or client with robust reporting features.
Cons
New users may need extra time to learn Teamwork’s robust features. However, Teamwork Academy has been launched to serve as a resource library for users of all skill levels.
The starter plan is only suited to smaller teams. For more advanced features you may need to upgrade.
Pricing options
Free (up to five users)
Starter: $5.99 per user per month
Deliver: $9.99 per user per month
Grow: $19.99 per user per month
Scale: Custom quote
Try Teamwork: Project management made for client work
2. Smartsheet
Smartsheet aims to provide consistency, scale, and ease with a flexible work platform that you can trust to drive growth and impact. Smartsheet is unique thanks to its ability to scale from a single project to end-to-end work management. This secure, no-code platform is adaptable and collaborative so your people can easily work together from wherever they are.
Key features
Task creation and assignment.
Comprehensive contact database.
Real-time activity dashboard.
Pros
Great collaboration tools to keep remote teams aligned.
Workflow automation to save time on repetitive tasks.
Cons
Sheets aren’t adequate for complex projects.
There are no sheet restore options.
Pricing options
Free (one user, up to two editors)
Pro: $7 per user per month (max 10 users, unlimited viewers)
Business: $25 per user per month (min three users, unlimited editors)
Enterprise: Custom quote
3. Airtable
Airtable, a low-code platform to build next-gen apps, takes a little more work than comparable software on this list. While Airtable can be a great fit for project management, you’ll need to apply some elbow grease to customize a solution that works for you.
Key features
Assign tasks and create repeatable tasks.
Manage budgets for certain projects.
Organize supporting project data.
Pros
Import/export projects from other platforms.
Easily edit databases.
Keep everyone in the loop with excellent collaboration tools.
Cons
Some aspects (such as calendars or Gantt charts) are not intuitive to set up.
Paid plans are expensive for small teams.
Pricing options
Free (up to five creators or editors)
Plus: $10 per seat per month
Pro: $20 per seat per month
Enterprise: Custom quote
4. Zoho
Zoho is a cloud-based project management software that’s ideal for remote agile teams. With automation capabilities, integrations with third-party apps like Slack and Dropbox, and the ability to visualize workflows using blueprints, starting and finishing projects is easy.
Key features
Gantt charts let you track project progress.
Log hours in timesheets.
Automate recurring tasks.
Pros
Flexible and easy to use.
Collaborate with colleagues in real time.
Enterprise-grade security.
Cons
Limited integration options.
Chat function can be slow.
Pricing options
Free (up to three users)
Premium: $5 per user per month
Enterprise: $10 per user per month
5. Basecamp
Basecamp is a self-described project management software for web-based collaboration that puts everything you need to get work done in one place. By using Basecamp, you can access files, messages, tasks, you name it, all in the same location — no need to hop back and forth between apps.
Key features
“All Access” feature to easily allow all team members to see and join any project.
Message board and easy file sharing (supports Figma, Google, Airtable and more).
Automatic check-ins to reduce time-consuming stand-up meetings.
Pros
Intuitive organization makes it easy to onboard new members.
Create project templates instead of starting from scratch.
Improve efficiency with the messaging functions within each task.
Cons
Mobile app often crashes and experiences slow load times.
No time-tracking function.
Pricing options
Basecamp: $15 per user per month
Basecamp Pro Unlimited: $299 per user per month (unlimited users)
6. Asana
As one of the more widely-known alternatives on this list, Asana is a well-rounded project management tool for simple projects that has several features to support small and large teams. Build project boards, create and assign tasks, and get real-time reporting for up-to-date insights into project progress.
Key features
Workload providing insight on team member to do lists.
Includes both Gantt charts and Kanban boards.
Mobile app that syncs with desktop platform in real time.
Pros
Workspace is efficient and logical.
Great for working with external contractors.
Desktop app mimics the website exactly.
See why more agencies choose Teamwork as their trusted task management tool
Cons
Not great for time tracking or budget tracking.
Mobile app is difficult to navigate.
Designed to handle simple projects; not robust enough for complex projects.
Pricing options
Basic: Free for individuals
Premium: $10.99 per user per month
Business: $24.99 per user per month
Enterprise: custom quote
Improve task management with Teamwork
Finding an all-in-one project management tool that works for your agency can be a tough job. From docs to milestones, to invoicing and so much more, there’s a massive amount of work that goes into project planning.
But this is exactly why finding the right project management platform is so crucial — so nothing gets messed up as you work through team collaboration to meet deadlines.
To smooth out your processes, consider Teamwork as the collaborative platform for your agency. With project management templates, easy visibility for managers, and other user-friendly features, Teamwork is the best fit for those looking to upgrade their project management solution.
