Written by Dan Barraclough Reviewed by James Macey Published on October 5, 2022 On this page 1. monday.com 2. Smartsheet 3. Asana 4. Wrike 5. Teamwork Is choosing a ClickUp alternative right for me? What are the best free alternatives to ClickUp? How did we find the best alternatives to ClickUp? Expert Verdict FAQs Expand Our site is reader-supported – by clicking our links, we can match you with a potential supplier, and we may earn a small commission for this referral. The best ClickUp alternative is monday.com. Compared to ClickUp, it provides a more user-friendly experience and a better range of core features, especially when it comes to collaboration tools.And if you consider the fact monday.com came joint first in our independent research, scoring 4.6/5 overall, it’s clear why it tops today’s list.But that doesn’t mean monday.com is perfect for your business.For this article, our researchers thoroughly tested 14 different software, whittling them down to just five ClickUp competitors. They looked at specific criteria, such as Features, Pricing, and Usability, rating each platform out of five for each category.By the end of the article, you’ll know exactly which software is right for your next project – whether you want to automate workflows or chat more easily with colleagues. Swipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward monday.com Smartsheet Asana Wrike Teamwork Best For Overall alternative Best For Ease of use Best For Creating automations Best For Project Tracking Best For Collaboration Price $9 – $19 per month Price $7 – $25 per month Price $10.99 – $24.99 per month Price $9.80 – $24.80 per month Price $5.99 – $24.99 per month Key features Gantt chartOver 200 templates for projects and itemsSub-task milestones and dependencies Key features Email customer supportGantt chartKanban boardCustom project templatesCustom automationsTeam instant-messenger Key features CRM integrationsKanban boardCustom project templatesProject message boardTask commentsCalendar Key features Email customer supportKanban boardMilestonesProject message boardTask commentsSub-tasks Key features Great collaborative features on every planSolid customer supportGantt chartKanban boardMilestones Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Free Plan Try monday.com Try Smartsheet Compare Try Wrike Try Teamwork 1. monday.com – The Best ClickUp Alternativemonday.com is the best ClickUp alternative on the market. In our research, it scored highly for Project Creation and Workflow (4.3/5), and Data Visualization (5/5), which are key elements for any powerful and user-friendly project management product.It’s also easy to use. It gained 4.1/5 in our Usability testing, offering a great user-experience, while it boasts the top Customer Score of any platform we tested (4.5/5), which means it has the best customer reviews on sites like Trustpilot and Capterra.Are there any monday blues? Sure. If you want comprehensive customer support, you’ll want to look elsewhere. It also lacks a ‘project progress’ feature. That said, we’d still pick monday.com as the best ClickUp competitor any day of the week. Our Researcher Says monday.com uses a system called ‘items’ which are customizable rows and columns. These can be used to input task information: name of task, deadline, person responsible etc. James Macey Product Researcher monday.com vs ClickUp: Pricingmonday.com has five pricing tiers to choose from, including a free plan – like ClickUp. If you need more than 50 users, you’ll need to contact monday directly and get on the Enterprise plan. When billed annually, monday’s price plans are:Individual – freeBasic – $9 per user, per monthStandard – $12 per user, per monthPro – $19 per user, per monthEnterprise – customIs monday.com really ClickUp’s Best Equivalent?Both platforms offer great features. But unlike ClickUp, monday.com has strong collaboration tools, including a more intuitive whiteboard feature. However, ClickUp has better customer support options available, including 24/7 support and live chat, which monday.com doesn’t offer. It’s a close match, with both platforms scoring 4.6/5 overall in our testing. 2. Smartsheet – Best for Ease of UseSmartsheet is a user-friendly platform with a spreadsheet-like layout, gaining the best Usability score (4.3/5) in our research. That means it’s super simple to use, especially if you’re familiar with Excel or Google Sheets.Does this come at cost? Yes, an expensive one. We gave Smartsheet 3.3/5 for Pricing in our research, making it one of the more costly options we tested. There are better value software out there, such as monday.com, which scored 3.9/5 in the same category. Our Researcher Says In Smartsheet when you open a new project you’re given a pre-populated spreadsheet where you need to fill in the task name, duration, start date, finish date, and assignee. James Macey Product Researcher Smartsheet vs ClickUp: PricingSmartsheet has only three pricing tiers, ranging from $7 per user, per month to $25 per user, per month annually, compared to ClickUp’s five plans. And unlike ClickUp, there is no free plan. When billed annually, Smartsheet pricing plans are:Pro – $7 per user, per monthBusiness – $25 per user, per monthEnterprise – customIs Smartsheet really ClickUp’s Best for Ease of Use Equivalent?Smartsheet is easier to use than ClickUp, providing a bunch of user-friendly tools and a spreadsheet-like interface. However, ClickUp is far better value for money with its impressive free plan, and paid plans from just $5 per user, per month. Smartsheet is still an excellent all-rounder, gaining 4.5/5 overall in our testing, falling just behind ClickUp (4.6/5). 3. Asana – Best for Creating AutomationsAsana is another feature-rich ClickUp competitor, scoring 5/5 for Data Visualization, and 4.4/5 for Task Management. Asana also makes it easy to chat with colleagues remotely. Although, what really stood out was its intuitive automation builder that turns time-consuming tasks into a breeze.Unfortunately, Asana doesn’t offer certain advanced features such as personal time tracking, or billing and invoicing tools. And you can’t use its superb data visualization tools on its free plan. All things considered, though, Asana would be a user-friendly ClickUp alternative if you aren’t desperate for those high-end features.Asana offers some of the best Project Creation and Workflow features of any platform we tested Our Researcher Says The available actions and triggers (which are used to create automations) are all visible from the main flow-chart view which meant it was quite easy to build automations as minimal menu-diving is required. James Macey Product Researcher Asana vs ClickUp: PricingLike ClickUp, Asana offers a generous free plan – except for the fact you can’t access its data visualization tools. It also has two paid plans, plus a custom option for larger businesses. When billed annually, Asana’s price plans are:Basic – FreePremium – $10.99 per user, per monthBusiness – $24.99 per user, per monthEnterprise – customOverall, Asana is reasonably priced, which is why we gave it a middle-of-the-road Pricing score of 3.9/5.Is Asana really ClickUp’s Best Equivalent for Automation?Asana is far more user-friendly than ClickUp when it comes to automating tasks. It also offers a free plan, like ClickUp. However, unlike Asana, ClickUp offers advanced features like time tracking and represents excellent value for money. That said, Asana still scored an impressive 4.5/5 overall in our testing. 4. Wrike – Best for Project TrackingWrike has one standout strength: it makes it really easy to track and manage projects. It also scored well in our Usability (4/5) and Data Visualization categories (5/5), gaining an overall score of 4.4/5 from our researchers.However, Wrike has more than one weakness. It’s not the best software for collaboration features – it lacks a whiteboard and document editing tool – and it’s one of the most expensive options on our list. Then there’s the dismal customer support options, which scored 1.8/5.Wrike’s high Usability and Data Visualization scores make it one of the most user-friendly options for project management Our Researcher Says Users can leave comments on individual tasks. In this case, the user could leave a comment on the task where the issue has originated from. James Macey Product Researcher Wrike vs ClickUp: PricingWrike doesn’t offer a monthly billing option, making it a big commitment for startups and small businesses on a tight budget. However, Wrike offers a free plan and custom plan, just like ClickUp. The Wrike price plans are:FreeProfessional – $9.80 per user, per monthBusiness – $24.80 per user, per monthEnterprise – customIs Wrike really ClickUp’s Best Equivalent for Project Tracking?Wrike (4.4/5 overall) and ClickUp (4.6/5 overall) both scored 4/5 for Usability in our testing. However, ClickUp has stronger Task Management features and better value price plans, offering a more generous free plan than Wrike does. 5. Teamwork – Best for CollaborationTeamwork, like the philosophy it’s named after, places great importance on working together. It gained the best Collaboration score (4/5) of all the apps we tested, making it an excellent ClickUp alternative for businesses that want to feel better connected while working remotely.For instance, Teamwork offers Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and personal dashboards, allowing everyone to track projects and communicate from home. On the flip side, there are no automation features, which means there are other ClickUp competitors, such as monday.com, that can help streamline your tasks more easily.Teamwork’s focus on collaboration makes it an excellent software for when teams are working remotely Our Researcher Says In Teamwork, there is a files tab where you attach files to a project. Teamwork has a unique feature where you can choose to notify other people when the file has been uploaded. James Macey Product Researcher Teamwork vs ClickUp: PricingWe gave Teamwork 3.6/5 for Pricing. That’s because, while the price plans aren’t too expensive, you don’t get much bang for your buck in terms of features – especially compared to ClickUp. Teamwork does have a free plan, though, as well as three paid plans:Free Forever – $0Deliver – $9.99 per user, per monthGrow – $17.99 per user, per monthEnterprise – customIs Teamwork Really ClickUp’s Best Equivalent for Collaboration?Teamwork has better collaboration features than ClickUp, including its project message board that ClickUp doesn’t offer, making it easier for your team to work together remotely. However, like ClickUp, Teamwork has no automation features. This means you should go for a different ClickUp alternative from Teamwork if you want to streamline workflows. Is Choosing a ClickUp Competitor Really the Right Option for me?ClickUp is an excellent product. Does that mean it’s for everyone? Of course not.While monday.com scored equal points with ClickUp (4.6/5) in our research, it gained the highest combined Features score (4.2/5) of any platform we tested. Specifically, monday.com gained 3.8/5 for Collaboration features compared to ClickUp’s 3/5.If you especially value communication and collaboration tools, such as miro-style whiteboards, you’ll want to pick monday over ClickUp. That’s because ClickUp’s collaboration tools could do with some work, scoring a meager 3/5.As far as ClickUp competitors go, there’s no platform that comes close to monday.com – it’s versatile, user-friendly, and provides the industry’s best project creation and workflow features. What’s The Best Free Alternative to ClickUp?From our research, we know that the best free project management software is in fact ClickUp. No other platform offers a free option that comes close to ClickUp’s Free Forever plan. It allows unlimited users to create unlimited projects and spaces, offering Kanban boards and up to 100 Gantt charts. As the plan’s name suggests, it’s always free. How Did We Find the Best Alternatives to ClickUp?We've tested and researched 10 market-leading project management software platforms, evaluating their functionality, usability, integrations and customer support so we can make the most useful recommendations to US businessesOur rigorous testing process means these products have been scored and rated in five main categories of investigation and nine subcategories. We then gave each category score a ‘relevance weighting' to ensure the product's final score perfectly reflects the needs and requirements of Expert Market readers.Our main testing categories for project management software are:Pricing: The financial considerations associated with using a project management solution, e.g. licensing fees, subscription plans, or additional charges for advanced features or add-ons.Ease of use: This is where we get people just like you to test out the products to focus on evaluating the ease of use and user experience of the project management solution. We assess factors such as the user interface, navigation, and task organization.Features: The functionalities and capabilities offered by the project management solution, including features such as task management, team collaboration, and project planning and scheduling.Integrations: The number of third-party software platforms the system integrates with, and whether it easily connects with market-leading providers.Security: The number of security measures offered by the providers, as well as accreditations for data security.Customer Support: The assistance and resources provided by the project management solution provider to users, including phone support, email or chat support, and online forums. Expert Verdict monday.com is the best ClickUp alternative out there. It shares an overall score of 4.6/5 with ClickUp, but gained a better Features rating (4.2/5) than ClickUp (3.9/5), mainly because it offers far better Collaboration tools. If you want your team to stay connected while working remotely, then monday.com is the best ClickUp equivalent for you.Like ClickUp, monday.com also offers a free plan. While not as generous as ClickUp’s free option, monday.com’s free plan is still a good choice for very small teams. FAQs Is there anything better than ClickUp? monday.com is the closest rival to ClickUp, gaining equal points overall in our independent testing (4.6/5). However, from our research, we found that monday.com has better features overall than ClickUp, particularly when it comes to collaboration tools. This is something to consider if your company values communication and collaborative tasks. Is ClickUp similar to Asana? ClickUp is similar to Asana in that they’re both project management software. They both offer superb features for data visualization, and project creation and workflow, but ClickUp differs from Asana in terms of pricing, usability, and customer support. ClickUp is far more user-friendly and better value for money than Asana, which makes it a more favorable choice overall. What makes ClickUp different from other platforms? ClickUp undercuts the competition with its low prices. It offers a free plan, plus paid plans from just $5 per user, per month, when billed annually. ClickUp doesn’t sacrifice quality for pricing, either, which is why we awarded ClickUp 4.6/5 overall in our independent research – the joint top score. Written by: Dan Barraclough Dan’s a Senior Writer at Expert Market, specialising in digital marketing, web design, and photocopiers, amongst other topics. Reviewed by: James Macey Senior Business Software Researcher James draws on his 4+ years experience as a researcher to offer specialized advice on a wide range of categories from CRM to Fleet Management. He believes all businesses can grow if they use the right tools and services.