6 Best Clickup Alternatives to transition to in 2021

Clickup stormed into the project management space solving for literally everything. We're going to explore click ups alternatives along with pros and cons because people have split views

We think Clickup is a mind blowing project management tool that does literally everything under the sun, but there's many others out there to explore. When you're looking for a project management tool, you'll want to think about a fair few factors from ease of access, usability and team process fit.

We've gone ahead and battle tested all the main projects in the market to see what fits your needs

Here's 6 project management tools, along with their pros and cons

Here are the tools we checked out:

  • Trello
  • Jira
  • Asana
  • Monday
  • Clickup
  • Basecamp

But before we go down and drill through all the different project management tools, lets take a deeper look into why teams are swarming towards click up

ClickUp

Clickup is an all-in-one collaboration platform that can be used by businesses across all industries. No matter how small or big your business is, you can take advantage of Clickup's features. Communication and collaboration are primary features of Clickup. You can also assign tasks and comments to a team or member of a team. Add a due date and mark the status as resolved when the task is completed. Notify the team when someone has mentioned them or when there’s a new comment on a specific discussion. You can also edit your comment after you’ve sent it.

Pros:

  • Because of its user-friendly interface, Clickup is suitable for both individuals and teams. The 2.0 version also has a more intuitive UI. The integrations make it especially useful for busy workers.
  • As mentioned earlier, Clickup's calendar, calendar and task schedule feature, board and kanban views, are impressive: efficient and effective
  • Powerful even the free version. Free versions are expected to be less powerful and sometimes even lack features. Fortunately, this is not true with Clickup because it still supports many features that are otherwise only found in paid versions of other software. For example, it has email notifications, Android/OS app, task dependencies, file attachments for tasks, and more.
  • The team at clickup are customer-centric. They created a feature request page so their customers could let them know what they needed. As a result the software has always provided any new products that will help their customers.
  • Great customer support. Clickup provides great support for its users. They're accessible and make an effort to reply to questions and help customers.
  • Clickup has a user-friendly interface, which allows you to easily view multiple projects without getting confused. Clickup makes it easy to see a project's tasks and associated files in an intuitive matter

Cons:

  • Confusing interface. Some, but not all, customers find the interface confusing and find it hard to use all the features of the product.
  • There are a few too many options for customization. While this is a great feature for a software, it can become a problem when complex features and tools are left unused.
  • A somewhat confusing calendar. The calendar is not as intuitive as we'd like it to be. The calendar has numerous buttons to click through, and has a non-intuitive functionality.
  • When helping us improve your experience, many users shown us that small text and faint colors can be difficult to use. We've improved these versions and added better examples which guide you through the software.
  • Users are saying this is one of the big issues at the moment. Currently, to get around this issue, developers have to use an alternative service.

Quick Conclusion:

Clickup may not be as popular as Asana, Trello, Basecamp, or other software, but it is definitely impressing users with it's clean UI and integrations. While it does have it's disadvantages, the developers are constantly upgrading the software to provide a great user experience. It's worth a try for both team users and solo users.

Trello

Trello is a web-based collaboration tool. It helps with project management and planning. It enables the user to have all the information about their projects in one place. One thing that sets Trello apart from other tools is its three-tier system. This system enables users to create boards, then lists, then cards. The cards are the fundamental unit of the Trello board.

Pros:

  • Designed for Mobile – As a product that is designed for mobile, you can now access it from your tablet, smartphone, and computer.
  • The pricing structure of Trello is simple. A basic package costs $25 per month and comes with a few useful features. If you need more features, you can upgrade to a more expensive plan.
  • Notifications – Trello doesn’t disappoint when it comes to notifications. You will never miss a task. Whenever a task is removed, commented on or updated, you will receive an email notification. If you are a mobile user, you will, of course, get a push notification.
  • No More Ridiculous Notes – did you know that most of us leave a note for ourselves and forget what the note refers to? Our note-taking app is designed to solve this problem and dozens of others like it.
  • Instant updates - Updates are instant, so if you're working with multiple people on a project, there's no waiting for changes to be applied.
  • Systems follow the Kanban Method – The Kanban method originated in Japan in the 1950s and it's been used to improve the performance of many businesses since then. Our Kanban boards have been designed for maximum productivity, breaking up larger tasks into smaller ones.

Cons:

  • No Data, No Trello – The main issue with not just Trello, but this type of software, in general, is the reliance on data. If you have no access to the internet, you have no access to your Trello. Data access may not seem like an issue given the age we live in, but unfortunately, there will always be situations when you cannot access data.
  • As for storage, Trello can only hold 250MB per file, provided you are a Gold member. Basic members have to stick to a 10MB limit per file.
  • An ongoing issue with Trello is that you cannot edit a comment once you've posted it. Once a comment is posted and saved, you will only get the option to write a new comment rather than edit the original one.
  • If you have large scale projects, Trello may not be the best service for you

Quick Conclusion:

Trello is an excellent piece of software. It can help you get those essential jobs done. No matter if you're a company, a freelancer, or an individual, Trello can benefit you. It's a great tool that will help you get things done.

Jira

"Jira Software is a product of Atlassian, a global public company with headquarters in Sydney. Jira was initially released in 2002 as a pure issue tracking software for software developers. Over the years, it has been adopted by non-IT teams for tracking any type of issue, task, and other work items, becoming a popular project tracking solution. Many project management software today include issue tracking as a feature. These systems include information such as when an issue was identified, a description of the problem, its priority, and the person where the issue can be addressed, among others."

Pros:

  • Roadmap planning is easy when you use Jira. With it, you can sketch out the big picture and manage individual milestones. The team can see any linkages between the different points on the roadmap.
  • Perfect for Agile. Our software provides a single view of all stories and can generate the reports you need, such as burndown charts, sprint velocity, and more. Users can organise tickets into sprints and releases, providing an overview of the workload and task assignments.
  • The available integration. The issue and project tracking software integrates with many popular third-party software. For example, integration with Hipchat and Slack makes it easy to communicate issues and respond to notifications. More than 3000 apps are available at the Atlassian Marketplace to extend the features of the software.
  • Drag-and-drop issue types. Jira Software allows users to create custom issue types in the user interface by using drag-and-drop interface. Advanced users can use the API to create custom issue types.
  • The software is used by a variety of different individuals.

Cons:

  • Users want better mobile app experience. Customers in the past mentioned that they had a hard time using Jira’s mobile app. For simple tasks, they found the mobile app to be frustrating to use.
  • Complex integration from other application lifecycle management (ALM) systems. Migrating a project, for example, from Microsoft Team Foundation Server into Jira, requires manually migrating each artifact into Jira, which is very time-consuming.
  • Reports are not reusable Jira Image Reports cannot be downloaded as an image using other methods alters the resolution of the images
  • When a user tries to upload a file that is more than 10MB in size, an error message is displayed instead.
  • The UI is a bit cluttered, and filtering tools aren't as easy to use as they could be. Also, some people find the configuration confusing, because some parts of the software still use the older version of their GUI, while some parts are newer.
  • pm_tool_3_con_6

Quick Conclusion:

Jira is one of the best JIRA alternatives available today, with great support for agile. It also offers thousands of plugins to extend its features, as well as an on-premise option. However, it is not the only option of companies looking for a way to track bugs, issues and tasks as they manage their projects.

Asana

Asana is a project management tool that helps teams to effectively organize their work, both big and small. It enables a manager to create tasks as part of a big project, assign them to specific members, and provide a deadline for them to be completed. Each of these tasks may have files and comments attached. Users receive notifications in their inbox about upcoming deadlines and the status of their assigned tasks.

Pros:

  • It offers a free version. Asana offers a free plan, which is perfect for small and medium-sized businesses. The free version lets small teams that are on a tight budget have access to their own PM software.
  • Finally, it comes with a host of integrations with other tools that make it a valuable asset to any organisation.
  • One of the best features of Asana is its focus on helping teams be productive. The integration of Google Drive and Dropbox files to a project is a seamless addition to its other useful features.
  • Great security. Asana ensures your data is as secure as possible with its storage security measures
  • Asana allows you to customize your dashboard to track tasks individually
  • More effective collaboration. Asana allows you to invite users to a workspace where they can view shared projects and tasks. Managers can assign people to a task or they can sign up to follow their task voluntarily.

Cons:

  • The interface of the software is intimidating and graphics-heavy. As a result, onboarding new users for the software can be costly and time-consuming. For new users to be able to maximize the capabilities of Asana, they need to do some onboarding training which can be costly and time-consuming. It has been found out that the learning curve for the software is steep, which means it is too challenging for newbies.
  • Too many options. In a nutshell, Asana is not suitable for small teams or single projects. The sheer number of features, options and integrations can overwhelm a very simple project that doesn’t need all these bells and whistles. Many people have reported having decision fatigue because of this.
  • Asana has the ability to assign tasks to more than one person. They use this method to allow others to help out and progress your project. This feature also works to create transparency within your team and highlight who is responsible for any tasks.
  • No time tracking available. Although Asana is great for creating projects and tasks to get things done, it can't help you track time. If you need to bill different clients and categorize your work into billable and non-billable, you'll need to use a third-party time-tracking software.
  • Asana has limited exporting capabilities. For example, you can't export your files to PDFs or Excels.

Quick Conclusion:

There are many advantages of using Asana, but there are also some disadvantages. However, it is up to the individual whether or not they find any of the above benefits or drawbacks valuable.

Monday

Monday is a project management collaboration software that helps teams plan manage and track work. Monday is highly visual where users can add team members, assign tasks, create workflows and track progress from a central view. By using Monday, teams are able to stay on top of all their work, no matter the size and complexity of their projects and tasks. Monday improves the visibility of work, allowing everyone involved to work closely together to overcome challenges and create a synergy that improves team performance.

Pros:

  • Built for multiple users. We have multiple users on the list because they find it easy to collaborate and send each other messages. We've built tools to easily manage those messages as well.
  • Monday's tracking features are excellent. Whether you use them to manage tasks, or track issues, they'll be highly effective. The board interface, along with the rest of the UI, make it easy to quickly see what needs your attention.
  • Alternative views. It's also important to give the end user the option to choose how best to visualise their data. With a timeline view, users are able to see the deadlines looming and be made aware of upcoming events. With the kanban board, users are able to see the progress made, and the project moving forward, through the number of tasks that have been completed. Lastly, teams can view their tasks through a Gantt chart to understand the structure of the project and how long each part of the project will take to complete.
  • This allows your team to easily communicate internally and externally to other departments.
  • Our platform allows teams to organise their project information, resources, schedules, tasks, and communication in one place. Our notification and automation features mean that you can spend less time on admin work and more time working on new projects.

Cons:

  • The tiered-pricing structure means that there are limits on the number of people using the app. Monday is a per-user pricing structure. Although you can stay on the basic plan with so many users, adding additional users with complete collaboration permission will result in additional costs. Plus, the more useful features are in higher plans, which makes the app less attractive to SMBs.
  • It's challenging to keep track of time against tasks. We do not have a Gantt chart at this time.
  • Some users have difficulty figuring out how to use all the features.
  • Lack of mobile app. Some users are critical of the dashboard and its interface, and the users are unanimous in saying that the mobile app has to be better.
  • Users wanted Business integration with Salesforce, Google drive, Google calendar, Slack, and other popular third-parties.

Quick Conclusion:

As the business landscape changes, companies would benefit from having the right tools in place. Monday has been a popular choice for many companies. It is known for its collaboration and visibility features. However, no single Project Management product will solve every possible problem. If your current product is not working, then you should consider further options.

Notion

Notion is a collaborative tool which allows you to collaborate with colleagues through writing and planning, while giving you an overview of your projects. It is a very flexible application that gives you the freedom to create your own layout with its Lego-like approach. It also enables you to share information with your collaborators and plan your projects by using its Kanban board, calendar, and document editor.

Pros:

  • Notion is easy to use. Many people report they find the software easy to navigate once they have some experience. There are clear instructions for new users and the support team is available to help should you need guidance.
  • We try to make sure that users don't have to leave Notion at all. This is why we say that it's "the all-in-one workspace" - everything you need is in one place.
  • Notion can used on across different devices. Notion is compatible with desktop, web, and mobile devices. This makes it easier and convenient for users to bring their work and access it anytime, anywhere
  • Notion offers a free trial. Notion has a free trial, so that new users will have the chance to decide if it is the right tool. This keeps them from spending a lot on something they won't end up using often. However, there is a trade-off; it may not be a good idea to use the trial version for a long time because it is limited.
  • We believe organization is the key to your productivity. Keeping your files organized is easy with Notion's clean interface. Additionally, Notion's Spreadsheets and Databases are easy to navigate so you don't have to worry about losing your place.
  • Notion has a variety of features. By using Notion, you can take notes and track your to-do lists. You can also add an external database system to it, which allows you to store all your bills, dues, and details for future referencing.

Cons:

  • Notion takes time to set up. The most common feedback about Notion is the time it takes to set up. However, we've found that this is the natural part of managing a piece of software as powerful as Notion.
  • This app can use some improvements. Notion is a great tool but users want to collaborate and annotate documents and images. It is an issue that it doesn’t have features that lock pages or prevent people from altering content. The ability to integrate with Sketch and UXPin would also be handy.
  • This can be a little limiting if you're a student and have to tick off blocks one by one as you make progress. But it's fine for most people because it's free, and you can always make up the missing blocks later.
  • Notion notification is unreliable. Notion has a notification feature where users can tag their teammates to assign them tasks and due dates. Unfortunately, if their Notion is not up on their end, the notification doesn’t go through. There is also an option to turn off email notifications which can prevent notifications from being received.

Quick Conclusion:

Notion has a wealth of satisfied customers who believe their jobs are easier with its use. Group productivity has also been observed with Notion. However, Notion is not yet perfect, as it has many developers working to make it better for seamless user experience.

Vaibhav Namburi
Founder

I'm the Founder of BugReporting. I've helped build multiple multi-million dollar companies and I love approaching Start Ups through product-lead growth