ClickUp is a cloud-based, project management software that’s primarily used to manage workplace interactions and engagements. Its one-stop-shop nature makes it stand out among the rest: it has all the tools needed to create impactful projects rolled into one easy-to-use and accessible platform.
Yep, you heard it right! While other workplace apps have specific uses to fit particular needs, ClickUp aims to bring all of those things into one comprehensive system with the primary goal of increasing team productivity. How true is the claim? What is its performance when it comes to workflow management? These and other questions will be answered in our complete review.
Also, in this article, we’ll tackle other important factors you might want to consider before getting it, including the pricing levels, system support, and the pros and cons that could either make or break ClickUp. Let’s begin!
For those of you who prefer a more visual experience, here is a video review from Kurt on his YouTube channel Kurt Knows. You can still read our article to get a complete overview of ClickUp.
What is ClickUp? A Handy Overview ClickUp Backlog
Established in 2017 as one of the many up-and-coming tech startups at the time, the team behind ClickUp knew their aim: for the platform to be the ultimate go-to place for businesses and teams to work more productively. They realized that the current productivity system could be all over.
There are a lot of project management tools out there that may be hard to keep direct track of – for instance, if you’re looking for a place to deal with project-related tasks, look closer to Monday.com or Asana. Time tracking management? Hubstaff and ActiveCollab are good options. Want to create documents and presentations for the rest of your team to see and share? Microsoft Office and Google’s suites of tools might help.
It’s not just the typical project management stuff that teams from all walks of life have to deal with. Communication also comes into play – while a select few platforms have a chat feature integrated within, most of them are downloaded separately. You can think of Slack and MS Teams or even Discord.
With that in mind, there are way too many productivity-based apps for teammates to keep up with, creating an oversupply of separate ecosystems. For some, the increasing number of those may require more work to complete certain projects and achieve certain goals efficiently. The guys behind ClickUp understand the growing need for a platform that not just provides all workplace solutions in one place but also helps improve productivity rates by 20%, so that explains why they took it upon themselves and created it in the first place.
ClickUp was founded over a decade ago. It has since grown to include more than 200,000 small and medium-sized businesses and companies. One of the eye-catching reasons why these teams rely on the platform is its cost-cutting list of features, helping them save up extra time – and money – in the process. Some of ClickUp’s notable tools include real-time collabs with fellow team members, shared task-setting, convenient productivity reporting, ready-made templates, and other handy customization assets, all on top of the usual tools such as task management, communication, and time tracking.
Another thing that makes ClickUp a solid pick for workplace activities is the flexible price range, including its free forever plan, which is among complete free packages as far as productivity platforms are concerned. While certain apps put their best features behind layers of paywalls, ClickUp ensures that all important tools are available for every teammate to use free of charge. This makes it highly ideal for short-on-budget teams who work remotely. ClickUp Backlog
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Who Are the Ideal Teams for ClickUp?
As already reiterated, ClickUp has enough features and traits that make it feasibly possible for teams of all sizes, from small startups to large-scale enterprises. But, its overall nature has made it an especially ideal choice for
- Teams who work remotely or from home – Since ClickUp is cloud-based, it is a great option for businesses whose teams often work apart from each other.
- ClickUp has excellent tools for human resources departments. ClickUp includes reporting and storage tools. ClickUp also offers a performance tracker which is a must-have for any HR department.
- ClickUp provides seamless collaboration and communication features such as chat and comment sharing for design and advertising teams.
- Marketing and finance-focused businesses – Teams who specialize in marketing and finance may have a ball with ClickUp’s tracking and reporting features and other notable aspects such as goal-setting, account management, and collaboration within the team and with clients.
- Teams working in healthcare – Healthcare companies must adhere to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. ClickUp, thankfully, offers this compliance; however, it’s only limited to the enterprise plan.
What’s Good and What’s Not with ClickUp
ClickUp is a popular choice for productivity software online, with its simple, user-friendly offerings and packed pricing plans. This statement might seem too good to be true. Keep reading to see if ClickUp can still stand on its own.
The pros
- ClickUp is one of a few platforms that offers a fully functional free plan. This includes vital workflow features that are not available through the paywall.
- The system comes with many elite customization options that are suited to different industries. You can customize dashboards to your personal preferences using the “Custom Fields” tool.
- ClickUp provides a wide range of tools for work management that can be used to improve communication and engagement in the workplace. You can find everything from great real-time reporting to seamless collaboration options.
- Most of its tools are simple, convenient, and easy to explore, lessening the burden of juggling many productivity apps in one sitting.
- ClickUp’s plans don’t have the same limitations as other platforms. If you want to integrate with third-party apps or services or accommodate more team members, ClickUp has you covered.
- Besides desktop access, ClickUp also offers a mobile app available on iOS and Android devices for inter-team collaborations and works on the go.
The Cons
- ClickUp is full of easy-to use features but it can be difficult for new colleagues to learn how to use them.
- ClickUp is not the best in UI design. Some parts of ClickUp’s font and text sizes might be difficult to read for some users. Color layouts can also be a concern.
- ClickUp may have already been blessed with an abundance of productivity features, but it sure does lack a few other important ones, such as post-project feedback. Its integrated tools may not be as intuitive as its counterparts. ClickUp Backlog
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ClickUp’s pricing plans broken down
ClickUp offers four pricing plans to its users, with a sub-plan and upgrade tier for each. Each plan is suitable for different types of teams, depending on their size, manpower and availability of resources. Let’s now take a closer look at ClickUp’s plans.
Forever Free
ClickUp’s Free Forever Plan is one of the most outstanding features on the platform. Though an entry-level tier, you get access to unlimited tasks and add an unlimited number of team members to your workspace with no fuss. You’ll also explore ClickUp’s jam-packed core features, such as real-time chat, whiteboards, time-tracking, and native video recording.
Although the offerings seem appealing, there are limitations. For example, the monthly allowance of 100 automations and 100MB storage. Nonetheless, the Free Forever plan is a solid pick for solopreneurs, project management newbies, and small-scale teams needing more budget.
Unlimited Plan
Like the free tier but don’t like the set guidelines that may impede your workflow? You may be glad that ClickUp’s Unlimited Plan offers plenty of welcoming upgrades and extra features at affordable rates. Other productivity platforms offer similar plans, but at a higher price. ClickUp Backlog
For $5 per user per year (if you pay annually), you get all the core features of the Free Forever plan plus unlimited storage and app integrations. Unlimited dashboard creations are also possible. Advanced reporting tools and Goals & Portfolio are also available for a low price. Ideal for small-sized teams with an expanded client base and increasing resources, upgrading this plan from Free Forever requires a little money, making it valuable.
Business Plan
ClickUp’s Business Plan is for teams that have grown beyond their small spaces and are prepared to tackle new challenges. ClickUp’s Business Plan includes a host of features to meet the increasing demands of effective workplace resources. It includes extra security features such as double-factor authentication and single sign on integrations with Google for team members, in addition to the other features of the two previous tiers.
The Business Plan also received upgrades that have been worth it, such as advanced dashboard customizations, next level automation, and improved public sharing. The Goal Folders feature allows you to compile and organize your project goals into separate folders, making it easy for safekeeping. If you pay yearly, the Business plan is only $12 per user per month.
Business Plus Upgrade
Explore more with the Business Plan The Business Plus upgrade, priced at the starting point of $19 per member per month (annually), unlocks the rest of the tier’s features for a maximized productivity experience within the team. You will also get additional automations allowances.
You’ll also explore ClickUp’s efficient KPI tracking tools, team-sharing features, and custom role creation. As a bonus, you’re given priority support, so whenever you have inquiries and requests, ClickUp’s customer helpline will step in as quickly as possible.
Enterprise Plan
ClickUp’s Enterprise Plan is the most comprehensive tier, offering more enterprise-grade features than all other plans. Marketed towards very large-scale teams and established businesses and corporations, it has no fixed plan – this means you will need to link up with ClickUp’s sales department first to forge a deal on how much you may need to pay.
The Enterprise tier includes advanced solutions such as white labeling, unlimited custom roles, advanced permissions, customized contract agreements complete with legal support, and HIPAA compliance for healthcare teams. Other noteworthy deals include the ability to do single sign-on using multiple apps aside from Google, custom onboarding training for new teammates, and a dedicated success manager to ensure a highly productive and positive workplace. ClickUp Backlog
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A Closer Look at ClickUp’s Features
Before we can explore the rest of ClickUp, let’s first examine its hierarchical structure. A typical productivity system is composed of two things: a company or its projects. ClickUp takes it up a notch with a few structural adjustments, resulting in the creation of its distinct hierarchy of, in this order, Teams, Workspaces, Spaces (Projects), Folders, Lists, and Tasks.
Teams, in ClickUp terms, refer to the company or organization that handles all the tasks and assigns them to the employees or teammates. Usually, Teams are created by companies of various fields as just one entity, though there are rare cases in which some big groups handle multiple teams at once. The Workspaces are also known as departments within the company.
After the Workspaces come next, a varying number of Spaces or work projects are assigned by the departments within the Team. Each Space branches to the Folders, which in turn branch to the Lists. All these, under the Spaces essentially, consist of subprojects that make up the grand scheme of the full plan. Lastly, the much-awaited Tasks from the Lists section, each assigned to different team members.
Let’s now get to the point.
Multitask Toolbar
The multitask toolbar appears when you click on one of the tasks in the ClickUp user interface. It has the same old functions that you could expect from, say, a taskbar from any e-mail platform like Yahoo Mail or Gmail, such as the ability to select and mark as read, delete, etc. Needless to say, it makes for a great feature for solo power users and managers who often handle a hefty load of tasks.
Just like you would any e-mail service, ClickUp’s multitask toolbar allows you to do a variety of things with your chosen tasks. To make it easier, you can modify their status, add or remove assignees, change due dates and convert some tasks into subtasks.
A Simplified Approach to Managing and Viewing Tasks
Nearly all productivity apps require you to manually enter your tasks, and then inputting them in your team calendar and goals. ClickUp has simplified the process to a huge extent – instead of taking up nearly an hour or more of your time, you need to type in whatever task you have in mind and wait for the platform to integrate the data into your workspace very shortly.
ClickUp offers many options for how you see your tasks laid out. It currently houses over 15 powerful views, from the calendar and boards to the more advanced views like the Gantt chart, mind map, map view, and workload. That way, you’ll get a complete scope of how the rest of your team is doing, plus the assurance that your goals may be reached efficiently.
Customization Range
ClickUp is a great tool for task management. The useful drag-and drop feature makes organizing tasks a breeze. You can drag and drop tasks to move the deadline to a later date or period.
ClickUp allows customization beyond drag-and-drop functionality and multitask bar tools. Its ClickApps section, on the one hand, helps give the Workspace experience more life by supplying you with time-saving tools such as automations, dependencies, sprints, and more, all of which you can incorporate into your team’s space. You can also create templates for your documents, checklists, folders and other tasks that you might use in the future. Zapier allows you to integrate with more than 1,000 apps and services, making it easy for you to have a productive work environment. ClickUp Backlog
Collaboration and Communication Tools
Communication is key to a successful work project, and ClickUp provides you and your team with in-house features that deliver the aspect right on the spot. You can chat with your colleagues and catch up on tasks. However, as good as these features may seem, it’s important to note that they shouldn’t be heavily relied on as there are some issues with the interface and that it’s better to have some comms backups on the ready in case something goes awry.
That aside, apart from the integrated communications tools, ClickUp’s also packed with smooth collaboration features up its sleeves. You can see what your colleagues are doing in real time from the Whiteboard to Documents, just like Google’s work space. Do you have any feedback? You can review your files and your team’s tasks, make suggestions, and even share them to others.
Documents
It is a great idea to have a place where you can share your ideas and goals. However, you will need to access them on different applications. ClickUp addresses this problem by integrating its version of Documents to the platform. This allows you and your team members to work together without having to go elsewhere.
ClickUp Docs allows you to create and edit files using a few fonts, sizes and photos. You can also link your files with Workspace tasks through widgets. Why update your workflow in separate tabs when you can do it within the editor? Not only does this feature save you time but also your effort – this is especially important if you have a lot of tasks in mind and don’t like to clutter up your productive routine.
Once your documents are complete, you can share them with your team members or publically using an automatically generated copy/paste link. Additionally, with ClickUp Docs, you can explore other useful features, such as turning on Focus Mode to let you focus on your part with no distractions and looking at the page’s details, including the word count and approximate reading time.
Real-time reporting and goal tracking
When handling projects, it’s crucial to keep track of their progress and see if anything is done to get close to their desired goal. ClickUp’s customizable dashboard allows you to view all types of project indicators from one place. You have all the tools you need to know if your projects are on track for success, from the status of sprints and goals to the real-time graph showing how many tasks were completed by the team.
As far as reporting how well your general workspace is doing is concerned, you may be glad to know that ClickUp’s reporting section made it incredibly simple for you to do so, as with most of its other features. Apart from visually appealing graphs, ClickUp also offers automatic reporting tools like the Pulse section. Here you can see how many of your team members are online at any given time, Time Estimates and Team Points. You can also view reports about how many tasks each member completed in a particular period of time.
Time Management
Remote work is becoming more popular. This has led to a growing demand for time management apps that help team members track how much time they work each day, week, and month, even though they may be in different places. While there have been dedicated platforms for that, time management features are already part of ClickUp’s loaded package of offerings. Like the rest of the tools, its time tracking and reporting duties are designed to be just as convenient and simple.
The global timer allows teammates to enter their work hours, link their task and take notes. It doesn’t matter what device you use – ClickUp’s Chrome extension is free and you can record your time on your computer, your mobile phone or your laptop. You may opt to either start the timer as you get to your tasks or manually type in how many hours you’ll work in a day – no matter which way you prefer, ClickUp provides you with them. You’ll also explore the core tools that come with general time-tracking management, like time billing, editing, timesheets, and reporting. Do you have a different time-tracking app and would you like to transfer your data to ClickUp? You may do so by simply syncing info between both platforms. ClickUp Backlog
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Bonus: The ClickUp Support System
In need of assistance? ClickUp has nearly everything you may need to help you with them! Apart from being packed with many handy work management tools, ClickUp equally shines in providing its users with excellent customer support and learning resources.
It offers 24/7 customer support, which is available to all subscribers regardless of whether they are on a paid or unpaid plan. What’s nice about it is that you get plenty of support teams to choose from. For instance, if you have a question regarding the Enterprise plan, the Sales section is the place to be. A dedicated team can help you set up your Workspace.
ClickUp allows you to explore a wide range of learning content that will help you use the platform. This includes the Demo package’s on-demand video tutorials and the Help Center’s rich documentation. ClickUp University offers courses and webinars that can help you and your team improve your work skills. ClickUp Backlog
What Customers Have to Say About ClickUp
ClickUp’s impressive list of project management tools has given it a cutting edge over the rest, although the number of those may be too overwhelming for some users who may just want to keep their fellow team members on track. It has a large following in the general public.
ClickUp has been a popular tool for team leaders. They have generally been positive about the process of using it. The platform’s endless customization options and time-saving features have been praised by many team leaders. They also appreciate how functional the free entry-level plan can be compared to other productivity programs and how worthwhile it is to upgrade to higher tiers, especially considering the price.
Since ClickUp is loaded with many features, it’s already a given that the learning curve can be steep, especially for those not fully familiar with how remote project management works. With that in mind, they may need to allow themselves more time to get used to its inner workings, which the service thankfully catches up with a vast range of learning and onboarding material. In addition, ClickUp, like the rest, is not fully immune to criticism in terms of having a sometimes buggy web and mobile app interface, but other than that, most users do not see any concerning issues with it as a whole. ClickUp Backlog
Alternatives to ClickUp
ClickUp is a well-known productivity software that has earned a reputation for being the best. ClickUp’s recognition has been equaled by the following other work platforms. Each of these has competitive features and aspects that make it unique; however, some things aren’t always on par with what ClickUp offers.
- Monday.com – From the looks of it alone, it’s no wonder that Monday.com is considered by many to be among the closest competition to ClickUp in terms of workload features, range of customization, integrations, and providing teammates with learning and onboarding resources. While it lacks in its free plan and wide range of tools, it sure does make up for its ease of set-up and use.
- Smartsheet – Smartsheet offers teams the same caliber of project management tools as ClickUp, such as a reliable mobile app, multiple task-viewing options, and the ability to collaborate with teammates in real time. Smartsheet shines best when it comes to creating spreadsheet-adjacent project plans, making it a much better choice for detail-oriented teams that deal with a huge load of data and only sometimes for small-scale groups and freelancers.
- Teamwork – While ClickUp and the rest are collectively best for team projects, Teamwork has a slew of tools geared toward client- and service-based interactions. You can also use some of the great features that you would expect from any PM program, as well as many other useful tools. Though it may not have everything ClickUp has, Teamwork does offer a full suite of dedicated products for seamless productivity. ClickUp Backlog
- Asana – Some PM platforms, like ClickUp, may be inundated with too many features, and others may need to be more basic. They might be considered useless. Asana perfectly strikes the balance of power and simplicity, making it a strong option for teams of various sizes. With a cohesive mix of tools from task management to communication, Asana, on a base level, is great for beginners. However, some aspects require access beyond the paywall, like full-range customization.
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ClickUp: The Final Verdict
Let’s wrap up our ClickUp review and ask these questions: 1) Is it accurate in claiming that ClickUp will increase productivity? And 2) how well does it deliver when it comes to handling workflow?
ClickUp is a platform that provides a single-stop solution for project management. This makes ClickUp a great tool to help improve collaboration among colleagues, even if they are far away. However, having too many tools can lead to information overload. Second, it depends on your perspective, the software will do its best to handle multiple tasks, even if some aspects need improvement.
Based on everything we know so far, is ClickUp worth a try as the go-to software for you and your employers? Although the final decision is up to you, we believe it’s worth a try in this instance. If you’re especially a small start-up team or simply ready to transition to remote work, you may be glad to know that ClickUp has nearly all the tools you need to help achieve your future goals.
FAQ ClickUp Backlog
How many devices is ClickUp currently available to download on?
ClickUp offers a desktop version, as well as an app for Android and iOS that we have already developed. It can be downloaded on Windows, Mac and Linux. You can also download the Chrome browser extension from Google Chrome.
Is ClickUp ideal for personal or solo use?
Though not the de-facto best platform for freelancers who deal with clients independently, ClickUp has enough tools that can be maximized even for personal use. ClickUp offers a wide range of project management tools that can be used by solo workers.
Does ClickUp offer offline access?
Yes! ClickUp does offer an Offline Mode option for teammates who want to work even without the presence of an internet connection. With it, you can create and view tasks, craft reminders, and take a look at notes; however, you may not be able to access some of its other tools unless you’re connected online.
ClickUp’s Offline Mode feature is available on the platform’s web version, desktop program, and mobile app (Legacy 2.0).