ClickUp is a cloud-based, project management software that’s primarily used to manage workplace interactions and engagements. Its unique one-stop-shop design makes it stand out from the rest. ClickUp has all the tools you need to create meaningful projects in one easy-to use and accessible platform.
You heard it! 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.
We’ll also discuss other factors that you should consider before purchasing ClickUp, such as the price levels and system support. Let’s begin!
Kurt Knows has a video review of ClickUp for those who like a visual experience. To get a comprehensive overview of ClickUp, you may still want to check out our article below.
What is ClickUp? A Handy Overview ClickUp Planning
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. How do you track your time? Hubstaff and ActiveCollab are good options. Do you want to share documents and presentations with your team? Maybe MS Office or Google’s suite of tools could help you with that.
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.
Keep in mind that there are many productivity-based apps available for colleagues to use, creating an oversupply. Some may find it more difficult to finish certain projects or achieve specific goals due to the increased number of apps. ClickUp recognizes the need to create a platform that provides all workplace solutions from one location. ClickUp also believes that it will help improve productivity by 20%.
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. ClickUp offers many useful tools, such as real-time collaborations with team members, shared task setting, productivity reporting, templates and other customization options. This is in addition to the usual tools like 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. ClickUp is ideal for remote teams with limited budgets. ClickUp Planning
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ClickUp: Who are the ideal teams?
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. Its overall design makes it an ideal choice for anyone.
- ClickUp can be used by remote or home-based teams. This is great news for companies that have many different teams.
- Human resources departments – ClickUp is equipped with excellent management, reporting, and storage tools, including a performance tracker, which any company’s HR department must have.
- Design and advertising teams – Feedback is an important aspect when it comes to working with teammates in the design and applied arts field, so ClickUp delivers that with seamless collaboration and communication features like chat and comment sharing.
- 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 who work in healthcare – Healthcare companies, no matter if they work remotely or not, must abide by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). 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. But, from the looks of it, this statement may be too good to be true, so keep reading if you want to check if ClickUp still has what it takes to stand on its own two legs.
The Pros
- ClickUp is among a select few platforms with a fully functioning free plan, which includes some vital workflow features that may require access beyond the paywall for other productivity systems.
- It comes equipped with a wide range of elite customization options, each suited for teams from various 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 are not as limited as those from other platforms, so if you’re looking to accommodate as many team members as possible or integrate with numerous third-party apps and services, you can do so no matter what plan you’re subscribed to.
- ClickUp offers desktop access as well as a mobile app for iOS and Android that allows inter-team collaborations to take place while on the move.
The Cons
- ClickUp is full of easy-to use features but it can be difficult for new colleagues to learn how to use them.
- As far as UI is concerned, ClickUp falls short in the field as some parts’ font and text sizes may be too small for some to read. 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. Some of its integrated tools are also not as intuitive as the platform’s counterparts. ClickUp Planning
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ClickUp’s pricing plans broken down
ClickUp offers its potential users four pricing plans, including a sub-plan or upgrade tier for one of them. Each plan is suitable for different types of teams, depending on their size, manpower and availability of resources. Without further ado, let’s take an in-depth look at ClickUp’s plans!
Forever Free
Among the platform’s greatest highlights, there’s no question needed as to why ClickUp’s Free Forever plan is placed in the category of the best free plans offered by any productivity software. 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. The Free Forever plan is a good choice for solopreneurs and project managers who are just starting out.
Unlimited Plan
You like the free tier, but you don’t want to follow the rules that could 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 Planning
For as low as $5 per user per month (if paid annually), you get the same core features from the Free Forever plan, plus unlimited storage and app integrations, unlimited dashboard creations, advanced reporting tools, and the Goals & Portfolio tool. This plan is ideal for small teams with a larger client base and more resources. However, upgrading from Free Forever will cost you a little extra, making it very valuable.
Business Plan
For teams who have expanded beyond the confines of a small space and are ready to take on new challenges, ClickUp’s Business Plan comes with a slew of features that deliver their increasing need for effective workplace resources. For instance, it has extra security features for teammates, such as two-factor authentication and single sign-on integrations with Google on top of the features from the two previous tiers combined.
Additionally, the Business Plan has seen worthy upgrades for some of ClickUp’s core features, including advanced dashboard customizations, next-level automation, and upgraded public sharing. Also included is the Goal Folders feature, which lets you compile and organize project goals into separate folders for easy safekeeping. If you pay yearly, the Business plan is only $12 per user per month.
Upgrade to Business Plus
Explore more with the Business Plan The Business Plus upgrade is priced at $19 per member per year (annually), and unlocks all the features of the tier to maximize productivity within your team. You will also get additional automations allowances.
ClickUp’s team-sharing and KPI tracking features, as well as custom role creation, will be explored. 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. It is targeted at large-scale businesses and corporations as well as established businesses. There is no fixed price, so you’ll need to connect with ClickUp’s sales team to discuss the amount you might need.
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 Planning
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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 elevates it with some structural changes. ClickUp creates its own hierarchy consisting of Teams, Workspaces and Spaces (Projects), Folders Lists, Tasks, and Folders.
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. From the Teams come the Workspaces, referred to 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 out to the Folders, which then branch out to the Lists. All these, under the Spaces essentially, consist of subprojects that make up the grand scheme of the full plan. The much-anticipated Tasks from the Lists section are finally here, each one assigned to a different member of the team.
Now that we’ve got it dealt with let’s break down ClickUp’s integrated features and tools!
Multitask Toolbar
The multitask toolbar appears when you click on one of the tasks in the ClickUp user interface. You will find the same functions you would expect from an e-mail platform such as Yahoo Mail or Gmail: the ability to mark and select as read, delete, and the ability to delete. Needless to say, it makes for a great feature for solo power users and managers who often handle a hefty load of tasks.
ClickUp’s multitask bar allows you to do many things with your tasks, just like any other e-mail service. You can, for instance, change the status if they’re complete or not, modify the due dates, set assignees among your current teammates, and even convert some of them into sub-tasks to make the full goal less complicated.
Simplified Methodology for Managing and Viewing Tasks
On nearly most productivity apps, you would be expected to bear the weight of manually writing in your tasks and inputting them into your team calendar and goals everywhere you go. 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.
Regarding how you view your laid-out tasks, ClickUp has given you plenty of options to explore. ClickUp currently offers more than 15 views. These include the calendar, boards, mindmap, map view and workload. This will give you a full overview of the team’s performance and help you to set realistic goals.
Customization range
To continue where we left off from task viewing options, it’s worth noting that ClickUp knows a thing or two about making task management supremely convenient and less of a hassle to deal with. 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. On the other, you can have the option to create pre-made templates for your checklists, documents, folders, and the like that you may put into good use in the future, and, for a powered-up work environment, you can also integrate with over 1,000 apps and services – all made possible through Zapier. ClickUp Planning
Collaboration and communication tools
ClickUp makes it easy to communicate with your team and provides them with in-house tools that make it simple. Its e-mail service and chat feature allow you to interact with your fellow teammates without having to leave elsewhere, as you can do several things, such as catch up on your tasks and ask for special requests whenever necessary. These features are great, but they should not be relied upon. There are issues with the interface, and it is better to have backup comms in case of an emergency.
That aside, apart from the integrated communications tools, ClickUp’s also packed with smooth collaboration features up its sleeves. Like Google’s work suite, you can see whatever your teammates are working on in real-time from the Whiteboard to the Documents. Do you have any feedback? You can proof your files or your teammates’ tasks, assign comments for suggestions, and even share them with others so they can see what’s going on.
Documents
Having an outlet where you can lay out the ideas and goals of your project is an excellent idea until you realize you would have to access it on separate 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.
When your docs are ready, you have the option to share them either privately between your teammates or publicly with 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. From the current status of project goals and sprints to a real-time graph indicating how many tasks have been completed within the team, rest assured that you have the right tools to determine if any of your projects are geared towards success or otherwise.
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. Aside from easily digestible visual graphs, the platform houses automatic reporting tools such as the Pulse section, where you get to view how many of your teammates are online at a specific time, Time Estimates, Team Points, and reports on how many tasks a teammate was able to complete in the day, month, or year.
Time Management
The increasing trend of remote work has resulted in an increasing need for time management apps to help track how long team members work in a day, week, or month, despite staying in different locations. 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. Have you used a separate time-tracking app before, and do you want to transfer data from there to ClickUp? You may do so by simply syncing info between both platforms. ClickUp Planning
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The ClickUp Support System Bonus
Need assistance? ClickUp has almost everything you need to assist you! 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. It’s great that there are many support teams available. The Sales section, for example, is the best place to go if you have questions about the Enterprise plan. 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 Planning
ClickUp: What customers have to say about it
ClickUp’s extensive list of project management tools gives it an edge over other products, though some users may find the sheer number overwhelming. But, for what it’s worth, it has amassed a considerable following among the general public.
Most team leaders who have used ClickUp for work have been generally positive about their experiences navigating through it so far. 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 Planning
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. It makes up for what it lacks with its free plan and large range of tools.
- 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 excels when it comes creating spreadsheet-adjacent projects plans. This makes it an excellent choice for detail-oriented groups that have to deal with large amounts of data, as well as freelancers and small-scale groups.
- Teamwork – ClickUp and other software are great for group projects. Teamwork however has many tools that can be used to support client- and service-based interactions. Apart from the usual features you may expect from any PM software, and some great solutions can be used individually. Though it may not have everything ClickUp has, Teamwork does offer a full suite of dedicated products for seamless productivity. ClickUp Planning
- Asana – Some PM platforms like ClickUp may have too many features. Others may need to be simpler. They might be considered useless. Asana strikes the perfect balance between power and simplicity making it an excellent choice for small to large teams. With a cohesive mix of tools from task management to communication, Asana, on a base level, is great for beginners. Some aspects, such as full customization, require that you pay extra.
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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? The final answer may be up to you, but it’s a yes for us in this case! ClickUp may be a good choice for you if you are a small team looking to move to remote work.
FAQ ClickUp Planning
How many devices is ClickUp currently available to download on?
Apart from the mobile app for Android and iOS, which we’ve tackled early on, ClickUp has a desktop version that you can download on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers. It also has a Chrome browser extension currently available on the Google Chrome web store, as well as availability through voice command services, namely Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.
ClickUp is it suitable for solo or personal 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).