ClickUp is a cloud-based project management software primarily used for workplace-related engagements and interactions. 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! ClickUp is a workplace app that has specific uses and can be used to meet certain needs. ClickUp, however, aims to combine all these functions into one system with the primary goal to increase team productivity. But how true to the word is its claim? What is its performance when it comes to workflow management? We’ll answer these and more in our full review right here.
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 Version History
ClickUp was founded in 2017 as one the most promising tech startups of the moment. The team behind ClickUp understood their goal: to make ClickUp the best place for teams and businesses 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? Go for Hubstaff or ActiveCollab. Want to create documents and presentations for the rest of your team to see and share? 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. Think of Slack, MS Teams, and 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. 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. 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.
ClickUp’s flexible pricing range makes it a great choice for workplace activities. ClickUp also offers a free forever plan which is one of the most affordable productivity platforms. 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 Version History
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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. 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 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 offers this compliance, but it is limited to the enterprise plan.
ClickUp: What’s good and what’s not
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 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. This includes customizing dashboards according to personal preference and the “Custom Fields” tool.
- ClickUp houses a diverse library of work management tools in one place as a means to further boost communication and engagement throughout the workplace. It can range from excellent real-time reporting features to smooth 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.
- 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 Version History
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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 of these plans is suited for a diverse range of teams varied by size, manpower, and availability of resources. Without further ado, let’s take an in-depth look at ClickUp’s plans!
Free Forever
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. ClickUp’s core features are also explored, including native video recording, whiteboards and time-tracking.
While the lineup of offerings appears to be convincing, you have to keep in mind that some limitations have been put into place, like the allowance of only 100 automations per month and 100MB worth of storage. The Free Forever plan is a good choice for solopreneurs and project managers who are just starting out.
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. At the same time, other productivity platforms have plans similar to this but at higher price ranges. ClickUp Version History
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. 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
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. 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.
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. The Goal Folders feature allows you to compile and organize your project goals into separate folders, making it easy for safekeeping. The Business plan costs as low as $12 per user per month (if paid yearly).
Business Plus Upgrade
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. Not only will you get an additional allowance for automations.
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 offers advanced solutions like white labeling, unlimited custom role, advanced permissions and customized contract agreements with legal support. It also includes HIPAA compliance for healthcare team members. You can also use multiple apps to sign on, including Google. There are also custom onboarding training available for new colleagues and a dedicated success manager who will ensure a positive and productive workplace. ClickUp Version History
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ClickUp’s Features: A Closer Look
Before we go ahead and check out the rest of what ClickUp has to offer, it’s important to first look at its hierarchal 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.
ClickUp defines a team as a company or organization that manages all tasks and assigns them the employees or their teammates. Teams are usually created by companies from different fields. However, there are rare instances when large groups manage multiple teams simultaneously. From the Teams come the Workspaces, referred to as departments within the company.
The Workspaces are followed by a variety of Spaces, or work projects. These are assigned by 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.
Now that we’ve got it dealt with let’s break down ClickUp’s integrated features and tools!
Multitask Toolbar
Once you step into the ClickUp user interface, you may notice the multitask toolbar, which appears if you click on one or multiple tasks on the list. 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. It is a wonderful feature for managers and solo power users who have to handle a lot 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 made this process much easier. Instead of spending nearly an hour writing down your tasks and inputting them into your team calendar and goals, you can simply type the task you are interested in and wait for ClickUp to incorporate the data into your workspace.
ClickUp offers many options for how you see your tasks laid out. 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. Its useful drag-and-drop feature has turned the process of reorganizing tasks into a piece of cake. 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. ClickApps is a section that gives the Workspace a more personal feel. It provides time-saving tools like automations, dependencies and sprints. These can all be integrated into your 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 Version History
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. Like Google’s work suite, you can see whatever your teammates are working on in real-time from the Whiteboard to the Documents. Have any feedback in mind? 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. You don’t need to update your workflow in different tabs. Instead, you can do it all 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. ClickUp Docs also offers other useful features such as Focus Mode, which allows you to focus on the part you are working on without distractions and allowing you to look at page details including word count, approximate reading time, and estimated reading time.
Real-time reporting and goal tracking
It is crucial to track the progress of projects and determine if any steps have been taken to achieve their goals. To see how they play out as they happen, look no further than ClickUp’s customizable dashboard feature, which lets you navigate through different types of project indicators in one space. 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. The core tools for general time tracking management such as time billing, editing and timesheets will be covered. 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 Version History
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The ClickUp Support System Bonus
In need of assistance? ClickUp has almost everything you need to assist you! ClickUp is not only packed with useful tools for managing work, but it also excels at providing excellent customer support and learning materials.
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. 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.
Conversely, ClickUp lets you explore a vast library of learning content to guide you on how to use the platform, from the on-demand video tutorials in the Demo package to the information-rich documents found in its Help Center. Plus, if you and your team wish to upgrade your collective work skills to the next level, you can check out the courses and webinars offered by ClickUp University. ClickUp Version History
ClickUp: What customers have to say about it
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. 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’ve also appreciated how fully functional its free entry-level plan is compared to other productivity software and how worth the upgrades to higher tiers can get considering the valuable price range.
ClickUp has many features. It’s no surprise that learning can be difficult, especially for people not familiar with remote project management. ClickUp users may need to take more time to become familiar with its internal workings. The service has a lot of onboarding and learning 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 Version History
Alternatives to ClickUp
ClickUp has made its mark as one of the best productivity software out there, and its level of recognition today has now equaled the following alternative work platforms below. Each one has its own unique features and competitive aspects, but some aren’t as good as ClickUp.
- 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 Version History
- Asana – Some PM platforms like ClickUp may have too many features. Others may need to be simpler. They might be considered useless. Asana perfectly strikes the balance of power and simplicity, making it a strong option for teams of various sizes. Asana is a great tool for beginners, offering a comprehensive mix of tools, from task management to communication. However, some aspects require access beyond the paywall, like full-range customization.
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ClickUp for 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?
Firstly, from how it executes its premise by being a one-stop platform for all project management needs, there’s no doubt that ClickUp has the potential to improve workflow among teammates, even while remote. But having a lot of tools can have downsides, such as the feeling of information overload. Second, depending on how you see it, the software does its best to tackle multiple tasks, even though a few of its aspects require improvement.
ClickUp is ClickUp worth the effort based on what we have learned so far. Although the final decision is up to you, we believe it’s worth a try in this instance. ClickUp may be a good choice for you if you are a small team looking to move to remote work.
FAQ ClickUp Version History
What number of devices does ClickUp currently offer to download?
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. 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.
Is ClickUp available offline?
Yes! ClickUp does offer an Offline Mode option for teammates who want to work even without the presence of an internet connection. It allows you to view and create tasks, remind you of important dates, and look at your notes. However, some tools may not work if you aren’t connected online.
ClickUp’s Offline Mode feature can be found on the platform’s website, desktop program, or mobile app (Legacy2.0).