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! 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. How true is the claim? How well can it deliver when it comes to handling workflow? 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!
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 Smartsheet vs Monday vs ClickUp
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 many project management tools available that can be difficult to track. For instance, Monday.com and Asana may be a better place to manage project-related tasks. Time tracking management? Hubstaff and ActiveCollab are good options. Do you want to share documents and presentations with your team? Microsoft Office and Google’s suites of tools might help.
Teams from all walks of the spectrum have to deal not only with project management. Communication is also important. While a few platforms include a chat function, many of them can be downloaded separately. Think of Slack, MS Teams, and 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. 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. Smartsheet vs Monday vs ClickUp
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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.
- 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 working in healthcare – Healthcare companies must adhere to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. 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. 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.
- 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 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.
- Its tools are easy to use, simple and convenient. This reduces the stress of trying to manage multiple productivity apps at once.
- 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. The color layouts may be of great concern as well.
- ClickUp has many productivity features. However, it does not have the ability to provide post-project feedback. Its integrated tools may not be as intuitive as its counterparts. Smartsheet vs Monday vs ClickUp
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Breaking Down ClickUp’s Pricing Plans
ClickUp offers four pricing plans to its users, with a sub-plan and upgrade tier for each. Each of these plans is suited for a diverse range of teams varied by size, manpower, and availability of resources. Let’s now take a closer 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.
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. Nonetheless, the Free Forever plan is a solid pick for solopreneurs, project management newbies, and small-scale teams needing more budget.
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. At the same time, other productivity platforms have plans similar to this but at higher price ranges. Smartsheet vs Monday vs ClickUp
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
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.
The Business Plan also received upgrades that have been worth it, such as advanced dashboard customizations, next level automation, and improved public sharing. Also included is the Goal Folders feature, which lets you compile and organize project goals into separate folders for easy safekeeping. The Business plan costs as low as $12 per user per month (if paid yearly).
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.
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. 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. Smartsheet vs Monday vs ClickUp
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A Closer Look at ClickUp’s Features
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. Nearly every typical productivity system consists of at least two things: a company and 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. Teams are usually created by companies from different fields. However, there are rare instances when large groups manage multiple teams simultaneously. 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 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. Lastly, the much-awaited Tasks from the Lists section, each assigned to different team members.
Let’s now get to the point.
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. 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.
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.
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 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.
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. 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. For instance, if you wish to change the deadline to a later period and day, you may simply drag one of your existing tasks further right or left in the Calendar section.
However, customization goes beyond the simple drag-and-drop and multitask toolbar tools with ClickUp. 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. Smartsheet vs Monday vs ClickUp
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. 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. 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. Have any feedback in mind? 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 solves this by incorporating its version of Documents into the platform, enabling you and your team to hash out your plans together in one place without going elsewhere.
More than creating and editing your files with a handful of fonts, sizes, and photos, ClickUp Docs lets you link them with your Workspace tasks seamlessly through the use of 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
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
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. Its time tracking and reporting functions are just like the rest of ClickUp’s tools.
The software’s global timer enables teammates to input their work hours, link their tasks, and add notes regardless of the type of device being used – you may record your time from your laptop, mobile phone, or from ClickUp’s free Chrome browser extension. ClickUp allows you to set the timer to start when you are done with your tasks. Or you can manually enter how many hours you will work each day. 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? Simply sync information between the two platforms. Smartsheet vs Monday vs ClickUp
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Bonus: The ClickUp Support System
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.
On the one hand, its 24/7 customer service section can be accessed at any time regardless if you’re signed to a paid or free plan. It’s great that there are many support teams available. For instance, if you have a question regarding the Enterprise plan, the Sales section is the place to be. Likewise, if you want help setting up your Workspace, there’s a dedicated team for that.
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. ClickUp University offers courses and webinars that can help you and your team improve your work skills. Smartsheet vs Monday vs ClickUp
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.
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. ClickUp is also subject to criticism for its mobile app and web interfaces that can sometimes be glitchy, but most users don’t see any problems with the service as a whole. Smartsheet vs Monday vs ClickUp
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 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 – It’s obvious Monday.com is a close competitor to ClickUp. Monday.com offers many of the same features as ClickUp, including customization options, workflow capabilities, integrations and the ability to provide learning and onboarding resources to its teammates. It makes up for what it lacks with its free plan and large range of tools.
- Smartsheet – Smartsheet provides teams with the same quality project management tools that ClickUp offers, including a reliable mobile app and multiple task-viewing options. They also have the ability to share tasks with colleagues 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 – While ClickUp and the rest are collectively best for team projects, Teamwork has a slew of tools geared toward 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. Although it doesn’t have all the features ClickUp offers, Teamwork has a complete suite of products that can be used to enhance productivity. Smartsheet vs Monday vs ClickUp
- Asana – Some PM platforms like ClickUp may have too many features. Others may need to be simpler. They may be considered pointless. 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.
ClickUp is ClickUp worth the effort based on what we have learned so far. The final answer may be up to you, but it’s a yes for us in this case! 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 Smartsheet vs Monday vs ClickUp
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).