Our view at Stack - You definitely can't pigeon-hole SmartSuite as it does so much! It's a collaborative work management platform that enables teams to plan, track, and manage workflows, projects, and everyday tasks. With features like automations, integrations, and AI capabilities, it streamlines work processes and empowers teams to achieve their goals. It's also available in 15 languages.
Although Teamwork is one of the most popular project management tools, customers complain about its unintuitive interface and limited customization options.
If you’re looking for alternatives, keep reading.
Our team tried dozens of project management tools, interviewed current and past customers, and analyzed hundreds of verified public reviews to give you the top Teamwork alternatives for 2024.
We broke down each tool by popular features, pricing, strengths, drawbacks, and main differences with the Teamwork platform.
Before we get to the list, here are the 3 most common reasons why Teamwork customers switch to competitors ⤵️
Many Teamwork users express frustration with the tool’s lack of customization.
While the platform offers many features, tailoring them to specific workflows isn’t easy. This is especially important for organizations that want to run most, if not all, of their processes from one platform.
Teamwork’s UI is undoubtedly user-friendly but can get messy and complex as users ramp up projects and tasks.
Furthermore, the mobile version of Teamwork lacks compared to most platforms featured below.
The platform fails to provide detailed real-time reports on task histories, employee productivity, and project updates.
Thus, Teamwork might not be the best choice if managers need to get detailed reports to keep track of projects’ progress.
| Top Solutions | What They Do |
|---|---|
| SmartSuite | All-in-one work management platform that integrates project management, task tracking, and collaboration tools into a single, customizable workspace. |
| Wrike | Versatile workflow management platform that’s affordable for organizations of any size. |
| Monday.com | Visual project tracking and workflow customization. |
| Bascamp | Focuses on simplicity and team communication, offering essential project management tools without overwhelming features. |
| Asana | Great for task management and tracking project progress, featuring user-friendly interfaces and strong integration capabilities. |
| Hive | Offers unique time tracking and productivity analytics, catering to teams looking to optimize performance. |
| Notion | Combines note-taking with project management, allowing for extensive customization and documentation. |
| ClickUp | Combines task management with goal tracking, making it suitable for teams of all sizes. |
| Trello | Visual project management using boards and cards, ideal for smaller teams or simpler projects. |
| Workzone | Focuses on project visibility and accountability, providing detailed reports. |
Now let’s cover each of these products in detail to find out which one is best for you ⤵️
Smartsuite is an all-in-one project management tool that lets you manage every part of your work processes in a centralized platform with built-in automation.
Full disclosure: Even though SmartSuite is our own product, we aim to provide an honest perspective on why Smartsuite is truly the top Teamwork alternative available.
If we aren’t biased, why’s SmartSuite at the top of our list?
The reason is the platform checks all the right boxes for the key features you need in a project management platform.
Below are some of its stand-out features ⤵️
Feature #1 Robust Reporting Abilities
With SmartSuite’s robust reporting abilities, you can get detailed insights into the progress of your projects. This will help you get an accurate view of your team’s productivity and workflow efficiency.
The platform lets you view your reports in different formats, such as Card, Dashboard, Grid, Kanban, Calendar, Timeline, or Map.
Furthermore, you can make your reports public and accessible for your team members or keep them private and save them for your work process.
Once you create a report, you can easily export it in any form, including Excel, Google Sheets, PDF, or CSV. This way, you can easily print and share reports with your team or clients.
Also, you can share reports via email by simply including a message for context and a link that’ll direct the recipient to view the content in your SmartSuite workspace.
Feature #2 Workflow Automation
If you’re tired of manually handling repetitive tasks, then it’s time to switch things up with SmartSuite.
SmartSuite lets you automate your workflows with customizable “recipes” based on specific triggers, like changing dates, automatic record updates, sending notification emails, or updating statuses.
Key Functionalities:
- Customizable Recipes: Users can create tailored automation recipes that cater to their specific needs. This can range from simple tasks, like sending a Slack message when a project is marked complete, to complex multi-step workflows that involve several triggers and actions.
- No Coding Required: The platform provides a drag-and-drop interface that allows you to set up automations without needing technical skills. This way, you can set up automation quickly and efficiently.
- Dynamic Notifications: SmartSuite automations can send real-time updates and notifications based on project milestones or due dates. This feature helps keep teams informed without constant check-ins, thereby reducing micromanagement.
Feature #3 Project Management
SmartSuite offers a unified project management solution that provides all the tools you need on a single platform. The tool provides a real-time view of all your projects, tasks, and overall performance.
With SmartSuite dashboards, you can monitor multiple projects and gain insights on key metrics.
The platform organizes all your project information in one place so you can easily analyze budgets, prioritize work, analyze budgets, and ensure your team’s productivity.
- Manage any project from simple to complex: SmartSuite offers various templates to help you manage any kind of project, whether simple or complex, and you can tailor these templates to meet your project needs.
- Effectively allocate your available resources: The platform allows you to have a clear view of your teams so you can effectively manage each team’s or staff’s workloads and resources.
SmartSuite Pricing Plans
SmartSuite platform offers a highly generous forever-free plan and a 14-day free trial, allowing you to test the tool before committing.
SmartSuite provides four paid plan options:
- Team: Starts at $12 for each user and is billed monthly.
- Professional: Starts at $28 for each user and is billed monthly.
- Enterprise: Starts at $35 for each user and is billed monthly.
- Signature: Customized plan designed to suit your team size and meet your organization’s needs.
How Does SmartSuite Compare to Teamwork?
First, SmartSuite offers an intuitive and deeply customizable interface, making it easier for users to tailor the platform to each team’s processes.
SmartSuite’s robust reporting feature shines over Teamwork. SmartSuite includes advanced reporting and analytics tools that let managers keep track of ongoing projects. Granular permission-levels also make SmartSuite a better choice for mid to enterprise-size organizations.
Although Teamwork is very feature rich, SmartSuite offers a better combination of both task management and process automation. highly customizable workflows and the ability to automate repetitive tasks.
Teamwork, on the other hand, shines for service businesses that need capacity management, resource scheduling, and advanced budgeting.
Pros and Cons of SmartSuite
✅ Intuitive interface
✅ Supports both workflow automation and work management
✅ Extremely generous free plan with access to advanced features
✅ 200+ templates for different use cases
✅ No-code automation to streamline your workflows
❌ Only 25 native integrations Limited native integrations
#2: Wrike
Best for: Enhancing productivity and streamlining workflows.
Similar to: Hive, Basecamp
Wrike is a work and project management tool that enables teams to manage tasks and collaborate effectively.
The platform caters for teams of different sizes and project requirements.
Wrike is one of Teamwork alternatives that makes up for some of the tool lapses. Unlike Teamwork, Wrike offers users more flexibility to tailor workflows to suit their unique processes and project needs.
While Teamwork has best-in-class employee tracking, Wrike provides better project reports.
Wrike’s Top Features
- Interactive Gantt Charts: These charts provide a visual representation of project timelines to allow you to set dependencies and adjust schedules.
- Advanced Analytics and BI: Wrike lets you track your team’s performance and compare the results via its analytics dashboards.
- Real-Time Collaboration: Team members can communicate directly within tasks, share files, and provide feedback.
Wrike’s Pricing Plan
Wrike allows users to try out the tool via its 14-day free trial. It also offers a forever-free plan with fewer features.
Below are details of its paid plans:
- Team: $9.80/user/month for 2 to 25 users
- Business: $24.80/user/month for 5 to 200 users
- Enterprise: Contact sales for a custom price. It offers advanced features, including enterprise-grade security and scalability.
- Pinnacle: Contact sales for a custom price. It offers more advanced tools and analytics for complex work processes.
Wrike’s Pros and Cons
✅ Highly customizable platform & interface
✅ Flexible automation
✅ Good reporting tools
✅ Affordable
❌ Reliance on third-party communication tools
❌ Can have integration delays that effect automation efficiency
Wrike’s Customer Ratings
⭐ G2: 4.2 out of 5 (3712 reviews)
⭐ Capterra: 4.3 out of 5 (2649 reviews)
#3: ClickUp
Best for: Managing all work tasks in one place.
Similar to: Asana, Monday.com
ClickUp is designed to support both large businesses and startups.
While Teamwork is considered user-friendly, an intuitive and flexible UI is ClickUp’s main selling point.
ClickUp also offers a generous free plan with unlimited projects and users compared to Teamwork’s free plan, which is limited to just 2 projects.
Who’s it For?
ClickUp suits businesses of all sizes, including startups, SMBs, and large enterprises.
ClickUp’s Top Features
- Customizable Workflows: Enables you to tailor your workflows with custom statuses, templates, and views (list, board, calendar, Gantt, and others.)
- Integrations: Integrates with various third-party apps like Slack, Google Drive, and others.
- ClickUp Brain: Provides an AI to help you automate work processes.
ClickUp’s Pricing Plans
ClickUp offers a forever free plan with real-time chat, unlimited tasks, multiple view options, and much more.
Below are details of its paid plans:
- Unlimited: $7/user/month with unlimited integrations, dashboards and custom fields.
- Business: $12/user/month with everything in the unlimited plan and advanced features like advanced automations, time tracking, and unlimited team access.
- Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing. Offers more advanced features like advanced permissions, enterprise API and live onboarding training.
ClickUp’s Pros and Cons
✅ Advanced customizations, even on low-tier plans
✅ Generous free plan
✅ 100+ automation templates
❌ Lacks process automation features
❌ Lots of paywalls
❌ Can become messy as you reach 100+ users
Clickup’s Customer Ratings
⭐ G2: 4.7 out of 5 (9735 reviews)
⭐ Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 (4176 reviews)
#4: Basecamp
Best for: Simple team collaboration and remote work management.
Similar to: Trello and Wrike
If you’re looking for a project management tool with a less complex UI design, Basecamp could be a good option.
Compared to Teamwork, Basecamp emphasizes an intuitive, user-friendly interface, which makes it easier for teams to get started without extensive training.
Teamwork does have more features compared to Basecamp, but Basecamp is affordable and has unlimited guest invites, which makes it easy to get going with the tool.
Who’s it For?
Small to medium-sized businesses looking to streamline their project workflows without a steep learning curve.
Basecamp’s Top Features
- Track work with to-dos: This allows you to effectively track work, responsibilities, and deadlines.
- Project Templates: Basecamp allows you to create templates for repetitive tasks and projects.
- Time sheets: Allows you to track time directly on the platform without third-party apps.
- Built-in communication tools: Basecamp enables you to communicate directly on the application, including 1:1s and group chats.
Basecamp Pricing Plans
Basecamp offers two paid plans and a 30-day free trial for each plan.
- Basic: $15/user/month with free access for all your guest users.
- Pro Unlimited: $349/month with unlimited user access and an option to pay annually ($299/month).
Basecamp Pros and Cons
✅ Easy and affordable
✅ Built-in communication features
✅ Multiple visual reports
✅ Free unlimited guest invites
❌ Limited integrations and automation
❌ No built-in Gantt chart view
❌ Doesn’t support process automation
Basecamp’s Customer Ratings
⭐ G2: 4.1 out of 5 (5293 reviews).
⭐ Capterra: 4.3 out of 5 (14442 reviews).
#5: Asana
Best for: Organizing tasks and tracking progress through customizable project boards and real-time collaboration.
Similar to: Monday.com, ClickUp
Asana is a go-to project management tool for teams looking for a simple platform with advanced features.
One of the stand-out features of Asana compared with Teamwork is its automation abilities. The platform enables users to eliminate repetitive tasks by setting up custom rules.
Unlike Teamwork, Asana provides detailed reports on projects to help you quickly learn about updates, project statuses, and workload management.
Who’s it For?
Suitable for startups to large enterprises in need of structured workflows and task management solutions.
Asana’s Top Features
- Project Views: Visualize projects in different formats, such as lists, boards, and calendars, catering to various workflow preferences.
- Reporting and Dashboards: Monitor project progress with customizable dashboards and status updates to help your team stay aligned with set goals.
- Integrations: Connect with over 200 other applications to streamline workflows and enhance productivity.
Asana’s Pricing Plans
Asana offers a free forever plan with generous features and two paid plans.
Below are details of Asana’s pricing plans:
- Starter: $10/user/month, including access to Asana AI, Gantt & Timeline view, and project dashboards.
- Advanced: $24.99/user/month with access to more advanced features like advanced reporting, time tracking and scaled security.
Asana’s Pros and Cons
✅ Intuitive, customizable interface
✅ Generous free plan
✅ Comprehensive view of tasks and priorities
❌ Relies on third-party tools for automation
❌ Advanced project management features are only on paid plans
Asana’s Customer Ratings
⭐ G2: 4.4 out of 5 (10,242 reviews).
⭐ Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 (12,742 reviews).
#6: Monday.com
Best for: Users looking for a visually intuitive interface to manage tasks and projects.
Similar to: ClickUp and Trello.
Monday.com is a work operating tool designed to help teams manage their projects and workflows effectively.
Teamwork has a slight edge over Monday on the team collaboration front, but, Monday.com provides a highly customizable platform that allows users to tailor workflows.
Plus, it offers more automation capabilities that large teams value when managing processes from one platform.
Who’s it For?
B2B software businesses that need a flexible and visual project management tool.
Monday.com’s Top Features
- Integration: Offers 200+ integrations and apps to help you collaborate and work seamlessly.
- Dashboard customization: Monday enables you to build the tools you need for your operations via customizable no-code dashboards.
- High-level overview: Provides real-time insights and a detailed overview of your business.
Monday’s Pricing Plans
Monday.com offers a free plan with limited features, four paid plans, and a 14-day free trial.
Below are details of its paid plans:
- Basic: $9/seat/month with unlimited free viewers and items.
- Standard: $12/seat/month with various view options, 250 automation and integration actions/month and guest access.
- Pro: $19/seat/month with more advanced features, including 25k automation and integration actions/ month, time tracking and private boards.
- Enterprise: Contact sales for a tailored price. Includes exclusive features like enterprise-scale automations and integrations, tailored onboarding, advanced reporting and analytics.
Monday’s Pros and Cons
✅ Multiple customization options
✅ No-code automation
❌ Steep learning curve
❌ Expensive and confusing plans
❌ Slow loading time and constant screen lag
Monday’s Customer Ratings
⭐ G2: 4.7 out of 5 (12,245 reviews).
⭐ Capterra: 4.6 out of 5 (4884 reviews).
#7: Trello
Best for: Visual task organization and collaboration.
Similar to: Asana and ClickUp
Trello is a popular project management tool that utilizes a visual approach to organize tasks, primarily through the Kanban method.
The platform allows users to create boards, lists, and cards to manage projects and workflows effectively.
Compared to Teamwork, Trello is simple, flexible, and affordable. Teamwork provides more advanced project management capabilities.
Who’s it For?
Solopreneurs, startups and mid-sized businesses with small teams.
Trello’s Top Features
- Customizable Lists: Trello allows you to customize columns to break projects into smaller parts. You can choose to rename, reorder, or delete these lists, which provides flexibility.
- Power-Ups and Integrations: Trello offers Power-Ups to allow you to add extra functionalities to your boards. Trello also integrates with tools like Slack, Google Drive, and GitHub for effective team collaboration.
- Views: The platform provides several view options, including dashboard, table and map views to help you have various pictures of your projects and tasks.
Trello’s Pricing Plans
Trello offers a free plan and a 14-day free trial for its paid plans.
Below are details of its paid plans:
- Standard: $6/user/month with advanced checklists, custom fields and unlimited board.
- Premium: $12.50/user/month with workspace-level templates, data export options, comprehensive view options and AI.
- Enterprise: $17.50/user/month for more advanced features like unlimited workspaces, power-Up administration, organization wide permissions and others.
Trello’s Pros and Cons
✅ User-friendly and intuitive dashboard
✅ Ease of access and adaptability to various screen sizes
✅ Built-in automation
❌ Lack of seamless working across multiple boards
❌ Need third-party integrations (paid)
❌ Lack of user control
Trello’s Customer Ratings
⭐ G2: 4.4 out of 5 (13,582 reviews).
⭐ Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 (23188 reviews).
# 8 Hive
Best for: Streamlining task management and collaboration.
Similar to: Asana and Wrike.
Hive’s project management platform offers various features to help users manage tasks, communicate effectively, and track project progress. Hive is primarily beneficial for hybrid teams looking to improve their work efficiency.
In comparison to Teamwork, Hive provides more automation and in-built communication abilities. While Teamwork has automation features, it isn’t as robust and user-friendly.
Who’s It For?
Hive works great for almost all team and company sizes.
Hive’s Top Features
- Multiple Project Views: Hive provides various ways to visualize projects, including Kanban, Gantt, and Calendar views, allowing teams to manage their workflows according to their preferences.
- Collaboration Tools: The platform offers features for commenting, file sharing, and real-time updates, ensuring that all team members are aligned and informed throughout the project lifecycle.
- Integration Capabilities: The platform integrates with various third-party applications, making it easier to incorporate into existing workflows.
Hive’s Pricing Plans
Hive offers a forever free plan with generous features. It also allows users to try out the platform via its 14-day free trial.
Here are details of its paid plans:
- Starter: $7/ user/month with unlimited storage, Gantt view, up to 10 projects and workspace members, and AI assistant.
- Teams: $18/user/month with up to 50 workspace members, unlimited workflows and time tracking.
- Enterprise: Contact sales for custom price. Includes Custom analytics & reporting abilities, enterprise API, and dedicated CSM.
Hive’s Pros and Cons
✅ Built-in AI
✅ 100+ templates for different use cases
✅ Multiple dashboard views
❌ Custom analytics and reporting are only available on the enterprise plan
❌ Limited native integration with heavy reliance on Zapier
Hives’s Customer Ratings
⭐ G2: 4.6 out of 5 (537 reviews).
⭐ Capterra: 4.5 out of 5 (203 reviews).
#9 Notion
Best for: Documentation, project planning, and team communication.
Similar to: Coda.
Notion provides an all-in-one workspace that allows teams to collaborate, organize, and manage projects and tasks effectively.
Notion’s documentation board and project management features offer an interesting alternative to Teamwork for companies who want documentation and task management in one interface.
Who’s it For?
Teams of all sizes.
Notion’s Top Features
- Custom Dashboards: Allows you to build personalized dashboards for tracking project metrics, deadlines, and overall progress at a glance.
- Task Management: Notion supports Kanban boards and to-do lists to allow you to track tasks and monitor statuses effectively.
- Templates: Notion provides various templates for project planning, task tracking, and goal setting.
Notion’s Pricing Plan
Notion offers a Free Plan with unlimited pages and blocks and guest collaboration for up to 10 individuals.
Below are details of its paid plans:
- Plus Plan: $10/seat/month, features unlimited file uploads, 30-day page history, and allows up to 100 guest collaborators.
- Business Plan: $15/seat/month, adds advanced features like 90-day page history and up to 250 guest collaborators.
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing. Offers more advanced features like workspace analytic, unlimited history, and CSM.
Notion’s Pros and Cons
✅ Versatile and customizable workflows
✅ Great as a knowledge base.
✅ Intuitive interface that is easy to navigate
✅ Cross-platform accessibility–available on the web, desktop, iOS, and Android.
❌ Limited process automation features.
❌ Lack of advanced project management features.
Notion’s Customer Ratings
⭐ G2: 4.7 out of 5 (5484 reviews)
⭐ Capterra: 4.7 out of 5 (2217 reviews)
#10 Workzone
Best for: Teams looking to improve their project management and collaboration processes.
Similar to: Hive, Trello.
Workzone is a project management software designed to help teams manage projects effectively.
Unlike Teamwork, it provides detailed workload reports and real-time status alerts to help project managers track project progress and resource allocation.
Workzone, however, it a bit outdated and doesn’t offer a free plan.
Who’s it For
Workzone is ideal for enterprise companies.
Workzone’s Top Features
- Budget Management: Tools for project budgeting, cost tracking, and ROI forecasting.
- Customizable Reporting: Offers tools for generating reports tailored to specific project needs, helping teams track progress and performance.
- Task and Resource Management: Users can create tasks, assign them to team members, and manage resources efficiently to ensure project deadlines are met.
Workzone’s Pricing Plans
Workzone offers three main pricing plans including:
- Team Plan: $24/user/month, suitable for teams of five or more, includes project templates, Gantt chart, automated to-do list and other features.
- Professional Plan: $34/user/month, designed for larger teams, with enhanced features like unlimited workspaces, advanced reporting and resource management.
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for larger organizations. Offers endless customization features.
Workzone’s Pros and Cons
✅ Robust reporting
✅ Customizable templates
✅ Granular access management and permissions
❌ No free plan
❌ Limited integration options
❌ Clunky interface
Workzone’s Customer Ratings
⭐ G2: 4.2 out of 5 (53 reviews)
⭐ Capterra: 4.8 out of 5 (208 reviews)
What’s the best Teamwork alternative?
We’ve reviewed the best Teamwork alternatives available and seen each tool’s strengths and drawbacks.
At this point, you have what you need to choose the tool that will meet your team’s project management needs.
SmartSuite and Wrike are both all-in-one solutions that can handle work management and process automation, but SmartSuite has the better hand.
Hive and Workzone specialize in project management for teams with more traditional needs, while Notion and Monday.com offer light and visual alternatives.
Try SmartSuite today if you are looking for a Teamwork alternative with:
- Robust reporting,
- Extensive workflow automation
- Advanced real-time collaboration
- Best-in-class task management
- And more
All of this is done in a powerful yet simple interface that everyone within the organization will love to use daily.
If Smartsuite is of interest and you'd like more information, please do make contact or take a look in more detail here.
Credit: Original article published here.