Since the rise of remote work in 2020, I've seen how efficient project management tools can become the backbone of a successful team and company.
monday.com is one of them, with its visual dashboards and intuitive interface. But what if you need a platform built specifically for software development or sales? Take a look at these alternatives to find out what your options are.
» Check out these project management tools you never knew you needed.
Our 5 Best monday.com Alternatives in 2024:
- Smartsheet: Best monday.com alternative overall
- Jira: Best for software development teams requiring Agile project management
- ClickUp: Best for creative agencies overseeing branding and web design
- Asana: Best for educational institutions looking to manage class resources
- HubSpot: Best for sales and marketing coordination
A Closer Look at the Best monday.com Alternatives in 2024
1. Smartsheet
A user-friendly spreadsheet tool for enhanced team collaboration
- Best for - Teams needing varied project access levels
- Starting price - From $7/month/user
- Storage size - 500MB-unlimited
- Free trial - 30 days
- Team collaboration tools - Sharing, permissions, forms, workspaces, proofing, contacts, conversations
- Views - Grids, Gantt charts, calendars, cards
Smartsheet has a dashboard that looks like a spreadsheet, with added customizable templates. You can set different views, such as grids, calendars, and cards. There's even a Gantt chart that draws up bar graphs to help you quickly visualize your project's timeline.
With its advanced real-time collaboration tools, you can share specific tasks via email and comment on whole rows or sheets. This can improve your team's efficiency, especially if you're one of the quarter of managers who lack the tools to do so.
What Makes Smartsheet a Good Alternative to monday.com?
monday.com includes beginner-friendly templates with limited customizability, but with Smartsheet, I get more control over what happens when I update specific information. I can even share a project sheet with my team and restrict certain tasks to particular roles. In contrast, monday.com can only set permissions for an entire board.
Pros
- Integrates with popular apps
- You can adapt the interface to your workflow
- Real-time collaboration tools
Cons
- Steep learning curve for new users
- Pages don't update in real-time
2. Jira
An Agile tool for software development and tracking
- Best for - Technical teams, including IT specialists and engineers
- Starting price - From $7.75/month/user
- Storage size - 250GB-unlimited
- Free trial - 7 days
- Team collaboration tools - Smart links, cross-product search, @mentions
- Views - Lists, boards, matrix, timelines, calendars
With customizable workflows and many third-party integrations, Jira provides a suitable space for delivering high-quality software. Plus, it can scale to meet the needs of both large and small teams.
Software development companies frequently use it because it includes Agile practices. Instead of trying to do everything simultaneously, you can break the project into smaller tasks called "sprints" and keep adjusting the product until satisfied. In my opinion, this critical feature makes Jira stand out.
What Makes Jira a Good Alternative to monday.com?
Jira improves the monday.com bug-tracking process by providing a built-in tool. This way, I don't rely on third-party apps like Github. It also adds more depth with customizable rules I can use to, for example, automatically change a task's status to "Closed" if it doesn't update in a month.
Pros
- You can track and resolve product issues easily
- Supports workflow customization
- Scalable
Cons
- Can be overwhelming for beginners
- Limited collaboration features
3. ClickUp
A versatile project management software for diverse industry projects
- Best for - Marketing teams doing complex product launch campaigns
- Starting price - From $7/month/user
- Storage size - 100MB-unlimited
- Free trial - 14 days
- Team collaboration tools - Real-time editing, comments, discussions, chat, workspaces
- Views - Lists, boards, calendars, Gantt charts, tables, timelines, mind maps, workloads, boxes, activities, maps
ClickUp offers customizable task lists, so you don't need to squeeze your unique processes into a predefined template. Custom views like "assigned," "urgent," and "high priority" can also help you highlight crucial assignments that the team must address first.
Place all your processes in a single software by connecting ClickUp with tools like Google Workspace, Slack, and Trello. You can also create tasks that will start after completing the previous one.
What Makes ClickUp a Good Alternative to monday.com?
monday.com limits my storage to 100GB for paid plans, but I can connect it to Google Drive and get more. ClickUp is a good alternative because I can skip this extra step with a paid plan with unlimited space. I also get more advanced reporting options to track task progress, set quarterly goals, and monitor team members' time in a single dashboard.
Pros
- Suitable for projects in various industries
- Integrates with over 1,000 apps
- Free plan for personal use
Cons
- The number of features may be overwhelming at first
- Mobile app can be buggy
» Learn how a content calendar can improve your marketing project management.
4. Asana
Intuitive task management with robust automation
- Best for - Social media management teams
- Starting price - From $10.99/month/user
- Storage size - Unlimited
- Free trial - 30 days
- Team collaboration tools - Comments, chat, file-sharing, subtasks
- Views - List, board, timeline
Asana is a straightforward program with a hierarchical design. You combine tasks into projects and then sort everything into workspaces. This can help you find the information you need easily.
You can set due dates and automate repetitive tasks to reduce manual work. Plus, with collaboration tools like file sharing, you can track progress and ensure that everyone is working on the same version of a document.
What Makes Asana a Good Alternative to monday.com?
I can use monday.com to create automation from predefined templates, but Asana provides a more extensive alternative. For example, I can send reminders for upcoming deadlines or prioritize tasks according to their due dates. It even offers a timeline view I can use to see how all my projects fit together.
Pros
- Robust automation features
- Free plan for up to 15 users
- Highly-customizable dashboards
Cons
- Not suitable for complex projects requiring intricate workflows
- No time-tracking for tasks
5. HubSpot
A unified marketing, sales, and customer relations platform
- Best for - Service-oriented businesses
- Starting price - From $20/month/user
- Storage size - 100MB-5000MB
- Free trial - 14 days
- Team collaboration tools - Comments, discussions, chat, workspaces
- Views - List, board, calendar, Gantt chart, table, timeline
HubSpot helps attract visitors to your website with tools for email and social media marketing. It can even support your customers with live chat. You can also use the "Knowledge Base" repository to learn more about its features, with articles like "Solving Common Problems."
In my experience, HubSpot excels primarily in the sales domain. With its lead nurturing process, you can build relationships with potential customers over time by recommending products. You can also score some of them based on engagement with your marketing campaign. This helps you prioritize the ones more likely to convert.
What Makes Hubspot a Good Alternative to monday.com?
With monday.com, you can get customer insights by connecting to a third-party app like Glances, but HubSpot can offer them out of the box. I can assign scores to website visitors based on specific rules and prioritize the top-rated ones. I can also use HubSpot's content management system to write, publish, and optimize blogs.
Pros
- Combines project management, sales, marketing, and customer service
- Offers online marketing resources
- Suitable for smaller teams
Cons
- Expensive plans
- Charges you for technical support
monday.com Alternatives: Communicate, Collaborate, and Optimize
77% of companies using software to manage and improve their projects' processes generally achieve better results.
Understanding your industry and goals is essential in finding the right application. Consider the learning curve and documentation provided by each tool. For example, it may be feature-rich but overwhelming to work with if your dynamics don't require such complexity.
» Need more alternatives? Check out our monday.com vs. Wrike guide.
