Wrike vs Clickup: which Project Management software you should choose for your business?

In this article, we will help you explore the key features of two giants in project management software, Wrike vs Clickup.

Let’s visualize the scene. You have finally decided to adopt a unified system for tracking projects and for assigning activities to your work team. So you hope to optimize the time you spend every day juggling shared folders, e-mails, paper notes, worklog files scattered everywhere: therefore you are looking for a single tool that allows you to manage all these aspects in a single platform.

But which one to choose?

The transition will certainly take some time, a lot of data will have to be transferred to the new system and you will face resistance from someone.

You are quite sure that you will have to choose between one of the two “big names” of the project management market, Wrike vs ClickUp and you would like this rating not to take up too much time. Usually these software offer a free two-week trial: but for those who wants to start soon, knowing that the learning curve could be long, it is important to speed up the software testing phase.

And this is where we meet you. In fact, we have tested the two most popular software in depth and we can provide you with a detailed analysis of the main features by comparing them and highlighting their pros and cons. We’ve tried to anticipate the questions you might ask and have broken down the top issues by topic.

In general, you need to know that you will not regret the path taken and that adopting a good project management system will bring you undoubted benefits. Both in terms of optimizing time and resources, and in terms of quality of the level of collaboration within the team.

In fact, numerous researches have shown that sharing of information and individual empowerment of workers, such as when they obtain the management of project phases, increase overall productivity and team satisfaction. This is all easier said than done when you learn to use good tools.

But let’s get to the point and start with the analysis of the single functions of these software, Wrike vs Clickup, divided into macro areas.

Wrike vs Clickup: Project planning and Gantt diagram

The first aspect that we have considered concerns a tool that project managers deem very useful in terms of visual impact.
If you have done some researches in this field you will most probably know what it is. Put simply, it is a horizontal bar graph showing the various phases of a project between a start and an end date and the possible relationship between the phases.

During our study of this aspect within the two examined software, we were impressed by a good usability of the tool in both. But in particular we liked Clickup for a small but useful detail: a green bar showing the entire duration of the project phases by making a sum between the activities present within it.

gantt wrike vs clickup

In both software we found it useful to see the assignee’s name on the project phases, and yet it would have been even better in our opinion to be able to display further information, such as the project’s code, which many companies use for immediate identification.

In Wrike it is possible to enter your days off, as we will see in the next point, and this has an impact on the Gantt chart and on the duration of the project in general, since it causes the slipping of all the activities planned for those days and all those connected to them. Consequently the project extends beyond the planning.

Moreover, the project manager does not receive a notification of the changes that have occurred and therefore we consider this method quite unacceptable for the achievement of good results. On Clikpup the problem does not arise because employees cannot directly insert days off. Therefore, even if this is a general shortcoming, at least it does not affect the timing of the projects.

Wrike vs Clickup: Workload

The second aspect that you will improve with the adoption of a project management tool is the management of the workload. In fact, this is a factor that plays a key role in the success of a project given that it is normal to have your staff involved on several fronts. Calculating the load of each resource is essential to understand who and when will be able to complete the assignments. If we unify management systems, this work will certainly be faster and more effective.

In Wrike , we have found workload management simple and intuitive . You can manage this aspect in the “Tools” area and this allows you to easily move the assignments from one user to another, when the load is excessive. To calculate the total load, Wrike lets you to enter the number of hours required for each task per day, even if it is not possible to change the dedicated hours among the days.

workload wrike vs clickup

Unfortunately in Wrike it is not possible to set daily working hours other than 8 and the project manager cannot enter their empoyees’ days off, since users can only enter their own hours: this is a little limitation in workload management processes. Perhaps in a slightly less intuitive way, Clickup instead proposes the insertion of a maximum number of daily tasks for each employee as a solution, but it does not allow you to indicate the hours for each project. We believe that this method is very simplistic because it does not take into account the substantial differences that may exist in the use of resources depending on the planned activities.

As for Wrike, also in Clickup it is easy to reallocate activities among the personnel involved, however the system lacks a bit in accuracy. Furthermore, Clickup does not support tools for managing hours, holidays and leaves while Wrike does not have worklog recording.

So, even if Wrike’s workload management is more accurate than its main competitor, in our opinion it would be useful to go a step further and allow the load to be allocated dynamically, with an optimized distribution that assign hours dedicated to projects differently among days, depending on whether or not the resource is engaged on other fronts.

Wrike vs Clickup: Agile management with Kanban board

To identify which between Wrike vs Clickup offers a better approach to the Agile methodology, we mainly focused on the composition of their Kanban board. This is a sort of “whiteboard” in which the project activities appear as post-it notes arranged in columns based on their production status and it is much loved by those who want to speed up times in updating data.

Also in this case, the two platforms proved to be aesthetically pleasing and easy to use, but Clickup scored slightly higher for allowing to customize the statuses of the task phases . Not only those standard statuses (typically: to be done – in progress – to be approved – closed) but all those you need and with a customisable label.

kanban wrike vs clickup

It would have been even better to give the possibility to organize the columns according to different criteria other than the status, but in general we found this function satisfactory.

Wrike vs Clickup: Cost management

And here we are at the last point taken into consideration in this Wrike vs Clickup challenge and also the one that has scored more sore points in our view. Cost management doesn’t offer any further advantage compared to the mere use of classic spreadsheets and therefore the only advantage is the usage of a unique platform. But the project manager will have to enter everything manually and define the values to be analysed without any support from the system.

Neither platform has automatic calculation functionalities and the project budget is an almost accessory value, of no use with the basic features.

Wrike catches up a bit in its “Enterprise” version since it offers the possibility of downloading advanced reports with different predefined templates from which to start for cost monitoring.

budget wrike vs clickup

But one needs high-level skills to understand how the Report section works, since it is very unintuitive compared to the rest of the platform, and this could discourage small managers or those who are beginners on the subject.

What if there is a third solution?

We examined four specific topics that we consider fundamental in the project management sector and our “Wrike vs Clickup challenge” has broken even personal ranking. Although they both offer a solution to the four topics, neither of them is totally exhaustive.

The inefficiencies we found make us affirm with certainty that there is a third way: Twproject. We have tested the functionalities of the two biggest project management platforms on the market and we have discovered that all their features are handled with greater accuracy in Twproject. In particular:

1. Project planning and the Gantt diagram: setting up project timelines and the dependencies between its phases is the basic work of the project manager that must be done carefully, considering multiple aspects and not just the availability of a worker.

gantt twproject


Therefore our choice in Twproject is to let the availability of employees be managed independently based on their time sheets, but the absence of an employee will not change the dates of the project and its phases, but simply the workload will be recalculated.

Twproject’s Gantt also offers the possibility of dynamically managing dependencies between phases, which do not necessarily have to be consequential and without intervals between them, as is the case elsewhere.
Furthermore, it offers an integrated view with ToDo lists, also allowing them to be edited from the Gantt itself, thus integrating two of the main project management tools in a single view.

2. Workload: the workload distribution in Twproject is really dynamic and optimized, qualities that other software lacks. This is what our smart time management looks like.

workload twproject

In the image, the different colors represent different projects and the dedicated hours change according to the load of each single day. In fact, Twproject uses a load distribution algorithm that optimizes resource capacity, it does not simply sums up the values entered by the user.

Twproject also distinguishes between project, routine and ‘spot’ activities, making it possible to plan more realistically the timing of activities.

3. Agile management with Kanban board: here Twproject takes a further leap compared to its competitors Wrike vs Clickup and allows you to view the columns of your Kanban according to other criteria in addition to the status. In fact, it may be useful for you to view as many columns as you have Projects: you can easily move the To-Dos from one project to another. Again, you can have Assignees organized into columns and move tasks from one person to another or even distribute unassigned tasks. Also if you wish, you can view the To-Dos in Priority columns and then reassign them accordingly.

kanban board twproject

4. Cost management: as we have seen, budget planning is practically not contemplated in the two software analysed. On the contrary, with Twproject, cost management is a function of paramount importance and really allows you to take care of this need completely within the software, without the need to use additional external tools. Our software follows you step by step in the creation of the project budget as it has a dedicated report for each ongoing project and also for its sub-phases and activities.

budget twproject

In this table, the project manager can enter the planned cost and its actual application, divided between personnel costs and ancillary costs, estimated and actual.
In fact, only Twproject allows you to indicate the hourly cost of employees and as they insert the hours worked on projects: these will increase the expenses incurred on a project or one of its phases. At the same time, the project manager can record all additional costs, starting with estimated budget and then entering the actual expense items later.

In this way you can always keep expenses under control and compare them with the planned costs. You can possibly adjust the data over time and the system will warn you in case of overrun of the planned budget.

Put us to the test

The fact that Twproject has turned out to be better, even compared to the big names, in many key aspects, is due to the experience acquired in over twenty years of activity. Since the first release of our software, we have dealt with different needs of large and small companies and found ad hoc solutions for each of them.

Twproject offers you fifteen days free trial, during which you can take advantage of the advice of our support team.

Let us know if you try it and don’t forget to share your experience with us.

Try the alternative choice with Twproject.

Twproject 5.6.59820: subscribe to Gantt assignments

Twproject 5.6.59820 is a bug fix release, get it here.

 Bug Fixes

  • Fixed a Gantt problem when browser time zone was different from servers.
  • Fixed getting subscriptions when creating assignments from the Gantt simple edit tool.
  • Now possible to add a property for activating TLS (mail server), use MAIL_SMTP_USE_TLS
  • Restored digest message dispatcher channel.
  • A few fixes on page customization.

 

 

The never ending Twproject “war” with Microsoft Project

Through our customers and contacts we frequently get reminded about Microsoft Project© enduring existence.

Twproject was in fact first born as the limitation of Microsoft Project (it was 1999 🙂 ) were unsolvable by using the Microsoft Project API available at the time. And the two project management solutions are born to differ in their core philosophy – and they do. Web applications became possible at the time and Twproject development started, around 2002, and Twproject got developed as wed based and around the idea of making information gathering as easy as possible.

Why care about Microsoft Project then? The team that develops Twproject and the set of its customers are often large, even enterprise companies, and we have the experience and sensitivity to typical corporate problems of software and IT integration. In these contexts we are still frequently asked how Twproject and Microsoft Project compare as solutions for corporate customers, e.g.

I actually downloaded it and I am trying it on my localhost. I would love to hear though what advantages Twproject has over Microsoft Project Server. We are in the process of trying to decide. If you have a comparison white sheet I would be grateful.
Some information follows.

Twproject is web based (since 2001)

Twproject around 2002

Being web based then and today meant ubiquity, adaptiveness, flexibility, inclusiveness. This in our opinion is what Microsoft Project always lacked.

Microsoft almost made it (in 2014!) making a web version of Microsoft Project the reference one. Still if you check their user interface it tries to emulate desktop software, using an iconic language alien to the web.

Twproject is cost effective

Let’s consider costs:
is available for $58 per user, per month

Microsoft marketing in the referenced videos stress the simplicity of the price model, probably as an effort to distract from prices. Well Microsoft’s model is actually quite complex, price ranges from $33 to $58 (per user / month!) – and if you want to use the desktop client, prepare to pay $1556 for each client!

That is way more expensive than Twproject, which gives you a full user for less than $5 per month!

twproject-prices

Twproject is not Gantt centered 🙂

gantt-new

jQuery GanttIt is a bit funny to write this, because we released a free, open source amazingly popular JavaScript web based Gantt component :D, which is also part now of Twproject.

Twproject has a Gantt-like editor where we tried to get the advantages of the Gantt user interface model without adopting the unrealistic

(planned time = project effort)

equation which constitutes the core of the Gantt model.

Twproject focuses on real work done

While in the current version planning is fully supported, still the core of Twproject is collecting information about real work done.
So it collects multiple projects, allows temporary dis-alignment of dates and statuses, collects issues, to-dos, worklogs, does all it can to encourage users to insert information in the simplest, fastest possible way. Planning is supported, but Twproject works with and without planned work.

Twproject integrates with different IT structures

it-integration

Microsoft Project depends for everything on Share Point©, so including its collaborative aspects. it is strongly integrated with Microsoft Exchange©.

So you have to get the whole Microsoft package, like it or not, to adopt Microsoft Project. Meh.

Twproject instead is functionally and technologically widely compatible with different solutions and is built to be non-intrusive.
This is true for both the installed and the online version of Twproject.

For example, the installed version runs stand alone in Tomcat (a Java web server), and can run anywhere, supporting easy integration with say LDAP, single-sign on and directory services.

The on-line version comes as a dedicated server instance that comes with its own mail server for a dedicated notification email.

Twproject works fine without Microsoft Exchange©, simple connection with an SMTP and POP3 service gives you full e-mail integration.

Twproject has an “open” approach (even if is not open source, sources are available for our customers). It runs on every operating system and can use any database. It is available both on cloud on or customer premises. It is web based and you can use it with every “modern” browser. Twproject is a wise choice from the IT manager perspective because of its open data and infrastructure features, as IT infrastructure changes over time.

Twproject developers are people, easily reachable on-line

Twproject is built by a small, solid and very efficient company. Its developers are ready to give support on the solution; moreover complete sources are available for free for all customers. Twproject is structured to support customization, custom extensions, reports, wizards, complete custom forms, and export and import with other data sources.

We deployed and maintain many customized parts for our over 3000 customers, all compatible with Twproject main release and hence compatible with updates.

Conclusion

After 15 years, the divergence of the two products is still considerable. In the meantime, the road of the web as a platform for applications has become the main path for collaborative software. And the diversity and richness of IT environments has increased. So we believe there are ever more good reasons to pick a safe, compatible solution as Twproject instead of the closed Microsoft Project universe.

References

http://windowsitpro.com/office-365/microsoft-announces-project-lite-cloud-based-productivity-team-members

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/technet/en-us/office/media/video/video.html?cid=pstc&from=sharepermalink&VideoID=ebe00785-db66-44d6-8ed3-86eafa63c7e4

Twproject is not affiliated in any form with Microsoft. Microsoft Project, Microsoft Exchange Share Point may be Registered Trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

 

The many sides of issue tracking

An issue in a productive environment is something smaller than a project or task, but that is important enough to deserve separate treatment. Lets take a look at the life of issues.

 

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[av_iconlist_item title=’Issues simplify’ link=” linktarget=” linkelement=” icon=’ue8b8′ font=’entypo-fontello’ av_uid=’av-bsrysv’]
Being easy to create, they save people time and help make thinks stick. Issues can be the main two sided relationship with management, and the tool through which all members of the team contribute to the whole project.
[/av_iconlist_item]
[av_iconlist_item title=’Issues multiply’ link=” linktarget=” linkelement=” icon=’ue849′ font=’entypo-fontello’ av_uid=’av-admm7z’]
Issues grow on projects in time. The fact that anytime issues can be added on a project without changing the project status and timing is useful – and can of course be a source or symptom of a problem. Issues can be used as an idea repository, even before the project starts.
[/av_iconlist_item]
[av_iconlist_item title=’Issues transform’ link=” linktarget=” linkelement=” icon=’ue890′ font=’entypo-fontello’ av_uid=’av-9qvfhb’]
In time some issues can become tasks, others . Also who has to deal with them may change in time; an issue can reveal a larger problem or opportunity. Issues may move from one project to another, from one resource to another.
[/av_iconlist_item]
[av_iconlist_item title=’Issues ease teamwork’ link=” linktarget=” linkelement=” icon=’ue80b’ font=’entypo-fontello’ av_uid=’av-74iv8v’]
Issues create a shared base which benefits all team members. Bad communication sparkles contrasts, and having a reliable source can ease creating and maintaining good working relationships. This also eases team expansion with new members.
[/av_iconlist_item]
[av_iconlist_item title=’Issues are a knowledge source’ link=” linktarget=” linkelement=” icon=’ue84e’ font=’entypo-fontello’ av_uid=’av-6bcmlr’]
Work, discussions and changes get saved on issues, so their body constitutes a valuable knowledge source. Being small scoped and simple issues work as attractors, people put stuff on them and in time issue tracking ends up creating a knowledge base for the project.
[/av_iconlist_item]
[av_iconlist_item title=’Issues give you timing’ link=” linktarget=” linkelement=” icon=’ue862′ font=’entypo-fontello’ av_uid=’av-3meegf’]
By fractioning large tasks in smaller issues, what looks impossible can get done a bit at a time.
[/av_iconlist_item]
[av_iconlist_item title=’Issues have several meanings’ link=” linktarget=” linkelement=” icon=’ue80d’ font=’twproject’ av_uid=’av-2u6o3j’]
“Issue” means different things for different people: improvement, suggestion, note, little problem, bug, doubt. In all cases, this constitutes project information.
[/av_iconlist_item]
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How does Twproject help us in issue tracking?

Twproject can deal flexibly with the many sides of issue tracking, with user friendly and powerful functionalities. Over the years we have met many different ways of using issues and we have evolved Twproject in order to support a variety of scenarios.

Lets see how Twproject meets the different needs listed above.

Issues simplify

Twproject multi-row issue editor makes a breeze creating and updating all the issues you have in mind and could forget. Supports simple drag-and-drop of images / documents on the issue. And who is interested will be notified, who isn’t won’t. Of course you can deal with all issues on your smart phone, if you wish.

And you can discuss issues – this too is a part of the project’s story.

2014-10-09 12_15_24-Twproject

Issues multiply

Twproject can deal with large sets of issues, providing graphical tools for handling them. Filters, reports, custom views, Kanban like management, bulk move, all can easily be done in Twproject.

twproject-kanban

Issues transform

Twproject provides you with all tools needed for transforming and moving issues.

2014-10-09 12_28_25-Twproject

Iss2014-10-09 12_30_23-Twprojectues ease teamwork

Twproject supports sharing issues through projects, tasks, areas, involving the team implicitly defined.

Issues are a knowledge source

Twproject lets you group issues in any way: by task, date, resource, gravity, status, contents, tags … . And the resulting groups can be printed, exported as spreadsheet, bulk edited, discussed, linked.

2014-10-09 12_42_43-Twproject

2014-10-09 12_46_13-Microsoft Excel - issueList.xls [Compatibility Mode]

 

Issues give you timing

Twproject supports distributing issues to projects and in time via simple screens that let you quickly distribute tens of issues.

2014-10-09 15_29_58-Twproject

Issues have several meanings

In Twproject issues can be used with a variety of meanings by the same group on the same project.

Twproject also supports custom fields. for issues, which can also be used in search and aggregation criteria.

Try Twproject free trial