7 best ClickUp alternatives for 2025 (Tried & Tested)

Let me guess. You were sold the dream of an "everything app for work," right? One platform to rule them all. But the day-to-day reality of using ClickUp feels less like a dream and more like a test of your patience. You know the drill: the slow load times, the tasks that vanish only to pop up again later, and an interface so buggy you start to wonder if you’re the one losing it.

It’s draining to be surrounded by a mountain of features you’ll never touch, while the basic stuff you rely on feels like it could break at any moment. That’s what sent me on this hunt. I’ve sunk hours into testing a whole bunch of tools to find the best ClickUp alternatives, options that actually deliver on being stable, fast, and focused.

In this list, we’ll look at everything from polished, dependable project managers to a totally different approach that tackles the real source of your headaches: the chaos of scattered information.

What are ClickUp alternatives?

At their core, ClickUp alternatives are just other tools for managing projects and teamwork. Simple enough. But where they really stand apart is in their philosophy.

While ClickUp tries to cram every feature imaginable into one box, its alternatives usually find success by doing one thing really, really well. For some, that’s a rock-solid, intuitive user experience. For others, it’s specializing in a certain way of working, like software development or visual planning. These tools range from simple Kanban boards to powerful platforms that value performance over a laundry list of features.

Why are teams looking for ClickUp alternatives?

If you’re reading this, you probably have your own reasons for wanting to jump ship. I’m willing to bet they fall into one of these common buckets of frustration that send people searching for ClickUp alternatives.

Slow and buggy performance

Let’s be honest, a project management tool you can’t rely on isn’t much of a tool at all. <quote text="People on sites like Reddit often describe ClickUp as "sluggish," "held together with bubblegum," and even prone to losing data." sourceIcon="https://www.iconpacks.net/icons/2/free-reddit-logo-icon-2436-thumb.png" sourceName="Reddit" sourceLink="https://www.reddit.com/r/clickup/comments/12aos05/closest_thing_to_clickup_that_isnt_clickup/"> When you can’t trust your PM tool to save a simple task name without glitching, that trust disappears fast. The constant lag and bugs aren’t just annoying; they break your flow and make you question the very system that’s meant to be your source of truth.

Overwhelming features

ClickUp is incredibly powerful, but that power comes with a price: a monster of a learning curve. With endless customization options, nested views, and features you didn’t even know you didn’t need, it’s easy to spend more time fiddling with your workspace than actually working. This feature bloat is a massive downside for teams that just want to get in, do their work, and get on with their day.

Jack of all trades, master of none

By trying to be your doc editor, chat app, whiteboard, and project manager all at once, ClickUp often feels like a jack of all trades, master of none. Instead of getting one or two polished, excellent features, you get a whole bunch of them that are just… fine. This pushes teams to either settle for mediocrity or bring in other tools anyway, which defeats the whole point of an "all-in-one" platform.

How we picked the best ClickUp alternatives

I didn’t want this to be just another random list. To find tools that genuinely solve the ClickUp headache, I focused on a few key things.

First, it had to actually work. That means fast, reliable, and not prone to bugs that make you want to scream. It also had to be easy to use, your team should be able to jump in and get started without needing a month-long training course. Of course, it needed solid project management fundamentals. And finally, the price had to make sense for the value you’re getting.

A quick comparison of the top ClickUp alternatives for 2025

For those who just want the highlights, here’s a quick rundown of our top picks.

Tool	Best For	Key Differentiator	Starting Price (per user/mo)
eesel AI	Unifying scattered knowledge	Answers questions using your existing tools (Docs, Slack, etc.)	$239/mo (Team Plan)
Asana	Stable task management	Polished, reliable, and focused on core PM	$10.99
Monday.com	Visual project tracking	Intuitive, colorful interface and easy onboarding	$9
Notion	Building custom workflows	Ultimate flexibility for doc-centric teams	$10
Linear	Engineering teams	Blazing fast, opinionated, and keyboard-driven	$8
Smartsheet	Enterprise data management	Spreadsheet-like power and enterprise-grade security	$9
Trello	Simplicity and Kanban	Extremely simple, visual, and easy to adopt	$5

The 7 best ClickUp alternatives to check out in 2025

Alright, let’s get into the details. Here are the seven best ClickUp alternatives that will bring some sanity back to your team’s workday.

1. eesel AI

Okay, let’s try a different thought experiment. What if your problem isn’t just your project management tool? A lot of the time, project delays and team frustration boil down to one simple thing: not being able to find the right info when you need it. ClickUp tries to solve this by making you pull all your knowledge into its own world. eesel AI takes the opposite approach: it makes your knowledge instantly available, wherever it already lives.

Instead of going through the pain of migrating to another complex system, you can just add eesel AI on top of the tools you already use. It’s not a direct project manager replacement; it’s a fix for the root problem of information chaos.

What makes eesel AI different?

• Unify your knowledge, instantly: You can connect all your sources in minutes, whether it’s Google Docs, Confluence, old support tickets, or conversations in Slack. The AI learns from the information you already have, so you don’t have to build a new knowledge base from scratch.

A screenshot of the eesel AI platform showing how a lead generation agent connects to multiple business applications to build its knowledge base.

• Go live in minutes, not months: eesel AI is designed for you to set up yourself. You can get an AI agent running for your team’s internal questions or an AI Copilot for your support agents without ever having to talk to a salesperson. It’s all about getting you results, fast.

A flowchart outlining the quick, self-serve implementation of a modern AI CRM agent, from connecting data to going live.

• Total control and confidence: Worried about the AI going off the rails? You can use its powerful simulation mode to test your setup on past questions before you roll it out. You get to define its personality, limit its knowledge to specific topics, and decide exactly what kinds of questions it should answer.

An image of the settings interface where a user can define specific guardrails and rules for their AI CRM agent to follow.

Pricing:

eesel AI’s pricing is straightforward and based on how much you use it, not how many seats you have.

• Team Plan: $239/month (billed annually) for up to 1,000 AI interactions and 3 bots.

• Business Plan: $639/month (billed annually) for up to 3,000 AI interactions, unlimited bots, and advanced features like training on past tickets.

• Custom Plan: Available for teams needing unlimited interactions and extra security controls.

Here’s an example: Your engineering team is sick of ClickUp’s lag, but the real bottleneck is digging through Google Drive or Confluence to find the right spec doc. Instead of moving everyone to a new PM tool, you set up eesel AI in Slack. Now, anyone can ask, "What’s the API endpoint for the user auth service?" and get an instant, accurate answer pulled right from your existing docs. Problem solved, with no migration drama.

A screenshot of an AI CRM agent answering a team member's question about discounts directly in their chat application.

2. Asana

If ClickUp’s bugs and lag are your main frustration, Asana is going to feel like a spa day for your workflow. It’s the stable, polished alternative for teams who just want a tool that works, day in and day out.

Asana focuses on doing core project management exceptionally well. It’s fast, dependable, and has a clean, beautiful interface that’s a world away from ClickUp’s often-cluttered layout. You won’t find built-in docs or whiteboards here, and that’s by design. Asana knows what it is: a top-tier tool for managing tasks and projects. Full stop.

What’s great:

• It’s incredibly stable and performs well.

• The user interface is clean, intuitive, and easy on the eyes.

• It nails the core PM features like dependencies, timelines, and custom fields.

What to consider:

• It’s less customizable than ClickUp.

• The cost can add up as your team gets bigger.

• It lacks built-in extras like docs or whiteboards, so you’ll need other tools for that.

Pricing:

• Personal: Free for up to 10 teammates.

• Starter: Starts at $10.99 per user/month (billed annually).

• Advanced: Starts at $24.99 per user/month (billed annually).

• Enterprise & Enterprise+: Custom pricing for advanced needs.

3. Monday.com

Ever look at ClickUp’s interface and just feel… lost? If that’s you, Monday.com might be the breath of fresh air you need. It’s built for teams who want a more visual, intuitive, and honestly, more enjoyable way to manage their work.

Monday.com is known for its colorful, easy-to-read boards that make it simple for anyone to see a project’s status at a glance. Getting started is a breeze, and its no-code automation builder is much less intimidating than ClickUp’s. It’s a great tool for getting your team on the same page, mostly because it just feels less like clunky corporate software.

What’s great:

• It’s super easy to learn and use.

• The visual interface makes tracking progress a snap.

• It’s great for team collaboration and keeping everyone aligned.

What to consider:

• It can feel a bit cluttered on really complex projects.

• The pricing can be confusing with its different seat minimums.

• Some key features, like time tracking, are only on the more expensive plans.

Pricing:

Monday.com requires a minimum of 3 seats for its paid plans.

• Free: Free forever for up to 2 seats.

• Basic: Starts at $9 per seat/month (billed annually).

• Standard: Starts at $12 per seat/month (billed annually).

• Pro: Starts at $19 per seat/month (billed annually).

• Enterprise: Custom pricing for enterprise-grade features.

4. Notion

Notion is basically a set of digital LEGOs. If you like the idea of an all-in-one tool but can’t stand ClickUp’s rigid structure, Notion gives you the building blocks to create your very own system from scratch. It’s a super-flexible alternative for teams that live in their documents and want total control.

Where Notion really stands out is how it blends documents and databases. You can build a project tracker where every single task is its own detailed page. It’s a level of integration ClickUp Docs can only dream of. The only catch? Getting all that great information out of Notion and into places like Slack can be tough. That’s where a tool like eesel AI can help by connecting to your Notion workspace and bringing those answers to where your team is already talking.

What’s great:

• It’s incredibly flexible and customizable.

• The relational databases are seriously powerful.

• It’s perfect for building internal wikis and knowledge bases.

What to consider:

• There’s a steep learning curve to really master what it can do.

• It can become a disorganized mess without some strict rules.

• It’s not a ready-made project management tool; you have to build it yourself.

Pricing:

• Free: A generous free plan for individuals.

• Plus: $10 per user/month (billed annually).

• Business: $20 per user/month (billed annually).

• Enterprise: Custom pricing for advanced security and controls.

5. Linear

Linear is the anti-ClickUp. It was built from the ground up for software development teams who are fed up with slow, clunky tools. And it is fast. I mean, really fast. The entire interface is driven by keyboard shortcuts, every action is instant, and there is zero bloat.

It’s an opinionated tool, designed around modern software development methods like "cycles." It doesn’t try to be everything for everyone, and that’s exactly why it’s so good. If your team lives and breathes agile development and hates waiting for pages to load, Linear is the answer.

What’s great:

• It performs at lightning speed.

• The design is beautiful and minimalist.

• It’s perfectly tailored for issue tracking and agile workflows.

What to consider:

• It’s very opinionated, so it might not fit every team’s process.

• It’s really just for software teams, not general project management.

• It doesn’t have features for other departments like marketing or HR.

Pricing:

• Free: For everyone, but limited to 250 issues.

• Basic: $8 per user/month (billed annually).

• Business: $14 per user/month (billed annually).

• Enterprise: Custom pricing for advanced security.

6. Smartsheet

If your team practically lives in spreadsheets but you need more power for project management, Smartsheet is the natural next step. It’s a grown-up, enterprise-ready alternative that mixes the familiar grid layout of Excel with heavy-duty PM features.

Smartsheet is built to handle complex projects that depend on a lot of data, reporting, and security. It offers Gantt charts, resource management, and complex automations, all inside a structure that will feel comfortable to any spreadsheet wizard. It’s less flashy than other tools on this list, but for big organizations, its power and security are tough to match.

What’s great:

• It’s powerful and scales well for large companies.

• The interface feels familiar to anyone comfortable with spreadsheets.

• It has strong reporting, automation, and security features.

What to consider:

• The interface can feel a bit dated compared to more modern tools.

• It has a steeper learning curve if you’re not used to spreadsheet logic.

• It can feel a little corporate and less collaborative.

Pricing:

• Pro: $9 per user/month (billed annually).

• Business: $19 per user/month (billed annually, min 3 users).

• Enterprise: Custom pricing for enterprise-grade security and AI features.

7. Trello

Feeling completely burned out by ClickUp’s ocean of features? Trello is your escape hatch. It’s the "back-to-basics" alternative for teams who just want a simple, visual way to see who’s doing what.

Trello is the king of Kanban. Its board-and-card system is so easy to understand that you can pick it up in minutes, making it perfect for visualizing your workflow. There are no complicated hierarchies or confusing menus, just simple lists for "To Do," "In Progress," and "Done." It’s the perfect reset for any team drowning in ClickUp’s complexity. Just be aware that its AI features, part of the Atlassian Intelligence suite, are only available on the pricier plans.

What’s great:

• It is extremely simple and user-friendly.

• It’s fantastic for visualizing simple workflows.

• The free plan is very generous.

What to consider:

• It’s too basic for complex projects with lots of dependencies.

• It lacks advanced features like Gantt charts or detailed reporting.

• Many teams outgrow it as their needs become more complex.

Pricing:

• Free: Free for up to 10 collaborators per workspace.

• Standard: $5 per user/month (billed annually).

• Premium: $10 per user/month (billed annually). This plan and up includes Atlassian Intelligence.

• Enterprise: $17.50 per user/month (billed annually).

This video explores the strengths and weaknesses of different ClickUp alternatives to help you find the right fit for your team.

Choose the right ClickUp alternatives for focus and stability

The promise of an "everything app" is appealing, but as many of us have discovered, it often means sacrificing performance, stability, and ease of use. The best ClickUp alternatives are the ones that know what they are and do it incredibly well.

If you just need a reliable, focused project manager, tools like Asana and Monday.com are fantastic and stable choices. If you’re an engineering team, Linear’s speed is in a league of its own.

But if your frustration with ClickUp is just a symptom of a bigger issue, the chaos of information scattered across a dozen different apps, then simply switching your PM tool won’t solve the underlying problem. A smarter move might be to unify your team’s knowledge right where it already is.

Give your team the gift of instant, accurate answers. Stop fighting with your tools and let your knowledge start working for you. You can get started with eesel AI for free.