ClickUp Review 2025: Is It Right for You? [Pros & Cons + Full Guide]

clickup review

Are you looking for better ways to manage time and increase profit margins in your business? Luckily you don’t need to hire a new team to tackle this task. A time-tracking software with team management tools can be an affordable way to cut back unnecessary costs and streamline your business.

In this article, we’re taking a look at ClickUp, a popular task management platform and time tracker. This software allows you to manage multiple teams, create time sheets, and customize reports.

Our ClickUp review includes a close look into this program’s key features, pricing, quick how to guide and overall customer feedback. Once you review the facts, you can decide if this time tracker is right for your business needs.

Key Takeaways

  • ClickUp is a project management platform that can meet the needs of solopreneurs, small businesses, large teams, and enterprises. This software is focused on project management, increases the efficiency of tasks, and integrates other software where necessary.
  • Its time clock is less efficient than other brands, however, it makes up for this by offering extra features and customizations at an affordable price.
  • This tool offers a generous free plan with unlimited tasks and members while paid plans include advanced features such as time sheets, Gantt boards, advanced automation, custom exporting, AI compatibility, and more.
  • ClickUp’s wealth of features is both a blessing and a curse. Many tech-savvy team managers enjoy all the options it offers, while others note that the user-interface is over-complicated and the extra features slow down the program’s speed.

What is ClickUp?

clickup home dashboard
ClickUp home dashboard

Zeb Evans and Alex Yurkowski created ClickUp in 2017 to use internally. But this one app worked so well for their business needs that they began making it available to the public. From there, ClickUp took off, growing into one of the most popular time management platforms on the market. 

While ClickUp does offer time-tracking, this is not its main selling point. Instead, this productivity software’s focus is to provide project and task management for small to large teams and corporations. 

You can think of ClickUp as being in the same cluster of popular project management tools like Monday, Asana, Jira, and Basecamp. A few of these we will compare later in the article.

ClickUp continuously rolls out new features, outshining many of its competitors with all it offers. Tech-savvy customers enjoy all the ways ClickUp allows you to customize views and make the program your own.

However, even those who are not self-declared computer whizzes still find ClickUp extremely useful for managing their growing businesses. Luckily, ClickUp comes with training and customer support to walk you through the program as you set it up.

ClickUp is used by over three million teams around the world and is trusted by well-known businesses such as Netflix, IBM, Spotify, Booking.com, TMobile, Logitech, and others. 

But is it right for you? Can a single platform meet all your needs?

Let’s hone in on ClickUp’s most popular features to find out.

ClickUp Features and Offerings

ClickUp helps teams keep their businesses on track with projects and financial goals by offering time clocks, timelines, measurable targets, and project progress charts. And the timesheets basically write themselves! 

This time-tracking app allows you to dive into the nitty-gritty details of your business and allows you to keep tabs on employees’ hours and progress in real time. 

1. Time tracking

Like other resource management tools, ClickUp offers a time clock. However, ClickUp’s clock is far from the “one-click” set-up of other apps.

To set up the timer, you have to first create task descriptions, tag them, and describe them. Once you start the clock, it disappears from your dashboard and runs in the background making it tricky to pace your time.

This process can be a bit counter-intuitive since it requires time to set up before you can get to work on your tasks. However, the upside of ClickUp’s time clock is that it allows you to track time for any task and you don’t have to put in extra work labeling project data to create your timesheets.

2. Task Management and Chart views

ClickUps task management tools make project collaboration simple. You can assign employees new tasks and track them to completion using Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and ClickUp tasks. Here is a brief overview of each of these tools.

Gantt Chart

Gantt charts can be used to manage your team’s workload, plan projects, and make sure you are reaching your deadlines. You can list tasks in the chart vertically and the horizontal line shows how much time you have until the project’s completion.

Project management is made easier with the help of ClickUp’s color-coded Gantt charts. At a glance, you can see which team members are carrying more than their fair share of the workload so you can adjust schedules appropriately, meet deadlines, and reach your goals.

Kanban boards

ClickUp’s Kanban boards let you set goals and see them through to completion. This built-in template gives you the tools to see your steps toward progress.

You can organize large projects into manageable tasks and keep team communication open. Once you’ve completed a project, you can mark it as done. Kanban boards can be a visual tool to keep your team on task and increase productivity.

Besides Gantt Charts and Kanban boards, you can create task templates that you can use and reuse. Or, ClickUp AI can set up the tasks making your job even easier.

3. Project Management and Reporting Tools

ClickUp includes highly detailed reporting tools and multiple task views so project managers can track employees’ progress and multiple projects in real-time. In one dashboard, you can search time entries by teams, tags, dates, or projects to find the exact information you need.

ClickUp’s reporting system is one of the most-loved features of this app. You can literally build your own dashboard so the details of your business that concern you most stay at the forefront.

YouTube video

4. Integrations

While ClickUp’s time clock can be over-complicated for many users, this platform does allow you to integrate other time clocks. For example, an administrator can set up a Time-Tracking ClickApp (features that improve the workflow of your space) to include native integrations from Harvest, Everhour, Toggl, Time Doctor, and others.

Unfortunately, ClickUp does not currently offer integrations for payroll or invoicing. Instead, you must manually export spreadsheets or take advantage of the Enterprise plan’s API to automate this process.

5. Clickup’s AI Tool: ClickUp Brain

ClickUp Brain complements the other project management software in ClickUp. This AI tool allows you to quickly draft projects, create subtasks, and get updates on the status of outstanding projects. Also, protections are in place to block AI from “learning” or copying your private material.

6. Customer support

Customers appreciate the customer support that ClickUp offers. Even the free plan comes with 24/7 support. Paid plans take this a step further with live chats available, while the Enterprise plan comes with priority support for urgent problems and offers custom solutions. However, there is no phone assistance available. 

ClickUp also offers ClickUp University to walk you through the setup and features of this program so you get the best user experience.

7. Security

When it comes to security, ClickUp is ahead of the game. ClickUp has received ISO certifications and manually audits its organizational and technology controls. ClickUp’s web app communications are encrypted to block third parties from viewing sensitive information. ClickUp also runs security tests and monitors its site on a permanent ongoing basis.

This time tracking platform boasts the same level of security as banks and other financial institutions. So your data is very secure!

8. ClickUp’s Mobile App

The ClickUp mobile app is a great way to manage projects on the go and is available for managers, employees, and guests. Even those on the free plan can use the ClickUp mobile app on iOS and Android devices.

The app does have its limitations as some ClickUp features take up too much space to work properly on mobile devices.

Still on the mobile app you are able to create and edit tasks and reminders, use Gantt view, assign work and comment on jobs, create dashboards, track time on tasks, apply templates, edit custom fields, and more.

Plans and Pricing

clickup pricing and features

ClickUp offers a limited free plan as well as three paid plans: The Unlimited Plan, Business Plan, and Enterprise Plan.

Free Plan

ClickUp’s Free Plan is free forever for unlimited tasks and unlimited members, however, its benefits are limited. It comes with project collaboration tools such as Kanban boards, real-time chats, whiteboards, collaborative docs, and 100MB Storage.

The free plan is most popular for personal use. Most teams choose a paid plan.

Unlimited Plan

The Unlimited Plan is $7 per user per month. This is ClickUp’s most affordable paid plan and includes unlimited storage, unlimited projects, integrations, dashboards, Gantt charts, and custom fields. You can also create user groups and use agile reporting tools as well as AI.

Small teams like agencies and designers often choose the Unlimited Plan for their business needs.

Business Plan

Clickup’s most popular paid plan is the Business Plan, which costs $12 per user per month. Besides all the perks in the Free and Unlimited plans, the Business Plan includes useful tools such as advanced time tracking, advanced automation, mind maps, timesheets, and workload management for unlimited teams.

This plan is ideal for managing mid-sized teams like professionals in engineering and law.

Enterprise Plan

The Enterprise Plan is designed for large teams and established businesses in many sectors including healthcare, finance, and marketing. It comes with custom pricing and includes benefits like enterprise API, team sharing for spaces, unlimited custom roles, live onboarding, and more. With this plan, you can also ensure your business is HIPPA compliant.

ClickUp offers free trials of their paid plans so you can test this program out before you invest.

Pros and Cons: Customers’ Clickup Reviews

ClickUp is a popular app with businesses of all sizes and has thousands of positive reviews on sites like GetApp, G2, and others. While most customers had positive things to say about all the features this program offers, they also had some things that they would like to see change.

Pros

  • There is no limit to how many members you can add to ClickUp’s free plan.
  • There is plenty of technical support and video tutorials to learn the program.
  • ClickUp offers more advanced tools at lower prices than many other programs with similar features.
  • ClickUp works well for remote teams as well as in-house staff.
  • ClickUp supports Agile teams and offers project collaboration features with its Agile Scrum Management Template
  • Several different layouts are available such as Kanban charts, Gantt charts, and calendar view.
  • ClickUp offers the AI tool “ClickUp Brain” to help you organize your tasks, documents, clients, and more in your workspace. All paid plans are AI-compatible.
  • ClickUp Automations allows users to customize their in-app experience and automate recurring tasks.

Cons

  • The user interface has a steep learning curve and can be complicated to set up if your team is not tech-savvy.
  • Too many features can slow down the speed of the program.
  • Time tracking can be time-consuming requiring several clicks to set up properly.
  • The time clock does not appear in the dashboard making it difficult to pace your work time tracking.

How to Use ClickUp: Quick Start Guide

Step 1: Create an account

clickup signup page 2
ClickUp signup page

From the home page, click on Get Started. This will take you to a signup page. Input your email. This will take you to another page where you fill in your name and password. Then click on “Play With ClickUp”.

Once you confirm your email account, you will be taken to an account setup page. Here you will decide on the following:

  • What you are using ClickUp for
  • The aspects of your business you are most interested in managing such as HR, operations, sales, marketing.
  • Adding your team members
  • Integrating other productivity tools you may already use like Salesforce, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Trello or even Google Drive.
  • The features you are most interested in like Time tracking, Calendar, Scheduling, Tasks and Projects, Kanban boards, AI, and many others.

Step 2: Invite team members

clickup invite team
Invite your team to work with you

If you didn’t already do so in the setup, start by getting your team on board. Click on the “Invite” button towards the bottom of the left hand menu. Add the emails of each team member and then click on “Send Invite” to get your people in.

Step 3: Add new spaces and tasks

clickup create a space
Create a Space or major category for your business

Spaces in Clickup are basically departments in your company or major parts of your business. This could be marketing, CRM, Finance, Operations, Inventory, or whatever is important in your business.

Each space will include things like Lists (which are basically projects). For each list you can add tasks, documents, whiteboards and chat with the team working on the same project. Towards the bottom of the left hand menu you will see “Create Space” to get started.

clickup add tasks to projects
Add tasks to your projects in each Space

Tasks are the building block of the entire system. Simply click on “Add Task” on the right side of the page (are any of the myriad of other places on the page). Then name your task and choose from the various features to customize it how you want such as adding people to your task.

You can also change the type of task to things like a lead (for the CRM feature), bug, features, or milestones. All of it is designed to make workflow streamlined, and honed in so your team knows exactly whats going on and what needs to happen.

Step 4: Choose a view

clickup choose view
Choose between several different views for the one that fits you best

ClickUp lets you view your projects, tasks, and whole workflow in the way that makes the most sense for you. Click on “View” in the header menu for a space. There you can pick between calendar, board, list or whatever view suits you. I tend to like the Trello like board setup.

Step 5: Start tracking

clickup time tracking
How to start tracking time

To track time in ClickUp, simply click on the time tracking widget at the very top menu bar. You can then input time manually or click the purple arrow to begin the clock. Also fill in the task and any notes or tags you want to add.

You can then review all time entries under timesheets for a particular week or day and particular task.

clickup timesheets review
Review tracked time under timesheet data

How Does Clickup Compare to the Competition?

ClickUp offers a host of benefits and competitive pricing, but how does it stand up to the competition?

Here is a head-to-head comparison with the similar project management tools like Asana and Monday.com.

Asana

  • Both ClickUp and Asana offer AI tools to simplify tasks. However, AI comes with limits in Asana’s paid plans, while ClickUp users can get access to unlimited access to AI features for as little as $7 per user per month.
  • ClickUp offers more features in its free plan than Asana.
  • ClickUp’s automation come with over 100 templates to choose from while Asana’s automation are more complicated to set up and navigate.
  • Asana is more straightforward and user-friendly when it comes project management. Tools are easy to find and use in the interface. In contrast, ClickUp offers more flexible options for those who like to customize their workspaces. However, some users find it over-complicated.

Monday.com

  • Both ClickUp and Monday.com do a great job with their automations and integrations. However, ClickUp grants users unlimited access to automations in its paid plans and even 100 automations per month in its free plan. Monday.com is a bit stingier, allowing only 250 automations per month for those who purchase the Standard Plan tier or higher.
  • Monday.com has a more user-friendly interface than ClickUp making it more intuitive for beginning users. However, ClickUp offers a more well-rounded free plan and offers unlimited users, while Monday.com limits you to two users in its free plan.
  • ClickUp is detail-oriented and offers multiple task views and project tags while Monday.com color codes information to see the broad picture at-a-glance.

Is Clickup Right for you? Our Final Verdict

ClickUp is a detail-oriented time-tracker that comes competitively priced for what it offers. While there’s no doubt that ClickUp has enough features, some argue that it has too many. Is that a bad thing? It all depends on your business and your style.

Many customers love the different charts and views that ClickUp offers as well as its flexibility. Others say that the interface becomes cluttered with so many options and the extra features slow down the program. The main disappointment of this app is that it doesn’t integrate easily for payroll and invoicing.

What customers tend to agree on, however, is the value of ClickUp’s task management tools, resource management tools, chart views, time-tracking integrations, and automations. All top notch.

If task management and project organization is your main need, ClickUp offers a good value. But if robust time tracking is important, and you don’t want to many team management features, then considering another option may be the best move for you.

Now you get to decide if ClickUp is right for your business needs.

FAQs

Why is ClickUp so popular?

ClickUp has managed to get many well-known brand names such as IBM, Netflix, Booking.com, and others on board. But what makes it so popular? Part of ClickUp’s secret to success is wrapped up in its enterprise-friendly features, streamlined workflows, and reasonably priced plans.

Also, ClickUp’s free plan is available for unlimited members with attractive benefits for solopreneurs and small teams just starting out.

Is ClickUp totally free?

Yes, ClickUp offers a free plan that is free forever for unlimited tasks and team members. Compared to other time tracking tools, ClickUp’s free plan offers many benefits such as Kanban boards, calendars, in-app video recording, live chats, collaborative docs and more.

However, ClickUp’s Free Forever Plan does have its limitations which is why many growing teams choose to invest in one of this platform’s paid plans.

What are the downsides of ClickUp?

While ClickUp has many benefits as a business software for team management, it also has its downsides. The main drawbacks of ClickUp include its complicated user interface, limited time-tracking capabilities, slow automation, and lack of integrations for accounting and payroll.

Authors

  • Alex P

    Alex Praytor is a freelance writer who has taken her laptop from Texas to remote places around the globe. While writing in workspaces, coffee shops, and the in shadows of distant castles, she has learned the importance of finding stable internet connections and keeping up with deadlines. As she tests out time trackers and other project management tools, she is excited to pass on what she learns to others.

    View all posts
  • Julian Quinn wtt thumb

    Julian is a pharmacist by day and entrepreneur, investor, and content creator by night. He has built websites for over 5 years and has dealt with the struggle of learning to manage his time and that of his team. He hopes to share what he is learning as the best ways to track progress and efficiency in your business. When he is not filling scripts or writing articles, he is spending time watching family feud with is wife or playing Pokemon cards with his two young boys.

    View all posts

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