Could your software development team benefit from improved organization, better collaboration, and increased productivity? They probably could, and ClickUp and Airtable are two project management software solutions that can provide such benefits. Which of these popular PM tools is the better fit for your needs? Keep reading to find out, as we will dissect ClickUp and Airtable in terms of their features, pricing, pros, cons, and differences so you can make the most informed decision possible when choosing between them.
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ClickUp Features
Visit ClickUp’s home page, and you will notice a slick slogan near the top: “One app to replace them all.” How can ClickUp make such a claim? By offering the following project management features that have allowed it to collect a five-star rating based on 10,000 plus reviews from GetApp, Capterra, and G2:
- Hundreds of templates
- Powerful task management
- Over 20 views
- Multiple collaboration options
- Pre-built and customized automations
- 35-plus “ClickApps”
- Time tracking
- Reports in real-time
- 1,000-plus integrations
Most software development teams call on project management tools to make life easier, not harder. One way ClickUp answers that call is through hundreds of time-saving templates that can reduce setup time and allow developers to start tackling tasks as quickly as possible. Speaking of tasks, ClickUp is strong in the task management department. Project managers and developers can use task management features like subtasks, recurring tasks, critical path, epics, sprints, milestones, reporting, etc., to stay organized and on schedule. Project managers will love the flexibility the PM software provides with its 20-plus real-time views (board, list, calendar, etc.) for visualizing data and tackling tasks from all angles. And many of the views offer drag-and-drop functionality for easy use.
Collaboration is a crucial component of any PM tool, and ClickUp does not disappoint there. Software development teams can collaborate in ClickUp via chat, comments, whiteboards, email, notes, and proofing, which eliminates the need for other collaboration apps and context switching. ClickUp not only promotes collaboration, but time-saving as well. The PM software has pre-built and custom automations with over 50 actions, triggers, and conditions, making it a time-saving programmer tool. Besides custom automations, ClickUp has over 35 “ClickApps” that can customize the project management tool to fit your development team’s needs. Through ClickApps, you can add a host of useful functionalities like custom fields and dependencies without any coding knowledge.
What about time tracking? That is a desired functionality missing from many PM tools, but not with ClickUp. Use its time management features to keep track of time spent on tasks, plus produce estimates and reports. ClickUp also offers customizable dashboards, real-time reporting, and integrations with over 1,000 popular third-party developer tools (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, etc.) to extend its functionality even more.
ClickUp Pricing
Software development teams of varying budgets will love the fact that ClickUp comes with plenty of pricing flexibility. Project managers can choose from the following pricing plans:
- Free Forever: No cost
- Unlimited: $5 per user, per month
- Business: $12 per user, per month
- Business Plus: $19 per user, per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
ClickUp made the Free Forever plan for personal use. It offers basics like unlimited tasks, native time tracking, real-time chat, Kanban boards, whiteboards, etc. Small development teams can use Unlimited with its unlimited dashboards, storage, Gantt charts, integrations, etc. Business was built for mid-sized development teams and offers advanced automations, time tracking, dashboards, and public sharing.
Multiple teams can use Business Plus with its team sharing, custom role creation, custom permissions, subtasks in multiple lists, and more. And large development teams can opt for the custom-priced Enterprise plan with its unlimited custom roles, enhanced security, and advanced permissions.
ClickUp Pros
ClickUp is known for the following pros:
- Project visualization
- Top-notch support
- Tons of ways to collaborate
- Free plan
It is tough to top ClickUp’s flexibility for visualizing projects via its 20-plus views. The project management tool also boasts the highest-rated support in its field.
ClickUp’s collaborative features can replace many chat, whiteboarding, etc. tools on its own, and its Free plan is great for teams with minimal budgets.
ClickUp Cons
ClickUp does have a few cons worth noting:
- Long setup time
- Learning curve
ClickUp does save time with its templates, but you will still need to input plenty of details to start using the software. Non-technical users may find the project management software’s learning curve steep.
You can learn even more by reading our ClickUp Project Management Software Review.
Airtable Features
Airtable’s home page presents it as a project management and developer tool that offers “the fastest way to build apps” via features that provide “unmatched agility and efficiency.” Here are some of the PM software’s highlights:
- Eye-catching and intuitive interface
- No-code interface designer
- Several quickstart templates
- Various views (Gantt, Kanban, etc.)
- Multiple collaboration options
- Custom time tracking
- Easy-to-create reports
- Third-party integrations
We begin with Airtable’s biggest highlight: Its intuitive and eye-catching user interface. Unlike some programmer tools with dull and outdated interfaces, Airtable’s is fun, colorful, and easy to use. The interface’s labels for different categories and color-coded priorities make everything simple to understand with minimal practice, and Airtable even lets project managers and developers tweak it to their liking with the drag-and-drop, no-code interface designer feature.
Airtable offers several templates to get you started quickly, such as Gantt, product roadmap, product launch, etc. The PM software also has various views, including Gantt, Kanban, grid, gallery, timeline, and calendar.
Software development teams can collaborate in Airtable via dashboards, task comments, and file storage/sharing capabilities. There is custom time tracking to help refine resource allocation, easy-to-create graphs and charts to make sense of complex data, and third-party integrations with developer tools like GitHub, Jira, Slack, Trello, and more.
Airtable Pricing
Airtable has four pricing plans with a free trial on some of those selections:
- Free: No cost
- Plus: $10 per user, per month
- Pro: $20 per user, per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Up to five creators can use the Free plan to unlock unlimited bases, 1,200 records per base, and the interface designer. The Plus plan offers workflow management with added integrations. Pro, the most popular plan, is geared towards larger teams with its Gantt and timeline views and added extensions. And the Enterprise plan offers maximum customization, security, and scalability with unlimited extensions and workspaces.
Airtable Pros
Airtable has the following pros:
- Excellent interface
- User-friendly
- Project management templates
- Multiple views for better visualization
The biggest pro or advantage of Airtable is its user interface that is easy on the eyes, easy to use, and customizable through the no-code designer feature. The PM software’s various templates that minimize setup are another plus, and its multiple views give project managers plenty of ways to visualize data and project progress as they see fit.
Airtable Cons
User’s complain about the following cons when using Airtable:
- Limited feature set
- Pricing structure
As you compare Airtable to other project management software, such as ClickUp, a clear disadvantage or con appears: Few features. That is not to say that Airtable cannot get the job done, but it is a bit light on features when stacked up to some of the competition. Also, as you go up in price and advance through Airtable’s plans, you do not necessarily unlock new and advanced features. Instead, you mostly get higher usage caps for integrations, file storage, etc.
You can learn even more about Airtable’s features, pros, and cons in our Airtable Project Management Tool Review.
ClickUp and Airtable Differences
ClickUp is feature-rich, while Airtable can seem a bit limited in terms of what it has to offer from A to Z. ClickUp also has a lot more views, collaboration options, ClickApps, and integrations. But while all of those features are nice, ClickUp has a steeper learning curve and requires more onboarding time than Airtable. Lastly, Airtable’s interface, plus the custom designer, are in a league of their own.
ClickUp versus Airtable: The Verdict
Both ClickUp and Airtable are widely-used project management software solutions. As for which is better, that depends on your software development team’s needs. If you need a complete set of features, tons of views, collaboration flexibility, and have some time to spend onboarding, then ClickUp is the proper pick. And if you want something easy to use with an intuitive interface that is a joy to play with and look at, pick Airtable.
Looking for other PM solutions? Check out our list of the Top Project Management Tools and Software for Developers.