Are you a fan of Gantt charts? They’re an old staple of the business world. In fact, they’re named after a guy named Henry Gantt who invented the things in 1910.
That’s right. The digital project management chart you’re so fond of wasn’t always digital just like email wasn’t always digital. And according to Monday.com’s CEO Roy Man, they’re ancient tech that needs to be burned and cursed.
If you disagree with Mr. Man, then you might be ready to ditch monday.com. Why? Because, as you might have already predicted, Monday.com does not include Gantt charts. That’s strike number one for Monday.com
How many strikes does it take until you’re looking for a monday.com alternative? It shouldn’t be many. Today we’re going to take a look at Monday.com’s flaws and then we’re going to give you a list of our top alternatives. Ready? Let’s take a look.
What is Monday.com And Why Would You Need a Monday.com Alternative?
Don’t get us wrong. Monday.com is a decent project management tool suite. The software includes dozens of features for team management and project delivery. It’s been around for ten years (they changed the name in 2017 from dapulse) and made a name for themselves primarily in the IT industry.
But that’s one of the problems with older software suites. Competitors tend to find holes in their software and build a better option. Monday.com is not exempt from this trend.
Where does Monday.com fail where others succeed? We already mentioned Gantt charts. That’s strike number one. But the lack of certain automated tools is fairly damning.
Where are Recurring Tasks?
Are you looking for an inbuilt module for scheduling recurring tasks? Monday.com does not have it. Why should you have to set a schedule every single day when your schedule doesn’t change?
Most other project management tools have this feature. Why would a major program neglect such a useful and foundational feature? We will never know.
You Can’t Track Time?
Time is a limited resource. You can’t make more of it. You can only carve out what’s already there.
This is why time tracking is so important in project management. Any time wasted is money wasted. And Monday.com seems to think you should forget about time tracking. There is no native time tracking feature in Monday.com.
How Much Does Monday.com Cost?
Looking for a free project management suite? Don’t use monday.com. There is no free plan.
The Basic plan is a little pricey for what it is as well. You’re looking at $49 a month for up to ten users. If you want more users, you’ll have to pay for more users. This plan includes 5GB of storage and access to visual workflows.
It only includes activity logs for up to one week at a time. If you need to keep track of your team’s activity for more than a week, you’ll have to upgrade to the Standard membership.
You’ll have to pay $79 a month for up to ten people if you want the Standard plan. The Standard includes the full monday.com experience. It includes the timelines that Monday.com used to replace Gantt charts.
For up to ten users, the Pro membership costs $119 a month. Monday.com integrates with 25,000 other platforms and that’s only possible with the Pro membership. And if you work with large multimedia files, you’ll want Pro. It includes unlimited storage.
The Top Alternatives to Monday.com in 2020
Maybe you need time tracking. Maybe you don’t have the budget for an expensive software suite. Or maybe you’re just in love with traditional Gantt charts. Whatever your reason for eschewing monday.com, we’ve got your top alternatives right here.
1. Bitrix24
While Monday.com does include a modest arsenal of tools, it does not compare to Bitrix24’s proliferation of tools. From Gantt charts to tracking tools, Kanban visual aids and a plethora of CRM tools. If you love to collect tools in real life, you’ll love Bitrix24. It’s the project manager you’ve been looking for.
Bitrix24 fills the gaps left by monday.com. This means that in Bitrix24, you can track time. Do you need to track employee work time? Bitrix24 has you covered.
It comes with its own online employee time management tool. Employees can clock-in and clock-out or take breaks and it will all be in the software.
Track employee workload. You can set deadlines and see what tasks are being worked on and which are close to the due date. You can generate reports about time spent on particular tasks. If you know the time required to complete a task, you can even input an estimated time allotment.
Do you want to set a schedule and forget it? Then go with Bitrix24. Task templates is the tool you need.
With task templates, you create a task and set it for reuse. All you have to do is fill in the task template form, create your settings including time and day it must be completed, and then save. It will show up each time on the dot and won’t stop repeating until you tell it to.
Bitrix24 really shines when it comes to communication. Not only can you video, voice, and text chat within the intranet, you can use their social-media-like activity stream. From the activity stream, users can “like” records, comments, and activities. Users can confirm they’re seeing the information and participating without wasting their time with small talk.
How Much is Bitrix24?
Bitrix24 is free if you have a small team. It includes many of the same features as the paid version, but you’re limited to twelve users or less.
If your team is larger than 12 people, you’ll want to sign up for the Standard version. This tier is $99 a month which might seem steep until you consider the fact it allows an unlimited number of users. This means that as your company grows, you can add as many employees onto your projects as you need.
The Standard version includes use of your own logo and 100 GB of storage.
If you need unlimited storage, meeting and briefing tools, and the ability to use your own domain name, then upgrade to the Professional Plan.
2. Clickup
The Clickup founders were on a quest. They wanted to make project management software easier to learn. They were dissatisfied with how complicated other platforms were.
Were the founders successful? Partially. But ease of use isn’t the reason we’re putting Clickup as our number two alternative. It’s how much more powerful Clickup’s features are compared to Monday.com’s.
Power users who love customization will eat this software up. It’s highly configurable, which might send some novice users and those used to hold-your-hand software suites running for easier roads. But Clickup offers amazing keyboard shortcuts for things like task due date setting, or assigning a person responsible for a task.
You’ll find numerous filters for project and task views that allow you to filter such things as tags, assignees, and due dates. These filters are customizable and you can save them for future use.
If you’re looking for a great mobile experience, Clickup is your productivity software. Where they failed in ease of use in their online software, they succeeded in their mobile software. The mobile app is flexible and easily integrates with your calendars.
To get a better understanding of Clickup’s approach to project management, look at how it’s organized. Their hierarchy is different from other management software in that structure is a major concern.
Most companies begin with an overarching company and jump straight into projects and tasks. Clickup begins with teams, then spaces, then projects, then lists, and lastly tasks. This allows more customization and delegation within teams and organizations.
How Much is Clickup?
If you don’t need most custom settings, try the free tier. But if you want customizable options, upgrade to the Unlimited plan which costs $60 per user per year. There you’ll have access to all the features of the free version plus the ones you can customize. You’ll also receive unlimited cloud storage.
If your company works with the health industry, you’ll want the Enterprise plan. It costs $204 per user per year and includes contract and legal reviews along with HIPPA compliance features.
3. Trello
In 2011, Frog Creek Software built a web-based project management solution. They called it Trello. It allowed users to create a digital “Trello board” for their projects. Users were able to define project requirements, prioritize and organize project actions, and collaborate through links, comments, files, and photos.
It uses an entirely online ecosystem and includes an Android and iOS app.
Trello is one of the most popular Kanban-style project management software suites. But PC Magazine gave it a 3.5 out of 5 stars in 2017 and we would give it a similar rating. Why? Because Trello has a steep learning curve. It takes an inordinate amount of time to customize their tools to fit your company needs.
Are you looking for billing software, time tracking, progress reports, or Gantt charts? Then look somewhere else. All the standard project management features just aren’t there.
Why is Trello on our list then? Because it’s the best for those looking for a lightweight Monday.com alternative. It’s still highly visual with its Kanban boards for workflow visualization. It uses easy drag-and-drop task placement. And its integrations are fantastic.
How Much Does Trello Cost?
Trello is free. Almost all the main features are included in the free tier you get unlimited board, cards, lists, checklists, attachments, and members. You can use one “power-up” per board and you can attach 10MB files to your board.
So, why would you want to pay for the Business Class package in Trello? It only costs $9.99 per month when you pay annually and it includes unlimited “power-ups” and integrations. It increases the file attachment size to 250MB.
4. TeamGantt
If you’re on TeamGantt you’re not on team Monday. And it seems that Disney, Amazon, and other large corporations are on TeamGantt too. Why do large corporations love this software? It’s easy to learn and customize.
All tasks including recurring tasks are drag and drop. This makes it simple for anyone to learn how to create and maintain tasks on a schedule.
Like most project management software, TeamGantt features project dependencies, time tracking, and filters. It even allows you to embed project timelines directly onto your website.
As you may have guessed, TeamGantt’s main feature and view is the Gantt chart. Gantt charts give project leads a broad view of timelines, tasks, and resources. They allow you to manage your resources effectively.
The tools attached to the Gantt chart in TeamGantt allow you to highly customize your projects. Change the due date with the slide of a spanner bar, reassign the task quickly, or add a comment.
TeamGantt features a nifty tool that fixes dependent task violations. You literally shake the tasks by grabbing the topmost task with your cursor and jiggling it. This causes the following tasks to automatically reschedule in their proper order.
TeamGantt isn’t all roses and pretty Gantt charts, however. Their communication tools aren’t really worth mentioning. They don’t have real-time communication to speak of. You can use their discussion section to share project comments and tasks and upload documents.
On top of not featuring real-time communication, the alert system could see some improvement as well. Even though you can place an @ sign before a user’s name, the alert only appears in their email or as a hidden message within the app itself. Unlike most apps, there is no desktop notification feature.
How Much Does TeamGantt Cost?
TeamGantt has one of the most limited free tiers out of all collaboration software. The tier only allows three members and only allows you one project at a time. The free version lacks many of the core features including an undo button (who withholds an undo button?).
If you want more advanced features like time tracking and the ability to share projects outside the software, sign up for a Standard or Advanced plan. The standard plan is $49.75 per month for five people and $9.95 per person per month after that.
The Standard plan still does not include time tracking. But it does include other advanced features.
The Advanced plan costs $75.75 for up to five users and it includes the time tracking.
You Can Have Your Gantt Charts and Beautiful Interfaces Too
Monday.com may not be the worst project management software on the market but you can do better. You can have your Gantt charts and have beautiful interfaces too.
What’s the best Monday.com alternative that gives you everything you need to collaborate and scale? Bitrix24. You won’t be left wanting when the time comes to add a new tool to your collaboration arsenal. If you’re ready to up your project management game, try Bitrix24 today.
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