If you’re looking for work or project management software, you’re in luck. While there are many available, it can be difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. Many people default to high-profile products such as Wrike, but these mainstream options aren’t always the right choice.

There are many Wrike alternatives that offer Wrike’s features and then some; more features, a better user experience, and, in many cases, a lower price point. Don’t partner with the loudest voice, consider these Wrike alternatives that we’ve tested instead. Chances are high that one alternative is going to speak your language.

How Wrike Works

Wrike is cloud-based project management software that project managers and team leaders turn to for help with their projects. With a suite of online project management tools, Wrike can help you bring order to a project and its tasks.

There’s a reason Wrike has garnered so much attention. It’s a collaborative tool and allows teams to share files and manage resources. The software has time tracking features that focus on helping project managers with timesheets. Plus, it has the Gantt chart, the workhorse of project management, that acts as a fundamental project planning and scheduling tool.

There are also kanban boards, which are a popular agile project management tool due to their simplicity. Kanban boards are a user-friendly way to manage work and visualize your workflow. This is especially useful for teams that work in sprints.

Why Seek a Wrike Alternative?

Despite its upsides, Wrike can only take you so far. Wrike is a decent tool, but in the competitive software landscape, it pales in comparison to many Wrike alternatives. For one thing, it’s not easy for beginners to jump in and get started. The interface is complicated, especially if you’re managing more than one project.

Even Wrike’s features are not as robust as most need when managing a project. For example, while Wrike’s Gantt charts allow you to assign tasks and set due dates and milestones, it doesn’t calculate the critical path. It also lacks features such as displaying a task’s percentage completion. While Wrike allows you to manage tasks, it fails to follow through on its promise of a fully-fledged project management solution, forcing some users to seek a Wrike alternative.

Thankfully, there are other platforms out there with similar project management tools at a comparable price point. We’ll take a look at 10 of the best Wrike alternatives for 2023 so that you can find project management software that suits your needs.

2023 Best Wrike Alternative Software Rankings

1. ProjectManager

ProjectManager compiles your favorite project management tools to help you plan and track progress from one location. This Wrike alternative makes it easy for project managers and their teams to plan projects, manage work and collaborate alongside the work. It offers multiple project views so everyone can work how they choose, fostering team collaboration every step of the way.

Manage Tasks Across Multiple Project Views

ProjectManager is the best Wrike alternative because managers and teams can work how they want, choosing from the traditional Gantt charts, sheet view, task lists and calendars. If a more agile tool is needed, teams can use kanban boards. Having multiple views boosts productivity for cross-functional teams, allowing different departments to work better together. It even features workflow and automation with triggers that automatically push work forward and ensure quality with task approvals.  A proven collaboration approach for this tool is to make a plan on the Gantt chart, then have the team execute the plan in the project view of their choosing.

Track Multiple Projects on Real-Time Dashboards

You’ll want a Wrike alternative that offers compelling features such as real-time portfolio dashboards that can track time, resources and progress across a portfolio of projects. ProjectManager has these features and can deal with expenses, budgeting and resource management, all features that Wrike doesn’t offer. As the best Wrike alternative, ProjectManager has the features you need to plan, monitor and report on projects throughout their life cycle. Plan and report on projects with a level of sophistication that yields real insights.

When you consider the robust project management, work management and collaboration features that ProjectManager offers, it’s clear that it’s the best Wrike alternative for 2023. Ready to try it for yourself? Get started for free today.

Pricing

• Team: $13.00 user/month
• Business: $24.00 user/month

Q&A

• Does ProjectManager offer a free trial? Yes, ProjectManager has a 30-day free trial
• Does ProjectManager have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

2. Smartsheet

Smartsheet has a simplicity that benefits project managers and team members who don’t have the time to invest in learning how to use a new complicated project management tool. However, the downside is that Smartsheet can only take you so far in terms of providing robust project management software. This cloud-based software is a nice alternative to Wrike in that it has a fairly user-friendly interface.

While Smartsheet offers a limited palette of project management features, the software has many third-party integrations with other enterprise tools and mobile apps that can fill the gaps. One of those gaps includes not being able to assign multiple team members the same task. The dashboard is limited, which reduces clarity when trying to focus on progress. While there is some automation, setup is not easy. A poor setup process can be overlooked, but rudimentary resource planning is fatal. However, if spreadsheets are your tool of choice, consider exploring this Wrike alternative.

Pricing

• Pro plan: $7 user/month
• Business plan: $25 user/month

Q&A

• Does Smartsheet offer a free trial? Yes, Smartsheet has a 30-day free trial
• Does Smartsheet have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

3. Microsoft Project

When it comes to Wrike alternatives, the elephant in the room is undoubtedly Microsoft Project. It has all of the project management tools one would expect including project planning and scheduling, risk management, work management and budgeting. MS Project has a Gantt chart and a dashboard to follow the progress of your project and reporting functionalities, too. It can be used as a desktop application and there is a cloud-based version. However, exporting a project file is unnecessarily complex even when using the add-on MS SharePoint for file sharing. The software’s key features are also notoriously hard to use or adjust settings. Many team members don’t want to use MS Project because of its steep learning curve which can lead to a lack of collaboration.

While there are several subscription tiers, the price is still on the high end of project management software. The price per month increases exponentially per user as you add team members and expand the feature list. In addition, the user interface is hard to use especially for new users. What’s worse, the help articles aren’t helpful but wordy and unclear. Microsoft Project is also not built to work in an agile project management framework or with scrum teams, making it feel dated and behind the times. However, if you’re a traditional PM who likes waterfall, you may enjoy this Wrike alternative.

Pricing

• Project Plan 1: $10 user/month
• Project Plan 3: $30 user/month
• Business plan: $55 user/month

Q&A

• Does Microsoft Project offer a free trial? Yes, Microsoft Project has a 30-day free trial
• Does Microsoft Project have a mobile project management app? No

4. Flow

If you’re looking for a lighter Wrike alternative, consider Flow. Like its name, Flow focuses on task management and team collaboration, helping teams move through tasks and focus on what’s important. There are task and subtask management features, a project dashboard, kanban boards and a list view, so teams can manage their work how they’re most comfortable. Unlike Wrike, Flow allows users to flag tasks and add notes. But considering it’s all about flow and ease of use, Flow has a surprisingly poor user interface.

There are many layers of tabs and users can get lost in them quickly. It tracks your tasks, but this is only one arm of project management. The platform isn’t very flexible considering how lightweight it is. While there is a mobile app, it’s not ideal for big teams. That being said, the simplicity in design can lead to wider adoption across your organization. If you’re looking for a task management tool that’s not as complex as other Wrike alternatives, Flow might be a good fit for you.

Pricing

• Basic: $6 user/month
• Plus: $8 user/month
• Pro: $10 user/month

Q&A

• Does Flow offer a free trial? Yes, Flow has a 30-day free trial
• Does Flow have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

5. ActiveCollab

Another Wrike competitor is ActiveCollab. This software provides project management features such as task management, kanban boards, time tracking and billing. It has a simple user interface and offers third-party add-ons. ActiveCollab helps you plan and organize by breaking down projects into digestible tasks that can be prioritized and broken down into subtasks. It keeps teams accountable as they’re in charge of their own work and notified when there are changes. These alerts keep everyone on the same page about deadlines.

While ActiveCollab is a useful tool it might not be the best project management software. There is an invoicing option, it’s limited and cannot be used without first inviting the client to join the software. There are filters limited to client, category and label. There have also been complaints of poor customer service and servers going down unexpectedly. The company is working on resolving these issues, so if you have the time to wait for fixes, this Wrike alternative may be worth a shot.

Pricing

• Plus: $7.50 user/month
• Pro: $6.25 user/month

Q&A

• Does ActiveCollab offer a free trial? Yes, ActiveCollab has a 30-day free trial
• Does ActiveCollab have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

6. ClickUp

You’ll appreciate this Wrike alternative as it works with all kinds of teams, no matter the size or industry. ClickUp lets you assign tasks to teams, manage projects and collaborate. There are features that streamline projects and workflows, create schedules, manage capacity and track time. With customizable features, ClickUp is a good tool for teams that are working in an agile environment. Teams can create scrum dashboards and automate a sprint point system.

All of these features can be a problem as you set up your tool for the first time or onboard team members. There is a steep learning curve that can detract from your progress and productivity. We’d recommend Wrike alternatives that are more user-friendly. What’s the point of having features if you can’t use them? The same is true with its customization; it’s nice that the tool is fully customizable but this high level of flexibility makes users do a lot of work before they can start their job.

Pricing

• Unlimited: $5 user/month
• Business: $9 user/month
• Business Pro: $19 user/month

Q&A

• Does ClickUp offer a free trial? No, ClickUp doesn’t have a free trial
• Does ClickUp have a mobile project planning app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

7. Mavenlink

Mavenlink streamlines processes and offers project management and team collaboration features such as other Wrike alternatives. Some of the key features that put this software on our list are its task management tools, file sharing, Gantt charts, time and expense tracking and utilization reporting. They even have a project template marketplace to choose the right template for your project plan.

That said, it’s one of the more expensive Wrike alternatives we’ve ranked. That can be a deficit for small businesses that don’t have the budget to support such a cost. There’s also no mobile app, though its website has been optimized for mobile viewers. One of the biggest missing pieces is that there’s no chat app or available communication tools, making it a deal-breaker for anyone working with remote teams.

Pricing

• Enter your company info to see custom pricing

Q&A

• Does Mavenlink offer a free trial? No, they don’t offer a free trial
• Does Mavenlink have a mobile project management app? No, they don’t offer a mobile project planning app

8. Monday

You probably know about Monday as it’s hard to avoid their onslaught of advertising. They’re a Wrike alternative that has placed its sights solely on a nonprofessional audience. That doesn’t mean project managers can’t find something they like about the software. Its user experience is pleasant and visually connects everyone on the team. It does a great job of organizing information, however, it feels like it’s for a consumer that isn’t working in IT, construction, professional services or manufacturing.

It’s a tool made for people outside of an office job or for those not in a demanding industry. Monday is not the best at tracking your project goals and, even worse, doesn’t allow you to assign comments to team members. The task dependencies functionality is lacking, which can cause delays that might throw off your project schedule or budget. In addition to its functionality downsides, Monday isn’t cheap. Some will find this a Wrike alternative worth using, which is why we have it on our list, but more complex projects will have to look elsewhere.

Pricing

• Basic: $8 user/month
• Standard: $10 user/month
• Pro: $16 user/month

Q&A

• Does Monday offer a free trial? Yes, Monday has a 14-day free trial
• Does Monday have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

9. nTask

As a Wrike alternative, nTask focuses on task management, streamlining complex workflows and organization to manage tasks more effectively. There’s multilingual support which makes it attractive on the global stage. In terms of task management, you can assign, set recurring tasks, create progress reports, share and attach files and collaborate. There’s also a dashboard for high-level project views.

However, if you’re working with large teams, this likely isn’t the Wrike alternative for you as it’s not well-suited for teams with over 50 members. While there are reporting features, they could be more robust. The software’s support team is not as attentive as users would prefer. Some users complain about it being hard to use, especially when it comes to adding documents and photos.

Pricing

• Premium: $3 user/month
• Business: $8 user/month

Q&A

• Does nTask offer a free trial? Yes, nTask offers a 14-day free trial
• Does nTask have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

10. ProofHub

Like most of the Wrike alternatives we’ve ranked, ProofHub acts as your one-stop shop for all of your project management needs. They offer a chat feature to foster better team collaboration in addition to announcements to keep everyone on the same page. ProofHub users can utilize Gantt charts to plan projects as well as workflows, time tracking and reports to make sure milestones are hit.

That said, there is one big omission which is a lack of budgeting tools. There are also no resource management tools, either. Users can, however, integrate ProofHub with accounting software for an added expense. The interface isn’t very intuitive and users have complained that pages often load slowly.

Pricing

• ProofHub has a flat pricing fee of $89 per month or $45 with limited features

Q&A

• Does it offer a free trial? Yes, ProofHub has a 14-day free trial
• Does it offer a mobile app? Yes, ProofHub has a mobile app

ProjectManager is the best Wrike alternative for project management. Our online project management software does everything Wrike does and more. Our dashboard metrics give you a clearer picture of your project’s progress. Resource management is more robust. Budgets stay on track with real-time monitoring of costs. That’s just the beginning. We have the best project management features such as online Gantt charts to plan, time tracking, task management and project portfolio management. Get started today for free.