Monday.com vs ClickUp: The Real Comparison You Actually Need

You're here because you need to pick between Monday.com and ClickUp. Both are solid project management tools, both have aggressive marketing, and both claim to be the "all-in-one" solution. Let me cut through the noise and help you make an actual decision.

After testing both platforms extensively and reviewing what real users say, here's the bottom line: Monday.com is easier to use but costs more. ClickUp is cheaper and more powerful but has a steeper learning curve.

If you want more context on either tool individually, check out our Monday.com review or our best project management software guide. But if you're specifically trying to choose between these two, keep reading.

Quick Comparison: Monday.com vs ClickUp

Here's what you need to know at a glance:

Pricing Breakdown: Who's Actually Cheaper?

Let's talk real numbers, because this is where it gets interesting.

Monday.com Pricing

Monday.com uses a tiered pricing structure with a minimum of 3 seats on paid plans. They also use "bucket pricing" where you buy seats in groups (3, then multiples of 5). So if you have 4 people, you're paying for 5.

• Free: Up to 2 users, 3 boards max, limited views, 500MB storage
• Basic: $9/seat/month (billed annually) - unlimited boards, 5GB storage, no automations or integrations
• Standard: $12/seat/month - adds Timeline/Gantt views, Calendar view, 250 automation actions/month, 250 integrations per month
• Pro: $19/seat/month - private boards, time tracking, formula columns, chart views, dependency columns, 25,000 automation actions/month, dashboards combining up to 10 boards
• Enterprise: Custom pricing - 250,000 automation actions, advanced security, multi-level permissions, tailored onboarding, enterprise-grade features

For a 5-person team on the Basic plan billed annually, you're looking at $540/year. The catch? Basic doesn't include automations or integrations, which means most teams need Standard at minimum ($720/year for 5 users).

Here's the real kicker with Monday.com's pricing: the bucket system. If you have 6 team members, you need to purchase 10 seats. That's paying for 4 seats you're not using. For a team of 6 on the Standard plan, you'd pay $1,440 annually but only use 6 of the 10 seats.

For more details, see our Monday.com pricing breakdown.

ClickUp Pricing

ClickUp charges per user with no minimum seat requirements and no bucket pricing. Their pricing is more straightforward:

• Free Forever: Unlimited users, 100MB storage, unlimited tasks, 100 automations/month, collaborative docs, Kanban/Calendar/Everything views, 24/7 support
• Unlimited: $7/user/month (billed annually) or $10/month (billed monthly) - unlimited storage, unlimited integrations, unlimited Gantt charts, unlimited dashboards, unlimited custom fields, guest permissions with full control, native time tracking
• Business: $12/user/month (billed annually) or $19/month (billed monthly) - Google SSO, advanced automations, workload management, advanced time tracking with timesheets, private docs, unlimited teams, advanced reporting
• Business Plus: $19/user/month (billed annually) - custom role permissions, priority support, subtasks in multiple lists, custom capacity in workload view
• Enterprise: Custom pricing - white labeling, advanced permissions, unlimited custom roles, enterprise API, SSO with Microsoft/Okta/SAML, dedicated customer success manager, advanced security features

For that same 5-person team on the Unlimited plan, you're at $420/year. And you're getting more features than Monday.com's Basic tier-including features that Monday.com reserves for the Pro plan.

The math gets even more interesting at scale. A 20-person team on ClickUp's Unlimited plan pays $1,680/year. On Monday.com's Standard plan (the closest equivalent), that same team pays $2,880/year-a $1,200 difference.

Hidden Costs and Add-Ons

Both platforms have additional costs to consider:

ClickUp offers an AI add-on called ClickUp Brain for $7/user/month on top of any paid plan. This includes an AI Knowledge Manager, AI Project Manager, and AI Writer. While optional, teams wanting AI features need to budget for this separately.

Monday.com includes basic AI features (called "Sidekick") across paid plans, but advanced features and higher automation limits require jumping to more expensive tiers. Setup and onboarding fees may apply for Enterprise customers, though these aren't publicized.

The Verdict on Pricing

ClickUp wins on value. Their $7/user Unlimited plan includes features that Monday.com gates behind the $19 Pro plan (like time tracking, unlimited integrations, and advanced views). Plus, ClickUp's free plan allows unlimited users while Monday.com caps you at 2.

But here's the catch: Monday.com's pricing includes a much smoother onboarding experience. If your team struggles with new software, the time saved getting up and running might justify the extra cost. Implementation time has real costs-if your team takes 3-4 weeks to get productive in ClickUp versus 1 week in Monday.com, that's 2-3 weeks of reduced productivity to factor into your decision.

Features That Actually Matter

Both tools have similar core features. The differences are in the details.

Where Monday.com Wins

Ease of Use: Monday.com consistently scores higher on usability. In testing, it scored 4.5/5 on ease of use compared to ClickUp's 3.9/5. The interface is cleaner, more visual, and teams can create their first board and understand the workflow within an hour. The learning curve is significantly shorter, which matters when you're rolling out new software across a team.

Visual Design: Monday.com has a polished, aesthetically pleasing interface that feels modern and professional. If your team includes visual thinkers or you need to share project views with clients, Monday.com looks more professional out of the box. The color-coded status columns and clean board layouts make it easy to understand project status at a glance.

Out-of-the-Box Solutions: Monday.com offers specialized products like monday CRM, monday dev, and monday service that come pre-configured for specific use cases. Less setup required means faster time-to-value. Each product is individually priced but built on the same platform, making it easy to add capabilities as you grow.

Stability and Performance: Monday.com is generally more stable with fewer reports of bugs and performance issues. While no software is perfect, Monday.com users report fewer frustrating glitches and faster load times, especially when working with large boards.

Template Deployment: Monday.com's templates are polished and ready to use. While you can only save templates at the board and workspace levels (a limitation compared to ClickUp), the templates themselves are higher quality and require less modification.

Automation Interface: Monday.com's automation builder uses a fill-in-the-blank approach that's almost foolproof. The text-based interface makes it simple to create automations like "When status changes to Done, notify John Smith" without understanding technical concepts like triggers, conditions, and actions.

Where ClickUp Wins

Free Plan: ClickUp's free tier is genuinely usable for small teams. You get unlimited users, unlimited tasks, collaborative docs, and even 100 automations per month. Monday.com's free plan is barely functional for anything beyond personal to-do lists or evaluating the platform.

Customization: ClickUp offers significantly more flexibility. Custom fields, custom views, and the ability to configure basically everything means power users can build exactly what they need. The hierarchy system (Workspace > Space > Folder > List > Task > Subtask) provides more organizational flexibility than Monday.com's simpler structure.

Value at Every Tier: ClickUp includes more features at lower price points. Their Unlimited plan at $7/user includes features Monday.com reserves for the $19 Pro plan, like time tracking, unlimited integrations, and advanced chart views. The feature gap between pricing tiers is significant.

Storage: ClickUp offers unlimited storage on all paid plans starting at $7/user. Monday.com caps storage and increases it by tier (500MB free, 5GB on Basic, 20GB on Standard, 100GB on Pro, 1TB on Enterprise). If your team works with large files or extensive documentation, this difference matters.

Built-in Collaboration Tools: ClickUp includes native chat, screen recording (Clip), email, and whiteboards. Monday.com requires integrations with external tools like Slack for chat and relies heavily on third-party apps for extended functionality. For teams wanting to consolidate tools, ClickUp's all-in-one approach reduces the number of subscriptions you need.

Hierarchy and Organization: ClickUp's multi-level hierarchy allows for better organization of complex projects. You can nest tasks within lists, lists within folders, folders within spaces, creating clear organizational structures that mirror how your company actually works.

Views and Visualization: ClickUp offers more view options including List, Board, Calendar, Gantt, Timeline, Workload, Table, Map, Activity, Mind Map, and Whiteboard views. While Monday.com offers multiple views, ClickUp's variety gives teams more ways to visualize work.

Remapping Due Dates: When project timelines shift (and they always do), ClickUp makes it easy to remap task due dates. You can grab a task in the middle of your workflow and automatically adjust all dependent tasks below it, even skipping weekends. Monday.com offers dependency mapping but lacks the same flexibility for bulk date adjustments.

The Learning Curve Problem

This is where most comparisons gloss over reality. ClickUp has what users describe as "drinking from a fire hose" during their first week. The interface presents dozens of options from the start, and it takes 2-4 weeks to really get comfortable.

As one agency consultant noted, "ClickUp probably has the steepest learning curve out of all the project management platforms on the market." The platform is extremely customizable with seemingly endless features, plus weekly updates that keep users on their toes. Many users give up before they even begin, which causes frustration and is one of the main reasons people switch platforms.

Monday.com, on the other hand, is intuitive enough that formal training often isn't necessary. Teams typically create their first board within an hour of signing up. One user described it: "Within a few minutes, I was able to navigate the platform, create a project board, and assign tasks to team members."

This matters more than you think. If you're implementing a new tool across a team, adoption is everything. A more powerful tool that nobody uses properly is worthless. Monday.com's simplicity translates into faster team-wide adoption and less resistance to change.

ClickUp does offer extensive training resources through ClickUp University, including tutorials, webinars, and documentation. But that's time your team needs to invest upfront. For agencies and consulting firms that have successfully implemented ClickUp, many report 300-400% productivity increases-but only after dedicated setup time and training.

Performance Issues to Consider

Both platforms have their quirks, but the differences are significant:

ClickUp Performance Concerns

Users report several ongoing issues with ClickUp's performance:

Slow loading times: Multiple users report that ClickUp becomes very slow when working with 50+ records in one list. With 100+ records, performance degrades significantly. One user noted: "Even with the latest ClickUp 3.0 release, it still has performance issues."

Browser vs. Desktop: The desktop application performs better than the browser version, but even desktop users experience lag. Some users report waiting 30 seconds to 2 minutes for simple actions like changing a task status or updating a due date.

Bugs and Glitches: User feedback consistently mentions bugs. Tasks disappearing, duplicate tasks appearing in different places, Gantt chart inconsistencies, and sync issues are commonly reported. One long-time user stated: "ClickUp is one of the less stable well-known apps I've used."

Version 3.0 Mixed Results: While ClickUp claims their 3.0 release improved performance by 2-3x, user experiences vary. Some report improvements while others say performance got worse after the update. The infrastructure improvements are rolling out in phases, and not all workspaces have been migrated.

Chat Issues: Multiple users report that ClickUp's built-in chat feature is "terrible" with numerous glitches that make it frustrating to use for team communication.

Monday.com Performance

Generally More Stable: Monday.com receives fewer performance complaints. The platform is considered more reliable with faster load times and fewer bugs affecting daily work.

Simplicity Trade-offs: Some users report the platform feeling "too simple" once you need more complex workflows. You may hit walls that require workarounds or additional apps. The simpler architecture means fewer features but also fewer things that can break.

Dashboard Limitations: Because of Monday.com's hierarchy structure, you're limited in seeing workload across your entire organization. Dashboards help, but you may run into board limitations when trying to create organization-wide views.

Integrations: Connecting Your Tech Stack

Both platforms offer extensive integrations, but with different approaches.

Monday.com Integrations

Monday.com offers over 200 native integrations including:

• Communication: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, Outlook
• Development: GitHub, GitLab, Jira, Azure DevOps
• CRM & Sales: Salesforce (Enterprise only), HubSpot, Mailchimp, Pipedrive
• Storage: Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive
• Time & Finance: Toggl, Harvest, QuickBooks, Xero
• Marketing: LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Calendar, Zoom

Integration limits vary by plan. The Standard plan includes 250 integration actions per month, Pro includes 25,000, and Enterprise includes 250,000. If you exceed these limits, integrations stop working until the next billing cycle or you upgrade.

Monday.com relies heavily on integrations for extended functionality. Want team chat? You need Slack or Teams. Need advanced time tracking? Integrate with Toggl or Harvest. This modular approach means more subscriptions to manage but also more flexibility to use best-in-class tools.

ClickUp Integrations

ClickUp offers 1,000+ integrations through native connections, Zapier, and their API:

• Communication: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Zoom (built-in chat reduces reliance)
• Development: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Figma
• Storage: Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Box
• Time: Toggl, Harvest, Everhour (native time tracking built-in)
• Calendar: Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, Apple Calendar
• Other: Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoom, Loom, Miro

ClickUp's strategy is different: build features natively to reduce integration dependence. Time tracking, docs, whiteboards, chat, email, and screen recording are all built-in. This means fewer integrations needed for core functionality, though integrations are available when you need specialized tools.

The Unlimited plan includes unlimited integrations with no action limits, making it more generous than Monday.com's metered approach.

Integration Winner

It depends on your approach. If you prefer best-in-class tools for each function and want to integrate them, Monday.com's cleaner integration experience might work better. If you want to consolidate tools and reduce the number of subscriptions, ClickUp's built-in features win.

Automation Capabilities

Automation is where both tools shine, but with different strengths.

Monday.com Automations

Monday.com's automations use a simple recipe format: "When [trigger], then [action]." Examples:

• When status changes to "Done," notify team members
• When a deadline is approaching, send a reminder
• When an item is created, assign it to someone
• When a column changes, create an item in another board

The interface is text-based and visual, making it accessible to non-technical users. However, automation is completely gated on the free plan. You need the Standard plan minimum (250 actions/month) to use any automations.

The limitation is the monthly action quota. A single automation firing counts as one action. For active boards with frequent status changes, you can burn through 250 actions quickly. The Pro plan's 25,000 actions provides more breathing room.

ClickUp Automations

ClickUp offers more complex automation capabilities with 100 automations per month on the free plan. The interface requires understanding triggers, conditions, and actions, making it more powerful but less intuitive.

ClickUp automations can:

• Move tasks between lists based on status
• Send alerts when due dates approach
• Assign tasks based on custom field values
• Create recurring tasks automatically
• Post updates to Slack or email
• Change priority, tags, or custom fields

Paid plans offer unlimited automations, removing the cap entirely. The Business plan adds advanced automations through webhook, email, and SMS integrations.

Automation Winner

For ease of use: Monday.com. For power and flexibility: ClickUp. If you need automations on a budget, ClickUp's 100 free automations versus Monday.com's zero is a significant advantage.

Time Tracking Comparison

Time tracking is increasingly important for agencies, consultants, and teams billing by the hour.

Monday.com Time Tracking

Time tracking is only available on the Pro plan ($19/user/month) and higher. You add a time-tracking column to your boards, hit start, and track time spent on tasks. You can export time tracking data to Excel for billing purposes.

The functionality is basic and sufficient for simple time tracking needs, but lacks advanced features like billable vs. non-billable hours, detailed reports, or multi-project time tracking. Most teams requiring robust time tracking integrate with dedicated tools like Toggl or Harvest.

ClickUp Time Tracking

Native time tracking is included starting on the Unlimited plan ($7/user/month). Features include:

• Global time tracker that works across all devices
• Track time on tasks from anywhere
• Manual time entry
• Time estimates vs. actual time
• Time tracking reports

The Business plan adds advanced time tracking with notes, labels, billable reports, and timesheets-features critical for client billing and resource management.

Time Tracking Winner

ClickUp wins on value. You get native time tracking at $7/user compared to $19/user with Monday.com, and the features are more comprehensive. For agencies and consulting firms, this price difference adds up quickly.

Reporting and Analytics

Understanding project performance requires good reporting capabilities.

Monday.com Reporting

Monday.com offers dashboards that combine data from multiple boards. Dashboard capabilities increase by plan tier:

• Free: 1 board per dashboard
• Basic: 1 board per dashboard
• Standard: 5 boards per dashboard
• Pro: 10 boards per dashboard
• Enterprise: 50 boards per dashboard

Dashboards include widgets for charts, timelines, workload views, and custom metrics. The visual approach makes it easy to create attractive reports for stakeholders. However, advanced analytics require the Pro or Enterprise plans.

ClickUp Reporting

ClickUp includes dashboards on all paid plans with no board limits. You can create unlimited dashboards combining data from across your workspace. The Business plan adds:

• Advanced reporting features
• Custom reports and charts
• Time tracking reports
• Workload views
• Sprint reports (for Agile teams)
• Goal progress tracking

ClickUp's reporting is more technical and requires more setup, but offers greater flexibility for teams needing custom analytics.

Reporting Winner

Monday.com for simplicity and visual appeal. ClickUp for depth and customization. If you need to impress clients with polished reports, Monday.com wins. If you need granular data analysis, ClickUp provides more options.

Mobile Experience

Most teams need mobile access for on-the-go project management.

Monday.com Mobile

Monday.com offers iOS and Android apps with most desktop functionality available on mobile. The mobile experience is clean and intuitive, matching the desktop aesthetic. Users can:

• View and update boards
• Comment on items
• Upload files
• Receive notifications
• Update status and columns

The mobile app maintains Monday.com's ease of use, making it simple for team members to stay updated even when away from their desks.

ClickUp Mobile

ClickUp's mobile apps offer extensive functionality but receive more mixed reviews. Some users report bugs with the mobile experience, though the app has improved over time. Features include:

• Access to all views
• Task creation and updates
• Time tracking
• Comments and collaboration
• Offline mode
• Notifications

The challenge is the same as desktop: ClickUp's feature density makes the mobile interface feel cramped at times. However, for users who've mastered the desktop version, the mobile app provides powerful on-the-go access.

Mobile Winner

Monday.com offers a cleaner, more intuitive mobile experience. ClickUp provides more features but with a steeper mobile learning curve.

Customer Support Comparison

When you encounter issues, responsive support matters.

Monday.com Support

Monday.com offers:

• All plans: 24/7 support via email and chat
• Pro and above: Faster response times
• Enterprise: Dedicated success manager, tailored onboarding, priority support

Users generally report positive experiences with Monday.com support, noting responsive and helpful teams. The knowledge base and help documentation are comprehensive and well-organized.

ClickUp Support

ClickUp provides:

• All plans: 24/7 support
• Business Plus: Priority support
• Enterprise: Dedicated customer success manager

ClickUp also offers ClickUp University with extensive training resources, webinars, and certification programs. However, some users report slower response times and support experiences vary more widely than with Monday.com.

Support Winner

Monday.com receives higher marks for consistent, responsive support across all plan tiers.

Security and Compliance

For enterprise customers, security features are non-negotiable.

Monday.com Security

Security features increase by tier:

• All plans: 2-factor authentication, SOC 2 Type II compliance, GDPR compliance, data encryption
• Pro: Private boards, enhanced permissions
• Enterprise: Advanced security controls, HIPAA compliance options, SSO, multi-level permissions, IP restrictions, audit logs

Monday.com is ISO 27001 certified and offers data residency options for enterprise customers.

ClickUp Security

ClickUp provides:

• All plans: 2-factor authentication, encryption at rest and in transit
• Business Plus: Advanced permissions
• Enterprise: SSO with Microsoft/Okta/SAML, advanced permissions, unlimited custom roles, HIPAA compliance, data residency options (US, EU, APAC)

ClickUp is also SOC 2 Type II certified and GDPR compliant. The platform has made significant security improvements in recent years to meet enterprise requirements.

Security Winner

Tie. Both platforms offer robust security for enterprise customers, with similar certifications and compliance standards.

Use Cases: Who Uses What?

Different industries and team types gravitate toward each platform.

Monday.com Excels For:

• Marketing teams: The visual interface and timeline views work well for campaign planning and content calendars
• Creative agencies: Client-facing presentations look polished and professional
• Small businesses: Fast implementation and easy adoption mean less time training
• Non-technical teams: The intuitive interface requires minimal technical skills
• Sales and CRM: Monday CRM provides a dedicated solution for sales workflows

ClickUp Excels For:

• Software development: Agile features, sprint management, and GitHub integrations suit dev teams
• Digital agencies: Complex project hierarchies and client management benefit from ClickUp's flexibility
• Remote teams: Built-in communication tools reduce the need for multiple apps
• Power users: Teams comfortable with technical tools can leverage deep customization
• Budget-conscious teams: More features at lower price points maximize value

Migration and Data Import

If you're switching from another tool, import capabilities matter.

Monday.com Migration

Monday.com allows you to import data from:

• Excel and CSV files
• Trello
• Asana
• Basecamp
• Jira

The import process is straightforward but may require manual mapping of fields. Monday.com also offers migration services for Enterprise customers.

ClickUp Migration

ClickUp provides importers for:

• Asana
• Trello
• Jira
• Monday.com (ironically)
• Wrike
• Basecamp
• CSV files

ClickUp's import tools are comprehensive and preserve task relationships, comments, and attachments. Some agencies specialize in ClickUp migrations and can help with complex transitions.

Migration Winner

ClickUp offers more import options and better preservation of task relationships during migration.

Real User Feedback from Reddit and Forums

Beyond official reviews, real users on Reddit and forums share unfiltered opinions.

One Reddit thread about choosing between the two platforms revealed several consistent themes:

On ClickUp: A 450-person digital marketing agency that narrowed their choice to Monday and ClickUp ultimately went with ClickUp. The OP later commented: "Yeah, we went with ClickUp and our org is in love with it." Another commenter noted their 100-person agency used ZenPilot to migrate from Monday to ClickUp with excellent results.

On Monday: One user noted: "Used Monday at my previous org. Did not like it--really basic things were hard to do without tons of hacky work arounds." This highlights Monday's limitation for complex workflows.

On switching costs: One insightful comment questioned the move: "Why are you guys actually looking to move on? If you really strip it down, there are often little meaningful differences between the most common platforms... Almost every place I've worked that had an existing system and scrapped it ignored that the underlying problem was crappy processes and little/no governance of the system."

This raises an important point: the tool matters less than how you use it. Poor processes won't be fixed by switching platforms.

Templates and Automation

Both offer template libraries, but ClickUp has more flexibility in how you save and deploy templates. With Monday.com, you can only save templates at the board and workspace levels, and you can't automatically remap due dates when deploying a template - you have to adjust them manually.

This becomes a pain point for agencies running similar projects repeatedly. ClickUp allows you to save templates at any level of hierarchy (list, folder, space) and offers automatic due date remapping. Some agencies report 300-400% productivity increases largely due to saving their processes as templates in ClickUp.

For automations, ClickUp is more generous. They offer 100 monthly automations on the free plan and unlimited automations for paying users. Monday.com gates automations entirely until the Standard plan ($12/user/month), where you get 250 actions per month.

Collaboration Features Deep Dive

Monday.com Collaboration

Monday.com offers essential collaboration features:

• Commenting system on items and updates
• @mentions to notify team members
• File attachments and previews
• Activity log showing all changes
• Guest access (restricted permissions)
• Update section for team communication

However, Monday.com leans heavily on external integrations for deeper collaboration. Want team chat? Integrate Slack or Teams. Need video conferencing? Add Zoom. This modular approach works well if you already use these tools.

ClickUp Collaboration

ClickUp builds collaboration features directly into the platform:

• Built-in chat with channels and direct messages
• Clip (screen recording) for async video messages
• Whiteboards for brainstorming
• Docs with real-time collaborative editing
• Comments and threaded discussions
• Email within ClickUp
• @mentions and assigned comments
• Proofing and approval workflows

The all-in-one approach means fewer apps to toggle between, but some features (like chat) receive criticism for being less polished than dedicated tools.

Scalability and Growth

As your team grows, can the platform scale with you?

Monday.com Scalability

Monday.com scales well for growing teams through:

• Multiple products (Work Management, CRM, Dev, Service) that integrate together
• Enterprise features for large organizations
• Departmental workspaces that maintain separation
• Structured growth paths through plan tiers

The bucket pricing becomes more efficient at scale (10+ users), and Enterprise plans offer custom pricing for large deployments (50+ users).

ClickUp Scalability

ClickUp grows through:

• Increased customization as teams discover more features
• Hierarchies that support complex organizational structures
• Unlimited storage preventing growth bottlenecks
• Enterprise features for large deployments

Teams can continuously discover new capabilities as they grow more sophisticated with the platform.

Scalability Winner

Both scale well. Monday.com offers more structured growth through separate products. ClickUp provides organic growth through feature discovery.

Notifications and Communication

Monday.com Notifications

Notifications are well-balanced in Monday.com. Users receive updates about:

• Items assigned to them
• @mentions
• Changes to items they're following
• Due date reminders

Notification settings are straightforward and easy to manage. Most users find Monday.com notifications helpful without being overwhelming.

ClickUp Notifications

ClickUp notifications are notoriously aggressive by default. One tester noted: "Like monday.com's omnipresent YouTube advertising campaign, ClickUp's notifications are relentless and out of control, and I was only collaborating with myself."

However, ClickUp offers extensive notification customization. You can cherry-pick what notifications appear, when, and where-controlling email, desktop, mobile, and in-app notifications separately. Once configured, the granular control is actually an advantage.

Notifications Winner

Monday.com out of the box, but ClickUp once properly configured.

Data Export and Portability

Can you get your data out if you need to switch platforms?

Monday.com Export

Monday.com allows you to export:

• Boards to Excel/CSV
• Specific columns to Excel
• Dashboard data
• Reports

The export functionality is functional but not comprehensive. Some data relationships may be lost during export.

ClickUp Export

ClickUp provides more comprehensive export options:

• CSV export of tasks and lists
• JSON export for developers
• Print/PDF export of views
• API access for custom exports

The API access gives technical teams full control over data extraction.

Export Winner

ClickUp provides more robust data portability.

Who Should Choose Monday.com?

Pick Monday.com if:

• Quick team adoption is critical and you can't afford a long onboarding period
• Visual thinkers dominate your team
• You need client-facing presentations that look polished
• Standardized workflows suit your processes (you don't need extreme customization)
• You want multiple products (CRM, dev tools) from one vendor
• Your team isn't particularly technical
• Budget is less important than ease of use
• You value stability and performance over feature depth
• Your workflows are relatively straightforward
• You prefer using best-in-class integrated tools over all-in-one solutions

Try Monday.com Free →

Who Should Choose ClickUp?

Pick ClickUp if:

• Budget is a primary concern
• Your team includes technical members comfortable with complex software
• You need extensive customization options
• You want to consolidate multiple tools into one platform
• You're willing to invest time upfront for long-term power and flexibility
• You have complex project hierarchies with lots of dependencies
• You need built-in communication tools (chat, screen recording)
• Unlimited storage matters for your file-heavy workflows
• You're an agency or dev team needing deep customization
• Your team can tolerate occasional bugs in exchange for more features
• You need robust time tracking at a lower price point

What About Alternatives?

If neither feels right, consider:

• Asana: Falls between these two in complexity. More structured than Monday.com, less overwhelming than ClickUp. Strong for task management and team coordination. See our Monday.com vs Asana comparison.
• Notion: Better for knowledge management and docs, weaker on traditional project management. Great for wiki-style documentation combined with simple task tracking.
• Teamwork: Cheaper than both ($5.99/user/month starting) with solid functionality. Strong project management features with better client management tools.
• Wrike: Enterprise-focused with powerful features but steeper pricing. Good for large organizations with complex project requirements.
• Smartsheet: Excel-like interface that's familiar to spreadsheet users. Strong for traditional project management with Gantt charts and resource management.

Check out our free project management software guide if budget is the main constraint.

Implementation Tips

Whichever platform you choose, successful implementation requires planning:

For Monday.com:

1. Start with pre-built templates and customize gradually
2. Map your existing workflows to Monday.com boards before setup
3. Begin with one team or department before company-wide rollout
4. Set up automations early to demonstrate value
5. Create a library of board templates for recurring projects
6. Establish naming conventions and organizational standards

For ClickUp:

1. Dedicate 1-2 weeks for proper setup and configuration
2. Invest in ClickUp University training for power users
3. Start with simpler features before enabling advanced customization
4. Create hierarchy structure that mirrors your organization
5. Build out templates for standard processes
6. Consider hiring a ClickUp consultant for complex implementations
7. Configure notifications carefully to avoid overwhelm

Cost Calculator: Real Numbers

Let's look at real costs for teams of different sizes:

5-Person Team (1 year, annual billing):

• Monday.com Standard: 5 users × $12 = $720/year
• ClickUp Unlimited: 5 users × $7 = $420/year
• Savings with ClickUp: $300/year

15-Person Team (1 year, annual billing):

• Monday.com Standard: 15 users × $12 = $2,160/year
• ClickUp Unlimited: 15 users × $7 = $1,260/year
• Savings with ClickUp: $900/year

50-Person Team (1 year, annual billing):

• Monday.com Pro: 50 users × $19 = $11,400/year
• ClickUp Business: 50 users × $12 = $7,200/year
• Savings with ClickUp: $4,200/year

These calculations show ClickUp's pricing advantage compounds as teams grow. However, remember to factor in implementation time, training costs, and productivity during onboarding.

The Bottom Line

Both tools score 4.7/5 on G2 for a reason - they're both excellent. But they serve different needs:

Monday.com is the safer choice for most teams. You'll get up and running faster, your team will actually use it, and the interface is clean enough to share with clients. The trade-off is higher costs and less flexibility. It's the Apple of project management: polished, intuitive, and it just works.

ClickUp is the power user's choice. If you're willing to invest time learning the platform, you'll get more features for less money and the ability to build exactly what you need. But expect frustration during the first few weeks. It's the Android of project management: powerful, customizable, and occasionally buggy.

For most small to medium businesses running standard project workflows, Monday.com is the better bet. For agencies, dev teams, or anyone who needs deep customization and has the patience to learn, ClickUp offers better long-term value.

The real question isn't which is "better" - it's which is better for your team. Consider your budget, technical comfort level, workflow complexity, and tolerance for learning curves. Both platforms offer free trials. Use them. Create a real project. Invite your team. See which one they actually use.

Because at the end of the day, the best project management tool is the one your team will actually adopt and use consistently.

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