Top 10 Wrike Alternatives Every Project Manager Should Consider
Looking for an affordable, intuitive, and customizable Wrike alternative?
We've hand-picked 10 great alternatives to Wrike that can fill the gap. Each has advantages over Wrike regarding pricing, team collaboration, or customization.
Below, we cover features, pros, and cons and share our unbiased views on each tool and how it compares to Wrike.
Let’s help you find the right project management tool ⤵️
Why do customers switch to Wrike alternatives?
Wrike offers some amazing project management features, including:
- Cross-department visibility and collaboration with its multiple tagging features.
- Built-in tools for irregular workforce planning (weekend shifts, contractors), which makes managing projects, tasks, and tickets easier.
Reason 1: Minimum user cap for plan upgrade
Wrike's plan requires upgrading for every 5 users, making it an expensive tool when you need to scale but don't need the extra licenses.
Another downside is that every plan needs a minimum user base. For example, the starting plan requires 2 users, while higher-tier plans require a minimum of 5 users.
Reason 2: Limited collaboration
Wrike doesn’t have a built-in team communication tool such as group chats or 1:1 messaging. It only offers comments and mentions on each task. The lack of such integrated tools makes team members rely on external tools, creating a back-and-forth between Wrike and other apps.
Reason 3: Too many features lead to confusion
Despite Wrike's robust features, there are so many features to choose from that can lead to confusion and delays. Additionally, it makes the dashboard look cluttered and lacks clean navigation.
Wrike’s lack of integrated team communication and inflexible pricing plans make it unsuitable for small—and medium-sized businesses and agencies as a project management tool.
What are the best alternatives to Wrike?
Based on our research and user reviews, these are the best Wrike alternatives:
#1: SmartSuite
SmartSuite is the ultimate work management software that combines the power of automation and tailored workspace to help you plan, manage, and track projects.
SmartSuite is the best Wrike alternative due to its intuitive interface, built-in collaboration tools, and customizable dashboards..
Some of the key features that our customers can’t stop obsessing over are as follows:
- Workflow automation
SmartSuite’s built-in automation maintains consistency and efficiency across all your projects. You can set up customizable recipes based on specific triggers and conditional logic.
For each automation, you can track when each automation was fired in the history tab and delive into specific details.
Such automated workflows eliminate manual intervention in routine tasks, such as changing dates or sending updates, freeing up your time to focus on getting work done.
To get started, click on “Automation.” From here, choose the right trigger and set up the right action. You can integrate SmartSuite with different communication apps such as Slack and set up triggers related to it.
For instance, when the progress status is changed (trigger), send a Slack message (action). By adding conditions, you can specify whom you should send that Slack message.
- Project management
One of the key offerings of SmartSuite is its comprehensive project management dashboard. It gives you a bird’s eye view into the creation, assignment, tracking, and completion of various tasks.
You get access to a variety of tools for a streamlined process.
- Milestone tracking: Create milestones for different projects and phases to monitor the process over time. Configure the tracking by workstream or team, owner, flag roadblocks, and draw resolution plans.
- Organization and reporting: Team members get a consolidated view of all assigned tasks under ‘My work’ dashboard. Custom ‘Work In Progress’ report helps you track task responsibilities, balance workloads, and monitor timelines.
- Task management: Convert any record type into tasks and add different fields–subtasks, checklists, and sub-items. Power up each task by adding top-of-mind notes and comments for the assigned person within each task.
To make project management super easy, use Smartsuite’s library of 100+ templates, from task management to milestone-based projects.
- Communication tools
SmartSuite makes team collaboration a breeze with its suite of features, ranging from sharing quick updates to diving into team members’ work status. All of this happens in a space where tasks are executed, thus, reducing roadblocks quickly by keeping everyone in the loop.
- Built-in communication center, which includes tools like group chats, 1:1 conversations, and integrated email tools.
- Member’s directory which gives you access to your team and the tasks they’re working on, along with their availability status.
- Share quick updates via @mentions, which send real-time alerts to the tagged person.
The cherry on the top is that you can access all of this on the go with SmartSuite’s mobile app. All of this combined boosts the team’s productivity and promotes transparent communication.
SmartSuite Pricing
SmartSuite offers a 14-day free trial and a forever-free plan with access to automation, team collaboration, authentication, and much more.
As for the paid plans, there are four options:
- Team: Starts at $12/user per month, including Gantt charts, located views, 5000 automation runs, and time tracking.
- Professional: Starts at $28/user per month, including two-factor authentication, Gmail & Outlook integrations, and unlimited editors.
- Enterprise: Starts at $35/user per month, including audit logs, data loss prevention, and 50,000 API calls monthly.
- Signature: Customized plan tailored to your organization’s needs and team size.
How Does SmartSuite Compare to Wrike?
While Wrike has terrific reporting and smooth cross-department collaboration, SmartSuite offers integrated messaging and collaborative documents at an affordable pricing. It helps you stay organized by keeping all your projects and teams in one place.
Three reasons why customers choose SmartSuite over Wrike:
- Smartsuite offers advanced features such as Zapier integration, time tracking, map view, and work form on its free plan. It gives you more flexibility to explore the tool’s capabilities before you commit to the paid plans.
- Integrated note-taking and mind mapping tool let you create detailed project briefs and brainstorm with your team. No more being buried under a plethora of Google Docs and Notes apps.
- SmartSuite’s pricing plans are much cheaper and feature-rich with their plan starting at only $12 per user/month (billed monthly) with no pressure to add a minimum number of users.
SmartSuite Pros and Cons
✅ Generous free plan with access to advanced features
✅ 200+ project templates for different use cases
✅ Dynamic dashboards and reporting
✅ Integrated document and file management
Integrated AI
✅ Comprehensive workflow automation
❌ 25 native integrations
#2: ClickUp
Best for: Creating customizable project dashboards and team collaboration
Similar to: Basecamp and Asana
ClickUp is an all-in-one productivity and project management software that helps you manage tasks and projects effectively.
ClickUp is a better alternative to Wrike as as it offers built-in tools for mind mapping, whiteboarding, and document creation tools which are only available through third-party integration in Wrike.
Who Is It For?
Entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small and large businesses alike.
ClickUp’s Top Features
- Whiteboards: Brainstorm in real-time, map out strategies, design concept maps, and build a priority matrix in a built-in digital canvas. You can add rich text formatting, collaborate with the team via comments, connect different action items, and get a granular view of your plans.
- Document creation: Think Google Docs but within ClickUp. You can create SOPs, design briefs, and task outlines, and customize each doc with slash-based commands. Easily share docs with full access control.
- Clickapps: Customize dashboards to make them adaptable to different teams’ needs by removing/ or adding certain features.
ClickUp Pricing
ClickUp’s free plan offers unlimited task creation and guest invites with full access. They have three paid plans:
- Unlimited: Starts at $10 per user/month, offers unlimited custom views, two-factor authentication, timesheet reporting, and 100 mind map creation.
- Business: Starts at $19 per user/month, offers private docs, sprint reporting, and all dashboard views.
- Enterprise: White labeling, top-notch security, Tableau web connector, and enterprise AI. Contact sales to get a quote.
Compared to Wrike, ClickUp doesn’t require a minimum number of users to sign up for its plans.
ClickUp Pros and Cons
✅ Advanced customizations even on low-tier plans
✅ Generous free plan with no minimum user cap for paid plans
✅ 100+ automation templates
❌ Limited in-depth reporting capabilities
#3: Monday
Best for: Task and project management across various industries
Similar to: Asana and ClickUp
Monday.com is a flexible project management software that offers customizations and a vast library of templates to adapt to different use cases.
Monday.com offers more customization, intuitive dashboards, and built-in Workdocs, making it an appealing choice for marketing and creative teams over Wrike.
Who Is It For?
In-house creative team or small, growing company.
Monday.com's Top Features
- Workdocs: Workdocs are flexible multi-media whiteboards that help you plan, organize, and collaborate in a single workspace. From preparing project outlines to mapping task priorities, you can customize each Doc according to your preference.
- Workforms: Customizable workforms to collect requests or feedback. Sync form responses and add them to relevant boards, to track and manage form submissions efficiently within your existing workflow.
Monday.com Pricing
Monday.com offers a free plan for up to 2 seats and a 14-day free trial. Their paid plans require a minimum team size of 3 and come in four tiers:
- Basic: Starts at $17 per user/month, including Kanban board, unlimited free viewers, and unlimited boards.
- Standard: Starts at $20 per user/month, including 250 automated actions/month, 3+ dashboard views, and Zoom integration.
- Pro: Starts at $32 per user/month, including 100 GB storage, all five dashboard views, time tracking, and 2-factor authentication.
- Enterprise: Includes dedicated customer success manager, enterprise-level reporting, and administration control. Contact sales for a quote.
Monday.com offers 1000GB storage on its enterprise plan while Wrike offers 15 GB/ user monthly even on their highest tier plan.
Monday.com Pros and Cons
✅ Advanced reporting and analysis
✅ Integrates with more than 200+ apps
✅ 200+ templates for various use cases
❌ Requires a minimum team size to buy or upgrade plan
❌ Automation available on high-tier plans
#4: Asana
Best for: Managing projects through subtasks and automated workflows
Similar to: ClickUp and Trello
Asana is a project management tool that helps you organize, plan, and track work through subtasks, multiple dashboards, and automated workflows.
Asana’s built-in conversation tools and intuitive dashboards make it a much better alternative for a small team than Wrike.
Who Is It For?
Creative agencies, small and medium-sized businesses.
Asana's Top Features
- Asana Bundles: Standardize processes across your projects by setting up customizable bundles with specified fields, sections, rules, and task templates. Apply each bundle to multiple projects and change any element at any time, which will update the bundle across all projects automatically.
- Resource management: Get an overview of your team’s workload, project progress, and overall capacity to rebalance work and plan future projects.
- Asana inbox: Communicate in a dedicated message center without cluttering your assigned task board. With a built-in inbox, you can clarify questions, share quick updates, or get feedback directly.
Asana Pricing
Asana offers a free plan for up to 10 users and four pricing plans with a 30-day free trial. Pricing for paid plans is as follows:
- Starters: Starts at $13.49 per user/month, with up to 500 teammates collaboration, Asana AI, and unlimited activity logs.
- Advanced: Starts at $30.49 per user/month, with 25,000 automation per month, scaled security, advanced reporting, and goal tracking
- Enterprise: Advanced integrations, unlimited seats, custom branding, and premium support. Contact sales for a quote.
- Enterprise+: Audit log API, HIPAA compliance, and data loss prevention integrations. Contact sales for a quote.
Unlike Wrike, which requires you to buy a minimum of 2 seats, Asana doesn’t have any minimum user cap to buy their plans.
Asana Pros and Cons
✅ Subtasks and automation
✅ User-friendly dashboards
✅ 270+ integrations
❌ Limited customizations
❌ Limited reporting capabilities
❌ Affordable only if teammates are on a guest status
#5: Microsoft Project
Best for: Complex project management and enterprise-level projects
Similar to: Asana and Smartsheet
Microsoft Project is a project management tool designed for large-scale projects. It offers advanced scheduling, resource management, and reporting capabilities.
Detailed project tracking and integration with other Microsoft tools make it a suitable alternative to Wrike for enterprises.
Who Is It For?
Teams who already use Microsoft software at a large scale, especially enterprise-level companies.
Microsoft Project’s Top Features
- Resource management: Request and lock in resources, and get an overview of resource usage through capacity heat maps. With resource analytics, you can get a complete view of resources used and make predictions to optimize the required resources.
- Portfolio management: Compare and analyze different portfolio models using visual charts and make cost and resource projections.
- Reporting and Analytics: Generate detailed reports and dashboards for project tracking and performance analysis.
Microsoft Project Pricing
If you have a Microsoft 365 enterprise plan, you can get the project planner for free with limited features. The paid plan comes in three tiers with a 30-day free trial.
- Planner Plan 1: Starts at $10 per user/month, Gantt views, task dependencies, and integration with APIs.
- Project Plan 3: Starts at $30 per user/month, custom work week, task highlights and prioritization, and custom reporting dashboards.
- Project Plan 5: Starts at $55 per user/month, automation and resource management.
Microsoft Project has a longer trial duration of 30 days compared to Wrike’s, which is only 14 days.
Microsoft Project Pros and Cons
✅ Detailed scheduling and task dependencies, ideal for complex projects
✅ Robust resource allocation and management features
✅ Easy to adapt to if you’re familiar with Microsoft tools
❌ Expensive, especially for small-teams
❌ No native automation, require integration with Microsoft Power Automate
#6: Teamwork
Best for: External client collaboration and management
Similar to: Wrike and Asana
Teamwork is a unified project management software for client-facing businesses.
Teamwork shines over Wrike when it comes to managing projects with external contractors and vendors. Features like invoicing, budgeting, and time tracking give Teamwork an edge over Wrike.
Who Is It For?
Client-service businesses of all types–marketing agencies, consulting firms, and creative agencies.
Teamwork’s Top Features
- Burndown charts: Get a complete overview of your project's progress over time to detect trends during the project’s lifetime, record potential roadblocks, and assess the project’s velocity against due dates.
- Built-in time tracking: Track and manage your team’s completion time and bill your clients with accurate invoicing.
- Team collaboration: Review clients' projects in real time, solve queries in a group or 1:1 chat, and share updates to keep everyone on the same page.
Teamwork Pricing
Teamwork.com offers a 30-day free trial and a forever free plan for up to 5 users. Similar to Wrike, there is a minimum user cap for the paid plans.
- Deliver: $13.99 per user/month requires a minimum of 3 users, time tracking, client company management, and 4 project views (List, Table, Boards, and Gantt chart).
- Grow: $25.99 per user/month requires a minimum of 5 users, resource scheduling, If/then conditional logic for forms, and a custom domain with SSL.
- Scale: $65.99 per user/month requires a minimum of 5 users, unlimited retainer management, projects, and customer reports.
- Enterprise: Dedicated Customer Success Manager and advanced security. Contact sales for a quote.
Wrike's enterprise plan locks in advanced features like 2FA and Quickbooks integration for higher tiers, whereas Teamwork offers these features on its starting plan (Deliver - $13.99 per user/month).
Teamwork Pros and Cons
✅ Customizable workflows and templates
✅ Built-in messaging, time tracking, invoicing, and budgeting feature
✅ Invite and collaborate with external users (vendors or contractors)
❌ Abundance of features and options can be overwhelming
❌ Limited native integration with heavy reliance on Zapier
#7: Airtable
Best for: Creating and sharing relational databases
Similar to: Smartsheets and Trello
Airtable is a project management tool that lets you store and manage databases in a spreadsheet-like interface, with relations among cells.
Compared to Wrike, Airtable offers high-level customization and data organization due to its spreadsheet-like interface.
Who Is It For?
Small and mid-sized businesses
Airtable’s Top Features
- Airtable automation: Build multi-sequence automated workflows that can cut down repetitive tasks through 15+ actions and 10+ triggers.
- Multi-dashboard views: Get a bird’s eye view of your task’s progress by shifting databases through lists, Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and calendar views.
- Interface designer: Build custom interfaces to show specific and most relevant information to stakeholders. Using custom dashboards, users can view huge data volumes in smaller sections that are easy to understand.
Airtable Pricing
Airtable’s free plan offers access to a single workspace with all basic dashboard views and 100 automations/month. The paid plans come in three tiers:
- Team: Starts at $24 per user/month, including timeline view, 25,000 automation per month, and Airtable AI.
- Business: Starts at $45 per user/month, including multi-source syncing and dynamic filtering.
- Enterprise scale: Includes admin reports, enterprise-level integrations, and premium support. Contact sales for a quote.
Airtable offers 100 automation per month, calendars, and dashboard views on its free plan, but Wrike doesn’t.
Airtable Pros and Cons
✅ High-level customization and flexible dashboards
✅ User-friendly interface with multiple views
✅ Vast project templates
❌ Limited reporting capabilities
❌ Limited team communication
#8: Smartsheet
Best for: Managing complex projects using a spreadsheet-like interface
Similar to: Asana and SmartSuite
Smartsheet is an advanced enterprise-level work and project management software that helps you plan, track, and manage basic to high-level projects.
Smartsheet is a good alternative to Wrike for teams comfortable with spreadsheet-focused interfaces for managing complex projects.
Who Is It For?
Enterprise-level teams who manage complex and large numbers of projects.
Smartsheet’s Top Features
- Team collaboration: Request, gather, and manage feedback, clarify details, upload various file types, and share updates with built-in chat centers.
- Workapps: Package your reports, sheets, docs, and dashboards in a no-code custom app giving you and your team access to the right information at the right time.
- Workflow Automation: Send due date reminders, request signatures through integration with DocuSign, and perform calculations by setting up triggers and actions.
Smartsheet Pricing
Smartsheet doesn’t offer any free plan but a 30-day free trial. Paid plans include the following:
- Pro: Starts at $12 per member/month, includes private sheets creation and unlimited form access.
- Business: Starts at $24 per member/month, includes unlimited automated workflows, and requires a minimum of 3 users.
- Enterprise: Unlimited storage and enterprise plan manager. Contact sales for a quote.
Smartsheet starting plans don't require a minimum user cap compared to Wrike. Smartsheet also offers a longer free trial duration (30 days) than Wrike (14 days).
Smartsheet Pros and Cons
✅ High level of customization
✅ Huge library of project templates
✅ Powerful analytics and reporting tools
❌ Steep learning curve for spreadsheet novices
❌ Data doesn’t get updated in real-time
#9: Jira
Best for: DevOps issue tracking and supporting IT workflows
Similar to: Smartsheets and Monday.com
Jira is a robust project management software made primarily for software development teams. It’s a part of Atlassian’s product suite and offers features like multiple dashboard views, custom reporting, issue tracking, and no-code automation.
Software teams are better off using Jira because it has advanced features like Resolution Time Reports, Average Age Reports, and custom reports.
Who Is It For?
Software development and IT teams or teams already using Atlassian.
Jira’s Top Features
- Advanced reporting dashboard: Get contextual insights through resolution time report, sprint report, time tracking report, and control chart.
- Agile workflows: Scrum charts, Kanban boards, and sprints make it easy to manage project velocity, identify task backlog, and generate agile reports.
- Bug and issue tracking: Log and track different kinds of issues—software or project-related–and track them to resolution.
Jira Pricing
Jira offers a free plan and a 7-day free trial for its three paid plans:
- Standard: Starts at $8.15 per user/month, including audit logs, unlimited customizable workflows, and project templates.
- Premium: Start at $16 per user/month, including unlimited storage and cross-project management.
- Enterprise: Unlimited automation, Atlassian Analytics, Atlassian intelligence (AI). Contact sales for a quote.
Jira offers a more affordable entry-level pricing plan than Wrike with a higher maximum number of user access. For 100 users, you get their standard plan for $8.15 per user/month, whereas Wrike charges $9.80 per user/month for 2-25 users ($19.60 per month).
Jira Pros and Cons
✅ Easy to configure dashboards
✅ 1000+ third-party integration via the Atlassian marketplace
✅ Advanced Reporting
❌ Limited team collaboration options
❌ Limited functionality on the mobile app
#10: Basecamp
Best for: Centralized project management and team communication
Similar to: Clickup and Airtable
Basecamp is a project management software that stands out with its appealing and intuitive visual interface. It offers unique features like hill charts, built-in communication, and mission control to provide a clear picture of the project’s progress.
Basecamp is a more affordable and intuitive project management tool than Wrike. It’s particularly beneficial for large teams as they can access all the features due to Basecamp’s flat-rate pricing model.
Who Is It For?
Solopreneurs, start-ups, and small businesses.
Basecamp’s Top Features
- Hill charts: Visually track to-do lists (what’s moving forward, roadblocks, or tasks in backlog) by manually updating each task’s progress. Share with people and add notes or comments to keep everyone in the loop.
- Built-in team communication tools: Stay on top of your projects with Messages (built-in email for pitching ideas and making announcements), Pings (group texts or 1:1 conversations), and Campfires (for project-related communication).
- Automatic check-ins: Collect information consistently, get to know your colleagues, and stay updated with the project’s progress by setting up questions or thoughts on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
Basecamp Pricing
Basecamp’s pricing is straightforward, with only two plans and access to all their features. The only difference is for one plan is priced per user, while the other has a fixed fee for unlimited users. Both plans offer a 30-day free trial.
- Basic: Starts at $15/user per month
- Pro Unlimited: $349/month fixed price for unlimited seats
Basecamp offers a fixed cost structure while Wrike’s pricing plans are based on minimum users.
Basecamp Pros and Cons
✅ Built-in team collaboration
✅ Impressive visual reports such as hill charts
✅ Free unlimited guest invites
❌ Limited integrations and automation
❌ No built-in Gantt chart view
Manage and scale projects without pricing constraints
From integrated team collaboration to unique project management capabilities, all the tools mentioned offer solutions for different use cases.
For instance, ClickUp and Monday.com have integrated workdocs, Basecamp offers visual graphs like hill charts, and Airtable and Smartsheet offer work apps to design and share custom interfaces.
But, if you’re looking for a project management tool that has:
Intuitive and scalable project management dashboards,
Offers built-in team collaboration,
Transparent prices on a per-user basis,
Advanced and customizable reporting dashboard
...then SmartSuite is your ideal choice.
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