ClickUp review

ClickUp wants to be the one app your team works in: tasks, docs, chat, whiteboards, dashboards, time tracking and AI. It is powerful and good value, and it asks for patience. Here is the full picture.

Research-based review, checked October 2026. We don't take payment or affiliate fees from anyone we review. How we review.

Verdict

ClickUp is a strong choice for teams that want deep project management (custom fields, automations, workloads, sprints and reporting) at a lower per-seat price than most rivals. Skip it if you want something simple: individuals and small teams who just need a to-do list are usually happier with Todoist, and doc-heavy teams with Notion.

What ClickUp is

ClickUp is a work management platform from ClickUp (Mango Technologies), based in San Diego. Work is organized in a hierarchy: a Workspace contains Spaces, which contain Folders and Lists, which contain tasks and subtasks. Every List can be viewed as a list, board, calendar, Gantt chart, table, timeline or workload. Around that sit Docs, Whiteboards, Chat, Forms, Dashboards, Goals and time tracking, and an AI layer called ClickUp Brain.

The pitch is consolidation: replace your task tool, wiki, team chat and AI assistant with one subscription. ClickUp's own pricing page even includes a calculator comparing it against Slack, Notion, Jira and others.

Key features

ClickUp pricing (as of October 2026)

From ClickUp's pricing page, per user per month in US dollars.

Plan Billed yearly Billed monthly Highlights
Free Forever$0Unlimited tasks and members, 60 MB storage, 1 form
Unlimited$7$10Unlimited storage, integrations, Gantt, custom fields, time tracking, guests, Chat
Business$12$19Advanced dashboards, 5K automations/month, Google SSO, mind maps, timeline and workload views
EnterpriseContact salesSAML SSO, SCIM, audit log, data residency, HIPAA available, 250K automations/month
Brain AI (add-on)$9Unlimited Brain chat and writing, premium models, enterprise search, 1,500 AI credits/user/month
Everything AI (add-on)$28Unlimited AI Notetaker, AI fields and automations, 5,000 AI credits/user/month

Extra AI credits are $10 per 10,000. ClickUp says yearly billing saves up to 33% on plans and up to 20% on AI. One caution: ClickUp appears to be testing a new lineup (plans named Core, Business and Max, with AI credits included) and different visitors may see different names and prices. Check the price at checkout before committing.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Privacy and security

ClickUp's security page lists SOC 2 Type 2, SOC 1 Type 2 and SOC 3 reports, ISO 27001, 27017, 27018 and 27701 certifications, ISO 42001 for AI management, and PCI compliance. It hosts on AWS, encrypts data at rest with AES-256 and in transit with TLS 1.2, and lets Enterprise customers keep core data in the US, Europe or Asia Pacific. On AI, ClickUp says it forbids third-party AI providers from training on or storing your data.

If you use the AI Notetaker, remember that recording laws in some places require everyone's consent. We make Hark, a meeting recorder, so read any comparison of meeting features with that in mind.

Platforms

Who should use ClickUp

ClickUp is a good fit for teams of roughly 5 to a few hundred people that want one configurable place for projects, especially agencies, marketing teams and software teams who need custom statuses, automations and workload views. It also suits teams trying to drop several subscriptions in favor of one.

It is a poor fit for individuals who want a simple task list, for teams without someone willing to set it up and keep it tidy, and for people who mainly need a wiki or note-taking app.

Which ClickUp plan do you need?

Add AI only if your team will use it daily: Brain AI at $9 per user per month roughly doubles the cost of an Unlimited seat, and Everything AI at $28 is more than the Business plan itself. You can try AI features on the Free plan first.

Tips for a smoother rollout

Alternatives

Frequently asked questions

Is ClickUp free? +

Yes. The Free Forever plan includes unlimited tasks and members, docs, Kanban boards, calendar view, sprints, in-app video recording and 2FA, but only 60 MB of storage and one form. Most growing teams move to a paid plan for storage, integrations and automations.

How much does ClickUp cost? +

As of October 2026, ClickUp's pricing page shows Unlimited at $7 per user per month billed yearly ($10 monthly) and Business at $12 billed yearly ($19 monthly). Enterprise is custom. AI plans are extra: Brain AI from $9 and Everything AI from $28 per user per month.

Is ClickUp hard to learn? +

It has a reputation for a steep learning curve. ClickUp can do a lot, and the number of options, views and settings is a common complaint from new users. Starting from a template and a small set of features helps.

ClickUp vs Notion: which is better? +

ClickUp is stronger for project management: workloads, time tracking, Gantt charts, sprints and automations. Notion is stronger for docs, wikis and flexible databases. Many teams pick based on whether tasks or documents are the center of their work.

Does ClickUp have an AI notetaker? +

Yes. ClickUp Brain includes an AI Notetaker that records meetings, transcribes them and turns them into summaries and tasks. It is unlimited on the Everything AI plan; on other plans it draws on AI credits.

Is ClickUp secure? +

ClickUp says it holds SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, 27701 and ISO 42001 certifications, encrypts data at rest with AES-256 and hosts on AWS. It also says third-party AI providers may not train on or store your data.

Related