Top monday.com alternatives for project teams in 2026

Project teams in 2026 are up against increasing workplace complexity that can impact execution and success. Distributed workforces, cross-functional dependencies, more requests, and rising expectations for speed to market have pushed even the most robust project management solutions to their limits.

While monday.com became a popular choice for visual task tracking, many organizations eventually encounter challenges with scalability, customization options, reporting depth, or automation capabilities. As teams mature, they often need tools that can model real-world processes—not just track tasks.

The market answered with a host of monday.com alternatives since the product launched in 2014. At the same time, a lot has changed about how teams collaborate, and what key features and functionality they need to work effectively and efficiently in 2026. Modern work management platforms now go beyond simple boards and timeline views, offering AI-powered automation, customizable notifications, different ways of organizing and surfacing data, and enterprise-grade governance. Some tools are purpose-built for engineering team members, others for agencies, project management organizations (PMOs), or creative operations. Choosing the right platform requires understanding not just the main project management tools that will support the organization’s needs today, but how each solution supports long-term growth and operational maturity.

This guide breaks down the top Monday alternatives for project teams in 2026, comparing strengths, use cases, pricing, and integrations. Whether you’re managing a growing portfolio of initiatives, coordinating client delivery, or scaling enterprise workflows, this comparison will help you find the project management solution that best meets your business needs.

Why trust our monday.com alternative reviews?

Our reviews are based on hands-on testing, customer feedback, and real-world implementation patterns across industries. The goal of implementing any project management platform is to streamline operations, which can include project planning, resource allocation, task management tools, due date visibility, and many other collaboration features. Meanwhile, business needs vary across segments, industries, and level of operational maturity. Some organizations are scaling quickly and need detailed views of tasks and subtasks, advanced features and team collaboration tools, and the ability to support unlimited users. Other organizations might still be in the very early stages of project management, making a free version with an intuitive interface to track projects and task assignments a better option.

We set out to evaluate each Monday.com alternative using consistent criteria: We evaluate each platform using consistent criteria: usability, scalability, automation depth, AI maturity, reporting strength, integration ecosystem, and total cost of ownership. We also look closely at governance features like permissions, auditability, and portfolio controls—critical factors for teams operating at scale. In addition, we analyze how these tools perform over time as organizations grow more complex. A platform that works well for a 10-person team may struggle under the weight of enterprise workflows and hundreds of team members. Our goal is to highlight solutions that work well today and as demand increases for your team in 2026 and beyond.

Best monday.com alternative comparison chart

Check out this side-by-side comparison of the best monday.com alternatives in the market, organized by strengths, features—including applicable integrations—price, free plan availability, and a breakdown of paid plans.

monday.com competitors in review

Airtable: Best monday.com alternative for AI-powered project portfolio management

Airtable stands out as the most flexible and scalable alternative to monday.com, particularly for teams managing complex, cross-functional portfolios. Unlike traditional project management tools that rely on rigid structures, Airtable uses a relational data model that lets teams connect projects, tasks, resources, requests, budgets, and outcomes in one unified system. This allows organizations to model real-world processes instead of forcing work into predefined templates. As a result, Airtable adapts as workflows evolve rather than requiring teams to switch tools.

In 2026, Airtable’s AI features set it apart from monday.com. AI agents assist with automations, generate summaries, surface insights across large datasets, and reduce manual coordination. Airtable interfaces enable teams to build custom dashboards and lightweight apps tailored to different stakeholders—executives, contributors, or external partners—without writing code. Combined with enterprise-grade permissions and auditability, Airtable supports both operational execution and strategic oversight at scale.

Starting price

$20/user/month

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: AI-powered project portfolio management

Asana: Best monday.com alternative for basic task management

Asana is a popular choice for teams seeking a clean, intuitive way to manage tasks and projects without heavy configuration. Its task-centric approach emphasizes clarity, accountability, and visibility, making it easy for teams to understand who is responsible for what and when. Features like timelines, workload views, and automation rules help teams coordinate work and reduce manual follow-ups. Asana’s learning curve is minimal, which speeds onboarding and adoption across diverse teams. Furthermore, its mobile app is intuitive for checking in on the go.

That simplicity is also its limitation, though. Asana works best for teams managing straightforward projects rather than complex portfolios with task dependencies. Its reporting is useful but less customizable than platforms like Airtable or Smartsheet. For organizations that want a simple alternative to monday.com focused on supporting execution, Asana is still a strong contender.

Starting price

$10.99/user/month

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: Basic task management

Jira: Best monday.com alternative for developers

Jira is the industry standard for software development teams, offering deep support for Agile workflows, issue tracking, and product release management. Its boards, backlogs, and scrum sprint planning tools give engineering teams precise control over how work flows from idea to deployment. Jira integrates tightly with version control systems and CI/CD pipelines, making it central to modern DevOps environments. Automation rules further reduce manual work during sprint transitions and releases.

While Jira excels for technical teams, it can be overwhelming for non-engineering stakeholders. Furthermore, configuring Jira often requires dedicated admin support, especially at scale. Still, for organizations in which software development is core to the business, Jira provides rigor and traceability that monday.com can’t match. It’s the best choice for teams prioritizing engineering discipline over visual simplicity.

Starting price

$8.15/user/month

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: Developers

ClickUp: Best monday.com alternative for all-in-one productivity

ClickUp positions itself as an all-in-one productivity platform, combining project management, documentation, whiteboards, dashboards, and AI tools. Teams can customize nearly every aspect of their workspace, from task statuses to custom fields and views. ClickUp’s AI features help generate content, summarize updates, and assist with task planning. Its broad feature set appeals to teams that want to consolidate multiple tools into a single system.

However, ClickUp’s extensive feature set can lead to complexity and potentially steep learning curves. Teams often need time to configure their workspace effectively, and over-customization can introduce friction. For organizations willing to invest in setup and governance, ClickUp is a strong and versatile choice. It’s a good alternative to monday.com for teams that want maximal functionality in one platform.

Starting price

$7/user/month

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: All-in-one work management

Smartsheet: Best monday.com alternative for advanced spreadsheets

Smartsheet brings a spreadsheet-inspired interface to enterprise project and portfolio management. It’s especially popular with PMOs that need standardized processes, predictable reporting, and strong governance. Tools like Control Center allow organizations to automatically spin up new projects from templates, ensuring consistency across initiatives. Resource management and portfolio dashboards provide executives with high-level visibility into progress and risk.

Smartsheet’s strength lies in structure and repeatability rather than flexibility. It’s well-suited for organizations that already operate with more formalized project management methodologies. For enterprises moving beyond monday.com into structured portfolio management, Smartsheet is a reliable option.

Starting price

$9/user/month

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: Enterprise PMOs

Wrike: Best monday.com alternative for simple collaboration

Wrike is designed for organizations that need structured collaboration across departments. Its request forms, customizable workflows, and analytics help teams manage high volumes of work efficiently. Wrike’s AI-driven insights highlight risks and bottlenecks before they become problems. The platform supports information hierarchies through spaces, folders, and projects.

Wrike is particularly popular with marketing, creative, and operations teams that need clarity and governance. While it’s more structured than monday.com, it offers greater depth in reporting and permissions. For organizations that value predictability and enterprise-grade collaboration, Wrike is a compelling alternative.

Starting price

$10/user/month

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: Enterprise collaboration

Notion: Best monday.com alternative for documents and planning

Notion combines documentation, knowledge management, and lightweight project tracking into a single workspace. Its databases allow teams to build custom task lists and planning systems, while Notion AI accelerates writing and summarization. The platform’s flexibility makes it ideal for teams that prioritize transparency and shared context over rigid processes.

Notion is less suited for complex projects and portfolio management. It works best as a planning and documentation layer rather than a system of record. For teams leaving monday.com because they want fewer constraints and more creative freedom, Notion is a strong option.

Starting price

$10/user/month

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: Documentation-first teams

Trello: Best monday.com alternative for simple Kanban

Trello’s Kanban boards make it easy to visualize workflows and complex projects, and see progress or identify delays at a glance. Trello Power-Ups add optional functionality, such as calendar views and automation. Trello’s simplicity makes it ideal for small teams, freelancers, or lightweight projects.

However, Trello lacks advanced reporting, automation, and portfolio capabilities. It’s not designed for complex, multi-team environments. For teams that find monday.com too heavy, Trello offers a refreshingly simple alternative.

Starting price

$6/user/month

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: Lightweight task management

Basecamp: Best monday.com alternative for simple team communication

Basecamp centers on communication rather than detailed project tracking. It combines message boards, chat, to-do lists, and file sharing in a single project hub. This design reduces noise and keeps discussions organized. Basecamp is especially appealing to small businesses and remote teams that want fewer features and clearer communication for simple projects.

While it lacks advanced automation and reporting, Basecamp excels at simplicity. Teams that feel overwhelmed by monday.com’s features often appreciate Basecamp’s minimalism. It’s best for straightforward collaboration rather than complex execution.

Starting price

$15/user/month

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: Small teams and collaboration on simple projects

Teamwork: Best monday.com alternative for agencies and client services

Teamwork is purpose-built for client delivery, with a foundation of project management software with additions like time tracking, billing, and profitability reporting. Agencies use Teamwork to manage multiple clients while maintaining visibility into margins and utilization. Client portals make it easy to share updates without exposing internal workflows. Templates help standardize delivery across accounts.

For service-based businesses, Teamwork fills gaps that monday.com doesn’t address well. Its focus on billable work makes it a strong operational backbone for agencies. Teams that rely on accurate tracking and invoicing will find Teamwork especially valuable.

Starting price

$10.99/user/month

Key features

Key integrations

Zoho Projects: Best monday.com alternative for budget-conscious teams

Zoho Projects offers a comprehensive set of project management features at a lower price point than many competitors. Tasks, milestones, Gantt charts, time tracking, and workflows are all included. It integrates seamlessly with the broader Zoho ecosystem, making it attractive for businesses already using Zoho CRM or finance tools.

While Zoho Projects isn’t as flexible as Airtable, it provides excellent value. Small and mid-sized teams can manage projects without paying premium prices. For organizations leaving monday.com due to cost concerns, Zoho Projects is a practical alternative.

Starting price

$5/user/month

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: Budget-conscious teams

Workfront: Best monday.com alternative for enterprise creative operations

Workfront is designed for large enterprises managing complex creative and marketing workflows. It supports intake, approvals, resource planning, and compliance at scale. Integration with Adobe Creative Cloud makes it a natural fit for creative teams. Workfront’s governance features ensure accountability across high volumes of work.

The platform is best suited for large organizations with mature processes. Implementation often requires hefty change management, but the functionality payoff is significant for teams that need enterprise-level control. Workfront is ideal for replacing monday.com in highly regulated environments.

Starting price

Custom pricing

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: Enterprise creative operations

Shortcut: Best monday.com alternative for engineering-first teams

Shortcut focuses on speed and clarity for engineering teams. It provides stories, epics, sprints, and roadmaps in a lightweight, user-friendly interface. Integrations with Git platforms such as GitHub and GitLab enable traceability from code to delivery. Shortcut avoids unnecessary complexity, making it popular with startups and product-driven organizations.

It’s not intended for broad operational use, but it excels within its niche. Teams that find monday.com too generic for engineering workflows often prefer Shortcut’s focused design.

Starting price

$10/user/month

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: Engineering teams

TeamGantt: Best monday.com alternative for timeline-driven planning

TeamGantt specializes in visual scheduling. Its drag-and-drop Gantt charts make it easy to manage dependencies and timelines. Workload and chart views help managers balance capacity across projects. The interface is intuitive and ideal for stakeholders who need clear schedules.

TeamGantt doesn’t aim to be an all-in-one platform. Instead, it excels at planning and visibility. Teams that rely heavily on timeline views often prefer TeamGantt over monday.com.

Starting price

$49/month per manager

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: Gantt-based scheduling

ProofHub: Best monday.com alternative for flat pricing

ProofHub offers flat monthly pricing with unlimited users, making budgeting predictable. It includes task management, collaboration, and proofing tools. Creative teams benefit from built-in file review and approval features. ProofHub keeps things simple while covering essential needs.

While it lacks deep customization, its cost structure is definitely appealing. Teams tired of per-seat pricing often consider ProofHub a strong alternative.

Starting price

$45/month flat

Key features

Key integrations

Best monday.com alternative for: Teams wanting flat, predictable pricing

Why Airtable is the best alternative to monday.com

Airtable offers the flexibility, scalability, and intelligence that modern teams need when compared to monday.com. Its relational data model allows teams to build systems that reflect real business processes rather than forcing work into rigid boards. AI agents automate complex workflows, surface insights, and reduce manual coordination. Interfaces enable custom experiences for every stakeholder.

As organizations grow, Airtable grows with them, becoming a system of record for operations, projects, and portfolios. It replaces tool sprawl while maintaining ease of use. For teams planning long-term growth, Airtable is the most future-proof alternative to monday.com.

From tracking tasks to powering smart workflows

There’s no shortage of monday.com alternatives in 2026—but few offer the balance of power, flexibility, and scalability that modern teams need. If your organization is ready to move beyond task tracking and build intelligent, automated workflows, Airtable is the clear choice.