Finding ways to streamline and optimise your business's project management operation is a challenge that is almost always littered with hurdles and annoying hiccups. Particularly at a time when remote working has become the norm for many organisations, keeping accurate tabs on things can be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, without a project management platform that’s fit for the modern way of working. 

Finding the right platform can be a big enough minefield in itself. With so many different variations on offer and endless exaggerated claims about how this particular piece of software will ‘change your life’ it’s near futile to know where to begin. 

One of the most popular platforms available on the market right now is Monday.com.com, a name that most project managers will likely be familiar with. 

Monday.com owes much of its popularity to its easy-to-use interface, and its intuitive setup often making it the first port of call for those who are fairly new to project management services.

A simple collaboration platform, Monday.com also incorporates basic task management features designed to allow users to effectively schedule tasks and manage productivity. 

While Monday.com is no doubt a more than adequate entry route, its simplicity does limit its capabilities when it comes to managing larger, complex projects with multiple moving parts. It also means the platform lacks a number of features that many project managers will now see as essential, such as in-depth reporting capabilities. 

With that being said, if you’re now on the search for an alternative to Monday.com for your project management requirements, we’ve outlined a few that are on offer.

Fluid

Sure, perhaps a little predictable, but Fluid sits at the top of our Monday.com alternatives list. Fluid has been built to be a PPM software platform that you actually want to use when you log in for the day, and to ensure when you log off, you actually log off.

Combining an intuitive dashboard and simplicity of the best consumer-facing software with the advanced features you’d expect from the premium, enterprise level platforms, Fluid allows users to effortlessly manage multiple projects across teams of all sizes, wherever they’re based. 

Fluid’s streamlined meeting admin tools can help project managers save up to a day a week, and 50+ reporting templates offer complete project portfolio and program visibility. Fluid is also completely adaptable, allowing each user to optimise their dashboard to meet their exact business needs and goals. 

Airtable

Airtable is a good platform for teams who need to present data in an interesting way. Taking a spreadsheet approach to project management, Airtable allows users to add multimedia content like images and PDFs within the cells of the spreadsheet. 

However, due to it being built primarily as a powerful data management solution, when it comes to modern project management tools, it does tend to come up short. The spreadsheet-style setup of the platform means it can also be a little difficult to use for project and task management, especially for more complex workloads. 

Asana

Asana is a popular name in the world of project management and its simplicity, along with the ability to add more project management features with different price points, has maintained its favourability amongst businesses around the world. 

For those looking for heavier-hitting software that can handle more complex projects, Asana can be a little lightweight, so it may struggle to cope as your team grows and you’ve got multiple projects simultaneously running alongside each other. The omission of a time-tracking feature and limited reporting tools can also be frustrating for mature project management.

ClickUp

ClickUp sits at the opposite end of the spectrum to those already mentioned in this list, and has earned positive reviews for its ability to effectively handle and track multiple workflows.

With that being said, these advanced features are also a contributor to ClickUp’s downfall in many ways. The difficult-to-navigate dashboard can be overwhelming even to seasoned project management veterans, never mind those who have no prior experience with workflow management tools. 

Wrike

Wrike’s advanced customisability has given it great popularity. Wrike can integrate with more than 400 different SaaS apps and its flexibility also makes it simple to adjust workflows as your team begins to grow. 

For all the great features and enterprise-level tools that Wrike packs in, there is a steep learning curve to get to grips with and make the most out of. It’s also worth noting that many of the advanced features you’ll want to use are only available on premium plans, meaning it definitely falls into the more expensive bracket when pitted against its competitors. 

Teamwork

For those familiar with Trello, Teamwork Projects will be an appealing choice, falling into a similar ‘ease-of-use is priority’ ballpark. Real-time member updates, invoice tracking and sales CRM are all plus points for the software. 

Teamwork’s advanced features are, however, few and far between, so large teams who require the ability to manage simultaneous tasks may be left wanting. The lack of reporting capabilities will be another pet peeve for many.

Oracle Primavera 

A widely trusted name in project management circles (yes they exist), Oracle Primavera’s powerful software is genuinely effective when it comes to quickly detecting the risks of overruns. 

The trade-off though is that Primavera’s user interface will feel quite outdated and unnecessarily complex, especially when compared to the alternatives available. The high price tag that usually comes with this kind of premium offering can be eye-watering. 

Smartsheet 

Fairly similar to Airtable in that it also takes a spreadsheet approach to project management. Smartsheet is a solid entry point for junior project management software, and its impressive app makes it straightforward to keep track of things on the go. 

Again though, the spreadsheet setup does mean you’ll be quickly limited in terms of actual valuable project and task management tools. No real-time communication features is also a drawback, as is the complicated reporting system.

Workfront

Cloud-based work management platform, Workfront, comes with a number of impressive enterprise-level features at a more competitive price point than similar premium options.

With that being said, there is a steep learning curve that comes with mastering Workfront to get the most out of the complex tools. The overall learning curve with a complex platform makes it unlikely that teams will hit the ground running.

Scoro

Speed is central to Scoro’s setup, and its biggest selling point most would agree is the ability to translate time spent on a project into costs, making it a favourable choice for those working to tight budgets. 

Scoro is also at the high end in terms of price, and for those looking for anything more than the basic features, be prepared to splash out. The onboarding and learning period can be quite time-consuming due to the complexity of some of the features, and the dashboard doesn’t always make it entirely clear which tasks belong to which project. 

Microsoft Project

As you’d probably expect with a company of such stature, Microsoft Project users generally get quick and easy access to customer support, the service is usually reliable and integration with other Microsoft products is pain-free. 

Microsoft Project is surprisingly advanced, meaning while it does come with useful tools, it’s not the friendliest for first-time users. A notable lack of real-time dashboard updates mean it’s easy to lose sight of where projects are up to, particularly if you’ve got multiple workflows running at the same time. 

What is the best Monday.com alternative?

Boasting an expansive suite of collaboration tools that ensure teams are on the same page no matter where they are based, and in-depth real-time insights to inform smarter business decisions, mean we think Fluid is the ideal alternative to Monday.com. 

We’d love to chat about how Fluid can help you and your business. Get in touch here.

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