Best project management software for agencies in 2026: 8 tools compared
Written by Bilal Azhar, Co-Founder & CEO, AgencyPro | October 13, 2026
Agency project management software has to handle internal planning and client visibility: what the team is doing, what the client is waiting on, and who approves what. This guide compares 8 tools on pricing, client access and what a 5- or 10-person team pays.
AgencyPro is our product. It runs client work as requests inside a client portal, which suits some agencies and not others; each entry says who should choose something else. Prices were checked on each vendor's site on October 13, 2026.
How we compared these tools
This is a criteria-based comparison, not a hands-on test or a scored ranking. For each tool we recorded:
- Pricing model: per user, per seat or flat, minimums and free plans.
- Client access: free guests, viewers or a client portal.
- Views: boards, lists, Gantt and workload views, and which plan includes them.
- Agency features: time tracking, budgets, retainers and billing.
- Team cost: the monthly price for 5 and 10 people.
Quick picks
Free plan with unlimited members.
Unlimited free guests.
Priced by projects, not users.
Time budgets and retainers on Accelerate.
Free viewers from Standard.
Our product. From $39/mo; seats extra.
Project management tools compared
| Tool | Starting price | Pricing model | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
ClickUp | Free; Unlimited $8/user/mo billed yearly | Per user | Agencies that want many features in one workspace |
Asana | Free; Starter $10.99/user/mo annual ($13.49 monthly) | Per user; unlimited free guests | Teams that value easy adoption and free guests for clients |
Monday.com | Free (2 seats); Basic $9/seat/mo billed annually | Per seat | Visual boards and dashboards |
Notion | Free plan; Plus $10/member/mo billed yearly | Per member | Small agencies that want docs and tasks together |
Basecamp | Free (1 project); Freelancer $25/mo | Flat, tiered by projects and storage | Agencies that want simple, flat pricing |
Wrike | Free; Team $10/user/mo billed annually | Per user | Larger agencies with custom workflows |
Teamwork.com | Free (5 users); Basics $9.99/user/mo billed yearly | Per user, with user minimums | Client-service teams that want time, budgets and retainers in PM |
AgencyPro Our Product | $39/mo (Basic, 1 seat) | Plan + extra seats ($15-$30/mo) | Client work run as requests inside a client portal |
What a 5- and 10-person agency pays per month
Annual billing unless noted.
| Plan | 5 people | 10 people | How it is calculated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basecamp Pro | $99 | $99 | Flat price; 25 projects and 100 GB. Unlimited is $299/mo billed annually. |
| ClickUp Unlimited | $40 | $80 | $8 per user billed yearly. |
| Monday.com Basic | $45 | $90 | $9 per seat billed annually. Standard is $12. |
| Wrike Team | $50 | $100 | $10 per user billed annually. |
| Teamwork.com Basics | $49.95 | $99.90 | $9.99 per user billed yearly, 3-user minimum. |
| Notion Plus | $50 | $100 | $10 per member billed yearly. Guests are free for shared pages. |
| Asana Starter | $54.95 | $109.90 | $10.99 per user billed annually. Clients join as free guests. |
| AgencyPro Basic | $99 | $174 | $39 + $15 per extra seat, monthly. Includes the client portal and invoicing. |
The 8 tools in detail
ClickUp
Best for: Agencies that want many features in one workspace
Pricing: Free Forever with unlimited members. Unlimited $8/user/mo and Business $17/user/mo billed yearly (listed regular prices $12 and $25).
ClickUp combines tasks, docs, whiteboards and automations. The free plan allows unlimited members, and paid plans add automations (1,000 a month on Unlimited) and more advanced features. The breadth of options means you will spend time deciding how to set it up.
Pros
- - Free plan with unlimited members
- - Low per-user price on annual billing
- - Docs and tasks together
Cons
- - Many options to configure
- - Current prices are discounted from listed regular prices
Verdict: A good fit if you want one flexible workspace and have someone to set it up.
Asana
Best for: Teams that value easy adoption and free guests for clients
Pricing: Free forever. Starter $10.99/user/mo annual ($13.49 monthly). Advanced $24.99/user/mo annual.
Asana is known for being easy to adopt. Unlimited free guests let clients and contractors collaborate without increasing your license count, and Advanced adds organization-wide workload views.
Pros
- - Unlimited free guests
- - Easy for teams to adopt
- - Workload views on Advanced
Cons
- - Per-user pricing
- - Workload views need Advanced
Verdict: A safe choice when adoption matters and clients need access.
Monday.com
Best for: Visual boards and dashboards
Pricing: Free for up to 2 seats. Basic $9, Standard $12, Pro $19 per seat per month billed annually.
Monday.com centers on visual boards with automations and dashboards on higher plans. Standard adds unlimited free viewers, which helps if clients only need to see progress.
Pros
- - Visual boards and dashboards
- - Free viewers from Standard
- - Free plan for 2 seats
Cons
- - Per-seat pricing
- - More useful features sit on Standard and Pro
Verdict: Good for teams that manage work visually.
Notion
Best for: Small agencies that want docs and tasks together
Pricing: Free plan. Paid plans are charged per member.
Notion combines docs and databases, so a small agency can run tasks next to briefs and meeting notes. It is flexible, which means you design the workflow yourself.
Pros
- - Docs and tasks together
- - Free plan
- - Highly flexible
Cons
- - You build your own structure
- - No built-in client billing
Verdict: Fine for small teams that like to build their own system. AgencyPro vs Notion.
Basecamp
Best for: Agencies that want simple, flat pricing
Pricing: Free (1 project). Freelancer $25/mo (3 projects), Studio $59/mo (10 projects), Pro $99/mo (25 projects), Unlimited $299/mo billed annually.
Basecamp prices by projects and storage rather than users, so cost does not grow with headcount. Every plan includes its core tools. Paid plans have a 30-day trial, and Unlimited has 45 days.
Pros
- - Flat pricing regardless of team size
- - Simple, consistent structure
- - Long free trials
Cons
- - Project caps on lower tiers
- - Less customizable than ClickUp or Monday.com
Verdict: Strong value for larger teams that want simplicity.
Wrike
Best for: Larger agencies with custom workflows
Pricing: Free. Team $10/user/mo, Business $25/user/mo, billed annually. Enterprise via sales. 14-day trial.
Wrike supports custom workflows and reporting for larger teams. The jump from Team to Business is large, so check which features you need before choosing.
Pros
- - Custom workflows
- - Free plan and trial
Cons
- - Business plan costs much more than Team
- - Annual billing on paid plans
Verdict: Consider it for larger agencies with complex processes.
Teamwork.com
Best for: Client-service teams that want time, budgets and retainers in PM
Pricing: Free (up to 5 users). Basics $9.99/user/mo billed yearly (3-user minimum). Accelerate $24.99/user/mo billed yearly (5-user minimum). Higher tiers via sales.
Teamwork.com is built for client services. Basics includes Gantt, table, list and board views and billable time tracking. Accelerate adds intake forms, workload planning, time budgets and retainers, and invoices built from logged time. You can invite client users into projects.
Pros
- - Built for client services
- - Retainers and time budgets on Accelerate
- - Gantt views on Basics
Cons
- - User minimums on paid plans
- - Agency features concentrated on Accelerate
Verdict: A strong option for agencies that want PM, time and retainers together.
AgencyPro
Best for: Client work run as requests inside a client portal
Pricing: Basic $39/mo, Pro $79/mo, Plus $149/mo, each with 1 seat. Extra seats $15, $20 or $30/mo.
AgencyPro runs client work as requests. Each service has its own request form, with conditional logic, custom statuses and allowed transitions, Kanban and list views, checklists and templates, and internal notes that clients do not see. Clients log in to the portal for free to submit and follow their requests.
Pro adds auto-assignment, time tracking, capacity management and recurring requests. AgencyPro does not list Gantt charts, so phase-heavy projects with many dependencies may suit a general PM tool better.
Pros
- - Request forms per service with conditional logic
- - Clients follow work in a branded portal
- - Invoicing in the same system
Cons
- - No Gantt charts listed
- - Time tracking and capacity need Pro
- - Seats cost extra
Verdict: A fit for request-based and retainer work where clients need visibility. See AgencyPro project management.
Which PM tool fits your agency
When AgencyPro is not the right fit
- - You plan long projects with many dependencies. AgencyPro does not list Gantt charts; Teamwork.com, Wrike or ClickUp do more here.
- - You need PM only, for a large team. Basecamp's flat price or ClickUp's per-user price will cost less than AgencyPro seats.
- - You want to import existing projects and tasks. AgencyPro's CSV importer brings in clients and services; projects and tasks are set up manually.
How to choose: 5 questions to ask
Sources and date checked
Vendor prices, plan limits and features on this page come from each vendor's own pricing or product page, checked October 13 and 14, 2026. AgencyPro plans and features come from our pricing page. If a vendor has changed its pricing since then, its own page is the current source.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best project management software for agencies?
It depends on how you work. ClickUp suits agencies that want many features in one place. Asana is easy to adopt and lets clients join as free guests. Monday.com is strong on visual boards. Basecamp suits agencies that want flat pricing. Teamwork.com is built for client services with time, budgets and retainers on its Accelerate plan. AgencyPro (our product) fits agencies that run client work as requests inside a client portal with billing.
ClickUp vs Asana: which is better for agencies?
ClickUp packs more features into its plans and has a free plan with unlimited members; Unlimited is $8 per user per month billed yearly. Asana Starter is $10.99 per user per month billed annually ($13.49 monthly) and includes unlimited free guests, so clients and contractors can collaborate without paid seats. Teams that want the simplest adoption often lean to Asana; teams that want everything in one tool lean to ClickUp.
Is Notion enough as a project management tool for an agency?
For a small team, it can be. Notion combines docs and databases, so you can build task boards next to briefs and meeting notes. It has a free plan; Plus is $10 and Business $20 per member per month billed yearly (more on monthly billing). As client volume grows, you may want stricter workflows, client permissions or time tracking that a dedicated tool provides.
How much should an agency budget for project management software?
For a 5-person team on annual billing, about $40 on ClickUp Unlimited, $45 on Monday.com Basic, $50 on Wrike Team, $50 on Teamwork.com Basics and $55 on Asana Starter. Basecamp is flat: $99 a month for Pro regardless of team size. AgencyPro Basic is $99 for 5 people on monthly billing and also covers the client portal and invoicing.
Can clients access the project management tool directly?
Usually, with limits. Asana includes unlimited free guests. Teamwork.com lets you invite client users into projects. Monday.com Standard and above include unlimited free viewers. In AgencyPro, clients log into the portal for free and see their own requests and status, while internal notes stay hidden from them.
Does my agency need Gantt charts?
Only if your projects have many dependent phases with fixed dates, such as website builds or campaign launches. Request-based and retainer work usually runs fine on Kanban boards and lists. Teamwork.com lists Gantt views on Basics; AgencyPro uses Kanban and list views and does not list Gantt charts.
Is Monday.com worth the price for an agency?
Monday.com has a free plan for up to 2 seats, then Basic at $9, Standard at $12 and Pro at $19 per seat per month billed annually. It is worth it if your team likes visual boards and dashboards; agencies that want client billing or a client portal in the same tool will need other software alongside it.
When does AgencyPro make sense instead of ClickUp or Asana?
When most of your work arrives as client requests and you want clients to submit, follow and approve that work in a branded portal, with invoices in the same place. AgencyPro uses service request forms with conditional logic, custom statuses, Kanban and list views, and checklists. If you mainly need internal planning with Gantt charts, portfolios or heavy customization, a general PM tool is the better fit.
Run client work where clients can see it
AgencyPro turns each service into a request form, tracks work on Kanban and list views, and lets clients follow progress in your branded portal, next to their invoices.
14-day free trial. No credit card required.