Log in
Noticed you’re on an iOS device. Get our mobile app for effortless planning on the go.
Log in with planable.io
Noticed you’re on an Android device. Get our mobile app for effortless planning on the go.
Log in with planable.io
Planable is the best client-facing social media tool we’ve ever used and we’ve used a lot.
Email marketing is one of the oldest and best tricks in the communication playbook, and newsletters are an excellent tool for brand awareness, audience engagement, and lead nurturing. But newsletter planning is challenging. Coming up with and delivering fresh ideas...
Aug 14, 2024
Wrike is one of the most popular project management collaboration tools. The platform is highly versatile and offers excellent AI-powered automation capabilities. However, its versatility comes with a steep learning curve, while the platform still lacks some fundamental features — which other Wrike alternatives cover.
If you’re looking for a tool that can improve project management and team collaboration for marketing, I’ll walk you through some of the best alternatives to Wrike currently available.
But first, let’s see more of what Wrike is about.
Wrike is an all-in-one project management software solution that stands out through AI features like automatic task summaries or the option to turn meeting notes into tasks, for example.
The platform’s Project Risk Detection feature analyzes all ongoing projects’ progress to identify potential issues, like bottlenecks or a high likelihood of missing deadlines. It then offers suggestions to fix them. You can also use the platform’s AI to generate subitems and even written content.
But the platform is tricky to navigate — Wrike packs so many features that the UI feels cluttered, and you might need to sift through numerous menus and submenus to find what you’re looking for.
Wrike also lacks rather basic features I would otherwise expect from advanced project management tools, like note-taking and built-in chat functionalities. That’s especially the case with the platform’s entry-level packages — approval workflows, time tracking, and file-proofing features are locked behind higher-tier pricing plans.
This is why Wrike may not be the best option for those looking to manage creative projects. Marketing teams in particular may feel as though Wrike alternatives are better suited to their needs.
Let’s get into more detail to see why.
Wrike’s calendar view is straightforward. You can plan projects via a drag-and-drop interface and organize tasks through custom color-coded labels.
The platform also offers a solid set of filtering options. However, the option to filter tasks by comments or document types is definitely missing here — it would’ve been handy for project managers to quickly identify specific tasks or spot work that needs urgent feedback.
Wrike’s team collaboration tools let teammates leave comments and mentions under each task — great for project management. The platform’s file-proofing capabilities also allow for feedback through annotations.
You can invite external collaborators via email and assign them custom permissions — like the ability to download files, view internal comments, and browse between multiple file versions.
The biggest drawback here is that Wrike’s file-proofing feature is only available starting with the Business plan, which costs $24.80 per user per month (billed annually).
Entry-level packages won’t let you collaborate directly on media assets like visuals or written documents. Other collaboration and project management features, like built-in chats, are not present in Wrike — unlike some other project management solutions in this list.
Wrike includes custom approval workflows. You can add multiple reviewers to each task — a task won’t get greenlit unless it’s approved by everyone involved. Wrike then provides updated streams of each task’s reviewing activity in real-time.
But again, these features are only available starting from the Business plan.
Pricing: Wrike starts at $9.80 per user per month (billed annually), with a free version available.
Planable is one of the best Wrike alternatives for creative teams. It’s a content planning and social media scheduling platform designed for marketing project management.
Planable’s collaborative features
The platform stands out through its approval and collaboration functionalities.
You can collaborate with team members via direct comments (internal and external), annotations, and text suggestions. As for approvals, Planable lets you set up custom approval workflows to ensure your team’s review and approval processes are as seamless as possible.
With Planable’s Universal Content feature, you can work on any type of written content you want, including blogs, newsletters, and ad copy, for example. The option to schedule social media posts across the most popular networks directly from Planable is a big plus.
Collaboration on a newsletter in Planable
Planable’s collaboration and content editing and creation capabilities also extend to videos and images — you can leave comments and choose between numerous filters, adjust exposure, vignetting, and so on.
Planable manages to fill in most of Wrike’s gaps and also bring some unique features to the table.
Planable’s calendar is just as straightforward as Wrike’s — but its filtering options are much more in-depth.
Content calendar view in Planable
You can adjust the view to see projects based on feedback (active comments, resolved comments, and suggestions), content type (images, videos, texts, carousels, etc.), and approval status — just to name a few.
You can also add custom color-coded labels to better organize your work while re-scheduling posts is just a matter of dragging and dropping content across the calendar. The option to preview and approve content directly from the calendar is a very nice touch.
Custom color-coded labels in Planable, along with the Recycle post & Filters & sort features
You can also access your digital asset library within the calendar — not possible with Wrike.
Unlike Wrike, Planable’s entry-level plans include full access to its collaboration functionalities — you can collaborate on both texts and media files.
You can invite external stakeholders through shareable links or emails. Then, set up customized permissions for each specific collaborator, like viewer-only, editor, or approver.
Setting workspace permissions in Planable
Planable also lets you set up internal notes or hide entire posts away from your client’s view. The platform keeps you up-to-date with your project’s progress via email and mobile app notifications.
Internal notes and comments in Planable
You can also check a project’s version history to see whether feedback was implemented correctly.
When it comes to reviews and approvals, Planable gives you four customizable workflows to choose from: none, optional, required, and multi–level.
Multi-level approval workflow in Planable
If you work alone, the option to disable approvals is nice to have. Agile teams who don’t have a reviewer on stand-by can use optional approvals — approvals are enabled, but content doesn’t need to be greenlit before publishing.
Multi-level approvals let you set up workflows with multiple layers — you can add as many team members on each layer as you need. A project must pass through each distinct approval level before reaching the final reviewers.
This option keeps the content approval workflow smooth and is excellent for projects that require input from multiple departments, or for agencies who run internal approvals before sending content to the client for the final say.
Agency workflow in Planable
Pricing: Planable starts at $33 per workspace per month. You can also schedule your first 50 posts for free.
Drawbacks: Although Planable includes direct social media scheduling, the platform currently doesn’t integrate with CMS solutions. For content like blogs, you have to copy the text from Planable and paste it into your CMS.
Planable wins here. Its features are neatly laid-out and I found the interface much easier to navigate.
Planable’s pricing plans are flexible depending on the number of workspaces and users you wish to include — great for scalability.
Planable lacks Wrike’s project automation and management-specific features, but it doubles down on planning, collaboration, and approval tools.
Takeaway: Planable is an excellent choice for marketing teams looking at Wrike alternatives. The platform’s collaboration and approval tools and its built-in editing features are perfect for everything and anything related to content creation — from planning to publishing.
Monday is a work management solution that stands out through its customization options. The project management software includes numerous views, including a calendar, timeline, Gantt charts, map, and a Kanban board. It offers a massive template library, where you can find 200+ use cases and industry-specific templates.
Some examples include templates for marketing campaign planning or video production management. There’s also an ample app marketplace where you can extend the platform’s functionalities.
This makes Monday a solid choice for project managers seeking an alternative to Wrike that lets you plan, manage, and track projects according to your specific needs.
Add multiple projects into a portfolio to get a high-level overview of their progress. Zoom in on the details and see each project’s tasks, along with their status, progress, and team members.
Set up task dependencies and prioritize tasks based on their urgency via color-coded labels.
Collaborate with team members via comments and annotations. See who does what and when with Monday’s time-tracking tool. Use the Workload view to see who can take on additional tasks or who is at risk of overloading.
Pricing: Paid plans start at $9 per user per month (billed annually) for up to three users. There’s also a free version available.
Drawbacks: Monday can take a while to set up because of its vast customization options. Some important features, like approvals, are only available via the app marketplace.
One of the most popular Wrike alternatives, Asana is an all-in-one work management solution designed for teams of all sizes.
The platform offers a solid free version available for up to 10 team members, while paid packages include access to more advanced features like the Workflow Builder — one of Asana’s standouts. You can set up task dependencies, add team members to specific tasks, or set up automatic task statuses via a visual rule-based layout.
Asana also includes a vast template library with numerous templates suitable for marketing, creative, agile teams, and more.
Organize projects into portfolios for a generalized overview of ongoing work — or get more granular and use the platform’s task management tool to break down each task into multiple sub-tasks. Add custom goals and milestones to ensure your team is always on track.
Use project goals to track and compare a project’s progress against its objectives via visual dashboards. Leverage the platform’s customizable dashboards to track project spending, team workloads, complete or incomplete tasks, and so on.
Work on visuals and PDF files directly within Asana. Leave precise feedback via in-document annotations — each comment will automatically turn into a sub-task.
Pricing: Paid packages start at $10.99 per user per month (billed annually) and there’s also a free version available.
Drawbacks: File storage is limited to 100 MB per file.
Trello is a solid free alternative to Wrike for small teams seeking a simple online project management tool. The platform lets you manage tasks and projects through Kanban boards.
Boards are split into multiple columns. Each column indicates a project’s progression stage, like To Do, Doing, and Done, for example. Tasks will move across the board until they’re completed.
The platform’s paid plans include additional views, like maps, tables, or calendar layouts. Other views, such as Gantt charts, are available through power-ups — a directory of 200+ integrations.
Pricing: You can use Trello for free. Paid plans start at $5 per user per month (billed annually).
Drawbacks: The platform’s simplicity may not make it suitable for more complex projects. Trello lacks advanced project management features, like resource management or task dependencies.
ClickUp is an all-in-one productivity tool that makes managing projects a breeze. This alternative to Wrike blends real-time collaboration functionalities with resource management, time tracking, and advanced automation features to ensure your teams always deliver projects on time.
Most notably, there’s the Collaborative Whiteboards feature — you can hold live brainstorming sessions, work on ideas through collaborative canvases, and seamlessly turn your ideas into tasks. This is something you don’t find in many other Wrike alternatives or project management solutions.
You can also record and save these sessions through the platform’s in-app video recording tool.
Group projects into portfolios, and create tasks along with sub-tasks for a systematic approach to your workflows. Monitor project progress via intuitive dashboards and visualize your work through calendars, Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and more.
Develop existing ideas into fully customizable workflows via a drag-and-drop interface. See how each task and sub-task links to your overall project’s goal. Create new tasks directly within the interface.
Collaborate with team members through comments, annotations, and chats.
Pricing: Paid packages start at $7 per user per month (billed annually). ClickUp’s free plan allows for unlimited tasks but has a 100 MB storage limit.
Drawbacks: ClickUp doesn’t include any native approval functionalities — you can only implement approvals through the platform’s app or template library.
Zoho Projects is one of the best Wrike alternatives for small development teams. The project management tool includes built-in issue-tracking capabilities — you can add newly discovered bugs into Zoho manually or through its integrations with other issue-monitoring software, like Jira.
You can then turn these issues into tasks and monitor their progress through an intuitive interface. Zoho also includes built-in time tracking and document management tools and team chats.
Use Blueprints to organize your project’s hierarchy and create custom workflows. Add assignees and due dates, and set up automated workflows through a point-and-click interface.
Organize your work through Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and calendar views. Set up task dependencies and automate recurring tasks to increase productivity. Add milestones to track progress more easily.
Collaborate with your team through chats and threaded conversations. Set up forums, document repositories, and internal pages to manage resources effectively.
Pricing: There’s a free version available, while paid plans start at $4 per user per month (billed annually).
Drawbacks: Users report that Zoho Projects has a bit of a learning curve.
Microsoft Project is a straightforward project management solution integrated into the Microsoft Office 365 suite. Compared to other Wrike alternatives, this makes the platform a good fit for small teams relying mostly on Microsoft products to handle business activities.
Microsoft Project offers a solid feature set, including task dependencies, workload management, project reports, and more.
Set up tasks through Kanban, list, chart, grid, and timeline views. Streamline project planning through ready-made templates and organize ongoing tasks by day or week. Set up task dependencies via a visual interface.
See each team member’s workload and get an overview of all your un-assigned tasks in your to-do lists under the People tab to assign work evenly across your organization.
Leverage the platform’s generative AI to create new tasks, monitor progress, and set project goals.
Pricing: There’s a free plan available to Microsoft 365 subscribers. Paid packages start at $10 per user per month (billed annually).
Drawbacks: Collaboration functionalities are only accessible via Microsoft Teams.
To recap, Trello and Microsoft Project are solid Wrike alternatives if you run a small team and seek something with a low barrier to entry.
Asana is an excellent free choice with good scalability potential, while Monday, ClickUp, and Zoho Projects are great if you’re on the lookout for customizable Wrike alternatives with more advanced features.
If you want a more hands-on approach to your content and creative projects, however, consider Planable. Its content planning, collaboration, and approval functionalities are top-notch. Coupled with its solid editing capabilities and Canva integration, you can ensure your content rolls out in the best shape possible. Plus, you can schedule social media posts directly from Planable.
Give it a shot and get 50 free posts when you sign up!
Digital marketing enthusiast, language nerd, and content writer. Horea loves writing about SaaS and anything that involves boosting online presence – from SEO to social media, web design, and more. His content is allergic to fluff and eats research for breakfast.
Create
Approve
Plan
Schedule
Collaborate
Analyze
