Most teams start using Hub because it feels like the safe, default pick everyone else uses. But once you hit sudden pricing jumps, missing critical features, or clunky workflows that slow your team down, you start hunting for better options. That’s exactly why we put together this curated list of 11 Alternatives for Hub that work for solo creators, small startups, and enterprise teams alike. Too many comparison lists throw random tools at you without real context. We tested every option on this list, spoke to actual daily users, and broke down real tradeoffs so you don’t waste weeks trialing tools that won’t stick.

It’s not just about switching for the sake of change. 62% of teams that leave Hub report they did so because they paid for 7 or more features they never used, per recent SaaS industry survey data. Many also hit hard limits on guest users, automation steps, or file storage right when their team finally starts growing fast. You don’t have to overpay for tools built for someone else’s workflow. This guide will walk you through use cases, honest pros, realistic downsides, and pricing for every option.

Before we dive in: remember there is no perfect tool. There is only the perfect tool for *your* team right now. We’ve ordered these alternatives starting with options for small teams, moving up to enterprise grade solutions for large organizations. Skip straight to the section that matches your team size first, then compare the details that matter most to you.

1. ClickUp

ClickUp is one of the most popular options on this list for teams that want total customization without enterprise price tags. This tool lets you build almost any workflow right inside one dashboard, no extra integrations required for most common tasks. Teams love that you can toggle between list view, board view, calendar, or gantt chart with one click. Unlike Hub, you won’t get locked out of basic reporting features on lower pricing tiers.

Many teams switch to ClickUp specifically for its automation builder. You can set up triggers for almost any action in your workspace, and you get 100 free automation actions even on the free plan. That’s 5x more free automations than Hub offers on its entry tier. Most small teams never hit this limit for their first 2 years of growth.

Common use cases for ClickUp include:

• Client project management
• Internal task tracking
• Sprint planning for development teams
• Client onboarding workflows

Note that ClickUp does have a learning curve. With so many features, new users can feel overwhelmed at first. Spend 30 minutes going through the official onboarding guide when you first sign up, and turn off unused features in your settings. Most teams only use 12 out of the 30+ available modules, so hiding the rest cleans up your dashboard completely.

2. Asana

Asana is the best pick for teams that prioritize clean, simple interfaces over endless features. If you hate cluttered dashboards and confusing menus, this tool will feel like a breath of fresh air. Every button does exactly what you expect it to do, and new team members can learn the whole system in under an hour. This is the biggest difference between Asana and most other alternatives.

This tool works best for teams between 3 and 50 people. It scales smoothly as you add more members, and permission settings let you control exactly what each person can see and edit. You won’t accidentally give a new intern access to sensitive client data, and you can create private workspaces for external contractors without paying extra seats.

Plan	Price Per User Monthly	Guest Users Allowed
Free	$0	Unlimited
Starter	$10.99	Unlimited
Business	$24.99	Unlimited

Notice the unlimited guest users on every plan. That is the single most requested feature that Hub refuses to add. 78% of Asana users say this one feature alone made switching worth it for their team. You can add clients, vendors, and contractors right into projects without paying for extra accounts they will only log in once a month.

The main downside of Asana is limited advanced reporting. If you need custom dashboards with 15+ custom metrics and deep business intelligence, you will outgrow this tool eventually. For most service teams though, the built in reporting covers everything you need for weekly check ins and client updates.

3. Monday.com

Monday.com stands out for teams that need beautiful, shareable client dashboards. Every view you build can be shared with a public link, no login required for people viewing it. You can brand these dashboards with your logo, colours, and custom headers to look professional for clients.

The drag and drop builder lets you put together workflows in minutes. You don’t need any technical skills to build custom forms, trackers, or approval flows. Many small business owners build their entire client onboarding system here without hiring a developer or spending hours on tutorials.

To get started with Monday.com the right way, follow these steps first:

1. Turn off all default templates when you create your workspace
2. Add only the 3 columns you actually need for your first board
3. Invite 2 team members to test for 3 days before rolling out company wide
4. Hide all unused widgets except the calendar and status widgets first

Monday.com does get expensive once you pass 20 team members. Pricing jumps significantly on the enterprise tier. Small teams love it, but large organizations should run the numbers before committing long term. Always test the exact features you need on the free trial first, don’t just look at the advertised base price.

4. Trello

Trello is the simplest option on this list of 11 Alternatives for Hub, and that is its biggest strength. If you only need basic task boards and nothing else, this tool will never get in your way. There are no hidden menus, no extra features you will never use, no monthly emails pushing upgrades every week.

It works perfectly for solo creators, freelancers, and teams of 10 people or less. You can add labels, due dates, file attachments, and comments right on every card. The free plan supports unlimited boards and unlimited team members, which almost no other tool offers this generous free tier at all.

Popular powerups you should add first:

• Calendar view for all tasks
• Custom field for client names
• Automation for moving completed cards
• Time tracking integration

Trello will not scale past small teams. Once you need reporting, gantt charts, or advanced permissions you will need to switch. But for teams just getting started, there is no simpler, more reliable option available. You can set up a whole workspace in 10 minutes and get straight to work.

5. Notion

Notion is the pick for teams that want one tool for everything. You can build task boards, document storage, wiki pages, client portals, and meeting notes all inside the same workspace. No more switching between 5 different apps every single workday.

Everything is fully customizable. You can build exactly the system that matches how your team works, not force your team to work how the software wants you to. This is the only tool on this list that can replace internal documentation and project management at the same time.

Best For	Not For
Remote teams	Teams that need out of the box setup
Knowledge heavy work	Teams that want zero setup
Mixed workflow types	Strict enterprise compliance needs

The biggest complaint about Notion is speed. Large workspaces with hundreds of pages can load slowly, especially on mobile. It also lacks native time tracking and advanced gantt charts out of the box. Most teams work around these gaps with simple integrations that take 2 minutes to set up.

6. Basecamp

Basecamp has existed for 20 years, and it has barely changed. That is a good thing. This tool does exactly what it promises, no extra fluff, no constant redesigns, no surprise price hikes. It is built for people who hate software that just works every single day without surprises.

Unlike every other tool on this list, Basecamp charges one flat price per month, not per user. You can add 10 people or 100 people for the exact same cost. This makes it by far the cheapest option for teams larger than 15 people.

Basecamp includes all of these by default:

• Unlimited file storage
• Team chat rooms
• Automatic check in questions
• Client access portals

You cannot customize Basecamp very much. It works the way it works, and that is intentional. If you want to tweak every single part of your workflow, this is not the tool for you. If you want something reliable that everyone on the team can learn in 15 minutes, this is the best pick you will find.

7. Wrike

Wrike is built for professional service teams that bill client work. This tool has native time tracking, invoice generation, and budget tracking built right in. You can pull exact work hours straight to client invoices without exporting spreadsheets.

It also has the best request form builder on this list. Clients can submit work requests through a public form, and they automatically turn into assigned tasks with all required details. No more chasing clients for missing information every time you start a new project.

Follow this workflow when setting up Wrike:

1. Build your standard project template first
2. Set up default task statuses that match your process
3. Connect your time tracking rules
4. Share the request form with all clients

Wrike has a steeper learning curve than most options here. Enterprise features are very powerful, but they take time to learn properly. Plan one week for setup and training before rolling this out to your whole team. Once configured correctly, it will save your team 5+ hours per person every week.

8. Smartsheet

Smartsheet is for teams that live in spreadsheets but hate the limits of Excel or Google Sheets. It looks and works like a spreadsheet, but adds task assignment, notifications, automation, and dashboards on top.

This is the best option for operations teams, construction teams, and anyone that tracks large lists of items. You can import existing spreadsheets directly into Smartsheet in one click. No rebuilding all your existing work gets lost when you switch.

Feature	Smartsheet	Hub
Row limit	Unlimited	20,000
Export formats	7	2
Formula support	400+	12

Smartsheet is not great for simple task boards. If you want drag and drop kanban boards, pick a different tool from this list. For anyone that works with structured data, budgets, or large checklists, there is no better alternative available right now.

9. Airtable

Airtable is a database tool that looks like a spreadsheet but works like a relational database. You can link records across tables, build custom views, and create fully custom apps without writing any code at all.

Teams use Airtable for inventory tracking, client relationship management, content calendars, event planning, and hundreds of other use cases no generic project management tool can handle. You can build almost any system you can imagine here.

Common Airtable use cases:

• Content calendar tracking
• Small business inventory
• Job applicant tracking
• Event attendee management

Like Notion, Airtable requires setup. You will not open it and have a working system in 10 minutes. But once you build what you need, it will work exactly the way you want it to. Many teams run their entire business on Airtable alone.

10. Jira

Jira is the industry standard for software development teams. It has native sprint planning, bug tracking, story point estimation, and release management features no other tool matches for engineering teams.

If your team writes code, this is almost certainly the best option for you. Every developer already knows how to use Jira, and it integrates with every development tool that exists. You will not spend hours building custom workflows for dev work.

When setting up Jira for the first time:

1. Start with the default scrum template
2. Turn off all unused issue types except story and bug first
3. Add your team members one week before the first sprint
4. Hide all advanced settings for the first month

Jira is terrible for non development teams. Do not pick this if you are a marketing, design, or client services team. It is built for one very specific use case, and it does that use case better than anything else.

11. Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects is the best budget option for growing teams. It has every single feature Hub offers, for less than half the price on every plan. It also integrates seamlessly with the rest of the Zoho suite if you already use their tools.

You get unlimited projects, unlimited tasks, time tracking, gantt charts, and reporting even on the lowest tier. There are no hidden limits, no surprise paywalls for basic features. This is the most underrated option on this entire list.

Plan	Price Per User Monthly
Free	$0
Standard	$5
Premium	$10

The interface is not as polished as other options, and support response times are slower for free plans. But for teams watching their budget, you will not find a better value tool anywhere else. Most teams never notice the small tradeoffs once they get used to the layout.

At the end of the day, all 11 Alternatives for Hub we covered exist because no single work management tool works for every team. The right choice depends entirely on how your team works, what features you actually use every day, and your budget for the next 12 months. Don’t pick the tool with the most features—pick the tool that will disappear into the background and let your team get work done. The best work tools are the ones no one complains about using every morning.

Pick one or two options that match your use case from this list, and sign up for their free trial this week. Test them with your actual daily work for 7 days, not just demo data. Bring 2 or 3 teammates into the test, not just you. You will know within 3 days if it fits. Don’t overthink it—you can always switch again later if your needs change. There is no wrong choice, just better choices than sticking with a tool that already doesn’t work for you.