There are plenty of platforms and tools that help to improve project management efforts, but with so many on the market, it can be difficult to determine which is right for your business needs. ClickUp and Notion are project management tools that aim to make work more accessible, collaborative and productive than the traditional Gantt chart method.
Jump to:
- What is ClickUp?
- What is Notion?
- ClickUp vs. Notion: Feature comparison
- Choosing between ClickUp and Notion
What is ClickUp?
ClickUp is a cloud-based collaborative and intuitive project management tool for small, medium and large enterprises. It allows you to manage all your projects in one place with an easy-to-use interface. You can create tasks, subtasks and milestones as well as share them with team members. With built-in time tracking functionality, you can also easily track time spent on each task.
SEE: ClickUp review (TechRepublic)
What is Notion?
Notion is a project management tool designed to help teams organize, manage, track their tasks, and collaborate. You can use it to plan projects, keep track of team activity, and share files. Notion combines kanban boards, tasks, wikis, and databases with modified markdown support. The result is an easy-to-use interface that makes it easy for teams to get organized and stay in sync.
Common features of ClickUp vs. Notion
Both ClickUp and Notion offer many features inherent to project management software. But where Notion offers a platform that is simple and easy-to-use, ClickUp provides a wide range of options as well as automation.
| Feature | ClickUp | Notion |
|---|---|---|
| Gantt charts | Yes | Yes |
| Timelines | Yes | Yes |
| Budgeting | Yes | Yes |
| Live document collaboration | Yes | Yes |
| Views | List, board, kanban and calendar | Table, list, calendar, kanban, gallery and timeline |
| Free plan | Yes (100MB storage) | Yes (5MB file upload) |
| Time tracking and estimates | Yes | Yes |
Built-in automation
Notion offers no built-in automation. If you want to automate parts of your workflow, you have to use a third-party tool like Zapier or IFTTT. That makes Notion only suitable for projects that require minimal automation.
With ClickUp, automation is built into the platform and can be used on projects, and this will help the team save time spent on repetitive tasks. This is a great advantage because it allows users to save time by staying within one project management system instead of switching between multiple tools.
Templates and board views
Both ClickUp and Notion offer templates for various types of projects and a variety of board views. However, ClickUp beats Notion because it provides more board views and a more extensive template library.
Notion, for example, lets you add various views to a single board, such as list, timeline, gallery, and calendar. Meanwhile, ClickUp has more options than Notion. There are over 100 templates to pick from and numerous view choices such as board, calendar, activity, Gantt, mind map, timeline, workload, table, and list.
User interface and user experience
User interface and user experience can play a huge role in how users perceive project management tools. The less time and effort it takes for someone to get comfortable with project management tools, the better from both an operational and aesthetic standpoint.
SEE: Top keyboard shortcuts you need to know (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
Notion has a simple user interface that’s easy to understand. ClickUp has a very clean design, but it does take some time to get used to. Both have drag-and-drop functionality, making organizing projects and tasks much more straightforward.
User roles and permissions
Both of these project management tools offer some fundamental user roles; however, ClickUp offers a more granular approach with its custom role feature to customize advance permission. This feature allows you to create custom permissions for each team member and even define which actions they can take on different projects. You can also add an unlimited number of custom fields to any team member’s profile.
With Notion, on the other hand, you have limited built-in user roles (editor, commenter and viewer) and can only grant members specific capabilities based on those roles.
Choosing between ClickUp and Notion
ClickUp offers more robust tools and is best for teams that want a powerful and flexible tool. It can be overwhelming at first sight, but its limitless flexibility offers a significant advantage. ​​Clickup offers deeper integrations, more customizability, and automation features than Notion, making it ideal for teams that want powerful and flexible tools.
However, if you’re looking for a simple solution, then Notion may be your best bet. This tool offers less complexity, but it still allows you to get organized and stay on top of your tasks without learning complex systems or processes. It doesn’t have as many integrations or automation features, but if all you need is a way to organize tasks and collaborate with your team, then Notion could be right for you.
Both solutions offer free trials, so check them out before making a purchase decision.