Choose ClickUp if the whole team should be in the tool before you pay, or if you want time tracking and docs in the same workspace. Choose monday.com if two to ten people want the fastest board to adopt and will pay for Standard once they need a timeline.
Cost for the same team
Yearly prices checked September 28, 2026. ClickUp: clickup.com/pricing. monday.com: monday.com/pricing (paid plans from 3 seats, then buckets of 5; yearly is 18% off monthly). Asana: asana.com/pricing (Personal is free for 2 users; Starter $10.99 and Advanced $24.99 per user per month billed yearly; seats are sold in bundles). Trello: trello.com/pricing (Standard $5, Premium $10 per user per month billed yearly).
ClickUp vs monday.com, side by side
 ClickUp |  monday.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Unlimited members and tasks, 60 MB | 2 seats, 3 boards, 3 docs |
| First paid plan | Unlimited, $7 / user yearly | Basic, $9 / seat yearly, from 3 seats |
| Plan with Gantt | Unlimited ($7) | Standard ($12) |
| Time tracking | Native on Unlimited; trial on Free | On Pro ($19) |
| Learning curve | Steeper. More features on day one | Easier. Boards look like a spreadsheet |
| Best for | Teams that should not pay per person yet | Small teams that want a polished board |
Ten people on ClickUp Unlimited cost $840 per year. Ten people on monday.com Standard cost $1,440 per year. Two people who only need three boards pay $0 on monday.com and also $0 on ClickUp, with a much higher member cap on ClickUp.
Cost by team size
Yearly billing. monday.com sells seats in buckets (3, then multiples of 5); ClickUp bills the exact headcount.
| Team | ClickUp Unlimited ($7) | monday.com Standard ($12) | ClickUp Business ($12) | monday.com Pro ($19) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 people | $252 | $432 | $432 | $684 |
| 4 people | $336 | $720 (5 seats billed) | $576 | $1,140 (5 seats billed) |
| 6 people | $504 | $1,440 (10 seats billed) | $864 | $2,280 (10 seats billed) |
| 8 people | $672 | $1,440 (10 seats billed) | $1,152 | $2,280 (10 seats billed) |
| 10 people | $840 | $1,440 | $1,440 | $2,280 |
| 12 people | $1,008 | $2,160 (15 seats billed) | $1,728 | $3,420 (15 seats billed) |
| 20 people | $1,680 | $2,880 | $2,880 | $4,560 |
| 40 people | $3,360 | $5,760 | $5,760 | $9,120 |
ClickUp UnlimitedClickUp Businessmonday.com Standardmonday.com Pro10 seats billed
The gap is widest just above a monday.com bucket. At 6 people, ClickUp Unlimited is $504 a year and monday.com Standard is $1,440, because monday.com bills 10 seats. ClickUp Business and monday.com Standard have the same $12 rate, so they cost the same only when the team size lands exactly on a bucket: 3, 5, 10, 15 and so on.
The free plans, line by line
| ClickUp Free Forever | monday.com Free | |
|---|---|---|
| Members | Unlimited | 2 seats |
| Structure | 5 Spaces, 40 Lists per Space | 3 boards |
| Docs | Collaborative docs | 3 docs |
| Storage | 60 MB for the workspace | Not listed on the pricing page |
| Automations | 5 rules, 100 runs / month | None |
| Gantt and timeline | Trial uses | Not included |
| Guests | Unlimited, with full edit access | Not included |
ClickUp's free plan is bigger on every line that can be counted. monday.com's is smaller but finished: what is on the free plan works without trial counters, and two people can run three real boards on it indefinitely. The trade-off with ClickUp's free guests is control: they can edit everything they can see, and you cannot change that until you pay.
Automations, integrations and AI
ClickUp Unlimited includes 1,000 automation runs a month and Business 5,000. monday.com Standard includes 250 automation actions plus 250 integration actions a month, and Pro jumps to 25,000 of each. So ClickUp is more generous at the entry price, and monday.com Pro is far ahead if automations are central to the way the team works.
AI is priced differently. ClickUp sells it as an add-on: Brain AI is listed at $9 per user per month on top of the plan. monday.com includes a monthly allowance of AI credits with each paid plan (1,000 on Basic, 2,000 on Standard, 3,000 on Pro), and you can buy more.
How each one bills you
- ClickUp: the whole workspace upgrades, and every paid member is billed. New members are prorated. Yearly billing is 30% cheaper on Unlimited ($7 against $10). ClickUp advertises a full refund within 30 days.
- monday.com: seat buckets from 3 seats. Exceed your bucket and, after a 5-day warning, the account moves to the next one. Yearly billing is 18% off and paid upfront; cancel within 30 days and the remaining balance is refunded. Read-only viewers are free from Basic.
In practice, ClickUp's bill follows the headcount, and monday.com's bill moves in steps. A team that hires one person at a time will see monday.com's price jump every fifth hire.
Pick by situation
- One or two people, simple boards: monday.com Free is enough, and it is the easier screen.
- A whole team that is not ready to pay: ClickUp Free Forever. monday.com would force a paid plan at person number three.
- You need a timeline this month: monday.com Standard, or ClickUp Unlimited if price per person matters more.
- You track time against tasks: ClickUp Unlimited. monday.com time tracking is on Pro.
Full price lists: ClickUp pricing and monday.com pricing. Longer write-ups: ClickUp review and monday.com review.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Is ClickUp or monday.com cheaper?
For a team larger than 2, ClickUp is usually cheaper. Unlimited is $7 per user per month billed yearly with no seat minimum. monday.com Standard is $12 per seat and paid plans start at 3 seats. Two people can use monday.com free; ClickUp's free plan has no member cap.
Which free plan is better?
ClickUp Free Forever allows unlimited members and unlimited tasks, with 60 MB of storage. monday.com's free plan is limited to 2 seats and 3 boards, and it is easier to learn on day one.
Which one has a Gantt chart?
ClickUp includes Gantt charts on Unlimited, with trial uses on the free plan. monday.com includes timeline and Gantt views on Standard, not on Free or Basic.
Which is easier to adopt?
monday.com. Boards look like a spreadsheet and the templates are the fastest way to a working plan. ClickUp does more, and that is also why new teams take longer to set it up.
Can I use either one without paying?
Yes. Both have a permanent free plan, and both offer a trial of paid features. A free plan does not expire. A trial does.
Does monday.com charge for seats you do not use?
It can. monday.com sells seats in buckets: 3, then multiples of 5. Six people pay for 10 seats. ClickUp bills the exact number of paid members.
Which one includes more automations?
At the entry level, ClickUp: Unlimited includes 1,000 automation runs a month, against 250 automation actions on monday.com Standard. At the top self-serve plan, monday.com: Pro includes 25,000 actions a month, against 5,000 on ClickUp Business.