What is Monday.com and what does it do?
Monday.com is a work management platform where teams build visual boards to track tasks, projects, and internal processes. Monday.com gives teams a visual way to track who's doing what and what's coming next. You create boards with tasks, assign owners, set statuses, and see progress across different views: board, table, timeline, or calendar. Automations handle routine updates so the board stays current without manual effort.
Freelancers and agencies use Monday.com because they need to coordinate work across people and projects. The board structure lets you build workflows for almost anything, from content calendars to software releases.
Monday.com handles:
- Tracking tasks in boards with statuses and owners
- Viewing work in different layouts like board, table, and timeline
- Building simple automations for task updates and reminders
- Using templates for repeatable team work
- Collaborating with comments and updates inside tasks
- Building dashboards for internal visibility
For internal workflow tracking, Monday.com handles these needs. But Monday.com lacks native proposals, contracts, invoicing, and a client portal designed for ongoing work.
What are Monday.com's limitations?
Monday.com is built for internal project tracking, but freelancers and agencies often still need other tools for proposals, contracts, invoicing, and a real client portal.
The result? You track tasks visually inside Monday, then send proposals from one tool, contracts from another, and invoices from a third. Clients never see the board running their project.
Common gaps include:
- Proposals and contracts usually require other tools
- Invoicing often needs add-ons or integrations
- Client portal experience is not a core strength
- Deep setup can take time and feels complex for small teams
- Time tracking does not always map directly into invoicing
Monday.com looks great but doesn't help with actually billing clients. I still need separate tools for proposals, contracts, and invoicing. And customizing workflows beyond the basics can be a real headache.
What should a Monday.com alternative include?
A complete Monday com alternative should keep visual task tracking, but also cover the business steps around client work. The alternative should connect proposals, contracts, tasks, files, invoices, and payments so clients and teams stay in sync.
The goal is one place where the plan, the work, and the billing stay tied together without extra tools.
A strong alternative should include:
- Visual project management with board and timeline views, so the team can track work clearly
- Proposals clients can approve, so scope and pricing are clear
- Contracts with e-signatures, so agreements are signed and stored
- Client portal access for progress, files, and approvals, so clients don't chase updates
- Invoices and payments tied to the project or milestones, so billing matches the plan
- Files, feedback, and approvals tied to tasks, so changes are tracked clearly
- Branding for client-facing pages, so client interactions feel like your business
This is what separates a single purpose tool from a complete client work tool.
#1. Plutio, the complete Monday.com alternative for agencies
Monday.com looks great. Colorful boards, board, table, and timeline views, automations that move tasks around. Your team can see everything at a glance. Progress feels visible.
Then you win a client project. And you realize: Monday doesn't really do client work. Monday has no proposals and no contracts. Monday has no invoicing (or invoicing requires add-ons and integrations). Monday has no client portal where clients can see what's happening without you adding them to your internal boards. So you send a proposal from one tool, a contract from another, invoice from a third, and hope the client doesn't get confused.
That's the gap. Monday manages internal workflows. But client work needs agreements, billing, and a place where clients see exactly what they're paying for.
Plutio closes that gap. When a proposal is accepted, the project is already there. Tasks are created from the scope. The client has their own portal. Invoices are tied to milestones. You don't scatter everything across tools.
What this actually looks like
Say you're running a creative agency. A client wants a campaign. In Plutio, here's what happens:
- You send a proposal with scope, timeline, and pricing
- The client approves and signs in one click
- A project appears with tasks like "Strategy," "Creative," "Production," "Launch"
- Invoices are attached to milestones
- The client gets a branded portal where they can see progress, approve deliverables, and pay invoices
- You start working. No copying. No switching apps.
The proposal you sent becomes the project you run. That's the difference.
Why this matters more than it sounds
When your project tool and your billing tool are disconnected, revenue leaks. The scope changes mid-project, but the invoice doesn't update because the invoice lives in a separate system. You undercharge by 10-20% on complex projects. The scope changes but the invoice doesn't. The client asks for an update and you have to summarize from multiple places. Approvals get lost in email.
When everything is connected:
- Clients see their project status without asking you
- Invoices match the work because invoices are tied to the same scope
- Approvals and feedback happen inside the project, not scattered across email
- Reminders and follow-ups happen automatically based on real project steps
These results come from having everything connected instead of scattered across tools.
What about switching?
You can import your clients and project data from Monday.com into Plutio. Plutio has been refined for over 10 years based on real feedback from freelancers and agencies who use it every day.
With Plutio we don't jump between apps anymore! Everything from projects to invoicing is finally connected in one fully-branded app.
#2. Asana, dependencies and portfolios, no billing
Asana is one of the more popular project management tools for teams who need to track complex projects and workflows. Asana offers a straightforward interface and multiple ways to view data, including lists, boards, and timelines.
Asana handles task dependencies, project milestones, and workload management, making Asana a common choice for larger teams or those with detailed project requirements. Asana offers extensive integrations and a well-documented API for custom workflows.
Where Asana falls short for freelancers and agencies is the lack of business-specific tools. Asana has no native proposals, contracts, or invoicing features. To run a client business in Asana, you must integrate separate tools for every stage of the client lifecycle except project work.
Asana works for teams who need project tracking with task dependencies, milestones, and workload visibility.
Asana is not a fit if you want your project work connected to your proposals, contracts, and invoicing natively.
Asana is designed for tracking tasks, but as a business owner, I still feel like I'm jumping between five different apps to get anything done. I wish it handled more than just the tasks themselves.
#3. Trello, simple Kanban, no business tools
Trello is a common choice for Kanban-style project management. Trello's simple, card-based interface makes it easy for teams to visualize their work and move tasks through different stages.
You can add Trello Power-Ups to add functionality like automation, calendar views, and integrations. Trello's simplicity makes the tool a common starting point for individuals and small teams who want a low-friction way to manage their to-do lists.
However, Trello's simplicity can also be its downfall for complex projects. Trello lacks native subtasks (beyond checklists), detailed reporting, or the ability to manage multifaceted client relationships. Like most pure PM tools, Trello offers no native billing or document management for proposals and contracts.
Trello works for those who want simple, visual Kanban boards without any complexity.
Trello stops being useful when you need subtasks, dependencies, or native business tools like invoicing.
Trello is so straightforward to use, but as my agency grew we found ourselves outgrowing the simple boards. We needed more structure and a way to handle client billing without a dozen separate apps.
#4. Notion, customizable workspace, heavy setup
Notion is an all-in-one workspace that combines notes, documents, and databases. Notion allows users to build their own custom systems for project management, knowledge bases, and more.
Notion's strength lies in its ability to centralize information and create customized wiki-style project pages. Notion is a common choice for teams who value documentation and want one central place for their internal knowledge and project data.
The trade-off for Notion's customization is the setup time. Building a full PM and client management system in Notion requires significant effort and ongoing maintenance. Plus, Notion lacks native time tracking, specialized client portals, and integrated financial tools like proposals and invoicing.
Notion works for teams who want to build a customized knowledge and work environment.
Notion requires significant build-out time and lacks native features for the full client lifecycle.
Notion is a sandbox. You can build anything, but that means you HAVE to build everything. I spent more time managing my Notion boards than actually doing my client work.
#5. Basecamp, simple communication, no billing
Basecamp is a project management tool that emphasizes simplicity and internal communication. Basecamp centers every project around a set of core tools: a message board, to-do list, schedule, set of docs/files, and a real-time group chat.
Basecamp uses a "one price for unlimited users" model and focuses on helping teams stay organized without the clutter of complex features. Basecamp is built for teams who want more order and less "work about work."
While Basecamp handles organization, Basecamp does not include time tracking, Kanban boards, Gantt charts, or billing. Basecamp also offers limited customization for how you view and manage your tasks (no Kanban or Gantt views natively).
Basecamp works for teams who want a simple, flat-rate tool centered around communication.
Basecamp falls short for those who need diverse task views or integrated business management.
Basecamp is solid for keeping everyone on the same page, but the lack of Kanban boards and time tracking meant we were still using three other apps to fill the gaps.
#6. Wrike, enterprise PM, complex for small teams
Wrike is a project management platform built for large organizations with complex workflows. Wrike offers features like Gantt charts, time tracking, resource management, and custom request forms.
Wrike handles multi-layered projects and provides visibility into team capacity and productivity. Wrike is a heavy-duty tool for teams who need to manage thousands of tasks with complex dependencies.
For freelancers or smaller agencies, Wrike can be overwhelming. The interface is complex, the learning curve is steep, and most of Wrike's features like proofing, calendars, and dashboards are locked behind high-priced tiers. Like others in this category, Wrike lacks native proposals, contracts, and integrated client billing.
Wrike works for large teams who need project management with Gantt charts, dependencies, and resource allocation.
Wrike is often too complex and expensive for smaller agencies and freelancers.
Wrike is very capable, but it feels like it was built for a Fortune 500 company. For my 10-person agency, it was just too much white noise and not enough focus on the client experience.
#7. Smartsheet, spreadsheet-based, data-first
Smartsheet is a spreadsheet-style project management tool built for teams who prefer Excel but want more collaboration and automation features.
Smartsheet handles data management, reporting, and building complex dashboards based on project data. For teams moving from spreadsheets, Smartsheet feels familiar while adding workflow automation and form-based data collection.
However, Smartsheet lacks the visual "task-first" feel of modern PM tools and is primarily data-centric. Smartsheet doesn't include native proposals, contracts, specialized client portals, or billing. Smartsheet is a data management tool first, and a client management tool second.
Smartsheet works for teams who need a collaborative spreadsheet-based PM tool with formulas and automation.
Smartsheet feels less like a project app and lacks the native tools to handle the client-facing side of a business.
If you love Excel, you'll love Smartsheet. But if you want a visual way to manage your agency and bill your clients, you're going to find it very frustrating.
