When managing a remote team or a complex project, keeping track of tasks, deadlines, and progress can be overwhelming. ClickUp project management is a powerful solution designed to simplify workflows and improve productivity.
With features like ClickUp time tracking, real-time collaboration, automation, and integrations, you can stay on top of projects and eliminate distractions. This guide covers:
✅ How ClickUp works
✅ Key features & benefits
✅ Best tips for effective project management
✅ Pricing plans & alternatives
📌 What Is ClickUp?
ClickUp is an all-in-one work management platform designed to replace multiple productivity tools. Instead of juggling different apps, ClickUp brings task management, collaboration, time tracking, and reporting into one interface.

Why ClickUp?
✔ Eliminates fragmented workflows by consolidating all tools into one.
✔ Boosts productivity by providing real-time collaboration & automation.
✔ Adapts to any industry—from freelancers to large enterprises.
💡 Fun Fact: ClickUp users save up to 20% of their time by switching from multiple apps to ClickUp.
🗂️ The ClickUp Hierarchy: Organizing Your Work Efficiently
ClickUp uses a hierarchical structure to keep work organized. Each level of the hierarchy helps you manage tasks, teams, and projects effectively.
ClickUp Hierarchy Level | Function |
---|---|
Workspace | The highest level of organization (e.g., your company). |
Spaces | Departments within your workspace (e.g., Marketing, HR, Development). |
Folders | Helps categorize projects, campaigns, and teams. |
Lists | Holds tasks and provides context for projects. |
Tasks | Individual work items that need to be completed. |
Subtasks | Smaller breakdowns of tasks for better tracking. |
Checklists | Actionable steps within tasks to ensure completion. |
Workspaces

This hierarchy ensures seamless project management, whether you’re handling small tasks or complex projects.
Each workspace you create is completely separate from any others. That includes the tasks, lists, and docs that live in it and the people who have access to it. Therefore, multiple workspaces are best when working on projects for different organizations.
Spaces

If the workspace is the company, then spaces are the different departments. They allow you to separate work and teams so you can achieve multiple objectives while simultaneously heading towards a common goal.
Each space has its own settings and ClickApps, which you can use to create workflow setups that meet your departmental needs. You can also seamlessly transfer information between spaces and switch between them.
Folders
Within spaces, you can use folders to categorize and organize your lists. We’ll get to what lists are in a moment but think of folders like paper folders that help you organize related projects, campaigns, or databases. They are optional, so you don’t have to use them and can instead create tasks directly into your spaces. However, folders add an extra layer of organization to your workflow.
Lists

Lists exist either in folders or directly in spaces and are basically containers for your tasks. They help you organize work by different characteristics such as time frame, location, or phase. You can also use them to provide context for your tasks and add extra information.
Tasks
Within lists, you have tasks, the heart of ClickUp project management. They are the individual action items and to-do’s that add up to complete your project. Each task lives in its parent list, although you may share it with other lists.
Subtasks

You can break down particularly complicated tasks into smaller levels with sub-tasks. Each sub-task can have its own description, due date, and assignee, and you can create multiple nested subtasks.
Checklists

Checklists are on the same level as subtasks. You can nest them within tasks to spell out the items you need to complete your task.
🔧 Key Benefits of Using ClickUp for Project Management
📊 Visualize and Plan Workflows
ClickUp provides over 15 different views, including:
✔ List View – Organize tasks in a to-do format.
✔ Board View – Visualize work Kanban-style.
✔ Calendar View – Manage deadlines and schedules.
✔ Gantt Charts – Track project progress with timelines.
These views help teams plan projects more effectively while keeping an eye on deadlines.
Visualize and plan
Thanks to Clickup’s wide selection of views, you can visualize and plan every minute detail of your tasks, projects, and workflows. It includes core views like list, board, and calendar, as well as less common views such as Gantt, table, timeline, mind map, and box.

Leveraging these views, you can get a deeper insight into the nature and progress of your projects. You can also use them to get a birds-eye view of your project, manage your time and resources, and prioritize tasks.
💬 Communicate & Collaborate in Real Time
ClickUp enhances team communication with:
✔ Comments & mentions – Keep discussions inside tasks.
✔ Whiteboard collaboration – Brainstorm ideas visually.
✔ Email integration – Send & receive emails directly inside ClickUp.
✔ Real-time chat – No need for third-party messaging apps.

You can communicate through comments and even integrate your email app into ClickUp to send and receive emails directly. You can also chat with your team, share documents, tasks, and links, as well as tag individual team members.
⚙️ Automate Tasks & Integrate Workflows
ClickUp supports 1,000+ integrations, including:
✔ Time tracking – Everhour, Toggl, Harvest
✔ Cloud storage – Google Drive, Dropbox
✔ Email & messaging – Gmail, Outlook, Slack, Microsoft Teams
✔ Development tools – GitHub, Jira
Automating workflows and integrating your favorite apps saves hours of manual work.
Keep a bird’s eye view
You can create dashboards in ClickUp that let you see everything about your project at a glance. You can add widgets and visuals to make this information easier to understand and structure it however you like.
📈 Monitor & Track Progress
With ClickUp time tracking, you can:
✔ Measure time spent on tasks.
✔ Compare estimated vs. actual work hours.
✔ Optimize workload distribution to prevent burnout.
✔ Generate automated reports for team performance insights.
📌 Using ClickUp Effectively for Project Management
ClickUp outshines traditional project management tools by offering more flexibility & automation.
Feature | Why It’s Better |
---|---|
All-in-One Solution | Combines task management, collaboration, and reporting. |
Mobile Access | Work from anywhere, anytime via mobile apps. |
Offline Mode | View & edit tasks without an internet connection. |
Scalable Hierarchy | Works for small teams & enterprise projects. |
Customizable Workflows | Tailor ClickUp to your team’s needs. |
💡 Pro Tip: If you already use a time tracking app like Everhour, integrate it directly into ClickUp for seamless tracking and invoicing.
All-in-one tool
Whatever your needs, Click-Up does it all. It condenses all your project management solutions into one tool, so you never need to switch between apps again. You can use it for project tracking, collaboration, note-taking, document management, planning, team management, time tracking, and much more.
Even if you happen to use an app whose function ClickUp cannot replicate, you can easily integrate it into ClickUp and work directly from there.
Accessibility
Many project management apps are confined to your desktop, meaning you cannot access them once you’re away from work.
However, with ClickUp, you can access everything you need, wherever and whenever you need it, directly from your smartphone.
Offline mode

ClickUp’s offline mode lets you stay on top of your tasks and projects even when you don’t have internet access. While offline, you can view your tasks and make changes to them. Any changes you make while offline will automatically sync once you have an internet connection and become visible to your team.
Scalable hierarchy
ClickUp’s hierarchy is logical and easy to understand, even for novice project managers. There are multiple levels of the organization, each of which is customizable. You can arrange your work by department, client, or whatever method suits you best. Best of all, the ClickUp hierarchy scales with your project, so it works just as well handling big or small projects.
Customization

ClickUp is infinitely customizable and can change to meet your project needs. Instead of the one-size-fits-all format that other project management apps adopt, ClickUp gives you the freedom to structure your workflow however you like. You can create custom fields, task statuses, and dashboards and include or remove features by enabling and disabling ClickApps.
❗ Tips for ClickUp Project Management
1️⃣ Understand the ClickUp hierarchy – Set up your workspace correctly from the start.
2️⃣ Integrate clients & stakeholders – Add clients as guests for easy project tracking.
3️⃣ Use time blocking & batching – Optimize productivity with Calendar View.
4️⃣ Analyze reports regularly – Identify bottlenecks and optimize workflow efficiency.
5️⃣ Leverage ClickUp views – Switch between List, Board, and Gantt Charts for better insights.
💡 Pro Tip: ClickUp’s dashboard feature lets you monitor tasks, deadlines, and team progress in real time.
💰 Is ClickUp Project Management Free?
Plan | Pricing | Best For |
---|---|---|
Free Forever | $0 | Individuals & small teams |
Unlimited | $5/user/month | Small businesses |
Business | $12/user/month | Growing teams |
Business Plus | $19/user/month | Large teams |
Enterprise | Custom pricing | Enterprises |
1️⃣ You can use ClickUp with a Free Forever plan and retain access to many features that make it unique such as whiteboards, collaborative docs, and real-time chat. However, if you want the full functionality that ClickUp offers, you’ll need to pay for one of its subscription plans.
2️⃣ The cheapest of these plans–The Unlimited Plan–costs $5 per member per month and includes perks like unlimited storage, integrations, Gantt charts and dashboards, two-factor authentication, and native time tracking.
3️⃣ The Business Plan is slightly more expensive at $12 per member per month and includes unlimited teams, custom exporting, guests with permissions, and advanced automations.
4️⃣ The Business Plus Plan is best for multiple teams and costs $19 per member per month. Subscribers get access to team sharing, custom permissions, increased automations, API, and much more.
5️⃣ Finally, we have the Enterprise Plan, which is best for many large teams and gives you outstanding features like live onboarding training, a dedicated success manager, and access to managed services. You’ll need to contact the ClickUp sales department to get a quote for this plan.
🔝 ClickUp Project Management: Is ClickUp Right for You?
ClickUp is one of the most versatile project management tools available. Whether you’re a:
✅ Freelancer – Track tasks, deadlines, and payments.
✅ Remote team – Improve collaboration & project tracking.
✅ Enterprise company – Scale complex workflows & automate tasks.
While ClickUp alternatives exist, few match its customization, automation, and flexibility.
Final Verdict: If you’re managing a team of 5+ people, Everhour + ClickUp is the best way to track time, optimize budgets, and improve efficiency.