Best for
Best for teams that want tasks, docs and time tracking in one highly customizable platform.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Project Management Comparison
ClickUp vs. Shortcut
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for software engineering teams that want tickets, docs and git automation in one workspace.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | ClickUp | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free; Unlimited from ~$7 / user / month Business ~$12 per user and month, Enterprise on request. The free tier covers unlimited users. | Free; Team from $8.50 / user / month Billed monthly, with 25 percent off on yearly billing. Business is $12 per user and month billed monthly, Enterprise on request. The free plan covers up to 10 users. |
| Free trial | Free tier | 14-day free trial, no credit card required; free plan for up to 10 users |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
| Made in | USA | Not stated |
| Task planning | Yes, tasks with many views, plus docs and whiteboards | Yes, stories, epics and objectives planned in iterations, with Kanban boards, work-in-progress limits, backlogs, roadmaps and custom fields |
| Resource planning | Limited, no dedicated resource management | No capacity or workload planning is documented; planning runs through iterations, backlogs and work-in-progress limits on the boards |
| Time tracking | Yes, native | No hour logging is documented; work is sized with story-point estimates and measured afterwards through the burndown, velocity and cycle time reports |
| Reporting and controlling | Yes | Epic and iteration reports on all plans; metrics dashboard with velocity, cycle and lead time and cumulative flow diagrams from Business |
| Integrations and API | Yes, integrations | Yes, REST API plus version control automations for GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket and 40+ integrations |
| AI features | Yes | Yes |
| MCP-ready | No | stated Yes |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Onboarding | Not stated | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized, Enterprise |
| Integrations | Slack, Google Workspace, GitHub, Zoom, HubSpot, Zapier | GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Slack, Figma, Sentry |
Add a tool
Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price ClickUp Free; Unlimited from ~$7 / user / month Shortcut Free; Team from $8.50 / user / month
- Free trial ClickUp Free tier Shortcut 14-day free trial, no credit card required; free plan for up to 10 users
- Company size ClickUp Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Shortcut Small and mid-sized, Enterprise
- MCP-ready ClickUp No Shortcut Yes
- Task planning ClickUp Yes, tasks with many views, plus docs and whiteboards Shortcut Yes, stories, epics and objectives planned in iterations, with Kanban boards, work-in-progress limits, backlogs, roadmaps and custom fields
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
ClickUp
Strengths
- Most generous free tier (unlimited users)
- All-in-one tasks, docs and time tracking
- Highly customizable
Limitations
- Steep learning curve and setup
- Native resource management is weak
- Can lag at large scale
Shortcut
Strengths
- Version control automations keep stories in step with branches and pull requests
- Docs, roadmaps and objectives sit in the same workspace as the tickets
- Free plan for up to 10 users, and 12 months free for startups under 50 employees
Limitations
- No native time tracking or capacity planning published
- Cycle time, lead time and velocity reporting only from the Business plan
Plans
Pricing
ClickUp
- Free $0 Unlimited users.
- Unlimited ~$7 Per user and month.
- Business ~$12 Per user and month.
- Enterprise Custom On request.
Shortcut
- Free $0 Up to 10 users. Kanban views, roadmap visibility, basic reporting, sprint planning, docs and GitHub, Slack and Figma integrations.
- Team $8.50 Per user and month billed monthly, 25 percent off on yearly billing. Adds advanced reporting, work-in-progress limits, workflow customization, automations and unlimited integrations.
- Business $12 Per user and month billed monthly, 25 percent off on yearly billing. Adds the metrics dashboard, objectives and key results, advanced custom fields and multiple workspaces.
- Enterprise Not stated Custom pricing. Adds volume discounts, premier support with SLAs, SSO and SCIM and custom terms.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
ClickUp
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Shortcut
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
ClickUp https://clickup.com · no check date recorded yet
Shortcut https://www.shortcut.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-07
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.