ActiveCollab
Project management with built-in time tracking, budgeting and invoicing for agencies and service teams, in the cloud or self-hosted.
- Starting price
- From $12.50 / month
- Free trial
- 14-day free trial with every feature unlocked, no credit card required
- API
- Yes, API; webhooks, Zapier, Slack and an MCP server from the Pro plan
Overview
ActiveCollab is a project management workspace for agencies and other service businesses that bill for their time, and it follows the work from an estimate to an invoice. Projects hold tasks with subtasks, dependencies and recurring tasks in list, Kanban and Gantt views, and clients can be invited for free to comment and approve. Time is tracked on every plan, while the paid tiers add the commercial side: expenses, estimates, invoicing, budgets, profitability reports and capacity planning. It runs as a cloud service or as a self-hosted install.
Our take
ActiveCollab suits a small agency or studio that wants one tool from task to invoice without paying for a full PSA suite. Letting clients in at no cost makes it practical for teams that work with clients looking over their shoulder. The catch is the tier structure: everything that turns it from a task board into agency software, meaning invoicing, budgets, profitability and capacity planning, sits on the top plan, so the entry price says little about what an agency will actually pay. The self-hosted edition is the other reason to shortlist it, since few tools in this group can run behind your own firewall at all. Firms that need resource forecasting against a sales pipeline or multi-entity accounting will outgrow it.
Key Facts
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Starting price | From $12.50 / month Plus plan, a flat price for up to 3 members, billed yearly ($15 billed monthly). Pro and Pro+ are per user and month. Clients are free and unlimited on every plan. Prices in US dollars. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial with every feature unlocked, no credit card required |
| API | Yes, API; webhooks, Zapier, Slack and an MCP server from the Pro plan |
| Languages | Interface in 20 languages |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) or self-hosted on your own server |
Screenshots
Placeholders. They are replaced as soon as the vendor sends material, and both open the same short form.
Features
- Time tracking
- Yes, stopwatch and manual time on projects and tasks with personal timesheets on every plan; team timesheets on Pro+
- Project costing
- Yes, fixed and time-and-material budgets, internal hourly rates, budget alerts and project profitability on Pro+
- Invoicing
- Yes, estimates and invoices with multiple currencies, tax rates and PayPal or Stripe payments on Pro+
- Resource planning
- Yes, workload management, capacity planning, utilisation and days-off planning on Pro+
- Reporting and controlling
- Yes, time reports from Pro; budget vs. cost, estimated vs. tracked time, profitability and finance reports on Pro+
- Integrations and API
- Yes, API; webhooks, Zapier, Slack and an MCP server from Pro, QuickBooks on Pro+
- Task planning
- Yes, list, Kanban and Gantt views with subtasks, dependencies, recurring tasks and project templates
Integrations
- Google Drive
- Dropbox
- QuickBooks
- Slack
- Zapier
- PayPal
- Stripe
- Google Calendar
- Microsoft Outlook
Deployment and Support
- Deployment
-
- Cloud (SaaS)
- Browser-based
- On-premise
- Support
-
- Email helpdesk
- Chat
- Onboarding
-
- Documentation and knowledge base
- Guided onboarding
- Company size
-
- Small and mid-sized
Suitability
| Industry | Freelancers | Small and mid-sized | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agencies | Not stated | Stated as a fit | Not stated |
| Architecture & Engineering | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Consulting | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Media & Creative | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Technology | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
The table combines the industries the vendor addresses with the company sizes the tool is aimed at. An empty cell means the combination is not stated, not that it is ruled out.
Pros and Cons
Strengths
- Unlimited client users at no cost on every plan
- Can be self-hosted under a perpetual license as well as used in the cloud
- Time tracking and Gantt view included on the entry plan
- Official MCP server for AI assistants, in the cloud and self-hosted
Limitations
- Invoicing, budgets, profitability and capacity planning are only on the top Pro+ plan
- The flat-priced Plus plan is limited to 3 members
- No refunds after cancelling, per the pricing FAQ
Pricing
-
Plus
$12.50
Per month for the whole account, billed yearly ($15 billed monthly). Up to 3 members, unlimited clients, projects and tasks, time tracking, list, Kanban and Gantt views, 10 GB storage.
-
Pro
$10
Per user and month, billed yearly ($11 billed monthly). Unlimited members, time reports, expense tracking, webhooks, Zapier, Slack and the MCP server, 125 GB storage on yearly billing.
-
Pro+ (Get Paid)
$15
Per user and month, billed yearly ($17 billed monthly). Adds invoicing and estimates, project budgeting and profitability, workload and capacity planning, PayPal and Stripe payments and the QuickBooks integration.
-
100+ seats
$3.50
Per user and month on annual billing, for teams with 100 or more seats.
-
Self-Hosted
Custom
One-time perpetual license with unlimited users, quoted on request. The first year of support and upgrades is included, then a yearly support plan.
Best For
Alternatives and Comparisons
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FAQ
- How much does ActiveCollab cost?
- Plus is $15 per month flat for up to 3 members ($12.50 billed yearly). Pro is $11 per user and month ($10 billed yearly), and Pro+ (Get Paid) is $17 per user and month ($15 billed yearly). Teams with 100 or more seats pay $3.50 per user and month on annual billing, and educational institutions and nonprofits get 50 percent off.
- Which ActiveCollab plan includes invoicing?
- Invoicing, estimates, project budgeting, profitability and workload management are all on the Pro+ (Get Paid) plan.
- Can ActiveCollab be self-hosted?
- Yes. ActiveCollab Self-Hosted is a one-time purchase with unlimited users that runs on your own Linux or Windows server with PHP and MySQL or MariaDB. It is quoted on request and includes the first year of support and upgrades.
- Do clients count as paid users in ActiveCollab?
- No. Users with the Client role are free and unlimited on every plan. Owners, Members, Members+ and Client+ users take a paid seat.
What users say
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