Looking for an alternative to Mavenlink that fits the bill, but leaves you with a smaller bill? There are plenty of options! Let's go through the top budget-friendly Mavenlink alternatives.
You've no doubt heard the quote that you're only as good as your tools – and when it comes to project and resource management, there's certainly some truth to that line. It's not that you can't do the job without the tools, but you simply don't have time to do it all by hand. The right project management solution can make the difference between project success and failure.
A wide range of applications and tools are available today, and it may be hard to choose which one has the exact features you need. Different project management solutions also come with varying levels of training and support, unique platform interfaces for your project team to adapt to, and, of course, a range of price points.
When looking for a project management tool, Mavenlink may be one of the names that spring to mind. It's been around for a while, and has a reputation as a leader in the field. It has also recently joined forces with Kimble, another popular PSA platform, which could be another point in its favour. After all, two heads are better than one, right?
But, if we're being honest, Mavenlink comes with a pretty hefty price tag attached. For project-based businesses keeping an eye on the bottom line, it might not be the right choice.
In this article, we'll look at why you might want to check out alternatives to Mavenlink for your project management platform, and our top five choices that help you access business intelligence in innovative, budget-friendly ways.
Founded in 2008 in Irvine, California, Mavenlink is one of the top project management software packages on the market. It takes care of the whole project life cycle, as well as handling project accounting and reports.
Mavenlink is excellent for keeping projects on track while scaling up productivity. It helps users monitor and control timelines and budgets, customized to the goals and objectives at hand.
The project manager can manage projects and create tasks on the Mavenlink dashboard, accessible through the desktop or mobile app. The program automates aspects of project execution, while simplifying the overview.
Unfortunately, Mavenlink has drawbacks that mean it isn't the best choice for everyone.
First is the pricing. If your organization needs access to both features plus time tracking, it will cost you a whopping $59 per month per user. That outlay isn't ideal for start-ups and SMEs.
Secondly, just like its predecessor, Microsoft Project (or MS Project), the large, long-established software solution is not as agile and versatile compared to its younger, more innovative competitors. Mavenlink's user interface has been described by some users as unintuitive, needing multiple clicks to get things done, and lacking the flexibility in how data is presented. When the purpose of project management software is to save time, details like this can be a significant disadvantage.
Keen to see what else is out there before you make your decision? Read on!
In project planning, we're always looking for value for money – getting what you need at an affordable price. To translate that to your search for the best project management tool, the ideal would be something that offers the same capability as Mavenlink, in an easy-to-use and customizable platform, without breaking the bank.
Sounds too good to be true? We did the research – and found five alternatives to Mavenlink that deliver powerful results at budget prices.
Runn is a full-suite resource management software that allows you to align your project activities with your employees' capacity and availability. It facilitates the process of resource scheduling, planning, and allocation, whilst incorporating other business software functions such as expense tracking and creating financial forecasts.
The People Planner is an intuitive interface that allows you to monitor resource utilization for each team member and make changes to the planned resource allocation. You can view your team's workload at a glance, and use this information when reallocating to fill in resource gaps, and maintaining a resource availability forecast. These features help you produce high-quality deliverables more efficiently, by ensuring employees are maximized but not burnt out in meeting your project milestones.
As well as project management, Runn gives you insights into your project teams' capacity, utilization and performance management through its workload management features. You can access your employees' billable hours and manage multiple projects effectively through the capacity view, staff insights, skills management, and individual utilization reports.
Runn's strengths in capacity management, combined with project forecasting and scheduling, make it one of the best Mavenlink alternatives to optimize your resource management.
Wrike is a customizable professional services automation software that can streamline team-specific project management processes. It supports creative agencies in transforming their visions into eye-catching projects.
Wrike's cross-team collaboration features help users organize project requests, split major tasks into actions with Gantt charts, and keep basic communications attached to the project objects with a built-in comments, edits and approvals system.
Marketing organizations also use Wrike because it provides actionable insights for marketing campaigns. It boosts marketing processes by keeping everyone updated and bringing complete 360-degree visibility when tracking projects and their results.
ClickUp is a good project management software that all types of teams can navigate. Its portfolio management allows users to optimize efficiently while aligning company-wide goals, and scaling the business. It includes a chat feature, personalized views for task management, and a dynamic workspace for project tracking.
ClickUp is one of the project management software alternatives to Mavenlink that offers document collaboration and overview, accessible on both the desktop and mobile apps.
With ClickUp, you can also add custom tools for workflow automation, encode CRM, and check dashboard updates in real-time. It's suitable for enterprises, start-ups, and non-profit organizations.
Hive is a project management application that has team management key features for small and large agencies. Its in-app email, with an option to attach to an action card, makes task tracking easy to associate. Project managers can also assign tasks to a priority level depending on their urgency.
Internal and external approvers can access and leave comments or feedback, making Hive ideal for interactive agencies. It offers Kanban boards and Gantt charts for project planning, project templates for recurring tasks, and time tracking for monitoring.
By simplifying complex projects and multiple-step approvals, Hive is an excellent Mavenlink alternative for professional services teams needing collaborative processes.
Accelo is a cloud-based project management Mavenlink alternative that boosts service businesses' productivity and project profits. High-quality client deliverables can be carried out efficiently, from sales and quotations to retainers to billing and client tickets.
The software enables users to track project status and milestones while monitoring and forecasting project costs and budgets. Accessible insights help project managers visualize project financials, make decisions on project strategy, and prevent overspending and overworking while meeting project deadlines. Accelo's advanced project management features help optimize workflow efficiency, while keeping project costing under control.
Mavenlink may have a reputation for great project management features, but its high price puts it out of reach of many small businesses and agencies. Being open to other PM software options can help you discover the most suitable for your organization's needs.
Among Mavenlink alternatives and competitors, Runn provides a reliable project resource management tool that helps you manage tasks and staff without a heavy investment of time or finances. In addition, you and your team can enjoy its innovative features, whether onboarding new users or project forecasting to scale up, with the best value for your money.
If you're ready to learn more, get a quick look at Runn's project and resource management features for your team by booking a demo with us today.
