Monday Project Management Review – The Good and Bad

Monday.com delivers versatile, scalable, and affordable project management software to over 152,000 customers in over 200 countries. Adaptable enough to fit many approaches and methodologies, this PM platform can handle a lot. But is it right for you? Let’s dive into Monday.com’s virtues and flaws to give you the whole story.

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Monday Compared to the Best Project Management Software

In addition to being able to handle a wide range of use cases, Monday.com comes with key features for collaboration, viewing timelines and calendars, time tracking, and more. For all of these reasons, Monday.com is our top-rated project management software.

But it’s not the only quality option in this category. Hence, we have a full post comparing the top PM software options on the market today. Monday came out on top, but here’s a peek at the top three:

  1. Monday.com – Best project management software for most
  2. ClickUp – Best remote work platform
  3. Smartsheet – Best for flexibility

Make sure to check out our top list for details about our recommendations, how they stack up against Monday, and other PM solutions to explore.

Now, let’s get into what makes Monday.com tick.

Monday: The Good and the Bad

What Monday is Good At

Multiple project views: Monday.com gives you everything you need to visualize projects based on your preferences, including Kanban, Gantt, timeline, and calendar views accessible with just one click. Whether you want a big-picture view or want to see daily tasks at a glance, you can easily switch views, drill down, or zoom out as far as you need, plus create custom views to gather all the data and information you need in one place.

Built-in time tracking: Monday.com is one of the few project management tools on the market with built-in time tracking capabilities. Most PM software only offers time tracking as a paid add-on, so getting it at no extra charge (on Monday’s Pro plan or above) is a steal.

When time tracking and project management tools play well together, you get a deeper understanding of how long tasks take and the entire timeline of your projects. Users can turn the tracker on or off with a click or enter time manually. You can even track time from anywhere using the mobile app.

Plentiful integrations: Integrating Monday.com with the business tools and apps you already use supercharges your project management processes while helping your team get more done in less time. With the right integrations, you can build workflow automations to eliminate repetitive administrative tasks and make notifications happen on autopilot. Monday’s project management software syncs up with just about anything you’d need it to, including Slack, Zoom, Shopify, Google Calendar, and dozens of other tools.

Customizable templates: Establishing PM processes from scratch is not only time-consuming but also unnecessary thanks to Monday.com’s wealth of customizable templates. Choose from a variety of setups for project portfolio tracking, campaign planning, customer onboarding, help desk tickets, event planning, product roadmaps, and more. Whether you’re managing a single project or juggling many, Monday.com has a template to accommodate your needs.

Custom automationsNearly 70% of employees say the biggest opportunity for automation is its ability to eliminate repetitive tasks. One of the most common reasons businesses invest in project management software is to automate repetitive tasks. Monday.com takes things a step further by making automations customizable and easy for everyone on your team to use. In just a few clicks, you can set up a sequence that automatically moves a task from one phase to the next, assigns the next team member to take it over, and alerts them via email or Slack. While that’s just one example, it shows how Monday’s automations can save a ton of time and ensure processes are followed to the letter. We named Monday.com to our list of the best task management software packages.

Easy to use: The idea behind project management software is that it makes your lives easier, rather than adding yet another tool your team doesn’t know how to use. In less than an hour, you and your team will be up and running on Monday.com without relying on professional training. There’s an extensive knowledge base with hundreds of video tutorials to help you get started, troubleshoot problems, and get your crew up to speed. And, if you do run into a problem, the Monday support team is available via live chat 24/7.

Flexible dashboards: Monday.com dashboards are extremely customizable and they make it easy to see all of the most important data at a glance. Want to get a high-level view of a project’s budget? No problem. Want to see project statuses at a glance? Easy. There are 15 pre-built widgets you can use on dashboards, including the capacity planning widget that allows managers to allocate available resources in just a few seconds. Users can create private or public dashboards, depending on who they want to share them with.

Strong CRM solution: Although many of Monday.com’s features relate to project management, this tool also works well for customer relationship management (CRM). If you are running a small business, managing data related to customer relationships can be a challenge, but Monday.com helps you simplify the process. Monday.com’s CRM tools can expand with you as your small business grows.

In fact, Monday.com is such a strong tool for sales teams to use that we named the Monday Sales CRM as the best CRM software package. You can start with simple CRM management features and expand into the areas where you need the most help as you learn more about using Monday.com.

Powerful communication tools: With Monday.com’s guest view feature, teams have the opportunity to easily share vital information with both internal and external collaborators without needing to worry about data being lost or forgotten. This allows teams to work together in real-time, stay organized, and always be on the same page, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and projects remain efficient and productive. It also makes it easier for all parties involved to access important resources quickly, without any delays or confusion.

Sign up by industry: Monday.com allows users to tailor their experience based on what industry they’re in, right from the first landing page. With an optimized version tailored to specific fields, it makes it easier for teams to quickly and efficiently manage their tasks, keep everyone up-to-date on developments, and streamline communication. Additionally, users can customize their workflow according to their own needs and goals, making it the perfect tool for any team big or small.

Student program: Monday.com’s Student Program provides college students and educators with a free monday.com account containing selected Pro features. To be eligible, users must be from an accredited college or university and at least 16 years of age, or an educator from the same institution.

This program is designed to make managing tasks, teams, and workflows easier for those who are just getting started in their respective areas. With the help of Monday.com’s Pro features, students can take their projects to the next level and get organized quickly and efficiently without too much effort on their part.

What Monday Is Lacking

Limited task dependencies: Task dependencies are a useful tool in project management software, but we found Monday.com’s limited. The only way to set them up is with dates, making them less than functional than task dependencies on other providers. In addition, the ability to use dependencies in Monday.com is only available on the two highest pricing plans, so they’re less accessible to small businesses or those on a tighter budget.

Feature limitations: Continuing that theme, Monday.com keeps many other capabilities locked away on its on higher-priced tiers. For example, Gantt charts, calendar views, automations, time tracking, and integrations aren’t available on the entry-level plan. With other tools, you can count on at least some of those features coming standard. While you can certainly pay Monday more to gain access to these, it does require you to be mindful of whether Monday.com’s entry-level price point represents good value for your needs.

Slow support: While there is 24/7 live chat support offered by Monday.com, some users complain that support reps take a long time to reply, sometimes up to an hour. In today’s day and age, most of us expect a live chat representative to respond much faster. Waiting an hour for an answer can be a pain. You might have better luck turning to the knowledge base if you need a faster resolution.

Pricing complexities: Some people may find Monday.com’s pricing structures a little difficult to understand. When you are new to the Monday.com interface, it can be tough to figure out exactly which pricing tier and features will match what you need. You may find that you end up paying for a higher pricing tier to gain access to one particular feature, leaving you with multiple features you don’t really need. Keep a close eye on the features you truly are using, and don’t be afraid to back down to a lower price tier later, if necessary.

Monday.com Project Management Pricing and Options

Monday.com Pricing

Monday.com offers a package for businesses of all sizes and project management needs. There are five different options to choose from: Individual, Basic, Standard, Pro, and Enterprise.

Here’s an overview of those starting rates for each plan:

Monday.com's five pricing plans. They are an Individual plan that is free forever, a Basic plan starting at $8 per seat per month, a Standard plan starting at $10 per seat per month, a Pro plan starting at $16 per seat per month, and a custom-priced Enterprise plan.

Generally speaking, Monday.com is very affordable. We’ve seen project management tools on the market with entry-level pricing starting above $20. On average, most tools start below $10 per user per month. So Monday.com is right in that same ballpark.

To get the rates shown above, you’ll need to sign up for annual billing. The yearly billing cycle is 18% cheaper than the month-to-month rates.

Whether you’re just starting or have advanced project management needs, Monday.com has an option for everyone.

Just make sure you understand the available features at each tier. Some plans are more limiting than others. We’ll discuss each one in greater detail below to help you make a more informed decision.

Regardless of the plan, you’re interested in, you can try Monday.com for project management for free with a 14-day trial. The free trial comes with unlimited boards and users—no credit card required.

Monday.com Individual

Monday.com recently added a free-forever tier to their pricing structure, making the platform perfect for organizations with limited resources.

Freelancers and single-person business owners can also use the platform to manage their tasks, create reminders, and visualize their workflows. And since they can add up to three guests for free, Monday.com is perfect for managing sub-contracted work as well.

The Individual plan solely exists to fill the gap created by the other tiers. Since they all require a three-person minimum to sign up, the Individual plan is the only option for single- or dual-seat subscriptions.

While this free-forever plan is understandably limited in terms of features, you still get a lot of what Monday.com has to offer without paying a dime:

  • Up to three boards
  • 500 MB storage
  • Access to over 200 templates
  • Whiteboard collaboration
  • Customizable notifications
  • Kanban view
  • iOS and Android apps

In fact, Monday.com’s free tier is so strong that we named it the best free project management software package.  And if a user ever needs to upgrade to access a third seat or more robust features, the transition will be as seamless as possible.

Monday.com Basic

The Basic plan from Monday.com is an entry-level project management solution. Starting at $8 per user per month, you get unlimited boards, unlimited free viewers (users with read-only access to the account), 5 GB of storage, plus all the standard collaboration and productivity features.

The Basic package lets you create a dashboard based on one board. Here’s an example of what that dashboard could look like:

But, dashboards are typically better if you can pull information from multiple boards. So, if your team is using more than one board to manage one or several projects, this feature is pretty limited.

The plan does offer whiteboard collaboration, embedded documents, shareable forms, custom notifications, and more. But it doesn’t support any integrations. You won’t have access to timelines, Gantt charts, calendar views, or time tracking, either.

While it’s a good starting point, the Basic plan is more of a teaser. Most people will find it a bit lacking for business use. In terms of functionality, it’s not the best entry-level project management offering on the market today. You’ll need to upgrade to get the most out of Monday.com.

Monday.com Standard

The Standard plan is Monday.com’s most popular solution. It comes with additional tools and ways to visualize projects beyond basic use.

With the Standard plan, you’ll benefit from timeline views, Gantt chart views, and calendar views.

The package also supports third-party integrations with up to 250 actions per month and automation for up to 250 actions per month.

Monday.com Standard allows you to create a dashboard with data combined from five different boards. This is definitely an upgrade from the Basic level. The Standard package supports guest access as well. Four guests are billed as one seat. So you can use this to bring on users from outside your organization to manage or weigh in on projects.

Monday.com Pro

Monday.com Pro is an excellent option for larger teams or anyone that needs to manage complex workflows. It’s far less limiting in terms of automation and integrations.

The actions per month for automations and integrations jump to 25,000 each. Most organizations won’t come anywhere near that number. It’s absolutely an upgrade from the 250 in the Standard package.

The Pro plan offers a chart view as well. With charts, you can see details related to the analytics of your workflow. Charts show project managers and executives how team members perform, how quickly tasks are being accomplished, and how this information changes over time. It’s a handy way to manage projects at a higher level using big-picture insights.

Another top benefit of the Pro plan is managing your team with better precision through workload visualizations.

This feature shows managers real-time data relating to the current capacity of each person on a team. You can easily see which users are at capacity and which ones have room to handle additional tasks.

The Pro package supports private boards as well. These are only visible to managers and whichever team members are invited. You can add board administrators, too, which isn’t an option with the Basic or Standard plans.

Overall, it’s probably the best plan for most businesses and the one that we can recommend with the most confidence. You likely won’t run into any limitations or restrictions at the Pro level. At $16 per user per month, it’s a solid value, too.

Monday.com Enterprise

As the name implies, Monday.com Enterprise is built for larger organizations with complex needs. The plan comes with enterprise-grade integrations and automations, as well as enterprise-class security and governance.

The software supports multi-level permissions, advanced reporting, and advanced analytics as well. With an Enterprise subscription, you can create a dashboard combining data with up to 50 boards.

Monthly action limits for integrations and automation jump to 250,000 at this level.

Enterprise clients benefit from a tailored onboarding experience. You’ll be assigned a dedicated customer success manager and get Monday’s 99.9% uptime SLA.

Truthfully, the vast majority of teams don’t need these types of features. But it’s nice to know that they’re available for larger organizations with complex needs and advanced security requirements.

Contact the Monday.com sales team for a custom Enterprise quote to get started.

Monday Project Management in Summary

Monday’s project management tool is best known for its versatility. It’s one of the most popular PM software options on the market today. Between the solid value for the price and deep features on select plans, it represents a high-quality solution for project management for sales teams and others. Sign up today and try it for free with a 14-day trial.