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10 Best Hive Competitors And Alternatives: Reviewed In 2023

The Best Alternatives To Hive

We take an in-depth look at the pros & cons of the following tools in this review:

  1. 1. monday.com — Best Hive alternative for specialized integrations
  2. 2. Wrike — Best Hive alternative for agile design and marketing teams
  3. 3. ClickUp — Best Hive alternative for similar features at a lower cost
  4. 4. Scoro — Best for project management with built-in KPI tracking
  5. 5. Accelo — Best for professional service automation
  6. 6. Asana — Best for a simple, collaborative to-do list
  7. 7. Basecamp — Hive alternative with a flat monthly rate, no matter your team size
  8. 8. Notion — Best for a low per-month price (unlimited users)
  9. 9. Rocketlane — Best for customer collaboration and onboarding
  10. 10. Smartsheet — Best Hive alternative for teams that want a spreadsheet-like interface

Below you’ll find an overview of the top Hive competitor alternatives on this list, with screenshots, feature overview, and pricing.

Hive

  • Free 14 days trial
  • From $12/user/month

Hive is first and foremost a productivity software that unites team communication and task management under one platform. This allows project managers to replace Slack or other collaboration apps they might be using and keep all messaging and project information in a single place.

This makes an alternative difficult to find, but here are the best 10 Hive competitors to consider for your next projects.

Why Might You Need A Hive Alternative?

You need to connect Hive to other tools you’re already using

Hive offers all the basic integrations. If you need industry-specific ones to really bring all tools under one hood, consider looking over the list of integrations Hive competitors provide first.

You want different features to streamline complex projects

Hive doesn’t yet come with an invoicing module. So whether you want to bill your clients or keep track of accounting data, other alternatives will help you get paid for your projects with just a couple of clicks.

You’re looking to reduce costs

Hive isn’t the most expensive solution on the market, but there are cheaper alternatives that provide the exact same features under a different user interface.

Key Features For A Viable Hive Alternative

Advanced time tracking

A time tracking module isn’t a must for project management tools but it’s a viable asset to your projects. Hive provides different time tracking options, timesheets, and real-time reporting for your team members you don’t want to miss when switching to an alternative.

An intuitive interface

Hive mimics Slack’s UI, making it extra easy for new users to get used to working in Hive. Good news is there are other project management apps with a low learning curve out there. Each has its own particularities that make it more suitable for certain users who’ve worked within a similar interface organization before.

Team collaboration

It’s difficult to find the best alternative with better collaboration features. So the teamwork solutions you’re considering need to have at least the communication options you’re using on a daily basis.

Customization options for analytics

You can access and customize over 50 interactive dashboards that make use of machine learning to provide realistic insights of your team’s activity. If you’re considering scaling up your team and projects, you’ll need reporting capabilities at a portfolio management level.

hive alternative logos list

10 Best Hive Alternatives Compared

To clarify which Hive alternative suits your project teams best, I’m going through the pros and cons, trial info, pricing, and expert opinion for 10 options you need to consider. I’m comparing each alternative to Hive so you can pick two or three apps that are worth a trial run.

1

monday.com

Best Hive alternative for specialized integrations

Why monday.com is a great Hive alternative

Sure, Hive does come with basic integrations, but you’ll want to try monday.com if you’re looking for industry-specific ones. PagerDuty, JotForm, Clearbit, Mailchimp, and Shopify are just some of the native add-ons you’ll get with monday.com as your project management software that you can’t access with Hive.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7 6745

14-day free trial + freemium plan available

From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats)

2

Wrike

Best Hive alternative for agile design and marketing teams

Why Wrike is a great Hive alternative

Hive wasn’t created with a specific kind of team in mind so their pricing and offering are relatively general compared to alternative project management software. On the other hand, Wrike lets you choose between two advanced add-on solutions for agile marketing and creative teams. These come with specific features, like Wrike Publish, an extension for Adobe Creative Cloud, and multiple tailored templates for your specific workspace. All of these are organized under one pricing plan compared to Hive where you have to add them to your base cost. Wrike also comes with a free subscription option you can use with unlimited users.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.2 2544

Freemium version available

From $9.80/user/month

3

ClickUp

Best Hive alternative for similar features at a lower cost

Why ClickUp is a great Hive alternative

ClickUp essentially has the same features as Hive under a slightly different workspace design, with ClickUp being more customizable and colorful. What makes ClickUp a better choice is the cheaper and less complicated pricing. With Hive, you have to pay for extra modules like timesheets or resource management, leading to costs adding up. ClickUp, on the other hand, has simpler pricing that reunites multiple of their functionalities. Not to mention ClickUp provides a great free plan with unlimited users whereas Hive doesn’t offer a free subscription at all.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.7 4135

Freemium plan available

From $9/user/month

4

Scoro

Best for project management with built-in KPI tracking

Why Scoro is a great Hive alternative

Scoro has plenty of features that can help you enter, track, and report on key performance indicators (KPIs) for your team. You can track task efficiency, hours logged by activity, and projects by client. Plus, they have robust sales and CRM capabilities to set and monitor sales goals. You can easily build, bookmark, and share reports outlining these results for the key decision makers at the company.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.5 285

14-day free trial

From $28/user/month

5

Accelo

Best for professional service automation

Why Accelo is a great Hive alternative

Accelo is project management for professional service operations and other client-facing companies. Along with the basics (task management, milestones, collaboration), they also have a client and contact database built right into the system. The client activity feed is also helpful so that you can keep tabs on action items or issues as they happen.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4 405

14-day free trial.

From $30/user/month

6

Asana

Best for a simple, collaborative to-do list

Why Asana is a great Hive alternative

Not only is Asana free for up to 15 users, but it is incredibly easy to learn and master. Small businesses and startups can easily get what they need using only the free plan. Asana makes for a simple, mess-free to-do list that can be tailored to everything from small personal goals to complex project tracking.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.3 8323

Free plan available

From $10.99/user/month

7

Basecamp

Hive alternative with a flat monthly rate, no matter your team size

Why Basecamp is a great Hive alternative

Basecamp is a great Hive alternative for large teams because it does not charge a per-user rate. Instead, Basecamp offers their platform for a $99/month flat fee. This gets you unlimited projects, unlimited users, 500GB storage space, unlimited clients, project templates, and priority customer support.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.1 5034

30-day free trial

From $11/user/month (billed annually)

8

Notion

Best for a low per-month price (unlimited users)

Why Notion is a great Hive alternative

Unlike most project management software on the market, Notion offers its tool for a flat monthly fee rather than a per-user subscription. This can be great for growing teams who need easy scalability without the hassle of paying for each new user separately. This flexibility also makes it stand out as a great Hive alternative for companies working with a rotating list of contractors and freelancers.

Free for 1 admin + 5 guests

From $10/user/month

9

Rocketlane

Best for customer collaboration and onboarding

Why Rocketlane is a good Hive alternative

Many teams need to collaborate with external contractors, customers, or stakeholders as often as (or more often then) their own team members. Rocklane is designed as a project management tool for these types of situations. They prioritize guest account access, robust permissions settings, and customer onboarding in order to get users who are external to your primary team up and running as quickly as possible.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.8 299

14-day free trial

From $19/user/month

10

Smartsheet

Best Hive alternative for teams that want a spreadsheet-like interface

Why Smartsheet is a great Hive alternative

Smartsheet has similar features to Hive so the main difference between the two lies in the interface. Smartsheet resembles classic spreadsheets which some users might already be used to but, in the end, it’s all a matter of personal preference so make sure you test Smartsheet with your team before making the switch.

If you are looking for a more user-friendly experience, then there’s other software that can do the trick for you.

This is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.
4.4 7399

Freemium version available

From $7/user/month

Need expert help selecting the right Project Management Software?

We’ve joined up with Crozdesk.com to give all our readers (yes, you!) access to Crozdesk’s software advisors. Just use the form below to share your needs, and they will contact you at no cost or commitment. You will then be matched and connected to a shortlist of vendors that best fit your company, and you can access exclusive software discounts!

10 Best Hive Alternatives Summary

Tool Free Option Price
1
monday.com

Best Hive alternative for specialized integrations

14-day free trial + freemium plan available

From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats) Visit Website
2
Wrike

Best Hive alternative for agile design and marketing teams

Freemium version available

From $9.80/user/month Visit Website
3
ClickUp

Best Hive alternative for similar features at a lower cost

Freemium plan available

From $9/user/month Visit Website
4
Scoro

Best for project management with built-in KPI tracking

14-day free trial

From $28/user/month Visit Website
5
Accelo

Best for professional service automation

14-day free trial.

From $30/user/month Visit Website
6
Asana

Best for a simple, collaborative to-do list

Free plan available

From $10.99/user/month Visit Website
7
Basecamp

Hive alternative with a flat monthly rate, no matter your team size

30-day free trial

From $11/user/month (billed annually) Visit Website
8
Notion

Best for a low per-month price (unlimited users)

Free for 1 admin + 5 guests

From $10/user/month Visit Website
9
Rocketlane

Best for customer collaboration and onboarding

14-day free trial

From $19/user/month Visit Website
10
Smartsheet

Best Hive alternative for teams that want a spreadsheet-like interface

Freemium version available

From $7/user/month Visit Website

About Hive

One of the newest project management tools on the market, Hive was founded in 2015 by co-founders John Furneaux and Eric Typaldos.

The tool is part project management and part AI, bringing together features like automated task management, custom workflows, templates, messaging, and collaboration under one roof. Hive offers over a dozen native third-party integrations with tools like Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, JIRA, and Salesforce; additional connections can be unlocked with a paid plan through Zapier (costs extra).

Hive

Hive is a project management tool with dashboards to help you navigate tasks, reporting, and communications. You’ll have access to flexible project views like Kanban boards, Gantt charts, portfolio, table, calendar, and summary view. A flexible toolset covers everything you need to digitize your workspace, including customizable forms, project templates, proofing and approval systems, and automations.

Screenshot Of Hive

Hive project management dashboards are modern, colorful and easy to navigate with drag-and-drop items like task cards and reporting widgets. Portfolio dashboards can provide metrics into what your team is doing and how the big picture projects are coming together. Personal dashboards can track individual productivity levels and workflow patterns.

Hive’s automated workflow processes help you alleviate the administrative burden of basic tagging and communication tasks. Even newbies can easily follow the conversational pattern for setting up custom workflows and automating routine processes. This can support accurate dashboard metrics, as it relies less on manual input that is prone to error.

Hive integrates with over a thousand third-party apps but requires a paid plan through Zapier to do so.

Hive costs from $12/user/month and offers a 14-day free trial.

By Ben Aston

I’m Ben Aston, a digital project manager and founder of thedpm.com. I've been in the industry for more than 20 years working in the UK at London’s top digital agencies including Dare, Wunderman, Lowe and DDB. I’ve delivered everything from film to CMS', games to advertising and eCRM to eCommerce sites. I’ve been fortunate enough to work across a wide range of great clients; automotive brands including Land Rover, Volkswagen and Honda; Utility brands including BT, British Gas and Exxon, FMCG brands such as Unilever, and consumer electronics brands including Sony. Ben's a Certified Scrum Master, PRINCE2 Practitioner and productivity nut.

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