Comparison

Paymo Alternatives: Top Competitors for Effective Project Management

Maggie Tully

December 15, 2022

Paymo is a popular project management software choice for small- to medium-sized creative companies looking to track their time, collaborate on projects, and invoice clients from the software. However, the tool isn’t without its shortcomings.

If you’re currently using Paymo, you might already be familiar with its lacking invoicing and reporting capabilities. Or perhaps you’re new to the world of project management tools and you’re just looking to familiarize yourself with your options.

The good news is, there is plenty of fish in the sea when it comes to PM tools that can increase your team collaboration and efficiency.

In this article, we’ll introduce you to the 15 best Paymo alternatives that can replace your current project management system with better performance and reliability.

What’s the story with Paymo?

While Paymo is a project management tool primarily used by creative agencies, it’s also used by law firms, consultants, universities, and other organizations. A few of Paymo’s most popular features include:

Task alerts notify users when a task is due or when a certain percentage of the task budget has been reached.
Time tracking, including a stopwatch function and bulk time entry.
Resource management capabilities, including holiday and leave management as well as capacity planning.
A mobile app that helps the team stay updated and track time while out of the office.

In a nutshell, Paymo allows you to create tasks, subdivide them into more specific ones, schedule them, and monitor project progress. You can also track projects using the software after they are set up, ensuring they are done on time.

Paymo may be useful if you manage multiple projects, but other management tools in the market can achieve the same goal – and even exceed them. Though Paymo works well for time tracking and team scheduling, it might not be everyone's cup of tea because of issues such as the slow and complex interface.

Why look for a Paymo alternative?

Like many others, Paymo market itself as an online collaboration tool that enables team members to successfully work together on various tasks. But that doesn’t mean that the tool meets everyone’s needs and expectations.

Some of the most common hurdles with the platform, according to current and past users, include:

#1 Poor invoicing capabilities

Although the Paymo app is often updated with new features, they haven't mastered invoicing to the extent of other competitors. Online reviewers note that Paymo is missing some desired billing options, and the way that it lists tasks on invoices can deter some companies from using them.

Luckily, there are other Paymo alternatives out there that allow you to choose what information gets shown on invoices.

Paymo review from G2

^{Source: G2}

Paymo review from Capterra

^{Source: Capterra}

#2 Limited reporting options

While Paymo does offer reports on tracked time and user activity, it seems to fall short of offering reporting on income and invoices. Many smaller businesses and agencies tend to rely on reports to keep an eye on the financial health of their projects, so they’ll want to find a software solution that specializes in this type of insight.

^{Source: G2}

Paymo review from G2

^{Source: G2}

#3 Interface isn’t suited to manage multiple projects

As the below reviewer notes, labeling and categorizing projects only get you so far. Teams in charge of managing multiple complex projects at once will likely find Paymo to be challenging to work with due to the platform’s interface, which can get cluttered.

Paymo review from Capterra

^{Source: Capterra}

Paymo review from G2

^{Source: G2}

The top 15 Paymo alternatives to try out

Now that we have discussed the main reasons you might want to opt for a Paymo alternative, let's explore our list of the best alternatives on the market, including pricing, features, and more.

We previously published a list of 12 Paymo alternatives to check out in 2022, but we’ve updated and expanded this list to account for market changes as we enter 2023. Let’s take a look:

1. Rodeo

Rodeo is an all-in-one project management software that helps teams eliminate scattered workflows by acting as the single source of truth for your projects.

By optimizing your team’s productivity and turning your project data into profitability insights, Rodeo can give your business a competitive edge.

Unlike Paymo, Rodeo doesn’t rely on integrations to bring users the features they need to support a project throughout its entire lifecycle. Rodeo's built-in features have earned it a reputation for making users' lives easier and more convenient.

What makes Rodeo special? Here are some features that make it a preferred tool compared to Paymo:

Robust invoicing capabilities that make your life easier

Rodeo's invoicing feature makes the process of creating – and sending – invoices very easy. Since your team is already recording their time in Rodeo, you can effortlessly bill clients according to your hours worked, project phase, or a percentage of the initial estimate.

You’ll also be happy to know that estimates and invoices sent from Rodeo are fully customizable. This means that you can add your company branding, terms and conditions, discounts, and even a personalized note before sending it off to the client. You also have the option to send it as a UBL, PDF, or as regular hard copy.

And unlike Paymo, you always retain full control over what information gets included in the documents you send out. Don’t want the client to see the hourly rate of each team member? Simply hide it – it’s that simple.

Rodeo's invoicing feature

Rodeo’s recurring invoices feature helps ensure that you never forget to bill a client again. The software will automatically send out invoices on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis, depending on your client’s billing schedule. It couldn’t be easier.

Our platform also integrates with QuickBooks (US) and Xero (UK) to ease the burden of bookkeeping for your team.

Powerful reporting to bring you actionable insights

Where Paymo falls short in financial reporting, Rodeo excels. Our reporting feature brings together your tracked time, completed tasks, and other expenses to give you powerful financial insights on things like your estimates vs. actuals and project profitability.

Rodeo's closed reports feature

And this isn’t all. When you navigate to Rodeo’s ‘reports’ tab, you’ll find four options: work in progress, closed projects, time registration, and employee productivity reports. These will show you how effectively each team member is spending their time, and how your actual spending compares to your estimated budget.

Rodeo's report options

You can filter each auto-generated report by team member, client, project, time period, and tag. And no worries if your company compiles its own reports – you can easily export your data from Rodeo as an Excel or CSV file.

Receive at-a-glance project updates from your dashboard

We pride ourselves on Rodeo’s interface being streamlined and easy to use, even for users who aren’t tech-savvy. This includes our dashboard, which is the first page you’ll land on when you log into the platform.

Rodeo's dashboard

The dashboard provides an overview of the time you’ve recently tracked, tasks on your agenda, as well as the status of your active projects. This high-level view of everything you’re working on makes it easy to manage multiple projects at once without feeling overwhelmed.

We also offer free personalized onboarding for new customers to help you get your workflows set up within the platform. Should you experience any issues while using the platform, you can always access our team of experts using our live chat feature.

Additional features

Time tracking: Record your time using the stopwatch on your dashboard, or simply enter a timecard later if you forget.
Detailed budgeting: Build your project budget by phase, activity, and task.
Estimates: Send a client-ready project estimate to your client straight from Rodeo in just a few clicks.
Task planning: Improve your team management capabilities and schedule work based on team capacity, talent, and resources.
Expenses and purchase orders: Keep track of the expenses associated with a project in one centralized place.
Built-in messenger: Keep in touch with your peers and improve team collaboration without having to navigate to another third-party platform.

What is this tool for?

Rodeo can be used by teams in a range of industries conducting project-based work, although we built this tool with the needs of creative teams and agencies in mind. Creatives are increasingly relying on many different tools to achieve their project objectives, and we aim to bring the features they need together in one platform.

BAIT Studio, a UK-based visual effects and motion design studio, was able to cut its spending on project management software tools by at least 50% using Rodeo, even with more users. This is because many software tools require you to pay a fixed amount per user, whereas Rodeo adopts role-based pricing where you pay based on the features each user needs.

Peter Rogers, managing director of BAIT Studio, adds: "The flexibility Rodeo offers is amazing. I can add new users on and off continuously, sometimes even just for the few days I use them... The team at Rodeo is always eager to hear about what else our company might need from the tool, to discuss the possibilities of adding new functions in the future.”

Pricing

Rodeo’s pricing model supports the needs of freelancers and businesses alike. Starting at $29.99 a month for a full user license, you’ll receive access to all of Rodeo's features – excluding the task planner, which is an add-on for $4.99 per user/month.

From there, you can add as many additional users as needed based on the level of access you want to give them:

Full user license: $14.99 per user/month – for users who need access to all features.
Standard user licenses: $8.99 per user/month – for users who need access to their dashboard and time tracking.

2. Wrike

Wrike's dashboard

^{Source: Wrike}

Wrike is a great alternative to Paymo, as it’s a well-known brand that has established itself as a favorite among many project managers across a variety of industries. Its many unique features – such as custom forms, proofing, and Gantt charts – have made it a versatile tool that can meet the needs of many different teams.

The tool has a few downsides, one of which is that it can be a little difficult to navigate. It is not an easy task to get used to the three-pane interface of the shareable dashboards, for example. Wrike’s team collaboration features are also lacking, which can pose obstacles when it comes to keeping remote teams connected using the platform.

Key features for project management:

Asset sharing
Workflow management
Project tracking

Pricing:

Basic plan: Free
Team plan: $9.80 per user/month
Business plan: $24.80 per user/month
Enterprise plan: Pricing upon request

3. Teamwork

Teamwork's dashboard

^{Source: Teamwork}

Teamwork is a Paymo alternative known for its intuitive and easy-to-use interface and seamless integrations with other tools – such as Slack and Trello – that many teams already use. The tool’s Kanban board feature makes it simpler for users to automate workflows and visualize their project tasks.

Common critiques of Teamwork note that the tool’s budget tracking and reporting functionality are lacking, and its customer support team often leaves much to be desired.

The tool also offers a free plan, which is useful for teams looking to try a Paymo alternative without any commitment. That said, the free version is relatively limited in its feature offerings, so you’ll likely need to invest in the project management software’s Grow plan at $24.99 per user/month to get the most out of the tool. This plan requires a minimum of 5 user seats to get started, so it can be a bit cost prohibitive for some small businesses.

Key features for project management:

File sharing
Resource management
Team management
Time tracking
Gantt charts

Pricing:

Basic plan: Free forever
Deliver plan: $13.99 per user/month
Grow plan: $24.99 per user/month
Scale plan: Custom quote required
Note: Paid plans require a minimum of 5 users.

4. Basecamp

Basecamp's dashboard

^{Source: Basecamp}

Developed for teams of all sizes, including freelancers and small- to medium-sized businesses as well as large corporations, Basecamp offers project management, team communication, and daily work tracking features.

The most significant difference between Basecamp and Paymo is that Basecamp has some extra features that Paymo does not have, such as deadline management, discussion forums, and the ability to create subtasks.

Common user challenges with Basecamp include its lack of native time tracking as well as its limited reporting capabilities – both of which are features most teams have come to expect in a project management software solution. To access these features, you’ll need to integrate with another tool.

Key features for project management:

Messaging and group chats
To-do lists
File sharing
Automatic team check-ins

Pricing:

Basecamp offers just one plan at $11 per user/month, which includes unlimited projects and 500GB of storage space.

5. Time Doctor

TimeDoctor's dashboard

^{Source: TimeDoctor}

Time Doctor is mainly a time tracking and employee monitoring tool. For managers looking to monitor the amount of time spent on each client and ensure that employees are staying on task while at work, Time Doctor might be worth looking into.

As a project management tool, some reviewers have said that the time tracking function is tricky to work with since it can be difficult to edit existing time entries and pause the timer while on breaks.

TimeDoctor also lacks task planning, which can be a dealbreaker for many teams. It’s also commonly critiqued as a software tool that enables employers to “spy” on their employees.

Also read: 15 Best Time Doctor Alternatives in 2023

Key features for project management:

Employee monitoring
Productivity measuring
Distraction alerts
Screenshots and screen recordings

Pricing:

Basic plan: $7 per user/month
Standard plan: $10 per user/month
Premium plan: $20 per user/month

6. Airtable

Airtable's dashboard

^{Source: Airtable}

Airtable stands out from the other Paymo alternatives for its entirely different approach. The tool is more like a database management hybrid, which lets you customize workflows to fit your needs.

You can create database workflows for just about anything, such as tasks, ideas, financial information, etc. Aside from this, the program does not include features such as time-tracking, which requires added software. Also, Paymo does not cater to enterprise-level companies at this time but Airtable does.

Airtable’s customizability is another selling point, although as it’s a low-code platform, you’ll need some basic technical knowledge to get it set up and fully customized, which is a major downside for some teams.

Key features for project management:

Kanban boards
Table linking
Relational databases
Customized views

Pricing:

Basic plan: Free
Plus plan: $12 per user/month
Pro plan: $24 per user/month
Enterprise plan: Pricing upon request

7. Scoro

Scoro's dashboard

^{Source: Scoro}

Scoro is an all-in-one business management software that can be used to manage your projects, time, bills, and teams. The tool can do it all, so long as you don’t mind navigating a bit of complexity.

How does it compare to Paymo? Scoro starts by offering unique features like idea management and issue management. The software also offers a cost-to-completion tracking feature not available in Paymo, and it has more of a sales focus as well.

One of the main factors that deter prospective users from choosing Scoro is its price. Teams requiring the features that fall under Scoro’s Pro plan can expect to pay $71 per user per month – an unusually high price tag compared to other software tools on the market.

Also read: 15 Best Scoro Alternatives to Consider in 2023

Key features for project management:

Automated routine tasks
CRM
Quoting and billing
Sales tracking

Pricing:

Essential plan: $28 per user/month
Standard plan: $42 per user/month
Pro plan: $71 per user/month
Ultimate plan: Pricing upon request
Note: All paid plans require a minimum of 5 users.

8. Monday.com

Monday's dashboard

^{Source: Monday.com}

Monday is a project management tool with robust feature offerings – like its advanced workflows and automatic task management – which make it more powerful than some other software solutions on the market.

High customizability is another one of Monday’s main selling points. However, some reviewers have complained that you’ll need a bit of technical experience in order to build workflows suited to your needs.

And as is the case with many tools with a lot of functionality, Monday’s interface can be overwhelming to new users, resulting in a learning curve that’s steeper than you might expect.

Key features for project management:

Custom reports
Expense tracking
Kanban board view
Team collaboration tools

Pricing:

Individual plan: Free for up to 2 users
Basic plan: $10 per user/month
Standard plan: $12 per user/month
Pro plan: $20 per user/month
Enterprise plan: Pricing upon request
Note: All paid plans require a minimum of 3 users.

9. Hive

Hive's dashboard

^{Source: Hive}

Hive makes it easy to manage more complex projects thanks to its Gantt charts, file markups, and in-app messenger since many other Paymo alternatives require integrations to access these types of features. Additionally, its simple interface paired with time tracking, reporting, and task management make it easy for teams to collaborate and increase efficiency.

One of Hive’s unique features is its project space feature, which allows users to store files, create task lists, and track deadlines in one place. This is particularly useful for teams that struggle to stay organized.

Despite assisting with project organization, Hive doesn’t offer a way to export your project data, which can hurt teams’ ability to analyze their performance once a project is completed.

10. Asana

Asana's dashboard

^{Source: Asana}

Asana is another well-known contender in the project management world and a good alternative to Paymo. It is a task management software whose primary strength lies in its flexibility and milestone tracking.

The tool’s embedded template library enables teams to set up for any possible project very quickly, which is a major benefit for teams looking to reduce the learning curve that sometimes accompanies adopting new software. This function is not developed by Paymo, nor do they have a calendar sync that allows their system to share information between different digital calendars.

As is often the case with other Paymo alternatives whose primary purpose is task management, you’ll need to purchase other tools and integrate them with Asana if you want to be able to manage every stage of your projects using a single tool.

Key features for project management:

Task management and scheduling
Kanban boards
Project templates
Milestones

Pricing:

Basic plan: Free (very limited features)
Premium plan: $13.49 per user/month
Business plan: $30.49 per user/month

11. GanttPRO

GanttPRO's dashboard

^{Source: GanttPRO}

GanttPRO offers an easy-to-use interface and a short learning curve. New team members can be onboarded within 15 minutes, making the tool a perfect fit for businesses of all sizes. Rather than wasting time explaining how everything works, teams can jump straight into project management.

Compared to Paymo and its other alternatives, GanttPRO boasts a drag-and-drop user-friendly interface that is simple to use, automated scheduling, and the ability to import tasks. That said, some online reviews report that its Kanban view has limited column options and isn’t as customizable as you might want.

Key features for project management:

Gantt charts
Task management
Budget tracking
Templates

Pricing:

Basic plan: $7.99 per user/month
Pro plan: $12.99 per user/month
Business plan: $19.99 per user/month
Enterprise plan: Pricing upon request
Note: All plans are billed annually.

12. Trello

Trello's dashboard

^{Source: Trello}

Trello is a project management software that revolves around a Kanban-board-like structure to manage tasks. The software’s simple approach to task management makes it a good fit for teams in search of lightweight project management features, as the tool is certainly intuitive.

Trello boasts a few features that Paymo lacks, such as easy file and attachment uploading, which gives it a leg up in some areas. But when examining Trello as an all-in-one solution, it certainly falls short, as it lacks the powerful native features most teams need in order to manage complex projects.

Key features for project management:

Checklists
Task cards
File sharing
Templates

Pricing:

Basic plan: Free
Standard plan: $6 per user/month
Premium plan: $12.50 per user/month
Enterprise plan: $17.50 per user/month for 50 users (price fluctuates with the number of users)

13. TimeCamp

TimeCamp's dashboard

^{Source: TimeCamp}

TimeCamp’s main value proposition is time tracking, including time tracking at an enterprise level. Aside from this, some of its other features include productivity tracking, invoicing, and team attendance tracking.

The tool’s reporting function includes over 10 different built-in reports, as well as the ability to invite guests to view project reports. These reports offer some exciting functionalities that Paymo does not have, such as metrics on computer usage.

But just like TimeDoctor, TimeCamp doesn’t support task management, which is usually a must-have feature for teams as far as project management is concerned.

Key features for project management:

Automatic time tracking
Invoicing
Timesheet approvals
Staff management

Pricing:

Free forever plan: $0
Basic plan: $7 per user/month
Pro plan: $10 per user/month
Enterprise plan: Pricing upon request

14. Harvest

Harvest's dashboard

^{Source: Harvest}

Harvest is a very reliable Paymo alternative if you want to help your team spend time wisely. In a nutshell, this software is known for providing users with a convenient way to track their time, analyze data from previous assignments, as well as get paid for their efforts.

Harvest has a larger ecosystem of integrations compared to Paymo, but that's because the tool is mostly focused on time tracking and relying on third-party tools for the nitty-gritty of project management. If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution, this one isn’t for you.

Also read: 10 Harvest Alternatives for Project Management in 2023

Key features for project management:

Online payments
Budgeting
Invoicing
Cost management

Pricing:

Basic plan: Free
Pro plan: $12 per user/month

15. Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects' dashboard

^{Source: Zoho Projects}

You can use Zoho Projects to plan tasks, collaborate with colleagues or clients, manage documents, and track time with its rich communications features and time-management tools. The software also has a decent project planning tool, so no tasks slip through the cracks.

In contrast to Paymo, Zoho specializes in helping project managers use charts to plan projects as well as end-to-end project automation. It also provides other functions that Paymo does not, such as blueprints and issue tracking.

Zoho Projects is mainly worth looking into if your team is already using another product within the Zoho ecosystem, such as its CRM, bookings, or custom forms tool. If not, then its steep learning curve and lack of customer support may not be worth it.

Key features for project management:

Task management
Task automation
Issue tracking

Pricing:

Basic plan: Free for up to 3 users
Premium plan: $5 per user/month for up to 50 users
Enterprise plan: $10 per user/month

Takeaway

Paymo is undeniably a good project management solution for small and medium businesses. However, is it the right project management tool for your business?

As you can see, there are quite a few Paymo alternatives out there that are worth checking out. Now that we’ve reviewed the features, pricing, and ease of use of these products, you’re equipped to make an informed decision on the software solution that’s the best fit for your organization.

Don’t forget to sign up for a free trial of Rodeo if you haven’t already. After all, what have you got to lose?

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Originally published on June 22, 2022, updated on Dec 15, 2022.}