project management tool · head to head
ClickUp vs Taskade
Comparison Summary
ClickUp scored 7.4 and Taskade scored 5.3 on our project management tool test script.
ClickUp and Taskade both have free plans with list, board and calendar views, repeating tasks and automation. Taskade's free plan is for two people with 10 automation runs a month and no AI; ClickUp's covers more people, a Gantt chart and dependencies.
In our tests ClickUp kept our data in shape: its CSV import mapped dates and statuses, and its export was complete. Taskade imported quickly but turned every column into text, and its project export lost our due dates. Taskade's Windows app was also heavier, slower to start, froze once and added itself to startup without asking.
Choose ClickUp for team projects with dates and dependencies. Choose Taskade if you want a flexible free list and board tool for one or two people, ideally in the browser.
Key differences
ClickUp
Taskade - Our 8 scripted tasks
- ClickUp:6 passed, 2 partial
- Taskade:2 passed, 4 partial, 2 failed
- Views on the free plan
- ClickUp:List, board, calendar and Gantt
- Taskade:List, board, table, mind map and calendar; Gantt paid
- Dependencies
- ClickUp:Free
- Taskade:Paid Gantt only
- Recurring tasks
- ClickUp:Yes
- Taskade:Yes
- CSV import
- ClickUp:200 and 500 rows with all fields
- Taskade:Fast, but every column becomes text
- AI on the free plan
- ClickUp:Chat trial: summary, subtasks, overdue
- Taskade:No credits; not testable
- Memory and cold start
- ClickUp:1.7–2.2 GB; about 14 s
- Taskade:1.3–2.4 GB; blank for at least 12 s
- Starts with Windows
- ClickUp:Yes
- Taskade:Yes, without asking
- Paid plans from
- ClickUp:$9 per user a month, billed yearly
- Taskade:$6 a month for 3 users, billed yearly
- Left after uninstalling
- ClickUp:About 275 MB and a broken startup entry
- Taskade:About 275 MB, a broken startup entry and firewall rules
Editor's Verdict
Choose ClickUp if…
Best for: Small teams that want lists, boards, Gantt charts, automations and AI in one free workspace and do not mind a busy, heavy app.
- Every view we needed is free: list, board, calendar and Gantt, with no upgrade prompt
- Automation, dependency and recurring task all worked on the free plan
- Pasting a multi-line list creates one task per line
Choose Taskade if…
Best for: Individuals and pairs who want lists, boards and simple automation for free and are happy in the browser.
- A pasted Markdown checklist becomes phase blocks with tasks in one step
- Repeating tasks and a working automation on the free plan
- The automation fired within about a second
Head to Head
Task by task
The same prompts, pasted word for word into each app on a clean Windows 11 PC. On the 8 tasks both apps were graded on, ClickUp completed 6 and Taskade completed 1.
| Task | ClickUp | Taskade |
|---|---|---|
| P1 · Build a project | Pass≈ 200 actions | Partial≈ 15–20 min |
| P2 · Views | Pass≈ 2 min | Partial≈ 4 min |
| P3 · Rules | Pass≈ 7 min | Partial≈ 10 min |
| P4 · 200-row import | Partial≈ 12 min | Partial≈ 2 min |
| P5 · Scale | Pass< 2 min import | Pass≈ 2 min |
| P6 · Permissions | Pass≈ 5 min | Partial≈ 4 min |
| P7 · AI | Pass≈ 1–1.5 min each | Fail– |
| P8 · Leave | Partial≈ 7 min | Partial≈ 5 min |
Both ran on their free plans: ClickUp Free Forever and Taskade Free.
Measured on the same PC
| Measurement | ClickUp | Taskade |
|---|---|---|
| On disk | 643 MB | 597 MB |
| Admin rights | Not needed | No |
| Starts with Windows | Yes, by default | Yes |
| 40-task project | ≈ 200 actions | ≈ 15–20 min |
| Views on the free plan | 4 / 4 | 3 / 4 |
| Cold start | ≈ 14 s | ≈ 15–50 s |
| Memory | 1.7 – 2.2 GB | 1.3 – 2.4 GB |
| CSV export | 771 / 771 | Dates lost |
| Left after uninstall | ≈ 275 MB | ≈ 275 MB |
Pros and cons
ClickUp
+ What works
- Every view we needed is free: list, board, calendar and Gantt, with no upgrade prompt
- Automation, dependency and recurring task all worked on the free plan
- Pasting a multi-line list creates one task per line
- 500-row CSV import in under two minutes, and the 500-task board opened in under a second
- Brain² summarised our project accurately, answered “what is overdue?” correctly and asked before adding subtasks
- Full CSV export in under a minute: all 771 tasks, with comments and subtasks
- Removing someone's access took effect immediately
− What falls short
- Heavy: about 14 seconds from launch to a usable list and 1.7–2.2 GB of memory
- The CSV import matched none of our seven columns automatically and needed status values mapped by hand
- The import offers to invite everyone whose email is in the file
- Starts with Windows by default and leaves about 275 MB and a broken startup entry after uninstalling
- Free AI chat is a one-off trial that does not reset
- The export drops dependencies and recurrence settings
- Busy setup: nine onboarding screens, a phone-number request, an invite nudge and an AI pop-up for every new list
Taskade
+ What works
- A pasted Markdown checklist becomes phase blocks with tasks in one step
- Repeating tasks and a working automation on the free plan
- The automation fired within about a second
- CSV import of 500 rows in about a second, every value kept
- Starter plan from $6 a month for three people
− What falls short
- Added itself to Windows startup without asking, and the entry stays after uninstalling
- Up to 2.4 GB of memory, a slow cold start, and the app froze once until restarted
- The project's CSV export dropped every due date and shuffled the rows
- Imported dates and statuses become plain text, not dates or fields
- Gantt chart and dependencies need a paid plan
- No AI credits on the free plan, and only 10 automation runs a month
Privacy and security
What we saw on our own test PC. Each review also lists what the vendor states about data handling, training and certifications.
ClickUp
Starts with Windows
The installer adds ClickUp to Windows startup without asking. It adds no services or scheduled tasks and only listens on the PC itself.
Contacts are pushed, not required
Setup asks for a phone number for promotional calls and messages, and the CSV import pre-fills the file's email addresses as invitations. Both can be skipped.
Full deletion is opt-in
Deleting a workspace keeps it recoverable unless you tick a separate box to delete it and its third-party data permanently.
Left after uninstalling
A 133 MB profile folder, a 143 MB updater cache, the clickup:// link handler and a startup entry pointing at the removed program.
Taskade
Signed installer
Signed by Taskcade Inc. through Microsoft's signing service.
Starts with Windows
Added a startup entry without asking; it remains after uninstalling.
Firewall prompt
First launch asked to accept network connections; declining did not affect the app.
Share link on by default
A workspace link giving editor access is enabled until you turn it off.
Features & Pricing
| ClickUp | Taskade | |
|---|---|---|
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| macOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | ✓ | ✓ |
| iOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paid from | $9/mo | $6/mo |
ClickUp plans
- Free Forever$0
- Core$9/user/mo
- Business$17/user/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
From ClickUp's pricing page, checked Oct 29, 2026.
Taskade plans
- Free$0
- Starter$6/mo
- Pro$10/mo
- Business$25/mo
- Max$100/mo
- EnterpriseContact sales
From Taskade's pricing page, checked Oct 31, 2026.
Who makes them
- Company
- ClickUp:ClickUp (Mango Technologies, Inc.)
- Taskade:Taskcade Inc. (Taskade)
- Headquarters
- ClickUp:San Diego, California, USA
- Taskade:San Francisco, California, USA
- Founded
- ClickUp:2017
- Taskade:2017
- Funding
- ClickUp:$400 million Series C in October 2021 at a reported $4 billion valuation.
- Taskade:Venture-backed private company; Y Combinator alumnus.
Timelines, official links and sources are in each review: ClickUp · Taskade.
FAQ
Which is better, ClickUp or Taskade?
ClickUp scored much higher in our tests: it kept dates and statuses on import and export, has free dependencies and a Gantt chart, and its AI was usable. Taskade is a lighter-weight free option for one or two people.
Which has the better free plan?
ClickUp for teams. Taskade's free plan is limited to two people, 10 automation runs a month and no AI credits.
Which is cheaper to upgrade?
Taskade: Starter costs $6 a month for three users billed yearly, while ClickUp starts at $9 per user a month.
Read the full reviews
This page compares the two side by side. Each full review has the complete test log, every screenshot, the scoring notes, pricing, security and company details.
ClickUp reviewRecommended 7.4 ClickUp passed every step of our project-management test on the free plan: all the views, a working automation, dependencies, recurring tasks, a 500-row import and an AI that got the facts right and asked before changing anything. It is heavy, though: the Windows app needs about 14 seconds and up to 2 GB of memory, and the import and setup make you do more by hand than they should. Read the full review → Taskade reviewSituational 5.3 Taskade's free plan does more than you might expect: a pasted Markdown checklist built our phases in one go, repeating tasks and a fast automation worked without paying, and CSV import took seconds. But the Windows app was the heaviest we have tested, froze once, and added itself to startup without asking. Imported dates become plain text, the project's own CSV export dropped every due date, Gantt and dependencies are paid, and the free plan has no AI credits at all. Read the full review → Project Management Alternatives
Notion Situational Individuals and small teams who want tasks living next to their docs and wiki, and who are happy to build their own setup 6.9 Read reviewReview 
Airtable Situational Teams who want a flexible database behind their projects, with automations and reliable CSV in and out 6.8 Read reviewReview 
Asana Situational Teams ready to pay for Starter or Advanced who want a polished, fast-to-learn project tool with strong import and export 6.7 Read reviewReview 
