ClickUp alternatives for small dev teams

By Darko Bačić, founder of App Tube · 9 October 2026 · Facts checked 9 October 2026

Pick by what you need most. For a fast tracker made for software teams, Linear. For one plain board and little else, Trello. For a board, epics and a timer in a phone and Mac app, devBoard. An epic is a big piece of work split into smaller tasks. We make devBoard. It is first on the list. We say where the others are better.

Why small teams leave ClickUp

The first reason is setup. ClickUp can do almost anything, so someone must choose what it does. One freelancer wrote that she spent more time keeping her workspace in order than doing the work.

The second reason is speed. On Hacker News, a tiny startup called the web app slow and bloated. It built its own simple screen for ClickUp inside a code editor. ClickUp is not bad. It is big.

The short list

devBoard

devBoard is a tracker for freelancers and small dev teams. Free while in early access; paid plans will be one plain number, posted here first.

Pick it if

• You are a freelancer, and each client gets its own workspace.
• You want epics, tasks and subtasks. A subtask is a step inside a task.
• You want the timer on the task, not in a second app.
• You want GitHub pull requests on the card. A pull request asks to merge code changes.

Skip it if

• You need a web version.
• You want to import your ClickUp tasks.
• You need docs, chat or automations in the same tool.
• You work on Windows or Linux. Those apps are not out yet.

Linear

Linear is an issue tracker for software teams, with projects, issues and repeating sprints.

Pick it if

• You want sprints and Git links with little setup.
• You want a web app, plus apps for Mac and Windows.

Skip it if

• You need time tracking. Teams add a tool like Harvest.
• You want to stay free past 250 issues.
• You want your own way of working. One reviewer said its firm opinions made setup take weeks. See Linear alternatives.

Trello

Trello is the simplest tool here. Kanban is a board with a column for each stage of work.

Pick it if

• You want one kanban board, free for up to ten people.
• You want simple rules that move cards for you.

Skip it if

• You need subtasks or epics. Trello has checklists.
• You need time tracking. It comes from add-ons like Toggl.
• You want a calendar or timeline. Those need Premium. See Trello alternatives.

GitHub Projects

GitHub Projects puts your GitHub issues on a board, next to your code.

Pick it if

• Your code lives on GitHub, and you want a board at no extra cost.

Skip it if

• You need time tracking. Browser add-ons from Harvest or Clockify fill the gap.
• You want a desktop app. There is none for boards.
• You need a filter for "mine or unassigned". A user found the filters cannot do that. See GitHub Projects alternatives.

Asana

Asana plans work for whole companies, not only developers.

Pick it if

• Design or sales plan work next to yours.
• You want timelines and Gantt charts. They start on Starter.

Skip it if

• You want time tracking below the Advanced plan.
• You want epics. Asana has projects, sections, tasks and subtasks.
• You run many projects. One reviewer says it gets crowded. More in Asana alternatives.

Notion

Notion is a docs tool where a task list is one database among your pages.

Pick it if

• Your team writes specs and wants a wiki next to its tasks.

Skip it if

• You need a timer. There is none built in.
• Your lists are big. Reviewers say big databases get slow.
• Two or more of you want it free. A block limit kicks in. See Notion alternatives.

Basecamp

Basecamp holds messages, to-dos, chat and files for each project. It charges per account.

Pick it if

• You want clients in the same place as your work.
• You want a lighter tool. One team on Hacker News found ClickUp, Asana and monday.com slow and chose Basecamp.

Skip it if

• You want a running timer. On Pro and Unlimited, you type hours in.
• You want Gantt charts or rules that act on their own. See Basecamp alternatives.

Who should stay on ClickUp

Stay if your whole company works in ClickUp, or uses its docs, chat and automations every day. Stay if you need timesheets with billable rates and approvals. Stay if you want Gantt charts, a workload view, or apps for Windows and Linux. No tool here does all of that. See devBoard vs ClickUp.

How we chose

We looked for tools that fit a team of two to ten. We weighed setup time, dev features such as epics and pull request links, the apps, and the price. We make devBoard, so we put it first, and that is a bias. Other lists are on our alternatives page.

Moving off ClickUp

Asana has a guide for bringing ClickUp work in as a CSV file, a plain spreadsheet file. Notion takes CSV files too, but lists no ClickUp importer. We found none for Linear, Trello, GitHub Projects or Basecamp. devBoard has none either, so moving in is by hand. Moving from ClickUp shows the steps.