ClickUp
Shortcut
| Feature | ClickUp | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $7/mo | Free / from $8.5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | startups, small-teams, agencies, freelancers | software-teams, startups, engineering-managers, product-teams |
| Founded | 2017 | 2016 |
| Tasks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Docs | ✓ | ✗ |
| Goals | ✓ | ✗ |
| Whiteboards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Dashboards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Time Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai | ✓ | ✗ |
| Stories | ✗ | ✓ |
| Epics | ✗ | ✓ |
| Iterations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Milestones | ✗ | ✓ |
| Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ ClickUp Pros
- Feature-rich
- Affordable
- Great free plan
- Customizable
✗ ClickUp Cons
- Can be overwhelming
- Mobile app needs work
- Occasional performance issues
✓ Shortcut Pros
- Intuitive UI for engineering teams
- Great API and integrations
- Flexible iteration planning
- Excellent GitHub integration
✗ Shortcut Cons
- Limited reporting on free plan
- No time tracking built-in
- Smaller ecosystem than Jira
The Verdict
ClickUp is built for startups and small teams, with a focus on tasks and docs. Shortcut targets software teams and startups and leads with stories and epics.
Pricing is close: ClickUp starts at $7/mo versus $8.5/mo for Shortcut — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, ClickUp offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Shortcut takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for startups — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
