Insightly
Shortcut
| Feature | Insightly | Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $29/mo | Free / from $8.5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | growing-businesses, project-based-companies, professional-services, mid-market | software-teams, startups, engineering-managers, product-teams |
| Founded | 2009 | 2016 |
| Contact Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Pipeline Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Project Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Workflow Automation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Email Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Reporting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Stories | ✗ | ✓ |
| Epics | ✗ | ✓ |
| Iterations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Milestones | ✗ | ✓ |
| Api | ✗ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Insightly Pros
- CRM plus project management
- Good workflow automation
- AppConnect integration platform
- Affordable pricing
✗ Insightly Cons
- Interface feels dated
- Limited marketing features
- Reporting could be stronger
✓ 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
Insightly is built for growing businesses and project based companies, with a focus on contact-management and pipeline-management. Shortcut targets software teams and startups and leads with stories and epics.
On pricing, Shortcut is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $8.5/mo compared to $29/mo for Insightly. That $20.5/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Shortcut edges out on user ratings (4.4 vs 4). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Bottom line: Shortcut has a slight overall edge — but if crm plus project management matters most to you, Insightly may still be the right call.