What Is Wrike?
Wrike started out as a collaboration, work management and project management platform that enables its users to manage and track tasks, projects, schedules and other processes dynamically in real time.
With Wrike, collaboration over tasks is as easy as mentioning anyone in any task by using @. All documents associated with a project are stored within the project and all communication and discussion threads can be found in the same place. This level of organization makes it simple for new team members to get up to speed.
Unlimited tasks, unlimited subtasks and unlimited nesting make it easy and efficient to manage a portfolio of projects across the organization and it made it to our list as the best project portfolio management apps in 2024.
Featured Partners
1
monday.com
Yes
From $8 monthly per user
Zoom, LinkedIn, Adobe, Salesforce and more
2
ClickUp
Yes, for unlimited members
$7 per month
Slack, Microsoft Outlook, HubSpot, Salesforce, Timely, Google Drive and more
3
Wrike
Yes
$9.80 per user per month
Salesforce, Adobe, Miro, Netsuite, Quickbooks, SAP
4
Smartsheet
Yes, for one user and two editors
$9 per user per month
Google Drive, Slack, Tableau, Miro, Zapier and more
What Sets Wrike Apart
Starting at $9.80 per user per month (minimum two users), Wrike is more expensive than some other project management tools but its power lies in its ability to support both project management and collaborative work. Its Work Intelligence suite leverages AI and machine learning to:
- Predict and manage project risks proactively
- Create tasks and subtasks automatically
- Streamline collaboration
- Handle digital asset creation and management
- Communicate quickly and effectively through automated response suggestions
Wrike’s Work Intelligence capabilities are available to all Wrike plans.
Pros
Wrike is a powerful project management and work collaboration software for businesses of all sizes. Its Work Intelligence suite utilizes AI to create tasks and subtasks automatically from comments, documents and more.
Cons
Wrike’s costs can be a limiting factor for midsized teams when cheaper options are available. Also, it provides financial management options such as budgeting and invoicing in high-end plans.
Wrike Core Features
Although Wrike did not make it to our list of top project management apps, it has some awesome features to help you manage your projects as well as tasks outside the purview of any project.
Role Assignment Features
Wrike has four access roles—Full, Editor, Limited and Read-Only—to manage access. However, the Enterprise plan offers up to 10 roles. Read-only access permissions are an excellent way to invite external or internal stakeholders who need to be aware of project progress.
There is a caveat, though. Role permissions can be set at project or folder level only, not task level.
Gantt Charts
Gantt charts are available only for paid plans. Wrike offers dynamic interactive Gantt charts that help you create milestones, manage dependencies and reschedule tasks in bulk via a drag-and-drop interface. When you import tasks from spreadsheets or other project management applications, the dependencies get imported automatically.
You can communicate with your team members from right inside the Gantt chart view, sharing task links, attaching documents and sending automated notifications for schedule changes.
Software Integrations
Wrike offers 400-plus integrations with a wide range of productivity apps and tools. The high-end plans offer native Salesforce integration, NetSuite and QuickBooks integrations via Wrike Integrate and Adobe Creative Cloud extension.
Dependencies
The task dependency feature is available for all Wrike users. It can be set from both Table view and Gantt charts. Of course, as Gantt charts are not available to free users, they can set dependencies only through the Table view. There are four types of dependencies that can be set for any task, using predecessors.
Budgeting
Budgeting is a critical component of project management. Although budgeting is a feature offered by many project management tools, Wrike offers it only to its Pinnacle users.
Wrike Pricing and Plans
Wrike offers a total of five plans, ranging from a basic free option all the way up to top-of-the-line enterprise options. For more details, check out our complete guide to Wrike’s pricing and plans.
Free Plan
The Free account is not much more than a shared task list for small teams, although you can use it for getting a feel before you go for paid plans. The project progress, which can be tracked using different views through the Gantt chart view, is not available. The number of active tasks and subtasks is also capped at 200, which can be very limiting even for individuals.
Team Plan
The Team plan is a good starting point for very small teams (two to 25 is the allowed number) for planning projects and collaborating on them. You get the Gantt chart view, which is popularly used by teams to track their projects.
Business Plan
It is the Business plan where things start getting interesting as you gain access to work management tools. The Business plan has everything you could need for project and work management for large teams.
Enterprise Plan
The Enterprise plan is for teams that need advanced security options and expanded administration choices. Additional security measures include single sign-on with SAML, active directory, integration and two-step verification. You can customize the default types in your account and can even create new user types. You also get to automatically pull data from Wrike and export it to third-party analytics tools such as Power BI or Qlik.
Pinnacle Plan
The Pinnacle plan is specially designed for teams that also need advanced reporting and business intelligence besides advanced work management options of the Enterprise plan. Some of the tools include right to analyze, budgeting, HTML proofing, advanced resource management and locked spaces for confidential collaboration.
Wrike Setup and Customization
When you sign up for Wrike, you get a 14-day free trial of its Business plan, which should give you ample time to evaluate its features. No credit card is required for signing up. After the trial plan expires, your account defaults to the Free plan if you don’t buy.
The Wrike dashboard has a modern minimalist look with three vertical panes on the home screen. Initially, it can look cluttered to first-time users of project management apps but start looking at it from the left pane and things will start falling in line.
The left pane is the navigation bar, which gives you access to all your projects and teams. In the middle pane, you create tasks and subtasks in the appropriate spaces. You can think of these spaces as folders in your operating system Explorer window. When you click on any of these spaces, you see the details on the right pane. You can create and customize multiple dashboards and share them with different team members.
Besides managing projects and tasks assigned, Wrike also encourages you to manage your daily tasks. These tasks may be one-time or recurring; you can create them, assign them to your team members and set due dates.
Wrike Ease of Use
Wrike has an intuitive and modern interface. The default dashboard shows all your projects, tasks and spaces in one place so that the moment you log in, you can decide where to go.
Wrike Security
All plans come with enterprise-grade security. The Business plan also has folder and project permissions for added security. Enterprise and Pinnacle plans come with added security features such as two-factor authentication and 360-degree security, including compliance with five different security certifications.
Wrike Customer Service and Support
Wrike has a robust and comprehensive knowledge database with training videos, interactive training, a thriving community forum and the latest release notes.
Besides the typical email and chat support, Wrike also has paid support packages for Business and above plans. You can choose the package you want depending on your requirements.
Wrike Bot is available on its home page and most other main pages. But for many pages, such as blogs, it was not available for us. It collects email addresses and phone numbers of existing customers if support is needed. However, its response may be erratic. We didn’t receive any intimation from the Wrike support team even 36 hours after sharing details.
For new users, the Wrike Bot has free downloadable resources and an option to connect with the sales team.
Wrike Additional Features
Add-Ons for Premium Plans
Wrike also provides these add-on features for its Business, Enterprise and Pinnacle plans:
- Wrike Marketing Insights: This add-on is ideal for digital marketers because they can integrate data from their marketing and ad campaigns into Wrike. You get easy access to performance metrics of all your assets as you launch newer campaigns.
- Wrike Integrate: As the name suggests, this is Wrike’s integration and automation platform that enables you to integrate your cloud as well as on-premises tools.
- Wrike Two-Way Sync (Jira and GitHub): Communication with Jira and GitHub ensures that you sync all important information between the two systems without any interruption. You get multi-project visibility and reporting in Wrike while developers can continue working in GitHub without having to learn another platform.
- Wrike Lock: This is used to provide an additional layer of encryption over the basic encryption services available by default with all your workspace data and attachments.
- AI Project Risk Prediction: Uses artificial intelligence (AI) to raise alerts when a project is at risk of not meeting its deadlines.
Customized Software
If you need project management and work collaboration software for your marketing, creative, project management, product, development, business operations or professional services teams, Wrike has a fully customized version available. It even has one tailor-made for students.
Billing and Invoicing
Its billing and invoicing feature is available only for the Pinnacle plan. However, for Enterprise plans, you can export time tracking data to an integrated billing and invoicing software.
Wrike Alternatives and How They Compare
Wrike vs. Jira
Both Wrike and Jira have excellent project management features. However, Wrike can be a bit expensive for small teams. If you have a large team and money is not an issue, the long list of features offered by Wrike is perfect for you. But for software development projects, Jira is the perfect choice as it is built on Agile and Scrum principles. Jira also lacks financial management features currently.
Wrike vs. ClickUp
Both Wrike and ClickUp offer a long list of useful features for project management and work collaboration. But Wrike can feel expensive for small teams and hence is more suited for midsize to large businesses. On the other hand, ClickUp works well for small to enterprise-level businesses.
Wrike vs. Asana
Asana is a simple work management and project management tool for automating workflows, tracking project progress and communicating with your team. But if you are looking for enterprise-grade features for project management and advanced analytics, Wrike is the one for you.
Do remember that Wrike can be heavy on the pocket as compared to Asana. You need to choose between price and features to decide which tool is the best one.
Featured Partners
1
monday.com
Yes
From $8 monthly per user
Zoom, LinkedIn, Adobe, Salesforce and more
2
ClickUp
Yes, for unlimited members
$7 per month
Slack, Microsoft Outlook, HubSpot, Salesforce, Timely, Google Drive and more
3
Wrike
Yes
$9.80 per user per month
Salesforce, Adobe, Miro, Netsuite, Quickbooks, SAP
4
Smartsheet
Yes, for one user and two editors
$9 per user per month
Google Drive, Slack, Tableau, Miro, Zapier and more
Who Is Wrike Best For?
If you run a professional services agency or want a project management and collaboration software for your marketing, creative, product development or business operations teams, Wrike has highly customized features that are not available in any other project management app.
Wrike is also an excellent choice for hyper-growth teams that need powerful project management, work collaboration and advanced analytics tools to manage complex projects or a portfolio of complex projects.
Our Experience/Expert Take
Wrike is the right choice for teams that value ease of collaboration as much as project management itself. It has a plethora of features appropriate for teams of all sizes and project complexity. However, making the purchase decision can be a bit challenging with so many options available. It is advisable to contact sales to get proper guidance. Its prices are also steeper than many other options available. You should take care of budgets before signing up.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What makes Wrike different?
Wrike’s easy-to-create, completely interactive Gantt chart view makes Wrike different from other popular project management apps. Besides Gantt chart, Wrike offers different views, such as board, list and file view, to support different working styles of a diverse workforce.
Who should use Wrike?
Creative agencies, marketing teams, professional services agencies and any other business keen on collaborative tools should use Wrike.
Is Wrike easy to use?
Wrike has a user-friendly dashboard that is very easy to set up. You have access to all the projects, teams and financials from the home screen and you can also create tasks, assign them to others and set due dates.
What is the best project management software for small businesses?
Companies should choose the best project management software based on their needs and budget. However, Wrike is a popular project management software among small businesses for its breadth of features, price and available free version.
