ActiveCollab vs Teamwork
Both are built for teams that bill clients for their time. Pick ActiveCollab if you want time tracking, budgets and invoicing on one plan at $15 per user. Pick Teamwork if you need a free plan for up to 5 people or scheduling by role.
Two good tools. Different bills at the end of the month.
Pick ActiveCollab if
- You want invoices built from tracked time without a $24.99 tier. Pro + Get Paid is $15 per user, billed yearly.
- You are three people. Plus is $12.50 a month flat for up to 3 members, billed yearly.
- Your client data has to stay on your own servers. Self-Hosted is a one-time license, with optional support package.
- Clients should join free on every plan, Plus included.
- Your team should be working in it in the first week, without a training program.
Pick Teamwork if
- You want a free plan for up to 5 users and 5 projects.
- You run retainers and need time budgets per client on Accelerate.
- You schedule people by role or skill. That is on Optimize, priced on request.
- Your team already works in Teamwork and invoicing is not the pain.
Side by side
Prices per user per month, billed yearly, as listed on 3 Nov 2026.
| Feature | ActiveCollab | Teamwork |
|---|---|---|
| Smallest paid plan | Plus · $12.50/mo flat, up to 3 members |
Basics · $9.99/user, minimum 3
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| Time tracking | Every plan, with stopwatch | Every plan; billable reports from Basics |
| Invoices from tracked time | Pro + Get Paid · $15/user |
Accelerate · $24.99/user, minimum 5
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| Project budgets | Pro + Get Paid · budget vs cost | Time budgets on Accelerate; money budgets on Optimize |
| Profitability reports | Pro + Get Paid | Optimize · price on request |
| Client access | Free Client role on every plan | Free client users, up to 5 active projects each |
| Self-hosted | Yes · one-time license, with optional support package | Cloud only |
| Free option | No free plan · 14-day trial, every feature, no card | Free plan · 5 users, 5 projects |
| Billing and money | ||
| Online payments on invoices | Pro + Get Paid · PayPal and Stripe | Not listed on the plan comparison |
| Quotes and estimates | Pro + Get Paid · won estimates become projects | Basic on Accelerate; margins and tax on Optimize |
| Expense tracking | Pro and Pro + Get Paid | Budget expenses on Accelerate |
| Multi-currency | Pro + Get Paid | Optimize |
| Accounting integrations | QuickBooks on Pro + Get Paid | QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks on Accelerate |
| Hourly rates | Job type rates on every plan; internal rates on Pro + Get Paid | User rates on Accelerate |
| Minimum seats and contract | No seat minimum · Plus is capped at 3 members · monthly or yearly billing, cancel any time | Basics 3 users, Accelerate 5 · monthly or yearly billing |
| Planning and people | ||
| Workload and capacity | Pro + Get Paid | Workload Planner on Accelerate |
| Utilization | Pro + Get Paid | Accelerate; billable targets on Optimize |
| Availability and time off | Pro + Get Paid | Optimize |
| Plan for people who haven't joined yet | Virtual users on Pro and Pro + Get Paid, no paid seat | Placeholders on Optimize, one project each |
| Team timesheets | Pro + Get Paid | Accelerate; approvals on Optimize |
| Gantt and task dependencies | Every plan | Every plan |
| Active projects | No limits | 5 Free · 300 Basics · 600 Accelerate |
| Storage | 10 GB Plus · 125 GB Pro and Pro + Get Paid (upgradable) | 100 GB Basics · 250 GB Accelerate |
| Collaboration | ||
| Team chat | Every plan | From Basics |
| Intake forms | Not offered | From Basics; conditional logic from Accelerate |
| Proofing | Not offered | 20 proofs on Basics; unlimited from Accelerate |
| Automations | Not offered · recurring tasks on every plan | 5,000 actions a month on Basics; more on higher plans |
| AI, apps and integrations | ||
| AI assistants (MCP server) | Pro and up · OAuth for Claude, ChatGPT and other compatible clients, or an access token | Yes, plan not stated · Claude, ChatGPT |
| Built-in AI features | Cloud: suggested tasks and subtasks, expenses from receipt images, projects from a prompt. Not on Self-Hosted | From Basics: comment summaries, task builder |
| Slack, Zapier, webhooks | Pro and Pro + Get Paid | Webhooks from Basics; Slack and Zapier not listed |
| GitHub and GitLab | Pro and Pro + Get Paid · branches and pull requests on the task; tasks complete on merge | Not on the plan comparison |
| File storage | Google Drive and Dropbox · every plan | Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive · from Basics |
| CRM | Not offered | HubSpot on Accelerate; Salesforce on Optimize |
| API | Every plan · API tokens | Every plan · 150 to 500 requests a minute |
| Mobile apps | iOS and Android companion app, chat built in · every plan | iOS and Android · every plan |
| Desktop apps | Windows and macOS, chat built in · every plan | Desktop app on every plan |
| Chat apps | Standalone chat app for Windows and Mac; chat is also built into the mobile and desktop apps | Teamwork Chat for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux |
| Security and support | ||
| Two-factor authentication | Every plan | Every plan |
| Single sign-on (SSO) | Not offered | Enterprise |
| Support | Live chat on every plan; success agent above 20 seats | Chat and email from Basics; Customer Success on Enterprise |
Spot something wrong or out of date? Write to support@activecollab.com and we will fix it. That goes for the Teamwork team too.
What agencies say once the bill comes from the work
“In the beginning, we only used it to manage tasks and to-dos. But soon, we also started storing information and files in ActiveCollab. But the greatest breakthrough was when we started using the invoicing section.”
Médéric Beaunier
CEO @ aparticula
“We've got lots of clients that rely on reports, so they know what we're doing. With ActiveCollab, we send them the link so they can get up to speed and voice any concerns. The feedback loop is much faster for both them and us, and projects are not late anymore.”
Seb Dean
Managing Director @ Imaginaire Digital
“We are overjoyed to report that our productivity - both for our teams and our clients - has easily increased 25% by consolidating to this single platform.”
Norm Alger
Partner @ Xhilarate
Up and running in days, not weeks
A teammate logs in by day four
Hours on the clock in the first week
Half of the teams that track time log their first hours by day four.
Source: ActiveCollab account data, Nov 2025 – Oct 2026.
Questions buyers ask
Is ActiveCollab cheaper than Teamwork for a 10-person agency?
For time tracking plus invoicing, yes. Pro + Get Paid is $150 a month for 10 people, billed yearly. Teamwork Accelerate is $249.90. Teamwork's profitability reports need Optimize, priced on request.
Can clients use both tools for free?
In ActiveCollab, yes, with no limits: the Client role is free on every plan, for as many clients and projects as you need. In Teamwork, only up to a point: each free client user can join at most 5 active projects.
Which one can I host on my own server?
Only ActiveCollab. Self-Hosted runs on your own server with a one-time license and an optional support package. Teamwork is cloud only.
We are leaving Teamwork. What moves over?
Your projects and tasks. Export task lists from Teamwork as CSV or Excel, then bring them in with the ActiveCollab importer. It matches columns for you and keeps task lists, subtasks, assignees, dates, estimates and labels, plus project clients and budgets. Comments, attachments and time records stay behind, so keep the Teamwork export for history. Clients join free, so you can invite them on day one.
Does Teamwork have a minimum number of seats?
Yes. Teamwork Basics needs at least 3 paid users and Accelerate at least 5. ActiveCollab Plus is a flat $12.50 a month for up to 3 members, billed yearly, and Pro and Pro + Get Paid are priced per member, with no seat minimum on the pricing page.
Can I plan work for people who haven't joined yet?
Yes, in both. ActiveCollab Pro and Pro + Get Paid have virtual users: placeholders you can add to any project and assign tasks to, without using a paid seat. On Pro + Get Paid they also show in workload planning. When the real person joins, they take over the virtual user's tasks, and the seat is charged from then on. Teamwork has placeholders in its resource schedule. Each one belongs to a single project and holds time allocations until you hand them to a team member.
Which one is better for profit and budget reports?
For a small agency, ActiveCollab. Profitability reports come with Pro + Get Paid at $15 per member a month, billed yearly. In Teamwork, profitability insights are part of Optimize, which is priced on request.
Do AI features cost extra?
In Teamwork, the built-in AI tools run on monthly credit allowances that vary by plan. ActiveCollab Pro and Pro + Get Paid include an MCP server, so you can connect the AI assistant you already use, such as Claude, ChatGPT and other compatible clients. The pricing page lists no AI credits.