PM
Asana lets Division admins run their own custom roles, on top Enterprise plans only.
Alternatives · project management tools
Backlog alternatives
The best Backlog alternatives in project management tools, ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score.
Updated Nov 13, 2026
Looking for the best alternatives to Backlog? Sparkpulse tracks and ranks 12 alternatives in project management tools by shipping velocity — how frequently each ships meaningful updates, verified from official changelogs. For reference, Backlog shipped 0 meaningful updates in the last 30 days and carries a velocity score of 0.0 out of 10 in 2026. The alternatives below are ranked the same way, so you're comparing real release momentum, not marketing claims.
About Backlog
Backlog ships steady Gantt and chart refinements, but the feed is mostly Nulab site furniture.
Only two entries in this window carry actual release content, and both are monthly digests: chart groups gaining a start/end date bar with issue counts and status breakdown on hover, personal charts dropping the parent-subtask relationship, an Android 3.0.1 redesign, Markdown in iOS custom-field text areas, plus quarterly-scale Gantt charts for Premium and Platinum plans and child-issue status filtering. The rest of the window is navigation, support links and marketing copy scraped from nulab.com — including rows that belong to sibling products Cacoo and Nulab Pass rather than to Backlog.
Velocity 0.0 · Last update 3mo ago
Top 12 alternatives to Backlog
Ranked by recent ship velocity. Tap any card for the full editorial breakdown, or pivot to a head-to-head.
COLLAB
Hive turns reporting into a planning tool: shared inputs, grouped values, per-person drill-downs.
PM
Tracecat 1.5 alpha patches add sub-cases and lock down agent sandboxes.
PM
SmartSuite adds tracked changes to SmartDocs, so policy edits need an approver.
PM
Atarim turns care plans into scheduled AI work and lets small fixes go live without approval.
PM
Fibery puts MCP setup in one settings page and speeds up entity views and formulas.
PM
NocoBase's v3 beta lets apps ship their own CLI, separate from Agents.
PM
Productboard's v2 documents API now keeps plain web addresses and emoji as ordinary text.
PM
Ever Teams tags dozens of versions a day; most are fixes and test changes.
PM
My Hours 10.3 makes invoice dates editable and lets invoices carry a Detailed report.
PM
Leantime swaps role ranks for real permissions and syncs with your calendar app.
COLLAB
Smartsheet becomes where plans drafted in Claude Sheets get executed.
Backlog vs alternatives — shipping velocity at a glance
Velocity score (0–10) and meaningful releases shipped in the last 30 days, from official changelogs. Higher = shipping faster.
| Product | Velocity | Sparks · 30d | Focus areas | Latest release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Backlog (baseline) | 0.0 | 0 | gantt-chartsissue-trackingmobile-parity | — |
| Asana | 6.3 | 1 | work-managementgovernancepermissions | Introducing: Tables |
| Hive | 6.3 | 0 | project managementreportingbulk actions | — |
| Tracecat | 6.3 | 0 | security-automationai-agentsmulti-tenancy | — |
| SmartSuite | 6.3 | 1 | work managementdocument controlaudit trails | SmartSuite Script Engine |
| Atarim | 6.3 | 1 | agency-workflowai-agentscare-plans | Atarim 5.1.5: build the care plan once, put every client on it |
| Fibery | 6.3 | 1 | work-managementmcpai-agent | AI-built custom integrations (preview), MCP execute_code |
| NocoBase | 5.0 | 0 | no-codeai agentscli | — |
| Productboard | 5.0 | 0 | product-managementapidocuments | EntityType moves from fixed enum to workspace-specific open string |
| Ever Teams | 5.0 | 0 | time-trackingtask-viewsintegrations | — |
| My Hours | 5.0 | 0 | timesheetsinvoicingprofitability | — |
| Leantime | 5.0 | 0 | project-managementself-hostedpermissions | — |
| Smartsheet | 5.0 | 0 | table-viewai-handoffintegrations | — |
The 12 best Backlog alternatives, in depth
1. Asana · velocity 6.3
Asana lets Division admins run their own custom roles, on top Enterprise plans only.
Over the last 30 days Asana shipped 1 meaningful update vs Backlog's 0, most recently “Introducing: Tables”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Backlog leans on gantt charts, issue tracking and mobile parity, Asana focuses on work management, governance and permissions.
Over the last 30 days Asana has been shipping faster than Backlog — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
2. Hive · velocity 6.3
Hive turns reporting into a planning tool: shared inputs, grouped values, per-person drill-downs.
Its velocity score of 6.3/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Backlog leans on gantt charts, issue tracking and mobile parity, Hive focuses on project management, reporting and bulk actions.
Hive and Backlog have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
3. Tracecat · velocity 6.3
Tracecat 1.5 alpha patches add sub-cases and lock down agent sandboxes.
Its velocity score of 6.3/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Backlog leans on gantt charts, issue tracking and mobile parity, Tracecat focuses on security automation, ai agents and multi tenancy.
Tracecat and Backlog have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
4. SmartSuite · velocity 6.3
SmartSuite adds tracked changes to SmartDocs, so policy edits need an approver.
Over the last 30 days SmartSuite shipped 1 meaningful update vs Backlog's 0, most recently “SmartSuite Script Engine”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Backlog leans on gantt charts, issue tracking and mobile parity, SmartSuite focuses on work management, document control and audit trails.
Over the last 30 days SmartSuite has been shipping faster than Backlog — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
Full SmartSuite trajectory → · Compare Backlog vs SmartSuite →
5. Atarim · velocity 6.3
Atarim turns care plans into scheduled AI work and lets small fixes go live without approval.
Over the last 30 days Atarim shipped 1 meaningful update vs Backlog's 0, most recently “Atarim 5.1.5: build the care plan once, put every client on it”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Backlog leans on gantt charts, issue tracking and mobile parity, Atarim focuses on agency workflow, ai agents and care plans.
Over the last 30 days Atarim has been shipping faster than Backlog — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
6. Fibery · velocity 6.3
Fibery puts MCP setup in one settings page and speeds up entity views and formulas.
Over the last 30 days Fibery shipped 1 meaningful update vs Backlog's 0, most recently “AI-built custom integrations (preview), MCP execute_code”. Its velocity score of 6.3/10 blends that with longer-term release cadence.
Where Backlog leans on gantt charts, issue tracking and mobile parity, Fibery focuses on work management, mcp and ai agent.
Over the last 30 days Fibery has been shipping faster than Backlog — a point in its favour if release momentum matters to you.
7. NocoBase · velocity 5.0
NocoBase's v3 beta lets apps ship their own CLI, separate from Agents.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Backlog leans on gantt charts, issue tracking and mobile parity, NocoBase focuses on no code, ai agents and cli.
NocoBase and Backlog have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
8. Productboard · velocity 5.0
Productboard's v2 documents API now keeps plain web addresses and emoji as ordinary text.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence; its most recent meaningful update was “EntityType moves from fixed enum to workspace-specific open string”.
Where Backlog leans on gantt charts, issue tracking and mobile parity, Productboard focuses on product management, api and documents.
Productboard and Backlog have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full Productboard trajectory → · Compare Backlog vs Productboard →
9. Ever Teams · velocity 5.0
Ever Teams tags dozens of versions a day; most are fixes and test changes.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Backlog leans on gantt charts, issue tracking and mobile parity, Ever Teams focuses on time tracking, task views and integrations.
Ever Teams and Backlog have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full Ever Teams trajectory → · Compare Backlog vs Ever Teams →
10. My Hours · velocity 5.0
My Hours 10.3 makes invoice dates editable and lets invoices carry a Detailed report.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Backlog leans on gantt charts, issue tracking and mobile parity, My Hours focuses on timesheets, invoicing and profitability.
My Hours and Backlog have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
11. Leantime · velocity 5.0
Leantime swaps role ranks for real permissions and syncs with your calendar app.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Backlog leans on gantt charts, issue tracking and mobile parity, Leantime focuses on project management, self hosted and permissions.
Leantime and Backlog have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
12. Smartsheet · velocity 5.0
Smartsheet becomes where plans drafted in Claude Sheets get executed.
Its velocity score of 5.0/10 reflects longer-term release cadence.
Where Backlog leans on gantt charts, issue tracking and mobile parity, Smartsheet focuses on table view, ai handoff and integrations.
Smartsheet and Backlog have shipped at a similar pace over the last 30 days, so the decision comes down to fit and feature depth.
Full Smartsheet trajectory → · Compare Backlog vs Smartsheet →
Frequently asked questions
What are the best alternatives to Backlog?
The top Backlog alternatives we currently track in project management tools are Asana, Hive, Tracecat, SmartSuite, Atarim, ranked by recent ship velocity.
How is this list of Backlog alternatives ranked?
Alternatives are ranked by Sparkpulse's velocity_score — release cadence + 30-day spark count + sector-relative ship rate.
Can I compare Backlog directly with one of these alternatives?
Yes — every card has a "Compare with Backlog" link to a side-by-side /compare page.