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Comparison · PM

ClickUp vs Leantime

A side-by-side editorial comparison of ClickUp and Leantime — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:project-management

ClickUp vs Leantime: at a glance

FeatureClickUpLeantime
SectorPMPM
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesproject-management, ai-agents, mcp, ai-coworkerproject-management, self-hosted, permissions, plugins
Last editorial update2mo ago2d ago
Website—Visit →

What is ClickUp?

ClickUp folds MCP into Super Agents, wiring outside tools into its AI coworker

ClickUp's recent shipping is dominated by Brain² and Super Agents: the Brain² takeover release enumerated artifact generation, model routing and memory, and Release Notes 4.07 extended MCP server connections to Super Agents while scoping Custom Fields by task type. The newest entry is smaller and commercial rather than functional — PayPal is rolling out as an additional payment option in India, explicitly not a pricing change, with other markets to follow. Classic project-management work like Gantt Baselines continues underneath the AI releases.

Read the full ClickUp trajectory →

What is Leantime?

Leantime swaps role ranks for real permissions and syncs with your calendar app.

Leantime moved from 3.10 to 3.14 between October and 10 November. v3.14.0 replaces role-rank checks with specific permission checks across projects, timesheets, users, API keys, to-dos, milestones and sprints, and opens the calendar to plugins; a new CalDAV plugin syncs both ways with Nextcloud, Radicale and Apple Calendar. Earlier releases added mobile push, per-project modules, global search and self-updating plugins.

Read the full Leantime trajectory →

ClickUp vs Leantime: editorial side-by-side

C5.0

ClickUp folds MCP into Super Agents, wiring outside tools into its AI coworker

◆ Current state

ClickUp's recent shipping is dominated by Brain² and Super Agents: the Brain² takeover release enumerated artifact generation, model routing and memory, and Release Notes 4.07 extended MCP server connections to Super Agents while scoping Custom Fields by task type. The newest entry is smaller and commercial rather than functional — PayPal is rolling out as an additional payment option in India, explicitly not a pricing change, with other markets to follow. Classic project-management work like Gantt Baselines continues underneath the AI releases.

◆ Where it's heading

The arc is from work-management app to AI work-execution platform, and the recent releases are about widening what the agents can reach rather than announcing new agents. Connecting any publicly hosted MCP server to Super Agents is the clearest expression of that: ClickUp is content to be the place agents run, not the place every tool lives. The payment-option work is a reminder that the same period includes ordinary commercial plumbing aimed at growth markets.

◆ Prediction

Expect the PayPal rollout to expand country by country as stated, and the MCP surface to keep absorbing capability that would previously have shipped as a named ClickUp integration. Nothing in these entries indicates a change to how Brain² is priced.

L5.0

Leantime swaps role ranks for real permissions and syncs with your calendar app.

◆ Current state

Leantime moved from 3.10 to 3.14 between October and 10 November. v3.14.0 replaces role-rank checks with specific permission checks across projects, timesheets, users, API keys, to-dos, milestones and sprints, and opens the calendar to plugins; a new CalDAV plugin syncs both ways with Nextcloud, Radicale and Apple Calendar. Earlier releases added mobile push, per-project modules, global search and self-updating plugins.

◆ Where it's heading

The release cadence is roughly one feature version every two weeks, split between finer access control and a plugin marketplace that carries more functionality. Core changes increasingly exist to give plugins stable hooks, as the calendar rework shows.

◆ Prediction

Expect more marketplace plugins built on the new calendar and permission hooks, and further permission work extending to the remaining modules.

Alternatives to ClickUp and Leantime

Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either ClickUp or Leantime.

See all ClickUp alternatives → · See all Leantime alternatives →

Recent activity from ClickUp and Leantime

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 3d agoLeantimev3.14.0: per-permission access checks and a CalDAV sync plugin
  2. 14d agoLeantimev3.13.2: digest changes, OIDC PKCE, marketplace install reporting
  3. 14d agoLeantimev3.13.1: clearer plugin install errors
  4. 14d agoLeantimev3.13.0: mobile push, per-project modules, Laravel 12
  5. 29d agoLeantimev3.12.0: self-updating plugins and a shared interface library
  6. 1mo agoLeantimev3.11.0: global search across the workspace
  7. 2mo agoClickUpPayPal payments begin rolling out in India
  8. 2mo agoClickUpMCP servers reach Super Agents; Custom Fields scope by task type
  9. 4mo agoClickUpBrain² takeover: artifacts, model routing, memory, and MCP ⚡
  10. 4mo agoClickUpReddit AMA with ClickUp's Head of AI on Brain²
  11. 4mo agoClickUpBrain² announced as ClickUp's multi-model company AI
  12. 6mo agoClickUpGantt Baselines, Brain on mobile, ClickUp inside ChatGPT and Cursor

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ClickUp and Leantime?

Both compete on the same themes — project-management — within PM. ClickUp and Leantime are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is ClickUp better than Leantime?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. ClickUp and Leantime are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other PM products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to ClickUp?

Top ClickUp alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ClickUp alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/clickup for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Leantime?

Top Leantime alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Leantime alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/leantime for the full list with editorial commentary on each.