What is the difference between Plane and Teamwork?

Plane is best for Teams that want open-source, self-hosted project management, while Teamwork is best for Client-facing teams needing project + time tracking. Plane starts at Free and Teamwork starts at $5.99/user/mo.

Is Plane or Teamwork cheaper?

Plane starts at Free and is free. Teamwork starts at $5.99/user/mo with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Teamwork?

Both Plane and Teamwork offer free tiers.

Plane vs Teamwork

Plane is open-source project management tool for software teams. Self-hostable alternative to Jira and Linear, while Teamwork is project management with time tracking, resource management, and client-facing features. The biggest difference up front: Plane is free, while Teamwork starts at $5.99/user/mo. Plane is built for teams that want open-source, self-hosted project management, whereas Teamwork targets client-facing teams needing project + time tracking.

At a glance

	Plane	Teamwork
Best for	Teams that want open-source, self-hosted project management	Client-facing teams needing project + time tracking
Starting price	Free	$5.99/user/mo
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	✓	—
Budgets	—	✓
Client Access	—	✓
Cycles	✓	—
Modules	✓	—
Open Source	✓	—
Self-Hosted	✓	—
Templates	—	✓
Time Tracking	—	✓
Views	✓	—

Plane

Strengths

Open source and self-hostable
Clean, modern interface inspired by Linear
Free for unlimited users (self-hosted)
Active development and growing community

Weaknesses

Less mature than established alternatives
Fewer integrations
Self-hosting requires infrastructure management
Some features still in development

Try Plane → Full review

Teamwork

Strengths

Native time tracking eliminates the need for a separate time-logging tool
Includes Budgets as a core feature, purpose-built for project management workflows
Free for 5 users — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Established product with 19+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Migrating existing projects from another tool can be time-consuming
Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish

Try Teamwork → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Plane is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Teamwork starts at $5.99/user/mo, but Free for 5 users. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Plane offers Cycles, Modules and Open Source that Teamwork lacks. Teamwork brings Budgets, Client Access and Templates that Plane does not have.

Team fit: Plane is geared toward small teams teams, while Teamwork is aimed at mid-size teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Plane is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Teamwork is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Plane's biggest strengths are: open source and self-hostable. clean, modern interface inspired by linear. Teamwork's biggest strengths are: native time tracking eliminates the need for a separate time-logging tool. includes budgets as a core feature, purpose-built for project management workflows.

Watch out for: With Plane, users commonly note that less mature than established alternatives. With Teamwork, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Plane if...

Your profile matches its sweet spot: teams that want open-source, self-hosted project management
Budget is a hard constraint — Plane is free, Teamwork is not
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Cycles and Modules
You care about clean, modern interface inspired by linear

Choose Teamwork if...

You need a tool built for client-facing teams needing project + time tracking
You specifically need Budgets and Client Access
You care about includes budgets as a core feature, purpose-built for project management workflows
Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile Teamwork is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for 5 users