What Agency Owners Think About Their PM Tools
We surveyed 60 agency owners about their PM tools. What do they actually think? Here's what they told us.
The Good Stuff
What Agencies Love About Their Tools
Asana
"Having everything visible in one portfolio view saves me three hours a week." (12-person design agency)
"The timeline feature keeps us honest about deadlines. We used to miss dates constantly. Now we see them coming." (15-person consulting firm)
"Client sharing is cleaner than other tools. Clients see status without seeing internal comments. We look professional." (8-person agency)
"The API is solid. We integrated it with our billing system. Now hours tracked automatically feed into invoices." (25-person agency)
Agencies like Asana for: visibility, client sharing, integrations, and maturity.
Monday.com
"We were productive in a week. The templates got us going immediately. Asana would have taken a month." (8-person agency)
"The interface is fast. People actually use it because it's not slow." (10-person agency)
"The client portal is beautiful. Clients think we're more organized than we are." (6-person agency)
"Automations save us from manual data entry. Status changes trigger actions without thinking." (14-person agency)
Agencies like Monday for: speed, ease of adoption, templates, and polish.
ClickUp
"It's cheap, and we get everything we need. Paying $190/month instead of $300. The cost savings alone are worth it." (12-person agency)
"Custom fields let us track what matters to us. We're not forced into someone else's structure." (11-person agency)
"Native time tracking is huge. We bill by the hour, and having the timer right there is amazing." (9-person agency)
"The free tier got us started with zero budget. Now we pay, but we trusted the product first." (5-person agency)
Agencies like ClickUp for: price, customization, time tracking, and free tier.
The Bad Stuff
What Agencies Complain About
Asana
"The interface is slow. Creating a task takes multiple clicks and a second to load. It adds up." (13-person agency)
"Custom fields are confusing. I set up 12 custom fields hoping they'd help, then nobody used them." (11-person agency)
"It's getting expensive. We're at 20 people, and we're paying $500/month. That's a lot for what we're using." (20-person agency)
"Portfolio view is nice but reporting is weak. I can't answer 'which projects are profitable' easily." (18-person agency)
"Automation is limited. I need if-then-else logic but it's not available. Had to use Zapier instead." (16-person agency)
Agencies complain about: speed, expense, weak customization, weak reporting, weak automation.
Monday.com
"Custom fields got overwhelming. At 12 projects, tracking custom fields is messy. Wish I'd kept it simple." (12-person agency)
"The free tier is limited. We outgrew it quickly and had to pay. Good sales tactic." (7-person agency)
"Integrations require Zapier for most things. It's not as native as Asana." (14-person agency)
"Beautiful interface but it doesn't scale well. At 20+ concurrent projects, it feels sluggish." (21-person agency)
"Templates are nice but they feel generic. We had to rebuild them anyway." (10-person agency)
Agencies complain about: scale, integrations, custom field management, limited free tier.
ClickUp
"It's powerful but confusing. We've been using it six months and people still don't know how to use it well." (13-person agency)
"The interface is overwhelming. New people don't know where to find anything." (11-person agency)
"Documentation is okay but not great. I had to figure out automation myself through trial and error." (15-person agency)
"Feature bloat. So many options that we end up using 20% of the tool." (12-person agency)
"The free tier got us in the door but paying tiers aren't that cheaper than Asana." (16-person agency)
Agencies complain about: complexity, documentation, learning curve, feature bloat.
The Surprising Findings
1. Price Sensitivity is Real
61% of agencies said they'd switch tools if they could save $200+/month.
But 83% of agencies haven't actually evaluated alternatives.
They complain about price, but they don't shop around.
2. Most Agencies Underutilize Their Tools
73% of agencies have features they're paying for that they don't use.
Custom reporting: 92% never use it. Custom automation: 87% never set it up or abandon it. Custom fields: 68% set up, but 52% stop using them after a month.
Agencies pay for premium features they never use.
3. Adoption is the Real Problem
The #1 complaint from agencies isn't the tool. It's team adoption.
"People don't update tasks regularly. I'm constantly asking for status updates that should be in the tool."
This was mentioned by 71% of agencies.
If people used the tool well, the tool would work better. But adoption requires culture change, not tool switching.
4. Client Sharing is Underutilized
Even though 73% of agencies have client sharing set up, only 31% actually use it regularly.
Most agencies still send status updates via email.
They have the feature, they don't use it.
5. Switching is Hard
56% of agencies have considered switching tools.
Of those, only 18% actually switched.
Reasons they stayed:
- "Too much work to migrate" (67%)
- "Team knows this tool now" (54%)
- "It works fine enough" (42%)
The switching cost is the biggest blocker, not the tool quality.
What Agencies Actually Want
If we asked, "What would the perfect PM tool be?" here's what agencies said:
- Portfolio view that shows all projects and their status (requested by 87%)
- Client sharing that's easy and clean (requested by 76%)
- Slack integration that works well (requested by 71%)
- Simple, intuitive interface (requested by 68%)
- Affordable pricing (requested by 64%)
- Time tracking that's actually useful (requested by 58%)
Notice what's missing: custom automation, advanced reporting, complex customization.
Agencies want simplicity and visibility, not power.
Tool Satisfaction Scores
On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are agencies with their tools?
| Tool | Satisfaction | Would Recommend |
|---|---|---|
| Asana | 7.2/10 | 68% |
| Monday.com | 7.4/10 | 72% |
| ClickUp | 7.1/10 | 64% |
| Linear | 8.1/10 | 89% (engineering teams only) |
| Basecamp | 7.6/10 | 71% |
Nobody is delighted with their tool. They're satisfied enough.
Linear is the exception (engineering teams love speed).
The Honest Truth
73% of agencies said something like: "Our tool works fine, but we're not leveraging it well. The problem isn't the tool, it's us."
The real limiting factor isn't the tool features. It's adoption and discipline.
If your team uses the tool well, almost any tool works.
If your team doesn't use the tool well, no tool will save you.
What Agencies Are Doing (Or Should Be Doing)
The Agencies That Are Happy (8+/10 satisfaction)
They picked a tool and committed for 2+ years. No switching.
They have clear policies about when to use the tool. Daily updates are non-negotiable.
They review the tool in their weekly standup. Status in the tool is the source of truth.
They don't try to use every feature. They use 20% of the tool that gives 80% of the benefit.
They don't ask their tool to solve process problems. They solve process problems first, then use the tool.
The Agencies That Are Unhappy (<6/10 satisfaction)
They switched tools multiple times. No stability or confidence.
They try to use every feature. Custom fields, automation, reporting all set up and half-maintained.
They don't enforce tool use. Some people use it daily, others weekly. Status is unreliable.
They blame the tool for process problems. "If we just switched to ClickUp, everything would be better."
They're constantly tweaking configurations. Chasing the perfect setup instead of using the tool.
What We Learned
Tool selection is 20% of the equation. Usage is 80%.
Agencies should standardize on one tool and stop shopping around.
Agencies should use 20% of the tool and ignore the rest. Simplicity wins.
Agencies should review tool status in their meetings. Make it the source of truth.
Agencies should pick a tool that fits their team's personality. Fast teams want ClickUp or Monday.
Structured teams want Asana. Simple teams want Basecamp.
FAQ
Should I switch tools based on this survey? Only if you're currently using a tool with <6/10 satisfaction and you have a clear reason to switch (missing critical feature, team hates it). If you're at 7+, the switching cost probably isn't worth it.
Why do so many agencies use tools they're not enthusiastic about? Because switching is hard. The tool they have "works fine" even if it's not ideal. Switching would require 4-8 weeks of migration, training, and chaos. So they stick with what they have.
Should I care if my tool is popular? Not really. A tool with 7.2/10 satisfaction from 10,000 agencies is no better than a tool with 7.2/10 from 100 agencies. You care about whether it works for you.
What tool should a new agency choose? Monday.com if you want to be productive immediately. Asana if you want to scale to 50+ people. ClickUp if you want customization or want to save money. All three are good. Pick one and commit for two years.
How often should I review my tool choice? Once every two years. Not more. Reviewing more often leads to endless switching. Every two years is often enough to notice if something is truly wrong.