What an odd title, you may be thinking. Well, it’s just a way for me to say that putting Rework and ClickUp head-to-head is hard. It’s like comparing an eagle and an ostrich: both are birds, but excel in completely different ways.
Honestly, I’ve never understood those articles with all the ticks and crosses that just compare feature to feature. In the world of SaaS, features are the most unpredictable thing, no matter if the product is in beta, just finding product-market fit, scaling quickly, or already mature. Just look at how software teams work: features are built in “sprints” – which means they are always in a race.
Take Rework, for example. We’re still in our growing phase, and our CEO, who’s also Chief Product Officer, still spends 10 hours a day coding. In just a few months, the product can feel entirely “new and improved.” So while features are easy to spot and compare, they’re not always the best way to evaluate software. Features that are not here today can be launched tomorrow.
That’s why when I write product comparison articles, I always choose to focus on the philosophy behind the product – its vision and how it’s designed to solve specific problems. Features show where a product is now, but philosophy and vision reveal its future potential. And let’s be real: you don’t choose software just for today’s needs; you also want something that can catch up with your business growth tomorrow.
So, let’s set the record straight. This article won’t be about a feature-by-feature comparison of ClickUp and Rework. Instead, I’ll dig into how each product is built, what problems they aim to solve, and why they do it the way they do. Because at the end of the day, comparing an eagle and an ostrich depends on whether you care more about flying or running.
(Although if you still need such a table, I’ve prepared one here, along with pricing information.)
ClickUp is referred to as the all-in-one productivity software, the “one app to replace them all”, while we call ourselves “a unified operations platform”. As the taglines suggest, ClickUp and Rework may both aim for "centralization". However, they approach it with different goals and approaches.
Look at the apps that ClickUp proudly says they cover: there are Loom, Drive, Slack, Trello, Asana, Coda, Notion, Miro, and more. You can see that most of these are about personal and team productivity, focusing on bringing people together to share ideas, work on tasks, and achieve goals.
ClickUp with the list of collaboration functions on its sidebar
For example, a marketing team can benefit from using ClickUp to assign campaign tasks, share feedback on images and videos, brainstorm on a virtual whiteboard, and track deadlines — all in one app. It’s perfect for teams that value agility and real-time collaboration.
Rework, in contrast, takes a top-down approach, focusing on the bigger picture of managing an enterprise. It’s not about micromanaging daily tasks but about creating a unified system where structured departments can operate under the supervision of the business leader. While Rework doesn’t have the same breadth of collaboration features as ClickUp, it shines in areas like resource coordination, standardizing workflows, and managing operations at scale. We will dig deeper into these strengths in the next section.
Rework's multiple apps for operation management
While ClickUp is collaboration-heavy and Rework leans into management, there’s some overlap. Communication and task coordination is a big part of both products, and there is no absolute outstander. Both tools allow task assignments, deadlines, and communication back and forth within each task. One standout in Rework, though, is its ability to integrate WhatsApp messages directly into the system at no extra cost, something ClickUp doesn’t offer.
That said, ClickUp does feel more polished, with greater customization options and sophisticated settings. Rework, being in its growth phase, is evolving rapidly, so features can change and improve significantly in a short time.
However, Rework’s focus on management still shines through in subtle design details. For example, task pages in Rework Projects (the specialized app for task and project management) include a dedicated “Task Result” section, allowing managers to quickly see outcomes without sifting through lengthy conversations. In ClickUp, you could achieve this using a custom field, but only if you already know it’s something you need.
Similarly, Rework Projects' reports go beyond task statuses to highlight employee performance, helping managers identify top performers at a glance — something ClickUp struggles with.
How the management and collaboration problems are handled also tells the difference in the product architecture.
ClickUp is a single app that grows by adding features over time. While this sounds straightforward, it comes with trade-offs. Features beyond task management can feel underdeveloped. For example, ClickUp Docs are often considered inferior to a specialized tool like Notion, simply because Notion focuses all its resources on perfecting that single use case.
I’ve learned from my software engineer colleagues that developing an application is challenging because it always involves a trade-off between simplicity and complexity. If it’s too complex, regular users can’t use it. If it’s too simple, it won’t fully address the users’ needs.
At Rework, our platform’s architecture allows us the best of both worlds. For every specific problem, you don’t have to compromise. Instead, you can simply use an app specifically to solve that problem. This way, you get in-depth solutions packaged into individual apps that effectively tackle the issue without making a single app feel overwhelming.
In the next section, we’ll explore how Rework leverages its platform architecture to tackle management challenges through its specialized apps.
Effective decision-making is the backbone of any well-managed operation, whether you're approving budgets, signing off on procurement, or greenlighting projects. Rework Request, Rework’s app for approval management, may look simple, but it is built with decision-making principles at its core.
A solid decision is only as good as the information it’s based on. Rework Request lets you create custom forms with various field types to capture all necessary data for any approval process. This means decision-makers get all the details they need, clearly organized and standardized, without needing to chase updates or clarifications.
Most importantly, once this information has been approved, it’s settled. Decisions are enforced based on the data provided at the time of approval. In ClickUp, while you can create custom fields similar to Rework’s forms, its collaborative nature makes it harder to prevent users from altering submitted information.
Not all decisions are made the same way. That’s why Rework Request supports multiple approval workflows: sequential approval for layered reviews, parallel approvals for urgent decisions, and single approvals for simple requests that need just one person's go-ahead. You simply don’t have that similar option in ClickUp.
A decision is meaningful when it reflects the decision-maker's accountability and stays clear of other roles. With Rework Request, you can map a RACI matrix to decision categories using our approver blocks, clearly defining who is responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed. For example, a market entry request might involve insights from Market Research, input from department heads, and final approval from the executive team.
Additionally, tracking the process of how the decision was made is crucial. Unlike ClickUp, which charges $12/user/month for full activity tracking, Rework includes this feature at no extra cost.
Management isn’t just about making decisions — it’s also about ensuring those decisions are executed correctly and consistently. This is where process compliance becomes critical. That’s why Rework Flows, Rework’s app for managing processes, is designed to enforce compliance by providing automated guidelines for your SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures).
Rework Flows allows you to set up workflows with clear stages, along with built-in rules that govern how each stage is executed.
The rules include:
These rules are built into the system, making compliance seamless for every employees. You simply can’t expect ClickUp, with its focus on collaboration, to have this level of process enforcement baked into its design.
With such a clear view of the entire process, managers can use Rework Flows to easily identify bottlenecks, determine accountability, and make optimization moves.
ClickUp does offer task tracking, but it lacks the ability to tie tasks into a cohesive process.
If you’ve ever browsed ClickUp’s feature request community, you might notice a popular request: better client data management.
Screenshot taken in feedback.clickup.com: a feature request with 2.3K upvotes
Standardized data is an essential part of any business. It’s the shared language used as input in operations and the output of the processes.
Take, for example, a purchase request for raw materials. Everyone involved must agree on a standardized name for the material, know which supplier to source it from, and align on the supplier contact person. Without a system to manage and centralize this data, such tasks can become messy and error-prone.
With ClickUp, you can work around this problem by using Custom Fields and the Custom Field Manager (available only in Business and Enterprise plans). However, it still lacks the ability to establish relationships between these fields — a crucial limitation for complex businesses.
Knowing how essential it is, we at Rework built a dedicated app for database management purposes: Rework Datasets.
Rework Datasets allows businesses to go beyond simple data storage by creating structured datasets, defining relationships between them, and most importantly, embedding these data across all operating apps like Rework Projects, Flows, or Request.
This integration means that your data isn’t just sitting in a static pool — it becomes a dynamic part of your processes, enabling smoother and consistent workflows.
The ability to define naming conventions, create data hierarchies, and enforce consistency is essential for building scalable operations. Rework, built with management in mind, makes Rework Datasets a vital tool for any business that wants to scale effectively while maintaining control over its data.
I’ve spent a lot of time talking about Rework, but as I mentioned earlier, ClickUp is still a very powerful tool, especially when it comes to collaboration in project-based work.
To summarize:
In the end, the choice is yours. Do you prioritize flying or running—collaboration or management?