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Comparison · PM
ClickUp vs SmartSuite
A side-by-side editorial comparison of ClickUp and SmartSuite — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
ClickUp vs SmartSuite: at a glance
| Feature | ClickUp | SmartSuite |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | PM | PM |
| Velocity score | 5.0 | 6.3 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 1 |
| Top themes | project-management, ai-agents, mcp, ai-coworker | work management, document control, audit trails, automation |
| Last editorial update | 2mo ago | 20h ago |
| Website | — | — |
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.
What is SmartSuite?
SmartSuite adds tracked changes to SmartDocs, so policy edits need an approver.
SmartSuite is a no-code work management platform adding governance and developer surfaces. SmartDoc fields can now turn on Change Tracking: every edit, including writes from forms, imports, the API and automations, becomes a suggestion that named approvers accept or reject, with inline redlining and a three-year decision trail. It follows linked-record defaults, Service Accounts, Azure gateway support, the Script Engine and Managed Secrets.
ClickUp vs SmartSuite: editorial side-by-side
ClickUp
5.0PM
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.
SmartSuite adds tracked changes to SmartDocs, so policy edits need an approver.
◆ Current state
SmartSuite is a no-code work management platform adding governance and developer surfaces. SmartDoc fields can now turn on Change Tracking: every edit, including writes from forms, imports, the API and automations, becomes a suggestion that named approvers accept or reject, with inline redlining and a three-year decision trail. It follows linked-record defaults, Service Accounts, Azure gateway support, the Script Engine and Managed Secrets.
◆ Where it's heading
October built the developer stack (secrets, scripts, service accounts); November is about controlled data: records that arrive already linked, and documents that cannot change without review. Both point at regulated teams that need audit trails inside the tool they already use for workflows.
◆ Prediction
Expect approval and audit controls to spread from SmartDocs to other field types or record-level changes, given that tracked changes already capture API and automation writes.
Alternatives to ClickUp and SmartSuite
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 SmartSuite.
Asana
Asana lets Division admins run their own custom roles, on top Enterprise plans only.
NocoBase
NocoBase's v3 beta lets apps ship their own CLI, separate from Agents.
Productboard
Productboard's v2 documents API now keeps plain web addresses and emoji as ordinary text.
Hive
Hive turns reporting into a planning tool: shared inputs, grouped values, per-person drill-downs.
Tracecat
Tracecat 1.5 alpha patches add sub-cases and lock down agent sandboxes.
See all ClickUp alternatives → · See all SmartSuite alternatives →
Recent activity from ClickUp and SmartSuite
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agoSmartSuiteSmartDoc: Track Changes
- 9d agoSmartSuiteLinked Records: Dynamic Default Values
- 16d agoSmartSuiteAI Platform: Support for Azure API Gateway
- 16d agoSmartSuiteWorkspace: Service Accounts
- 22d agoSmartSuiteSmartSuite Script Engine ⚡
- 29d agoSmartSuiteFilter Widget: Multiple Operators in Dynamic Filters
- 2mo agoClickUpPayPal payments begin rolling out in India
- 2mo agoClickUpMCP servers reach Super Agents; Custom Fields scope by task type
- 4mo agoClickUpBrain² takeover: artifacts, model routing, memory, and MCP ⚡
- 4mo agoClickUpReddit AMA with ClickUp's Head of AI on Brain²
- 4mo agoClickUpBrain² announced as ClickUp's multi-model company AI
- 6mo agoClickUpGantt Baselines, Brain on mobile, ClickUp inside ChatGPT and Cursor
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between ClickUp and SmartSuite?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. SmartSuite is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is ClickUp better than SmartSuite?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. SmartSuite is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. 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 SmartSuite?
Top SmartSuite alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SmartSuite alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/smartsuite for the full list with editorial commentary on each.