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Comparison · PM
Leantime vs ClickUp
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Leantime and ClickUp — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:project-management
Leantime vs ClickUp: at a glance
| Feature | Leantime | ClickUp |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | PM | PM |
| Velocity score | 6.3 | 6.3 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 1 |
| Top themes | project-management, self-hosted, api, permissions | project-management, ai-agents, ai-coworker, model-routing |
| Last editorial update | 1d ago | 8d ago |
| Website | Visit → | — |
What is Leantime?
Leantime is stabilizing its big 3.9 rewrite while extending cross-project planning and a mobile API
Leantime is deep in a modernization cycle. The 3.9.0 release rebuilt the app around a native, fail-closed permission engine, a JSON-RPC API, and a consolidated Blueprints domain; the releases since then mostly stabilize that foundation. Recent point releases fix regressions (repeated Bearer/PAT auth fixes) while adding cross-project program views and a mobile app backend.
What is ClickUp?
ClickUp bets its future on Brain², a ground-up AI coworker rebuilt to complete work
ClickUp's changelog has shifted almost entirely onto AI. After launching Super Agents in early 2026, it has now rebuilt ClickUp Brain from the ground up as Brain², positioned not as a chatbot but as a context-aware AI coworker that self-improves, routes across models, and completes work: building sites, slides, and managing projects, all under one price. Conventional release notes (Gantt Baselines, Google Drive automations, task-type management) still ship underneath, but they've become the supporting cast to the AI narrative.
Leantime vs ClickUp: editorial side-by-side
Leantime
6.3PM
Leantime is stabilizing its big 3.9 rewrite while extending cross-project planning and a mobile API
◆ Current state
Leantime is deep in a modernization cycle. The 3.9.0 release rebuilt the app around a native, fail-closed permission engine, a JSON-RPC API, and a consolidated Blueprints domain; the releases since then mostly stabilize that foundation. Recent point releases fix regressions (repeated Bearer/PAT auth fixes) while adding cross-project program views and a mobile app backend.
◆ Where it's heading
The work is consolidation over expansion: hardening the new auth/permission and API layers, closing security IDORs domain by domain, and building the surface a mobile app and program-level planning need. The steady stream of small patch releases reflects shaking out regressions from the 3.9.0 refactor rather than opening new product directions.
◆ Prediction
Expect continued point releases fixing regressions from the permission-engine and JSON-RPC migration, plus buildout of the Leantime Mobile app now that its Bearer-authenticated backend API is landing.
ClickUp
6.3PM
ClickUp bets its future on Brain², a ground-up AI coworker rebuilt to complete work
◆ Current state
ClickUp's changelog has shifted almost entirely onto AI. After launching Super Agents in early 2026, it has now rebuilt ClickUp Brain from the ground up as Brain², positioned not as a chatbot but as a context-aware AI coworker that self-improves, routes across models, and completes work: building sites, slides, and managing projects, all under one price. Conventional release notes (Gantt Baselines, Google Drive automations, task-type management) still ship underneath, but they've become the supporting cast to the AI narrative.
◆ Where it's heading
ClickUp is repositioning from a work-management app into an AI work-execution platform, with Brain² as the flagship and Super Agents as the autonomous layer beneath it. The messaging (multiplayer AI, every model, one price) targets the model-router and AI-coworker category directly. Expect the roadmap to keep folding traditional PM features into the Brain² surface rather than shipping them standalone.
◆ Prediction
Expect Brain² to expand across ClickUp's surface area (docs, chat, mobile, and third-party assistants like ChatGPT) and a continued push to make autonomous task completion, not just chat, the headline capability.
Alternatives to Leantime and ClickUp
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 Leantime or ClickUp.
Celoxis
Celoxis is flooding SEO comparison guides while shipping no visible product changes.
Process Street
Process Street's feed is a steady blog cadence — process how-tos and listicles, no product releases.
SmartSuite
SmartSuite keeps hardening its no-code platform for ITSM, GRC, and PMO teams
ProdPad
ProdPad's feed is a sustained argument against time-based roadmaps, not a changelog
Aha!
Aha! extends its AI-build and research surface with steady incremental releases
See all Leantime alternatives → · See all ClickUp alternatives →
Recent activity from Leantime and ClickUp
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 2d agoLeantimeLeantime 3.9.8: milestone reporting and MCP endpoint fixes
- 5d agoLeantimeLeantime 3.9.7 adds cross-project program views
- 5d agoLeantimeLeantime 3.9.6: security hardening plus content templates
- 8d agoClickUpBrain²: Release Notes Takeover ⚡
- 10d agoClickUpð Ask ClickUp's Head of AI anything about Brain² (Reddit AMA)
- 17d agoClickUpThe best AI is your AI. Brain² is here.
- 22d agoLeantimeLeantime 3.9.5 adds mobile notification and calendar APIs
- 26d agoLeantimeLeantime 3.9.4 fixes cross-project 'My Work' loading
- 27d agoLeantimeLeantime 3.9.3 fixes Bearer-token API authentication
- 2mo agoClickUpRelease Notes 4.04
- 3mo agoClickUpRelease Notes 4.03
- 4mo agoClickUpRelease Notes 4.02
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Leantime and ClickUp?
Both compete on the same themes — project-management — within PM. Leantime and ClickUp are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 6.3 vs 6.3, 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 Leantime better than ClickUp?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Leantime and ClickUp are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 6.3 vs 6.3, 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 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.
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.