Agiled vs ActiveCollab: Complete Comparison (2026)

Agiled and ActiveCollab both target service businesses that need project management and invoicing in one tool — but they solve different amounts of the business problem. ActiveCollab focuses on the "task to invoice" workflow: projects, time tracking, and billing. Agiled extends further into CRM pipelines, proposals, contracts, HR, payroll, and AI-assisted content generation.

ActiveCollab positions itself as a "productivity and collaboration workspace for your growing service business" with the tagline "From a task to an invoice. Just like that." Founded in 2007 and 100% bootstrapped, the platform includes project management with List, Kanban, and Gantt views, integrated time tracking, expense tracking, invoicing (Pro+ only), workload management (Pro+ only), project budgeting and profitability tracking (Pro+ only), and integrated chat. The Plus plan starts at $12.50/month flat for up to 3 members. The Pro plan costs $10/user/month. The Pro+ plan at $15/user/month unlocks invoicing and budgeting. ActiveCollab claims a 93% customer happiness score.

Agiled covers the full business lifecycle — CRM with pipeline management, proposals, contracts, invoicing, project management with Kanban and Gantt, time tracking, scheduling, client portals, HR, payroll, expense tracking, and AI agents. The free plan covers 1 user with unlimited contacts and projects. Paid plans start at $30/month for 3 users.

This comparison examines every feature to help you choose the right platform.

Quick comparison (TLDR)

ActiveCollab is a focused, well-designed tool that does project management, time tracking, and invoicing well for small to mid-size agencies. The Plus plan at $12.50/month flat for 3 users is genuinely affordable — the cheapest entry point among serious PM tools. Task dependencies with automatic updating, Gantt charts, and Kanban boards cover project visualization. Time tracking is integrated on all plans with timesheets and billable/non-billable tracking. The bootstrapped, investor-free company philosophy means pricing stays reasonable and features are built for users, not growth metrics.

But ActiveCollab's scope is narrow. There is no CRM with deal pipelines — no lead management, no sales automation, no revenue forecasting. No proposals or contracts — you cannot send interactive proposals, get e-signatures, or automate the proposal-to-project flow. No client portal — clients can be invited to projects, but there is no branded hub where they access invoices, documents, and support tickets. No HR, payroll, or employee management beyond basic time-off tracking (Pro+). No AI features. No scheduling with booking pages.

Critically, invoicing, project budgeting, workload management, and profitability tracking all require the Pro+ plan at $15/user/month. The Plus plan ($12.50/month flat) and Pro plan ($10/user/month) do not include billing capabilities. A 10-person team that needs invoicing pays $150/month — competitive but not cheap — while still lacking CRM, proposals, contracts, and HR.

Agiled includes everything ActiveCollab offers (project management, time tracking, invoicing, expense tracking) plus full CRM pipeline management, proposals with AI drafting, contracts with e-signatures, a branded client portal, HR with payroll, scheduling, and AI agents. The free plan starts at $0. The team plan at $30/month for 3 users includes every feature. A 10-person team pays $60/month with everything included.

The bottom line: ActiveCollab is a solid choice for small agencies that need focused project management and invoicing at a fair price — especially the Plus plan for micro-teams. Agiled is the better choice for businesses that need the full client lifecycle (CRM, proposals, contracts, project delivery, invoicing, HR) in one platform at a lower total cost.

Key differences at a glance

• CRM: Agiled includes full pipeline CRM with deal tracking and forecasting. ActiveCollab has no CRM.
• Proposals and contracts: Agiled includes AI-assisted proposals and contracts with e-signatures. ActiveCollab has neither.
• Client portal: Agiled includes a branded portal. ActiveCollab allows client access to projects but no dedicated portal.
• HR and payroll: Agiled includes employee management, attendance, leave, and payroll. ActiveCollab has basic time-off tracking (Pro+) only.
• AI features: Agiled includes AI agents for proposals, emails, and reports. ActiveCollab has no AI.
• Invoicing: Both include invoicing, but ActiveCollab gates it behind Pro+ ($15/user/month). Agiled includes it on all paid plans.
• Project management: Both include Kanban, Gantt, and list views with dependencies. Comparable core PM features.
• Pricing model: ActiveCollab charges per user ($10-15/user) with a flat-rate micro plan ($12.50). Agiled charges per tier ($30-120/month for 3-unlimited users).
• Free plan: Agiled has a permanent free plan. ActiveCollab has a 14-day trial only.
• Scheduling: Agiled includes booking pages. ActiveCollab does not.
• Expense tracking: Both include expense tracking, but ActiveCollab requires Pro ($10/user/month).

Project management

ActiveCollab

Clean project management for service teams. ActiveCollab includes three project views: List (task list with grouping), Kanban (board view), and Gantt (timeline view). Task dependencies automatically update downstream dates when schedules change. Subtasks and recurring tasks organize repetitive work. Project templates speed up setup for standard project types.

The platform supports Agile, Kanban, and Waterfall methodologies. Custom task labels help categorize work. Project discussions and notes keep context attached to projects. File and folder management centralizes deliverables. The integrated chat app adds real-time team communication.

ActiveCollab's project management is focused and clean — it does not try to be everything. For agencies that manage straightforward client projects (website redesigns, marketing campaigns, consulting engagements), the feature set is sufficient and the interface is uncluttered.

Workload management and capacity planning (Pro+ only) show team availability and prevent overallocation. User availability tracking accounts for part-time schedules and shared resources.

• List, Kanban, and Gantt views
• Task dependencies with auto-updating
• Subtasks and recurring tasks
• Project templates
• Discussions, notes, and file management
• Integrated chat
• Workload management (Pro+)
• Capacity planning (Pro+)

Agiled

Project management connected to business operations. Agiled includes Kanban boards, Gantt charts with task dependencies, milestones, list views, and calendar views. Tasks support subtasks, checklists, time tracking, file attachments, and custom fields. Project templates handle repeatable workflows.

The integration layer is the differentiator: CRM deals convert to projects. Signed proposals auto-create projects with templated tasks. Time tracked on tasks flows into invoices. Expenses link to project budgets. This end-to-end connection does not exist in ActiveCollab.

Agiled does not include workload management or capacity planning — a feature ActiveCollab offers on Pro+.

• Kanban, Gantt, list, calendar views
• Task dependencies, milestones, subtasks
• Time tracking per task with invoicing
• CRM deal-to-project conversion
• Proposal-to-project automation
• Project budgets linked to expenses
• No workload management

Verdict

Comparable core PM features. ActiveCollab adds workload management and capacity planning (Pro+). Agiled adds milestones, calendar view, and deep integration with CRM and invoicing. For pure project management, ActiveCollab is slightly more focused. For end-to-end business workflow, Agiled connects more pieces.

Time tracking

ActiveCollab

Comprehensive time tracking on all plans. ActiveCollab includes integrated time tracking with a stopwatch timer on all plans — even the $12.50/month Plus plan. Personal timesheets (Plus) let individuals review their time. Team timesheets (Pro) give managers visibility across the team. Company-wide timesheets (Pro+) provide firm-level time oversight.

Time reporting (Pro) analyzes how hours are spent across projects, clients, and team members. Time estimates (Pro+) help scope work before starting. Billable vs. non-billable tracking separates revenue-generating work from internal overhead.

Manual time entry editing lets you fix mistakes after the fact. The time tracking is well-integrated with projects — every timer is attached to a specific task, so time data always has project context.

• Stopwatch timer on all plans
• Manual time entry and editing
• Personal timesheets (Plus)
• Team timesheets (Pro)
• Company-wide timesheets (Pro+)
• Time reporting (Pro)
• Time estimates (Pro+)
• Billable/non-billable tracking

Agiled

Time tracking with automatic invoicing. Agiled tracks time at the task level with one-click timers and manual logging. Billable rates per user or project are standard. The critical difference: tracked time converts directly to invoice line items — no manual entry. Time data feeds project budgets and profitability reports.

• Task-level time tracking
• Automatic invoice population
• Billable rates per user/project
• Project budget integration
• Basic profitability reporting

Verdict

ActiveCollab's time tracking is more granular — personal, team, and company-wide timesheets with time estimates provide deeper oversight. Agiled's time tracking is more workflow-efficient — automatic invoice generation from tracked time eliminates the manual step between tracking and billing.

Invoicing and billing

ActiveCollab

Invoicing on Pro+ only. ActiveCollab includes invoicing on the Pro+ plan ($15/user/month). Invoices can be created from tracked time and project data. Online payment gateways (PayPal and Stripe) handle payment collection. QuickBooks integration syncs financial data.

Project budgeting (Pro+) tracks planned versus actual spend. Budget vs. cost tracking shows real-time financial health. Project profitability (Pro+) calculates whether a project is making or losing money.

The critical limitation: invoicing is not available on the Plus ($12.50/month) or Pro ($10/user/month) plans. A team that signs up for ActiveCollab to manage projects and bill clients discovers they need the highest tier to send invoices.

• Invoicing from tracked time (Pro+)
• PayPal and Stripe payment gateways (Pro+)
• QuickBooks integration (Pro+)
• Project budgeting and profitability (Pro+)
• Not available on Plus or Pro plans

Agiled

Invoicing on all paid plans with multi-currency. Agiled includes invoicing on every paid plan starting at $30/month for 3 users. Multi-currency support, recurring billing, payment schedules, and online payment collection are standard. Time-to-invoice conversion is automatic. Expenses link to invoices. CRM deals track invoice status.

• Invoicing on all paid plans
• Multi-currency support
• Recurring billing and payment schedules
• Automatic time-to-invoice conversion
• Expense-to-invoice linking
• CRM revenue tracking

Verdict

Both handle invoicing for service businesses. ActiveCollab's project profitability tracking (budget vs. actual) gives agencies a useful financial lens that Agiled's basic budget tracking does not match. But ActiveCollab gates invoicing behind the highest tier ($15/user/month), while Agiled includes it on all paid plans ($30/month for 3 users). For a 10-person team: ActiveCollab Pro+ costs $150/month for invoicing; Agiled Pro costs $60/month with invoicing included.

CRM and sales

ActiveCollab

No CRM. ActiveCollab does not include lead management, deal pipelines, sales automation, contact databases, revenue forecasting, or any CRM functionality. The platform focuses entirely on post-sale work: project delivery, time tracking, and billing.

For agencies that actively pursue new business — responding to inquiries, nurturing leads, tracking deal probability — ActiveCollab requires a separate CRM tool. HubSpot, Pipedrive, or Salesforce would fill this gap at an additional $15-100+/user/month.

Agiled

Full pipeline CRM. Agiled's CRM includes contacts, companies, deal pipelines with customizable stages, revenue tracking, probability-based forecasting, activity timeline, email integration, and reporting dashboards. Pipeline automation triggers actions on stage changes. Deals convert to projects with full context.

Verdict

Agiled wins. ActiveCollab does not address the sales process at all. Agencies using ActiveCollab need a separate CRM — adding cost, complexity, and a manual handoff between sales and delivery.

Proposals, contracts, and client portal

ActiveCollab

None of these. ActiveCollab does not include proposal builders, contract management, e-signatures, or a branded client portal. Clients can be invited to projects as free users (unlimited clients on all plans) to view tasks, discussions, and files — but there is no unified portal experience where clients access invoices, sign documents, or submit support tickets.

The "unlimited clients for free" model is a strength for project collaboration — you do not pay for client seats. But the absence of proposals, contracts, and a portal means the client-facing workflow before and during project delivery requires external tools.

Agiled

Full client-facing workflow. Proposals with AI drafting and interactive pricing, contracts with e-signatures and audit trails, and a branded client portal where clients access projects, invoices, proposals, support tickets, and files. Signed proposals auto-create projects.

Verdict

Agiled wins. For service businesses, the proposal-to-contract-to-project-to-invoice pipeline is core workflow. ActiveCollab handles the middle (project delivery) but not the beginning (proposals, contracts) or the client-facing layer (portal).

Expense tracking

ActiveCollab

Expense tracking on Pro+. ActiveCollab includes expense tracking (Pro, $10/user/month) and expense reporting (Pro). Expenses can be attached to projects and categorized. The Plus plan does not include expense tracking.

Agiled

Expense management on all paid plans. Agiled includes expense tracking with categories, receipt attachments, project linking, and reporting. Expenses flow into project budgets and can be included in invoices.

Verdict

Both handle expenses. ActiveCollab gates expenses behind the Pro plan; Agiled includes them on all paid plans. Agiled adds receipt attachments and expense-to-invoice linking that ActiveCollab does not provide.

Collaboration and communication

ActiveCollab

Integrated chat and project discussions. ActiveCollab includes an integrated chat app for real-time team messaging, project-level discussions for contextual conversations, notes for shared documentation, and a team calendar. The in-app chat eliminates the need for Slack or Teams for basic team communication.

Agiled

Portal messaging and task comments. Agiled includes messaging through the client portal, email integration, and internal comments on tasks and projects. No integrated team chat app.

Verdict

ActiveCollab wins on team communication with the integrated chat app. Agiled's communication is more client-oriented (portal messaging) but lacks a dedicated team chat feature.

Reporting and analytics

ActiveCollab

Project-focused reporting on Pro+. ActiveCollab includes basic reporting on all plans and advanced reporting on Pro ($10/user/month). Time reporting (Pro) breaks down hours by project, team member, and client. Expense reporting (Pro) categorizes costs. Project profitability tracking (Pro+) compares budget vs. actual costs to determine whether a project is financially healthy.

The reporting is focused on project delivery metrics — time allocation, expense distribution, and profitability per project. There is no CRM reporting (no CRM exists), no HR reporting, and no broader business analytics.

Agiled

Cross-module business reporting. Agiled's reporting spans CRM (pipeline analytics, revenue forecasts, conversion rates), projects (progress, time tracking, budgets), financial (invoices, expenses, revenue), and HR (attendance, leave). The breadth covers the full business while individual metric depth may be less than ActiveCollab's focused project profitability view.

Verdict

ActiveCollab's project profitability reporting (budget vs. actual) is genuinely useful for agencies tracking margins. Agiled covers more business dimensions but with less project-level financial depth. For pure project profitability, ActiveCollab Pro+ is slightly better. For total business visibility, Agiled wins.

Pricing comparison

Feature	Agiled	ActiveCollab
Free plan	Yes — 1 user, unlimited contacts	No — 14-day trial only
Entry plan	$30/month (3 users)	$12.50/month flat (3 users, Plus)
Per-user plan	$60/month (10 users)	$10/user/month (Pro)
Full features	$120/month (unlimited users)	$15/user/month (Pro+)
10-person team	$60/month	$150/month (Pro+)
Unlimited users	$120/month	Not available
Invoicing	All paid plans	Pro+ only ($15/user)
CRM pipeline	All paid plans	Not available
Proposals/contracts	All paid plans	Not available
Client portal	All paid plans	Not available
HR/payroll	Included	Not available
AI features	Included	Not available
Expense tracking	All paid plans	Pro+ ($10/user)
Workload management	Not available	Pro+ ($15/user)
Project profitability	Basic budgets	Pro+ ($15/user)
Integrated chat	Not included	Included
Client seats	Included in user count	Unlimited and free

Cost comparison by team size

Team size	ActiveCollab Pro+	Agiled Pro/Enterprise
3 users	$45/month	$30/month
5 users	$75/month	$60/month
10 users	$150/month	$60/month
15 users	$225/month	$120/month
20 users	$300/month	$120/month

At 3 users, ActiveCollab's Plus plan ($12.50/month) is cheaper than Agiled ($30/month) — but lacks invoicing, expenses, workload management, and profitability tracking. On comparable plans with invoicing (ActiveCollab Pro+ vs. Agiled Pro), Agiled is cheaper at every team size above 3 users.

At 10 users, Agiled costs 60% less than ActiveCollab Pro+ while including CRM, proposals, contracts, client portal, HR, and AI that ActiveCollab does not offer.

Total cost with supplementary tools

For a 10-person agency that needs PM, invoicing, CRM, proposals, and HR:

ActiveCollab stack	Monthly cost
ActiveCollab Pro+ (10 users)	$150/month
CRM (Pipedrive Professional, 10 users)	$490/month
Proposals (Proposify)	$49/month
Contracts (PandaDoc)	$147/month
HR (BambooHR)	~$150/month
Total	~$986/month

Agiled stack	Monthly cost
Agiled Pro (10 users, all features)	$60/month
Total	$60/month

User reviews and ratings

Platform	Agiled	ActiveCollab
G2	4.7/5	4.3/5
Capterra	4.7/5	4.5/5

Common ActiveCollab complaints

Feature gaps for growing teams. Users report outgrowing ActiveCollab as their business scales. The lack of CRM, proposals, and a client portal means adding external tools as the team grows — defeating the simplicity that attracted them initially.

Limited integrations. ActiveCollab integrates with Dropbox, Google Workspace, Zapier, Slack, and QuickBooks — a narrow set compared to competitors with 200+ integrations. No Salesforce, no HubSpot, no native email marketing connections.

Performance with large projects. Users report the platform slowing down when managing a high volume of projects simultaneously.

Mobile and desktop app quality. The desktop app has been described as a "laggy website browser pretending to be an app." The mobile app has limited functionality compared to the web version.

Limited task hierarchy. Subtasks use a checklist-style approach that lacks independent metadata. Complex project structures with multi-level task hierarchies are not well-supported.

Where Agiled reviews are stronger

Agiled reviewers highlight the completeness — CRM, proposals, invoicing, HR, and projects in one platform — without the need to add external tools as the team grows.

Who should choose ActiveCollab

• Micro-agencies (2-3 people) that need affordable project management at $12.50/month flat
• Service teams that prioritize clean, focused PM with good time tracking and do not need CRM or proposals
• Teams that value simplicity and want a tool that does project delivery well without trying to be everything
• Agencies already using separate CRM and proposal tools that need a focused PM and invoicing backbone
• Businesses that invite many clients to projects (unlimited free client seats is a unique advantage)

Who should choose Agiled

• Growing agencies that need CRM pipelines, proposals, contracts, and invoicing alongside project management
• Service businesses that want the full client lifecycle in one platform without managing 4-5 separate tools
• Teams with 5+ people where Agiled's tier pricing ($60/month for 10 users) costs less than ActiveCollab Pro+ ($150/month)
• Businesses with employees that need HR, attendance, leave tracking, and payroll
• Freelancers who want a free plan to start and grow into team features without switching platforms
• Teams that want AI-powered proposal and email drafting to increase output speed
• Businesses that need a client portal for branded client interactions beyond project-level collaboration

FAQ

Is ActiveCollab cheaper than Agiled?

ActiveCollab's Plus plan ($12.50/month for 3 users) is cheaper than Agiled's entry paid plan ($30/month for 3 users). But the Plus plan lacks invoicing, expense tracking, and workload management. On comparable plans with invoicing, Agiled is cheaper for teams of 4+ users. A 10-person team pays $150/month on ActiveCollab Pro+ vs. $60/month on Agiled Pro.

Does ActiveCollab have a CRM?

No. ActiveCollab does not include lead management, deal pipelines, sales automation, or any CRM functionality. You need a separate CRM tool. Agiled includes a full pipeline CRM on all paid plans.

Does ActiveCollab have proposals or contracts?

No. ActiveCollab does not include proposal builders, contract management, or e-signatures. Agiled includes AI-assisted proposals and contracts with e-signatures.

Does ActiveCollab include invoicing on all plans?

No. Invoicing is only available on the Pro+ plan ($15/user/month). The Plus ($12.50/month flat) and Pro ($10/user/month) plans do not include invoicing. Agiled includes invoicing on all paid plans.

Can clients access ActiveCollab for free?

Yes. ActiveCollab allows unlimited client users at no additional cost on all plans. Clients can view projects, tasks, discussions, and files they are invited to. This is a genuine advantage for teams that collaborate with many clients. However, there is no branded client portal, and clients cannot access invoices or sign contracts within ActiveCollab.

Does ActiveCollab have AI features?

No. ActiveCollab does not include any AI capabilities. Agiled includes AI agents for proposal drafting, email writing, and report generation on paid plans.

Which is better for agencies with many clients?

ActiveCollab's unlimited free client seats make it attractive for agencies that invite many clients into project collaboration. But the lack of CRM, proposals, contracts, and a client portal means the client experience is limited to project-level access. Agiled provides a more complete client experience (portal, proposals, contracts, invoicing) but counts clients within user limits on some plans.

Does ActiveCollab have workload management?

Yes, on the Pro+ plan ($15/user/month). Workload management, capacity planning, user availability tracking, and holidays/days-off management help managers distribute work evenly. Agiled does not have dedicated workload management tools.

Can ActiveCollab be self-hosted?

No. ActiveCollab was historically available as a self-hosted solution, but as of 2026, it is cloud-only. Teams that need on-premises deployment must look elsewhere.

Does ActiveCollab have scheduling or booking pages?

No. ActiveCollab does not include appointment scheduling or client-facing booking pages. Agiled includes scheduling with customizable booking pages and calendar management.

Which handles large projects better?

Users report ActiveCollab slowing down with a high volume of projects. The limited task hierarchy (checklist-style subtasks without independent metadata) restricts complex project structures. Agiled handles task dependencies and milestones more flexibly.

AI features

ActiveCollab

No AI capabilities. ActiveCollab does not include any AI features — no AI-assisted content generation, no intelligent automation, no natural language processing. The platform relies entirely on manual configuration and traditional workflow tools.

For agencies competing in 2026, the absence of AI means more manual work for common tasks like drafting proposals, writing client updates, summarizing project status, or generating reports.

Agiled

AI agents for practical output. Agiled includes AI agents that draft proposals from client history, write professional emails, generate reports, and create summaries. The AI operates within CRM, project, and client context — it has access to the information it needs to produce relevant output. AI features are included on paid plans without usage-based add-on pricing.

Verdict

Agiled wins. AI is increasingly table stakes for business software in 2026. ActiveCollab's absence of AI features means more manual content creation for every proposal, email, and report.

Security and data handling

ActiveCollab

Solid for a focused tool. ActiveCollab claims 99.95% uptime, HTTPS encryption, and regular data backups. The platform is 100% built and maintained in-house — no outsourced development. As a bootstrapped company with no outside investors, data monetization incentives are minimal.

The simplicity of the platform means a smaller attack surface compared to more complex enterprise tools. But there are no published security certifications (ISO 27001, SOC2) and no SSO or advanced access control beyond basic user roles.

Agiled

Standard SaaS security. Agiled includes role-based access control, data encryption in transit and at rest, and regular backups. Similar to ActiveCollab in scope — adequate for small to mid-size businesses but without enterprise-grade certifications.

Verdict

Comparable security for both platforms. Neither offers enterprise-grade certifications. ActiveCollab's bootstrapped, in-house development model may appeal to teams that value data ownership clarity.

Integration ecosystem

ActiveCollab

Limited integrations. ActiveCollab integrates with Dropbox, Google Workspace, Zapier, Slack, Webhooks, and QuickBooks. That is the full list — six direct integrations plus Zapier for extensibility.

The narrow integration set reflects ActiveCollab's focused approach: the tool does project management, time tracking, and invoicing — it does not try to connect to an enterprise ecosystem. For agencies that already use Google Workspace and Slack, the essentials are covered. For teams that need Salesforce, HubSpot, Jira, or Adobe integrations, ActiveCollab falls short.

Agiled

Essential integrations with broader native coverage. Agiled integrates with QuickBooks, Stripe, PayPal, Google Calendar, Zoom, Slack, and Zapier. The integration set is similarly small, but Agiled's built-in CRM, proposals, contracts, and HR reduce the number of external tools that need connecting.

Verdict

Both have limited integrations. ActiveCollab's narrower integration set is a bigger liability because it also lacks built-in CRM, proposals, and HR — meaning more external tools with fewer ways to connect them.