elean vs ClickUp
Less tool.
More done.
ClickUp Unlimited charges $7 per user per month. Your 15-person team pays $105 — every month, forever. elean River is $29 flat. And you'll spend less time in settings and more time actually working.
$105/mo
for 15 users at $7/user — every new hire adds another $7/mo
$29/mo
for up to 15 users — flat rate, no per-seat surprises
Why elean
Where elean pulls ahead
3.6× cheaper for 15 users
ClickUp Unlimited charges $7 per user. A team of 15 pays $105 every month. elean River is $29 flat — same team, same work, $76 less.
No configuration overhead
ClickUp ships features constantly. Most small teams use 10% of them and spend the rest of the time configuring. elean is deliberately scoped — you ship, not configure.
Custom RBAC for $29 vs $180+
elean River includes custom roles and granular permissions at $29/mo flat. ClickUp locks the same behind Business+ — $12/user, so $180/mo for 15 people.
Feature comparison
Everything side by side.
| Feature | elean | ClickUp |
|---|---|---|
| Views | ||
| Kanban board | ||
| Table / list view | ||
| Gantt / Timeline | Business+ | |
| Calendar view | ||
| Workload view | Business+ | |
| Tasks | ||
| Subtasks | ||
| Custom statuses | ||
| Task history / activity | ||
| Custom fields | Unlimited+ | |
| Labels | Up to 50 (River) | |
| Unique task keys (XXX-123) | ||
| Collaboration | ||
| Real-time sync | ||
| Comments & @mentions | ||
| Email notifications | ||
| Multi-assignees | River+ | |
| Guest access | Soon | Unlimited+ |
| Security & Admin | ||
| Role-based permissions | River+ | Business+ |
| Audit logs | River+ | Enterprise |
| Data export (GDPR) | ||
| 2FA | ||
| Developer | ||
| REST API | All plans | Unlimited+ |
| API rate limit | 60–200 req/min | 100 req/min |
| Pricing (15 users) | ||
| Free plan seats | 3 users | Unlimited* |
| Paid plan / month | $29 flat | $105 ($7/user) |
| Per-user pricing | ||
| Flat-rate pricing | ||
* ClickUp free plan has limited storage (100MB) and restricted reporting. Pricing as of 2025.
Choose elean if…
- Your team is 3–15 people and you want predictable pricing
- You've tried ClickUp and spent more time in settings than in tasks
- You need custom RBAC without paying $180+/mo for Business+
- You want API access included, not gated
- Fast onboarding matters — your team should be running in minutes
Choose ClickUp if…
- You need Gantt charts, timeline, or workload views
- Your workflow depends on custom fields and advanced automations
- You need native time tracking
- You have a large team with complex hierarchies
- You use many third-party integrations from their marketplace