The 8 Best Restaurant Payroll Software Options in 2023

Person looking at a payroll software on a tab device

One of the biggest expenses for any restaurant is payroll. Modern payroll software platforms for restaurants include features that do the math for you, file your taxes, manage benefits, and even help with hiring new workers. Check out our list and see which of the best restaurant payroll software can help you save money in 2023.

8 Best Restaurant Payroll Software – Quick View

Software

Price

Tax Filing and Payment

Analytics and Reporting

Direct Deposit, Parcards, Checks, etc.

Support

$36/month + $4/employee

E-file and pay

Custom reports, export reports to PDF, spreadsheet, or accounting software

All options included in plan

Library of support docs, plus business-hours phone, chat, and email support

Core – $39/month + $6/employee per month

Complete – $39/month + $12/employee per month

E-file and pay

Custom reports, Workforce cost totals, Anonymous feedback surveys

Next-day direct deposit, paycards, and Gusto Cashout

Guides, tutorials, and phone support

Paychex Flex Essentials – $39/month + $5 per employee.

Inquire for other plans

Pro and above can calculate, file, and pay taxes

Standard payroll analytics

Direct deposit

Phone support

Core – $45/mo + $4/employee

(Discounts often available)

E-file and pay

Some reports

Direct deposit and checks

Phone, chat, docs

Employees and Contractors – $35/month + $5/employee
Contractors only – $5/employee per month

E-file and pay

Basic reports

All options

Live support + docs

Starts at $59/month + $4 per employee

E-file and pay

Create your own reports

Paycards extra

Support docs

Basic – $99/month + $5/employee

E-file and pay

Create your own reports

Direct deposits and paycards

Phone, chat, docs

$20/month + $6/employee or contractor

Some states E-file and pay

Basic reports

Direct deposit and check

Chat and docs

Quick Verdict

Best Overall – OnPay. The service offers a straightforward price plan and a complete slate of features. It does that while also offering great customer service. It’s a hard combo to beat, making it the best payroll software for restaurants.

The 8 Best Payroll Software for Restaurants

Let’s take a look at some of the best restaurant payroll software options out there.

Onpay logo

OnPay

From $36/month

4.6

OnPay provides both HR and payroll software for a single rate, one of several payroll providers who do so. On offer are a standard slate of features, like unlimited pay runs, services to manage payroll taxes, and direct deposits. 

Reporting tools are also available, as is the ability to export payroll data. Additionally, OnPay has several tools aimed specifically at restaurateurs such as minimum wage tip makeup and overtime calculations.

  • Accurate tip calculations, even with OT.
  • Free help setting up integrations and migrating.
  • HR and business management tools included.
  • Short list of integrations.
Gusto logo

Gusto

$6 to $149

3.8

Gusto isn’t solely a piece of restaurant payroll software, but it does offer many helpful payroll features, such as automatic payroll tax calculations. Support for all 50 states is offered, as well as multi-state payroll processing. Also, even the most basic service level comes with unlimited pay runs. 

With Gusto, you’ll also get a number of other useful features. It can help you manage your employees’ benefits, as well helping you hire new employees. Gusto can also help you distribute and evaluate satisfaction surveys.  If you’re interested in Gusto, see our review on Gusto for more information on its features and pricing.

  • Unlimited payroll runs.
  • Overtime alerts.
  • Slate of tools for easy hiring.
  • More expensive option.
Paychex logo

Paychex

$39

2.4

Paychex offers a wide range of subscription levels, with specific features added at an individual cost. Features that come at an additional cost include tax management tools, wage garnishment services, and state unemployment insurance. Some features, like paycards for your employees, can be added without additional cost.

Unlike some other options, Paychex doesn’t come with tools for time tracking and benefits. However, it does integrate with apps that can help. Additionally, you can find help at physical locations around the United States.

  • Find help nationwide at brick-and-mortar locations.
  • Run payroll from the mobile app.
  • Find tax credits for a percentage of return.
  • Lots of features have additional fees.
QuickBooks payroll logo

Quickbooks payroll

$45 to $125

3.2

Intuit has been around for decades and many people are familiar with its accounting or tax software platforms. Quickbook is not specifically restaurant payroll software, but it does provide many useful features, like automated payroll processing, tax management, and a guaranteed accurate payroll. 

  • Part of a wider suite of accounting tools.
  • Expert-assisted setup available.
  • Lots of nice features included with Core package.
  • Some features reserved for other Quickbook products.
Square payroll logo

Square Payroll

From $35

4.0

Square payroll offers a standard menu, including things like payroll tax payments, and the ability to manage benefits. The software also helps restaurant owners, in particular, address a common headache: there are several options for common tip-splitting arrangements.

There’s really only one tier of service, so everyone gets the same access to Square’s customer support team. Square offers other products for accounting, reporting, and a variety of other functions, but these aren’t included in their payroll software. Read our Square payroll review for an in-depth analysis of this software.

  • Single, low fee for all features.
  • Live support for account setup.
  • Several options for tip-splitting.
  • Some features saved for other Square products.
ADP Run logo

ADP Run

From $59

3.3

ADP may be familiar to restaurant owners, as well as other business people, as a well-known provider of financial tech. They offer a slate of payroll features, with a menu of add-ons that can be matched to your specific budget. For example, time tracking isn’t included with the basic payroll software, but is available with the Workforce Management add-on. 

ADP Run is not specifically restaurant payroll software, but it may work well for larger businesses. In particular, the web-based payroll service means it’s easy to run payroll for multiple locations. 

  • Tax filing error detection and alerts.
  • Tailored plan and price.
  • Automated reporting of new hires.
  • Pricing is not transparent.
Paycor logo

Paycor

$99 to $199

3.4

Paycor offers bundles of business software, not just payroll software. As a result, it offers a lot more than just payroll management, potentially including help with onboarding, a range of analytics options, and other HR functions. 

It does offer a lot of payroll tools, too. The software will help with payroll taxes, garnishments, and provides an employee self-service portal. It can also provide things like a FICA credit tip report, to help you find tax savings.

  • 30+ years serving restaurants.
  • Employee self-service portal
  • In-app prompts for regulatory support.
  • Expensive option.
Wave Payroll logo

Wave Payroll

$20 to $35

2.6

Wave payroll software offers many of the same features other options do, though in some ways it’s a bare-bones payroll solution. It does offer full-service payroll in some states, including tax calculations and filing. In most of the US, however, you’ll have to file for yourself, though the service has a correspondingly lower price. 

Wave doesn’t have some fancier features, like running a FICA tip credit report to look for additional savings or the ability to pay employee wages using a card. However, overall you get everything you need at an affordable price. Read the Wave payroll review for more information.

  • Less expensive option.
  • Pairs with free invoicing and accounting software.
  • Employee self-service portal.
  • No auto-filing taxes in most states.

Choosing the Best Restaurant Payroll Software

The restaurant industry is always demanding, but the last few years have been particularly tough. A robust payroll software system can help you pay employees, of course, but the best restaurant payroll software can do a lot more.

A full-service payroll solution will calculate and fill all your payroll-related taxes for you, for example, saving time and money. The software can also help you manage employee benefits, hiring, and even help you find tax credits and other savings.

Managing Payroll Taxes

One of the most important functions restaurant payroll software fulfills is payroll tax calculation and management. Tax filings are complex and payroll software can help sort through them, as well as automatic, electronic tax payments, which can free up a manager’s time.

‘Full-service’ tax services usually include automated payroll tax filing of tax forms for both state and federal taxes. Some options will also take care of new hire reporting for you, as well as calculating taxes owed on credit card tips, or ways to free up money like FICA tip credit reporting.

Time Tracking

There are a few options that offer everything, including restaurant payroll software, time tracking, employee scheduling, and more. It may be more common for a payroll system to integrate with other apps. One thing to note is that an online payroll service may help you store employee hours and payroll records.

Benefits Management

Restaurant payroll is more likely to include a need to manage employee benefits than in the past, so it can be wise to find software that includes tools to help. Many options will include health benefits administration as an optional add-on, though you can find it included in the base price of some platforms. 

Hiring and Onboarding

Many options for payroll software also include HR software. Some software may fulfill a few HR functions, like notifying government agencies of new hires. Others also include tools for training new employees, as well as advertising and hiring new talent.

Read: Best applicant tracking systems for small businesses

Payment Management

Obviously, the most important task of the restaurant payroll system is payroll management, making sure everyone gets the money they earned, with the correct deductions. Employee payroll has multiple aspects, from getting employees’ actual pay to them, to managing child support wage garnishments and other special situations.

There are a number of features that are more or less standard, such as a direct deposit into a bank account. Customizable payroll plans include multiple pay rates, a selectable pay period, and even the ability to run mobile payroll. Most options will also offer minimum wage alerts, to notify you if an employee drops under minimum wage requirements, particularly useful for restaurants.

Other options that are available, but not standard, include things like an employee self-service portal, where employees can fill out paperwork, see online pay stubs, and more.

Analytics and Reporting

There are many reporting tools that can be considered part of payroll management to help you reduce costs or identify payroll problems. Most restaurant payroll software includes some basic reporting options, or the opportunity to build your own reports. The best payroll system for your business will include all the analytics reporting options you need to be a success.

Read: How to conduct a payroll audit

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Best Restaurant Payroll Software

Conclusion: Best Restaurant Payroll Software

Every moment you spend in the back running payroll is time you’re not on the floor making sure things are running smoothly. Find the right restaurant payroll software for your needs so you can spend more time putting out fires and less time doing paperwork.

All About Agile Project Management

Workflow strategy method illustrated by gears

Agile project management (APM) is a project philosophy that breaks projects down into iterations or sprints. The purpose is to produce bigger ROI, regular interactions with clients and end-users, and improved delivery of product features. 

Today, Agile is used in virtually every industry from software development to real estate. Keep reading to learn more about Agile project management, how it can help projects succeed, and the different project management software that uses Agile today.

Key Takeaways: Agile Project Management

  • Agile project management (APM) offers a flexible and innovative approach to managing projects by breaking them down into sprints.
  • Agile projects help reduce risk and improve overall product quality by encouraging feedback at each stage of the process.
  • In 2001, Agile was started by a group of 17 software engineers who created the Agile Manifesto, a set of values and principles that govern Agile.
  • Agile project management has produced seven frameworks. They are Kanban, Scrum, Crystal, Lean, FDD, Extreme Programming, and the Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM).
  • Of the seven Agile frameworks, Kanban and Scrum are the most widely used.

What Is Agile Project Management?

Agile project management (APM) is a project management method that divides work into sprints to help reduce risk and improve overall product quality with an open feedback loop between the project owner, team members, and customer. 

Definition of APM

Used by product owners and managers worldwide, Agile project management offers a flexible and innovative approach to managing a project by breaking the project down into stages, also known as sprints. It is considered a flexible, iterative design and build process that does not rely on a pre-planned process, executed as the situation demands.

One major difference between the Agile framework and Agile workflow versus other methodologies is in its approach to adaptability to build projects and manage projects. Other project management methods conduct all planning before the project starts.

On the other hand, Agile project management methods rely on an iterative nature that accepts changes mid-way throughout the process with a face-to-face conversation between the project manager, scrum team, and clients. 

How Does Agile Project Management Work?

In a typical Agile development cycle, there are several small cycles or sprints. Each phase contributes to project completion and comprises a product and sprint backlog. A sprint backlog consists of a list of tasks to be completed, revolving around planning, design, testing, and release. With every sprint, new features are added to each product.

According to VersionOne’s 13th Annual State of Agile Report, “97 percent of respondents reported that their organizations use Agile development methods—up from 80 percent in 2011”.

History of Agile 

The earliest instances of Agile occurred around 1913, starting with Ford’s first Michigan automotive plant that reinvented the process of manufacturing with the first moving assembly line. The line assembled an entire vehicle from scratch, cutting the time spent building a car from half a day to less than two hours.

In the late 1970s with the advent of personal computers, consumer demand for electronic products hit an all-time high. This spurred the demand for effective project management systems for a customer’s competitive advantage. However, it continued to see a disparity between the client’s requirements and delivered projects with a nod to creating comprehensive documentation over client satisfaction.

In 2001, a group of 17 software developers led by Martin Fowler and Jim Highsmith created the Agile Manifesto, a document that drilled down four key values and Agile processes essential to project management and Agile projects.

In addition to the four key values, there were 12 additional principles based on customer satisfaction, streamlined delivery of the final product, dividing the project into sprints, and other Agile development methods its founders thought were critical towards completing a project.

Today, there are seven different Agile project management methodologies born out of Agile project management, which include Kanban, Scrum, Crystal, Lean, FDD, Extreme Programming, and the Dynamic System Development Method (DSDM) based on Rapid Application Development (RAD).

Why Choose Agile Project Management?

There are four major reasons for managing projects using Agile:

  1. High product quality.
  2. High customer satisfaction.
  3. Reduced risk.
  4. Better and faster ROI.

High Product Quality

One of the major reasons for choosing Agile project management over other methodologies is high product quality. High product quality takes into account demands by all stakeholders. Regular quality control testing is done throughout the project development process.

High Customer Satisfaction

High customer satisfaction is another reason to choose Agile project management over other methodologies. This high customer satisfaction refers to periodic updates made to each customer, continuous and fast delivery of each sprint, and accepting change requests by the customer.

Reduced Risk

Using the Agile methodology in any project reduces the risk of exceeding budget and surpassing a deadline. This is done with improved communication between the project owner, stakeholders (developers), and the client. There are daily or weekly scrum meetings that have each team member asking what they have achieved since the last meeting.

Agile also encourages proper risk assessment and response. For example, many software development teams classified risk by assigning a value to each risk to determine which ones to prioritize. These are known as risk burndown charts or risk probability and impact matrices. There are also different response strategies depending on the risk, such as avoidance, exploitation, transfer/sharing, mitigating/enhancing, and accepting.

With Agile methodologies, collecting feedback early on and incorporating quality assurance testing throughout the project all contribute to reduced risk.

Better and Faster ROI

One of the biggest benefits of an Agile approach is turning in a better and faster ROI for all types of projects, including software development projects. A reason for this is due to Agile’s iterative process, where the first iteration or sprint can offer new functionality that increases ROI. This is in contrast to waiting until the end of the project to introduce a new feature.

In an Agile environment, better ROI also extends to reduced costs, defects and delays. Spring cycles make it easy to identify and repair defects before they make it onto production.

Principles and Values of Agile Project Management

According to the Agile Manifesto, the four key values for Agile management are:

  • Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
  • A working product is more important than comprehensive documentation.
  • Customer collaboration comes before contract negotiation.
  • Responding to change is preferred over following a plan.

Agile project management focuses on the importance of client communication and keeping the customer involved in all project phases. This is in stark contrast to the Waterfall development method that allows customers to provide feedback before and after work is completed.

Read: Waterfall vs Agile Methodology: What’s Better for Your Project?

Agile processes harness change, and unforeseen circumstances could include a revision to the final project scope, demand for extra features, and other customer-led feedback that alters time, cost, and resources.

Popular Agile methodologies adhere to the following 12 principles:

  • Customer satisfaction through continuous delivery of the product.
  • Divide large chunks of work into smaller and achievable tasks for quicker completion and easier integration of changes.
  • Adhere to the decided timeframe for the delivery of a working product.
  • Stakeholders must collaborate frequently to make sure the project is moving in the right direction.
  • Create a supportive environment to motivate team members and encourage them to get the job done.
  • Prefer face-to-face communication over other methods.
  • Working software is the primary measure of progress.
  • Try to maintain a constant pace indefinitely for development.
  • Maintain the quality of the product by paying attention to details, leading to technical excellence.
  • Maintain simplicity.
  • Promote self-organization in the team.
  • Regularly reflect on your performance for continuous improvement.

All of these project management Agile principles pay a nod to disciplined Agile delivery over traditional project management methods, dividing large volumes of work into smaller, manageable chunks, and getting buy-in from all stakeholders. It also believes in a customer-centric approach that demands face-to-face communication and gives team members a platform to speak on proposed changes.

Despite the changes to work, the goal continues to be producing all final deliverables, as evident by its “working software is the primary measure of progress” principle.

Lastly, a key Agile methodology principle is continuous improvement through iteration, where all mistakes are recognized and learned from. Many project managers may decide to engage team members in one-on-one or group sessions for this purpose.

6 Phases of Agile Project Management

The six phases/stages of Agile project management are:

  1. Concept.
  2. Inception.
  3. Iteration.
  4. Release.
  5. Maintenance. 
  6. Retirement.
six stages/phases of agile methodology

Concept

The Concept phase of Agile project management refers to determining project scope. In this stage, the product owner discusses all requirements and deliverables with the client, prioritizing a list of features in order of most to least important. All time, resources, and costs are factored in with a thorough and detailed analysis.

Inception

Inception in Agile project management refers to assembling the right development team to proceed. Team members will be identified and given all the tools and resources added to start the design process. The design process can incorporate mock-ups and light sketches of product infrastructure, taking input from the product owner, team members, and client. Consider this stage the brainstorming section.

Iteration

Iteration is the longest phase in Agile project management. The first iteration or sprint will produce a bare-bones foundation, whereas future iterations will focus on additional features and improvements. Remember, the goal of Agile product development is to conduct work in short cycles or sprints, with each sprint allowing enough time to gather feedback, assess new risks, and guide future iterations.

Release

Release in Agile project management refers to quality assurance. All checks are in place to evaluate the product and check for bugs, defects, and effective code. During this stage, developers are hard at work clearing out bugs and creating documentation and user training. Once the release stage is complete, the product’s final iteration can be released to the wild.

Maintenance

Maintenance is the critical stage where the product is fully available to customers by a development team and self-organizing teams. During this time, all product end-users are engaged with incoming documentation and user training by product builders. With Agile methodology demanding a dynamic systems development method, new iterations may often occur to upgrade the existing product for early and continuous delivery.

Retirement

In Agile project management, retirement refers to the time a product becomes expired, soon to be replaced with new software, or phased out altogether due to new business demands, a lack of sustainable development, increased competition, etc. These result in “end-of-life”: activities by developments, including withdrawing all support and notifying end-users the product is no longer available.

APM Methodologies

One of the benefits of Agile is its flexibility. Five popular Agile methodologies or frameworks used in Agile project management are:

  • Scrum.
  • Kanban. 
  • Extreme Programming. 
  • Lean Development
  • Crystal. 

All of these Agile methods and Agile project management practices have their own strengths and weaknesses connected with sprint planning and the composition of software teams.

Scrum

Scrum is a visual way of managing projects that groups tasks into columns based on progress. The technique helps teams work together and adapt to changes and problems by breaking the project up into chunks — these tasks are then worked on in sprints. With feature driven development, this allows only one sprint to be planned and managed at a time.

Kanban

Another one of the key benefits of Agile is powerful visualization tools. Kanban is a highly visual representation of projects that allows users to create a Kanban board and label tasks and subtasks into three key categories: “to do,” “doing,” and “completed.” Many popular project management tools like ClickUp and monday.com feature Kanban boards that use intuitive drag and drop functionalities to project cards. Consider the Kanban board a preferred choice for Agile team visual learners and designers.

Unlike Scrum’s Agile methodology, sprints are not planned and managed one at a time, but collectively.

Extreme Programming

Also referred to as XP, this framework works similar to Scrum but incorporates 12 supporting Agile approaches that are software-centric, which include:

  • Planning games.
  • Small releases.
  • Customer acceptance tests.
  • Simple design.
  • Pair programming.
  • Test-driven development.
  • Refactoring.
  • Continuous integration.
  • Collective code ownership.
  • Coding standards.
  • Metaphor.
  • Sustainable pace.

Lean Development

Lean development shares some of the same Agile project management methodologies as Agile with newer principles that include the following:

  • Eliminating waste.
  • Build quality in.
  • Create knowledge.
  • Defer commitment.
  • Deliver fast.
  • Respect people.
  • Optimize the whole.

Crystal

Started by Alistair Cockburn, one of the original Manifesto authors, for a 1991 IBM project, Crystal is an Agile project management process that focuses on individuals and interactions, not processes and tools.

It is based on two beliefs:

  • Teams can find ways on their own to improve and optimize their workflows.
  • Every project is unique and always changing, which is why that project’s team is best suited to determine how it will tackle the work.

Some family members of the Crystal methodology include Crystal Clear, Crystal Yellow, Crystal Orange, and Crystal Red.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Agile Project Management

Final Thoughts on Agile Project Management

There are many APM projects that can be used. Some notable types of projects include small to large software development, product development, and virtually any business where the deliverable can be produced in incremental sprints. Consider Agile even valid for opening up a new book store or upgrading a new franchise location.

Remember, all products could benefit from feature-driven software development thanks to collaborative working, shorter development cycles, and Agile practices. All of this can be achieved with improved communication between project owners/developers/clients, more frequent reviews, two-way communication, and a more collaborative work environment that values feedback.

To become proficient in Agile Development methodologies, there are several certifications available. Some of the more notable ones include PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) and the APMG International Agile Project Management certification. Both require a secondary degree and several hours of Agile training in addition to thousands of hours of general experience on project teams. With heavy study and real-world experience, these certifications enable you to become a scrum master.

Anyone working on Agile teams or looking to understand and use Agile principles in project management is encouraged to obtain PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) or APMG International Agile Project Management certification. Many members of teams work with these certifications on hand.

ClickUp vs Microsoft Project: The Best Project Management Software Comparison

Sticky notes pinned to whiteboard

Microsoft was once a disruptive business, but these days they are the establishment. It has had a formative effect on project management for decades, so how can a newbie like ClickUp compete with MS Project? You may be surprised. The ClickUp vs Microsoft Project review will surely help you pick the right software for your business.

Quick Comparison: ClickUp vs Microsoft Project

Key Features

Budget Management

3/5

3.5/5

Collaboration

4/5

2/5

Portfolio Management

3/5

3/5

Resource Management

3/5

3.5/5

Milestone Tracking

3/5

3/5

Customer Support

4/5

2/5

Pricing

4/5

2.5/5

Pros

  • Lower cost
  • Better support options
  • Allows projections, baselines, and more
  • Review all your projects at once

Cons

  • Limited in some ways
  • Pricey

Overall Rating

3/5

2.5/5

ClickUp vs Microsoft Project

ClickUp is a cloud-based solution for project management software, one of a crop of similar options from a relatively small business. MS Project is a platform from a company that has been a powerhouse for decades. 

In some ways, those differences don’t matter much. Project managers require some resources to keep things organized, regardless of their approach. As a result, both software options share many key features.

However, there are significant differences. They play out in many ways, from bringing in integration to how team members will work together. Keep in mind that Microsoft Project is actually several different products. They include cloud-based solutions, as well as on-site solutions. They don’t all have the same options or functionality. 

Budget Management

One of the primary concerns of a project manager is managing the budget, finding ways to complete projects while also staying profitable. Tools to help manage logistics, employees’ time, and other concerns are critical. Comparing ClickUp vs Microsoft Project reveals two different ways of handling those issues.

ClickUp has some features for time management. We’ll discuss that in more detail when we get to resource management. Otherwise, ClickUp relies on its flexibility. Managing the budget is another task that can be assigned, have a due date set, and so forth.

Microsoft Project offers more tools designed for budget management. In fact, one tool allows you to analyze costs and make projections, as long as it’s set up correctly. There is also a whole set of tools for managing timesheets, sick leave, and more, as well as setting up a custom fiscal year.

Collaboration

Project management software has developed a key role in team collaboration. Employees on remote teams may never actually meet, so the only way to exchange ideas is cloud-based collaboration. 

To aid in that process, ClickUp offers many tools. Users can assign comments on tasks and elsewhere, as well as chat in real-time with other team members, all in the app. You can also customize access so users focus on certain areas. Attaching files to tasks is straightforward and you can even proof them in ClickUp. You can also assign comments to employees to address specific issues.

Microsoft Project allows you to add comments and notes to tasks, but it doesn’t have much else to offer beyond the basics. Project is part of Microsoft Office, with other programs handling communication and collaboration. It does offer some nice streamlining features, like being able to virtually sign documents. 

You can see how ClickUp compares to an app that’s similar in our ClickUp vs Monday.com review, or check out how Project measures up in our Microsoft Project vs Monday review.

Portfolio Management

A company project portfolio is all the projects they have underway or are considering starting. Project portfolio management is like project triage, deciding where you can most profitably put your time and interest. 

ClickUp stays true to form by offering one tool that can be customized. The Portfolio Widget allows you to define some categories across all your projects, allowing you to produce reports, estimate due dates, track time actually spent, etc. It’s one of a few new features available in recent updates.

Microsoft Project can support a much more detailed approach to portfolio management. It offers a range of tools that allow you to analyze your portfolio according to your business goals.

Other tools include using task assignments to determine resource demands or compare multiple portfolio analyses. It might be the better choice for larger companies or those with bigger budgets.

ClickUp is fairly representative of how a lot of apps handle portfolio management. Read our ClickUp vs TeamGantt review to see another example.

Resource Management

This is another area where we’ll see two fairly different ways of approaching the issue. 

ClickUp is focused almost entirely on tasks and the users working on them. As a result, the resources being managed mostly relate to workload. It’s possible to see all your team members’ projects and how they’re spending their time. You can access all that in the workload view.

As you might expect, Microsoft Project has a more comprehensive solution. It uses the portfolio analysis tools and the Resource center to gauge demands on your business and how projects can affect demand. Resource engagements are defined, which can then be associated with tasks. Workload and time tracking can be handled elsewhere or folded into the resource management software. 

Milestone Tracking

Being able to track progress is essential when you organize a project. Project management software therefore often includes tools for comparing the actual completion date of a task to its due date. 

It’s a more complicated process than it might at first seem. Both apps include methods for managing milestone tracking. Gantt charts, a classic method of tracking tasks, progress, and dependencies, are available with both options.

Microsoft Project uses a system of baselines to compare projected progress to actual performance. The number of variables and processes that have to be set up properly is a sign of the complexity of the system. Additionally, exporting the information to create effective presentations probably requires another MS product, like Excel or PowerPoint.

ClickUp has a similar but less complex system using milestones. They are used to mark significant tasks, for example, the shift from planning to development project phases. Milestones is a ClickApp, an additional feature that can be toggled on or off. Free users have limited uses, while any paid plan has unlimited uses. 

As Milestones is less complicated, it’s also less powerful and doesn’t offer the task analysis options Microsoft Project does.

Customer Support

ClickUp user reviews mention that there is a learning curve with ClickUp, though it didn’t seem to be a hindrance to many people. It’s adaptable, which means a certain amount of complexity is inevitable, but it didn’t stop users from utilizing the service. Microsoft Project, by comparison, is a high-powered piece of software that may require expertise to use well.

In either case, the ability to contact customer service, particularly a live rep, is important. ClickUp has a variety of ways to find help, though on-demand support is only available for the highest pay tiers. 

Otherwise, there is a library of online webinars, documentation, videos, and more. You can also make an appointment with a coach for video chat training on a specific project management tool. If the software is really giving you trouble, you can also contact a paid consultant.

Microsoft Project is supported by docs and videos as well. It also offers the same sort of support any MS product would get. Some options are limited to admins, so employees in your company may not be able to access some help. It’s a complicated piece of project management software, a fact that can impact project progress. 

Pricing

Both apps appear to have similar pricing models at first glance. There are several tiers of service with different levels of functionality. Like ClickUp, Microsoft Project can charge based on how many users are in your company. 

ClickUp has a free tier that allows unlimited members, but limits projects. On the whole, however, it still offers a complete project management tool, tracking task progress, and more.

Microsoft Project has only pay tiers, generally for more money than ClickUp. Integration is only with other MS products, no other vendors, for an additional subscription. The tier system is only available for cloud-based options. There are also on-site options with a different pricing structure and somewhat different features.

Small businesses might benefit more from the simpler and less expensive plans from ClickUp, though Microsoft Project offers tools to grow.

Overall Winner

In either case, you’re getting some of the best project management tools available. However, ClickUp comes out ahead in a few areas that are key to project management software. 

Many of the tools on offer are similar. Both use tasks to keep project managers organized, with lots of features to modify a task. Microsoft may appeal in some ways. Its project portfolio management tools allow for projecting into the future. The option to have it fully installed on-site means you don’t have to worry about your internet dropping.

However, ClickUp offers more flexibility and more features for a lower cost, no matter how many employees you have. The ability to integrate with other software vendors is also a plus. 

Everyone has experience with Microsoft products and their difficulty in use, while ClickUp has lots of support options. A free tier doesn’t hurt either. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for ClickUp Vs Microsoft Project

Final Thoughts on ClickUp Vs Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project has some appealing features, particularly if you need powerful tools for analysis. However, ClickUp may appeal to nimbler companies with smaller teams. With a lower cost and greater flexibility, your project management software will take up less of your project management budget.

Microsoft Project vs monday.com: Which One is Right for You in 2023

Person in suit pointing at star ratings

Is it better to go with the familiar project management service or strike out and try something new and slick? The answer depends on your needs and approach to business. We compared Microsoft Project vs monday.com to see if modern cloud-based project management can compete with the PM software standard.

Quick Comparison: Microsoft Project vs monday.com

Key Features

Pricing

3/5

4/5

Team Management

4/5

3/5

Project Delivery Management

3/5

4/5

Methodology Suitability: Agile

5/5

5/5

Methodology Suitability: Waterfall

5/5

5/5

Risk Management

3/5

4/5

Reporting

3/5

5/5

Finance Management

2/5

4/5

Collaboration and Communication

2/5

5/5

Integration With Other Apps

4/5

4/5

Usability

2/5

5/5

Support

2/5

2/5

Privacy

5/5

4/5

Pros

  • Familiar
  • Powerful enterprise tools
  • Secure and reliable
  • Easy to use
  • Price scales to needs
  • Everything to manage a project in one place

Cons

  • Sharp learning curve
  • Expensive
  • Support can be difficult
  • Lacks some important business features

Overall Rating

3.5/5

4.5/5

Microsoft Project vs monday.com

Microsoft Project and Monday are similar in many respects, but they each have a different approach to project management software. To understand which offers the best project management tools for your team, we’ve compared a dozen different points, including:

  • Pricing.
  • Team management.
  • Project delivery management.
  • Methodology suitability.
  • Risk management.
  • Reporting.
  • Finance management.
  • Collaboration and communication.
  • Integration with other apps.
  • Usability.
  • Support.
  • Privacy.

monday.com has a spectrum of sleek features geared toward a small team working remotely. Microsoft Project is the project management tool in an ecosystem of apps geared toward larger companies with the resources to match. Despite the differences, one comes out ahead in the ease of assigning tasks, monitoring task progress, creating reports, and all the other challenges of managing projects. 

Pricing

The pricing structures of both project management software options is the first place their differing philosophies become apparent. 

Monday offers a typical pricing structure, with access to more features at costlier tiers. There’s a free tier that limits things to teams of two. More expensive tiers allow more users, offer a wider range of options, and can help with more complex projects. While a lot of the focus is on smaller businesses, they do offer an enterprise tier for a bigger company.

Microsoft Project offers both a cloud version and a version fully installed on-premises. However, there’s no free tier, barring a one-month trial, and it’s more expensive. Project managers might want to take advantage of human resources management but will have to pay even more to get it. 

Winner: monday.com

Monday simply offers more at a lower price.

Team Management

A modern company may work with team members around the world. As a result, project management requires the ability to track and manage work assignments remotely. Both Microsoft Project and Monday offer multiple features to help organize tasks and distribute them to different teams.

With Monday, the primary tool to track tasks is the weekly task board, shared with your team and with each task assigned to a person. Time tracking is also available to higher tiers.

MS Project follows a more traditional approach, offering options for using Gantt charts and WBS. Of more interest to a larger business might be the features for human resources management.

Winner: Microsoft Project

MS Project offers important features from the get-go, including having features for HR.

Project Delivery Management

The only thing more complicated than project management is managing multiple projects. Options to organize project delivery and project portfolio management are extremely helpful.

Project scheduling and managing team resources are both areas where Microsoft Project shines. They allow you to use milestones to track progress and offer features to track budget and manage risk.

Monday offers some of the same project management software features, though with a focus on team communication. Tools allow you to track the progress of teams in a way everyone can see. It lacks some tools for managing a company’s overall portfolio, however.

Winner: monday.com

Monday offers many of the same tools for a lower price.

Methodology Suitability

Project management methodologies like Waterfall and Agile require some specific software features to use. Project managers might want to have both available to their business. When comparing Monday vs Microsoft Project, either option might help.

Both allow collaborating with your team to create project tasks. Sprints and Kanban boards are available for both. Microsoft Project does offer tools for key waterfall methods like a work breakdown structure.

Winner: Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project offers more when using waterfall methods, though that may not matter to every user.

Risk Management

Risk management is an important way companies manage risks to their bottom line. As it’s often vital to a projects’ success, and therefore critical to project management, both Microsoft Project and Monday offer methods to track risks. 

MS offers features that allow your team to register risks and track issues. Included is information on the potential cost of the risk and plans for avoiding it.

Monday offers a similar service for your business by using a risk template. It fulfills a lot of the same functions, allowing users to register risks and track them.

Winner: monday.com

While the features for both options are similar, Monday’s are easier to use and read at a glance.

Reporting

Presenting data is a key aspect of monitoring progress, creating effective presentations, resource management, and project portfolio management. As a result, both Microsoft Project and Monday offer ways to manage information.

Microsoft offers Gantt charts, automated reports, and other features which focus on keeping a larger organization on task.

Monday makes many of the same functions available to the user, but in a more understandable way that can also be shared with team members. Additionally, it’s possible to report the status of tasks without exporting information to Excel or another program.

Winner: monday.com

The slick presentation and easy to use tools make Monday the better option. 

Finance Management

There are few things more important to a business than managing finances and other resources. Both options offer some high powered options for resource management and tracking finances. 

Monday has a full range of options beyond tracking expenses for your project and company. You can even forecast expenses, aided by AI.

Microsoft Project assumes a user has access to MS Office. Some aspects of your projects’ finances aren’t covered, as a result.

Winner: monday.com

Monday offers everything you need in one spot, without buying additional apps.

Collaboration and Communication

A consistent problem will crop up whenever comparing Microsoft Project to Monday, Microsoft Project vs Wrike, or another cloud-based project management software. Microsoft assumes you’re working with their suite of programs, which means Project lacks some key features supplied by other MS apps. 

A user may miss those options when it comes time to collaborate with teams. Monday allows file sharing, live comments on documents, tagging ownership of tasks, and plenty of other ways to stay in touch with team members.

Winner: monday.com

Monday includes everything, while Microsoft wants you to get several other programs.

Integration With Other Apps

This is a strength for both project management software options, though in different ways. Integrations can offer additional solutions that can be useful to any project or business. 

Monday is a cloud-based system with an API, so sharing data isn’t a problem. As a result, there are many integrations available or you can create your own. A user can make a Gantt chart in Monday or in the Data studio instead. 

Compared to Microsoft Project, however, they are about even. The Microsoft Office Suite obviously integrates, but many third-party vendors also work with Microsoft products.

Winner: Tie

It’s two different approaches to integration, which may be equally appealing to a large or small business.

Usability

Microsoft Project is built along the same lines as all Microsoft software, so a user familiar with their solutions will probably find the project management software features easy to access. However, the interface is plain and while user reviews are overall positive, difficulty finding a tool is a common complaint. Compared to Monday or another competitor, say Microsoft Project vs Hive, Project is all business. 

Monday’s ease of use is a big selling point. It’s easy to collaborate, share data, monitor assignments, and do a range of other tasks. Some functions might require a search, like a Gantt chart, but overall, it’s intuitive.

Winner: monday.com

No question, Monday is easier to use.

Support

It doesn’t matter how fancy the software or service is if a user can’t access the features they need for a project. Both options offer a lot of free, self-guided support. For example, video tutorials walk you through how to create tasks and other basic functions. Both also offer chat training. 

In both cases, additional support options are available at higher tiers, though that may not be available to small businesses. A community of professionals, including some you can hire, are available for both as well.

Winner: Tie

In both cases, there are lots of self-help resources, but tailored support is an additional cost.

Privacy

In either case, the software service makes promises regarding the security of your system and the data stored there. Comparing Monday vs Microsoft Project is putting a small company against a juggernaut, but both sides of that come with advantages. Microsoft has the force of a major corporation behind its data security. Choosing to have it fully installed on-site is even more secure.

Monday works hard to be reassuring, however. Security measures include allowing users to activate two-factor authentication for access. You can also receive alerts regarding suspicious user logins, though only for Enterprise customers.

Winner: Microsoft Project

The most secure option is to avoid the cloud entirely and keep everything on-site.

Overall Winner

The overall winner is monday.com, with a wider range of solutions that allow you to collaborate and create reports. Most important is its ease of use. That factor is the most important to real users with everyday work. When there is a problem, video tutorials and other types of support are easy to follow.

Moreover, Monday beat Microsoft Project in many areas, despite being a less expensive service. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Microsoft Project vs monday.com

Conclusion: Microsoft Project vs monday.com

Perhaps surprisingly, monday.com actually offers a better service for a lower cost when compared to MS Project. With everything else being equal, ease of use becomes the most important factor.

6 Best Website Builders for Small Businesses

Top view of website builders

Website builders allow you to create stellar sites even if you have zero design or programming knowledge. This way, you can get a top-notch website for your small business without spending a fortune on hiring a developer. Choosing the best website builder for small business can be one of the most important decisions you make.

Web credibility research from Stanford concludes that 75% of users judge a company’s credibility based on its website design. The better your site looks, the easier it is to earn visitors’ trust, and the higher your conversion rate.

7 Best Website Builders for Small Businesses

Website Builder

Pricing

Free plan

Ecommerce plan

Number of templates

Email marketing

SEO

Starting at $14/month

110+

Starting at $5/month

8/10

Wix logo

Wix

Starting at $4.5/month

800+

Starting at $10/month

9/10

Starting at $5/month

50+

Starting at $8/month

6/10

Starting at $29/month

70+

Free

8/10

Starting at $2.95/month

800+

Free

7/10

Starting at $9.99/month

18

Available with Email plan

7/10

Free

4800+

No

10/10

Squarespace logo

Squarespace: Best Overall Website Builder for Small Business

Starting at $14/month

4.8

If you want a modern website that stands out and impresses potential customers, Squarespace is a great choice. It has some of the most well-designed website templates in the industry. Not only is it easy to use, but powerful tools like a drag-and-drop editor and SEO features also simplify site enhancement. 

Squarespace has more than 110 templates catering to all types of websites in a wide range of niches. Whether you want to start an online store, a portfolio site, or a blog, you’d find a template that suits your needs. You can also customize each template to your liking, but you don’t get as much design flexibility as you might want.  

Blogging is one of the best ways to create content and attract new visitors. We found the blogging tools on Squarespace to be straightforward to use. Blogging on a Squarespace site is much easier than some of the competitors.

It also has a pretty solid ecommerce plan. Although priced higher at $27 per month, the Squarespace Commerce plan offers amazing digital marketing and commerce features that will get your website noticed and increase your sales. You’ll find advanced website analytics, email marketing, PoS, customer accounts, and social media integrations on Squarespace. 

It’s worthwhile mentioning that the Squarespace website builder is an all-in-one solution that comes with free domain registration for one year, an SSL certificate, and web hosting with unlimited bandwidth and photo storage included. So even if you go with the most basic package, SquareSpace has everything you need. 

Why we chose it: When it comes to the best website builder for small businesses, Squarespace does well in almost all departments. Its modern, professional-looking templates, blogging and SEO features, and all-in-one ecommerce solution make it the best overall web builder. 

  • Award-winning, modern templates
  • Great for blogging
  • All-in-one ecommerce solution
  • Limited customer support
  • Slightly expensive
  • Limited design flexibility

Pricing: Squarespace has a fairly transparent pricing structure with four different plans. The pricing page is albeit difficult to locate on the site. If paid annually, here’s what the plans cost:

  • Personal: $14/month
  • Business: $23/month
  • Basic Commerce: $27/month
  • Advanced Commerce: $49/month
Wix logo

Wix: Best Easy-To-Use Website Builder for Small Business

Starting at $4.5/month

4.7

Wix is right at the top in the website builder market. Known for its robust marketing campaigns, you must’ve come across a YouTube ad from Wix. It makes it easy to get started and quickly build your website without any design experience. Wix is an excellent choice for you whether you are a freelancer or need to build a site for your own business.

With more than 800 templates, Wix has one of the widest web design libraries on the market. The builder uses a simple drag-and-drop interface that lets you place text, video, products, and images perfectly on the page. 

While the classic editor gives you greater control over how your website looks, Wix also has the Artificial Design Intelligence feature that automatically generates your website based on your business needs. 

With the ADI feature, Wix asks you questions about your business, the type of website you want, and the features you want it to have. It uses this information to come up with an impressive web design in a matter of minutes. 

The site offers plenty of other essential tools that any small business will need. You can set up secure payment transactions, appointments, restaurant orders, reservations, and more with a Wix site.

Wix is the ideal option for businesses just starting on the internet or that have some experience selling online. But if you want to build a large online store or presence, there are better options available that can meet your needs. Wix doesn’t offer the best web hosting service which means large sites may take too long to load. 

Why we chose it: Wix is a top-of-the-line website builder for small businesses. It has a simple user interface and is really easy to use even for beginners. You can also use the ADI feature to design your site automatically.

  • Artificial Design Intelligence feature
  • Easy to use
  • 800+ website templates
  • Slow web hosting 
  • Ecommerce plans are expensive
  • Limited storage

Pricing: Wix makes it unreasonably difficult to access its pricing plans, so we’ve enlisted its plans here. Many Wix reviews claim it offers a free version, but we didn’t find any plan that’s truly free. 

Website plans

  • Connect Domain: $4.5/month (This plan displays Wix ads)
  • Combo: $8.5/month
  • Unlimited: $12.5/month
  • VIP: $24.5/month

Business and ecommerce plans

  • Business Basic: $17/month
  • Business Unlimited: $25/month
  • Business VIP: $35/month
Weebly logo

Weebly: Cheapest Website Builder for Small Business

Starting at $5/month

4.5

Running a business can be expensive. While a website may be an added expense, over time, a website can help you achieve your business goals. If you are worried about costs, check out our choice for the cheapest website builder for small businesses, Weebly. This website builder is owned by Square, so it’s a great option if you already use its business solutions. 

With paid plans starting at only $5 per month, Weebly is a cost-effective and easy-to-use small business website builder. But that’s just the most basic paid plan. The Pro tier costs only $12 per month and comes with free SSL, unlimited storage, Google Ads credit, integrated shopping carts, and payment processing through Square. 

There’s also a completely free plan where you can design and update a website, but it comes with a Weebly domain. Nevertheless, you get a free SSL certificate and 500MB of storage, which is pretty good when you’re not spending a single cent.

While Weebly does offer a drag-and-drop editor, it can be more confusing than others like Squarespace and Elementor editors. It offers more than 50 templates to start with, but these are slightly outdated compared to many modern designs offered by alternatives. You do have the option to use HTML and CSS to edit and design websites.

Weebly does make setting up an online shop easy and choosing the business or business plus plan adds plenty of new features that will make running your online business easier. Upgrading to these services gives you access to automatic tax calculators, item review sections, and coupon codes.

Why we chose it: Weebly’s strongest selling point is its price tag. It’s an excellent option for business owners on a tight budget. Plus, if you already use other Square apps, Weebly should be your top choice for its integrations. 

  • Free version available
  • Very affordable paid plans
  • Powerful ecommerce tools
  • Limited SEO features
  • Limited customer support
  • Outdated templates

Pricing: Weebly has transparent and simple pricing plans divided into two categories, for websites, and online stores. If you’re looking for a free solution for building a website, you’re in luck because with Weebly you can create one free on Weebly branded domains. 

Website plans

  • Free
  • Connect: $5/month when paid annually
  • Pro: $12/month when paid annually
  • Business: $25/month when paid annually

Online store plans

  • Pro: $12/month when paid annually
  • Business: $25/month when paid annually
  • Business Plus: $38/month when paid annually
Shopify logo

Shopify: Best Website Builder for Ecommerce

Starting at $29/month

4.3

With more than 1.75 million merchants selling on the Shopify platform, it is the largest website builder for ecommerce solutions. This all-in-one ecommerce platform offers an easy-to-use website builder, free web hosting, marketing tools, and product management tools. 

By utilizing the countless Shopify add-ons and plugins, you can transform a basic Shopify site into an engaging and secure online store. Shopify is designed from the ground up for sales, so if you’re looking for an advanced ecommerce solution, this is it. 

Shopify has a quick-launch wizard that guides you through the initial setup of your website. Everything from payments to shipping can be set up and ready in minutes when using Shopify. It’s not as easy to use as Wix or Squarespace, particularly because it lacks a drag-and-drop editor. 

If you’re interested in dropshipping, Shopify is one of the best ways to establish a dropshipping business. It offers integrated tools that can automate your store and help you achieve your goals. Simply download the app and start adding items to your store. You’ll be up and running in no time.

Shopify is incredibly reliable and can scale to gigantic proportions. Whether you sell three products or 3,000, Shopify has excellent inventory management tools and shipping tools that will ensure your products are delivered on time.

Why we chose it: Shopify is an expensive option but no website builder can beat it when it comes to advanced ecommerce. It gives you countless options to add add-ons and enhance your online store.

  • Dropshipping options available
  • Great range of Shopify add-ons
  • Great SEO
  • Slight learning curve
  • Lacks drag-and-drop editor
  • Expensive

Pricing: Shopify is not as affordable as the other options in this guide, but it still is one of the most popular choices for ecommerce sites. It also offers a 14-day free trial to check if it works for you. It has a simple pricing structure with three plans:

  • Basic: $29/month
  • Shopify: $79/month
  • Advanced: $299/month
Bluehost logo

Bluehost: Best Website Builder for Building WordPress Sites

Starting at $2.95/month

4.0

Bluehost is primarily a hosting service provider that caters to WordPress sites. But it has also developed its own drag-and-drop website builder. Bluehost’s website builder is an all-in-one solution that includes free domain registration and hosting. 

Note that although it seems cheaper than Weebly, we didn’t rank Bluehost as the cheapest website builder for small businesses because the quoted prices are discounted. The starting plan renews at a much higher $10.99 per month. 

The site builder is pretty easy to use with an intuitive interface. Bluehost claims you can cut down the time it takes to complete a website by a quarter. When you use Bluehost’s web builder, you can easily switch to the WordPress builder and back. But since the two integrate very well, you use both simultaneously to edit different parts of your site.

Since Bluehost is one of the best web hosts, you get good page load times which is crucial for your website’s SEO. The site builder comes with a range of useful design features including responsive mobile editing, custom CSS, and more than 800 site themes. 

Bluehost has no shortcomings when it comes to marketing and ecommerce too. Add landing pages, custom CTAs, and social post buttons with ease. Plus, you also get free email marketing from Creative Mail. All this comes with all the ecommerce features of WooCommerce including online payments, PayPal integration, manual order creations, and pricing page templates. 

Why we chose it: Bluehost’s website builders’ strongest selling point is its attractive pricing and the ton of features it offers. It’s a great choice if you’re looking for a combination of affordability and features for your WordPress site. 

  • Ease to use
  • Easily switch between Bluehost and WordPress builder 
  • Quality hosting service
  • Higher renewal rates
  • Only caters to WordPress sites
  • Outdated templates

Pricing: The Bluehost website builder comes in three plans, Basic, Pro, and Online Store. The Basic plan is best for blogs and personal websites whereas Pro suits business and ecommerce websites. The Online Store plan is intended for larger ecommerce stores with product shipping. 

  • Basic: $2.95/month (normally $10.99/month)
  • Pro: $9.95/month (normally $14.99/month)
  • Online Store: $24.95/month (normally $39.95/month)
Constant Contact logo

Constant Contact: Best Website Builder for Email Marketing

Starting at $9.99/month

3.5

Constant Contact is known for email marketing, but has also expanded its services to website building and other digital marketing services. If you need top-notch email marketing tools, Constant Contact is an excellent option to build your website. The website builder is very easy to use so even a complete beginner can use it to develop a site quickly.

Constant Contact’s website builder comes with the complete Unsplash image library completely free. This means you get access to thousands of quality stock graphics to use on your website, which is something not many website builders have.

All website builder plans offer unlimited storage and bandwidth, so that’s a green light for large websites but we can’t vouch for the quality of web hosting. Constant Contact doesn’t reveal much about its hosting abilities so we won’t recommend it for high-traffic sites. 

You also get basic ecommerce features, and an SEO toolkit to make the most out of your online presence. But it has its drawbacks too. Constant Contact isn’t the best choice for blogging as it lacks advanced blogging tools. It has no tools for image editing either.

Why we chose it: Constant Contact is a great choice for those who need a combination of website builder and email marketing tools in one package. 

  • Easy to use
  • Great for email marketing
  • Gives access to Unsplash library
  • No image editing tools
  • Lacks blogging tools
  • Weak web hosting

Pricing: Constant Contact has been changing its pricing plans a lot recently, so we can’t say if the current pricing structure will stay for long. Still, it currently offers two pricing plans: Core and Plus.

  • Core: $9.99/month
  • Plus: $45/month
WordPress logo

WordPress.org: Best Open Source Website Builder

Free

4.0

WordPress is one of the easiest and most versatile ways to build a website. From simple blogs to interactive commercial online shops, WordPress has everything you need to design and build a website. The wide range of add-ons, features, and templates makes WordPress an all-in-one small business website builder solution for almost any type and size of business.

It’s important to note that we’re talking about WordPress.org, which is open-source software. On the contrary, WordPress.com has paid solutions and also offers hosting. 

As one of the most popular website-building suites, WordPress runs on nearly 34% of all websites worldwide. Its ecommerce plugin, Woocommerce, is estimated to be running over 3.5 million online stores and is a must-have plugin for anyone looking to run a successful ecommerce website. Some plugins control every aspect of your business, from email marketing to back up your data.

WordPress is extremely customizable and may be intimidating to many new website designers. You’ll also need to learn how to install and use a wide range of plugins depending on the features you want on your website. While installing plugins is relatively easy, problems can often arise and cause damage to your website. This can be a detriment to newcomers.

Some other cool features include Google Analytics integration, search engine optimization (SEO) marketing tools, SSL domain security, and automated site backups.  To get started, WordPress gives users a free version that will let them set up and start their blog or website. Note that WordPress doesn’t give you a professional email address. You’d have to get it from your web host.

Why we chose it: WordPress gives you the most flexibility out of all website builders. If you can manage your domain registration and host on your own, WordPress is a great option. 

  • Free
  • Great flexibility
  • More than 4800 themes
  • No domain registration
  • No hosting
  • Steeper learning curve

Pricing: WordPress.org is completely free to use. You might have to buy a premium theme when you’re using it but website building is free. You will still have to pay for domain registration and hosting to another service provider. 

Methodology for the Best Website Builder for Small Business

Not all website builders are created equal. Many offer extensive features and outstanding prices, while others may be complex and overpriced. While you are searching for a new website builder for your small business, you should consider these essential factors.

Pricing

While some of these sites offer free versions, you’ll eventually need to upgrade to a premium website builder option if you want your site to be successful.

Pricing can vary greatly depending on your website provider. While purchasing the cheapest website builder for small business might seem like a good idea, you will need to upgrade your site in the future. Problems related to cheaper website providers include limited bandwidth, low storage space, limited customer support, and website downtime.

All these sites offer a monthly payment option. Many domain hosts and website builder sites will offer discounts on services if you purchase one year or more when setting up your account. If you plan on having a site long-term, you can save hundreds of dollars by signing up for a one-year contract with your website builder host.

Some builder sites offer a variety of premium plugins, add-ons, and themes that could add up to hundreds of dollars in extra costs. This could greatly increase the cost of your site if you don’t choose the right add-ons or website builder.

Other fees you may encounter include customer support fees, website design fees, stock photo fees, and credit card payment fees. You’ll want to research and understand all the fees and costs associated with your chosen website builder.

Features

Pick a website builder that has the features you need. We encourage you to make a list of the key things you want your website to achieve and find the website builder that best matches your needs.

Are you planning to open an online store? You’ll need a website that is secure and can accept credit card or PayPal payments. Do you want a sleek and modern website design but have no design experience? You can choose a website builder that offers a variety of professionally designed themes or pre-built websites.

If you plan to store thousands of images and videos of products, you’ll need a website with high bandwidth and plenty of storage. There are hundreds of other features that you may need including customer support, payment channels, SEO services, template editors, blog capability, and more.

Website Design Options

You don’t need to be a professional website designer to build a fast, modern, and effective website. Today’s website builder companies offer a wide range of excellent website templates for free. Other site builders offer you control of the site and you can drag and drop elements to create your design.

For even more flexibility, many sites offer premium website templates and plugins that will greatly improve the design of your new small business website. If you have difficulty with complex applications, choosing a site like Wix or Squarespace as your site builder can help you quickly get your website up and running.

Usability

One of the best reasons to use website builders is you won’t have to learn how to code. That being said, some website builders are much easier to use than others.

Website templates and drag and drop interfaces can make it easy for anyone to design a website with minimal experience and computer knowledge. Once the site is up and running, having an easy-to-use site also makes future updates to your site easier as well.

Scalability

Adding a website to your business can help you gain new clients from around the world. If you’ve started with a beginner website, you soon may have to upgrade the site to ensure your client’s satisfaction.

Many of these website builders give you the flexibility to upgrade and improve your site. Whether you’ve added thousands of products or thousands of new customers, you need a website builder solution that can scale with your business.

Security and Reliability

Finally, you’ll want your new website builder to offer excellent security and reliability. Secure websites help prevent scams, viruses, and fraud. A secure site is vital for both the consumer and small business owners.

Finding a website builder company that is reliable is also important. You don’t want to choose a website provider that is constantly crashing or failing to load your website. Luckily, all our choices above offer excellent reliability, and your site should be up and running well over 99% of the time.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Best Website Builder for Small Business

Bottom Line on the Best Website Builder for Small Business

Getting your business online is a great way to invest in yourself, grow your customer base, and achieve all your business goals. Even if you don’t know anything about websites, anyone can design a great website today by using a website builder.

After extensive use of some of the best website builders for small businesses, we found Squarespace to have everything you need to design a small business website. But if you’re looking for the cheapest website builder for small business, Weebly is a great choice.

8 Best CRM Software Systems for your Business

Young professional using the best CRM software on her laptop

Building strong relationships with the best CRM Software Systems helps customers by increasing sales and running a successful small or midsize business However, it takes time and effort to keep track of vital information related to your prospects and customers. That’s where customer relationship management (CRM) software comes in. CRM is a centralized system that lets you easily track and organize everything related to customers and sales. 

With all of the options on the market, choosing a CRM might seem intimidating, but fortunately, there are a lot of great products available. In this article, we review eight different CRM software systems for small businesses that will help you choose the product that is best for you.

Best CRM Software

  1. Salesforce EssentialsBest CRM Software Overall
  2. Bigin by Zoho CRMBest CRM Software for Affordability
  3. FreshsalesBest CRM Software for Automation
  4. PipedriveBest CRM Software for Tracking Sales Pipelines
  5. Monday CRM – Best CRM for Customization
  6. CapsuleBest CRM Software for Contact Management
  7. Less Annoying CRM Best CRM Software for Individuals and Small Teams
  8. HubSpot CRM – Best CRM Software With a Free Plan

Product

Pricing

Contact Management

Sales Management

Automations

Reporting and Analytics

Integrations

$25 per month

Yes

Yes

Yes, with AI

Yes

Yes, with Salesforce’s services and third-parties

$0 to $12 per month

Yes

Yes

Yes, with AI

Yes

Yes, with Zoho’s services and third-parties

$0 to $69 per month

Yes

Yes

Yes, with AI

Yes

Yes, with Freshwork’s services and third-parties

$12.50 to $99 per month

Yes

Yes

Yes, with AI

Yes

Yes, with third party services

$0 to $16 per user per month (billed annually with minimum user requirements)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes, with monday.com’s services and third-parties

$18 to $54 per month

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes, with third party services

$15 per user per month

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes, with third party services

HubSpot logo

HubSpot CRM

$0 to $1200 per month

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes, with HubSpot’s services and third-parties

Salesforce logo

Salesforce Essentials: Best CRM Software Overall

Pricing: $25 per user per month

4.7

Salesforce is one of the giants of CRM software and with Essentials, the company has created a comprehensive CRM product that has the features most needed by small businesses at a competitive price. Within its single paid tier, you’ll get a robust CRM product that offers not only the basics of CRM software like contact and sales management, but also an advanced feature set tailored to the needs of small business users. 

This includes automatically syncing contacts from your email, stage tracking of deals, automatic information record population with Einstein Activity Capture, and customer support across email, phone, social channels as well as a self-service center. 

There’s also a mobile app as well as customizable reporting tools and dashboards that give you insight into your ongoing sales pipelines and customers. Essentials also lets you integrate with other Salesforce apps and popular third-party Software-as-a-service (Saas) offerings like Dropbox, Zapier, and DocuSign.

Why we chose it:

Salesforce Essentials is our overall top pick due to its excellent features and affordable price. If you’re a small business that wants a complete CRM software solution from an established industry player, then Salesforce is worth considering.

Pricing: 

$25 per user per month (billed annually)

  • Comprehensive contact and sales management features
  • Deal pipeline tracking
  • A variety of automations to reduce workflow
  • Integrates with a number of third-party services
  • Not mobile friendly
  • No multi-users allowed
  • Price too high
Bigin by Zoho CRM logo

Bigin by Zoho CRM: Best CRM Software for Affordability

Pricing: $0 to $12 per user per month

4.5

Bigin by Zoho CRM’s calling card is the affordable pricing of its robust CRM product that’s designed around the needs of small businesses. Keeping expenses low is important for small businesses, and with three plans that range in price from free to $12 per user per month, Bigin offers excellent value for the money.

All tiers include a mobile app, pipeline management, deal workflows, contact storage, and telephony integration. Higher tiers offer more refined features such as customizable dashboards and charts, workflows with date/time based triggers, AI-enhanced automation tools, and email integration.

In addition to the excellent pricing scheme, one of the attractions of Bigin is its integration with other Zoho products, which run the gamut from accounting to marketing to customer support. You’ll also be able to integrate with external apps like Zapier, Gmail, and Microsoft Office. 

Why we chose it: 

We think that Bigin by Zoho CRM offers one of the best values of any of the products we’ve reviewed. If keeping the cost of your CRM product down without sacrificing on features is important to you, then you should take a look at Bigin CRM.

Pricing: 

Free plan: $0 / Express: $7 per user per month / Premier: $12 per user per month (all prices billed annually)

  • Affordable plans, including a free tier
  • Provides many of the CRM features most small businesses will need
  • Strong integration options
  • There are no pre-made email templates
  • Limits on custom field creation
Freshsales logo

Freshsales: Best CRM Software for Automating Sales

Pricing: $0 to $69 per user per month

4.4

Freshsales is a small business-friendly CRM system that offers potent automation tools powered by artificial intelligence. It’s the CRM offering of Freshworks, a company that also makes customer service, marketing, and human resource products. With Freshsales, you’ll get all the features standard in other CRM software, such as contact management, deal management, a mobile app, and sales reports. The product is well designed and allows for cloud telephony and has a sophisticated pipeline management system with a funnel view that separates out deal stages.

Where Freshsales differentiates itself from competitors is at higher paid tiers, where you’ll have access to artificial intelligence (AI) functionality. With the Freddy AI system, you’ll be able to automate lead generation and qualification, predict which deals have the best chance of closing, and make monthly and quarterly sales forecasts. These sophisticated tools, which aren’t available on every CRM software, give users powerful ways to boost their sales numbers.

If you’re looking to do more than just CRM, Freshsales also integrates with Freshworks other products as well as with outside apps like Zapier, DocuSign, and QuickBooks through a marketplace and API.

Why we chose it:

If you’re looking for a CRM system that will reduce the workload on your staff and boost sales through advanced automation and AI functionality, then Freshsales should be one of the CRMs on your vetting list.

Pricing:

Free plan: $0 / Growth: $15 per user per month / Pro: $39 per user per month / Enterprise: $69 per user per month (all prices billed annually)

  • Excellent automation capabilities that save time and effort
  • Comprehensive reporting features
  • Variety of pricing plans to fit most budgets
  • Free plan lacks reporting features
  • Higher level tiers might be too expensive for some small businesses
Pipedrive logo

Pipedrive: Best CRM Software for Tracking Deal Pipelines

Pricing: $12.50 to $99 per user per month

4.3

Pipedrive, true to its name, is a top choice for those who want to be able to keep close track of their ongoing sales deals. Pipedrive’s account management system is organized around deal pipelines, with information such as current deal stage, value, and associated people all available in an accessible visual format. The intuitive and well-designed user interface makes gathering information about your deals a breeze and saves you time when analyzing your deal flow.

But Pipedrive offers more than just deal monitoring tools, as it provides other standard CRM features such as contact management, reporting and analytics tools, and communication tracking. It also has some premium features, like AI-powered automation tools that allow you to set activity reminders, automatically engage in lead nurturing, and record and store information based on triggers. There’s also integration with third-party apps like Google, Microsoft Outlook, and more than 300 others on Pipedrive’s Marketplace.

Why we chose it: 

Pipedrive is a CRM system that’s designed to help you improve your sales process. It’s a good choice for those who are looking to increase revenue while also taking advantage of other commonly available CRM features.

Pricing: 

Essential: $12.50 per user per month / Advanced: $24.90 per user per month / Professional: $49.90 per user per month / Enterprise: $99 per user per month (all prices billed annually)

  • Pipeline workflow makes it easy to focus on sales management
  • AI-powered automation tools add functionality 
  • Excellent email and communication tracking features
  • Some features are restricted to upper price tiers
  • Focus on sales may not appropriate for all businesses
Monday logo

monday.com CRM: Best CRM Software for Customizability

Pricing: $0 to $16 per user per month plus Enterprise rate

4.1

Work operating system (OS) monday.com is best known for its cloud-based work management platform that allows teams to collaborate on tasks and projects on a wide variety of business processes. monday.com CRM is a sales and customer-focused product, and it combines its sophisticated and highly customizable user interface system with contact management, sales management, and reporting and analytics tools.

Where monday.com shines particularly well is in the area of customizability. Using a flexible drag-and-drop interface, you’ll be able to create tailored sales pipelines, contact templates, and custom automations. There are also clear and concise visual reporting tools that provide real-time snapshots of your customers and current deals.

The CRM software also integrates with the rest of the monday.com suite of products, which includes tools for project management, marketing, support, and service for clients. You can also connect data stored in monday.com with other third-party services like Slack, Shopify, and Dropbox.

Why we chose it:

monday.com CRM is a well-designed CRM system that should be at the top of your list if you want to be able to fully customize your sales experience, either because you have special requirements or you simply prefer to “do-it-yourself.”

Pricing:

Individual: $0 / Basic: $8 per user month / Standard: $10 per user per month / Pro: $16 per user per month / Enterprise: Custom pricing (all prices billed annually with minimum user requirements)

  • Powerful customization tools allow you create an interface tailored to your needs 
  • Broad integration with the rest of Monday’s project management tools and third-party services
  • Excellent reporting and analytics tools
  • No free plan, and pricing tiers are complicated
  • Learning curve in configuring and using the interface
  • Plans have minimum number of users, increasing the price
Capsule CRM logo

Capsule: Best CRM Software for Contact Management

Pricing: $18 to $54 per month

4.0

Capsule CRM offers some of the best contact management tools of any of the products we reviewed. In addition to letting you save key information, you’ll also be able auto-enrich contacts with social information, categorize your contacts with customizable tags, and store every interaction you’ve ever had with them. Especially valuable is a well-designed search tool that lets you access vital information about your contacts, such as the date of last contact or conversation history, quickly and easily. You’ll also be able to attach documents to your contacts, create custom lists, and send emails to a special address attached to your accounts.

Contact management isn’t all that Capsule has to offer. There’s also a sales management tool that lets you track sales deals using a visual pipeline. Also included are task and calendar tools, sales analytics, and email templates that can be sent directly from within Capsule using Outlook or Gmail. Other services like QuickBooks, Zapier, and Mailchimp can also be integrated into Capsule. 

Why we chose it:

We think that Capsule is particularly useful for companies who want powerful tools that will help them to nurture close relationships with their prospects and customers.

Pricing: 

Professional: $18 per user per month / Teams: $36 per user per month / Enterprise: $54 per user per month (all prices billed monthly)

  • Powerful and thoughtfully designed contact management tools
  • Wide range of SaaS integrations available
  • Email tools make reaching your customers easy
  • Reporting and analytic options are somewhat limited
  • Lowest tier plan is relatively expensive
Less Annoying CRM logo

Less Annoying CRM: Best CRM Software for Individuals & Small Teams

Pricing: $15 per user per month

3.8

Less Annoying CRM wants to give individuals, small teams, and small businesses the tools to keep track of their customers and deals. It does this by offering affordable pricing, a solid feature set, and a clean and modern user interface design. With Less Annoying, the basics of contact management, sales pipelines, and task management are covered. In addition, you’ll also have access to advanced functionalities, such as a contact search feature, built-in calendar, reporting tools, and customization options.

The user experience makes Less Annoying a snap to use, with the workspace area as the hub that gives you access to your contacts, reports on your current deal pipelines, agenda items, tasks that are due, and recent activity. While there isn’t a mobile app, you’ll be able to sync across all your devices using a web client.

Why we chose it:

Individuals and small teams who are looking for a CRM tools that has excellent features and uncomplicated pricing should take a look at Less Annoying CRM.

Pricing:

$15 per user per month

  • Solid feature set for the price, with everything most small businesses will need
  • User friendly design makes accessing your sales flow and customers simple
  • Built-in calendar helps with planning
  • Lack of mobile app
  • Flat rate pricing model might not suit all users
HubSpot logo

HubSpot CRM: Best CRM Software for a Free Plan

Pricing: $0 to $1,200 per month

3.6

Hubspot, which is known mainly for its online marketing tools, does what seems unlikely in offering you a functional and comprehensive CRM software that doesn’t cost any money. The free CRM software gives you a mobile app, unlimited users, contact management with the ability to store up to one million contacts, and deal management, so you can store, manage, and report on what your sales team has cooking. You get access to email templates, website tracking of contacts, reporting dashboards, integration with email services like Gmail and Outlook, and limited sales tools, such as meeting scheduling, 200 monthly email notifications, and 15 monthly minutes per month of call time.

In order to get higher limits and more features, you’ll need to buy the Sales Hub Starter tier, which starts at $45 per month. That plan increases the limits from the free plan and provides higher-end features like sales automations, calendar syncing, and conversation routing. There are also two higher tiers with further functionality, but they are significantly more expensive. All of the plans, free or paid, integrate into HubSpot’s other products for marketing, service, contact management, and operations. There’s also access to the HubSpot App Marketplace, which allows you to integrate popular services like Gmail, Google, and Slack. 

Why we chose it:

If you’re looking to get into a free and functional–if somewhat limited–CRM system, then HubSpot’s product offers little risk and the ability to test out the company’s other service offerings.

Pricing:

Free: $0 / Starter: $45 per month / Professional: $450 per month / Enterprise: $1,200 per month (all prices billed annually)

  • Free plan provides significant functionality
  • Access to HubSpot’s other services, especially its marketing plans, is a draw
  • Large App Marketplace provides access to hundreds of external SaaS products
  • Free plan places usage limitations
  • Higher-tiered plans are expensive and geared towards larger enterprises

Methodology for the Best CRM Software

In determining a star rating for the CRM software for small business, we looked at the following criteria:

  • Pricing: The pricing of the software was assessed for monthly fees, per-user fees, and any add-on fees.
  • Contact management features: The product’s capabilities in managing contacts, including functionalities in overall information storage, communication tools, and search tools.
  • Sales management features: The product’s capabilities in terms of managing ongoing sales deals and processes.
  • Automations: The product’s functionalities when it comes to automating sales and communications activities.
  • Integrations: The product’s ability to integrate with internal and third-party SaaS services

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Best CRM Software

Have questions about CRM software? Check out our FAQ, which answers some of the most commonly asked questions about it.

Bottom Line on Best CRM Software

Choosing the best CRM software for your small or midsize business is an important step in developing stronger connections with your customers and attracting new prospects. The most important features of a CRM system are contact management, sales process management, and reporting and analytics tools.

All of the CRM systems reviewed here provide these key functions, as well as allowing you to automate your workflows and integrate your customer data with third-party services. Our pick for the best CRM for small businesses is Salesforce Essentials because it’s one of the most comprehensive CRM solutions systems at an affordable price.