ActiveCollab vs ProofHub

ActiveCollab

• Agencies and consultancies that track time and invoice clients
• Teams of up to three that want a flat monthly price
• Organizations that must host project data on their own server
• Teams that bring clients into projects without paying for their seats

ProofHub

• Large teams that would pay more under per-user pricing
• Agencies and creative teams that proof and approve files with clients
• Teams that want tasks, chat and time tracking in one flat-price tool

ActiveCollab

• There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial, and the pricing FAQ states a no-refund policy for subscriptions.
• Plus is capped at 3 members; time and expense reporting need Pro, and invoicing, budgeting and workload management need Pro+.
• Zapier, Slack and webhook integrations and the MCP server start on Pro; Plus lists only Dropbox and Google Workspace integrations.
• The self-hosted edition is priced by quote, and upgrades after the first year require a yearly support plan.

ProofHub

• There is no free plan: after the 14-day trial an account expires unless payment details are added.
• Essential is limited to 40 projects and 15 GB of storage and leaves out custom roles, workflows, reports and API access.
• Ultimate Control's advertised $89 a month (billed annually) applies to the first three months; it then costs $135, or $150 billed monthly.
• ProofHub lists mobile apps for iOS and Android only; on a computer it is used in the browser.

ActiveCollab

List, Kanban and Gantt task views

Every plan shows tasks in three views and includes subtasks, recurring tasks, project templates and task dependencies that update automatically.

Built-in time tracking

A stopwatch, manual time entries and personal timesheets are in every plan. Time reports start on Pro and team timesheets on Pro+.

Workload and capacity planning

Pro+ adds workload management, capacity planning, utilization, user availability and days-off management.

Invoices, budgets and payments

Pro+ covers estimates, invoicing, project budgets, budget against cost tracking and profitability, with PayPal and Stripe payment gateways and a QuickBooks integration.

Free client access

Any number of people can be invited in the Client role at no cost on every plan, and clients do not use up a seat.

Chat, discussions and notes

An integrated chat app sits alongside unlimited discussions and notes, so project conversation stays in the same workspace as the tasks.

ProofHub

Board, table, Gantt and calendar views

Tasks are managed on boards arranged by workflow stage, in a table with custom fields, on a Gantt chart with dependencies, or on a calendar with events and milestones.

Proofing

Files are reviewed with markup tools and approved in place, and file versioning keeps earlier revisions.

Discussions, chat and announcements

Discussion topics gather ideas and files, chat covers one-on-one and group conversations with teams and clients, and announcements go to the whole team.

Time tracking

Time is logged by hand or with a timer against tasks that carry estimates, and timesheets can be sent to FreshBooks or QuickBooks for invoicing.

Forms and notes

Request forms let teams and clients submit work requests, support queries or tickets, and notes keep documents organized and shareable.

Custom roles and workflows

On Ultimate Control, custom roles decide who can access what and custom workflows define task stages. The plan also adds project and resource reports and activity logs.

ActiveCollab

• Plus$12.50

  per month flat for 3 seats, billed yearly ($15 billed monthly)

  Up to 3 members, unlimited projects and free clients, list, Kanban and Gantt views, time tracking, chat and 10GB of storage.

• Pro$10

  per user / month, billed yearly ($11 billed monthly)

  Unlimited members, time and expense reporting, the MCP server, Zapier, Slack and webhook integrations, and 125GB of storage (100GB on monthly billing).

• Pro+ (Get Paid)$15

  per user / month, billed yearly ($17 billed monthly)

  Adds invoicing, estimates, project budgets and profitability, workload and capacity planning, team timesheets, payment gateways and QuickBooks.

• 100+ seats$3.50

  per user / month, billed annually

  Volume rate for teams with 100 or more seats, arranged through a demo call with the sales team.

• Self-HostedCustom

  One-time perpetual license installed on your own server, with unlimited users, projects and storage and one year of support and upgrades.

ProofHub

• Essential$45

  per month, billed annually ($50 billed monthly)

  Flat price for unlimited users: 40 projects, 15 GB of storage and the core features. No custom roles, workflows, API access or white labeling.

• Ultimate Control$135

  per month, billed annually ($150 billed monthly)

  Unlimited users and projects, 100 GB of storage, custom roles, workflows, white labeling, IP restrictions and API access. Promoted at $89 for the first 3 months.

ActiveCollab

• Annual discount

  Up to 17% off with yearly billing

  Yearly billing lowers Plus from $15 to $12.50 per month, Pro from $11 to $10 per user and Pro+ from $17 to $15 per user. The pricing page labels this as saving up to 17%.

• Education

  50% off for educational institutions

  ActiveCollab's pricing page says educational institutions get 50% off and can apply for the discount through the company.

• Nonprofit

  50% off for nonprofits

  The same pricing page offers nonprofit organizations a 50% discount on application.

• Lifetime license

  One-time license for the self-hosted edition

  ActiveCollab Self-Hosted is a perpetual license with no seat count or monthly bill. The price is by quote, and the first year of support and upgrades is included.

• Other savings

  Volume rate for 100+ seats

  The pricing FAQ says teams with 100 or more seats pay $3.50 per user per month on annual billing.

ProofHub

• Annual discount

  Lower monthly rate on annual billing

  Essential is $45 a month billed annually against $50 billed monthly, and Ultimate Control's regular price is $135 against $150.

• Other savings

  Ultimate Control at $89 for the first 3 months

  New accounts and upgrades pay $89 a month on annual billing, or $99 on monthly billing, for the first three months. ProofHub says it may end the offer without notice.

• Nonprofit

  40% off Ultimate Control for nonprofits

  ProofHub's nonprofit page offers 40% off the Ultimate Control plan, shown as $89 instead of $150 a month paid annually, requested by email after signing up.