Plane vs Worklenz (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Plane grades higher than Worklenz: 2.8 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Plane grades higher on features and platforms. Worklenz grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Plane
Open-source project management with cycles, wiki and AI agents
Worklenz
Project and time tracking for agencies, with a self-host option
Which one is for you
Pick Plane if
- Fits if you want to self-host your project management tool
- Works for teams of up to 12 moving off Jira, Linear, Asana or ClickUp with the built-in importers
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free and need time tracking, dashboards or the workspace wiki, which start at Pro
- Tight if your free team passes 12 users, as every seat then costs $6 a month billed annually
- Skip it if you want a Windows desktop app today, as it's listed as coming soon
- Not for you if you self-host the Community Edition and want the phone apps, because they don't work with it
- Pricey if you need LDAP, granular access control or approval workflows, which are Enterprise Grid only, priced by quote
Pick Worklenz if
- Fits if you run an agency and want time tracked against projects
- Works for teams that want the option to host the tool themselves
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you stay free, as the plan stops at 5 members, 3 projects and 1 GB
- Pricey if you need the client portal, invoices or Gantt editing, which are Business at $10 yearly
- Watch out: time tracking is not on the free plan
- Watch out: self-hosted Business editions have no published price and the plugin marketplace is listed as coming soon
- Skip it if you want many integrations, as only Slack and Zapier are listed
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAPlaneGood | 2.6GPAWorklenzGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPro is $6 a seat a month billed annually, $8 monthly, which lands between the low and the high end of this category, and it's where time tracking, the wiki, dashboards and integrations begin. Business is $13. Self-hosting the open-source core costs nothing but a server. | BPro is $6 per active user a month billed annually, the cheaper quarter's starting figure. Business is $10 yearly. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree covers up to 12 users with projects, work items, cycles, modules, five layouts, intake, estimates and project pages. Past 12 you pay, and the open-source Community Edition can't use the phone apps. | BFree plan: up to 5 members, 3 active projects and 1 GB. There is also a free self-hosted Community edition. |
| Features | BWork items planned into cycles with velocity tracking and burndown charts, grouped into modules, shown as a list, board, calendar, Gantt or spreadsheet, plus pages and a wiki, intake for triaging requests and AI agents that run on mentions and schedules. Time tracking and the wiki start at Pro. | CTasks, Kanban, time tracking, workload and a Gantt view. Pro has read-only Gantt, with editing, the client portal and invoices on Business. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. The importers for Jira, Linear, Asana and ClickUp save you retyping a backlog, but you still set up projects, cycles and modules, and self-hosting means Docker or Kubernetes. | CNo store rating on record. You set up projects and teams, and the self-hosted edition adds server work. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android, with the Windows desktop app listed as coming soon, and GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Sentry, Figma and Teams on the integrations page. | BWeb, iOS and Android apps with Slack and Zapier. No desktop app. |
| Best for | open-source issue tracking for small teams | agency project and time tracking, hosted or self-hosted |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Plane and Worklenz. How we grade
Price against what you get
Plane starts at $6 a month for each person and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Worklenz starts at $6 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Plane scores higher for the same starting price. Of the other project management tools on the chart, none scores higher than Plane for less, and 16 score higher than Worklenz for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Plane also covers wiki and issue tracking.
- Worklenz also covers templates, tasks and time tracking.
At a glance
| Plane | Worklenz | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $6 per seat / month, billed annually | $6 per active user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free plan for up to 12 users: projects, work items, cycles, modules, five layouts, intake, estimates and project pages. | Up to 5 team members and 3 active projects, with task lists, Kanban boards, templates and mobile access. |
| Free trial | Two-week free trial of Pro or Business | 14-day free trial of paid plans, no credit card needed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Plane Software, Inc. | Worklenz |
| Price read from | plane.so | worklenz.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Plane
- The Free plan is capped at 12 users; time tracking, the workspace wiki, dashboards and work item types start at Pro.
- The download page lists the Windows desktop app as coming soon; macOS and Linux desktop apps are available.
- The mobile apps work with Cloud and the commercial self-hosted editions, not with the open-source Community Edition.
- LDAP, granular access control and multiple workflows with approvals are limited to Enterprise Grid, which is priced by quote.
Worklenz
- The Free plan stops at 5 team members, 3 active projects and 1 GB of storage.
- Time tracking needs Pro; the client portal, invoices and project finance need Business.
- Pro includes only read-only Gantt and scheduler views; editing is a Business feature.
- Self-hosted Business editions have no published price, and the plugin marketplace is listed as coming soon.
Key features
Plane
- Work items, cycles and modules
- Projects hold work items, which are planned into time-boxed cycles and grouped into modules. Cycles come with velocity tracking and burndown charts.
- Five layouts and saved views
- Work items can be shown as a list, board, calendar, Gantt chart or spreadsheet, and a set of sort, filter and display options can be saved as a view.
- Pages and wiki
- Project pages are included on Free. Pro adds a workspace wiki for company-wide knowledge, and Business adds nested pages and embeds.
- Plane AI and agents
- Plane AI answers questions from across the workspace, and agents run on mentions, assignments and schedules. Pro includes 500 AI credits per seat a month and Business 1,000.
- Intake
- Intake collects feedback and requests for triage before they become work items. Business adds a dedicated intake email address and public web forms.
- Self-hosting
- Plane deploys on your own servers with Docker or Kubernetes, and an air-gapped edition covers isolated networks. The core is open source under AGPL v3.0.
Worklenz
- Tasks and Kanban boards
- Projects hold task lists and Kanban boards with sub-tasks, labels, priorities, custom fields on paid plans, and recurring tasks.
- Time tracking and timesheets
- A live timer or manual entries log hours against tasks, with reports comparing estimated and actual time per project and per member. Paid plans only.
- Resource scheduling and workload
- A scheduler plans tasks around each member's capacity, and a workload view shows utilization. Full editing of the scheduler needs the Business plan.
- Client portal and project finance
- The Business plan lets clients see project progress, tracks budgets and billable hours, and creates client invoices.
- Gantt and project roadmap
- A timeline view shows task dependencies and phases. The Pro plan gives read-only access, and editing is part of Business.
- Self-hosted edition
- A free Community edition runs on your own infrastructure with unlimited users. Paid self-hosted editions are priced through sales.
Plans
Plane
Free$0
Up to 12 users. Projects and work items, cycles and modules, five layouts with unlimited views, work item intake, estimates and project pages.
Pro$6
per seat / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly)
Unlimited seats, 500 AI credits per seat, work item types, workspace wiki, time tracking, dashboards, initiatives, teamspaces and integrations.
Business$13
per seat / month, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)
1,000 AI credits per seat, project templates, recurring work items, intake email and forms, a workflow per project and customer profiles.
Enterprise GridCustom
Quote on request. Private and managed deployments, granular access control, multiple workflows with approvals, LDAP and audit logs.
Worklenz
Free$0
Up to 5 team members, 3 active projects, 1 GB storage, task lists and Kanban boards.
Pro$6
per active user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly)
No cap on members or projects, time tracking and timesheets, workload view, 3 guests per project, read-only Gantt. 5 GB storage.
Business$10
per active user / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)
Adds client portal, project finance and invoices, full Gantt and scheduler editing, advanced reports, unlimited guests. 25 GB storage.
Community (self-hosted)$0
Open-source edition you host yourself: unlimited users, core task management, community support only.
Ways to pay less
Plane
- Annual discount
Save up to 25% with annual billing
Pro is $6 per seat / month billed annually against $8 billed monthly, a 25% saving. Business is $13 against $15, about 13%.
- Startups
Startup discounts on request
Plane's startups page says startup discounts are reviewed on demand: applicants send their company stage, team size and needs through the sales form.
Worklenz
- Lifetime license
Business plan lifetime deal, $79 per code
Each $79 one-time code gives 5 seats and 5 GB on the Business plan with future updates; up to 10 codes can be stacked.
- Annual discount
3 months free on Pro, 2 months on Business, billed yearly
Pro costs $72 and Business $120 per active user per year, against $96 and $144 on monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Plane or Worklenz?
As of Nov 13, 2026, they start at the same price. Plane starts at $6 per seat / month, billed annually, and Worklenz starts at $6 per active user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Plane or Worklenz?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Plane and Worklenz have a free plan.
Which platforms do Plane and Worklenz run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Plane lists macOS and Linux apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.