Productive vs Resource Guru

Productive

• Agencies and consultancies that bill clients by project
• Firms that want budgets, resourcing and time tracking in one tool
• Teams that invite clients into projects, since client seats are free

Resource Guru

• Agencies and consultancies scheduling people across client projects
• Teams that also book rooms, vehicles or equipment
• Teams that want integrations and API access on the lowest plan

Productive

• There is no free plan, and every plan requires at least 3 seats.
• HRIS and invoicing integrations start on Professional; the HubSpot integration, webhooks and enforced SSO or 2FA need Ultimate, which has no public price.
• The apps page lists desktop apps for Mac and Windows and mobile apps for iPhone and Android, but no Linux app.
• The AI Notetaker that joins calls is listed as an add-on rather than part of a plan.

Resource Guru

• Grasshopper has no reports, timesheets, Gantt charts or project budgets, and keeps activity history for only 7 days.
• Every person added to the account is charged for, whether or not they log in, as are all non-human resources and placeholders beyond the plan's allowance.
• Single sign-on, the approval workflow and phone support need the Master plan.
• There is no free plan, and the pricing page lists no mobile or desktop apps.

Productive

Seven project layouts

Tasks can be shown as a list, table, board, calendar, timeline, Gantt chart or workload view, and customized views can be shared with teammates.

Budgets tied to tracked time

Each logged hour is linked to a project budget, so revenue, cost and margin are reported per project as the work is done.

Resource planning

Plan bookings by person or by project, with tentative and repeating bookings, placeholders, and each person's availability after time off.

Time tracking

Log hours with a timer or by hand on web, desktop or mobile. Entries attach to tasks and can be submitted for approval; the Mac app adds a menu bar timer.

Invoicing and accounting sync

Invoices can be pushed to Xero, QuickBooks Online, Exact, e-conomic, Fortnox or Twinfield with payments synced back. These integrations start on Professional.

AI Assistant, agents and MCP server

An AI Assistant that drafts and summarizes work is included from Essential. Custom agents and connectors are listed under Ultimate, and an MCP server opens the data to Claude or ChatGPT.

Resource Guru

Resource scheduling

Bookings can be tentative, repeating, spread over several resources or set as a total number of hours, with clash management and time zone support on every plan.

Capacity and leave

The schedule shows each person's availability, workload and utilization. Leave management and public holiday calendars are included on every plan.

Rooms, vehicles and equipment

Resources that are not people, such as meeting rooms, vehicles and equipment, can be booked on the same schedule and cost half the per-person price.

Project planning with Gantt charts

From the Blackbelt plan, projects get start and end dates, milestones, rates and budgets, and phases can be mapped on Gantt charts against team capacity.

Timesheets

Weekly timesheets suggest entries from work already booked and include review and approvals, so forecast hours can be compared with actuals. Blackbelt and above.

Reports

Pre-built and customizable reports with exports and budget tracking start on Blackbelt. The Grasshopper plan has no reports.

Productive

• Essential$10

  per user / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly)

  Budgeting, resource planning, projects and tasks, docs, time tracking, expenses, reporting, API access and the AI Assistant, with 5 account-level custom fields.

• Professional$25

  per user / month, billed yearly ($29 billed monthly)

  Adds HRIS and invoicing integrations, recurring budgets, rate cards, time and expense approvals, advanced reports and 15 account-level custom fields.

• UltimateCustom

  Adds revenue forecasting, Scenario Builder, multiple subsidiaries, the HubSpot integration, webhooks, agents and enforced SSO or 2FA.

Resource Guru

• Grasshopper$5

  per person / month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly)

  Scheduling essentials without reports: unlimited projects and clients, leave management, calendar sync, integrations, API and 1 placeholder. Other resources are $2.50 each.

• Blackbelt$8

  per person / month, billed annually ($9.60 billed monthly)

  Adds timesheets, reports, Gantt charts, project dates, milestones, rates and budgets, 10 custom fields and 5 placeholders. Other resources are $4 each.

• Master$12

  per person / month, billed annually ($14.40 billed monthly)

  Adds approval workflow, single sign-on, phone support, unlimited activity history and custom fields, and 10 placeholders. Other resources are $6 each.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Adds a dedicated customer success manager, setup, rollout and training, priority support with SLAs, an Enterprise API, multi-year pricing and custom contracts.

Productive

• Annual discount

  Save up to 17% with yearly billing

  Essential is $10 per user / month billed yearly against $12 billed monthly, and Professional is $25 against $29. The pricing page labels the yearly option as saving up to 17%.

• Nonprofit

  50% off for nonprofits and charities

  The pricing FAQ says nonprofits and charities get 50% off all subscriptions and asks them to contact the company.

• Education

  Free accounts for teachers and students

  The pricing FAQ says Productive gives free accounts to teachers and students; details are available on request.

• Other savings

  Volume discount from 50 users

  Companies with 50 or more users are eligible for a volume discount on the Professional and Ultimate plans, according to the pricing FAQ.

Resource Guru

• Annual discount

  2 months free with annual billing

  Resource Guru says annual plans come with 2 months free. Per person / month, Grasshopper is $5 instead of $6, Blackbelt $8 instead of $9.60 and Master $12 instead of $14.40.