The ActiveCollab Insider’s Guide

Everything we know about ActiveCollab in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.

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ToolGPAOctober 2026

ActiveCollab

The Insider’s Guide

Project workspace with time tracking and invoicing for service teams

Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among project management tools, read from ActiveCollab’s own pages.

Made by ActiveCollab Inc. · checked Oct 6, 2026 · toolgpa.com

2.6GPA

01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from ActiveCollab’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on ActiveCollab’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 6, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first

2.6

GPA, above 42 of the 79 other project management tools we grade

ActiveCollab is a project management and collaboration workspace aimed at agencies and other service businesses. It combines tasks in list, Kanban and Gantt views with time tracking, chat and discussions, and its top plan adds invoicing, budgeting and workload planning. Client users are free on every plan, and a self-hosted edition is sold as a one-time license.

To get you started, here are 9 things to know about ActiveCollab, taken from its own pages and our grades.

Tasks, time and chat then sit in one workspace.

From our grade for ease of use

1
Best for agencies that track time and bill clients
ActiveCollab is a project workspace for agencies, with tasks, time tracking and chat on every plan and free client access.
2
Paid plans start at $12.50 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $12.50 / month flat for up to 3 members, billed yearly.
3
You can try it first
14-day free trial with every feature unlocked, no credit card required
4
It runs on 5 platforms
Web, macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.
5
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.
6
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+.
7
Workload and capacity planning
Pro+ adds workload management, capacity planning, utilization, user availability and days-off management.
8
A 2.6 GPA, above 42 of 79
That is against the other project management tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
9
Keep it
To replace ActiveCollab you would be making chat that a whole team counts on staying up. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

ActiveCollab at a glance

Pricing: Free trial, from $12.50 / month flat for up to 3 members, billed yearly
Free plan: No
Free trial: 14-day free trial with every feature unlocked, no credit card required
Runs on: Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
Made by: ActiveCollab Inc., since 2006
Category: Project Management
Our grade: 2.6 GPA, good

The report card

Best for agencies that track time and bill clients

ActiveCollab is a project workspace for agencies, with tasks, time tracking and chat on every plan and free client access. There's no free plan, only a 14-day trial, and the pricing FAQ says subscriptions aren't refunded. Plus stops at 3 members, Slack and Zapier start on Pro, and the invoicing and budgets an agency wants need Pro+ at $15 a user a month.

ToolGPA report cardActiveCollabGraded Oct 10, 2026

Subject	Grade	Comment
Value for money	C	Plus is a flat $12.50 a month for up to 3 members billed yearly, about $4.17 a head. A fourth person moves you to Pro at $10 a user, the dear quarter for project tools here, and the invoicing, budgets and workload planning an agency comes for need Pro+ at $15, nearly twice the $8 middle.
Free plan and trial	C	No free plan. The 14-day trial unlocks every feature and asks for no credit card, and the pricing FAQ says subscriptions aren't refunded, so decide inside the 14 days.
Features	B	Covers the service-team job: list, Kanban and Gantt views with subtasks, recurring tasks and dependencies that update themselves, a stopwatch and timesheets, chat, discussions and notes, then estimates, invoicing, budgets and capacity planning on Pro+. Clients come in free on every plan.
Ease of use	C	No App Store rating on record, and there's real setting up here: projects, templates, time tracking and client roles before anyone bills an hour. Tasks, time and chat then sit in one workspace.
Platforms and integrations	A	Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, the full set. Dropbox and Google Workspace work on Plus, with Zapier, Slack, webhooks and an MCP server from Pro, and there's a self-hosted edition for your own server.

Grade point averageGood, out of 4.02.6

An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.

Who ActiveCollab is for

Fits if you're an agency or consultancy that tracks time and bills clients for it
Works for 3 people or fewer at a flat $12.50 a month billed yearly, or $15 monthly

Who it is not for

Skip it if you want to stay free, as there's a 14-day trial and no free plan
Watch out: the pricing FAQ states a no-refund policy for subscriptions
Pricey if you need invoicing, budgets or workload planning, which sit on Pro+ at $15 a user a month billed yearly
Tight if you're on Plus: 3 members, 10GB, no time reports, and Slack or Zapier only from Pro
Watch out: self-hosting is priced by quote, and upgrades after the first year need a yearly support plan

Good to know

Good for

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

Worth knowing

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.

Part 02 · Pricing

What it costs

Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved

$12.50

A month to start

ActiveCollab is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $12.50 / month flat for up to 3 members, billed yearly.

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

Trying it first

14-day free trial with every feature unlocked, no credit card required

Read from activecollab.com on Oct 6, 2026.

Ways to pay less

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%.
Stated on activecollab.com
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.
Stated on activecollab.com
Nonprofit
50% off for nonprofits
The same pricing page offers nonprofit organizations a 50% discount on application.
Stated on activecollab.com
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.
Stated on activecollab.com
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.
Stated on activecollab.com

Part 03 · Features

What it does

Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it

Places it runs: Web, macOS, Windows, iOS and Android

Project workspace with time tracking and invoicing for service teams. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: self-hostable, tasks, kanban boards, Gantt & timelines, time tracking, team chat, invoicing.

Web, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, the full set.

From our grade for platforms and integrations

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.

Where it runs

Web
macOS
Windows
iOS
Android

What it works with

Google Drive
Dropbox
QuickBooks
Slack
Zapier
Stripe
PayPal

ActiveCollab is made by ActiveCollab Inc., and has been around since 2006.

Part 04 · Standing

Where it stands

Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own

42/79

Other project management tools it is graded above

ActiveCollab's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 42 of the 79 other project management tools we grade, and level with 11.

It stands best on platforms and integrations (A, above 54 of 79) and worst on ease of use (C, above 2).

Its paid plans start at $12.50 a month, against a middle price of $8 for the category: 60 of the 74 others that charge start lower.

On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.0 out of 4. 8 tools score higher and cost less.

Each grade against the category

Every bar is all 80 project management tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. ActiveCollab’s own letter is outlined.

CValue for money
Above 16 of 79
CFree plan and trial
Above 4 of 79
BFeatures
Above 27 of 79
CEase of use
Above 2 of 79
APlatforms and integrations
Above 54 of 79

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 78 project management tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. ActiveCollab is the marked dot.

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

Keep it, or make your own?

Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.

Keep it

To replace ActiveCollab you would be making chat that a whole team counts on staying up. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

It costs $150 a year.

What you could make

Tasks, kanban boards, Gantt & timelines, time tracking and invoicing: an app builder makes these well.

What you could not

Chat that a whole team counts on staying up.
Apps for macOS, Windows, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other.
It plugs into other products, Google Drive, Dropbox and QuickBooks among them.
Sharing with other people, which means accounts and invitations.
The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.

What this rests on. ActiveCollab’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.

Part 05 · Alternatives

The alternatives

The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side

Teamwork.com, Basecamp, Paymo, ProofHub and Avaza

The 5 tools ActiveCollab is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.

2.4GPA
Teamwork.com
Free plan · from $9.99/mo
Project and resource management for client service teams.
- Teamwork.com has a free plan. ActiveCollab does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Teamwork.com lists a browser extension.
- ActiveCollab is self-hostable, according to its own site.
ActiveCollab and Teamwork.com compared in full
2.8GPA
Basecamp
Free plan · from $25/mo
Flat-priced project management with chat, to-dos and files.
- Basecamp has a free plan. ActiveCollab does not, though it has a free trial.
- ActiveCollab is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- ActiveCollab also covers Gantt & timelines, team chat and invoicing.
ActiveCollab and Basecamp compared in full
2.4GPA
Paymo
Free plan · from $5.9/mo
Project management with time tracking and client invoicing.
- Paymo has a free plan. ActiveCollab does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Paymo lists a Linux app.
- ActiveCollab is self-hostable, according to its own site.
ActiveCollab and Paymo compared in full
2.4GPA
ProofHub
Free trial · from $45/mo
Flat-price project management and team collaboration tool.
- Only ActiveCollab lists macOS and Windows apps.
- ActiveCollab is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- ActiveCollab also covers invoicing.
ActiveCollab and ProofHub compared in full
2.4GPA
Avaza
Free plan · from $9.96/mo
Project management with timesheets, expenses and invoicing.
- Avaza has a free plan. ActiveCollab does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only ActiveCollab lists macOS and Windows apps.
- ActiveCollab is self-hostable, according to its own site.
ActiveCollab and Avaza compared in full

Part 06 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two

Questions, each answered in a line or two

The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.

Is ActiveCollab free?

No, ActiveCollab is a paid product, but you can try it first. 14-day free trial with every feature unlocked, no credit card required.

How much does ActiveCollab cost?

ActiveCollab lists 5 plans. Plus: $12.50 per month flat for 3 seats, billed yearly ($15 billed monthly).

What platforms does ActiveCollab work on?

ActiveCollab is available on Web, macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.

Does ActiveCollab offer any discounts?

ActiveCollab publicly lists the following: Up to 17% off with yearly billing; 50% off for educational institutions; 50% off for nonprofits; One-time license for the self-hosted edition; Volume rate for 100+ seats.

Does ActiveCollab have a Linux app?

No Linux app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 6, 2026. ActiveCollab is listed for Web, macOS, Windows, iOS and Android.

Is ActiveCollab open source?

ActiveCollab is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 6, 2026.

Can ActiveCollab be self-hosted?

Yes. ActiveCollab's own site says it can be run on a server of your own.

What does ActiveCollab integrate with?

ActiveCollab's listing names Google Drive, Dropbox, QuickBooks, Slack, Zapier, Stripe and PayPal.

Does ActiveCollab have a student discount?

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

Who makes ActiveCollab?

ActiveCollab is made by ActiveCollab Inc. It dates from 2006.

What are the alternatives to ActiveCollab?

The closest alternatives to ActiveCollab in our directory are Teamwork.com, Basecamp, Paymo, ProofHub and Avaza.

How does ActiveCollab compare with other project management tools?

ActiveCollab's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 42 of the 79 other project management tools we grade, and level with 11.

Is ActiveCollab good value for money?

ToolGPA grades ActiveCollab C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $12.50 a month, against a middle price of $8 for the category: 60 of the 74 others that charge start lower.

Could I make my own version of ActiveCollab?

To replace ActiveCollab you would be making chat that a whole team counts on staying up.

Where this guide comes from

The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from ActiveCollab’s own pages on Oct 6, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 10, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from ActiveCollab's own pages on 6 October 2026. Also tested with a demo account on 2026-07-25.

Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by ActiveCollab Inc. Prices change, so check activecollab.com before you buy.

Part 07 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

3,189

Tools graded, in 94 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "ActiveCollab: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 6, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/activecollab

Know someone choosing between project management tools?

Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/activecollab/guide

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See our other guides

The best-graded project management tools after ActiveCollab, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.

ToolGPA

Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.

Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›

Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what ActiveCollab’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. ActiveCollab is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by ActiveCollab Inc. Prices and plans change: check activecollab.com before you buy.