Wrike

Overall: Wrike really change our approach in collaborating project, the process has been simplified and we manage to cut the time to finish our project compared to before using Wrike. Integration with other software is doable and adding value to the software.

Pros: Wrike is really easy to use for managing our sales and marketing related project, we has the all the tools that much needed to managing a complex and resource rich project. Collaborating project with multiple department is smoothly run and we are using the messenger platform to coordinate and communicate quickly.

Cons: The feature and tools in this software is great, but that is another story with is user interface. The graphic design is not helping us to move faster, as many of the icon design is almost identical and sometimes confusing me. Sometimes, the system is not refresh automatically and i need to refresh it manually to get the real-time update.

Reasons for Switching to Wrike: Wrike has more option for customization and integration.

Overall: Wrike is a pretty good tool, but it is not a "very" good tool. And the cost of entry for basic project management (including effort estimation) is very high compared to Wrike's competitors. The free, Business, and Professional versions are missing one very basic and essential component of basic project planning. The UI is pretty good, but a bit clunky. Most painful has been my experience working with the sales reps and customer engagement staff -- when I've raised my concerns (that the Pro and Business editions missed a very basic project planning capability, which requires an up-sell to overcome; and that the cost of entry for small teams is excessive when the gap is filled)... I've been very sad and puzzled at the disconnect from what project planning and project management is, and the lack of desire to connect or find a solution for prospective customers. This was the third time over the last 15 months that I've engaged Wrike to see whether we can find common ground, whether there is any flexibility, or whether they are willing to try to meet their customers half-way, and the answer is still "no" on all three fronts. I promised myself I'd stop giving them chances and move on. There are other solutions in the project planning and project mgmt space, so I am moving on.

Pros: First, this is a pretty good tool for: 1. Nested task lists that look like a project plan 2. Task board views (if not on the free plan) 3. Customer-facing task-list dashboards

Cons: The description for the Pro plan states clearly "Full project planning and collaboration" and for the business plan "Robust work management with customization and exec reporting". But neither plan will total up work estimates for a project based on sub-task level of effort. Let that sink in for a moment: a "full project planning" tool that does not total up expected effort for the project plan. Yes, you can get that, but only if you buy the Resource Allocation addon for another 15 per user. Resource allocation is not the same as basic project planning (which must include level of effort estimation) Also, the interface is a bit clunky for quick-edits and quick-adds of sub-tasks.

Reasons for Switching to Wrike: I thought Wrike would work better. But in the end, without project effort estimation (through summing sub-task work effort hours), Wrike is pretty useless as a project planning / mgmt tool. I'll be switching back.