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Managello vs Teamwork

Teamwork is one of the most agency-focused cloud tools around. Managello covers similar ground, self-hosted and unlimited-user. Here is an honest comparison.

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Last reviewed: July 2026 · we re-check public pricing and features regularly.
The quick verdict

The short answer, before the detail

Most of this decision comes down to a few honest questions. If you already know your answer, you can stop here.

Choose Teamwork if…
  • You want a mature, proven cloud agency tool
  • Native time billing and resource management matter
  • You value free client/collaborator seats
  • You prefer a vendor to run the infrastructure
  • Your team is already comfortable in Teamwork
Choose Managello if…
  • You want to own the platform on your own server
  • A fully branded, magic-link client portal matters
  • You prefer flat pricing over per-user seats
  • Native proofing plus invoicing in one place appeals
  • You want unlimited staff and clients, always
Company snapshot

Two different products, briefly

Context first — no feature scoring yet. Just who each tool is and where it comes from.

Teamwork Managello
Founded 2007 2025
Deployment Cloud SaaS Self-hosted (Docker)
Best known for Client-services project management Branded client portal + delivery
Pricing model Per user Flat, per install
Best fit Agencies billing client work Agencies & studios
Hosting Vendor cloud Your own VPS
Pricing

How pricing changes as your agency grows

We show our assumptions in full and never bend a competitor's numbers. Prices are public list rates and can change — always confirm on their site.

Total users 10 users 25 users 50 users 100 users
Teamwork $110/mo $275/mo $550/mo $1,099/mo
Managello $59/mo $59/mo $59/mo $59/mo

Assumptions: Teamwork Deliver at its lowest publicly listed rate (billed annually), multiplied by total users. Teamwork offers some free client/collaborator seats; those are not counted here. Public pricing, subject to change. Managello is a flat $59/install per month for unlimited staff and client users.

The client workflow

How client work actually flows

Instead of a feature checklist, here is the real path a piece of client work travels — from first request to payment and reporting.

Native Built in Possible Doable, with limits Requires integration Needs another tool Not intended Not what it's for
Stage
Teamwork
Managello
1Client request
Possible
Forms + client company users; no magic-link portal.
Native
Portal + email intake land in one request inbox.
2Project
Native
Purpose-built for client project delivery.
Native
Projects, tasks and a Kanban board.
3Files
Native
File management with versions.
Native
Uploads on every entity, plus a shared client library.
4Proofing
Native
Teamwork Proofs on images, PDFs and video.
Native
Pin comments on images/PDFs, compare versions.
5Approval
Native
Proof approvals; client users can approve.
Native
Versioned deliverable approvals with a record.
6Invoice
Possible
Basic invoicing from billable time on higher plans.
Native
Draft, issue and email invoices on your own template.
7Payment
Requires integration
Payments via connected accounting tools.
Native
Stripe Checkout, your own payment link, or manual.
8Reports
Native
Project and profitability reporting.
Native
Monthly client reports + a revenue lens.
Built for agency work

The agency-specific details

The features that matter when clients live inside your tool. Written honestly — where Teamwork has something, we say so.

Teamwork Managello
Pricing & ownership
Unlimited users Per user + client seats Yes — staff & clients
Self-hosted No — cloud only Yes — your VPS
Ownership Vendor-hosted You own data & files
Project delivery
Project templates Unlimited (paid); 2 free Native + optional AI draft
Client requests Forms Native intake spine
Client experience
Client portal Client users Branded, with shared files & client teams
Shared client files Per-project files Native per-client library
Client-managed team Agency admins only Yes — client owner invites
White-label Add-on Yes, on every plan
Magic-link login No Yes
Proofing & approvals
Proofing Native (Proofs) Native (pins + versions)
Approval workflow Proof approvals Native, with a record
Quotes, billing & payments
Quote acceptance & e-sign Quotes; no documented client accept Accept + typed or drawn signature
Deposit at acceptance No documented trigger Automatic on acceptance
Invoices Native, higher plans Native, on your own template
Custom invoice layout Fields & logo, no designer Native editor + live preview
Payments Via integration Stripe, your own link, or manual
Accounting sync QBO + Xero, one-way push QuickBooks Online (one-way)
Reporting, AI & operations
Value Lens Profitability reports Native revenue lens
AI model Vendor AI, tiered BYOK — your key, your provider
Notifications In-app + email In-app, email, Slack
Audit trail Higher plans Yes — append-only
Credentials vault Not built in Yes — per-project, encrypted
Updates Automatic Safe updater + rollback
Full credit where it's due

Where Teamwork is genuinely better

No comparison is honest without this section. Teamwork does real things well — here are the ones worth weighing before you decide.

Purpose-built for client services

Teamwork has spent years refining features specifically for agencies billing client work.

Native proofing and time billing

Proofs, billable time and budgets are mature and well integrated.

Strong resource management

Workload and capacity planning are more developed than in most PM tools.

Free client & collaborator seats

You can bring clients in without paying for every one of them.

A different philosophy

Where Managello is different — not simply “better”

Managello makes a set of deliberate trade-offs. They suit some agencies and not others; here is the thinking behind them.

Agency-first

Managello is built around client work — requests, proofing, approvals and invoices — not adapted from an internal task tracker.

A client workspace, not a status page

Clients get a branded magic-link portal with a shared file library, their own team access, and approval and billing permissions you control. A designated client owner invites their own colleagues; no seat to buy, no Managello logo, no login friction.

Quote to cash in one path

A branded estimate, acceptance with an optional typed or drawn signature, a downloadable acceptance certificate, a fixed or percentage deposit invoice raised at acceptance, conversion into a project without re-entry, then invoicing on your own template — paid by Stripe, your own payment link or manually, and syncable to QuickBooks Online.

Self-hosted

It runs on your VPS with your database and files. Licensing checks validity only — it never reads your client data.

Unlimited users

Staff and client seats are unlimited. Adding a teammate or a client never changes the price.

Repeatable without bureaucracy

Reusable project templates carry milestones and tasks with relative dates, and AI can draft a first pass for you to review. New projects still default to blank, so one-off work stays fast.

Modern UX

A current React interface with proofing, a command palette and keyboard flows — self-hosted without feeling dated.

One install

Portal, projects, proofing, invoicing and reports are one system, not a stack of integrations to wire together.

Trust & optional AI

A Trust & Compliance hub covers privacy requests, retention, audit and publishable Privacy Policy, DPA and Retention Policy pages (from editable templates, not legal advice). Optional AI Assist runs only on your own Anthropic or OpenAI key — encrypted, click-only and spend-capped, with no tokens bundled or marked up — and opt-in email digests replace noisy per-event alerts. Encrypted off-server backups go to an S3 or SFTP destination you own.

Client credentials, sealed in the project

Each client's hosting, CMS, DNS, database and API logins live in the project they belong to — encrypted at rest and hidden by default, even from admins, until a short, self-expiring unlock reveals them. Every reveal is logged, and clients never see any of it. No shared spreadsheet and no separate password tool to keep in sync.

Seen enough to be curious? The live demo shows Managello working the way an agency actually uses it — no signup, your server, your brand.
Try the live demo →
Switching over

Already using Teamwork?

A typical, low-drama migration. Keep Teamwork running read-only until you are settled — there is no rush.

1Export projects
2Import data
3Invite staff
4Invite clients
5Start new work
6Keep Teamwork read-only
The Switch Safely Promise

Managello has a guided importer: export your Teamwork projects and tasks to CSV and bring them across with a preview you approve and a one-click undo — or hand it to us and we'll run the migration for you. Keep Teamwork read-only while active work moves over.

You approve a preview

Nothing goes live until you have reviewed exactly what will be imported.

One-click undo

Changed your mind? Reverse the whole import in a single click.

If we can’t get your structure in, your next month is on us. How the Switch Safely Promise works →

Questions

Managello vs Teamwork — FAQ

Can Managello replace Teamwork?

For many agencies, yes — both cover projects, proofing, approvals and client collaboration. Teamwork is more mature in resource management and time-based billing; Managello adds self-hosting, a magic-link portal and flat pricing.

How is Managello different from Teamwork?

The biggest differences are ownership and pricing: Managello runs on your server with unlimited users at a flat price, where Teamwork is vendor-hosted and priced per user.

Does Managello do proofing like Teamwork Proofs?

Yes. Managello has native proofing with pin comments on images and PDFs, plus version comparison and approval records.

Can I import my Teamwork data?

Yes. Export your projects and tasks to CSV and use our guided importer — preview before anything goes live, with a one-click undo — or let us run the migration for you under the Switch Safely promise. Keep Teamwork read-only for history.

Is Managello cloud-hosted?

No — it is self-hosted on your own VPS. Teamwork is cloud-only.

Who should stay with Teamwork?

Agencies that want a proven vendor-hosted tool with deep resource management and are comfortable with per-user pricing.

See the difference yourself.

The fastest way to know if Managello fits your agency is to click around the live demo. Your server, your brand, unlimited users.

Try the live demo → See pricing

No credit card required.

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