Worklenz vs Hive: Which Is Better for Agencies in 2026?
Worklenz vs Hive is a fairly close comparison - both are modern, flexible project management tools covering Gantt charts, Kanban boards, time tracking, and team collaboration. The differences show up mainly in pricing structure (Hive’s add-on model vs. Worklenz’s included features) and self-hosting.
Quick Comparison: Worklenz vs Hive
| Feature | Worklenz | Hive |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free (up to 3 projects); from $9.99/user/mo | Free (10 members); Starter $5/user/mo; Teams $12/user/mo |
| Resource/Timesheets | ✅ Included | ⚠️ Add-on, +$5/user/mo |
| Open Source | ✅ Yes (AGPL-3.0) | ❌ No |
| Self-Hosting | ✅ Yes | ❌ Cloud-only |
| Time Tracking | ✅ Built-in, all tiers | ✅ Built-in |
| Gantt Charts & Kanban | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Best For | Agencies wanting included resourcing | Teams comfortable building a custom add-on stack |
Pricing Deep Dive
Hive’s Starter plan runs $5/user/month (annual) and Teams at $12/user/month, both reasonably priced - but several features that matter for agencies (proofing, goals, timesheets, team resourcing, analytics, automation, external users) are each separate $5/user/month add-ons. Stack a few of these and the effective per-seat cost climbs well past the headline price. The free plan caps at 10 workspace members and 200MB storage.
Worklenz pricing:
- Cloud: Free plan - unlimited users, up to 3 active projects; Pro Small Teams from $9.99/user/month, Business Small Teams $14.99/user/month
- Self-hosted: Community edition free (unlimited users); Business ($99/mo) and Enterprise ($499/mo)
- Resourcing and time tracking included, not separate add-ons
If your agency needs resourcing and timesheets (most do), Hive’s add-on pricing can end up costing more per seat than it first appears.
Feature-by-Feature Breakdown
Task Management & Views
Hive offers genuinely flexible views - Gantt, Kanban, calendar, table - and a clean, modern interface. This is a real strength.
Worklenz offers a comparable set of views (boards, lists, Gantt-style timelines) with a similarly clean interface.
Winner: Tie, both are strong here.
Resource Management & Team Utilization
Hive’s team resourcing view is a paid add-on ($5/user/month extra) rather than included in the base plan.
Worklenz includes team-wide utilization views at every tier, including free and self-hosted.
Winner: Worklenz, for not requiring an add-on to see who’s overloaded.
Time Tracking
Both tools include time tracking in their base plans - a fair fight here.
Winner: Tie.
Add-on Costs vs. Included Features
Hive’s modular pricing means you pick and pay for exactly what you need - efficient if your needs are narrow, but costly if you need several add-ons (resourcing, timesheets, automation can each add $5/user/month).
Worklenz bundles resourcing, time tracking, and reporting into its base tiers without nickel-and-diming for core PM functionality.
Winner: Worklenz, for agencies that need several of these features together.
Self-Hosting & Data Control
Hive is cloud-only.
Worklenz is open source (AGPL-3.0) and self-hostable for free.
Winner: Worklenz.
Who Should Choose Worklenz?
- Agencies that need resourcing, time tracking, and reporting included, not stacked as add-ons
- Teams wanting predictable per-seat pricing
- Teams wanting open-source self-hosting
Who Should Choose Hive?
- Teams with narrow, specific needs who want to pay only for exactly those add-ons
- Teams that value Hive’s particular interface and view flexibility
- Organizations already comfortable with modular SaaS pricing
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hive’s free plan usable for an agency?
It caps at 10 members and 200MB storage - workable for a very small team, tight for anything growing.
How much does a fully-featured Hive setup actually cost?
Once you add resourcing, timesheets, and other relevant add-ons at $5/user/month each on top of the base Teams plan ($12/user/month), the effective cost per seat can exceed $20+/user/month - worth calculating before committing.
Does Worklenz charge extra for resource management?
No - resourcing and team utilization views are included in every Worklenz tier, including the free self-hosted Community edition.
Can I self-host Hive like Worklenz?
No - Hive is cloud-only. Worklenz offers a free, open-source self-hosted Community edition.
Final Verdict
Hive offers solid core project management with flexible views, but its add-on pricing model can make a fully-featured setup more expensive than it first appears. Worklenz bundles resourcing, time tracking, and reporting into its base pricing, making the total cost more predictable for agencies that need the full feature set.