Worklenz vs Teamwork: Which Is Better for Agencies in 2026?
Worklenz vs Teamwork is a particularly interesting comparison because both tools target the same audience: agencies and client-service businesses. Both include time tracking, invoicing, resource management, and client portals. The real difference is cost and openness — Teamwork charges per seat with advanced profitability features at higher tiers, while Worklenz is free and open source (AGPL-3.0).
If you’re evaluating both, here’s what actually matters.
Quick Comparison: Worklenz vs Teamwork
| Feature | Worklenz | Teamwork |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free (up to 3 projects); from $9.99/user/mo | Free up to 5 users; from $10.99/user/mo |
| Open Source | ✅ Yes (AGPL-3.0) | ❌ No |
| Self-Hosting | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Time Tracking | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Built-in |
| Resource Management | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Deliver tier ($19.99/user/mo) |
| Client Portal | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Billing & Invoicing | ✅ Built-in | ✅ Built-in (Grow tier for full suite) |
| Profitability Reports | ⚠️ Basic | ✅ Advanced (Grow tier) |
| Best For | Agencies wanting free, open-source PM with billing | Agencies needing advanced profitability tracking |
Pricing Deep Dive
Teamwork pricing:
- Free: Up to 5 users, 2 projects only — barely useful
- Starter: $10.99/user/month — unlimited projects, basic time tracking
- Deliver: $19.99/user/month — advanced time tracking, budgets, resource scheduling
- Grow: $54.99/user/month — full billing, profitability reports, advanced features
A 10-person agency on Teamwork Deliver pays $199.90/month ($2,399/year). To get the full billing and profitability suite, Grow costs $549.90/month ($6,599/year).
Worklenz: Free cloud plan includes unlimited users and up to 3 active projects. Paid plans start at $9.99/user/month with unlimited projects. Self-hosted Community edition is free with unlimited users; Business ($99/month) and Enterprise ($499/month) self-hosted plans add SSO, plugin marketplace, and priority support.
Feature-by-Feature Breakdown
Task & Project Management
Teamwork offers comprehensive task management — tasks, subtasks, dependencies, milestones, task lists, custom fields, and multiple views (board, list, Gantt, table). It’s purpose-built for agencies and shows in the feature depth.
Worklenz covers the core agency PM needs: tasks, subtasks, priorities, labels, dependencies, board/list/timeline views. It’s slightly less feature-rich than Teamwork’s task layer but covers 90% of agency workflows.
Both are genuinely strong for task management. Teamwork has a deeper feature set; Worklenz is faster to learn.
Time Tracking
Teamwork has solid built-in time tracking — timers, manual entry, time approval workflows, and time reports. Available from the Starter tier.
Worklenz also has built-in time tracking — timers, manual entry, per-task logs, and analytics. Available on the free plan.
Both tools handle time tracking well. This is a draw.
Resource Management
Teamwork resource scheduling (Deliver tier, $19.99/user/month) shows team capacity and lets you assign resources to tasks with workload visibility.
Worklenz team utilisation is available on the free plan. It shows real-time workload distribution across all projects.
Teamwork’s resource management is more sophisticated (schedule-based allocation); Worklenz is more accessible (free and simpler to read at a glance).
Billing & Invoicing
Both tools include billing and invoicing — this is no longer a differentiator.
Teamwork’s billing suite (Grow tier, $54.99/user/month) is more mature: rate cards per team member, billable time approval workflows, profitability reports comparing estimated vs. actual hours, and integrated invoicing. This is a genuinely powerful financial management layer for agencies tracking margins.
Worklenz includes invoice generation and billing natively, with financial insights and profitability tracking. It covers the core billing workflow at a fraction of Teamwork’s cost.
If advanced profitability reporting and rate-card management are central to your agency operations, Teamwork Grow has a depth advantage. For agencies that need solid invoicing without the $549/month price tag, Worklenz delivers it.
Client Portal
Teamwork Client Portal allows clients to view project progress, approve deliverables, and communicate with the team. It’s polished and purpose-built for agency-client relationships.
Worklenz Client Portal gives clients a read-only view of project status and tasks. It’s functional but less feature-rich than Teamwork’s offering.
Reporting
Teamwork offers profitability reports, utilisation reports, time reports, and project health dashboards. This depth of reporting is one of its strongest selling points for agencies tracking margins.
Worklenz analytics covers task completion, time spent, and team utilisation. Sufficient for delivery tracking, but lacks the financial reporting Teamwork provides.
Who Should Choose Worklenz?
- Agencies on a budget — free plan covers up to 3 projects; paid plans far cheaper than Teamwork
- Open source advocates who want to self-host or inspect the code (AGPL-3.0)
- Smaller agencies (under 15 people) where Teamwork’s per-seat pricing scales quickly
- Teams wanting built-in invoicing without enterprise pricing — Worklenz includes it natively
- Data-sensitive agencies that need self-hosting for GDPR or client data agreements
Who Should Choose Teamwork?
- Agencies needing advanced profitability reporting — Teamwork Grow’s rate cards and margin analytics are best-in-class
- Mid-to-large agencies that need Teamwork’s schedule-based resource management
- Teams needing polished client approval workflows — Teamwork’s client portal supports deliverable approvals
- Agencies already invested in Teamwork with established templates and processes
Migrating from Teamwork to Worklenz
- Export from Teamwork — Site settings → Export → Projects CSV export
- Create Worklenz workspace — free at worklenz.com
- Recreate project structure — Teamwork Projects → Worklenz Projects; Task Lists → task groups
- Import open tasks — use CSV import for active tasks
- Set up time tracking — immediately available on the free plan
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Worklenz specifically built for agencies like Teamwork?
Yes — both tools target agency workflows. Worklenz includes time tracking, invoicing and billing, team utilisation, client portals, and multi-project management. The main differences are price (Worklenz has a free tier; Teamwork is per-seat) and depth of financial reporting (Teamwork Grow has more advanced profitability analytics).
Does Worklenz have invoicing and billing?
Yes. Worklenz includes native invoice generation and billing. For advanced features like rate cards per team member, billable time approval workflows, and detailed profitability reports, Teamwork Grow has a more mature suite — but at $54.99/user/month.
Is Teamwork worth the price over Worklenz?
If advanced profitability reporting and rate-card management are central to how your agency tracks margins, Teamwork Grow’s financial features justify the cost. For agencies that need solid PM, time tracking, and invoicing without the $549/month price tag, Worklenz covers the core workflow.
How many projects can I manage on Worklenz free?
The Worklenz free cloud plan supports unlimited users and up to 3 active projects. For agencies managing more than 3 simultaneous client projects, paid plans start at $9.99/user/month with unlimited projects.
Final Verdict
Worklenz and Teamwork both target agencies with overlapping feature sets — time tracking, invoicing, resource management, and client portals. The key differences are price and financial reporting depth.
Teamwork wins on advanced profitability reporting (rate cards, margin analytics, billable approval workflows) and polished client approval workflows. Worklenz wins on cost — free for up to 3 projects, significantly cheaper at scale — and is the only option if self-hosting or open source is required.
For most growing agencies, Worklenz covers the full delivery workflow at a fraction of Teamwork’s cost. For agencies where margin tracking per project is mission-critical, Teamwork Grow’s financial reporting is worth evaluating.