A ClickUp alternative for creative studios
ClickUp can be set up to manage almost any kind of work. OIO is built for one kind: a small creative studio doing client projects with a few freelancers. Tasks, files, the client and the invoice sit on the same project, and there is less to set up because there is less to configure. If you run a studio of two to eight people and spend more time maintaining ClickUp than working in it, this is the comparison.
What ClickUp is good at
ClickUp does a lot, and most of it well. Tasks have custom fields, dependencies and more views than most teams will use, from lists and boards to calendars and Gantt charts. Docs, whiteboards, forms, chat and time tracking are built in, automations move work along on their own, and the free plan takes unlimited members. If your team runs many processes in one place and has someone who likes setting them up, it is hard to beat.
Where it gets heavy for a small studio
- It does not invoice. Its pricing page lists no invoicing on any plan, so what a job is worth and what the client has paid live in another tool.
- Everything is configurable, so someone has to configure it. Spaces, folders, lists, statuses and custom fields are decisions a five-person studio makes once and then keeps maintaining.
- On paid plans a freelancer who edits work takes one of a limited number of guest seats, and still needs a ClickUp account. Only view-only guests are unlimited.
- The free plan is open on members and tight elsewhere: 60 MB of file storage, three whiteboards, and Gantt charts and chat only as trials, per its pricing page.
What OIO does instead
I have freelanced as a designer since 2014 and now run a remote team. For years a project lived in a task tool, a chat, a shared folder and an invoicing app, and none of them knew about the others. OIO puts them on one page.
OIO is project management for small studios. Each client job gets one project page with its tickets on a kanban or a timeline, the deadline, files, a whiteboard and team chat, and on paid plans recorded calls with transcripts. The budget, the hours and what has been paid sit on the same page.
A freelancer gets a link to a ticket. In a browser they read the brief and the feedback, upload the work and mark it done, with no account and no seat. The client gets a status link that shows where the project stands.
The quote and the invoice come from the same project, in any currency. Studio is $69 a month for five seats, and people who only view use no seat. The free plan covers 3 projects, no card.
Moving over does not have to happen in one go. OIO imports projects, clients and tickets from a CSV file, or you can start the next job in OIO and leave the finished ones where they are.
More on how a studio runs on it: project management for studios with remote freelancers.
When ClickUp is the better fit
- If you want rules that assign and move work on their own, ClickUp is the better fit. OIO has no automations.
- If you track time with a timer and bill from timesheets, ClickUp is the better fit. OIO keeps hours on each ticket but has no timer.
- If you need custom fields, task dependencies and many views of the same backlog, ClickUp is the better fit.
- If the whole company works in one tool, not only the studio, ClickUp is the better fit. OIO is built for small teams.
Feature by feature
| What you actually need | OIO | ClickUp |
|---|---|---|
| Tasks on a board and a timeline | ||
| Whiteboard and chat in the project | ||
| Quotes and invoices on the project | ||
| A freelancer works on a task without an account | ||
| Time tracking | ||
| Automations | ||
| A free plan |
Has it Partly, or a paid add-on Does not
ClickUp's column was checked against clickup.com/pricing on 15 October 2026. Prices are left out on purpose because they change. Sources: ClickUp pricing.
Questions
Is OIO a good ClickUp alternative for a creative studio?
For a studio of two to eight people doing client projects with freelancers, yes. Projects, tickets, files, the client and the invoice are in one place, and there is little to set up. If you rely on automations, a time tracker or custom fields across many teams, ClickUp does more there.
Does ClickUp do invoicing?
Not on any plan listed on its pricing page. Teams that use it for client work send invoices from a separate tool. OIO issues numbered quotes and invoices in any currency from the project, and tracks what is outstanding and what is paid.
Can freelancers work in OIO without a seat?
Yes. You send them a ticket link. They read the brief and the feedback, upload the work and mark it done in a browser, with no account. If they want to keep a history of their work, they can create a free account later.
Can I move my projects from ClickUp?
OIO imports projects, clients and tickets from a CSV file, and matches each column to a field you can change before the import. Comments, attachments and automations do not come across.
Try it against your own work
Free plan, no card. Set up in under a minute, and you can keep using ClickUp alongside it while you decide.
Start freeThe full feature table against the other work tools is on OIO vs ClickUp. Also: A Monday.com alternative for small studios. Every comparison is on one page.