monday.COM Review: Is it actually the Monday morning of job management software?
- Tristan Mellett
- Jan 16
- 7 min read
Updated: Jan 16
In today’s fast-paced business environment, staying organized and managing projects effectively can feel like an uphill battle. Enter Monday.com, a versatile work operating system (Work OS) designed to help teams streamline workflows, improve collaboration, and track project progress. Whether you’re managing a small team or a large organization, Monday.com offers a highly customizable platform to suit your needs.
Launched in 2012, Monday.com has grown into one of the most popular project management tools, with features ranging from task tracking and resource allocation to integrations with popular apps like Slack, Zoom, and Google Drive. Known for its colorful and user-friendly interface, it aims to make work management less tedious and more intuitive.
When I first started exploring project management tools for my software development business, Monday.com quickly caught my attention. It was one of the first results on Google, and its colorful, intuitive interface showcased in Instagram videos made it look like the perfect fit for a startup like mine. At the time, we were looking for a tool to function as a task board—something where team members could add tasks, set due dates, and assign responsibilities seamlessly. As a startup, being effective and keeping costs lean were top priorities, and Monday.com seemed like it could check all the boxes.
However, it wasn’t long before I ran into challenges. The cost of seats was a significant hurdle right from the start. With a team of four, we were immediately placed in a pricing tier that stretched our budget. To make ends meet, we tried consulting with other businesses, but many of them wanted access to the boards we created for them. This required purchasing even more seats, and we found ourselves in a position where we were “biting the hand that was trying to feed us.”
Beyond the cost, the platform’s automation system, which was marketed as simple and efficient, actually resulted in more work for us. Achieving a single outcome often required running multiple automations because of its restrictive “if this and this – do this and this” functionality. Visualizing the flow of our processes was difficult, making it hard to optimize workflows. Additionally, we felt the lack of CRM integration was a missed opportunity. We simply wanted an easy portal for customers to create tickets, but this wasn’t a feature unless customers had full access to the board. To address this, we decided to conduct a review of Monday CRM, only to find it was essentially a carbon copy of Monday.com with added emphasis on monetization.
But lets be honest, we can all be very critical of software upfront and as I have quickly realised there is a learning curve to getting efficiency out of software. So I decided it was time to crack back into the mould and review Monday.
Key Details at a Glance
Name: Monday.com
Developer/Company: Monday.com Ltd.
Platform: Web-based with mobile and desktop applications available
Pricing: Subscription-based, with tiered plans depending on features and team size. Plans start at around $8 per seat per month (billed annually), but costs can increase significantly with team size and add-ons like Monday CRM.
Target Audience: Small to large businesses, project managers, and teams across industries looking for task and workflow management solutions.
Features and Functionality
Feature 1: Workspace Boards
One of the standout features of Monday.com is its workspace boards, which I found to be incredibly intuitive and versatile. Creating sections, molding tasks, and linking dependencies between tasks and workspaces was seamless, making project management straightforward. The ability to integrate plugins into individual boards is a particularly smart decision, as it allows businesses to incorporate bespoke platforms specific to certain projects or teams. While the automations could use improvement for more complex workflows, the simpler automation options are definitely beneficial for streamlining repetitive tasks.
Feature 2: Custom Widgets on Blank Space Boards
A feature that truly sets Monday.com apart is the customizable blank space boards, where you can add widgets tailored to your needs. These widgets are versatile, catering to both data-heavy displays and visually engaging infographics. This level of customization is rare in project management tools and makes Monday.com highly adaptable to different industries and teams.
Feature 3: Pricing and Add-Ons
One frustrating aspect of Monday.com is how quickly the costs add up, especially when you start exploring its more advanced tools. While the basic functionality is solid, it feels like you’re paying a premium for features that other platforms, like Asana, often include for free. Integrations and advanced tools, such as time tracking, are gated behind higher pricing tiers, creating a constant “pay more” experience. For startups and smaller businesses, this pricing structure can feel out of touch with the realities of tight budgets and limited resources.
we review the User Experience of monday.com
Interface
Visually, Monday.com is stunning, especially when you first start using it. The clean, uniform design and sleek aesthetic make a great first impression. However, as you begin to build out your boards, they can become cluttered quickly, which may impact usability. A strong point is the flexibility to choose different workspace styles, such as Kanban, Gantt charts, or task lists, to best suit your team’s needs. Unfortunately, the Home screen doesn’t share the same level of flexibility. Its lack of customization options makes it less effective as a central hub for managing your business, which detracts from an otherwise strong visual and functional experience.
Setup
The setup process for Monday.com had a bit of a learning curve, but the inclusion of templates made getting the business side of things up and running much faster. The templates are a great feature for quickly creating structured workflows, especially for startups looking to save time during onboarding. However, the process of managing access for employees or customers was less intuitive. For example, restricting access to specific sections of a board required creating additional boards and linking them with automations—an approach that felt time-consuming and unnecessarily complex.
Performance
Performance-wise, Monday.com was flawless. The platform ran smoothly, with no noticeable lag, crashes, or bugs during use. This reliability makes it an excellent option for larger organizations with the financial and human resources to fully utilize its advanced features.
Integrations
Monday.com offers a wide range of integrations, which are reasonably well-rounded for most business needs. For example, it supports tools like Google Workspace, but what we found lacking was a seamless plugin directly visible within Google applications. An AI-powered integration to quickly convert client requests or unusual tasks into board items would have been a game-changer. While its integration options are extensive, the inability to handle complex, real-world logic without significant manual adjustments limits its appeal for intricate workflows.
Collaboration
Monday.com proved effective in fostering collaboration within our team, but it fell short when it came to client communication. Many of our clients wanted access to the boards to track timelines and view available capacity, but the platform’s pricing structure made this a challenge. Granting clients access required additional seats, significantly increasing costs. Without an affordable, client-friendly access option, we found it difficult to effectively share project progress and manage expectations.
Customization
The lack of customization on Monday.com’s Home tab was a missed opportunity. For startups, where team members often wear multiple hats, the Home board could have been a powerful tool for organizing and directing workflows. Instead, it tended to dump all the data into one spot, making it harder to prioritize and focus on specific tasks or projects. Allowing more flexibility to customize the Home board—such as filtering or organizing information based on roles or workflows—would have made a significant difference.
Testing Scenario
To test Monday.com, we implemented it in our software development business, focusing on using it as a task board to organize projects, assign responsibilities, and track progress. We set up boards for our internal workflows and attempted to involve clients by creating project-specific boards they could access. The workspace boards themselves performed exceptionally well, offering intuitive tools for creating tasks, setting dependencies, and integrating plugins where needed.
However, challenges arose in managing access and automations. For example, giving clients limited access required workarounds like creating separate boards and linking them through automations, which added unnecessary complexity. While simpler automations were helpful, handling nuanced workflows required multiple steps and didn’t feel efficient. On the upside, the custom widgets in individual workspaces allowed us to highlight key metrics, making it easier to track KPIs for different teams.
Unexpectedly, we found that Monday.com’s performance and visual appeal were top-notch, making it ideal for larger organizations with the resources to maximize its potential. For our lean startup, though, the costs and access limitations were major barriers.
Comparisons
Compared to similar tools like Asana, Monday.com stands out for its visual design and customization options within individual boards. The blank space boards and widget system are features Asana doesn’t replicate as effectively. However, Asana offers a more generous free tier and simpler user access management, which is a significant advantage for startups and smaller teams.
Other platforms like Trello excel in their simplicity and affordability but lack the advanced functionality and scalability of Monday.com. Meanwhile, ClickUp offers a more comprehensive all-in-one solution with better pricing options, making it a strong competitor. Monday.com lags behind in its pricing structure and overly rigid automations, which feel less accommodating for businesses with complex, real-world workflows.
Who Should Use It?
Monday.com is best suited for medium to large organizations with the financial and human resources to fully leverage its features. Industries like marketing, product development, and event planning that require visually appealing dashboards and flexible task management would benefit most.
It’s less ideal for startups or small businesses due to the high costs of additional seats and limited user access flexibility. Companies looking for affordable, client-friendly collaboration or advanced CRM capabilities without additional subscriptions may find it challenging to justify the investment.
Final Verdict
Monday.com is a visually stunning and highly functional project management tool with standout features like customizable workspaces and a robust integration library. For larger organizations with sufficient resources, it can significantly improve workflow visibility and efficiency.
However, its high costs, limited client access options, and rigid automation system make it less ideal for startups or small teams with lean budgets. While its performance is excellent, it lacks the affordability and flexibility that smaller businesses often require.
Rating: 3.5/5
• Pros: Intuitive interface, customizable workspaces, great performance, wide integration options.
• Cons: High costs, limited client access, basic automation capabilities, lack of customization for the Home tab.
Call to Action
Have you tried Monday.com or a similar project management tool? What were your experiences? Let me know in the comments—whether it’s questions about features, comparisons, or your thoughts on the pricing structure.
If you’re exploring project management tools and need more recommendations, feel free to suggest other platforms for me to test and review. Let’s find the right solution for your needs together!
Have you utilized Monday? Did you Find it useful or complicated?
0%I've used it, but it was complicated.
0%I've used it, but found it useful.
0%I've never used it, but it looks great!
0%I've never used it, but looks overwhelming.
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