monday.com is one of the most well-known work management platforms worldwide. As a "Work Operating System," it promises unlimited flexibility – customizable boards, custom columns, and automations for every use case.
However, for agencies, this flexibility can become a disadvantage. The universal approach means: Agencies must configure their PM solution themselves – through custom columns, formulas, and dashboards. In the end, this costs one thing above all: time.
If you work project-based and need to think economically, there's an alternative: awork.
In this article, we compare monday.com and awork from an agency perspective, showing you where the differences lie and which tool is truly worthwhile for whom.
The agency case in monday.com
[.toc-name]Limitations for agencies[.toc-name]
monday.com was developed for maximum adaptability. This makes it a powerful tool for different industries and use cases. However, agencies have specific requirements that follow clear logic: Projects have budgets. Teams have limited capacity. Time is tracked, billed, and must be profitable.
monday.com doesn't treat these requirements as standard, but as individual configuration needs:
Common Limitations for Agencies:
- Time tracking without budget connection: Hours are tracked, but the system doesn't automatically calculate against project time budgets. Budget status must be determined manually.
- Build budget logic yourself: Budget control isn't natively available. Custom columns, formulas, and dashboards must be configured for each project.
- Task-based instead of hour-based capacity planning: The system shows task assignments, not real availability. Working hours, part-time models, and absences aren't automatically considered.
- External collaboration via guest roles: Freelancers and clients can be invited as guests, which is often paid and restricts true collaboration.
- High setup and maintenance effort: Agencies report significant time investment for configuration and maintenance across multiple client projects.
The result: Agencies invest time in tool configuration instead of project management.
Why is awork a monday.com alternative?
[.toc-name]Agency requirements[.toc-name]
Project-based service providers have specific requirements for PM software:
- Economic transparency in real-time. Projects must be continuously monitored for budget status, margin trends, and profitability.
- Hour-based capacity planning. Planning must reflect real availability – including working hours, part-time models, absences, and calendar appointments.
- Integrated time tracking. Tracked time must be automatically linked to project budgets and distinguish between billable and internal time.
- Professional collaboration with external partners. Freelancers, partners, and clients must be able to work as equals on projects without exposing internal data.
- Agency logic without configuration effort. The basic structure – projects, budgets, time, capacity – must function without a setup phase.
awork was specifically developed for these requirements. It's suitable as a monday.com alternative when:
- ✅ Time is billed and must be managed economically
- ✅ Budgets must be strictly maintained
- ✅ Utilization is actively planned and monitored
- ✅ Projects must be run profitably
- ✅ Low configuration effort is desired
Feature comparison: monday.com vs. awork
[.toc-name]Features compared[.toc-name]
The following comparison focuses on agency-relevant features.
How does time tracking differ?
👉 monday.com:
monday.com offers a Time Tracking Column. Time can be tracked on tasks – manually or via timer.
Limitations:
- No automatic connection to project budgets
- Budget consumption must be modeled via custom columns and formulas
- Distinction between billable and internal time requires manual tagging
- Economic evaluations require custom dashboards
Example: A tracked time entry of 8 hours is registered. The question "How much project budget is still available?" is not automatically answered.
👉 awork:
In awork, time tracking is directly linked to project management. Time is booked to tasks and projects and automatically connected to budgets, progress, and utilization.
Functionality:
- Automatic calculation of budget consumption and remaining budget
- Native distinction between billable and internal time at project level
- Real-time overview of time consumption, budget status, and utilization
- No additional dashboards or exports required
Example: A time entry of 8 hours automatically shows: Project has 32 of 120 hours budget remaining. Utilization is at 85%. Hours are billable.
Difference: monday.com tracks time, while awork manages with time.
How does capacity planning differ?
👉 monday.com:
The Workload View visualizes capacity based on task assignments and manually set workload values.
Limitations:
- Capacity is based on tasks, not working hours
- Working hours, part-time models, and absences aren't natively considered
- No native connection to tracked time or project budgets
- Shows task volume, not real availability
Example: A person has 20 tasks assigned. System shows "Overloaded." In reality, the person works part-time and is absent next week – this information isn't integrated.
👉 awork:
awork plans capacity hour-based on real availability.
Considered factors:
- Individual working hours and part-time models
- Absences and vacation days
- Calendar appointments
- Planned project work
- Already tracked time
Utilization is directly linked to projects, budgets, and time.
Visible are:
- Available remaining capacity in hours
- Realistic utilization situation
- Impact on project margins
Example: When assigning a project, it displays: "Person has 12 available hours remaining this week with 25h total capacity."
[.b-button-primary] Curious? Try awork for free! [.b-button-primary]
Difference: monday.com shows task workload, while awork shows real availability in hours.
How do AI features differ?
👉 monday.com:
monday.com's AI focuses on workflow automation and productivity.
Features:
- Automatic updates and summaries
- Text generation
- Board optimizations
- Automation suggestions
The AI works with board, item, and communication data. Since time budgets and utilization logic aren't natively available, this data can't be used for economic project management.
👉 awork:
awork AI is designed for economic project management and has access to integrated agency data:
Data basis:
- Projects and tasks
- Tracked time
- Project and time budgets
- Real availability and utilization
- Calendar and absence data
Use cases:
- Resource recommendations based on real capacity
- Project planning considering utilization and time budgets
- Automatic insights on project utilization and team availability
Difference: monday.com AI optimizes workflows, while awork AI optimizes project management.
How does working with external partners differ?
👉 monday.com:
monday.com offers guest roles for external access to selected boards.
Functionality:
- External partners work within the agency workspace with restricted rights
- Guest roles can be paid depending on the plan
- Suitable for feedback and insights, not for operational collaboration with time tracking and budget responsibility
- Asymmetric collaboration: External partners are visitors, not equal project partners
👉 awork:
awork uses a cross-workspace project sharing model.
Functionality:
- Projects are shared between separate workspaces
- Each party works in their own workspace
- Collaboration happens at project level
- Internal data remains completely private
Advantages:
- Equal collaboration across organizational boundaries
- Precise permissions: shared project work with private internal information
- No additional license costs for external partners
- Professional project communication without email fragmentation
[.b-button-primary] Curious? Try awork for free! [.b-button-primary]
Difference: monday.com invites external partners as guests, while awork connects organizations through shared projects.
Data privacy and support comparison
[.toc-name]Services compared[.toc-name]
👉 monday.com:
- Server locations in USA & EU
- Data Residency (EU hosting) only in Enterprise plan
- GDPR-compliant through standard contractual clauses
- Support primarily in English
👉 awork:
- Server locations exclusively in Germany (Frankfurt)
- GDPR-native architecture, developed and operated in the EU
- ISO 27001 certified
- EU hosting included in all plans
- Support in German, even in Standard plan
- Specialized onboarding and consulting services for agencies
For agencies with public sector clients or strict data privacy requirements, awork is the more cost-effective solution – EU data privacy is already included in the base plans.
Conclusion: monday.com or awork
[.toc-name]Conclusion: monday.com vs. awork[.toc-name]
monday.com is a powerful, highly flexible work management system for various industries and use cases.
For agencies, the following limitations arise:
- No native agency logic (time → budget → utilization → profitability)
- Time tracking available but not economically integrated
- Budgets and profitability must be manually modeled
- Capacity planning based on tasks, not real availability
- High setup and maintenance effort
- EU hosting only in Enterprise plan
awork was specifically developed for agencies and delivers:
- Native time tracking with budget integration
- Hour-based capacity planning based on real availability
- Economic project management in real-time
- Agency logic without configuration effort
- Germany hosting in all plans
- Free external collaboration
The decision:
monday.com is suitable for organizations that need maximum flexibility and have resources for configuration. awork is better suited for agencies that work project-based and need to manage economically.
[.b-button-primary] Curious? Try awork for free! [.b-button-primary]
