Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Ably VS ClickUp

Compare Ably VS ClickUp and see what are their differences

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Ably logo Ably

The realtime platform that just works. We power more WebSocket connections than any other pub/sub platform, serving over 2 billion devices monthly.

ClickUp logo ClickUp

ClickUp's #1 rated productivity software is making more productive projects with a beautifully designed and intuitive platform.
  • Ably Ably homepage
    Ably homepage //
    2024-08-05

We help teams deliver resilient AI UX and high-performance live experiences that stay fast and in sync worldwide. We provide the global realtime layer for AI agents, chat, notifications, live dashboards, and collaboration - engineered to handle peak demand without self-managed infrastructure.

Teams like HubSpot and Intercom use Ably to avoid the cost and complexity of building and operating realtime systems, while still getting predictable performance at serious scale, handling 2T+ API operations per month. Ably’s Pub/Sub, Chat, and AI Transport products are unified by design, with developer-friendly APIs and SDKs that integrate across your stack.

  • ClickUp Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-13

Ably

Website
ably.com
$ Details
freemium
Release Date
2016 January
Startup details
Country
United Kingdom
Founder(s)
Matthew O'Riordan, Dr. Paddy Byers
Employees
50 - 99

Ably features and specs

  • Scalability
    Ably is designed to handle a massive number of concurrent connections and messages, making it scalable for both small and large applications.
  • Real-time Messaging
    Ably provides robust real-time messaging capabilities with low latency, supporting use-cases like live chat, gaming, and real-time data streaming.
  • Global Presence
    Ably has a globally distributed network, ensuring low latency and high availability for users around the world.
  • Advanced Features
    It offers advanced features such as message history, presence, and push notifications, which can enhance the functionality of real-time applications.
  • Security
    Ably includes built-in security features such as TLS encryption, token-based authentication, and private channels to ensure secure communication.
  • Extensive Documentation
    The service provides extensive and well-organized documentation, making it easier for developers to integrate and utilize its features.
  • SDKs and Libraries
    Ably offers a wide range of SDKs and libraries for different programming languages and platforms, easing the development process.
  • Reliable Delivery
    It ensures reliable message delivery with features like message queuing and message de-duplication.

Possible disadvantages of Ably

  • Complexity
    Due to its wide range of advanced features, the initial learning curve can be steep for new users.
  • Cost
    For large-scale applications or extensive use of advanced features, the costs can add up, making it potentially expensive.
  • Vendor Lock-in
    Relying heavily on Ably’s platform-specific features may result in vendor lock-in, making it challenging to switch to other services in the future.
  • Dependence on Internet Connection
    As a cloud-based service, Ably’s performance is highly dependent on the quality and reliability of the internet connection.
  • Third-party Integration
    While Ably offers various integration options, integrating certain third-party services may require additional custom development or may not be as seamless.

ClickUp features and specs

  • Flexible Task Management
    ClickUp offers a wide range of customization options for task management, including nested tasks, due dates, priorities, and custom fields.
  • All-in-One Solution
    Combining tasks, docs, goals, chat, and more into a single platform reduces the need for multiple tools, which can streamline workflows and reduce costs.
  • Integration Capabilities
    Supports numerous integrations with other tools like Slack, Google Drive, and Trello, allowing for seamless connectivity and data synchronization.
  • Scalability
    Suitable for teams of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises, and can scale as the organization grows.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    Intuitive design and user interface make it easier for new users to get up and running quickly.
  • Robust Free Tier
    Offers a comprehensive free tier that includes many of the platform’s key features, making it accessible for smaller teams and startups.

Possible disadvantages of ClickUp

  • Learning Curve
    Due to the vast array of features and options, new users may find it overwhelming and may require a significant time investment to master.
  • Performance Issues
    Some users report that the platform can slow down, especially when handling large projects or numerous tasks, which can affect productivity.
  • Complexity
    The sheer number of customization options and features can sometimes complicate simple workflows, requiring advanced planning to optimize use.
  • Notification Overload
    Users may receive a high volume of notifications, which can become distracting and reduce the effectiveness of the platform's communication features.
  • Inconsistent Updates
    Occasional updates can introduce new bugs or affect existing functionalities, causing disruptions in workflow.
  • Limited Offline Access
    While primarily designed for cloud use, it offers limited offline access, which can be a drawback for users in areas with inconsistent internet connectivity.

Analysis of Ably

Overall verdict

  • Ably is a reliable and efficient real-time messaging platform, well-suited for applications requiring high performance and scalability. It is generally well-regarded within the developer community for its ease of use and robust feature set.

Why this product is good

  • Features
    Ably provides a comprehensive suite of features such as pub/sub messaging, presence, and history.
  • Security
    It implements robust security practices including TLS encryption, token-based authentication, and private channels.
  • Integration
    Supports numerous protocols and provides SDKs for various programming languages, making it easy to integrate with different systems.
  • Reliability
    Ably offers high availability and low latency, ensuring messages are delivered in real-time.
  • Scalability
    The platform can handle millions of active connections and is designed for horizontal scaling.

Recommended for

  • developers building real-time applications like chat apps, dashboards, or multiplayer games
  • businesses in need of a scalable solution for live updates and notifications
  • teams looking for a platform with strong security and compliance credentials
  • organizations requiring integration with existing development workflows and tools

Analysis of ClickUp

Overall verdict

  • ClickUp is a strong option for individuals and teams looking for a robust, all-in-one project management and productivity tool. Its rich feature set and customization options make it a viable solution for those seeking efficiency and flexibility in managing projects.

Why this product is good

  • ClickUp is known for its versatility and comprehensive set of features designed to enhance productivity and streamline project management. It integrates task management, goal-setting, time tracking, and collaboration tools into a single platform. Its customizable interface allows users to tailor the experience to their specific needs, making it a popular choice for teams of various sizes and industries. Additionally, frequent updates and strong customer support contribute to its positive reputation.

Recommended for

    ClickUp is recommended for project managers, teams, and organizations of all sizes, especially those in fast-paced or complex industries that require detailed project tracking and collaboration. It's also suitable for remote teams, freelancers, and anyone looking to improve their organizational skills and productivity.

Ably videos

How to build a collaborative environment around your product

More videos:

  • Demo - How to build an avatar stack with Ably Spaces
  • Demo - Ably 101: Serverless WebSockets at scale

ClickUp videos

ClickUp 2.0: Features, Pricing & More (2019)

More videos:

  • Tutorial - A Clickup Tour, Pros and Cons, & How to Set It Up (Full ClickUp Review and Tutorial)
  • Review - ClickUp 1.0 Review: Features, Pricing & Opinions
  • Review - ClickUp 2021 Review: Is it still the best project management software? (YES!)
  • Review - Clickup Review for Project Management 2022 | Better than Monday.com & Asana?
  • Review - Monday.com vs ClickUp Review (Simple Breakdown in 2022)
  • Review - ClickUp v Monday | Project Management Software Head-to-Head
  • Tutorial - ClickUp Tutorial - How to use ClickUp for Beginners

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Ably and ClickUp)
Developer Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Project Management
0 0%
100% 100
Realtime Backend / API
100 100%
0% 0
Task Management
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Ably and ClickUp

Ably Reviews

We have no reviews of Ably yet.
Be the first one to post

ClickUp Reviews

  1. Been using ClickUp for years and it's still one of the few tools that scales with you as projects get more complex.

  2. Edi Malkovich
    Great product

    All-in-one tool. We use it for docs, project management, tasks, wiki and so on. Awesome product!

  3. Christopher Guillou
    · Working at CCG Communication / Photo ·
    Awesome, complete and exciting platform !

    Been using Clickup for 8 months now and can't imagine life/work without it ... Very complete and in constant improvement thanks to a great team.


6 Best Jira Alternatives | 25+ Personally Tested Apps (2026)
Team collaboration tools: In addition to assigning tasks and sharing projects and workspaces with others, ClickUp has some powerful collaboration tools for teams. One of my favorite collaboration tools is the whiteboard, which is particularly useful for remote teams. ClickUp allows you to drag and drop all parts of the elements and move them around. ClickUp offers a chat...
Best Database Diagram Tools – Free and Paid
ClickUp: A project management platform with powerful Whiteboard and Mind Map features for ERD creation. It offers templates, drag-and-drop entity mapping, and real-time collaboration—ideal for teams building complex data models alongside broader project workflows.
Source: blog.devart.com
20 Best Capacity Planning Software Tools
The platform's ClickUp Whiteboards feature facilitates collaborative capacity planning, allowing teams to visualize and discuss resource allocation strategies. ClickUp's extensive customization options enable organizations to tailor capacity planning processes to their specific needs.
Top 10 AI Assistants for Productivity Compared in 2025
ClickUp AI makes project management easier by creating tasks and giving updates. You can use ClickUp AI to keep your team on track and not miss anything. It works well with ClickUp’s project tools and can make summaries and reminders. But ClickUp AI works best if you already use ClickUp and may not work as well with other tools. For teams using ClickUp, this assistant helps...
Source: www.remio.ai
Top 10 Notion Alternatives for 2025 and Why Teams Are Choosing Ledger
ClickUp has everything—including the kitchen sink. It’s extremely customizable, but that power often comes at the expense of usability. Many teams report spending more time setting it up than actually using it.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, ClickUp should be more popular than Ably. It has been mentiond 119 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Ably mentions (26)

  • AWS us-east-1 outage: How Ably’s multi-region architecture held up
    During this week’s AWS us-east-1 outage, Ably maintained full service continuity with no customer impact. This was our multi-region architecture working exactly as designed; error rates were negligibly low and unchanged throughout. Any additional round trip latency was limited to 12ms, which is below the typical variance in any client-to-endpoint connection, and well below our 40–50ms global median; this is... - Source: dev.to / 11 months ago
  • Real-Time Sync Alternatives: Vaultrice vs. localStorage, DIY, Firebase, Pusher
    Services like Pusher and Ably are experts in real-time messaging. They provide robust APIs for pub/sub channels, allowing you to broadcast events to clients reliably. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • CometChat Alternatives – Comparing the Top 10 Competitors
    Ably is a real-time infrastructure platform that focuses on delivering low-latency, reliable messaging across global distributed systems. It's designed for developers building event-driven applications, including chat, but also supports broader use cases like live dashboards, GPS tracking, and collaborative tools. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Real-Time Authorization in a Chat Application with Permit.io and WebSockets
    For our web socket-based application, we’ll be using Next.js and Ably, a service that allows us to easily integrate and manage real-time capabilities in our apps powered by web socket. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Curiosity: Using Ably.io Realtime Messaging as a Lightweight Database
    Ably offers various solutions for developers, with their most popular being realtime messaging based on the pub/sub model. When you publish a message to a channel, all devices connected to that channel receive it instantly. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
View more

ClickUp mentions (119)

  • Freshworks Just Shipped an MCP Gateway Inside Its ITSM Platform. Here's What That Actually Changes.
    Model Context Protocol, for context, is the emerging standard for letting AI agents pull live data from external systems without custom integration code. Freshworks has implemented it as a native layer in Freddy AI, which means agents can now reach into Notion, ClickUp, Linear, Workday, Rippling, and the rest of the enterprise stack — not through brittle webhooks or bespoke connectors, but through a standardized... - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Luminary Week 1 - IWD Project
    Onboarded team members to our project channel on the project management tool being utilized - ClickUp. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Pocketbase – open-source realtime back end in 1 file
    It's meant to build apps with. If you want to build a knowledge base, sure. But why would you build a Knowledge Base when you can use Confluence, Notion, https://www.getoutline.com/, https://clickup.com/, etc that already exist? There's free self-hosted ones too. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • 🫱🏾‍🫲 Quality Experience: How to Introduce QA Practices to Your Organization
    Within your organization, set up a form using Google Forms, ClickUp, Shortcut, or any tool that your team already uses. Again, this form should be easily accessible when a bug is discovered. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • How AI Streamlines Product Management: Boosting Efficiency and Innovation
    Popular Tools: Asana, ClickUp, Motion (for AI scheduling and task automation). - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Ably and ClickUp, you can also consider the following products

Pusher - Pusher is a hosted API for quickly, easily and securely adding scalable realtime functionality via WebSockets to web and mobile apps.

Asana - Asana project management is an effort to re-imagine how we work together, through modern productivity software. Fast and versatile, Asana helps individuals and groups get more done.

Socket.io - Realtime application framework (Node.JS server)

monday.com - The most intuitive platform to manage projects and teamwork

PubNub - PubNub is a real-time messaging system for web and mobile apps that can handle API for all platforms and push messages to any device anywhere in the world in a fraction of a second without having to worry about proxies, firewalls or mobile drop-offs.

Basecamp - A simple and elegant project management system.