What is ClickUp? Features, pricing and use in marketing

What is ClickUp? Definition, history and how it works

ClickUp is a cloud work management platform that combines tasks, documents, whiteboards, chat and an AI assistant in one app. Zeb Evans and Alex Yurkowski founded the company in 2017, and it is headquartered in San Diego. In September 2025 ClickUp announced it had passed $300 million in annual recurring revenue and more than 20 million users worldwide.

Updated: 17 October 20263 min read

Comparison of ClickUp and Asana project management tools for marketing teams — Source: ClickUp and Asana pricing pages

What is ClickUp?

ClickUp is a project and work management tool that aims to replace several separate apps with one workspace. Teams plan work in tasks and subtasks, write in collaborative docs, talk in built-in chat and ask ClickUp Brain, the AI assistant, to summarise or automate. The company describes its mission as maximising human productivity and positions the product against Asana, Trello, Monday.com and Notion. A free plan with unlimited tasks and unlimited members makes it popular with small agencies and startups.

ClickUp history and key facts

ClickUp grew from a side project into a company valued at $4 billion in about 4 years.

Year	Milestone
2017	Zeb Evans and Alex Yurkowski found ClickUp
2020	Series A of $35M in June; Series B of $100M in December at a valuation above $1B
2021	Series C of $400M in October at about $4B valuation, led by Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global
2023	ClickUp AI launches in February
2024	ClickUp AI renamed ClickUp Brain in January; ClickUp Chat unveiled in September
2025	$300M ARR and 20M+ users announced in September; ClickUp 4.0 redesign in November

ClickUp features

ClickUp features fall into 4 groups that cover planning, knowledge, communication and automation.

Tasks and views

Tasks in ClickUp are organised in a hierarchy of Workspace, Space, Folder, List and Task, with views such as List, Board, Calendar and Gantt. The same tasks can be shown as a Kanban board for one team and as a timeline for another.

Docs and whiteboards

Docs and whiteboards are collaborative spaces linked to tasks, used for briefs, wikis and brainstorming. Whiteboards arrived in 2022.

Chat

ClickUp Chat is a messaging layer inside the workspace that competes with Slack. Messages can be turned into tasks with one click.

ClickUp Brain

ClickUp Brain is the AI assistant that searches the workspace, writes updates and runs automations. The pricing page lists Brain as a paid add-on from $9 per user per month, while free workspaces get 500 AI credits to try it. According to the company, AI sales grew by more than 400% in the first part of 2025.

ClickUp in marketing and SEO teams

ClickUp works for marketing teams because one workspace can hold the content calendar, briefs, approvals and reporting tasks. In SEO projects I see it used in a few repeatable ways:

Content calendars with custom fields for keyword, search volume and status.
Brief templates that writers fill in Docs linked to each task.
Technical SEO backlogs with priorities from audits.
Recurring tasks for monthly reporting and link building outreach.

The structure fits well with a written SEO strategy: each pillar becomes a Folder, each cluster a List, and each article a task with a clear owner and deadline.

ClickUp vs Asana

Aspect	ClickUp	Asana
Positioning	All-in-one workspace	Focused work management
Built-in chat and docs	Yes	Limited
Free plan	Unlimited members and tasks	Personal plan for up to 2 users
Learning curve	Steeper, many settings	Gentler
Best for	Agencies and teams replacing several tools	Teams that want a simple, clean setup

Pro tip: Start with one Space and three statuses (To do, In progress, Done) before you add custom fields. Most ClickUp setups fail because teams copy a complex template on day one and nobody keeps it updated.

Frequently asked questions about ClickUp

Is ClickUp free?

Yes, ClickUp has a Free Forever plan with unlimited tasks and unlimited members, but limited storage and features. Paid plans and the ClickUp Brain AI add-on are billed per user per month.

Who founded ClickUp?

ClickUp was founded in 2017 by Zeb Evans, who is the CEO, and Alex Yurkowski, the CTO. The company is based in San Diego, California.

What is ClickUp Brain?

ClickUp Brain is the AI assistant built into ClickUp, launched as ClickUp AI in February 2023 and renamed in January 2024. It searches the workspace, writes summaries and automates tasks.

Is ClickUp better than Asana?

ClickUp suits teams that want tasks, docs and chat in one tool, while Asana suits teams that prefer a simpler, focused setup. The better choice depends on how many tools you want to replace.

Sources

ClickUp accelerating to $300 Million Annual Recurring Revenue, 400% Growth in AI Sales · Business Wire via MEA Tech Watch
Polish language support… still missing? Really? · ClickUp Feedback
ClickUp pricing · ClickUp
ClickUp · Wikipedia
Asana pricing · Asana
ClickUp company profile · Sacra

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