ClickUp is a powerful all-in-one work app: tasks, docs, goals, and many views, highly configurable. Orbit is a simpler, CRM-first tool for one person, with a full GTD task system, contacts, deals, and a calendar, all free. If you want deep customization and can invest in setup, ClickUp fits. If you want less config, Orbit fits.
ClickUp is deep. It bundles tasks, docs, goals, whiteboards, dashboards, and more than a dozen views into one app, with automations and custom fields almost everywhere. For teams that want a single tool to shape around a complex process, that flexibility is the whole point.
The trade is setup time. Because it can do so much, getting it right takes configuration and upkeep, and that effort usually pays off most for a team with someone to own the workspace. If you want maximum power and are willing to build it, ClickUp is a serious platform. Check their site for current pricing and plan limits.
Side by side on tasks, setup, and the CRM layer.
| Orbit | ClickUp | |
|---|---|---|
| GTD lists (Inbox, Today, Next, Waiting, Someday) | Built in, ready to use | Build it with custom statuses and views |
| Unlimited tasks on the free plan | Free | Free tier caps some features, check their site |
| Tasks linked to contacts and deals | Only if you build a CRM in it | |
| Built-in CRM (contacts and pipeline) | 250 contacts and 1 pipeline free | A CRM template you configure, check their site |
| Setup effort | Low, ready out of the box | Higher, lots to configure |
| Calendar with drag-to-schedule | Calendar view, check their site | |
| Built-in email inbox | 100 emails/mo free, send and receive | Email via integrations, check their site |
| AI assistant | Hiro, with free monthly credits | Check their site |
| Free plan | $0 forever, no card | Free tier, check their site |
| Price | Free, or Pro $14/mo | Check their site for current pricing |
ClickUp gives you a blank, powerful canvas. Orbit gives you a finished workspace. If you enjoy shaping a tool around your exact process, ClickUp rewards that. If you would rather open an app and just start working, Orbit's GTD lists, pipeline, and contacts are there from the first login, with nothing to configure.
You can build a CRM inside ClickUp with templates and custom fields, but you are maintaining it. Orbit is a free CRM out of the box, with the tasks already tied to people. If your main need is a low-setup task management system that lives next to your contacts, Orbit gets you there faster.
ClickUp is a platform you configure. Orbit is a CRM that works the minute you open it.
It depends on your appetite for setup. ClickUp is a powerful, highly configurable work platform. Orbit is a simpler, CRM-first tool with a full GTD task system that works out of the box. If you want a CRM at the center and less config, Orbit is the lighter fit.
Generally yes. Orbit ships with GTD lists, a pipeline, contacts, a calendar, and an inbox ready to use, so there is little to configure. ClickUp is more powerful but usually needs setup and upkeep to shape it around your process. Check their site for current features.
Yes. Tasks, projects, and GTD lists are free on every Orbit plan, with no limit and no credit card. The free plan also includes up to 250 contacts, one pipeline, a calendar, notes, and 100 emails a month from a built-in inbox.
You can, with templates and custom fields, but you maintain it yourself. Orbit is a CRM out of the box, with contacts, a pipeline, and tasks already tied to people. That is the difference: configure a CRM in ClickUp, or start with one in Orbit.
Orbit is free forever with no credit card. Pro is $14 a month or $112 a year and adds two-way Google Calendar sync, the Chrome extension, unlimited contacts and pipelines, and more. AI credits are included free every month on every plan.
People running a business mostly alone: founders, consultants, freelancers, and small teams who want a CRM at the center without configuring a platform. If you want maximum customization and have time to set it up, ClickUp may fit better.
Create a free workspace in two minutes. Tasks, 250 contacts, and a pipeline, no setup, no card.
Free forever plan. No credit card. No spam.