Goplan

Full Review

Creating projects in Goplan is task-based and customizable. Tasks can be grouped into categories, and sub-tasks can be added to any task (or sub-task). I liked the quick task creator, which is at the side of any project homepage. With this it just takes a few seconds to create a task and put it into a category, without having to go into the detailed task window. If you do go to that window, you can assign the task to a person, set a due date, add comments, or add files.

Once a project is created, Goplan automatically makes a project homepage that allows for quick access to project activity, involved people, milestones, and time tracking. Like tasks, projects also support documents and discussion boards. And for the visually inclined, Goplan supports calendar views nicely summarizing projects.

Like many project management tools, Goplan has a central dashboard to tie in all features together. The dashboard on Goplan is marked by an activity timeline spanning all projects. Additional filters on the side allow users to see project by project activity, or links to access the projects directly. On the top header, there's a drop down menu that lets you access whichever project you want at any time.

A neat feature of Goplan are team status updates. On the bottom right corner, there's a button users can click to say what they're currently working on. All of these status updates can be viewed by clicking a button that's always there on the header, so it's easy to feel the pulse of your team at any time.

Goplan has three variations, titled Startup ($10/month), Professional ($35/month), and Unlimited ($80/month). Price varies more by number of active projects than users; Startup is the only variation that limits the number of users (at 5). Compared to Basecamp, Goplan is similarly priced.

I don't like that Goplan doesn't have great email support (neither does Basecamp to be fair), and that's a major stipulation for me. Granted, the only well done email integration I've seen is with Wrike, and that's significantly pricier. It's also frustrating that Goplan doesn't have a great introduction to their product. After creating an account, there is some guidance and tips, but nothing compared to the intuitive instructions Basecamp provides. I felt I was comfortable with Basecamp after 2 minutes, Goplan took closer to 20 minutes.

The Bottom Line

Overall, Goplan offers more flexibility than Basecamp. The folder creation is a key selling point, because it's very rare for projects not to be broken down into smaller parts. And the status update feature really grew on me. It's a great way to provide openness and transparency within the workplace, and could lead to something really great. Because of that, I'm going to recommend Goplan over most else what's out there. If you have the money, go for Wrike, but otherwise Goplan is the next best option.

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