[CONTENT]
$
USD
Total Economic Impact
Cost Savings And Business Benefits Enabled By ClickUp
A FORRESTER TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY COMMISSIONED BY ClickUp, AUGUST 2025
Total Economic Impact
A FORRESTER TOTAL ECONOMIC IMPACT STUDY COMMISSIONED BY ClickUp, AUGUST 2025
Today’s digital workers spend the majority of their days looking for, reading information about, and seeking the status of the work they’re actually responsible for.1 This “work sprawl” — the inefficiency cause by scattered tools, siloed information, and disconnected teams — is driving down productivity and performance across organizations.
ClickUp is a converged work management solution that helps teams manage tasks, documents, communication, and workflows in a single, centralized AI workspace. The solution aims to eliminate work sprawl by consolidating work into a single interface for key work apps, ensuring the right context, knowledge, and data is available to users so that they can efficiently and effectively complete their work. This convergence enables ClickUp customers to enhance company-wide productivity, save time, reduce costs, and maximize profit from work activities.
ClickUp commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by deploying ClickUp.2 The purpose of this study is to provide readers with a framework to evaluate the potential financial impact of ClickUp on their organizations.
To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed five decision-makers across four organizations with experience using ClickUp. For the purposes of this study, Forrester aggregated the experiences of the interviewees and combined the results into a single composite organization, which is a $150 million organization with 1,000 employees.
Interviewees said that prior to using ClickUp, their organizations relied on a mix of disconnected tools like spreadsheets, email, and separate project management platforms. However, prior attempts to consolidate these yielded limited success and led to siloed business units, time-consuming processes, a lack of visibility, and limited scalability.
After the investment in ClickUp, the interviewees were able to deploy the platform across various business units to create a unified environment. Key results from the investment included increased productivity enabled by automation and AI, increased profit, and legacy project management solution cost savings.
Quantified benefits. Three-year, risk-adjusted present value (PV) quantified benefits for the composite organization include:
Saving 92,400 productive hours via automation and AI by Year 3. The composite displaces prior point solutions and processes with ClickUp. It deploys ClickUp across three business units in Year 1, scaling up to five by the end of Year 3; this accounts for 60% of the organization. On average, ClickUp saves the composite 8 hours per employee per month in Year 1, 10 hours per employee per month in Year 2, and 12 hours per employee per month by the end of Year 3. Over the course of three years, the increased productivity enabled by automation and AI is worth $2.8 million to the composite organization.
Increasing the profit enabled by ClickUp across five departments. Employees who adopt ClickUp reallocate their time savings to other value-added, revenue-driving projects and activities. The composite deploys the platform across three departments in Year 1, four departments in Year 2, and five departments in Year 3 and generates an average of $300,000 in annual revenue per department per year. Over the course of three years, the increased profit enabled by ClickUp is worth $313,000 to the composite organization.
Reducing legacy solution costs by 60% by Year 3. As ClickUp adoption expands across different departments, legacy project management point solutions are displaced, resulting in a 40% reduction in licensing and admin costs in Year 1, a 50% reduction in Year 2, and a 60% reduction in Year 3. Over the course of three years, the cost savings from retiring the legacy project management solution are worth $114,000 to the composite organization.
Unquantified benefits. Benefits that provide value for the composite organization but are not quantified for this study include:
Improved client satisfaction (CSAT). ClickUp improves CSAT by streamlining customer support workflows, enabling faster response times and better issue tracking through customizable dashboards and automation. The platform’s collaborative features ensure teams stay aligned, reducing errors and enhancing the overall customer experience.
Improved employee satisfaction. ClickUp improves the employee experience by centralizing tasks, communication, and goals in one platform. The platform’s customizable AI-powered workflows and real-time collaboration tools empower teams to work more efficiently and feel more in control of their day-to-day responsibilities.
Single source of truth. ClickUp serves as a single source of truth by consolidating tasks, documents, goals, and communication into one unified platform, eliminating the need to switch between multiple tools. With real-time updates, version control, and centralized knowledge management, the AI features have more contextual data and teams can access accurate, up-to-date information, ensuring alignment and reducing miscommunication.
Costs. Three-year, risk-adjusted PV costs for the composite organization include:
ClickUp licensing costs. ClickUp licensing costs are primarily based on the number of users, the selected plan tier (e.g., Unlimited, Business, Enterprise), and optional add-ons like AI. Over the course of three years, ClickUp licensing costs the composite organization approximately $512,000.
Implementation, training, and change management costs. Implementation costs include a 90-day proof of concept involving select project managers; this is followed by a full deployment and ongoing change management that spans up to two years across business units. Training includes homegrown videos, documentation, quizzes, and biweekly Q&A sessions, while change management requires departmental champions to drive adoption and address governance challenges. Over the course of three years, implementation, deployment, and initial training cost the composite organization approximately $137,000.
Ongoing management costs. Ongoing management requirements for ClickUp involve regular administrative tasks, such as auditing user permissions, maintaining wiki sites within ClickUp, and consolidating information previously stored in siloed platforms. Over the course of three years, this ongoing management costs the composite organization approximately $17,000.
The financial analysis that is based on the interviews found that a composite organization experiences benefits of $3.2 million over three years versus costs of $666,000, adding up to a net present value (NPV) of $2.6 million and an ROI of 384%.
Total productive hours saved with ClickUp by Year 3
Return on investment (ROI)
Benefits PV
Net present value (NPV)
Payback
| Role | Industry | Region | Organization size/revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director, technology advisory Senior production manager |
Professional services | HQ in US, global operations | 2,000 employees $450 million |
| Director of project management | Engineering | HQ in US, global operations | 1,000 employees $158 million |
| Senior IT administrator | Crowdfunding | HQ in US, global operations | 850 employees $179 million |
| CTO and managing director | Gaming | HQ in Malta, global operations | 200 employees $26.9 million |
Before adopting ClickUp, interviewees highlighted how their organizations relied on a mix of disconnected tools like spreadsheets, email, and separate project management platforms. Interviewees noted how their organizations struggled with common challenges, including:
Inefficiencies from disparate tools and siloed environments. Before adopting ClickUp, teams juggled a variety of disconnected tools across different business units. This fragmentation created inconsistent workflows and made it difficult for teams to collaborate effectively. The lack of integration between platforms forced employees to manually transfer information, increasing the risk of errors and consuming valuable time; it also added complexity to IT support and onboarding processes. The CTO and managing director at a gaming organization discussed how ClickUp unified their environment: “Every team was working independently in their own [point solution] space. The sales team was working in their tools. Engineering was working in a complex [point solution] setup. The business and legal teams were working in their workflow tools. Everybody was kind of siloed. And that’s what I love about ClickUp actually — that the whole business can be on it in a unified approach.”
Lack of visibility across teams. Managers struggled to gain a clear view of task ownership and progress due to the absence of a centralized system. Updates were often shared verbally or scattered across emails and chats, leading to delays, miscommunication, and missed deadlines. Without real-time dashboards or unified task views, leadership found it challenging to make timely, informed decisions. The director of technology advisory at a professional services organization described the impact of not having clear visibility on their team prior to ClickUp: “It was truly a lack of a system that caused issues. That lack of clarity, inability to see — it was like looking in the mud just to see what needed to be done and who needed to do it.”
Time-consuming manual processes. Task creation, updates, and tracking were largely manual, requiring employees to spend significant time on administrative work. Notifications and follow-ups were handled through email or chat, which disrupted focus and reduced productivity. Reporting on task progress or performance metrics involved compiling data from multiple sources, often in spreadsheets, making the process inefficient and prone to errors. The senior production manager at a professional services organization discussed how ClickUp enabled significant time savings for one of their employees on a project that typically would take approximately one week per month to complete: “A team member was spending up to 40 hours each month manually building a content calendar and sharing it with partners. After transitioning the process to ClickUp, the same calendar was recreated in just 5 hours using tags and filters to automate updates. Now, the calendar is easily maintained and shared, saving significant time and improving efficiency.”
Limited scalability to support growing organizations. As organizations scaled, their legacy tools and processes failed to keep up with the increasing volume and complexity of projects. Project managers had to manually track tasks and submittals, often competing for access to shared files, which slowed down operations. The inefficiencies of outdated systems became more pronounced under growing workloads, limiting the ability to expand and straining internal resources. The director of project management at an engineering organization discussed their needs for a more agile platform: “Prior to ClickUp, our project management methods were rudimentary and old school with electronic paper. So, when we were looking at a platform, we needed something that could scale up or down based on the needs of the projects fairly quickly. ClickUp was the right solution for this.”
The interviewees searched for a solution that could provide:
Unified workflows across departments.
Customizable views and templates.
AI capabilities, such as task summarization and automation.
Integration with other tools, such as communication, email, and marketing tools.
Centralized documentation and dashboards.
Based on the interviews, Forrester constructed a TEI framework, a composite company, and an ROI analysis that illustrates the areas financially affected. The composite organization is representative of the interviewees’ organizations, and it is used to present the aggregate financial analysis in the next section. The composite organization has the following characteristics:
Description of composite. The composite is a global organization headquartered in the US with $150 million in annual revenue and 1,000 employees. It has a fragmented, siloed environment with disjointed tools, manual workflows, and limited visibility. The composite seeks a solution equipped with AI to unify tools and workflows, enhancing cross-functional collaboration across the organization.
Deployment characteristics. The composite fully deploys ClickUp across the organization, resulting in adoption rates for ClickUp of 40% in Year 1, 50% in Year 2, and 60% in Year 3. As ClickUp is adopted, the composite reduces the need for other point solutions and retires subscriptions and licensing for these.
$150 million in annual revenue
1,000 employees
60% adoption of ClickUp by Year 3
Five departments deploy ClickUp by Year 3
| Ref. | Benefit | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atr | Increased productivity enabled by automation and AI | $718,080 | $1,122,000 | $1,615,680 | $3,455,760 | $2,793,957 |
| Btr | Increased profit enabled by ClickUp | $89,100 | $118,800 | $178,200 | $386,100 | $313,066 |
| Ctr | Retired legacy project management solution cost savings | $37,296 | $46,620 | $55,944 | $139,860 | $114,466 |
| Total benefits (risk-adjusted) | $844,476 | $1,287,420 | $1,849,824 | $3,981,720 | $3,221,489 |
Evidence and data. Interviewees highlighted how ClickUp boosts productivity by automating routine tasks, such as task creation, updates, and notifications, significantly reducing the time teams spend on manual work. AI features like automatic standup summaries, enterprise search, and suggested actions help employees quickly access and act on relevant information. Interviewees discussed how these capabilities streamline workflows, minimize context switching, and allow teams to focus more on high-value work.
The CTO and managing director at a gaming organization discussed the impact of automating micro communications with ClickUp on cumulative labor savings. They said: “All of this micro communication around things that you’ve done is removed instantly if you do it right, and that is extremely valuable. And sometimes you’re saving seconds, but you’re saving multiple seconds or multiple minutes on every single action that happens in the organization every day. Cumulatively, for an organization of 200, that saves tens of thousands a month on costs.”
The director of project management at an engineering organization discussed how ClickUp enabled better prioritization across projects, which resulted in time savings for employees. “We are saving people several hours a month in being able to quickly find and understand what is being done on a project, what needs to be a priority, what needs to be a secondary priority, and being able to quickly collaborate on issues and tasks directly.”
The senior IT administrator at a crowdfunding organization discussed the impact of ClickUp’s AI capabilities to automatically notify employees whenever there is a project status update: “Our risk and compliance team heavily uses AI and automations. It allows them to get more projects done where they set up a task and then the task automatically notifies them in our messenger app.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The composite organization deploys ClickUp across five departments over three years, resulting in adoption rates of 40% in Year 1, 50% in Year 2, and 60% in Year 3.
On average, employees who adopt ClickUp save 8 hours per month in Year 1, 10 hours in Year 2, and 12 hours in Year 3. Time savings scale across the years to reflect further efficiencies gained from continued use and experience with the platform and AI capabilities that further automate and enhance employee productivity.
A 50% productivity recapture rate adjusts the total time saved for full-time employees to only count the time that is actually used to drive value, such as completing more work (and thus avoiding more hires), reducing costs, or driving revenue. Not all productivity or time savings add complete or partial value to the business.
The average fully burdened hourly rate for a full-time employee is $44.
Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The impact of this benefit will vary depending on:
ClickUp adoption rates across the organization.
The average number of hours saved per employee per month, which will vary by use case.
The average fully burdened hourly rate for a full-time employee.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 15%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $2.8 million.
Average number of hours saved with ClickUp per employee per month by Year 3
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Employees | Composite | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | |
| A2 | ClickUp adoption rate | Composite | 40% | 50% | 60% | |
| A3 | Average number of hours saved with ClickUp per employee per month | Interviews | 8 | 10 | 12 | |
| A4 | Productivity recapture | TEI methodology | 50% | 50% | 50% | |
| A5 | Subtotal: Total number of productive hours saved with ClickUp per year | A1*A2*A3*A4*12 | 19,200 | 30,000 | 43,200 | |
| A6 | Average fully burdened hourly rate for a full-time employee | Composite | $44 | $44 | $44 | |
| At | Increased productivity enabled by automation and AI | A5*A6 | $844,800 | $1,320,000 | $1,900,800 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓15% | |||||
| Atr | Increased productivity enabled by automation and AI (risk-adjusted) | $718,080 | $1,122,000 | $1,615,680 | ||
| Three-year total: $3,455,760 | Three-year present value: $2,793,957 | |||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees highlighted the impact of ClickUp on profit by reducing the time employees spend on manual tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-value work that drives revenue. By automating workflows and leveraging AI for reporting, task management, and communication, interviewees noted how their teams can deliver more output with fewer resources. This efficiency allowed their organizations to scale operations without proportionally increasing costs. Interviewees discussed a variety of projects that they have been able to support and increase with ClickUp, including marketing campaigns, construction administration, software development, client service delivery, and game production.
The CTO and managing director at gaming organization discussed the impact that ClickUp has had on producing more games per year, which directly contributes to revenue. “Before ClickUp, we were producing just 12 games annually. Today, that number has skyrocketed to 84 games per year, a 7x increase in output. This transformation was made possible by ClickUp’s ability to unify workflows across departments like engineering, legal, and creative, enabling seamless collaboration and eliminating bottlenecks.”
The senior production manager at a professional services organization discussed how ClickUp enabled their team to double their output on marketing tasks. “We now manage approximately 500 marketing operations tasks per month that contribute to projects like webinars, proposals, and marketing campaigns. Without ClickUp, we would only be able to handle about half that workload, so things would either be delayed or deprioritized.”
The director of technology advisory at a professional services organization discussed how ClickUp enabled their staff to better meet the first tax deadline for clients. “Instead of something taking 6 hours, now we’re doing it in 3 hours. So, we’re more efficient, and it allows us to move on to different work, be it more advisory-level work. It allows us to take on more clients. It allows for growth and training. We’ve saved that time … to us, that is saving a fee as well because we’re able to get in more revenue while limiting the dollars per hour we spent on that account.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
ClickUp is fully deployed across three departments in Year 1, four in Year 2, and five in Year 3.
On average, ClickUp enables the composite to generate three new projects in Year 1, four in Year 2, and six in Year 3, each generating $300,000 per project, as efficiencies gained with the platform are used for other value-added projects and activities. These include but are not limited to marketing campaigns, client acquisition, and product development.
The profit margin is 11%.
Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The impact of this benefit will vary depending on:
The number of departments deploying ClickUp and their direct impact on revenue.
The profit margin, which varies by industry.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $313,000.
Total increased revenue enabled by ClickUp by Year 3
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | New projects generated by departments fully deploying ClickUp | Composite | 3 | 4 | 6 | |
| B2 | Average revenue increase per department enabled by ClickUp | Interviews | $300,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 | |
| B3 | Increased revenue enabled by ClickUp | B1*B2 | $900,000 | $1,200,000 | $1,800,000 | |
| B4 | Profit margin | TEI methodology | 11% | 11% | 11% | |
| Bt | Increased profit enabled by ClickUp | B3*B4 | $99,000 | $132,000 | $198,000 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓10% | |||||
| Btr | Increased profit enabled by ClickUp (risk-adjusted) | $89,100 | $118,800 | $178,200 | ||
| Three-year total: $386,100 | Three-year present value: $313,066 | |||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees discussed how they were able to retire legacy project management point solutions as a result of deploying ClickUp, given its ability to consolidate project management, documentation, and collaboration into a single platform. This streamlining reduced licensing and software management costs and removed the inefficiencies of managing disconnected systems. Interviewees highlighted how ClickUp’s customizable workflows, embedded integrations, and automation features allowed their teams to centralize operations without sacrificing flexibility or functionality.
The CTO and managing director at a gaming organization commented: “We decommissioned three different point solutions months ago and all these little tools that were hanging around. They’re all gone. I think we are now at over €100,000 a year in savings.”
The senior IT administrator at a crowdfunding organization discussed the labor savings associated with managing fewer applications as point solutions and applications are retired: “We are saving IT admin time by not having to manage other, separate applications that do the same thing. I’d estimate we are saving about 10 hours per month.”
The director of project management at an engineering organization described how their organization retired a legacy point solution after implementing ClickUp: “Yes. We have removed one point solution entirely, which we were paying around $50,000 for annually.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
Prior to ClickUp, the composite spends $100,000 on project management point solutions.
With ClickUp, the composite retires 40% of legacy solution costs in Year 1, 50% in Year 2, and 60% in Year 3.
IT admins spend 10 hours per month, or 120 hours per year, on project management point solutions (not including ClickUp).
The average fully burdened hourly rate for an IT admin is $60.
Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The impact of this benefit will vary depending on:
Legacy solution licensing costs.
The percentage of legacy solutions displaced by ClickUp.
IT admin hours spent managing project management solutions.
The fully burdened hourly rate for an IT admin.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $114,000.
Percentage of legacy project management solutions retired by Year 3 due to ClickUp adoption
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | Project management solution spend in prior environment | Interviews | $100,000 | $100,000 | $100,000 | |
| C2 | Percentage of legacy project management solution costs retired with ClickUp adoption | Composite | 40% | 50% | 60% | |
| C3 | Subtotal: Retired project management solution cost savings | C1*C2 | $40,000 | $50,000 | $60,000 | |
| C4 | IT admin hours spent managing legacy project management solutions | Interviews | 120 | 120 | 120 | |
| C5 | Fully burdened hourly rate for an IT admin | Composite | $60 | $60 | $60 | |
| C6 | Productivity recapture | TEI methodology | 50% | 50% | 50% | |
| C7 | Subtotal: IT admin labor savings per year | C2*C4*C5*C6 | $1,440 | $1,800 | $2,160 | |
| Ct | Retired legacy project management solution cost savings | C3+C7 | $41,440 | $51,800 | $62,160 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓10% | |||||
| Ctr | Retired legacy project management solution cost savings (risk-adjusted) | $37,296 | $46,620 | $55,944 | ||
| Three-year total: $139,860 | Three-year present value: $114,466 | |||||
Interviewees mentioned the following additional benefits that their organizations experienced but were not able to quantify:
Improved client satisfaction (CSAT). Interviewees discussed how ClickUp improves CSAT by streamlining customer support workflows, enabling faster response times and better issue tracking through customizable dashboards and automation. The platform’s collaborative features ensure teams stay aligned, reducing errors and enhancing the overall customer experience. The CTO and managing director at a gaming organization attributed an increase in CSAT directly to ClickUp. They noted: “ClickUp is definitely driving customer satisfaction. Our satisfaction score has gone up — it’s over 90. Customers are getting things fixed faster because of how well the tool integrates with our workflows. We’re doing more with fewer people, and everything is automated.”
Improved employee satisfaction. Interviewees discussed the impact that ClickUp had on their employee experience by centralizing tasks, communication, and goals in one platform. The platform’s customizable workflows and real-time collaboration tools empower teams to work more efficiently and feel more in control of their day-to-day responsibilities. The director of technology advisory at a professional services organization highlighted the impact for a member of their staff during tax season: “One of our team members was in tears during her first tax season here. It was chaotic, stressful, and disorganized. She didn’t know what needed to be done or who was responsible. A year later, after we implemented ClickUp and built in clarity and structure, she was able to take her dad to Disney World during tax season. That’s the difference ClickUp made — going from tears in the bathroom to smiles at Disney.”
A single source of truth. Interviewees discussed how ClickUp serves as a single source of truth by consolidating tasks, documents, goals, and communication into one unified platform, eliminating the need to switch between multiple tools. With real-time updates, version control, and centralized knowledge management, the AI features have more context about work and teams can access accurate, up-to-date information, ensuring alignment and reducing miscommunication. The senior production manager at a professional services organization highlighted: “ClickUp is a place that we can go to where we can have everything; all the information about that project is housed in one task. So, at any point, anyone on the team can go to that task and know that they should (if everybody’s following processes correctly) be able to find the information that they need, and it’s our source of truth. You’re not having to chase it down.”
The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might implement ClickUp and later realize additional uses and business opportunities, including:
Improved business planning and strategy. Interviewees noted how ClickUp supports better business planning and strategy by providing a centralized platform for setting, tracking, and aligning goals across teams, ensuring everyone is working toward the same objectives. With greater visibility into these insights, interviewees noted that their leadership teams are able to make better decisions for their organizations. The CTO and managing director at a gaming organization commented: “As [part of] a senior leadership team, I think ClickUp is a revelation. Having the ability as senior leaders to see everything that’s going on across every department combined together is a game changer. My job [as a managing partner] is to turn around failed processes with technology, and ClickUp is a key weapon in my armory to do that.”
Flexibility would also be quantified when evaluated as part of a specific project (described in more detail in Total Economic Impact Approach).
| Ref. | Cost | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dtr | ClickUp licensing costs | $0 | $168,000 | $210,000 | $246,750 | $624,750 | $511,668 |
| Etr | Implementation, training, and change management costs | $69,300 | $58,080 | $9,680 | $9,680 | $146,740 | $137,373 |
| Ftr | Ongoing management costs | $0 | $6,864 | $6,864 | $6,864 | $20,592 | $17,070 |
| Total costs (risk-adjusted) | $69,300 | $232,944 | $226,544 | $263,294 | $792,082 | $666,111 |
Evidence and data. Interviewees noted that their ClickUp licensing costs are primarily based on the number of users, the selected plan tier (e.g., Unlimited, Business, Enterprise), and optional add-ons like AI features.
Pricing may vary. Contact ClickUp for additional details.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The composite pays $160,000 in ClickUp licensing costs in Year 1, $200,000 in Year 2, and $235,000 in Year 3.
Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The impact of this benefit will vary depending on:
The number of ClickUp users, the selected plan, and optional add-on features.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $512,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Cost per seat per month | Composite | $160,000 | $200,000 | $235,000 | |
| Dt | ClickUp licensing costs | D1 | $0 | $160,000 | $200,000 | $235,000 |
| Risk adjustment | ↑5% | |||||
| Dtr | ClickUp licensing costs (risk-adjusted) | $0 | $168,000 | $210,000 | $246,750 | |
| Three-year total: $624,750 | Three-year present value: $511,668 | |||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees discussed their initial implementation of ClickUp, which typically included a 90-day proof of concept involving select project managers, followed by a full deployment and ongoing change management that could span up to two years across business units. In most of the interviewees’ experiences, the migration process included external consultants and internal experts, with a strong emphasis on process improvement rather than a direct tool replacement. They highlighted training as a critical component, involving homegrown videos, documentation, quizzes, and biweekly Q&A sessions, while change management required departmental champions to drive adoption and address governance challenges.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
Ten business unit leads (two per department) spend 15% of their time across three months to implement ClickUp at the organization.
The blended fully burdened monthly rate for a business unit lead is $14,000.
In Year 1, 400 employees (or 40%) adopt ClickUp and spend 3 hours on training and change management. In Years 2 and 3, 100 additional employees adopt ClickUp and spend 2 hours on training and change management.
The average fully burdened hourly rate for an employee is $44.
Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The impact of this benefit will vary depending on:
The number of business unit leads involved in implementation and deployment.
The time spent on implementation and deployment.
The number of end users adopting ClickUp and needing training.
Fully burdened monthly and hourly rates for business unit leads and employees, respectively.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $137,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Business unit leads involved in implementation | Composite | 10 | |||
| E2 | Months spent on initial implementation | Composite | 3 | |||
| E3 | Percentage of time spent on implementation | Interviews | 15% | |||
| E4 | Blended fully burdened monthly rate for a business unit lead | Composite | $14,000 | |||
| E5 | Subtotal: Internal implementation costs | E1*E2*E3*E4 | $63,000 | |||
| E6 | Employees adopting ClickUp | Composite | 400 | 100 | 100 | |
| E7 | Hours spent on training and change management per employee | Composite | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| E8 | Average fully burdened hourly rate for a full-time employee | A6 | $44 | $44 | $44 | |
| E9 | Subtotal: End-user training and change management costs | E6*E7*E8 | $52,800 | $8,800 | $8,800 | |
| Et | Implementation, training, and change management costs | E5+E9 | $63,000 | $52,800 | $8,800 | $8,800 |
| Risk adjustment | ↑10% | |||||
| Etr | Implementation, training, and change management costs (risk-adjusted) | $69,300 | $58,080 | $9,680 | $9,680 | |
| Three-year total: $146,740 | Three-year present value: $137,373 | |||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees discussed the minimal ongoing management requirements for ClickUp, which involved regular administrative tasks such as auditing user permissions, maintaining wiki sites within ClickUp, and consolidating information previously stored in siloed platforms.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
One IT admin spends 5% of their time on ongoing management.
The average fully burdened salary for an IT admin is $124,800.
Risks. Forrester recognizes that these results may not be representative of all experiences. The impact of this benefit will vary depending on:
The number of IT admins involved.
The average fully burdened salary for an IT admin.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $17,000.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | IT admins dedicated towards ongoing management | Composite | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| F2 | Percentage of time spent on ClickUp ongoing management | Composite | 5% | 5% | 5% | |
| F3 | Average fully burdened salary for an IT admin | Composite | $124,800 | $124,800 | $124,800 | |
| Ft | Ongoing management costs | F1*F2*F3 | $6,240 | $6,240 | $6,240 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↑10% | |||||
| Ftr | Ongoing management costs (risk-adjusted) | $0 | $6,864 | $6,864 | $6,864 | |
| Three-year total: $20,592 | Three-year present value: $17,070 | |||||
| Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total costs | ($69,300) | ($232,944) | ($226,544) | ($263,294) | ($792,082) | ($666,111) |
| Total benefits | $0 | $844,476 | $1,287,420 | $1,849,824 | $3,981,720 | $3,221,489 |
| Net benefits | ($69,300) | $611,532 | $1,060,876 | $1,586,530 | $3,189,638 | $2,555,378 |
| ROI | 384% | |||||
| Payback | <6 months |
The financial results calculated in the Benefits and Costs sections can be used to determine the ROI, NPV, and payback period for the composite organization’s investment. Forrester assumes a yearly discount rate of 10% for this analysis.
These risk-adjusted ROI, NPV, and payback period values are determined by applying risk-adjustment factors to the unadjusted results in each Benefit and Cost section.
The initial investment column contains costs incurred at “time 0” or at the beginning of Year 1 that are not discounted. All other cash flows are discounted using the discount rate at the end of the year. PV calculations are calculated for each total cost and benefit estimate. NPV calculations in the summary tables are the sum of the initial investment and the discounted cash flows in each year. Sums and present value calculations of the Total Benefits, Total Costs, and Cash Flow tables may not exactly add up, as some rounding may occur.
From the information provided in the interviews, Forrester constructed a Total Economic Impact™ framework for those organizations considering an investment in ClickUp.
The objective of the framework is to identify the cost, benefit, flexibility, and risk factors that affect the investment decision. Forrester took a multistep approach to evaluate the impact that ClickUp can have on an organization.
Interviewed ClickUp stakeholders and Forrester analysts to gather data relative to ClickUp.
Interviewed five decision-makers at four organizations using ClickUp to obtain data about costs, benefits, and risks.
Designed a composite organization based on characteristics of the interviewees’ organizations.
Constructed a financial model representative of the interviews using the TEI methodology and risk-adjusted the financial model based on issues and concerns of the interviewees.
Employed four fundamental elements of TEI in modeling the investment impact: benefits, costs, flexibility, and risks. Given the increasing sophistication of ROI analyses related to IT investments, Forrester’s TEI methodology provides a complete picture of the total economic impact of purchase decisions. Please see Appendix A for additional information on the TEI methodology.
Benefits represent the value the solution delivers to the business. The TEI methodology places equal weight on the measure of benefits and costs, allowing for a full examination of the solution’s effect on the entire organization.
Costs comprise all expenses necessary to deliver the proposed value, or benefits, of the solution. The methodology captures implementation and ongoing costs associated with the solution.
Flexibility represents the strategic value that can be obtained for some future additional investment building on top of the initial investment already made. The ability to capture that benefit has a PV that can be estimated.
Risks measure the uncertainty of benefit and cost estimates given: 1) the likelihood that estimates will meet original projections and 2) the likelihood that estimates will be tracked over time. TEI risk factors are based on “triangular distribution.”
The present or current value of (discounted) cost and benefit estimates given at an interest rate (the discount rate). The PV of costs and benefits feed into the total NPV of cash flows.
The present or current value of (discounted) future net cash flows given an interest rate (the discount rate). A positive project NPV normally indicates that the investment should be made unless other projects have higher NPVs.
A project’s expected return in percentage terms. ROI is calculated by dividing net benefits (benefits less costs) by costs.
The interest rate used in cash flow analysis to take into account the time value of money. Organizations typically use discount rates between 8% and 16%.
The breakeven point for an investment. This is the point in time at which net benefits (benefits minus costs) equal initial investment or cost.
Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
1 Source: The Collaborative Work Management Tools Landscape, Q4 2024, Forrester Research Inc., December 26, 2024.
2 Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
Readers should be aware of the following:
This study is commissioned by ClickUp and delivered by Forrester Consulting. It is not meant to be used as a competitive analysis.
Forrester makes no assumptions as to the potential ROI that other organizations will receive. Forrester strongly advises that readers use their own estimates within the framework provided in the study to determine the appropriateness of an investment in ClickUp.
ClickUp reviewed and provided feedback to Forrester, but Forrester maintains editorial control over the study and its findings and does not accept changes to the study that contradict Forrester’s findings or obscure the meaning of the study.
ClickUp provided the customer names for the interviews but did not participate in the interviews.
Nikoletta Stergiou
August 2025
ABOUT FORRESTER CONSULTING
Forrester provides independent and objective research-based consulting to help leaders deliver key transformation outcomes. Fueled by our customer-obsessed research, Forrester’s seasoned consultants partner with leaders to execute on their priorities using a unique engagement model that tailors to diverse needs and ensures lasting impact. For more information, visit forrester.com/consulting.
© Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester®, Technographics®, Forrester Wave, and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.
https://mainstayadvisor.com/go/mainstay/gdpr/policy.html
PDF