Simplr vs monday.com
monday.com lets almost any team build its own workflow from boards, columns and automations. Simplr is built for one kind of team: agencies, where every job belongs to a client and every decision needs a record.
01 / THE DIFFERENCE
monday.com can be shaped into an agency system. Simplr starts as one, so account managers don’t spend their week maintaining boards.
monday.com guests use Shareable Boards. On Standard, every four guests count as a paid seat. Simplr’s branded portal is free for clients on every plan.
Simplr routes each version from creative director to account lead to client, and records every decision. On monday.com, sign-off is something you build with columns and automations.
Invoicing on monday.com lives in monday CRM, a separate product. Simplr Plus invoices from approved time, milestones and retainers alongside the work.
02 / SIDE BY SIDE
What each tool offers an agency out of the box, and what you would need to add or build.
| Feature | Simplr | monday.com |
|---|---|---|
| Clients and scope | ||
| Client records and account teams | Built in: Client records with an account lead, creative director and team, and a one-client view | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Client boards from templates; contacts and deals are in monday CRM, a separate product |
| Briefs, scope and change requests | Built in: Versioned briefs and scope the client accepts; change requests record price and workload impact | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: WorkForms for requests; scope and change control are built with boards |
| Creative review and clients | ||
| Creative versions and approvals | Built in: Version history, pinned image comments and a creative director → account lead → client sign-off | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Annotations on images, PDFs and video, plus file versions; sign-off is set up with columns |
| Client portal | Built in: Branded portal on every plan, free for clients: approve versions, send briefs, accept scope, download files | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Shareable boards for guests: 4 guests count as 1 seat on Standard, unlimited on Pro. Branded portal only in monday service |
| Email and meetings | ||
| Client email | Built in: Gmail and Microsoft 365 sync automatically; emails are matched to jobs with reply drafts (Plus) | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Gmail and Outlook integrations create items and use automation actions; a full inbox is in monday CRM |
| Meeting notes and actions | Built in: Recording bot for Meet, Zoom and Teams, calendar sync and Granola import (Plus); transcript upload on every plan | Built in: AI Notetaker for Zoom, Teams and Meet, paid with AI credits |
| Planning, time and budgets | ||
| Resource planning | Built in: Daily bookings by person against weekly availability (Plus) | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Workload view on Pro; resource planner on Enterprise |
| Time tracking and approval | Built in: Timers, manual entries and time approval (Plus) | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Time tracking column on Pro; no built-in billable rates |
| Project budgets | Built in: Planned hours, rate and fee per job, with planned against actual hours (Plus) | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Built with number and formula columns |
| Billing | ||
| Client invoices | Built in: Numbered PDF invoices from approved time, milestones or retainers, with payments recorded (Plus) | Not built in: Not in work management; invoices are part of monday CRM |
| Retainers | Built in: Retainer agreements invoiced monthly, quarterly or yearly (Plus) | Not built in: Not built in |
| Setup and price | ||
| Setup | Built in: An agency workflow from intake to delivery from the start, adjustable per client | Partly, or with add-ons or setup: Templates, then boards, columns and automations you configure |
| Price | Essentials $20, Plus $50 per person / month, billed annually. Clients are always free. | Standard $12, Pro $19 per seat, sold in seat buckets (3, 5, 10…). AI credits are extra. |
Details about monday.com come from its public pricing and help pages, checked on 6 October 2026, and prices are per person per month, billed annually, in USD. Plans change, so confirm current details with monday.com. “(Plus)” marks Simplr features on the Plus plan.
03 / THE RIGHT FIT
04 / FAQ
Yes. monday.com offers agency templates and partner-built solutions, and many agencies run on it. The difference is that you design and maintain that system. Simplr includes the client portal, scope, approvals, time and invoicing from the start.
On monday.com, clients join as guests on Shareable Boards (from Standard) or see read-only links. In Simplr, clients sign in to a branded portal to approve versions, send briefs, accept scope and download files, and they are free on every plan.
Per seat, yes: Simplr Essentials is $20 and Plus is $50, against $12 to $19 for monday.com Standard and Pro. On monday.com, time tracking needs Pro, invoicing needs monday CRM and AI uses credits. Simplr bills per person, without seat buckets.
There is no automatic monday.com import yet. Most agencies start with their active clients and jobs, and our team helps you set them up during your walkthrough.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Bring a real brief, a client and an approval you’re chasing. We’ll walk through how it runs in Simplr.