Float vs worklenz
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, ratings, and alternatives.
Float is a resource management platform that gives teams a live view of staff availability, project assignments, and delivery status, so managers can plan capacity and reassign work without guesswork. It combines scheduling with time tracking, letting teams compare planned estimates against actual hours worked on each project. Beyond scheduling, Float provides project cost estimation, margin and budget dashboards, and AI-assisted staffing suggestions to help fill open project slots with the right people. It's used by agencies, consultancies, and studios that need to see delivery performance across many concurrent projects at once, and is trusted by 4,500+ firms with B Corp certification.
Worklenz is a free, open-source project management platform for teams and agencies, bringing projects, tasks, resource planning, and client collaboration into one workspace. Tasks can be viewed as a list, a Kanban board, or a Gantt chart, and time is logged directly against them. Alongside delivery it tracks budgets, costs, and team utilization, so project health and profitability stay visible. Worklenz can be self-hosted under AGPL-3.0 or used as a managed cloud service that has a free plan.
- Purpose-built for capacity planning rather than a general project management add-on
- Estimates-vs-actuals reporting gives clear visibility into project profitability
- 30-day free trial with no credit card required
- B Corp certified and well-established with 4,500+ customer firms
- Free and open-source under AGPL-3.0, with a self-hostable Community edition
- Covers projects, tasks, resources, and budgets in one workspace
- Multiple task views including list, Kanban board, and Gantt
- Time logged directly on tasks feeds utilization and profitability reporting
- Per-person pricing can get expensive for larger teams needing the Pro tier
- Enterprise pricing is not published and requires a sales conversation
- Focused on scheduling and capacity rather than task-level project management like Asana or Linear
- Free cloud plan is capped at three active projects
- Self-hosting means running and maintaining your own Docker, Postgres, and storage stack
- Mobile access is through the web app; there are no native iOS or Android apps
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The Verdict
AI-generated from listing dataWorklenz offers a free, open‑source, self‑hosted all‑in‑one PM suite with limited cloud projects, while Float provides a paid, cloud‑only, specialist capacity‑planning tool with richer scheduling features.
Key differences
- •Deployment model: Worklenz is self‑hosted (Docker/Postgres) vs. Float is SaaS cloud.
- •Pricing: Worklenz has a freemium tier (free cloud limited to 3 projects) vs. Float requires per‑person subscription.
- •Core focus: Worklenz combines tasks, Gantt, budgeting, time‑tracking; Float is purpose‑built for resource scheduling and capacity planning.
- •Mobile access: Worklenz only via web browser; Float offers native iOS/Android apps (implied by SaaS).
- •Open‑source vs. proprietary: Worklenz is AGPL‑3.0 open source; Float is closed source.
Pricing & value
Worklenz provides a free community edition and freemium cloud; Float only offers paid subscriptions.
Ease of use / learning curve
Float’s purpose‑built UI for capacity planning is simpler than Worklenz’s broader PM suite.
Features & depth
Worklenz includes tasks, Kanban, Gantt, budgeting, time‑tracking, and analytics in one workspace.
Integrations & ecosystem
Float lists Zapier, CRM, financial, and HR integrations; Worklenz integrations not specified.
Collaboration
Worklenz supports comments, files, and updates in context; Float’s collaboration features not detailed.
Scalability
Float’s cloud SaaS scales without self‑hosting; Worklenz requires you to manage Docker/Postgres infrastructure.
Support
Float offers priority support with SLAs for enterprise; Worklenz provides email and live chat only.
Choose Float if…
Agencies that prioritize advanced resource scheduling, need SaaS convenience, and have budget for per‑user fees.
Choose worklenz if…
Teams needing a free, self‑hosted, full‑stack PM solution and can manage their own infrastructure.
Common questions
Can I start with a free version of each product?
Worklenz offers a free community edition and a free cloud plan (limited to three active projects); Float provides a 30‑day free trial, no credit card required.
Do I need to run my own servers to use Worklenz?
Yes, Worklenz’s self‑hosted Community edition requires you to maintain Docker, Postgres, and storage; the cloud plan is limited.
Which tool is better for capacity planning across many projects?
Float is purpose‑built for real‑time staff availability, capacity alerts, and AI‑assisted staffing recommendations.