COMPARISON
Guest access in PM tools, compared
Many PM tools include free guest or viewer access. This matrix shows what each one offers today, what still breaks for client work, and links to the official source for every claim.
Last checked . Vendor pricing and plans change — always confirm on the linked page.
| Tool | External access today | What still breaks for client work | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jira | Jira Standard, Premium and Enterprise include free external guests — up to 5 guests per paid user. | Guests are limited to a single Jira space with reduced permissions, but still work inside Jira concepts: issues, workflows and project structure. | Official ↗ |
| Trello | Single-board guests are free on Trello Standard and Premium; guests on multiple boards are billed like members. | A board guest sees every card on the board they join — there is no card-level concealment inside a board. | Official ↗ |
| Asana | Asana paid plans advertise unlimited free guests. | Guests see what is explicitly shared with them; sharing a whole project can still expose project and task structure the client does not need. | Official ↗ |
| ClickUp | ClickUp paid plans include unlimited free view-only guests; permission-controlled guests can consume paid capacity when no included guest seat is available. | Giving comment or edit permissions changes the role and can add billing and permission complexity. Clients still enter the ClickUp hierarchy and task detail. | Official ↗ |
| monday.com | Unlimited viewers are free on monday.com; guests require Standard or above. Standard bills guests 4:1 after 3 free; Pro and Enterprise allow unlimited guests. | Guests work on Shareable Boards, which tends to produce an internal board plus a mirrored client board that both need upkeep. | Official ↗ |
| Linear | Linear guest accounts exist only on Business and Enterprise and are billed as regular members. | Guests are scoped to specified teams but get member-like actions inside those teams. | Official ↗ |
When guest access is the right answer
If one stakeholder needs read access to one project that contains nothing internal, use the guest access your tool already includes. It is cheaper and simpler than adding a tool.
When a separate delivery view is better
- You need to show less than the project contains — estimates, internal notes and other clients’ work must stay private.
- Clients shouldn’t have to learn your PM tool’s vocabulary.
- You already maintain a duplicate client board, deck or email.
- Approvals and “waiting on whom?” live in meetings and chat.
- Access spans many projects, clients or tools.
Read the full argument in Why not just invite clients into your project management tool?
Methodology
Each row summarizes the vendor’s own documentation or pricing page as of the check date. We do not compare list prices because guest economics depend on plan, role and how many boards a guest joins. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.