Why MinimalArt replaced ClickUp with Plane for simpler project management
Why MinimalArt replaced ClickUp with Plane for simpler project management
Learn how a completely remote design-led software studio out of Europe unified all their work and cut reporting time from hours to minutes with Plane.
Industry
Agency | Software consulting
Company Size
51-200
Founded
2015
Plane plan
pro
Plane Products Used
About MinimalArt
MinimalArt is a distributed software design and development studio headquartered in Montage, Europe. Since its founding in 2015, the company has operated fully remote with more than 70 employees working across continents. Until a year ago, they used ClickUp for collaboration and reporting.
But with scale came its challenges, especially with central reporting across clients. They needed a project management software that didn't bury admins in configs without trading off essential reporting features.
After exploring several alternatives, MinimalArt replaced ClickUp entirely with Plane.
“ClickUp felt like a Swiss army knife—powerful, but overloaded.
We needed a clean, purpose-built system focused on project and release management. Plane gave us exactly that.”
Max Kraszewski, CEO, MinimalArt
The challenge
As MinimalArt grew, ClickUp became harder to maintain. Its flexibility came at the cost of complexity. Every dashboard and report had to be built manually, and anything custom or automated, including exports, was locked behind higher plans.
The limitations started to affect delivery and visibility across teams.
“We couldn’t even export to Excel without upgrading the whole workspace. We just needed a simple, focused tool that worked out of the box.”
Beyond cost and usability, the team wanted better differentiation between on-demand projects versus recurring ones and an easier way to manage time tracking + reporting across clients.
Why Plane was the best fit
MinimalArt’s leadership discovered Plane while looking for simpler and easier project management software for distributed teams.
A few things stood out about Plane immediately.
- Simplicity of design
Plane took hours to set up. Projects, cycles, and workflows were intuitive from day one. - Speed + structure
A clutter-less and unrestricted interface meant MinimalArt's members could work independently without endless back-and-forth with admins. - Built for remote collaboration
With all 70 employees working remotely, Plane’s smart defaults and personalization features brought teams into one unified workspace without trading off familiarity. - Open communication with the Plane team
MinimalArt stayed in direct contact with Plane’s team over Slack, both during evaluation and after onboarding for a hand-in-glove migration from ClickUp.
Migration and rollout
The migration from ClickUp to Plane was straightforward. The team defined a single switch-over date and replicated existing workflows inside Plane. Within a few weeks, all active projects were running in Plane.
The leadership first onboarded developers, followed by the Design and Operations teams to ensure nothing broke during the move. By the end of the rollout, every department was running projects, cycles, and reports directly in Plane.
A year on Plane
A year after the migration, MinimalArt has now scaled 5X within Plane and continue to manage all client projects, internal initiatives, and reporting in one workspace.
- Reporting made simple
Monthly client reporting, once a manual and hours-long process, is now automated through a combination of Plane’s exports, APIs, and a third-party reporting tool. Reports that took hours to compile now take minutes. - Faster decision-making
With all work items centralized, leadership gained real-time visibility into what each department was working on and where the pains were. - Happier teams
Developers were initially cautious about switching tools, but Plane’s simplicity made the transition easy. Most teams adapted quickly and now rely on Plane for day-to-day tracking + long-term planning. - Contextual documentation
The Wiki and Pages features made it easier for teams to maintain up-to-date specifications and meeting notes next to their projects. It reduced dependency on separate knowledge bases and messaging threads.
“Switching was easy, and the impact was immediate. Reports that took hours now take minutes. That alone made the move worth it.”
Max Kraszewski, CEO, MinimalArt