Accelo alternatives

Accelo, which now also runs the old Forecast product, tailors every plan and publishes no price, verified 24 September 2026. Firms leaving it usually compare Productive.io (from $10), Teamwork.com (from $9.99), BigTime (from $20), Harvest (from $9) and Kantata. PeopleMuster is the strongest pick for teams that want HR and client delivery in one database: $3 per person a month.

Why people leave

No number to plan with. Accelo says every plan is tailored, so you can't price a team of 25 before you've spoken to sales. Firms that budget per head each quarter want a figure they can check on a web page.
Forecast became Accelo. The forecast.app address now resolves to Accelo-branded pages. If you bought Forecast for resource planning, you're now on Accelo's tailored plans, and the old Forecast tiers no longer apply.
A second system for people. When leave, attendance and the staff record sit in an HR tool beside your delivery software, every new hire and every holiday has to be entered twice.

The real options

Six products were compared on 24 September 2026 on four points: whether a price is published, the entry price per user, any seat minimum or demo-only tier, and whether the staff record sits in the same system as client projects. Evaluated from Accelo's own documentation and pricing, September 2026. Every other figure was read from that vendor's own pricing page the same day. A vendor with no published figure is listed by how it sells.

PeopleMuster

$3 per person a month, published, from the first person. Every module included, no tiers, 14 days free with no card.

Who it suits: Disclosure: PeopleMuster is our product. It suits agencies, software houses and consultancies that staff client projects with their own people.
Where it wins: Client projects with health scores and milestones, timesheets by project with approvals, and a capacity plan by day. All of it sits on the same record as leave, attendance and the directory, so approved time off is already out of next week's plan.

Productive.io

Essential $10 per user a month billed yearly ($12 monthly); Professional $25 ($29 monthly); Ultimate custom. 3-seat minimum, 14-day trial. Verified 24 September 2026.

Who it suits: Agencies that want a published per-user PSA price and a free trial.
Where it wins: Two published tiers and a 14-day trial, with the next tier's price in plain view.
Where it falls short: The employee record lives in BambooHR, Personio or Rippling, which Productive connects out to by its own account.

Teamwork.com

Free for up to 5 users; Basics $9.99 and Accelerate $24.99 per user a month billed yearly; Optimize and Enterprise by quote. 14-day trial. Verified 24 September 2026.

Who it suits: Client-service teams that want to start on a free plan.
Where it wins: A free plan for five users, then two published per-user tiers.
Where it falls short: The two tiers above Accelerate are quote-only.

BigTime

Essentials starts at $20 per user a month; Advanced and Premier by demo. Verified 24 September 2026.

Who it suits: Professional-services firms that want a starting price before they book a demo.
Where it wins: Publishes a starting price for its entry tier.
Where it falls short: Advanced and Premier are demo-only, so only the entry tier can be priced in advance.

Harvest

Free for 1 seat and 2 projects; Teams $9 per seat a month annual ($11 monthly); Enterprise $14 annual ($17.50 monthly). 30-day trial. Verified 24 September 2026.

Who it suits: Teams whose main need is time tracking against client projects.
Where it wins: A free seat to try it and a 30-day trial on the paid tiers.
Where it falls short: The free plan covers one seat and two projects.

Kantata

Prices on request. The pricing page carries a Request Pricing form and no figure. Verified 24 September 2026.

Who it suits: Larger firms buying a Professional Services Automation Platform, in its own words, through a sales process.
Where it wins: A PSA platform sold on a quote, for buyers who expect one.
Where it falls short: No published price, so it can't sit on a price grid beside the vendors that publish one.

Questions people ask

How much does Accelo cost?

Accelo doesn't publish a figure. Its pricing page says every plan is tailored, so you get a price from sales, verified 24 September 2026. For a published comparison, PeopleMuster is $3 per person a month, Productive.io starts at $10 per user billed yearly and Teamwork.com's Basics tier is $9.99.

Is Forecast still a separate product?

No. The forecast.app address now resolves to Accelo-branded pages, verified September 2026, and Accelo sells tailored plans. Old Forecast tiers and prices no longer apply, so they aren't on this list.

How do I move projects and people from Accelo to PeopleMuster?

We load your people, leave types and projects with you during setup, from the exports you already have. The CSV importer takes the same three lists if you'd rather load them yourself. The 14 days free cover that setup, so your first bill arrives after the team is logging hours.