Wrike: 100% worth the (money + time) investment!
Updated June 24, 2022
Wrike: 100% worth the (money + time) investment!
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Wrike
Historically, I've used Wrike both as an entire organization and as part of a smaller nine member marketing team. We field tested several other software options before deciding on Wrike. Our business problems we were trying to solve included keeping everyone on the same page in regards to where we were on a given project at any point within the production schedule. We also had issues with transparency across the entire organization. Wrike helped us solve both! We were more organized as a marketing department, stress levels and anxiety decreased and the entire company was more aware of marketing progress and successes and felt more available to offer input along the way.
- Project management: One of the more robust project management software options out there with all the bells and whistles and company can need and therefore is very easily tailored to your department or company needs.
- Company-wide transparency: Wrike helped us lower stress and project anxiety through transparent notes, drafts and dates.
- Microsite management: We created a landing page for Sales use and by linking to Wrike, the most current version of each collateral piece was available as needed.
- User intuitiveness: While robust is a definite plus, it does take a fair amount of 'trial and error' hours to determine what all Wrike has to offer and how best to utilize it. More situational-based tutorials / videos would be a good next move.
- Best practices: While we eventually developed our own company's best practices, it took several moths to be familiar enough with the options to get there. I'd love to see Wrike deploy some 'best practice' standards (examples from other similar company use cases) for how to interact with and get the most out of the software.
- Nesting: Ability to see/review a task within a parent task within a project.
- Task checklists and notes: A small, but incredibly useful feature for keeping the team up to date at all times.
- Foldering: Wrike does not a nice job of visually organizing folders and projects so that team members know exactly where to go when quick project update information is needed.
- Positive: Effectiveness - our department production level greatly increased once we implemented Wrike.
- Positive: A decrease in stress/anxiety - by keeping everyone in the know, there were fewer concerns. Even when a project was running behind, it was easy for team members to see why and when it had been rescheduled for.
- Negative: This is a stretch, but the only negative impact Wrike has had is the amount of time it does require to be a successful software tool. It's important to strike a balance between the number of hours used each week to keep everything up to date vs the hours spent on actual project development.
While Trello is best used for teams who desire more of an overview in project management, Wrike offers the deep dive. Trello is also more visual, but as a result, lacks in the level of detail that Wrike offers, and therefore, does not deplete the same level of project anxiety.
As for Asana comparison, Wrike's framework allows for a greater level of detail and project management than does Asana. Asana does not offer the ability to nest projects, tasks and folders at the same level as Wrike and therefore, it can be difficult to simply find a project when needed.
As for Asana comparison, Wrike's framework allows for a greater level of detail and project management than does Asana. Asana does not offer the ability to nest projects, tasks and folders at the same level as Wrike and therefore, it can be difficult to simply find a project when needed.
Do you think Wrike delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Wrike's feature set?
Yes
Did Wrike live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Wrike go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Wrike again?
Yes
Wrike Feature Ratings
Using Wrike
1 - As a sole proprietor (and therefore also the Project Manager, Task Organizer, File Steward, etc. etc.) I utilize Wrike for all of my business functions — from tracking hours to tracking drafts, Wrike is crucial to my every-day.
1 - Again, as a Sole Proprietor, I am also Software Support, IT, and Maintenance. That all said, it is all the more important that Wrike be self-sustaining, user friendly and dependable. In the years I've been using Wrike, it meets all of those requirements! That also means less hours trying to trouble shoot and more hours working billable hours.
- Draft organization
- File Management
- Project Management
- Hour Allocation
- Slack integration
- Google Drive integration
- System of Record for client hours
- Seasonal project load projections
- System of record for project proposals
Evaluating Wrike and Competitors
Yes - Initially, I used Trello and then moved to Asana. Both did their job but once I dug into Wrike I then realized how much those other two are missing. There are so many functions that I've gotten used to with Wrike (even simple functions — assigning a task color of red, yellow or green to visually track a project's status) that it's been very difficult to 'go back' when clients prefer that we communicate using Trello or Asana.
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Product Reputation
- Prior Experience with the Product
I checked 'all of the above' with 100% honesty. It really does 'check all the boxes.' Every time I meet with a new client, I propose that we utilize Wrike as our system of record, especially if they do not currently have one available. And every time, the client is happy that they followed my recommendation. Endless features (but still knowing you can keep it as simple as needed) and a level of user friendliness that is unsurpassed keeps me in the Wrike world.
The fact that every software offers a free trial should be a no-brainer when it comes to evaluating what might work best for a business. However, reality says that it's often only once you sit with it for a while that you begin to find out first hand everything it can do. Places like Trust Radius should also be a key first stop — why recreate history if you an first learn from those who have been there, done that?