mawobe vs ActiveCollab

Two tools built for services teams.

ActiveCollab is a solid product with a real point of view about how services businesses work — including invoicing inside the tool. Here's where mawobe goes a different direction.

Time tracking

Feature

mawobe

ActiveCollab

Time tracking on every task

First-class. Estimates and tracked-vs-estimate variance visible everywhere.

Yes — task-level and project-level time logging with timesheets.

Native desktop timer (Windows + macOS)

Yes, with system-tray status that survives the browser closing.

Browser + mobile timers; no first-party desktop app.

One running timer per user

Enforced. Auto-stops the previous entry when you start a new one.

Multiple timers possible across tasks.

Direct milestone-level time entries

Yes — log time against a milestone when no single task fits.

Time goes against tasks; milestones aggregate from below.

Project hierarchy

Feature

mawobe

ActiveCollab

Clients as a first-class entity

Yes. Default rates, status, country, and a logo per client.

Yes — projects sit under clients.

Statements of Work as an optional layer

Native. Carries status, value, and dates between client and project.

Not native; teams approximate it with project tags or estimate documents.

Subtask depth

Three levels, capped intentionally for readability.

Subtasks supported within tasks.

Per-workspace numbering

SOW + project numbering with start value and zero-pad width.

Project IDs auto-generated; less control.

Estimates & invoicing

Feature

mawobe

ActiveCollab

Estimates → projects

Per-entity estimates with variance reporting; no built-in proposal builder.

Native. Quote → one-click project conversion is a flagship feature.

Built-in invoicing

No — designed to integrate with your accounting stack rather than replace it.

Native invoicing with Stripe / PayPal payment processing.

Profit reporting in-app

Tracked hours × billable rate by project / client / person.

Budget vs. actual reporting; profitability per project.

PDF + XLSX timeline export

Built-in on the project page — client logo, milestones, dates only.

PDF invoice / estimate exports; CSV exports for reporting.

Customization

Feature

mawobe

ActiveCollab

Per-workspace status sets

Project, task, and milestone status sets — multiple per workspace, override per project.

Custom labels and project templates.

Roles & permissions

System roles + custom roles with granular per-permission gating.

Owner / Member / Client roles with project-level access controls.

Areas of focus

Workspace-configurable for milestones and tasks (separate pools), drag-reorderable.

Labels and categories as the closest equivalent.

AI & automation

Feature

mawobe

ActiveCollab

AI-assisted features

Quiet AI roadmap — smarter estimates, time-log anomaly hints, smarter search. No chatbot UX.

No AI features highlighted on the marketing site.

Automation surface

Coming — focused on time-log hygiene and report scheduling.

Recurring tasks, project templates, automated reminders.

Stack & footprint

Feature

mawobe

ActiveCollab

Modern stack

Built on TypeScript, React 19, Prisma, Postgres. New product, current patterns.

Established product, mature codebase. Web UI feels its age in places.

Pricing transparency

One product. Free tier + Team ($12/user/mo) + Studio.

From $5/user/mo (entry tier); higher tiers for more features.

Self-hosted option

Cloud only.

Self-hosted version available (separate product).

Pick the right tool for the job.

Both are good products. The decision usually comes down to invoicing scope and how modern you want the UX.

Pick mawobe if…

You want time-vs-estimate variance baked into every screen.
You want a native desktop timer your team will actually use.
You'd rather integrate invoicing (QuickBooks, Xero, Stripe Invoicing) than have it bolted into the PM tool.
You want configurable status sets, areas of focus, and per-workspace roles.
You want AI built into the product without the chatbot UX.

Pick ActiveCollab if…

You want estimates → projects → invoices → payments in one tool.
You need a self-hosted option for compliance reasons.
You're cost-sensitive and the $5/seat entry tier is the deciding factor.
You're fine with a more established but less modern UX.

Switching from ActiveCollab?

Bring an export and we'll walk you through the equivalent setup in mawobe — and where you'll need to wire up invoicing on the side.

Book a switching call