How to Migrate from monday.com to ClickUp: A Step-by-Step Guide (2026)
So you're leaving monday.com for ClickUp. You're not alone. The number-one complaint we hear from monday.com refugees? That per-seat pricing with a 3-seat minimum. A solo freelancer or a two-person team still pays for three seats, and the Basic plan ($9/seat/mo) doesn't even include Gantt charts or automations. ClickUp's free plan, by contrast, gives you unlimited tasks, members, and most features — no seat minimum. That's a compelling reason to switch.
But migration can be messy if you rush. Here's the exact process I'd use, based on moving several teams over. I'll call out the gotchas so you don't lose data or sanity.
Before You Start: What to Back Up from monday.com
monday.com doesn't have a one-click "export everything" button. You'll need to export board by board. Here's what to grab:
- Each board as an Excel/CSV file: Open a board, click the three-dot menu → Export → Excel. This gets you tasks, columns, and basic metadata. It won't export file attachments or comments.
- Attachments: You'll need to download files manually from each task. If you have hundreds of attachments, this is painful. Consider using a third-party tool like Cloudsfer (paid) to automate it.
- Dashboards and automations: These don't export. Screenshot your dashboards and note your automation rules (triggers/actions) to recreate them in ClickUp.
- Time tracking data: If you used monday.com's native time tracking, export that separately via their time-tracking report.
Pro tip: Before you start, clean up your monday.com boards. Archive or delete tasks you don't need. Less junk = smoother migration.
Step 1: Set Up ClickUp and Prepare Your Workspace
Create a ClickUp account (free plan is generous: unlimited tasks, members, 100MB storage per file). ClickUp's pricing is flat-rate, not per-seat — the free plan is actually usable for small teams. If you need more, paid plans start at $7/user/month (Unlimited) or $12/user/month (Business).
Before importing, design your ClickUp structure:
- Spaces = monday.com workspaces/groupings.
- Folders = optional grouping within Spaces.
- Lists = your monday.com boards.
- Tasks = your monday.com items.
ClickUp is more hierarchical than monday.com. Don't just dump everything into one flat list. Plan your Spaces and Lists to mirror your workflow.
Step 2: Import Your Data into ClickUp
ClickUp has a native monday.com importer. Go to ClickUp → Settings → Import → monday.com. You'll authorize ClickUp to access your monday.com account. The importer pulls:
- Board columns (status, date, people, dropdown, etc.)
- Task names and descriptions
- Assignees and due dates
- Subitems (as subtasks)
- Comments (threaded)
What the importer doesn't bring: file attachments, dashboards, automations, time estimates, or board templates. For attachments, you'll need to upload them manually or use a migration service.
Gotcha: The importer can get confused by monday.com's "mirror" columns (columns that reflect data from another board). Those will likely import as empty. You'll need to recreate relationships manually in ClickUp using Linked Tasks or Relationships.
Step 3: Recreate Automations and Integrations
monday.com's automations are simple triggers ("When status changes to Done, notify assignee"). ClickUp's automations are more powerful but different. ClickUp's free plan includes 100 automation runs per month; paid plans have unlimited.
Go through each monday.com automation you used and rebuild it in ClickUp using their Automation menu. Common ones:
- Status change → send email/Slack notification
- Due date approaching → create a reminder
- Task completed → move to another List
For integrations (Slack, email, etc.), ClickUp has native integrations for most services. Reconnect them in ClickUp's Integrations center.
Step 4: Migrate Dashboards and Reports
ClickUp's Dashboards work differently. They're not per-board; they're workspace-level. You can create widgets for tasks, time tracking, sprint progress, etc. Recreate your monday.com dashboard views manually. It takes time, but you might find ClickUp's dashboard more flexible.
Common Gotchas (And How to Avoid Them)
File attachments don't transfer: The biggest pain point. If you have many files, use a tool like Movebot or manually upload critical ones. Alternatively, link to files in Google Drive or Dropbox rather than uploading.
Recurring tasks: monday.com's recurring tasks don't import properly. In ClickUp, set up recurring tasks using the Recurring Task feature (click the task's date → Set recurrence).
Time tracking: monday.com's time tracking doesn't export via the importer. If you need historical data, export from monday.com as CSV and import into ClickUp's time tracking via their API or manually.
Permissions and guests: ClickUp's permission model is different. Review your guest access after import — ClickUp's guest roles are more granular.
Post-Migration Checklist
- Verify task counts: Did all tasks import? Check a few boards.
- Test automations: Do your triggers fire correctly?
- Reconnect integrations: Slack, email, GitHub, etc.
- Set up recurring tasks: Don't forget your daily/weekly routines.
- Train your team: ClickUp has more features; spend 30 minutes on a walkthrough.
- Archive old monday.com account: Keep it for 30 days in case you need to reference something.
- Delete monday.com data? Not yet. Keep a backup for a month.
Why ClickUp Over Other Alternatives?
ClickUp isn't the only option. If you want something simpler, Asana is easier to learn. If you're doc-heavy, Notion might suit you. But if you want the most features for the lowest price (especially with no seat minimum), ClickUp wins. Check out our full monday.com alternatives guide for a head-to-head comparison.
FAQ
Q: How long does the migration take? A: For a small team (under 50 tasks), a few hours. For large boards with many attachments, a day or two.
Q: Will I lose my comments? A: No, the ClickUp importer brings comments (threaded). But not all replies may thread correctly — check a few.
Q: Can I keep my monday.com account active during migration? A: Yes. Keep both running in parallel for a week to catch any issues.
Q: What if I have hundreds of boards? A: Use ClickUp's bulk import or hire a migration specialist. The native importer handles one board at a time.
Q: Is ClickUp really free? A: Yes. The free plan is surprisingly full-featured. No credit card required. Paid plans start at $7/user/month (Unlimited) or $12/user/month (Business).