Hive review (2026): verdict, pros & cons

Flexible project and work management with multiple project views, native chat, time tracking and a growing AI assistant, aimed at collaborative teams.

We weighed Hive the same way as every other work management tool we track: what it does well, what it costs, and who actually benefits.

Verdict: Hive is built around collaborative cross-team work, and that focus shows. Our editorial rating is 4.3/5 — an editorial assessment from sourced research and feature comparison, not an average of user reviews.

Who Hive is for

Reach for Hive first when your work centres on collaborative cross-team work, teams wanting chat + pm and flexible project views. Match it against your own priorities: a clean fit means quick returns, a loose one usually means paying for range you won't touch.

Notable features

What you actually work with day to day in Hive:

• Multiple project views: Gantt/timeline, Kanban, calendar and table
• Native team chat and collaborative notes
• Integrated time tracking and resource allocation
• Approval workflows and proofing
• Customizable dashboards

Project management that bundles native chat and an AI assistant alongside Gantt, Kanban and calendar views.

Pros & cons

Pros

• + Combines PM views with built-in chat in one tool
• + Free plan for up to 10 members with unlimited tasks
• + Flexible views suit different team styles

Cons to weigh

• - Free plan limited to 200 MB storage and 10 members
• - Some popular features (time tracking, proofing) are add-ons/higher tiers
• - Smaller integration catalog (~20+) than larger rivals

Pricing: Free plan; Starter from ~$5/user/mo; Teams ~$12/user/mo; Enterprise custom (billed annually; verify current tiers). · full pricing breakdown →

Bottom line

Our take: Hive is worth shortlisting for collaborative cross-team work and less compelling if that is only a side concern; a free plan lets you trial it at zero cost, paid plans start around $5/mo, so validate fit on your own workflow first.

Alternatives to consider

Not sure Hive is the one? We compare the strongest options side by side in our Hive alternatives roundup — useful if pricing or a specific feature is a sticking point.

See Hive plans →