Hive vs Motion
Features, use cases, pros and cons, and pricing side by side — and which one to pick.
Quick verdict: Pick Hive if you want a free or flexible starting point; pick Motion if you'll pay for AI that plans your day, projects, and meetings for you.
Best for: Marketing teams that plan campaigns, coordinate content, and need approval workflows in one place., Agencies and studios that manage multiple client projects and bill by the hour.
Read the full Hive reviewBest for: Individuals overwhelmed by long task lists and calendar juggling, Small teams that want project updates without constant check-in meetings
Read the full Motion reviewCommission may apply at no extra cost
Hive vs Motion: features compared
Compare key features side by side
Feature Comparison Summary
Which should you choose?
Choose Hive if
- You want a genuinely free way to start managing work.
- You'd rather test a tool before committing to per-seat fees.
Choose Motion if
- You want AI to plan your tasks, calendar, and projects automatically.
- Your team runs on Gmail, Outlook, Slack, or Zoom every day.
- You'd rather pay for one app than a stack of separate tools.
Hive vs Motion: pros and cons
Hive bundles project views, native time tracking, proofing, and chat into one workspace, which can replace several separate subscriptions for agencies and creative teams. Setup takes real effort, though, and the most valuable features sit behind paid tiers with pricing that isn't fully published. Overall, it's a solid pick for teams that bill time or manage client approvals.
Pros
- Kanban, Gantt, calendar, and table views are available for the same project, so team members can work in the layout that suits them.
- Time tracking, proofing, chat, and email come built in, potentially replacing several standalone subscriptions.
- A free plan and free trial let teams evaluate the platform with a small group before paying.
Cons
- The most useful capabilities — advanced automations, deeper analytics, and full proofing — sit behind paid tiers, so the free plan works best as an evaluation tier.
- The breadth of features creates a real learning curve; teams must invest in setup and conventions to avoid a cluttered workspace.
- Notification volume can become noisy on busy projects without deliberate configuration.
Motion aims to plan your tasks, calendar, projects, and meetings for you, with wide integrations, SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, and pricing from $19 to $29 per seat. The trade-offs are real: no free plan, credit-based AI that can trigger overages, and a replace-everything pitch. Overall, it's worth trialing if you're drowning in planning work.
Pros
- The AI task planner re-optimizes your schedule hundreds of times a day, separating do dates from due dates and flagging at-risk work days or weeks before deadlines slip
- Projects generate themselves from a description — tasks, deadlines, stages, and assignees — with statuses updating automatically so status-chasing meetings become unnecessary
- The calendar merges Google, Outlook, and iCloud accounts into one double-booking-proof view and timeblocks tasks directly onto your schedule
Cons
- AI features run on a monthly credit allowance (7,500 on Pro AI, 15,000 on Business AI), so heavy users face overage charges of 19–25 cents per 100 extra credits
- Motion positions itself as a full replacement for tools like Asana, Notion, and Calendly rather than an add-on, so adopting it means migrating off tools your team may already rely on
- Collaboration features work best when teammates live inside Motion, which can be a hard sell for teams unwilling to move conversations into a new app
Hive and Motion in detail
Hive
Hive is a cloud-based project management and productivity platform. Teams plan work in flexible layouts — Kanban boards, Gantt charts, calendars, and table views — and manage tasks, files, conversations, and approvals from a single workspace. It runs in the browser and offers desktop and mobile apps for working across devices.
Standout features
- Flexible Project Views
- Built-In Time Tracking
- Proofing and Approvals
- Automations
- Dashboards and Reporting
Use cases
- Marketing Campaign Management
- Agency and Client Project Delivery
- Creative Production and Design Reviews
- Cross-Functional Project Coordination
Motion
Motion is an AI-powered productivity platform that bundles task planning, project management, calendar scheduling, meeting notes, docs, workflows, and reporting into one app. It's aimed at individuals, small teams, and large businesses — the site says it's built for everyone from 1 person to a 1,000-person team. The pitch: AI handles prioritizing, scheduling, and status updates while you focus on the work itself.
Standout features
- A Task List That Plans Itself
- Projects That Build and Manage Themselves
- A Calendar That Reroutes Your Day
- Meetings, Docs, and Workflows That Connect
- See Where Every Project Stands
Use cases
- Plan your day without planning it
- Run projects without chasing updates
- Make every meeting count
- Manage team capacity with confidence
Pricing compared
List prices from each vendor's pricing page, before taxes and add-ons. Costs are per month.
| Pricing compared | Hive | Motion |
|---|---|---|
| From (cheapest paid plan) | $5/mo Starter · per user | $19/mo Pro AI · per user |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Free trial | Not stated | Yes |
| Money-back guarantee | Not stated | Not stated |
| Annual billing savings | — | — |
| Pricing model | Per user | Per user |
| Cost for 1 user | $5/moCheaper Starter plan, billed monthly | $19/mo Pro AI plan, billed monthly |
| Cost for 5 users | $25/moCheaper Starter plan, billed monthly | $95/mo Pro AI plan, billed monthly |
| Cost for 10 users | $50/moCheaper Starter plan, billed monthly | $190/mo Pro AI plan, billed monthly |
| Cost for 25 users | $125/moCheaper Starter plan, billed monthly | $475/mo Pro AI plan, billed monthly |
| Plans | 2 | 2 |
| Prices checked | Checked Oct 13, 2026 | Prices not verified yet — see the vendor page. |
| Price history | Tracking prices since Oct 1, 2026. No price change detected yet. | No tracked prices yet |
- Cheapest plan that fits each team size. Per-user plans are multiplied by the number of users (respecting stated minimums and seat packs). Plans that include some users cost their base price plus the extra-user price for each user beyond those included. Flat-priced plans with no stated user limit are counted as one licence per user.
Cheaper for your team size
For 5 users (billed monthly), Hive costs $25/mo vs Motion at $95/mo.
- Hive is cheaper at every team size we checked (1 to 25 users).
- For 1 user (billed monthly), Hive costs $5/mo vs Motion at $19/mo.
- For 10 users (billed monthly), Hive costs $50/mo vs Motion at $190/mo.
- For 25 users (billed monthly), Hive costs $125/mo vs Motion at $475/mo.
Computed from published list prices on the dates shown. Excludes taxes, add-ons and promotions.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Motion secure for business data?
Yes. Motion is SOC 2 Type 2 and GDPR compliant, and it encrypts data in transit and at rest.