RationalPlan vs. Stackby

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
RationalPlan
Score 7.7 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
RationalPlan is project management software that has been designed to help project managers keep their projects on time and within budget. The main goal of this software is to make the process of planning projects as short and as straightforward as possible and to guide novice project managers through each step but offer enough tools to those who are more experienced.
$0
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Stackby is designed to bring together the simplicity of spreadsheets, the functionality of databases and integrations with best business APIs to let anyone build their own tools, the way they want. No coding needed. Users can build a database from scratch, import data from pre-existing sources like spreadsheets or Google Sheets, or choose from over 100 pre-built templates across multiple categories. Stackby offers over 25 unique column types like text,…
$6
per month per user
Pricing
RationalPlanStackby
Editions & Modules
Free
$0
Beginner
$4
per user
Master
$12
per user
Production
$19
per user
Stakeholder
$64 USD
Lifetime License per Seat
Single
$145 USD
Lifetime License per Seat
Multi
$288 USD
Lifetime License per Seat
Server
$668 USD
Lifetime License per Seat
Personal
$6
per month per user
Economy
$10
per month per user
Business
$20
per month per user
Business Plus
$35
per month per user
Enterprise
Custom
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
RationalPlanStackby
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details20% discount for annual pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
RationalPlanStackby
Considered Both Products
RationalPlan
Chose RationalPlan
RationalPlan is cost-effective and allows most users to prepare and manage their schedule. The software lacks comprehensive reporting and duration changes at the top level of a project.
Chose RationalPlan
RationalPlan has what we need license Costs, runs on Linux, and Windows fits precisely what we need.
Chose RationalPlan

I use Multi which is the standalone platform. While there is no team collaboration it does have an email feature built in. Rational Plan does have the Server option but it all comes at a price the same as Wrike.

I have used many free and commercial platforms and rationalplan …

Chose RationalPlan
MSProject - way too expensive for what I need. I think I could do everything I did in MSProject in RationalPlan
Stackby
Chose Stackby
Airtable is the "gold standard" when it comes to relational databases. SmartSuite is the "gold standard" when it comes to how nice a relational database can look. Stackby takes a cue from Airtable in how it delivers and interacts with data, and it offers a better cost …
Chose Stackby
Stackby was the best ROI compared to its competitors
Chose Stackby
As an Airtable user, I was glad to see an available alternative. Stackby has ticked the boxes and exceeded my expectations. They also continue to grow and improve the service, making it even more appealing and valuable. Support has also been responsive and consistent. I would …
Chose Stackby
The use case and feature set against airtable is equivalent if not better and the offer of LTD access as well as specific add-ons make Stackby the better choice every time.
Chose Stackby
We have been using Airtable so often but once your team grows it costs a lot of money, to be honest. Stackby could be a great fit for our team but of course, Airtable is a more mature tool. I'm really hoping that Stackby reaches the level of Airtable at some point one day. For …
Chose Stackby
I have also tried Ora.Pm.

Infinity has better graphical interface, but nowhere near as many features and the UI isn't as effective (i.e, moving around with keys).
Chose Stackby
Airtable - better all round than Stackby but way more expensive (actually not all round - Stackby you can actually backup unlike Airtable)

Infinity - bought this and wished we hadn't. Its data structures and terminology are super-confusing and it's really hard to set up
Chose Stackby
This is a legitimate competitor to Airtable! They are well on their way to meeting the feature set offered by this much bigger and older company. Stackby has done some amazing things with this platform, and I hope they continue their great work to keep improving and already …
Chose Stackby
I am a paying user of both Stackby and Airtable. I use both both as there are some shortcomings of both.

Airtable is more developed and useful on both desktop and mobile, whereas Stackby is not. Airtable has useful internal automations, dashboards and a huge online community, …
Chose Stackby
Airtable is more mature than Stackby and has more add-ons. I expect Stackby to continue updating the app so that will close the gap.
Chose Stackby
We chose Stackby over Airtable primarily because Airtable does not currently have the option to pre-fill default data in a cell. This feature alone is a huge time saver and allows us to skip cells that contain necessary, but redundant data.
Features
RationalPlanStackby
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
RationalPlan
6.6
Ratings
15% below category average
Stackby
-
Ratings
Task Management7.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Resource Management6.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Gantt Charts7.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Scheduling6.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Team Collaboration7.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology7.30 Ratings00 Ratings
Document Management3.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Email integration6.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Access9.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking4.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management6.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
RationalPlan
4.5
Ratings
51% below category average
Stackby
-
Ratings
Invoicing4.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
RationalPlanStackby
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.7 out of 10
Enterprises
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
RationalPlanStackby
Likelihood to Recommend
7.7
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.7
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
RationalPlanStackby
Likelihood to Recommend
It's got its shortcomings but is still the best PM tool in my opinion
Read full review
Based on my experience, I can provide specific scenarios where Stackby is well suited and others where it may be less appropriate: Project Management: Stackby is an excellent choice for project management scenarios. Its ability to create custom databases, track tasks, assign responsibilities, and collaborate in real-time makes it highly effective for managing and monitoring project progress. CRM and Sales: Stackby is well suited for managing customer relationships and sales processes. Its customizable database structure allows for organizing customer information, tracking leads, managing deals, and generating reports. The ability to integrate with other tools further enhances its usefulness in CRM and sales workflows. Content Planning: Stackby is a great fit for content planning scenarios. Users can create databases to manage editorial calendars, track content ideas, assign tasks to team members, and monitor content performance. Collaboration features facilitate seamless content collaboration and ensure timely publishing.
Read full review
Pros
  • Runs on Linux and Windows.
  • It Can read Microsoft Project files.
  • Contains all functions needed for easy to use project planning
Read full review
  • Ability to collaborate with team members on the same spreadsheet
  • Ability to integrate multiple tools for centralized utilization (i.e. Facebook, Google Analytics, project management, etc.)
  • Ability to send SMS and messages using integration with Twillio and Whatsapp
  • All spreadsheets/databases securely saved in the cloud instead of on local hard drive(s)
Read full review
Cons
  • Duration at top level only in days (no options to change). Not so fun when running multi-year projects and trying to convert to weeks months on the fly in meetings
  • Ability to customize built in reports (even if it was done outside and you had to use fields provided)
  • Printing flexibility for reporting
Read full review
  • Implement the same views available on desktop into the mobile app
  • Internal automations (like Airtable)
  • Ability to implement and display info as a dashboard (like Airtable)
  • Polish up the formatting of formulas, inputting them causes user frustration due to the formula input cursor jumping around
  • Better intelligence and ease of inputting data in bulk i.e have the fields automatically identify what data is being input and format appropriately (like Airtable does)
Read full review
Usability
No answers on this topic
Stackby is overall pretty easy to use, especially if you're used to something like Airtable or SmartSuite. Some of the pages seem like near exact clones (though they put their own creative spin on things). I'd prefer a slighty fresher interface (like SmartSuite), but I'm willing to sacrifice that for the better price and great customer service.
Read full review
Support Rating
I had to ask for support once and got a response immediately.
Read full review
Extremely responsive, helpful, and friendly support (unlike many other SAAS teams out there).
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
RationalPlan is cost-effective and allows most users to prepare and manage their schedule. The software lacks comprehensive reporting and duration changes at the top level of a project.
Read full review
I have also tried Ora.Pm. Infinity has better graphical interface, but nowhere near as many features and the UI isn't as effective (i.e, moving around with keys). Grist has a much more technical interface and it comes from being more of a database/interactive spreadsheet vs Stackby. Grist has much more functionality in terms of formulas, but is much harder to learn to use and less other functionalities. Ora.PM is more of a test at a task management app, and doesn't compare - Stackby is much better.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Helps explain the target schedule and resource estimates for cost of the project
Read full review
  • By its customisation, I have seen business intelligence that was not evident or available by using other software
  • Has helped to organise all my data (work and personal) into interesting relationships that help with better decision making
  • Has created extra curiosity in its flexibility and customisation to have all my datasets used and manipulated into meaningful ways
Read full review
ScreenShots

RationalPlan Screenshots

Screenshot of Project infoScreenshot of Notes and linksScreenshot of Working calendarsScreenshot of Gantt chartsScreenshot of Resource levelingScreenshot of Baseline management

Stackby Screenshots

Screenshot of the Grid ScreenScreenshot of some of the 25 column typesScreenshot of the Calendar ViewScreenshot of a Kanban ViewScreenshot of a Custom Form