The 5 Best Client-Facing Project Progress Trackers for Agencies (2025)

Not every agency struggles with doing the work. The real challenge is proving that it’s moving forward.

On the How to Scale an Agency podcast, Brand North’s VP of Ops admitted she didn’t know what half her team was working on until they introduced a simple visibility system. Within months, they saved $300,000 a year just by catching duplicate efforts and missed handoffs.

Now flip that situation around: if it’s this easy for your own team’s work to go invisible, imagine how much harder it is for clients who aren’t in your Slack or Asana all day. To them, no news often feels like no progress.

If you’re an agency (and you have clients—AKA the whole point!), you’ll really benefit from a project progress tracker. It’s the simplest way to make sure your work gets seen.

In this article, I’ll show you why they matter, how to choose the right one, and the best tools built for agencies like yours.

Summary: The Best Project Progress Tracking Tools

*Estimated cost = lowest plan with client-facing collaboration features.

Do You Actually Know Why Your Agency Needs a Project Progress Tracker?

Here’s the truth: many agencies lose clients not because the results are bad, but because they can’t see the work. In fact, weak relationships – and specifically “proactive and personalized communication” – account for about 16% of churn.

That’s because so much of what agencies do happens quietly in the background. 

For your team, it’s routine and sometimes mundane. It’s the kind of work you barely think twice about. 

But for clients, who don’t live in the day-to-day of marketing, none of it is obvious. They don’t speak your language. They may not even fully understand what you’re doing—and when they can’t see it, invisible work often feels like no work at all.

Project progress trackers bridge the gap between what feels routine for your team and what feels invisible to your clients:

• Clients stop assuming nothing’s happening – Progress becomes tangible through milestones, task completions, and updates they can actually see.
  

• You protect retention and revenue – By showing the process (not just outcomes), you keep clients engaged and less likely to churn during slow results periods.
  

• Red flags surface earlier – When visibility is baked into the process, it’s easier to catch bottlenecks like stalled campaigns before they become client complaints.
  

• Calls shift from defense to strategy – Instead of proving what you’ve been doing, you get to talk about what’s next.

How to Choose the Right Project Progress Tracker

There are plenty of project progress trackers out there, but when you’re picking one for your clients, not just your team, your criteria have to shift. 

Internal project management is about efficiency. Client-facing progress tracking is about trust, visibility, and clarity.

Use the following questions to determine the type of tool that will work best for you:

1. Will clients actually use it? If it requires logins or training, adoption will tank. Your clients hired you to make things easier, not to give them more platforms to learn. Can your least tech-savvy client check progress in one click?
   
   
2. Can you control what clients see? Some clients just want high-level milestones, others want every detail. Does the tool let you tailor visibility without extra admin work?
   
   
3. Does it surface what’s waiting on the client? The best trackers don’t just show what your team is doing—they show where approvals, assets, or feedback are holding things up.
   
   
4. Can it turn invisible work into visible value? Campaign optimization, keyword research, and other “quiet” work need to be communicated. Does the tool translate routine, behind-the-scenes tasks into client-visible progress?
   
   
5. Does it reinforce your brand experience? Will the tracker look like your agency (white-labeled, branded portal), or like a third-party app bolted onto your service?
   
   
6. How easy is it to standardize across projects? Can you build templates for recurring workflows (onboarding, SEO sprints, ad campaigns) so every client gets a consistent experience?
   
   
7. Does it reduce manual updates? Will your team need to push updates into the tracker, or does it sync automatically with your internal workflows?
   
   
8. Do you need AI features? Some trackers promise “smart” updates, automated summaries, or predictive timelines. These can be useful if your team is stretched thin on client comms, but they’re not always essential.
   
   
9. Will it still work as you scale? Tools that feel fine at five clients often break at 30. Can the tracker handle more clients, projects, and approvals as your agency scales?
   
   
10. Do you need it to be more than a progress tracker? Some tools double as full project management systems or even client portals, with features for file storage, feedback, or invoicing. Be clear on whether you want an all-in-one platform or a tracker that does one thing well.

The Best Client-Facing Project Progress Trackers [Agency Edition]

1. Motion.io

TL;DR: The only tracker your clients will actually use. Motion.io ditches logins for secure, one-click portals, so clients stay engaged and never feel left in the dark.

Most client-facing trackers fail because clients never log in. Motion.io solves that with secure, loginless portals built specifically for agencies. Clients see real-time progress, know exactly what’s waiting on them, and can approve or upload assets without friction. For agencies, that means fewer bottlenecks and a clear way to prove value without endless status calls.

Key features

• Client-facing project progress tracker – Share a simple, branded portal so clients can see exactly where things stand without digging through emails (see how it works →)
  

• No login required for clients – Clients can access their tracker instantly, which drives adoption and avoids the “we never used it” problem.
  

• Task and milestone visibility – Show what’s complete, what’s in progress, and what’s waiting on the client.
  

• Centralized approvals & asset collection – Collect feedback, documents, and approvals in one place so nothing gets lost.
  

• Custom branding – Present updates in your agency’s look and feel, reinforcing professionalism and trust.
  

• Automated reminders – Nudge clients when tasks or approvals are overdue, saving your team from constant chasing.
  

• Onboarding templates – Standardize client onboarding with repeatable workflows and progress tracking built in.

Pricing

• Start – $29/user/month (branded portal, loginless client access, contracts & intake forms)
  

• Grow – $39/user/month (adds automations, Zapier, AI form & project builder)
  

• Scale – $49/user/month (adds white-label portal, custom domain, reporting – min. 3 users)
  

All plans include a 14-day free trial. Annual billing saves ~10%.

2. ManyRequests

TL;DR: A handy all-in-one portal where clients can send requests, follow progress, and even handle billing in one spot.

ManyRequests is less about deep project management and more about making client services feel streamlined. Clients can log in to submit new requests, check where things stand, review deliverables, and handle billing all in one hub. For agencies, it’s a way to package service delivery neatly so clients always know how work is moving forward.

Key features

• Branded, white-labeled portals – Customize with your logo and domain so the experience feels like your agency, not third-party software.
  

• Request submission & progress tracking – Clients log new requests directly and track progress in real time.
  

• File sharing & deliverable review – Share creative assets, get comments, and finalize approvals in one place.
  

• Built-in invoicing and payments – Handle billing without sending clients to a separate system.
  

• Unlimited clients on all plans – Scale without worrying about extra per-client fees.

Pricing

• Starter – $29/month (portal, projects, billing, CRM, reporting; 1 seat included, $20 per extra seat)
  

• Core – $59/month (adds proofing tools, Zapier integration, extensions; 1 seat included, $20 per extra seat)
  

• Pro – $99/month (adds custom roles, advanced reporting, white-labeling, webhooks; 1 seat included, $30 per extra seat)

Things to consider:

• Clients need logins, which can slow adoption.
• Progress tracking is list-style; no automatic stage progression.
• Doesn’t clearly separate client tasks from agency tasks.

3. Productive

TL;DR: A robust agency OS that also lets clients log in and follow project updates alongside budgets and reports.

Productive is an agency OS that handles projects, budgets, resources, and profitability. Clients get dedicated logins where they can follow tasks, milestones, and deliverables, but the real strength is how progress sits side by side with financial data. It’s ideal for agencies that want structured client visibility in the same environment they manage operations.

Key features:

• Client access – Share project timelines, task progress, and files without exposing internal data.
  

• Budget & financial tracking – Track budgets, profitability, and billable hours alongside project progress.
  

• Time tracking & resource planning – Manage capacity and allocate work efficiently.
  

• Project templates & automations – Standardize workflows across clients.
  

• Advanced reporting – Custom reports on performance, utilization, and profitability.
  

Pricing:

• Essentials – $11/user/month (project & task management, time tracking, budgets)
  

• Professional – $28/user/month (adds custom fields, workload planning, advanced reporting)
  

• Ultimate – custom pricing (enterprise-level support, SSO, custom SLA)

Things to consider:

• Clients must log in, which may discourage consistent use.
• Client-facing view mirrors internal PM tools (tables, Gantt, Kanban) rather than a simple, stage-based tracker.
• Reviewers often note it’s more ops-and finance-oriented than client-facing.

4. Plutio

TL;DR: A budget-friendly option that gives smaller agencies a simple client portal for tasks and milestones.

Plutio is a budget-friendly platform popular with freelancers and small agencies. It combines projects, invoicing, proposals, and CRM in one system. Clients log into branded portals where they can see tasks, milestones, and project progress. It’’s not as advanced as higher-end tools, but for smaller teams, it strikes a balance between cost and simplicity.

Key features

• Client portals – branded logins where clients can track project status, tasks, and files.
  

• Project timelines & milestones – visual progress markers so clients can see how close a project is to completion.
  

• Task & subtask tracking – detailed breakdowns of work so clients know exactly what’s been done and what’s next.
  

• Collaborative feedback – clients can comment directly on tasks/files instead of endless email threads.
  

• Custom dashboards – build client-facing overviews showing project health at a glance.

Pricing

• Solo – $19/month (for freelancers; 1 user)
  

• Studio – $39/month (for small teams; unlimited contributors)
  

• Agency – $99/month (unlimited users; advanced features + white labeling)

Things to consider:

• Clients must log in to access their portal, which can reduce adoption.
• Progress appears in dashboards and percentage bars, but not as a clear, stage-by-stage tracker.
• Automatic stage progression isn’t built in—status updates need manual management.

5. Clinked

TL;DR: A secure, compliance-ready portal for agencies working with enterprise clients who need tight control and documentation.

Clinked is built for agencies with enterprise or compliance-focused clients. It gives clients a secure login to a branded workspace where they can see project tasks, milestones, and files. 

Unlike lighter tools, Clinked emphasizes bank-level security, version control, and permissions, making it ideal for industries where documentation and compliance matter as much as delivery.

Key features

• Client portals – branded workspaces for each client.
  

• Task & project tracking – assign, update, and show progress in real time.
  

• File sharing & version control – keep client deliverables organized and track revisions.
  

• Discussions & comments – keep feedback connected to tasks instead of in email chains.
  

• Mobile apps – clients can check updates on the go.
  

Pricing

• Starter – $83/month (up to 100 users; basic portals & file sharing)
  

• Collaboration – $251/month (adds tasks, discussions, and project management features)
  

• Enterprise – custom pricing (advanced security, SSO, unlimited scalability)

Things to consider:

• Clients must log in, and the portal has a more corporate feel that may intimidate less technical clients.
• Progress is shown via dashboards and activity streams, not a simple stage-by-stage roadmap.
• Higher starting cost than alternatives, making it less budget-friendly for smaller agencies.

Which Tracker Is Right for Your Agency?

If you’re still weighing your options after running through the questions and tools above, here’s the simplest advice: experiment. Most platforms offer free trials, so create a test project, invite a client, and see how it goes.

And that’s the real test. Because no matter how powerful the tool is on paper, if clients don’t use it, progress tracking breaks down.

If you want to remove that barrier completely, choose a loginless tracker. Motion.io was built with agencies in mind, giving clients a portal where they see a real, visual tracker of their project—no passwords, no training, no back-and-forth.

Here’s why agencies choose Motion.io:

✅ Clients never need a login—secure one-click access means adoption actually happens.

✅ Every project has a clear tracker clients can follow in real time.

✅ Automated reminders keep feedback and approvals moving without you chasing.

✅ Centralized hub for assets, approvals, and onboarding forms.

✅ Branded portals that look like your agency, not a third-party tool.

👉 Start your free 14-day trial of Motion.io and give your clients a tracker they’ll actually use!