Looking for resource management software? Runn and Kantata should be on your shortlist. But what’s the difference between them, and how do you choose?
Runn and Kantata are both resource management systems, designed to help professional service businesses manage their projects and people profitably.
Although you’re reading this on the Runn site, we’re not here to throw shade at our competitors. Many of them are fantastic at what they do!
And though I think we’ve got plenty of reasons to recommend Runn with pride, I also think that you - the person who is going to be using this software, and also potentially training your coworkers on how to use it - need to shop around and feel totally confident, in the end, that you’ve picked the right platform for your business.
(Check out my Buyer’s Guide to Resource Management Software for more advice on that ➡️ )
So, with that said, we’re here to help you understand the differences between our software and Kantata’s. Let’s go.
Kantata is a cloud-based professional services platform that supports businesses with project, resource, and financial management. It serves big-name businesses with large workforces – like Sage and Hitatchi – and offers enterprises a comprehensive suite of tools to manage projects, people, and finances.
Kantata is a well-established market leader – launched in 2008 and known until 2022 as Mavenlink – with a slightly higher price tag that reflects its extensive functionality. It has a comprehensive suite of features that are tried, tested, and trusted, but it’s not known for developing new features fast.
Runn is a cloud-based resource management platform that targets the same audience at Kantata: professional service businesses that crave more visibility into – and control over – their people, projects, and profits.
Launched in 2018, Runn is specifically focused on resource and capacity management, and has a smaller functional footprint than Kantata, which is reflected in Runn’s lower price point. However, as a new platform, Runn is known for being responsive to customer development requests and has an active roadmap for new features.
Both Runn and Kantata are resource management platforms – through Kantata describes itself as a ‘professional services cloud’. As such, they offer similar functionality. Choose Runn or Kantata and you’ll get the following features, more or less.
Both platforms provide robust resource management capabilities, helping businesses allocate and schedule team members effectively.
Runn and Kantata both help teams oversee project timelines, budgets, and deliverables.
Both platforms support strategic workforce planning by enabling businesses to:
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Runn and Kantata provide analytics-driven insights to help businesses make data-informed decisions.
Put simply, both Runn and Kantata provide operational oversight of people and projects – letting businesses plan projects, allocate the right people, and monitor progress and finances – as well as a strategic overview that informs capacity planning and workforce development.
Whether you’re managing a small team or a large professional services firm, both tools offer the functionality needed to optimize resource management and project success.
We’ve established above that both Runn and Kantata offer very similar core functionality for resource management. The difference is that Runn is younger and – while already providing extensive functionality – is adding new features all the time. Whereas Kantata is more established, with a larger if static functional footprint.
Runn is fairly new, so there are definitely some features we're waiting on... but the fact that the Runn team listens to every suggestion we make is amazing. I have complete confidence that Runn is going to be an incredible fit for us for a long time." Ailsa, Computer Software, 51-200 employees
So what has Kantata got that Runn doesn’t?
Kantata boasts a huge range of integrations with HR, accounting, and productivity tools like Sage, Slack, and SAP. As such, users can build a comprehensive tech ecosystem if they need to, creating seamless workflows across different platforms.
Runn has fewer integrations – highly focused on resource management uses – but the number is growing. They include relevant HR, time tracking, and project management tools like Harvest and Jira.
While Runn do have out-of-the-box integrations that might suit your needs well, we found our needs too specific and needed to make custom integrations. That said, their APIs have meant that we could do this integration reasonably easily." Sam, CEO, Computer Software, 51-200 employees
This is one area where Runn can rightly flex. Runn is known for its intuitive interface compared to Kantata’s. And it’s an important consideration. Complexity can increase the learning curve, reduce adoption, and lengthen time-to-value. Ironically, if software offers too much, people might use it less.
I can teach someone to use Runn in 5 minutes." Kyle, Computer Networking, 51-200 employees
Kantata can be quite clunky to use without adequate training." Ethan, Financial Services PMO, 51-200 employees
Kantata’s ease of use needs significant improvement. Interface and reporting designed by someone who never has to use the application to run their day." Andy, ERP Cloud Practice Director, IT, 11-50 employees
One thing I liked least about Kantata was the learning curve. Some functionalities required a bit of time and effort to master." Marek, CEO, Financial Services, 2-10 employees
Kantata’s larger functionality means it takes longer to implement than Runn, with clients reporting that it has taken weeks or months to set up. Runn’s lower complexity means easier implementation, often taking just days for simpler use cases.
Remember, the time implementation will take for your business depends on many factors that may be out of the software vendor’s control – like your data formats and hygiene, number of stakeholders, etc.
Further reading: An Interview with Runn's Implementation Lead ➡️
We’ve mentioned that Kantata has more features than Runn at present. But Runn isn’t resting on its laurels. We have an active and responsive development team who are adding new functionality all the time – often in response to feedback from our users. This differentiates us from Kantata, who are reportedly slow to add new features.
It seems like as a whole this software – Kantata – is very slow to update and integrate new features that are requested by its users." Caroline, Director of Digital Experience, Marketing and Advertising, 11-50 employees
The Runn team are helpful and responsive to feedback; the tool is good and gets better every month.' Sam, CEO, Computer Software, 51-200 employees
Runn also gets positive feedback for the quality of our customer support, who are always at the end of a phone or email. We don’t like to leave people hanging when they need help.
The team is amazing. They will answer your questions quickly, and offer support when needed. At one point, I spotted a bug with their dropdowns. I sent a support ticket and a fix was deployed within two hours. Truly amazing stuff!’ Ailsa, Computer Software, 51-200 employees
We looked at reviews on Capterra (in Feb 2025) to see what users love about the two platforms. Here’s what some real-life users have to say about Runn and Kantata.
Kantata is a strong fit for large organizations looking for extensive functionality and integration with other enterprise-level tools. Its robust reporting and analytics capabilities provide valuable insights into project and financial performance. They have a solid background in serving enterprise-level clients.
Runn is ideal for any organization that values speed and simplicity. It offers focused functionality for effective project and resource management, making it impactful while easy to implement. Runn’s responsive development team also makes it ideal for organizations that want to influence future functionality to suit their needs.
As always, there’s no single best solution for resource management. It’s about finding the best resource management software for your organization’s use case.
Runn vs Kantata is like David vs Goliath. Runn is smaller and more agile. Goliath is bigger with a heavy-weight reputation.
Will Runn’s David slay Kantata’s Goliath? In some cases, yes.
If you want something fast to implement and laser-focused on resource management, we’re a knock-out winner.
But if you need features that Runn doesn’t offer – like client access, in-product communication, or specific integrations – Kantata could be better for you.
Is Kantata the better choice for enterprises? Not necessarily.
While Kantata is popular with larger organizations, that doesn’t mean Runn isn’t suitable for major players. It may just mean bigger businesses can rise to Kantata’s higher price tag. Runn is equally scalable to suit enterprise-size clients, and at a more affordable price.
Ultimately, your decision comes down to:
Only you can decide. But we hope our little rundown has helped.
