Top 20 Asana Alternatives to Consider in 2023

Are you on a quest to find an alternative for Asana? Finding a tool matching your workflow and the company’s standards can be challenging. 

We hate to break it to you, but there's no such a thing as a one-size-fits-all solution, so you’ll have to do some research.

Don’t fret; in this blog, we will put 20 Asana alternatives to the test, including our very own Rodeo platform. We will dive into the pros and cons so you can select the most suitable tool for your needs.

Before we start, let’s consider a few reasons you might want to try an Asana alternative.

Why you might look for an Asana alternative

Finding a tool that matches your needs and meets the company's policy can be challenging with so many software solutions on the market. We’ve done the research for you.

Asana is a popular tool with millions of users and is available in many languages, from German to English and Korean. The tool focuses on project road mapping and orchestrating and streamlining daily project tasks in lists, boards, calendars, and Gannt charts. 

The templates should give users a flying start. Whether they need a meeting agenda, project plan, or team goals and objectives structure, there’s a structure waiting to change from draft to in progress.

While Asana offers plenty of task and workflow features for your day-to-day project management, you might want to consider an alternative. These are the most common hurdles:

#1 Too many notifications

One of the most common complaints among Asana users on Capterra is the notification emails. Some reviews mention that you naturally opt-in to e-mail notifications and that changing the setting is difficult. With so many emails coming in, it's hard to keep track of what is important. 

#2 Steeper learning curve than expected 

Calculate some time before you onboard your team. As this Capterra review states, the tool looks deceivingly straightforward. 

#3 Archiving issues

Asana focuses on current tasks and live projects. Even when your project is done and dusted, you still want to learn from it or check for some details. Archived projects are not easy to find, especially if those were marked personal projects by a private user. Admins don’t overrule in this case and can’t access it.

The top 20 Asana alternatives in 2023

We’ve listed 20 software solutions that might suit your most pressing needs.
Scroll along; we are confident at least one project management tool will be a good match for your creative business.

1. Rodeo

Rodeo is our platform and is tried and tested by project managers and teams in the creative industry. We’d like to introduce our features to you first. 

Compared to Asana, here’s what Rodeo has to offer:

Easy-to-use interface

No steep learning curve for you and your team. Rodeo’s user interface optimizes collaboration in your team and streamlines processes. Compared to Asana, Rodeo offers free initial onboarding for new customers to help you onboard users faster and without spending much time on tutorials. 

Projects & budgets

Rodeo's budgeting feature helps you define and maintain a healthy profit margin on your projects. By kicking off your project with the budget, you can plan activities, allocate resources, and be confident of the project’s costs.

With Rodeo, you can create a new project in no time. Here’s how: click on the + sign and fill out the required fields on the pop-up. Have you worked on a similar project before? Toggle on the ‘copy from a project’ option and select what you need, from assignees to budget. Here you go!

Transparent pricing

Rodeo's pricing can be adjusted to meet your business's needs of all sizes without hidden costs. Get a full user (admin) license for $29.99 monthly and access all Rodeo's features (excluding Planning & Tasks). Additional users can pick between full user access (project management license) for $14.99 user/month or a creative license for $8.99 user/month.

Leverage insights from your projects

Gathering insights into project financial and productivity health makes Rodeo a hands-on tool. The productivity report breaks down data in summaries, ready for export as an Excel or CSV file.

Rodeo’s current project reporting feature gives a quick overview of your running project. Analyze, learn, and adapt when you need it. The work-in-progress report brings you up to date on the present, upcoming, and delivered tasks on active projects.

Additional Features

• Estimates: Create and send client-ready estimates straight from Rodeo in just a few clicks.
• Time tracking: The built-in time-tracking feature syncs with the project budget, giving you real-time insights into project timelines so you can optimize and manage activities.
• Invoicing: This feature allows you to generate invoices straight from a project budget. You can split invoices into project phases and set up recurring ones to automate your processes.
• Expenses & POs: If you work purchase orders or need a structured way to track project expenses, this feature will help you.
• Quickbooks (US) and Xero (UK) Integration: Helps with your bookkeeping and billing.

Why do companies choose Rodeo?

You didn’t hear it from us. Social media agency Dorst & Lesser leverages their day-to-day work with Rodeo’s templates.

Sophie van der Togt, Head of Account at Dorst & Lesser: "The function that allows you to copy previous projects is super convenient for us. We have one-off projects here and there, but for most of our clients, we develop monthly campaigns. This means that we work through the same cycle with them every month. Each campaign starts with the data from the last one, which is copied to the budget and quote, for which you schedule tasks, on which you track time, and so on. Our monthly projects run super smooth thanks to the way these steps are connected because we continue the process with existing data. Restarting and closing a recurring project with Rodeo is easy, from start to finish.”

Visual effects and motion design company BAIT Studio communicates more effectively since using Rodeo.
Managing Director Peter Rogers: "With Rodeo, we can see exactly what’s going on with our projects, providing much more context to base updates on. Clients have really noticed how we can give way more details about the project status than we used to. This data is also very helpful for managers and clients, as we now have better reports to base decisions on.”

We are continuously in touch with our customers, and we think it’s pretty notable that some agencies have made their projects more profitable or have cut down on costs since using Rodeo.

Why not take it out for a spin? Try Rodeo for free and test out the features yourself.

2. Scoro

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Scoro manages sales, customer relations, project management, planning, and time tracking in one tool.
The solution relies heavily on its variety of over 100 features.

With Scoro, you can automate routine tasks and benefit from integrations to familiar tools such as Google Calendar and Xero.

Also Read: 15 Best Scoro Alternatives to Consider in 2023

The complete list of features (100+) can make you feel dizzy. When you are just starting out with project management, you might benefit from a clear-cut set of features with a common purpose of supporting your project lifecycle.

Popular features

• Goal tracking
• Time and project management (Pro Plan)
• Customizable templates

Who is this tool for?

Scoro has various large agencies, consultancies, and professional service firms in its portfolio. The tool has so many features smaller teams might feel overwhelmed starting.

Pricing

The Essential Plan for $19 per user works for smaller teams of 5 people or more. In this plan, you’ll get the essential features for basic project management. The Standard Plan adds purchase orders and other financial features for $29 per user/month into the mix. The Pro Plan will give all the features plus time tracking and a detailed task management dashboard at a $49 per user/month rate. Enterprise plans are available upon request.

3. Hive

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Hive offers time tracking, project workflow management, and collaboration features. Integrations with third-party tools such as Gmail, Outlook, Github, Intercom, and HubSpot make it a versatile tool.

Also Read: Top 13 Hive Alternatives in 2023

The software platform focuses on creating efficient workflows and connects various departments. While Hive offers plenty of workflow and productivity features for you and your team members, be aware of a steep learning curve with that many options. 

Popular features

• Time tracking
• Project baselines
• Automated workflows

Who is this tool for?

Hive is developed for various sizes of startups, agencies, educators, and marketing businesses. However, they promote enterprise clients like Starbucks and EA on their website.

Pricing

If you get started by yourself, try the Free Hive Solo Plan. Teams pay $12 per user per month for unlimited storage and support. The enterprise plan is available upon request through the website.

4. Teamwork

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Like Asana, Teamwork focuses on streamlining projects with milestones, tasks, and messaging. The interface is sleek, and the tool integrates seamlessly with popular tools such as Slack and Trello.

The reporting and automation features are limited but sufficient while managing straightforward tasks. Customer support is not always sufficient, according to some users.

Also read: Best Teamwork Alternatives [In Depth Review]

Popular features

• Project templates
• Time tracking
• Custom fields

Who is this tool for?

Their website claims to service more than 20,000 (mostly tech) companies, including Netflix and Paypal.

Pricing

Although they offer a free version to use, to fully benefit from using the tool, you would need the most popular Grow plan—which starts at $22.50 per user when billed monthly with a minimum of 5 seats required to start.

5. Basecamp

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Create projects, to-do lists, and schedule tasks. That’s pretty much what Basecamp provides. If this is all you need from a software solution, you’d be pleased with the simple aesthetic and easy functionality.

However, if you work on projects that involve a larger team, be aware that Basecamp doesn’t offer Gantt charts or measure your team’s workload.

Asana has more appeal as they offer integrations with popular tools such as Adobe Creative Cloud and Dropbox.

Both tools differ in pricing. Basecamp offers a flat rate for all its features, while Asana is scalable with various plans.

Also read: 19 Best Basecamp Alternatives in 2023 [Free & Paid]

Popular features

• To-do lists
• Schedules
• Group chat

Who is this tool for?

Basecamp is used by a wide range of industries and departments. Companies benefit from project-based communication and focus on efficiency thanks to the tool.

Pricing

After your free trial, it’s $11 per user/month, which includes unlimited projects and 500GB of storage space.

6. Wrike

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Wrike is another highly desired tool. They offer similar features to Scoro and are suited for large or enterprise companies.

The tool maximizes efficiency through Kanban/Gantt charts, real-time updates, and time tracking. The downside of Wrike is that the platform can be a bit too complex, especially for smaller teams, resulting in a longer learning curve and adoption by users.

You could benefit from an all-in-one project management tool instead of a pick and mix to save costs. However, if you work for an enterprise, you might want to look into Wrike’s custom plan.

Also read: The 15 Best Wrike Alternatives for Project Management

Popular features

• Project portfolio management
• Time tracking
• To-do lists

Who is this tool for?

Wrike is a popular tool for small to medium-sized businesses that require workflow optimization.

Pricing

Try Wrike for free. The limited version of the platform is free for up to five users. Switching to the Pro plan offers shareable dashboards for $9.80 per user/month.
The Business plan offers real-time reports, customized templates, and resource management for $24.80 per user/month. The Enterprise plan is provided upon request.

7. Airtable

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Airtable is praised for its flexibility and can be used for almost any type of project in any business. The tool has task-tracking capabilities and offers lots of project management templates to choose from.

Flexibility is also one of the drawbacks. Airtable is a low-code platform, meaning the tool is customizable but requires some technical knowledge. Their no-code apps tackle this a bit.

Also read: 15 Airtable Alternatives to Consider

Popular features

• Workflow automation
• Data synchronization
• Reporting

Who is this tool for?

Airtable focuses on marketing, finance, HR, operations, and development teams across industries of various sizes.

Pricing

Get started for free if you’re running things by yourself or with a team of up to five people. The $10 seat/month could work for you if you wish to use more integrations and features. The $20 seat/month gives you the timelines and Gantt charts you crave as a project manager. Contact sales for an enterprise or customized plan.

8. nTask

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nTask is one of many Asana alternatives that supports users with organizing tasks, to-do lists, and calendars. Some users find the tool a bit glitchy and the interface not very intuitive. However, nTask supports teams with tracking progress and shareable task options.

Also read: 15 Best nTask Alternatives in 2023 [Paid & Free]

Popular features

• Resource management
• Task management
• Time tracking

Who is this tool for?

nTask helps small to medium businesses stay organized and on top of their tasks.

Pricing

You can start with a free 7-day trial before choosing between the Premium ($3 per user/month, billed annually),  Business$8 per user/month, billed annually), or Enterprise plans (custom pricing).

9. Paymo

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Another tool on the top of our Asana alternatives list is Paymo. The solution helps companies and teams manage end-to-end projects and includes resource management, budgeting, and invoicing features.

Some say it lacks a collaboration option for users outside the organization without paying for another seat. Asana comes out on top regarding that point.

Also read: 15 Paymo Alternatives to Try [Free & Paid]

Popular features

• Time Tracking
• Invoicing 
• Team Collaboration

Who is this tool for?

Paymo targets creative agencies, higher education institutions, business consultants, and web development companies.

Pricing

You can start free when you want to benefit from Paymo for personal use. The Starter plan ($4,95) is a complete suite for freelancers and can be used by one person. Have a bigger team? The Small Office ($9.95)  or Business plan ($20.79) per user/month might be a fit. 

10. monday.com

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Monday.com is a popular name in the game and offers a variety of features, including Gantt charts and custom workflows.

While the platform is one of the most popular tools, some users complain that you have to be tech-savvy to be able to create workflows and projects.

Related: Top 25 Monday Alternatives to Try

Popular features

• Task planner
• Customizable templates
• CRM

Who is this tool for?

Monday.com services a wide range of industries and teams. However, a solid understanding of software will help you with the implementation and set up your custom workflow.

Pricing

Monday.com offers a free limited plan for up to two users. The Standard Plan is very popular as it includes all the features, including automation and guest access, for $12 per user/month. If you work for a large organization, monday.com offers a custom Enterprise plan which can be requested through the website.

11. Shortcut

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Shortcut, formerly known as Clubhouse, brings planning and (software) development together and makes an ideal tool for teams involved in design, marketing, and product teams. The tool can be daunting if you’re just looking for task management. Asana would be your safest bet here.

Popular features

• Documents
• Many integrations
• Issue tracker

Who is this tool for?

Tech-oriented teams who’d leverage from integrations with Figma and other development tools.

Pricing

Start for free if you are in a small team. If you wish to use customizable workflows, calculate $8.50 per user/month in your budget. The Business plan will give you more insights and reporting options for $12.00 a month per team member. Check-in with sales for an Enterprise plan.

12. Trello

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You might’ve heard of Trello. The task management tool allows users to create boards and add cards. The cards can be moved from ‘to do’ to ‘done’ and include an assigned user. Trello works great for creating checklists and managing the workflow during a project. The solutions lack other features and don’t support other processes.

Related: Top 22 Trello Alternatives for Project Management [Free & Paid]

Popular features

• Task cards
• Checklists
• Project-based templates

Who is this tool for?

Departments that run straightforward projects can benefit from the flexibility and clear interface. 

Pricing

The Free Plan has limited features and storage but would work well for small teams or a one-person band. The Standard ($5 user/month), Premium ($10), and Enterprise ($17,50) plans have features like unlimited workspaces, custom fields, and SSO.

13. Jira

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Jira Software offers a wide range of features for planning, tracking, and releasing products or services. The task management tool is popular among teams across industries and disciplines to organize, manage, and track tasks throughout the (software) development lifecycle.

Popular features

• Customizable Kanban boards 
• Project dashboards
• Integration with more than 3000 apps

Who is this tool for?

Jira can be complex for smaller teams as the platform is feature-heavy. If your team just needs an overview of the upcoming tasks, Asana will be sufficient.

Pricing

Jira is free for ten users. You can access basic Agile project management features. The $7.50 per user/month plan gets you 250GB of storage. You will receive unlimited storage and support for $14.50 per user/month.

14. Nifty

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Ride the new wave of project management tools with Nifty. The platform wants you to reduce project development cycles but improve team productivity by working milestone-driven and remaining on schedule. The software will give you plenty of Kanban and list views to organize your tasks. With integrations such as Github, you will be able to work cross-departmental.

Asana focuses more on the day-to-day and overall task planning, which is great for when you manage a small team and focus on deliverables.

Popular features

• Time tracking
• Reporting
• Project portfolio

Who is this tool for?

Large teams aiming to improve their entire process, from task management to deliverables.

Pricing

Plenty of plans to choose from with no per-user fees. Free, Starter ($39), Pro ($79), Business ($124), and Unlimited ($399). With each upgrade, the plan offers more features and storage space. 

15. Workzone

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Workzone is an easy-to-use productivity and collaboration tool. It helps you to stay on top of projects and tasks and aligns with your goals. Access the quick overview to make changes and keep your milestones on track.

Workzone works great for collaboration and personal to-do lists. However, Asana has a great user interface that makes day-to-day task management more enjoyable.

Popular features

• Task management
• Gannt charts
• Status alerts

Who is this tool for?

Various large teams in specific industries leverage from Workzone, ranging from manufacturing, retail, and real estate.

Pricing

Small teams who don’t need a wide range of features will benefit from the Team plan for $24 per user a month. Professional users ($34 a month) enjoy unlimited project and task management. Enterprise clients ($43 per user/month) enjoy all the bells and whistles the tool offers.

16. Zoho Projects

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Zoho Projects is part of the Zoho ecosystem with capabilities like time tracking, team collaboration, and task management.

If you’re already using other Zoho products, the ability to integrate Zoho Projects with Zoho CMS, Zoho Mail, and Zoho Invoice will create a full suite of options. These integrations, combined with the platform’s native functionalities, make the tool a comprehensive solution. 

With a comprehensive platform comes a complex UI that can make the learning curve a challenge. With so many functions, many users have reported that Zoho Projects is difficult to navigate. 

Zoho Projects also does not have a dedicated customer support team to remedy issues as they arise. This combined with an already confusing interface can make onboarding tremendously difficult. 

Also read: Top 15 Zoho Projects Alternatives [Free & Paid]

Popular features

• Time tracking
• Charts and reporting
• Team collaboration
• Task management

Who is this tool for?

Larger companies with an extensive software budget could benefit from Zoho Project's features, especially when you need a larger suite of options for different departments.

Pricing

Small team? Start for free. If your team is bigger than five people, the Basic ($7.20), Plus ($11.20), or Premium ($19.20) might be the fit for you. All plans are priced per employee per month. If you wish for a custom plan, chat with their customer service.

17. Adobe Workfront

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Here’s another cloud-based project management tool. Adobe Workfront helps teams manage complex projects and tasks. Features include project management, asset management, portfolio management, and time tracking.

Workfront has an intuitive interface and robust features. However, it is less scalable than Asana and lacks integrations and project and timeline views. The upside is that Adobe acquired the platform, making it a good fit for agencies who work with the Adobe suite of design solutions.

Popular features

• Task management
• Document sharing
• Reporting

Who is this tool for?

Workfront can be a great fit for organizations with complex workflows, for example, in design, product, or software development.

Pricing

Ask Adobe Workfront for a custom plan or login on the Adobe Creative Cloud to find out more.

18.Toggl

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Toggl is another umbrella tool. Rather than an all-inclusive platform, Toggl Plan is for planning, Toggl Track for time tracking, and Toggl Hire for recruitment.

With Toggl Plan, you can create timelines and recurring tasks to improve your team's workflows, like in Asana. However, they don't offer a reliable mobile app or task automation. 

Toggl Plan can be a good and potentially cheaper option if you only need a planning tool. 

Also read: The 14 Best Toggl Alternatives

Popular features

• Time tracking
• Revenue tracking
• Team scheduling
• Task management

Who is this tool for?

Since Asana offers goal and portfolio management, it is a great tool for larger businesses. Toggl Plan, on the other hand, focuses on creative agencies and other small teams. 

Toggl Plan: 

• Team plan ($9 per user/month): Timelines, workload management, recurring tasks, 100MB storage per file 
• Business plan ($15 per user/month): Guest users, project data exports, priority support 

Pricing

Professional and Premium plans are cheaper when billed annually and cost $19 or $49 per team member/month. Enterprise customers for a chat via their website. 

19. Smartsheet

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Smartsheet is on a mission to define efficient business processes and empower organizations. The tool focuses on task management and includes many dashboards, viewing options, and ways to create, assign, and track tasks.

Also read: 18 Best Smartsheet Alternatives [Free & Paid]

Popular features

• Team collaboration
• Task management
• Workflow automation

Who is this tool for?

Unlike Asana, Smartsheet focuses on niches such as education and healthcare institutes and can feel limited to the creative industry. 

Pricing

There’s no free plan to give this tool a spin. However, the friendly-priced Pro plan will cost you a large iced latte ($7) per month. The Business plan starts from three users for $25 per user/month and will give you automated workflows. Chat with their customer service if you wish for an Enterprise plan.

20. Proofhub

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ProofHub’s philosophy is to make your day-to-day work easier and the output better. Sounds good, right? The solution includes all the necessary tools for project management and claims to promote team accountability.

Compared to Asana, the tool is highly customizable but pricier and less scalable. If you manage a small team, Proofhub can be quite an investment.

Related: 15 Best ProofHub Alternatives to Consider [Free & Paid]

Popular features

• Timesheets
• Gantt charts 
• Custom reports 

Who is this tool for?

Teams who have developed a workflow or work in a larger organization can benefit from Proofhub as the tool support many business processes and is highly customizable.

Pricing

Proofhub promotes its Ultimate Control plan for a flat fee of $89 for unlimited features, projects, and users. If you wish to switch to the Essential Plan ($45), you can after signing up.

Takeaway

There you have it: the 20 best Asana alternatives on the market.

Asana is an effective project management tool but might not fit your or your company’s needs. With our list, you can decide which product is right for your project management.

Rodeo might be the fit for you if you’re looking for a software solution with an easy-to-use interface that supports the complete lifecycle of your projects at your creative business.

Don’t just believe our word. Try Rodeo for yourself. We’re offering a 14-day free trial so that you can explore all our features without any commitment. 

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Originally published on July 1, 2022, updated on Dec 28, 2022.}