Asana vs Smartsheet
Asana is work management platform for teams to organize, track, and manage projects, while Smartsheet is enterprise work management platform with spreadsheet interface, automations, and dashboards. Smartsheet comes in cheaper, but price alone does not tell the full story. Asana is built for cross-functional teams that need multiple project views, whereas Smartsheet targets enterprise teams wanting spreadsheet-style project management.
At a glance
|
Asana
|
Smartsheet
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Cross-functional teams that need multiple project views | Enterprise teams wanting spreadsheet-style project management |
| Starting price | $10.99/user/mo | $7/user/mo |
| Free tier | ✓ | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Free tier available | ✓ | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Automations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dashboards | — | ✓ |
| Forms | ✓ | — |
| Goals | ✓ | — |
| Portfolios | ✓ | — |
| Resource Mgmt | — | ✓ |
| Spreadsheet UI | — | ✓ |
| Timeline View | ✓ | — |
Asana
Strengths
- Multiple views: list, board, timeline, calendar
- Intuitive interface that non-technical users love
- Good for cross-functional collaboration
- Strong automation and rules engine
Weaknesses
- Expensive compared to alternatives
- Free tier is quite limited
- Can be too generic for software development
- Performance slows with large projects
Smartsheet
Strengths
- Spreadsheet-style interface is familiar to anyone who has used Excel
- Built-in automations handle repetitive tasks like status changes and assignments
- Affordable at $7/user/mo — one of the lower-priced options in the project management category
- Established product with 20+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem
Weaknesses
- No free plan — you need to pay $7/user/mo from day one to use it
- Enterprise-focused design means the interface can feel heavy for smaller teams
- Migrating existing projects from another tool can be time-consuming
- Overkill for freelancers or small teams who need something lightweight
The bottom line
Pricing: Asana starts at $10.99/user/mo. Smartsheet starts at $7/user/mo. Smartsheet is the more affordable option.
Feature gaps: Asana offers Forms, Goals and Portfolios that Smartsheet lacks. Smartsheet brings Dashboards, Resource Mgmt and Spreadsheet UI that Asana does not have. Both share Automations.
Team fit: Asana is geared toward mid-size teams teams, while Smartsheet is aimed at enterprise teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.
Where each tool shines: Asana's biggest strengths are: multiple views: list, board, timeline, calendar. intuitive interface that non-technical users love. Smartsheet's biggest strengths are: spreadsheet-style interface is familiar to anyone who has used excel. built-in automations handle repetitive tasks like status changes and assignments.
Watch out for: With Asana, users commonly note that expensive compared to alternatives. With Smartsheet, the main complaint is that no free plan — you need to pay $7/user/mo from day one to use it.
Choose Asana if...
- You need a tool built for cross-functional teams that need multiple project views
- You specifically need Forms and Goals
- You care about intuitive interface that non-technical users love
- Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile Asana is designed for
- The free tier works for you: free for up to 10 users, limited views
Choose Smartsheet if...
- You need a tool built for enterprise teams wanting spreadsheet-style project management
- You want to save on per-user costs — Smartsheet is $3.99/user/mo cheaper
- You specifically need Dashboards and Resource Mgmt
- You care about built-in automations handle repetitive tasks like status changes and assignments
- Your team size fits the enterprise profile Smartsheet is designed for
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