What is the difference between Asana and Todoist?

Asana is best for Cross-functional teams that need multiple project views, while Todoist is best for Individuals and small teams wanting a clean task manager. Asana starts at $10.99/user/mo and Todoist starts at Free.

Is Asana or Todoist cheaper?

Asana starts at $10.99/user/mo with a free tier. Todoist starts at Free with a free tier.

Is there a free alternative to Todoist?

Both Asana and Todoist offer free tiers.

Asana vs Todoist

Asana is work management platform for teams to organize, track, and manage projects, while Todoist is task management app with natural language input, labels, filters, and cross-platform sync. The biggest difference up front: Todoist is free, while Asana starts at $10.99/user/mo. Asana is built for cross-functional teams that need multiple project views, whereas Todoist targets individuals and small teams wanting a clean task manager.

At a glance

	Asana	Todoist
Best for	Cross-functional teams that need multiple project views	Individuals and small teams wanting a clean task manager
Starting price	$10.99/user/mo	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	—
Automations	✓	—
Filters	—	✓
Forms	✓	—
Goals	✓	—
Karma System	—	✓
Labels	—	✓
Natural Language	—	✓
Portfolios	✓	—
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

Try Asana → Full review

Todoist

Strengths

Natural language input lets you type tasks in plain English and auto-parse dates and priorities
Flexible label system makes it easy to filter and organize tasks your way
Free for 5 active projects — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Established product with 19+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Migrating existing projects from another tool can be time-consuming
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Todoist → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Todoist is completely free (Free for 5 active projects), which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Asana starts at $10.99/user/mo, but Free for up to 10 users, limited views. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Asana offers Automations, Forms and Goals that Todoist lacks. Todoist brings Filters, Karma System and Labels that Asana does not have.

Team fit: Asana is geared toward mid-size teams teams, while Todoist is aimed at individual users and small setups. 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. Todoist's biggest strengths are: natural language input lets you type tasks in plain english and auto-parse dates and priorities. flexible label system makes it easy to filter and organize tasks your way.

Watch out for: With Asana, users commonly note that expensive compared to alternatives. With Todoist, the main complaint is that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade.

Choose Asana if...

You need a tool built for cross-functional teams that need multiple project views
You specifically need Automations and Forms
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 Todoist if...

You need a tool built for individuals and small teams wanting a clean task manager
Budget is a hard constraint — Todoist is free, Asana is not
You specifically need Filters and Karma System
You care about flexible label system makes it easy to filter and organize tasks your way
Your team size fits the individuals profile Todoist is designed for