Asana vs SmartTask (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Asana grades higher than SmartTask: 3.0 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Asana grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. SmartTask grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Asana
Work management for projects, goals and cross-team workflows
SmartTask
Project management, time tracking and CRM for client work
Which one is for you
Pick Asana if
- Fits if your projects cross several departments and everyone needs the same picture
- Works for nonprofits and schools, who can apply for 50% off paid plans
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if your team is an awkward size, since seats come in blocks of 5 once you pass 5 users
- Tight if you're staying free and there are more than 2 of you
- Not for you if you need approvals, goals or built-in time tracking on a budget, as they're on Advanced at $24.99 a user
- Watch out: the pricing page doesn't give the trial length, and timeline, forms and custom fields start on Starter
- Skip it if you work on Linux, as the download page lists no Linux app
Pick SmartTask if
- Fits if you run client projects and want time tracking and a CRM in the same tool
- Works for small teams that want a free plan with no user cap
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you pay monthly, at $12 for Premium and $16 for Business against $6 and $11 yearly
- Tight if you want time tracking or budgeting, which need Business at $11
- Watch out: custom branding is a paid add-on on Business
- Skip it if you need single sign-on or enterprise API access, as they are Enterprise only with no published price
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAAsanaVery good | 2.6GPASmartTaskGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $10.99 a user a month billed annually, or $13.49 monthly, a shade above the $10 dear quarter here and well past the $8 middle. Seats come in fixed blocks of 5 once you pass 5 people, and goals, portfolios and time tracking need Advanced at $24.99. | BPremium is $6 per user a month billed yearly, which is the figure the cheaper quarter of the category starts at. Business is $11. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe Personal plan is free with unlimited tasks and projects, list, board and calendar views and 100-plus integrations, which one person can live on. It stops at 2 users, so a team can't. | BFree plan with unlimited tasks, users, projects, contacts and guests. Custom fields, reminders, forms and workflows are paid. |
| Features | BCovers the whole job: list, board, calendar, timeline and Gantt views of the same tasks, rules that automate routine steps, forms that turn requests into tasks, dashboards, workload, and AI Studio on a credit pool. Goals, portfolios, approvals and time tracking are Advanced-only, which the listing says plainly. | CViews, time tracking, budgeting, client portal and CRM. Timeline, dashboards, portfolios and time tracking need the Business plan. |
| Ease of use | B4.67 from about 15,700 App Store ratings, a hair under the 4.7 an A needs. The same project can be a list, a board or a calendar, so each person picks the view that suits them. | CNo store rating on record. Many modules mean setup before a team is productive. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with Slack, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Jira Cloud, GitHub, Zoom and Figma among 100-plus integrations and a public API. No Linux app on the download page. | BWeb, iOS and Android apps with Google Drive and Dropbox. No desktop app. |
| Best for | projects that cross several departments | client work with tasks, time tracking and a CRM |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Asana and SmartTask. How we grade
Price against what you get
Asana starts at $10.99 a month for each person and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SmartTask starts at $6 a month for each person and scores 2.3.
Asana scores higher, and starts $4.99 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other project management tools on the chart, 5 score higher than Asana for less, and 16 score higher than SmartTask for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Asana also covers goals.
- SmartTask also covers sales pipeline, time tracking and AI agents.
At a glance
| Asana | SmartTask | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $10.99 per user / month, billed annually ($13.49 billed monthly) | $6 per user / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Personal plan for up to 2 users: unlimited tasks and projects, list, board and calendar views, unlimited storage with a 100MB per-file cap, and 100+ integrations. | Unlimited tasks, users, projects, contacts and guests, with embed views and Karma points. |
| Free trial | Free trial of Starter and Advanced, no credit card required. The pricing page does not give the trial length. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Asana, Inc. | Softronics Systems Pvt Ltd |
| Price read from | asana.com | smarttask.io |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Asana
- The free Personal plan is limited to 2 users; timeline and Gantt views, forms and custom fields start on Starter.
- Seats are sold in fixed steps: one at a time from 2 to 5 users, then blocks of 5 up to 30 and blocks of 10 up to 100.
- Portfolios, goals, approvals and built-in time tracking need the Advanced plan at $24.99 per user / month.
- The download page lists Mac, Windows, iOS and Android apps but no Linux app.
SmartTask
- Timeline view, dashboards, portfolios, time tracking and budgeting need the Business plan.
- Custom branding is a paid add-on on Business; white-labeling is an Enterprise feature.
- Single sign-on and enterprise API access are limited to Enterprise, which has no published price.
- Monthly billing costs $12 (Premium) and $16 (Business) per user, twice or more the yearly rates.
Key features
Asana
- Project views
- Show a project as a list, board, calendar, timeline or Gantt chart. Timeline and Gantt views start on the Starter plan.
- Rules and forms
- Rules automate routine steps and forms turn incoming requests into tasks. Both start on Starter; form branching needs Advanced.
- Goals and portfolios
- Goals link projects and tasks to company-level objectives, and portfolios track groups of related projects in one place. Both are part of the Advanced plan.
- Workload and resource management
- Shows how much work each person has so tasks can be rebalanced. Capacity planning across the organization is an Enterprise feature.
- Reporting dashboards
- Charts built from live project data to show the state of a team's work, included from the Starter plan.
- AI Teammates and AI Studio
- AI Studio builds AI-driven workflows from a monthly credit pool: 50K credits on Starter, 75K on Advanced and 200K on Enterprise. Extra AI requests are billed per request.
SmartTask
- Multiple work views
- Tasks can be viewed as a list, a drag-and-drop board, a calendar or a timeline, with subtasks, dependencies and recurring tasks.
- Time tracking and budgeting
- Hours are logged against tasks, timesheets can be locked once approved, and project budgets sit alongside them. Both need the Business plan.
- Resource management
- Leave tracking and workload planning show who has capacity, and a Resource AI feature suggests allocations based on balanced workloads.
- Client portal and guests
- Guests can be invited to see chosen projects, tasks and comments while internal items stay private. Custom branding is a paid add-on.
- Sales CRM
- A CRM module tracks contacts and sales processes next to project work, with contacts that can be attached to tasks.
- Workflows and AI agents
- Multi-step workflow automations and AI agents are included from the Premium plan upward.
Plans
Asana
Personal$0
For one or two people: unlimited tasks and projects, list, board and calendar views, and 100+ integrations.
Starter$10.99
per user / month, billed annually ($13.49 billed monthly)
No seat limit. Adds timeline and Gantt views, reporting dashboards, forms, custom fields, automations and free guests.
Advanced$24.99
per user / month, billed annually ($30.49 billed monthly)
Adds portfolios, goals, resource management, approvals and proofing, time tracking and form branching.
EnterpriseCustom
SAML authentication, SCIM provisioning, capacity planning and service accounts. An Enterprise+ tier adds further compliance controls.
SmartTask
Free Forever$0
Unlimited tasks, users, projects, contacts and guests for teams exploring the core features.
Premium$6
per user / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly)
Adds custom fields, milestones, reminders, forms, private groups, workflows, AI agents and attendance.
Business$11
per user / month, billed yearly ($16 billed monthly)
Adds timeline view, dashboards, portfolios, time tracking, budgeting and call recording integration. Custom branding is an add-on.
EnterpriseCustom
Adds single sign-on, white-labeling, enterprise API access, a customer success manager and managed services. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
Asana
- Annual discount
Save up to 18% with annual billing
Asana's pricing page lists Starter at $10.99 per user / month billed annually against $13.49 monthly, and Advanced at $24.99 against $30.49.
- Nonprofit
50% off for eligible nonprofits
Qualifying 501(c)(3) nonprofits, public libraries and international equivalents can apply for 50% off a Starter or Advanced annual plan.
- Education
50% off for education customers
Approved schools and universities get 50% off paid plans after an eligibility check. The page still names the older Premium and Business plans.
SmartTask
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Asana or SmartTask?
As of Nov 13, 2026, SmartTask is cheaper to start with: $6 a month for each person, against $10.99 a month for each person for Asana. Asana starts at $10.99 per user / month, billed annually ($13.49 billed monthly), and SmartTask starts at $6 per user / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Asana or SmartTask?
As of Nov 13, 2026, both Asana and SmartTask have a free plan.
Which platforms do Asana and SmartTask run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Asana lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.