ClickUp vs Asana: Which Is Best?

We've tested both products, and found that ClickUp is a better project management software tool than Asana. ClickUp has a more modern interface than Asana, and features that position the service as a complete WorkOS, compared to Asana's slightly outdated look and less sophisticated tasklist-based functionality.

ClickUp has a genuinely good free tier and a variety of discounts and deals for you to take advantage of too, like Tech.co's exclusive discount code– input TECHCO20 at checkout for 20% off the first year of your subscription.

Asana remains a respectable project management solution and includes a good free tier as well, but you'll be able to do less with it than with ClickUp. In this guide, we break down the core differences in pricing, ease of use, and features between ClickUp and Asana.

On this page:

• ClickUp vs Asana: Head to Head
• ClickUp Pricing vs Asana Pricing
• Asana Is Easier to Use
• ClickUp Has Better Features
• ClickUp Is Better Value
• ClickUp Has Better Support Options
• Verdict – ClickUp vs Asana
• FAQs

ClickUp vs Asana: Head to Head

Both ClickUp and Asana include the basics, so let's check those off, first. Asana and ClickUp are cloud-based – you can access their interfaces from any computer, tablet or phone. Both ClickUp and Asana give you list, board and calendar views that aid team collaboration and help users track task statuses.

So far, so similar. But it's not long before the two tools start drawing apart. And one key way they differentiate is on value – ClickUp is far cheaper than Asana. Pricing plans for both ClickUp and Asana include advanced features that let businesses get painstakingly detailed, with expanded time tracking and custom views and fields. The main difference is you pay more for the privilege with Asana.

ClickUp has the edge in most cases. ClickUp offers more features and integrations in its basic paid plan in comparison to Asana, and it has a more useable free plan as well. Asana isn't bad, however. Here are the biggest functions available from both tools:

ClickUp Core Features and Benefits

• Unlimited Tasks, Members, Storage, Integrations and Dashboards
• Unlimited List, Board, and Calendar views
• Guests and Permissions
• Goals, Portfolios, and Custom Fields
• Google SSO
• Goal Folders
• Custom Exporting
• Private, Protected, and Default Views
• Mind Maps & Timeline Views
• Advanced Time Tracking
• Workload

ClickUp goes far beyond the basics of project management software. It isn't simply a task tracker or fancy-looking “to-do list”. Indeed, the company has posited its software as being a complete WorkOS – an operating system for how a business or team can go about arranging and planning all of their key tasks, long-term initiatives and daily must-do's. It's an intriguing new approach to more effective collaboration, and WorkOS might just be the future of project management.

The lowest paid plan for ClickUp includes unlimited storage, integrations, and dashboards, added to the unlimited tasks and members that the free plan starts out with. Users will be able to manage guests with different permission levels, and can create goals and portfolios to better manage their projects.

The next paid plan up includes SSO, custom export options, and private views for more granular control over who sees what. Time tracking tools are included as well, helping managers keep an eye on workers' movements.

Asana Core Features and Benefits

• Unlimited tasks, projects, messages, and activity log
• Unlimited file storage (100MB per file)
• Collaborate with up to 15 teammates
• List view, Board view, Calendar view
• Assignee and due dates
• Project Overview
• Project Brief
• iOS and Android mobile apps
• Custom fields
• Admin Console
• Custom rules builder

The paid plan comes with Forms, Rules, and Milestones in addition to all the typical project management fixings (tasks, projects, messages, and activity logs). Projects can be summarized with overviews or briefs, and tasks can be checked off over the mobile app, available on iOS and Android.

The most advanced off-the-shelf plan includes a custom rules builder as well as the ability to customize forms. Users will also get advanced integrations that can connect commonly used softwares including Salesforce, Adobe Creative Cloud, and Tableau.

ClickUp Pricing vs Asana Pricing

How do the two service's paid plans compare? Both project management tools have surprisingly similar plan structures: Each has three paid plans in total, with the highest plan tier aimed at enterprises and available only for a custom price.

Asana's Plans are more expensive than ClickUps. Our research favored ClickUp for pricing, thanks to an excellent free plan and a very robust first paid plan that costs just $5 per user per month. Asana is a great piece of software, it's just on the more expensive end, and it's still not as good as ClickUp.

ClickUp pricing plans are the aforementioned Unlimited plan ($5 per user per month), the Business Plan ($12 per user per month), the Business Plus Plan ($19 per user per month), and the Enterprise Plan. ClickUp Unlimited comes with no limits on storage, additional features, integrations, and advanced reporting. ClickUp Business adds features useful for large operations: Two-factor authentication, quick sign-in through Google accounts, and (coming in the near future) advanced data exporting.

In contrast, Asana pricing plans are Premium ($10.99 per user per month), Business ($19.99 per user per month), and Enterprise. In addition, Premium's pricing changes to $9.99 per user after the first 15 users. Premium adds functionality to support a timeline, task dependencies, and milestones. Business's noteable features include portfolios, forms, proofing, and lockable custom fields

Asana's pricing is around or a little higher than the industry average — monday's pricing ranges from $8 to $16 per user per month, for example. Still, ClickUp undercuts the industry average across the board, with $5 and $12 per user per month prices for its most popular plans, compared to Asana's $10.99 and $19.99 prices for similar plans.

ClickUp vs Asana – Which Has the Best Free Plan?

Both services offer a free plan, but it's easy to pick a winner: The free ClickUp option is head and shoulders above Asana's free plan.

No only do ClickUp Free's perks include unlimited projects and unlimited users, but the plan also supports tasks dependencies, while the free Asana Basic plan does not. Dependancies let users pick which tasks must be completed ahead of other tasks, setting up a steady, predictable workflow. If you're looking for a free plan that actually lets your business set tasks and track projects, ClickUp Free is likely the one to pick.

Asana's free plan, Asana Basic, includes tasks that are sortable into a list view, board view, or a calendar. It's a decent sample of the basics to tracking projects, although it is limited to 15 users and doesn't include task dependencies, milestones, or a timeline.

In summary, the ClickUp free plan lets you operate the essentials of project management for your business, while the Asana one is more of a taster. Still, in either case, you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan to meet the requirements of a decent sized team.

Asana Is Easier to Use than ClickUp

ClickUp and Asana both have customizable dashboards as their main view, with menus that allow users to quickly navigate to the right feature with a click or two. ClickUp scored slightly higher for usability than Asana, meaning ClickUp was marginally easier to get to grips with. However, Smartsheet is easier to use than both ClickUp and Asana, and is actually our easiest-to-use provider overall.

The setup process is comparable across the services: They'll both require a little elbow grease to properly configure the apps, integrations, and custom fields each service offers, but won't be unreasonably difficult.

Customer service hours are another consideration. While ClickUp offers impressive 24/7 availability, its support is only through email. In comparison, Asana offers email and phone support — but only during business hours. For those with a Saturday morning crisis, ClickUp's the clear superior, but those who prefer being talked through an issue over the phone may disagree.

ClickUp has more comprehensive spreadsheet functionality, as it supports formula columns, which allow you to calculate things automatically, whereas Asana and other competitors like monday.com don't provide.

However, Asana wins in its automation and form builders, as both were not only easier to use, but also had more features and options within them – in fact, ClickUp and Asana are fairly level on workflow creation features like this. In Asana, the ability to add questions to forms and create basic automations with ease means it can compete with the top-rated provider.

A test project within Asana

ClickUp Has Better Features than Asana

Both services share a range of basic features, including the three most popular ways to view all projects: List, board, and calendar views. Users will get tasks, projects, messages, generous storage options, and the ability to invite free guests with the paid versions of both services.

In some cases, ClickUp's advanced features offer more than Asana's: Time tracking is one example. Both services include a time tracking function in their base paid plans, but ClickUp expands the time tracking functionality with its upgraded plan, while Asana does not.

Integrations are a similar case. While ClickUp includes unlimited integrations in its Unlimited plan ($5 per user, per month), Asana users would have to upgrade to the Business plan to access integrations for stalwart software tools like Salesforce and Adobe Creative Cloud.

Overall, ClickUp is rated highest for features in all the project management tools we've tested, although Asana isn't far behind. ClickUp is also the best pick for task management and both providers scored highly for data visualization and workflow creation. Out of the 14 providers tested, monday.com was the only one our research ranked higher than Asana for features thanks to marginally better options for managing tasks.

ClickUp is Better Value Than Asana

Value is all about how many features and tools you get for the price you pay. ClickUp provides better task management and workflow creation features than Asana, all while being the cheaper product. Overall, ClickUp scores second highest out of all 14 providers we tested for pricing, beating Asana.

Even though ClickUp's first paid plan is less than half the price of Asana's (ClickUp's Unlimited Plan is $5 per user, per month, while Asana's Premium Plan is $10.99 per user, per month), it has custom automations, time tracking, 24/7 support, a resource management feature, and a team instant-messenger, all of which Asana does not offer on its Premium Plan (or not at all).

Asana is still a good project management tool, it's just on the more expensive end. Along with having a better set of features available on cheaper plans, our research found ClickUp to be slightly more usable than Asana, largely down to the fact it's somewhat difficult to operate Asana when it doesn't have a dedicated feature for something you want to do – ClickUp, in contrast, has more dedicated features.

Zoho Projects is perhaps the only project management tool that provides better value for money, and that's largely because it's so cheap, at just $4 per user, per month for the Premium plan. It has everything you need for basic task management and project tracking, along with an impressive set of collaboration features, but the user limit of 50 and a project limit of 20 means it's unsuitable for medium-to-large businesses.

ClickUp has Better Customer Support Than Asana

Our research has shown that ClickUp has the edge in customer support. In fact of the 14 services we tested, it came third in this category. By contrast, Asana is somewhat lacking.

Although you can contact Asana by email, and the provider has a knowledge base and a community forum for troubleshooting issues yourself, it has no 24/7 live support, which ClickUp does offer – and this is available on all plans. Furthermore, Asana has no live chat function, which ClickUp also provides.

If you contact Asana's sales team, you'll be able to acquire some sort of onboarding assistance on the provider's Premium, Business, and Enterprise plans, whereas this support option is only available on ClickUp's Enterprise plan (although there's priority support on ClickUp's Business Plus plan). ClickUp's Enterprise plan also comes with a dedicated success manager, which not every project management software offers.

If customer support is really high on your priorities, however, it might be worth checking out Favro, which scored highly in our last round of testing for customer support. Despite only charging $6.80 per user, per month for its Standard Plan, Favro offers onboarding support, live chat, email, and various other avenues of communication for you to use if you get stuck.

How Did We Rate ClickUp and Asana? Our Research Explained

Here at Tech.co, we have a research team that tests all the products, software, and services we write about. They put together research frameworks that take into consideration businesses' pain points, concerns, and needs, and devise criteria upon which to test everything from project management software to CRM and Business Telephone systems.

We've put 14 of the top project management tools to the test so you can find out which one is the best for your business. When we test project management software, the five key areas our research team focus on are Usability, Customer Support, Pricing, Customer Score, and Features. There are also four sub-categories assessed within features: Task Management, Workflow Creation, Data visualization, and Collaboration.

Although we have commercial partnerships with some of the providers we write about, this never affects our research scores, writers' opinions, or overall editorial independence, which are solely based on the data we collect from testing.

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