Asana

Track, manage, and connect your projects across any team

4.6•84 reviews•

1.3K followers

Track, manage, and connect your projects across any team

4.6•84 reviews•

1.3K followers

Visit website

Project management software

•

Team collaboration software

•

Issue tracking software

Stay on track, keep projects organized, and hit deadlines. See project progress, track individual tasks, plan sprints, integrate with other tools, and achieve successful launches.

The Best Asana Alternatives

The best Asana alternatives are Jira, Trello, Shortcut, Plane, and Zoho Projects.

Jira

4.7 ·

Choose Jira if...

✓you need robust sprint planning and backlog control
✓you want highly customizable workflows and permissions
✓you rely on linked epics, stories, and dependencies

See details ↓

Trello

4.8 ·

Choose Trello if...

✓you want simple kanban boards anyone adopts fast
✓you manage lightweight workflows and quick handoffs
✓you prefer minimal setup over deep planning tools

See details ↓

Shortcut

5.0 ·

Choose Shortcut if...

✓you want product roadmaps tightly tied to delivery
✓you need a lightweight tool built for engineers
✓you want kanban plus docs in one place

See details ↓

Plane

5.0 ·

Choose Plane if...

✓you want open-source and self-hosting control
✓you need list, board, calendar, and timeline views
✓you want built-in intake for requests and ideas

See details ↓

Zoho Projects

5.0 ·

Choose Zoho Projects if...

✓you need built-in time tracking and reporting
✓you run complex projects across delivery teams
✓you want task workflows tied to bug tracking

See details ↓

What to Consider

Asana is a go-to for modern work management—great for coordinating tasks across teams with a clean UI and flexible project views—but the alternatives landscape is broader than “another task list.” Some tools optimize for engineering-grade rigor (Jira) with deep workflow customization and issue linking, while others lean into lightweight visual tracking for quick adoption (Trello) or a product-delivery focus that stays simple without feeling underpowered (Shortcut). There are also newer options that combine cross-functional planning with modern views and self-hosting control (Plane), plus suites that emphasize time tracking and reporting for delivery-heavy teams (Zoho Projects).

In evaluating Asana alternatives, we weighed how each option handles ease of onboarding versus process depth, collaboration and visibility across teams, integrations and automation, reporting and planning views (boards, timelines/Gantt, calendars), scalability and performance in larger orgs, and practical considerations like pricing model and self-hosting/security needs.

Jira

How teams do great

4.7 · 158 reviews

Learn more →

Jira is built for teams that need engineering-grade execution, not just task tracking. Where Asana shines for cross-functional coordination, Jira goes deeper on software delivery with structured issue types, sprint planning, and backlog grooming that scale across multiple squads.

Its biggest advantage is how configurable it is: workflows, statuses, fields, and permissions can be shaped to match a team’s process rather than forcing a generic template. The linking model for epics, stories, subtasks, and dependencies makes it easier to see how work rolls up and what’s blocked, which matters when releases span teams and timelines.

Jira also stands out for automation and lifecycle integration, helping teams reduce manual updates with rules for assignments, transitions, and notifications. The trade-off versus Asana is a heavier setup and a steeper learning curve, but that complexity often pays off once a team needs rigorous reporting and predictable delivery.

Best for

Ideal for product and engineering orgs that need robust issue tracking, sprint planning, and scalable workflows.

Standout features

✓Agile boards, sprints, and backlog management
✓Highly customizable workflows and fields
✓Issue linking across epics and dependencies
✓Automation rules for transitions and assignments
✓Cross-project visibility and reporting

Trello

Visual collaboration with a shared perspective on projects

4.8 · 116 reviews

Learn more →

Trello prioritizes speed and clarity with a kanban-first workflow that feels instantly familiar. If Asana can feel like a full work management suite, Trello is the lightweight option when a team mainly needs a clear “to do, doing, done” flow.

Boards and cards make handoffs simple, especially for marketing pipelines, community operations, and day-to-day team coordination. Checklists, templates, labels, and comments cover the essentials without requiring much process design or admin overhead.

Trello is a strong alternative when adoption matters more than hierarchy and advanced planning. The main trade-off is depth: as projects grow, teams often want dependencies, richer reporting, and more structured work breakdown than Trello provides out of the box.

Best for

Best for individuals and teams who want simple, visual kanban tracking with minimal setup.

Standout features

✓Kanban boards and card-based workflow
✓Templates, checklists, labels, and due dates
✓Fast setup and easy team onboarding
✓Power-ups for integrations and extensions
✓Lightweight automation for routine actions

Shortcut

Project Management for Product Engineering Teams

5.0 · 4 reviews

Learn more →

Shortcut is designed around the reality of shipping software, keeping roadmap priorities tightly connected to execution. Compared with Asana’s broad, cross-department flexibility, Shortcut focuses on a product-and-engineering workflow that stays streamlined while still being capable.

It combines planning and delivery with tools like stories, iterations, and visual boards, so teams can move from idea to release without constantly reformatting work. The experience tends to feel simpler than heavyweight issue trackers, while providing more structure than basic kanban tools.

A notable differentiator is the balance of “simple and powerful,” especially when teams want kanban plus lightweight documentation in the same environment. Choose it when the goal is to reduce process overhead and keep engineers focused on the few things that matter most.

Best for

Best for fast-moving product and engineering teams that want lightweight, structured delivery workflows.

Standout features

✓Roadmap-oriented stories and iterations
✓Kanban boards for delivery tracking
✓Docs alongside product work items
✓Lightweight workflow with solid structure
✓Built for product and engineering collaboration

Plane

AI-native project management

5.0 · 17 reviews

Learn more →

Plane offers a modern work hub that can feel cleaner and more flexible than traditional project trackers, with the added benefit of open-source and self-hosting options. For teams that like Asana’s cross-functional reach but want more control over deployment or customization, Plane is an especially compelling alternative.

It supports multiple ways to plan and execute work, including list, board, calendar, and timeline-style views that help different roles stay aligned. That flexibility makes it easier to keep product planning, marketing execution, and incoming customer requests in one place without forcing everyone into a single workflow.

Plane also differentiates with built-in intake for capturing requests and ideas, reducing the need for separate forms or duct-taped workflows. The trade-off is that teams may need a short adjustment period to learn its conventions, but the payoff is a streamlined, adaptable workspace with strong ownership options.

Best for

Ideal for cross-functional teams that want modern PM views plus open-source/self-host control.

Standout features

✓Open-source with self-hosting option
✓List, board, calendar, and timeline views
✓Built-in intake for request capture
✓Custom dashboards and flexible organization
✓Slack integration for faster updates

Zoho Projects

Online Project Management Software & Tools

5.0 · 2 reviews

Learn more →

Zoho Projects stands out when project execution needs to be tied directly to time tracking and reporting. While Asana is strong for organizing work and collaboration, Zoho Projects is often the better fit for delivery teams that must account for time, measure progress, and report consistently.

Its combination of task management, time logs, and reporting creates a more complete system for services teams, PMOs, and organizations running complex initiatives. That structure helps managers understand effort and throughput without relying on separate time-tracking tools or manual spreadsheets.

Zoho Projects also works well for teams that want a straightforward way to assign and monitor bugs or requests alongside project tasks. Choose it when the priority is operational visibility and accountability across multiple projects, not just keeping tasks moving.