Asana (Starter) review 2027
The most polished task manager in the test — dependencies, timeline, rules and the fastest onboarding — at $110 a month for our team
Is the Asana Worth It?
Best project management software overall. Asana did everything our project needed with the least friction, and the team liked using it — which is most of what a project tool has to achieve. It is not the cheapest, and the reporting people want sits a tier up.
Asana Pros & Cons
- Our team was productive in two hours — fastest onboarding
- Dependencies, milestones and timeline handled every part of the project
- Rules automated status changes and assignments
- Client reviewers joined free as guests
- Workload and portfolios need the $24.99 Advanced plan
- Free plan lacks the timeline
- Per-user pricing adds up past 20 people
What problem does Asana solve, and who is it for?
Asana is built for teams that manage work rather than code, and in our six-week project it did everything the project needed with the least friction. The team liked using it, which is most of what a project tool has to achieve. Our testers were productive in two hours, the fastest onboarding in the test, and dependencies, milestones and the timeline handled every part of the project. Rules automated status changes and assignments, and client reviewers joined free as guests. It is not the cheapest option, and the reporting people want sits a tier up, but for marketing, operations and agency teams the balance of speed and structure is the reason it finished third of seven tools tested.
How did we score Asana across five criteria?
Task and workflow management carried the most weight at 30 points, and Asana earned 28. We measured dependencies, subtasks, recurring tasks, custom fields, workload and automation rules against what our six-week project needed and what each tool lacked. Views and reporting is worth 20 points; Asana took 18 for list, board, timeline/Gantt, calendar, dashboards and portfolio views plus export. Collaboration and integrations also maxes at 20, and Asana scored 17 across comments, proofing, guest access for clients, Slack, Google, Microsoft and time-tracking integrations, and API. Ease and speed is a 10-point criterion and Asana took all 10, based on onboarding time for the team, app speed with 120 tasks and mobile apps. Value is the last 20 points, and Asana earned 11, reflecting the monthly cost for ten users on the plan our project required and the free tier.
Where does Asana stand out?
The clearest strength is onboarding speed. Our team was productive in two hours, the fastest of any tool in the test. Dependencies, milestones and the timeline handled every part of the project, so we did not need to bolt on a second tool for scheduling. Rules automated status changes and assignments, which removed routine admin from the week. Client reviewers joined free as guests, useful for agency work where outside feedback is constant. The measured cost for ten users came to $110/mo on the plan our project required, and the free plan supports 10 users, though without the timeline.
What is in the plan, and how is it built?
Asana's Starter plan is priced at 10.99 USD/mo per user, which works out to 109.9 USD/mo for ten users. The free plan covers 10 users but has no timeline. Gantt and timeline views are included on Starter, and automation runs as rules at 250 per month on Starter. Guest access is free on paid plans, and time tracking sits on the Advanced plan. The tool is aimed at teams that manage work, not code, which matches the structure of the plans: task and workflow depth first, reporting and portfolio features higher up.
How does Asana compare with the rivals we tested?
ClickUp scored 9 and costs $7 per user, or $70/mo for ten users, with a free plan for unlimited users, Gantt, 1,000 automation runs per month on Unlimited, limited free guests and built-in time tracking. Jira scored 8.5 at $7.53 per user, free for ten users, with a timeline on Standard and Plans on Premium, a rule builder, no guest access for users and built-in time tracking. monday.com scored 8.1 at $12 per user, or $120/mo for ten users, with a free plan for 2 seats, timeline on Standard, 250 automation runs per month on Standard, guest access from Standard and time tracking on Pro. Trello scored 8 at $5 per user, or $50/mo for ten users, with a free plan for unlimited users, a timeline view on Premium, Butler automation at 1,000 runs per month on Standard, free single-board guests and time tracking via Power-Up. Notion scored 7.6 at $10 per user, or $100/mo for ten users, with a free plan for individuals, a timeline view with dependencies, database automations on Plus, 100 guests on Plus and no time tracking.
| Asana | ClickUp | monday.com | Jira | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our score | 8.4 | 9.0 | 8.1 | 8.5 |
| Per user | 10.99 USD/mo | 7 USD/mo | 12 USD/mo | 7.53 USD/mo |
| 10 users | 110 $/mo | 70 $/mo | 120 $/mo | 0 $/mo |
| Free plan | 10 users | Unlimited users | 2 seats | 10 users |
| Gantt / timeline | Yes (Starter) | Yes | Yes (Standard) | Timeline (Standard); Plans on Premium |
| Automation | Rules, 250/month on Starter | 1,000/month on Unlimited | 250/month on Standard | Yes, rule builder |
| Guest access | Free guests on paid plans | Limited free guests | Standard and up | No (users) |
| Time tracking | Advanced plan | Built in | Pro plan | Built in |
| Best for | Teams that manage work, not code | Teams that want one tool for everything | Operations and client-facing teams | Engineering and product teams |
Where does Asana fall short?
Value is where it lost ground, and advanced reporting is the other gap. Workload and portfolios need the $24.99 Advanced plan, so teams that need capacity planning or portfolio roll-ups pay a tier above Starter. The free plan lacks the timeline, which limits what a small team can schedule without paying. Per-user pricing adds up past 20 people, so larger departments should model the cost before committing.
Is Asana worth the price?
Asana lists at $10.99 per user per month, and our measured cost for ten users was $110/mo. The free tier supports 10 users but omits the timeline. Compared with ClickUp at $70/mo for ten users, Jira at $0/mo for ten users, monday.com at $120/mo, Trello at $50/mo and Notion at $100/mo, Asana sits in the middle of the field on price while leading on onboarding speed and task structure. The Advanced plan at $24.99 per user is the step up for workload and portfolios.
Who should buy Asana?
Marketing, operations and agency teams are the right fit. If your work is campaigns, client projects or recurring operational processes rather than sprints and backlogs, Asana's dependencies, milestones, timeline and rules cover the whole project without extra tools, and free guest access keeps clients in the loop. Teams that need portfolios or workload views should budget for the Advanced plan, and anyone past 20 people should check the per-user maths before rolling it out.
Asana at a Glance
Rubric v1: Task & workflow management 30 · Views & reporting 20 · Collaboration & integrations 20 · Ease & speed 10 · Value 20. Score = Σ ÷ 10, locked Sep 11, 2026. How we rank.
Where to buy — prices checked Sep 11, 2026
Asana specifications
Where it loses
Value; advanced reporting.
Still the right pick for
Marketing, operations and agency teams.
What owners say
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Changelog: Sep 11 — rank 3 → 4 · all changes