Trello vs Asana: Simple Boards or Deep Structure

Asana is the stronger choice when projects span several teams and need a shared structure. Starter costs $10.99 per user per month billed annually and includes timeline and Gantt views, dashboards, forms, custom fields and unlimited automations. Advanced costs $24.99 per user per month billed annually and adds goals, unlimited portfolios, workload, approvals and native time tracking. The free Personal plan covers two people, which suits a trial but not a team.

The limit to plan around is seat bands. Asana sells seats in blocks, so a team of 12 may pay for 15 seats, and that changes the real annual total. Asana also charges extra for add-ons such as Timesheets and Budgets at $5.99 per user per month billed annually. Teams that want a simple board may find Asana heavier than needed, and the portfolio and workload views take time to set up well.

Price: $10.99 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: asana.com

ClickUp packs the most features into its entry price. Core costs $9 per user per month billed annually and covers unlimited tasks, docs, goals, dashboards and Gantt charts. Business costs $17 per user per month billed annually and adds advanced dashboards, timesheets, 10,000 automation actions a month and resource management. The free plan supports unlimited members with a 60 MB storage cap, which makes it the most generous free tier in this list.

The trade-off is complexity and add-on pricing. ClickUp Brain AI costs $9 per user per month on top of the plan price, and the full AI suite costs $28 per user per month, so a team that wants AI everywhere pays far more than the headline rate. Upgrading a workspace also upgrades every member, so there is no way to put only part of the team on Business. New users often need a few weeks to settle on a consistent setup, since ClickUp offers so many views and options.

Price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: clickup.com

Monday.com wins on speed of setup. A team can build a board, add columns, assign owners and set dates in an afternoon, and the template library covers marketing, sales, operations and HR workflows. Basic costs $9 per seat per month billed annually, Standard costs $12 and Pro costs $19. The free plan covers up to two seats, and priced plans start at three seats with seat buckets at 3, 5, 10 and more.

The Basic plan is the weak point in the ladder. It includes zero automations and zero integrations, so any team that wants status changes to trigger notifications or sync with another tool must move to Standard at $12 per seat per month. Standard caps automations and integrations at 250 actions a month each, and Pro raises each cap to 25,000. Monday.com also prices by billing country, so confirm the exact figure at checkout before you budget.

Price: $9 per seat/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: monday.com

Notion blends notes, docs, wikis and task databases in one workspace, which makes it a good fit for teams that plan in documents as much as in task lists. Plus costs $10 per member per month billed annually and Business costs $20. Plus adds unlimited blocks for a team, unlimited file uploads, 30-day page history and custom forms. Guests are not billed, so clients and contractors can view pages without taking a seat.

Notion is not a dedicated project tool, and that shows in its limits. There is no native Gantt chart on Plus, no workload view, and no built-in time tracking, so teams that run sprints or bill hours need integrations or another tool. Full Notion AI, including agents and meeting notes, sits on Business at $20 per member per month, which doubles the cost for teams that want AI. The free plan is generous for one person but caps at 1,000 blocks once a second member joins.

Price: $10 per member/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: notion.com

Smartsheet suits teams that live in spreadsheets and want project controls on top of a grid. Pro costs $9 per user per month billed annually and Business costs $19. The grid supports formulas, conditional formatting, card and Gantt views, and dashboards that roll up data from many sheets. Teams that track budgets, timelines and resource sheets in one place often find Smartsheet easier to adopt than a tool built around task cards.

The main drawback is the lack of a free plan. You get a 30-day trial, then you must subscribe to keep access, which makes it harder to test with a whole team over a long pilot. Smartsheet also feels less natural for creative or agile teams that prefer boards and sprints, and some collaboration features, such as proofing and advanced automation, sit on the higher Business tier or above.

Price: $9 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Website: smartsheet.com

Wrike is built for teams that receive work through requests and need approvals before work starts. Team costs $10 per user per month billed annually and Business costs $24.80. Request forms, custom workflows, proofing and approvals are core strengths, and the reporting tools cover workload, budgets and project status in one place. Marketing and professional services teams use Wrike to route briefs, reviews and sign-offs without extra tools.

The price jump between Team and Business is steep, and many of the features that make Wrike stand out, such as advanced reporting and resource management, sit on Business or above. Small teams may also find the interface dense at first, with many panels and settings to learn. Wrike does offer a free plan for small teams, but it caps at a small number of users and lacks the workflow features that justify the switch.

Price: $10 per user/month (billed annually)

Free plan: Yes

Website: wrike.com

Basecamp takes a different approach from the rest of this list. It charges $15 per user per month, or $299 per month for unlimited users, and every feature is included at that price. Message boards, to-do lists, schedules, docs, file storage and chat sit in one calm interface, and there are no feature tiers to compare. Teams that feel overwhelmed by settings and add-ons often settle on Basecamp and stay there.

The limit is depth. Basecamp has no Gantt chart, no native time tracking and no workload view, so teams that plan capacity or bill hours need another tool alongside it. Reporting is light compared with Asana or Wrike, and the 30-day trial is the only free option, with no free plan. For a small team that wants simple coordination, that trade is often worth it, but larger teams usually outgrow it.

Price: $15 per user/month

Free plan: Free trial (30 days)

Website: basecamp.com