13 Best Asana Alternatives & Competitors in 2026

By Björn Michelsen · Updated on January 13, 2026

Looking for an Asana alternative? You're not alone.

Asana has been around since 2008 and is still one of the top project management tools out there. Teams use it for everything from simple task lists to complex projects with many moving parts. It covers a lot of ground, with multiple views, automations, and a large set of integrations.

But as great as it is, a program like Asana might not be the perfect fit for everyone. Some teams want something simpler. Others need more structure, better reporting, built-in time tracking, or a pricing model that scales more gently. And sometimes you just want a tool that feels easier to use day to day.

This guide covers the best Asana alternatives, with notes on what each tool is actually good at and where it may fall short.

Why teams look for an Asana alternative

Asana works well for many teams, but it is not always the best long-term fit. Over time, some teams outgrow it. Others find that it does too much of what they do not need, while missing a few things they care about.

Here are some common reasons people decide to switch:

Does that sound familiar? Then it may be time for you to switch to a more user-friendly alternative to Asana.

Switch to a simple Asana alternative
Best Asana alternatives

How we evaluated these Asana alternatives

This list is based on a mix of hands-on use, public product documentation, pricing pages, and recent user feedback from platforms like Capterra and G2. Each tool was reviewed with a focus on how it handles real project management workflows, not just feature checklists.

We looked at how easy each tool is to set up, how flexible it feels in daily use, and how well it scales as teams grow. We also paid attention to common friction points such as onboarding, navigation, and how much manual configuration is required to get useful results.

The list is reviewed and updated regularly to reflect product changes, pricing updates, and newly released features. Tools that stop being maintained, change direction, or fall behind are adjusted or removed.

13 best Asana alternatives

Fortunately, there are many Asana competitors you can choose from. There is no one-size-fits-all solution — every Asana alternative comes with its own unique strengths, design decisions, and feature sets. Depending on your project management workflow, a different tool may fit your needs better than Asana.

To make your decision easier, we've put together a list of the best alternatives to Asana, based on real reviews.

Whether you're a team leader, a project manager, or just someone looking to take their productivity to the next level, read on to learn more about the best Asana alternatives.

1. Nuclino

Best Asana alternative Nuclino

Nuclino is an Asana alternative that is focused on ease of use and speed above all. It offers all the essential features necessary for managing a project but keeps its feature set limited by design.

In Nuclino, you will find a familiar Kanban board, where you can drag and drop cards, and custom fields that allow you to track additional information about each card, such as due dates, assignees, labels, and more. But all of that comes in a much more lightweight and minimalist package.

Asana alternative Nuclino fields

Nuclino is designed like a hybrid of Asana and Google Docs, bringing together structured projects and rich long-form content. Every card on your Kanban board is its own document that can be collaborated on by multiple users in real time.

Asana alternative Nuclino tasks

You can add notes, assign tasks with due dates, and embed files, consolidating everything you need to get the job done in one place. Comments and mentions make it easy to exchange feedback directly in Nuclino and preserve the context of every decision.

Asana alternative Nuclino comments

Like Asana, Nuclino doesn't limit you to the board view. If the Kanban approach is not your thing, you can organize your projects in a hierarchical list, a table, or a mindmap-style graph instead.

Asana alternative Nuclino table view

This versatile approach to structuring data makes it a great tool not only for managing your tasks and projects, but also for taking notes, creating internal documentation, and building an internal knowledge base for your employees or a private wiki. It's a unified workspace that brings all your team's knowledge, docs, and projects together in one place — like a collective brain.

Asana alternative Nuclino list view

What makes Nuclino a great alternative to Asana:

What users say about Nuclino:

"The way Nuclino is built makes the platform very flexible towards the way you work. I use Nuclino to document the projects I work on. It serves as a wiki for the project which helps anyone joining the project at later stages understand what was done during the design process, and why certain decisions were made."

— Capterra review

2. Trello

Asana alternative Trello

Trello is another easy and intuitive Asana alternative. It's a simple yet flexible Kanban tool designed for small teams, freelancers, and hobbyists. It doesn't have much of a learning curve and makes the initial setup quite painless.

Unlike Asana, Trello makes it easy to directly add freelancers and external partners, rather than having to rely on email.

And while it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that Asana offers, it makes up for it with a more intuitive interface. If you are a small team and are looking for something easier than Asana, then Trello can be a great option.

What makes Trello a great alternative to Asana:

Learn more about how Trello compares to Asana: Trello vs Asana.

Looking for more tools similar to Trello? Check out this list of Trello alternatives.

What users say about Trello:

"We used to use Asana but the interface made it hard for users to adopt. After switching to Trello we had a 100% adoption rate. There are a ton of add-on features and it integrates easily with other systems out there. The visual card approach makes viewing and managing projects really easy."

— Capterra review

3. Jira

Asana alternative Jira

Jira is owned by the same company as Trello – Atlassian. And while both tools can both serve as Asana alternatives, they are two very different solutions.

Jira is, first and foremost, a project management tool for Agile software development teams. It allows you to plan sprints, prioritize your backlog, define epics and user stories, and more.

It's exceptionally powerful, allowing you to manage the most complex and large-scale projects. At the same time, it's very feature-heavy and comes with a steep learning curve. It can be a great asset for large, experienced software development teams, but for everyone else, it can be confusing and unintuitive.

What makes Jira a great alternative to Asana:

Learn more about how Jira compares to Asana: Asana vs Jira.

Looking for more tools similar to Jira? Check out this list of alternatives to Jira.

What users say about Jira:

"While monday.com and Asana are strong contenders, the ecosystem around Jira and strong integrations make Atlassian more compelling."

— Capterra review

4. ClickUp

Asana alternative ClickUp

ClickUp is an all-in-one work management solution for small and large teams across different industries. It is a powerful and more flexible alternative to Asana, offering 24/7 customer support, a feature-rich experience even on its Free Forever plan, and an intuitive interface.

ClickUp's features, customization, and simplicity make it an ideal Asana alternative for teams that want to work smarter, not harder.

Its tools complement every team, from marketers to software engineers. Multiple Views in ClickUp including Gantt, Mind Maps, List, and its Kanban-like Board view allow you to choose the optimal way to see current tasks, and customizable statuses let everyone know which stage your project is in. Plus, ClickUp seamlessly connects to your tools with 1,000+ integrations like email, cloud storage, messaging, and more.

What makes ClickUp a great alternative to Asana:

Looking for more tools similar to ClickUp? Check out this list of ClickUp alternatives.

What users say about ClickUp:

"The user experience of ClickUp is outstanding while providing users the functionality they need. The best thing about ClickUp has been the changes to how we work. We tried other products before but they never really stuck (Monday, Jira, Asana, etc.). ClickUp is the first platform we have used consistently and everyone at the firm has found value in it."

— Capterra review

5. Taiga

Asana alternative Taiga

If you are running a software development team and are looking for a free project management tool or Kanban software similar to Asana, Taiga is an option worth considering. Taiga is a project management and issue tracking tool designed with Agile teams in mind. What makes it stand out is that it's one of the few open-source, self-hosted, and free Asana alternatives.

Taiga offers a wide variety of features that developers may appreciate, including customizable Kanban boards, WIP limits, burn-down charts, performance dashboards, and more. All that comes with an unexpectedly user-friendly and intuitive interface.

What makes Taiga a great alternative to Asana:

What users say about Taiga:

"We have used Taiga mainly as a Kanban board and it fits perfectly to our needs. It allows us to easily replicate our workflow and has saved many hundreds of hours of management and communication both within the team and with the customer. It is fast and its usability is excellent, reducing to the maximum the number of clicks to perform actions."

— Capterra review

6. Basecamp

Asana alternative Basecamp

Unlike Asana, which is mainly focused on task management, Basecamp is an all-in-one team collaboration tool. It brings together to-do lists, calendars, instant messaging, document and file management, and more, allowing any team to manage their projects in one place. It has been particularly popular as a remote collaboration tool.

Like Trello, Basecamp makes it easy to directly involve external partners and clients, having full control over what information you share with them.

Basecamp is also one of the rare tools that charge a flat monthly fee rather than making you pay per user. That makes it a much more scalable option for large and growing teams.

What makes Basecamp a great alternative to Asana:

Learn more about how Basecamp compares to Asana: Asana vs Basecamp.

Looking for more tools similar to Basecamp? Check out this list of Basecamp alternatives.

What users say about Basecamp:

"Basecamp has been a huge sigh of relief for me. It's extremely convenient and I find myself focusing on my work more, as compared to checking Slack/ Google Drive/ Asana every time I need to see some project updates and files. Basecamp is not perfect, and it can use some work on some fronts but it is pretty good as it is now too."

— Capterra review

7. Wrike

Asana alternative Wrike

If you are looking for a powerful alternative to Asana and aren't intimidated by a bit of a learning curve, consider Wrike. Described by some users as "Asana on steroids", Wrike boasts a very extensive feature set and is best suited for larger companies.

Wrike offers a unique way to structure your work, allowing you to nest projects inside folders to create a totally customizable working hierarchy. Whether you want to organize by client, by team member, by project, or by function, Wrike lets you set it up. The fully customizable dashboards provide a helpful overview of all your work.

The interface of Wrike may not look as modern or playful as that of Asana, but if you are looking for a more mature solution, this may be the right trade-off for you.

What makes Wrike a great alternative to Asana:

Learn more about how Wrike compares to Asana: Asana vs Wrike.

Looking for more tools similar to Wrike? Check out this list of Wrike alternatives.

What users say about Wrike:

"I found Wrike and saw that everything Asana was releasing and charging more for, was already available in Wrike even before Asana. So we moved to Wrike and we're happier than ever."

— Capterra review

8. Monday

Asana alternative Monday

If you find Asana to be a bit too limited and restrictive for your needs, Monday may be a great alternative for you.

Monday stands out thanks to its exceptional customizability, allowing you to flexibly modify anything, from boards and timelines to dashboards and formulas. Its powerful automation features constitute another notable strength, making it easy to schedule automatic task status updates, activity reports, and more.

One thing to keep in mind about Monday is its pricing model when it comes to allocating users. You have to add new users in increments of five, which may force you to pay for users that you don't need. If you're working with a tight budget, this may not be the best tool for your team.

What makes Monday a great alternative to Asana:

Learn more about how Monday compares to Asana: Monday vs Asana.

Looking for more tools similar to Monday? Check out this list of Monday alternatives.

What users say about Monday:

"Our advertising agency switched from Asana to Monday because of the robust and customizable features. We love the ability to add multiple date fields to columns on various boards and the ability to duplicate templates saves us so much time. Monday also features very sophisticated templates to apply and modify to your projects. It truly makes project management so much more efficient for us."

— Capterra review

9. Microsoft Planner

Asana alternative Microsoft Planner

Microsoft Planner is the closest thing to an Asana-style tool in the Microsoft ecosystem. It lets teams create task boards, assign work, and track progress in a simple, visual way.

Microsoft has been moving features from Project for the web into the new Planner experience. Because of that, Planner is now where most lightweight project planning inside Microsoft 365 happens.

If your team already works in Teams, Outlook, and SharePoint, Planner can feel like a natural fit. It keeps tasks close to the rest of your work and reduces the need for extra tools.

That said, it is not built for complex project planning. Reporting, dependencies, and resource management are limited compared to tools like Wrike or ClickUp.

What makes Microsoft Planner a great alternative to Asana:

Learn more about how Microsoft Planner compares to Asana: Microsoft Planner vs Asana.

Looking for more tools similar to Microsoft Planner? Check out this list of best Microsoft Planner alternatives.

What users say about Microsoft Planner:

"I have really enjoyed using Planner for what it is — basic project and task management. Super simple to use and with a good range of functionality, Planner is a light project management tool that is an important part of the Office 365 suite."

— Capterra review

10. Microsoft To Do

Asana alternative Microsoft To Do

Microsoft To Do (formerly Wunderlist) can be a great free Asana substitute for people who are looking for a simple and easy-to-use personal task management app, but who don't need the advanced features and collaboration capabilities provided by more full-featured project management apps like Asana. With MS To-Do, users can create basic task lists and set reminders and due dates, but the app lacks some advanced features like assignments, Gantt chart, or custom fields, it is more suited for personal use than a team collaboration tool.

A unique feature called "My Day" allows users to focus on the most important tasks of the day. Microsoft To Do is integrated with other Microsoft products, such as Outlook.

Overall, if you're looking for a task manager similar to Asana, Microsoft To Do is worth considering.

What makes Microsoft To Do a great alternative to Asana:

What users say about Microsoft To Do:

"The platform is simple - you just create checklists. I use this to keep track of all work that needs to be done. You can also add other people to lists if you want to manage your employees. Honestly, this is the best project management tool I've used because of how simple it is. I've tried Asana, Basecamp, and Trello but I prefer the simplicity of Microsoft To Do."

— Capterra review

11. Zoho Projects

Asana alternative Zoho Projects

If you are looking for a more affordable alternative to Asana, Zoho Projects is one of the cheapest options out there. But don't let the low price tag deceive you — Zoho Projects is a comprehensive project management tool with an extensive feature set that includes Gantt charts, Kanban boards, time tracking, custom fields, and more.

Being a part of the Zoho Office Suite, Zoho Projects integrates well with other products in the Zoho ecosystem, such as Zoho CRM, making it easy to keep all your work in sync.

What makes Zoho Projects a great alternative to Asana:

What users say about Zoho Projects:

"Zoho Projects is probably the best tool on the market... but a close second and third are Asana and Wrike. Everything about it is amazing. They have clearly thought through UI and UX from a user's standpoint. However, the basic version of this software is useless. You need premium or enterprise."

— Capterra review

12. Todoist

Asana alternative Todoist

Like Asana, Todoist started out as a simple to-do app. While Asana has since evolved into a complex project management platform, Todoist aimed to preserve its simplicity. If you are looking for a simpler, more minimal version of Asana, it can be a great choice.

While Todoist is best suited for personal projects, after it introduced a Kanban board view along with a series of new collaboration features in 2020, it's becoming increasingly popular among small teams and companies. Its feature set is more limited than that of Asana, which allows it to lower the learning curve for new users and offer a cleaner, simpler interface.

What makes Todoist a great alternative to Asana:

Learn more about how Todoist compares to Asana: Todoist vs Asana.

Looking for more tools similar to Todoist? Check out this list of Todoist alternatives.

What users say about Todoist:

"I switched from Asana because it had too many features. I didn't need 90% of what Asana had to offer. I just needed a simple (but powerful) desktop app to handle my day-to-day tasks. And that's what Todoist does best. The thing I liked the most is that Todoist is really easy to use. I'm not a big fan of task management software... but Todoist offers a perfect balance between ease of use and functionality. Todoist is a very intuitive software unlike others I've tried... It only will take you 5 minutes to personalize it to your preferences, and you'll be good to go."

— Capterra review

13. nTask

Asana alternative nTask

If you are looking for a task management and project management application to replace Asana, consider nTask. This is a great tool that allows you to easily track and manage all of your projects and tasks.

The application offers a wide range of different features, including risk management, meeting management, issue tracking, Kanban boards, Gantt charts, team management, and many third-party integrations among many others.

Let's take a look at some of the distinguishing features that make it a great Asana alternative.

What makes nTask a great alternative to Asana:

Learn more about how nTask compares to Asana: nTask vs Asana.

What users say about nTask:

"Overall, my experience was delightful and positive. nTask had just enough to meet our needs and expectations. It's suitable for beginners or smaller businesses as well. It is affordable and still up to par on quality. nTask helped us improve our overall business and particularly helped our office run smoother and stay organized. It is an effective task management software."

— Capterra review

How to choose the right Asana alternative

There is no single best project management tool for everyone. Asana is a strong option, but it is only one of many ways to organize work.

Some teams want simplicity. Others need structure, reporting, or built-in time tracking. Some prefer tools that focus on tasks, while others want a workspace that also handles documentation and knowledge sharing.

The only reliable way to know what works is to try a few tools with real projects. Most of the options on this list offer free plans or trials, which makes testing easier.

Asana alternatives FAQ

What are the best free Asana alternatives?

If you're looking for a free option, consider Trello, Nuclino, Microsoft To Do, or Taiga. Each has a free tier with varying features.

What is the Microsoft alternative to Asana?

Microsoft offers two project management tools that can be used as Asana alternatives: Microsoft Planner and Microsoft Project. Planner is simpler and integrated with Office 365, while Project is more advanced and better suited for complex work. Microsoft Planner is the closest equivalent to Asana in Microsoft's ecosystem, offering task boards, assignments, and collaboration features.

What is the Google alternative to Asana?

Google doesn't offer a direct Asana equivalent. However, teams often use Google Workspace tools like Google Tasks, Google Keep, and Sheets for basic task tracking. For more structured project management, third-party tools like ClickUp or Trello offer strong Google integrations.

Is Jira similar to Asana?

Yes, but they cater to different audiences. While Asana is more general-purpose and suited for a wide range of teams, Jira is built for software development and Agile workflows.

What are the best open-source alternatives to Asana?

Taiga and OpenProject are two solid open-source project management tools that offer features comparable to Asana.

What are the best self-hosted Asana alternatives?

If you need something self-hosted, consider Taiga, OpenProject, or Redmine. These tools offer greater control and can be tailored to your organization's infrastructure.

What are some cheaper Asana alternatives?

Nuclino, Todoist, nTask, and Zoho Projects all offer more affordable pricing options while still covering essential project management needs.

What are some Asana alternatives with offline support?

Microsoft Project offers offline access. Other tools like Notion and Trello also offer some offline functionality, depending on the platform and plan.

Written by Björn Michelsen

Björn is the CEO and co-founder of Nuclino. His writing draws on 10+ years of experience designing collaboration and productivity software used by teams of all sizes, across many industries.

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