Asana Review: A Broad Take on Asana’s Pros, Cons, and Features

Asana is one of the biggest names when it comes to project management software. It pledges a PM experience unlike any other, boasting: “Let us take care of what you hate.”

By that, they’re referring to the repetition of delegating and distributing of tasks. Their software aims to make project management as easy and efficient as possible.

This post will take a look at what Asana offers and whether or not it really tackles the most tedious parts of PM, leaving time and energy for more important challenges. Let’s get started!

Asana’s Features

Score: 3.5 / 5

“Asana organizes work so teams know what to do, why it matters, and how to get it done.” It does this by tackling the tedium of PM.

Asana makes the process of managing projects easier, avoiding any confusion that may arise from verbal instructions. It does a great job of handling daily task reminders for small team projects.

It lets you know who’s responsible for what and when their part is due. Asana also organizes tasks and schedules efficiently for you, which can be ideal for teams that are able to work in person as well as remotely.

But the app doesn’t have all the bells and whistles associated with other PM programs, which may pose difficulties for some. For example, there’s no expense tool for in-app budget tracking or resource management tools.

If you or your team needs these or other high-functioning tools, this may not be the software for you. 

Ease of Use

Score: 4.5 / 5

Like ClickUp, Asana is cloud-based software, which could ease file sharing worries. Teams will be less likely to lose newer or older versions of documents with ‘the Cloud.’

And if you’re familiar with Basecamp or Airtable, you’ll have little trouble understanding Asana’s workflow organization. It thrives on its flexibility.

How flexible you may ask? Well, you get to decide what work is tracked and what to do with it. Asana operates with very few templates, allowing the type of work tracked to be just about anything.

In recent years, the company added more templates for teams needing more structure, without sacrificing their original ‘open plan’ system.

The app also has mobile applications for iOS and Android.

Asana’s Cost

Score: 4.5 / 5

Asana has four price tiers: Basic, Premium, Business, and Enterprise.

Basic is the free tier that includes unlimited tasks, projects, messages, file storage and allows collaboration with up to 15 team members among other features. This tier could suit your needs for quite some time, even if your team is expanding.

Premium and Business tiers ($13.49 and $30.49 per person per month, respectively) may benefit large, corporate teams over a small business, particularly if your budget isn’t quite where you want it to be.

Alternatives

•       ClickUp — All-in-one project management app could be helpful or overwhelming depending on the user, paid tiers less expensive
•       Trello — User intuitive, clean visual layout

Final Score – 4.1 / 5

All in all, if you’re looking for a task manager for a small team, Asana could be your best bet. The workable interface is one of the features that earn the software such high praise. Yet as open as it is, there may be difficulties for teams needing more structure or large project management.