ClickUp vs Asana: Which one is better? (2023)

You’re searching for a project management tool for your business, and you’re overwhelmed with choices and the amount of information about each and every one of them. 

So you think “Oh, it’s okay — I’ll just choose the one that is popular and has the highest rating. That would be best, right?” 

Wrong. 

The most important thing is to pick a project management tool that fits both your business needs and budget. 

According to FinancesOnline, as many as 64% of teams use more than one task manager — probably because they still haven’t found an app with all the features they need.

Obviously, settling for just one task management software is the right call as far as saving money goes. That said, to make the investment worthwhile, proper research is a must.

So today, we are turning our attention to ClickUp and Asana — 2 task management tools currently popular on the market. We are going to compare these 2 tools according to the following characteristics and features:

• Pricing,
• User interface,
• Task management,
• Team collaboration,
• Progress tracking, 
• Reporting, 
• Administration,
• Integration, 
• Support, and 
• Security. 

Hopefully, by the end of this article, you’ll know which of these tools would work best for your business. 

So — is Asana or ClickUp better? Let’s find out!

ClickUp vs Asana overview

Before we get into details of what each of them has to offer, here’s a quick overview of ClickUp and Asana. 

First up, we have ClickUp, a relatively new task management platform founded in 2017.

This cloud-based tool is an end-to-end product with good pricing plans and a bunch of features to help you organize your work. 

Most notably, ClickUp focuses on enhancing productivity, task management, and team collaboration. However, it also comes with a selection of features that aim to improve document management, progress tracking, and reporting.

The software is available for web, macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS.

Founded in 2008, Asana has become a recognizable name in the world of project management, with the company describing its tool as “the best platform for cross-functional work”. 

That much is certainly true — Asana is a user-friendly tool that helps you organize your work and collaborate successfully with your teammates. Flexible and easy to use by teams across various industries, the software helps users build effective project workflows, keep track of their progress, set and manage their goals, and so much more.

The tool is available for web, macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS.

Here’s an overview of ClickUp’s and Asana’s features:

Feature	ClickUp	Asana
Pricing	Free plan Paid plans start at $7 per user per month	Free plan Paid plans start at $10.99 per user per month
User interface	Complex	User-friendly
Task management	Robust	Robust
Team collaboration	Advanced notification and reminder system Comments and mentions in tasks Chat view Collaborative docs	Customizable notifications Comments and mentions in tasks Team conversations Direct messages
Progress tracking	Daily summary Goals Time tracking Progress-tracking columns Activity view Filter and sort options	Daily summary Goals Time tracking Portfolio progress tracking Filter and sort options
Reporting	Custom dashboards Custom charts	Custom dashboards Custom charts Universal reporting
Administration	User roles: – Owner  – Admins – Members – Guests  4 levels of permissions Custom permissions Custom roles	Admin and super admin roles Workspace members and limited access members  Guest access Customizable object-based permissions Private, public, and comment-only projects Admin console
Integrations	1,000+	200+
Support	Knowledge hub 24/7 support	Knowledge hub 24/7 support (for Enterprise customers)
Security	Advanced	Advanced

ClickUp vs Asana pricing 1:0

No matter how great an app’s features are, a steep price can be a dealbreaker for many. So, we dedicate the first round to pricing. 

ClickUp has a free plan that includes many features, such as:

• 5 Spaces, 
• Unlimited free plan members,
• Unlimited tasks, 
• Whiteboards and Kanban boards,
• In-app video recording, 
• 100 MB storage, and more. 

Aside from a free plan, ClickUp also has 3 paid plans:

• Unlimited — $7 per member per month,
• Business — $12 per member per month, and
• Enterprise — POA.

The latest addition to ClickUp’s repertoire is the ClickUp AI add-on. All paid plans are compatible with this add-on, and it costs an additional $5 per member per month.

If you are a non-profit organization or an educator, you may be eligible for ClickUp’s non-profit and academic discounts. Startups can also take part in the ClickUp for Startups program to fast-track their growth and productivity.

Asana also has a free plan that includes:

• Unlimited file storage,
• Unlimited projects, tasks, messages, and activity log,
• Integration with 100+ apps, 
• Board, list, calendar view, and more.

If these features are not enough for you, Asana has 3 paid plans:

• Premium — $10.99 per user per month,
• Business  — $24.99 per user per month, and
• Enterprise — POA.

Asana also offers discounts on its paid plans to non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and libraries.

ClickUp vs Asana pricing verdict

Both ClickUp and Asana offer a wide range of features free of charge. However, ClickUp allows an unlimited number of members with its free plan. To compare, Asana’s free plan limits you to collaboration with up to 15 people. 

On the other hand, Asana offers unlimited storage across all plans, while ClickUp limits you to 100 MB with its free plan.

That said, if we focus on the paid plans only, it’s evident ClickUp is more affordable than Asana. Given it also offers refunds in case you change your mind, ClickUp scores the first point in this competition.

Pricing	ClickUp	Asana
Free version	✔️	✔️
Free trial	❌	30-day trial of Premium and Business plans
Starting price	$7	$10.99
Refund policy	Full refund within the first 30 days	❌
Overall impression	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐

ClickUp vs Asana user interface 0:1

Nobody wants a clunky UI when using a task management tool for their business. The user interface should be clear and user-friendly since everyone on the team must be able to rely on it.

ClickUp is organized according to project hierarchy, which includes:

• Workspaces,
• Spaces,
• Folders,
• Lists,
• Tasks, and
• Subtasks. 

Overall, we found ClickUp’s interface complex. Still, you can make navigation a bit easier by changing the layout from simple to modern or clean. 

Other ways to customize the user interface include:

• Switching to dark mode,
• Changing the Workspace theme, and
• Adding company assets with the White Label feature.

Another way to speed up navigation and enhance your workflow is to use the Favorites feature to mark and get quick access to locations you use often (e.g., a Space or a List).

ClickUp also has a template center full of templates for various use cases, such as marketing, CRM, accounting, and more.

Asana organizes work according to object hierarchy, which includes:

• Tasks,
• Projects,
• Portfolios,
• Sections,
• Subtasks, and
• Goals. 

Unlike ClickUp, Asana has a clear, easy-to-master user interface that consists of 5 main areas where you can access various functionalities. There’s also a Home section that details your tasks, projects, tasks you’ve assigned others, and your frequent collaborators. 

You can customize this page by changing the background color and adding widgets, such as:

• Draft comments,
• Private notepad, 
• Forms, and
• My goals. 

Asana also lets you create task templates. This is a handy way to save time since tasks within a project tend to be similar. You can choose the task type and customize components such as assignee, collaborators, task dependencies, etc. 

You can also create projects from templates found in Asana’s template library or create a new template from one of your existing projects.

ClickUp vs Asana user interface verdict

ClickUp’s comprehensive UI comes with an incredible array of options for improving workflows, managing detailed projects, and more. 

However, it ultimately seems a bit too complex to use and comes with a slight learning curve — so Asana gets a point in this round.

User interface	ClickUp	Asana
Structure	Complex	Clean
Layout	Simple, modern, or clean	Clean
Customization	Advanced	Advanced
Overall impression	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ClickUp vs Asana task management 1:1

The main reason people decide to use a task management tool is to better handle their everyday tasks. So, how is task management organized in these 2 apps?

Tasks in ClickUp are highly customizable. You can add all sorts of information to each task, such as:

• Assignee, 
• Due date, 
• Status, 
• Priority, 
• Time estimate, etc. 

You can also add a task to multiple lists and have multiple assignees, subtasks, and checklists.

Tasks can also have Watchers — teammates who can be notified of changes made to certain tasks. Plus, in ClickUp, you can create and manage:

• Recurring tasks,
• Custom statuses, and
• Custom fields.

One of our favorites is the Automation ClickApp, which lets you streamline your workflow with automation templates or custom automations. 

Another useful ClickApp is LineUp™️. This app prioritizes tasks for every user to keep them focused.

As for views, ClickUp has 11 task and 5 page views , including:

• List, 
• Board, 
• Table, 
• Gantt, 
• Chat, and
• Whiteboards view.

In Asana, you populate task cards with various information, such as:

• Assignee,
• Projects, 
• Due date, and
• Dependencies.

Tasks have only 1 assignee. However, you can add collaborators or create subtasks with different assignees.

You can also use the task card to:

• Set task priority and status,
• Duplicate tasks,
• Identify milestones, and
• Create follow-up tasks.

Asana lets you create custom fields specific to your project or organization too. So, the finance department, for example, can create a custom field called “Cost” or “Salary”. Similarly, the sales team can have fields like “Customer” or “Deal value”. 

The Rules feature enhances workflow further and automates common processes. You can use pre-set Rules or make custom ones to fit your business needs. 

Another option is the Workflow Builder, which automates various team processes for better work organization and project management.

As for views, Asana has 4:

• List,
• Board,
• Timeline, and
• Calendar. 

You can also use the Overview option to learn about:

• Project roles,
• Connected goals,
• Key project resources, and
• Milestones. 

ClickUp vs Asana task management verdict

ClickUp comes with 16 different views and various built-in task management features you can enhance further with ClickApps. 

In comparison, Asana has fewer views, but its task cards are more comprehensive, allowing for more detailed task tracking and organization.

Since both ClickUp and Asana have automation capabilities as well, this category must end in a tie, with each app earning a point.

Task management	ClickUp	Asana
Board/task views	11	4
Workflow automations	✔️	✔️
Overall impression	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ClickUp vs Asana team collaboration 1:1

Team collaboration is a significant factor when it comes to project success. You need to be able to communicate with your team effectively for projects to run smoothly. 

ClickUp offers several ways for you to collaborate with your team. For example, users can:

• Message each other in the task’s comments section,
• @mention teammates in comments, and
• Discuss topics broader than just 1 task in the Chat view. 

Your team can also add files and attachments to tasks and comments. The free plan includes only 100 MB, while the paid plans offer unlimited storage.

ClickUp also has an advanced notification and reminder system. Each type of user can set their preferences. Plus, you can add reminders for small action items you are currently too busy to complete.

Visual collaboration in ClickUp is made possible with:

• Whiteboards,
• Collaborative Docs, and
• Proofing.

You can also set up different ClickApps to further enhance collaboration, such as:

• Email,
• Work In Progress Limits, and
• Who’s Online?.

Asana also enables effortless team communication and collaboration. The biggest advantage is that users can send direct messages to individuals or teams.

Better yet, you can send messages to projects from the inbox too, or use the project’s Messages view to check out previous messages and compose new ones.

You can also collaborate with team members at the task level by:

• Commenting on tasks,
• @mentioning people in comments, and
• Adding followers to tasks to keep them updated about changes.

You can also customize your notifications by pausing them or scheduling a “do not disturb” period. As for email notifications, users can decide what they want to be emailed about (mentions only, weekly reports, etc.).

Team collaboration is also made easier with project notifications and file sharing. The app offers unlimited storage space across all plans. Plus, there’s a separate Files view that consolidates task and message attachments in one place.

Other useful team collaboration functionalities include assigning approval tasks and Proofing. Asana also has neat workload management features — Portfolio and Universal workload.

ClickUp vs Asana team collaboration verdict

Both ClickUp and Asana strive to make team collaboration easier with their built-in communication channels, file-sharing options, and notification systems. 

ClickUp offers impressive real-time collaboration features, such as Docs, Whiteboards, and Proofing, and you can even use the Chat view to discuss projects with your teammates. 

On the other hand, Asana lets you send direct messages to users, view all project files and messages in separate views, and assign approval tasks to speed up team collaboration.

So, this category ends in another tie — both apps get a point.

Team collaboration	ClickUp	Asana
Built-in communication channels	✔️	✔️
Collaborative workdocs	✔️	❌
Overall impression	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ClickUp vs Asana progress tracking 1:0

Progress-tracking features are essential for successful project management as they inform you not only of your wins but your failures too.

In ClickUp, the search bar comes in handy when you want to quickly locate a task. You can also filter and sort your project task lists according to different criteria (assignee, due date, priority, etc.).

One of the ways to track progress in ClickUp is via the progress-tracking columns (auto and manual). Other progress-tracking features include the Milestones ClickApp and custom Portfolio cards (available in Dashboards).

The Activity view gives you an insight into all aggregated activities. This view essentially works as an activity log for a specific project.

To stay in the loop, users can receive a Daily Summary of their tasks in their email. Alternatively, they can set up trackable Goals to keep an eye on project progress and targets.

Time tracking is available on all plans — just start the timer from the task card. If you want to track your team’s activity as well, the Pulse ClickApp shows you who’s online and what tasks they’re working on. 

Asana’s search bar is great for filtering data, and you can use Advanced Search to get more accurate results. You can also sort tasks alphabetically, by start or due date, likes, etc.

Mondays through Fridays, you can receive Daily Summaries about:

• Tasks you’ve assigned others,
• Tasks due soon, and
• Recently assigned tasks.

Notifications include activity updates too, but only for specific user activity. You can, however, keep track of project milestones in the Overview view and of task updates in their respective cards.

Native time tracking is also available for paid plan users via the built-in timer. Similar to ClickUp, you can also set Goals in Asana to keep your team focused.

For example, you can create a goal called “Organize a company get-together” and add your teammates as collaborators. 

Its subgoals would be “Find a venue”, “Confirm the guest list”, etc. As your subgoals are advancing, Asana will calculate your goal progress in percentages.

Another way to track progress is via Portfolios. Once you group projects in portfolios, you can check task progress (% of completed tasks) at a glance.

ClickUp vs Asana progress tracking verdict

Both apps allow you to track your progress in many (rather similar) ways. Still, ClickUp has time tracking on all plans and a project activity log, so it wins a point in this round.

Progress tracking	ClickUp	Asana
Project activity log	✔️	❌
Time tracking	✔️	✔️
Overall impression	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐

ClickUp vs Asana reporting 1:1

Whether you need a performance report or an insight into task completion, reporting features in PM tools should help you keep track of your project’s success with ease.

In ClickUp, you can use Dashboards to generate reports about your project’s performance and real-time progress. With the free plan, you get 100 uses of Dashboards, while the use of the feature is unlimited with Unlimited and above plans.

By creating custom dashboards, you can demonstrate:

• The number of in-progress, closed, and completed tasks,
• How much time you tracked in each task,
• Progress of Goals and Targets, and so much more.

An impressive feature is that charts are interactive. As demonstrated in the priority breakdown chart below, you can select each part to get more information about the exact tasks included in it.

Much like ClickUp, Asana also relies on its dashboard hub for reporting — a feature available on paid plans only. With Universal Reporting, you can:

• Receive reports from your teams and departments, 
• Create and share dashboards containing real-time information, and 
• Visualize data in charts and graphs.

The charts focus on resourcing, progress, and work health, so you can get an insight into various parts of your project and its performance, such as:

• Overdue or upcoming tasks,
• Team goals, and
• Tasks completed each month.

Much like in ClickUp, clicking on each part of a chart gives you more information about the tasks. However, the info doesn’t show up next to the chart. Instead, you get inconveniently redirected to search results and a list of tasks.

ClickUp vs Asana reporting verdict

ClickUp and Asana offer a great range of reporting features, and we particularly love that both apps have made it so easy to create charts and graphs for reporting purposes. Thus, both get a point in this category.

Reporting	ClickUp	Asana
Custom dashboard building	✔️	✔️
Custom charts	✔️	✔️
Overall impression	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ClickUp vs Asana administration 1:0

As every project manager yearns to obtain and keep control over a project, administration settings and permissions must be considered when choosing a task management tool.

ClickUp has 4 user roles:

• Owners,
• Admins,
• Members, and
• Guests.

You can set up 4 levels of permissions for individuals and teams:

• View only,
• Comment,
• Edit, and 
• Full access.

By editing permissions, you limit what others can see and do. Alternatively, you can make any Task, List, Folder, or Space private and choose who can access it.

View-only guests are available on all plans. Meanwhile, paid plans also have permission-controlled guest seats. 

Enterprise plan users can also set up custom permissions and custom roles to fit the needs of their organization.

Asana introduces 2 organization-wide admin roles — admin and super admin — and 2 types of members — workspace and limited access members.

With paid plans, you get to use an admin console to manage your team and add, deactivate, or restore members. You can also manage security settings or billing information for your organization.

In Asana, only paid plan users can invite an unlimited number of guests. 

Permissions in Asana are object-based and include:

• Task,
• Project,
• Team, and
• Comment-only user permissions.

You can customize project permissions to make projects public or private. If a project is private, only the users you add have access to it. You can even make a project only you have access to and no one else. 

And if the project is public, it can be accessed by any team member or even by anyone from the organization, depending on the project permissions.

You can also create comment-only projects — which means you can share the project with your teammates, but they can’t edit anything. 

ClickUp vs Asana administration verdict 

Overall, ClickUp has better-organized user roles and permission levels, making it easier to navigate the platform. Since it also allows users to set up custom permissions and create custom roles, it rightfully earns a point in this round.

Administration	ClickUp	Asana
Advanced permissions	✔️	✔️
Custom roles	✔️	❌
Overall impression	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐

ClickUp vs Asana integrations 1:0

Not every tool out there is a one-size-fits-all solution, so if you want to have an all-around useful task management tool — integrations are a must. 

Luckily, both ClickUp and Asana integrate with a variety of apps to provide you with additional functionalities.

ClickUp integrates with 1,000+ apps, including:

• GitHub, 
• Slack, 
• Zoom, and
• Clockify. 

More than 50 of these integrations are included in the free plan. Meanwhile, paid plan subscribers can enjoy unlimited integrations.

To compare, you can integrate Asana with over 200 apps, including:

• Microsoft Teams, 
• Zapier, 
• Figma, and 
• HubSpot. 

Over 100 of these integrations are available in the free plan. Asana also offers advanced integrations, such as those with Tableau and Salesforce, to Business and Enterprise plan subscribers.

ClickUp vs Asana integration verdict

Asana users can enjoy 200+ integrations, and even the free plan subscribers get access to over 100 of them.

Still, ClickUp wins in this category since it integrates with a lot more apps than Asana.

Integrations	ClickUp	Asana
Number of integrations	1,000+	200+
Overall impression	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐

ClickUp vs Asana support 1:0

You are only human — you can’t know everything. So, when you come across a problem you can’t solve or a feature you don’t know how to use, it’s important to have a support system to turn to. 

On ClickUp’s Help Center page, you can read articles to familiarize yourself with ClickUp and find answers to any issues you might come across. If you can’t find what you are looking for, you can also contact support by submitting a request on the help page. 

ClickUp offers 24/7 live support to all of its users, even those on the free plan. The company also offers live chat support to all of its paid plan users.

If you are looking for more advanced support, the Enterprise plan gets you:

• Access to an onboarding training workshop,
• Priority support,
• Access to an admin training webinar,
• A dedicated customer success manager, and 
• Access to managed services.

Asana offers a diverse selection of materials to help you get better acquainted with the platform, including:

• Asana forum,
• Asana help,
• Developer’s guide, 
• Asana use cases,
• Video tutorials,
• Academy courses, and
• Pre-recorded and live webinars in English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and Japanese. 

If you want to directly contact the support team, you can submit a form on their support page. However, 24/7 support is available for Enterprise plan users only.

ClickUp vs Asana support verdict

Both ClickUp and Asana offer a knowledge base rich with articles, tutorials, and tips to help you navigate their apps. But, ClickUp takes this round on account of offering 24/7 support to all its users.

Support	ClickUp	Asana
Knowledge hub	✔️	✔️
24/7 support	✔️	Only with the Enterprise plan
Overall impression	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐

ClickUp vs Asana security 1:1

Do you handle all sorts of sensitive business data on a daily basis? If yes, you’ll want to make sure your project management tool keeps your information safe at all times. 

At ClickUp, all communication is encrypted over TLS 1.2, and all data is encrypted at rest with AES-256 encryption. As for customer data, it’s hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS).

ClickUp offers two-factor authentication and Google Single Sign-On. The company also holds and maintains the following security certifications and compliances:

• ISO 27001:2013, 27017:2015, and 27018:2019,
• SOC 2,
• HIPAA, and 
• GDPR.

Asana encrypts data in transit and at rest too, encrypting connections using 128-bit encryption and ensuring encryption at rest with AES-256-bit secret keys. 

Asana offers multi-factor authentication and Google Single Sign-On. Much like ClickUp, it also possesses many certifications and attestations: 

• ISO/IEC 27001:2013, 27017:2015, 27018:2019, and 27701:2019,
• GDPR,
• SOC 2 (Type 2) and SOC 3,
• HIPAA,
• CCPA,
• APPI,
• GLBA,
• FEPRA, and 
• CSA STAR Level 1.

ClickUp vs Asana security verdict

It’s evident both apps work hard to keep user data secure. So, both earn a point in our final category.

Security	ClickUp	Asana
Two-factor authentication	✔️	✔️
Google Single Sign-On	✔️	✔️
Data encryption	✔️	✔️
Relevant certifications	✔️	✔️
Overall impression	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

ClickUp vs Asana verdict

We have reached the end of this comparison, and the winner is — ClickUp.

Feature	ClickUp	Asana
Pricing	1	0
User interface	0	1
Task management	1	1
Team collaboration	1	1
Progress tracking	1	0
Reporting	1	1
Administration	1	0
Integrations	1	0
Support	1	0
Security	1	1
Total score	9	5

However, this isn’t by any means a definite answer. Just because ClickUp won this comparison — and Asana failed to impress in some categories — doesn’t mean you must agree with us.

The choice entirely comes down to what you are looking for. 

If, for example, a simple interface and ease of use are your main concerns, Asana could become your valuable companion.

However, if you’d prefer having access to thousands of integrations and a range of practical progress-tracking features — ClickUp is a better choice than Asana.

Leaving our scoreboard aside, remember it’s your wants and preferences that matter here the most. So, make a list of all the things you need for your business. Then, compare it to the features we have mentioned in this article and see if ClickUp or Asana tick all (or most of) the boxes on your list.

Looking for a ClickUp or Asana alternative? Try Plaky

If you haven’t found what you are looking for in either ClickUp or Asana, you should consider Plaky — a secure task management tool with a user-friendly interface. 

One of the benefits of using Plaky is that it comes with a comprehensive free plan. This plan makes it a great alternative to Asana’s free plan since it offers:

• An unlimited number of users and workspaces, 
• 24/7 customer support, and
• Google SSO.

These features make Plaky a fine alternative to ClickUp as well. Other advantages include unlimited storage across all plans and live chat support for all customers.

With Plaky, you can also:

• Create boards from scratch or one of the many project management templates,
• Collaborate with your team members in real time, 
• Create tasks with customizable categories,
• Organize tasks into groups,
• Sort and filter items, 
• Get and customize notifications, and
• Track time by integrating with Clockify.

Best of all, you can unlock additional — and much coveted — features with Plaky’s paid plans, such as:

• Private workspaces and boards,
• Bulk actions, 
• Unlimited viewers and custom fields,
• Unlimited activity log,
• Customized user profiles, and
• Custom organization subdomain.

Depending on your business needs, go for either of the 2 available paid plans:

• Pro plan — $3.99 per user seat per month, and
• Enterprise plan — $8.99 per user seat per month.

✉️ Do you have any experience using ClickUp or Asana? How did you like them? Contact us at blogfeedback@plaky.com and let us know, and we may include your answers in this or some future post. If you found this post useful, share it with someone you think will be interested in it.