Smartsheet and Asana are both powerhouse project management tools. But while they're both feature-rich and great for collaboration, they come at project management from different angles.
Smartsheet takes the spreadsheet approach for detailed, complex projects and reporting. Asana, on the other hand, has a more traditional, intuitive project management interface.
Based on my experience testing these apps, here's my detailed point-by-point comparison of Smartsheet and Asana.
Smartsheet vs. Asana at a glance
Check out this table to quickly see how these tools stack up against each other. To learn more about my experiences using each, keep reading.
| Smartsheet | Asana |
|---|---|---|
Main view | Spreadsheet grid | List |
Collaboration | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Strong collaboration features with real-time updates, comments, and task assignments | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent for team collaboration, with comments, task assignments, notifications, and messaging |
Automation | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ More powerful, custom workflows with conditional logic | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ More user-friendly, basic automations |
Ease of use | ⭐⭐⭐ Has a more complex interface; can be overwhelming for new users | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Clean, intuitive, user-friendly interface |
Reporting | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Has a variety of powerful ways to generate reports | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Offers basic reporting for tracking project progress |
Artificial intelligence | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Generative AI helps with summaries and formula creation but is currently gated behind Enterprise plans | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Included throughout the platform as Asana Intelligence |
Asana is easier to use
When it comes to user experience, Asana takes the lead with its intuitive design and flexibility.
Both apps offer a variety of views, but compared to Smartsheet, Asana's interface is more what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG). This means you can directly manipulate tasks, dates, and other elements in a visually intuitive manner. And it's just prettier—take a look at the comparison images below to see what I mean.
Kanban
Calendar
List / Grid
If spreadsheets are your jam, you'll feel right at home in Smartsheet—otherwise, Asana might be your best bet given its more traditional project management framework.
Smartsheet is more powerful
Smartsheet takes the crown when it comes to raw power and data manipulation.
Asana offers basic reporting—so of course, you'll be able to see completed tasks by team, task status, and upcoming tasks by assignee. But Smartsheet takes it a step further. You can consolidate data from multiple projects into robust dashboards and reports. This allows you to see trends, identify roadblocks, and make data-driven decisions.
Smartsheet also has more powerful automation features. Asana handles automation like creating subtasks or assigning tasks to team members based on project stage, but Smartsheet lets you craft much more intricately customized automated workflows. Whether working from a template or from scratch, with conditional logic and powerful formulas, you can design any combination of ways to automate repetitive tasks and streamline complex processes.
Smartsheet is slightly cheaper, but Asana has a free plan
Asana has a free plan, and Smartsheet doesn't. So if your budget is $0, there's your answer.
Beyond that, Smartsheet and Asana both offer two pricing tiers (in addition to custom Enterprise packages):
Smartsheet's Pro Plan is $9/member/month, allowing up to 10 users, while Asana's comparable Starter plan is $10.99/user/month with up to 500 users.
Smartsheet's Business Plan costs $19/member/month (with a minimum of three users), while Asana's comparable Advanced plan is $24.99/user/month.
The only major difference I noticed in what's available on the cheaper plans is that Asana's includes the Timeline view, while you'd need to upgrade to Business for this feature in Smartsheet.
Asana's AI is available on all paid plans; Smartsheet offers AI tools only for Enterprise plans
With Asana, you get a suite of AI tools to help automate workflows, generate project summaries, and draft subtasks automatically. Having tried it out, I can say that this is super useful in all the right ways—and it's included for all paid Asana users.
Smartsheet also has AI tools that let you ask questions about Smartsheet, analyze your data, create summaries, and generate formulas. The issue: they're only for Enterprise plans. I wasn't able to test them, but I can't imagine they work much differently than Asana's AI.
Asana has more native integrations than Smartsheet, but both tools integrate with Zapier
If you want to get the most from your project management tool, it needs to talk to all your other apps. And using Zapier, you can connect both Asana and Smartsheet to thousands of other apps. Learn more about how to automate Asana and how to automate Smartsheet, or get started with one of these pre-built workflows.
Create new Asana tasks from new Google Calendar events
Add rows to sheets in SmartSheet with new Jotform submissions
Zapier is the leader in workflow automation—integrating with thousands of apps from partners like Google, Salesforce, and Microsoft. Use interfaces, data tables, and logic to build secure, automated systems for your business-critical workflows across your organization's technology stack. Learn more.
Smartsheet vs. Asana: Which should you choose?
Choosing between Asana and Smartsheet really comes down to your priorities. If a visually attractive app matters more to you—and you don't mind paying a little more for advanced plans—go with the user-friendly Asana. If you're willing to sacrifice looks for more opportunities to manipulate your data, go with Smartsheet.
Choose Smartsheet if:
You work with lots of data, so data visualization and reporting are crucial
You crave customizable automation
You want the most powerful tool, not the prettiest one
Choose Asana if:
You prioritize ease of use and a short learning curve
Visual appeal matters
You don't need an enterprise-level plan, but AI features are a must
Your budget is $0
Related reading:
