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Asana vs Microsoft Project comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
Asana boosts productivity and efficiency, offering indirect financial benefits through improved task management and accessible information for increased billable hours.
Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Project enhances resource utilization and ROI, despite some expertise challenges, leading organizations to prioritize license renewals.
Microsoft Project does help save time and money due to its completeness as a project management solution.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.7
Asana’s customer service is responsive and effective, but community support lacks strength, leading to varied user experiences.
Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Project support varies, with mixed reviews; users utilize in-house resources, partners, community, and online assistance.
There is a website and a connection to AI for support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Asana is scalable for small to medium teams, but costs and scalability ratings vary with larger enterprises facing challenges.
Sentiment score
6.9
Microsoft Project is scalable for large projects, but server limitations, license issues, and integration challenges can affect performance.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Asana is highly regarded for its stability, reliable performance, and effective communication during occasional maintenance, earning high user ratings.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Project is stable for small to medium projects, with some issues on larger projects affecting performance and synchronization.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Project needs improved integration, user interface, collaboration, scalability, and cost-effectiveness for better resource management and automation.
The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing.
Microsoft Project tends to become very unstable on large project plans with more than 400 lines.
 

Setup Cost

Asana offers reasonable pricing with a free version, but some users find limitations and potential extra costs challenging.
Microsoft Project's pricing varies by user volume and features, ranging from affordable to expensive, often bundled with other solutions.
The issue with Microsoft is that the license is per personnel, making it expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Project offers comprehensive task management, integration, visualization, and adaptability, making it ideal for diverse industry use.
This tool is the most accurate project management tool, allowing me to run a full set of project activities without having to switch between different tools for scheduling and other tasks.
The most valuable features are in the successor and predecessor determination and the tracking tools, such as obtaining data on the S curve financial curve.
 

Categories and Ranking

Asana
Ranking in Project Management Software
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Project
Ranking in Project Management Software
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Asana is 6.7%, down from 12.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Project is 8.0%, down from 12.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Management Software
 

Featured Reviews

Ian Herzing - PeerSpot reviewer
Stands out with portfolios, easy setup, and real-time information, but needs big improvement when it comes to workflows, automation, and dashboards
Their workflows and automation could use a big improvement. I don't even know if they have anything in that regard right now. I would really love to see a way where you can send custom alerts based on a task's completion or status change or an approval coming through. I would love to see a way to get some low-code functionality into Asana because right now, that is a big miss. On top of that, their dashboards are incredibly lacking. The way the widgets connect to the projects, they don't pull the data in the way that I really want them to. When I build a dashboard in Asana versus Smartsheet, I can't pull in data via a custom text field in Asana, but in Smartsheet, I can. That's a huge advantage because sometimes, you just want to report on really niche tasks or a launch date in a specific project or a collection of projects, and Smartsheet's dashboard features will let you do that, but Asana won't. So, their dashboards are lacking, and the workflows are pretty below where the market is right now. I would love to see a complete revamp of how they do dashboards right now. Dashboards are really poor. They don't display information well, and they don't look good. They don't pull in data in an advanced search kind of way. They are very simplistic. If you're a traditional project manager and you're PMP certified and you understand project management, you're going to be very frustrated with Asana's dashboards because they do not speak the language of project management. That's because of the way they are set up. So, I would like to see that completely revamped. It's just not an industry standard.
Nurul Asyikin Wahab - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient project management with robust data tracking and an easy setup
When I have too many elements or items in a project, it becomes cumbersome, especially during printing. Non-technical users do not need all the data, so it's primarily for technical personnel. Without guidance, it's challenging to use the app. With guidance and expert knowledge, it becomes manageable, however, it's not for non-technical teams. The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing. Printing on A3 size is quite burdensome, so I prefer viewing it on a tablet or computer. On a tablet or phone, I can see the full project elements depending on the screen size.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
60%
Computer Software Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Manufacturing Company
3%
Educational Organization
69%
Computer Software Company
4%
Manufacturing Company
3%
Government
3%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Asana?
The solution's user interface is very good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Asana?
Asana is overpriced based on its offering. On a personal level, I would not recommend it to myself. Due to its cost, I wouldn't select Asana if I were to buy a single license for managing my projects.
What needs improvement with Asana?
There is room for improvement in integrating Asana with different technology vendors. The reporting and exportation of project results need enhancement. The interface has drawbacks, such as the req...
Has anyone moved from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet? How has your experience been with Smartsheet?
Hi @Eire Zimmermann, I helped an organization evaluate both MS-Project and Smartsheet when they were conducting their PM tool RFP. The short of it is this, MS Project is not caught up with the mo...
What do you like most about Microsoft Project?
The product's initial setup phase is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project?
The issue with Microsoft is that the license is per personnel, making it expensive.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

No data available
Project Pro, MS Project
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Uber, Vodaphone, NASA, Spotify, Lyft, Baggu, Udacity, Patreon, Flipboard, Dropbox, Intel, Samsung, Airbnb, SFMoma, Hubspot, Trivago
Aston Martin, ABANCA, Airbus Group, Capita, Cardiff University, City of Saskatoon, Intel, Pegasus Airlines, South Australia Power Network (SAPN), Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing
Find out what your peers are saying about Asana vs. Microsoft Project and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.