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Asana vs Smartsheet comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Asana
Ranking in Project Management Software
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Smartsheet
Ranking in Project Management Software
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Project Portfolio Management (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Asana is 7.9%, down from 11.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Smartsheet is 5.0%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Management Software
 

Featured Reviews

Ian Herzing - PeerSpot reviewer
May 8, 2022
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.
Asma Ali - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 19, 2022
Easy to use, simple to set up, and great for non co-located environments
At one point we were trying to use it to organize a curriculum for students to just have the weekly stuff. We kind of ran into trouble doing this. It's not really designed for that. What we were trying to do is give them a real-time syllabus with pre-readings and activities and stuff embedded. It ended up getting really complicated. They also had access, and while there’s probably a way to not give them access, I didn’t know how to set that. I just wanted to let them download. It got complex. It wasn’t just people updating what they were working on. It was something else and it didn’t work. If there was some way to store more complex files in the system, or if there was a back-end structure where you could store files, that would be ideal. We use Box to store recordings, for example, of sessions and stuff. We’d like to store it in this solution. We already integrate Smartsheet into Teams for updates and stuff. That works well.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its project management tracking systems."
"Asana is a very simple interface for project managers to figure out, providing all the functions they need."
"It's an easy way to communicate."
"Asana has helped me (as an individual contributor) organize my daily work and given me a way to plan for longer term objectives."
"The solution's user interface is very good."
"This solution is easier and faster to use compared to Jira. It's not very structured and you can add sub-tasks and issues easily."
"The initial setup is straightforward. It was just a few clicks to get started and to integrate Asana into our existing business system. It took 15 days to fully implement our projects using Asana."
"The general UI shows progress and data analytics for all projects in progress."
"The ability to build a quick dashboard and give management insight into the progress of the project itself is probably one of the most beneficial pieces."
"The management aspect is the most valuable. You can also prioritize tasks and then view tasks by priorities as passports."
"I like that Smartsheet integrates Excel with a cloud-based project management software."
"I prefer Smartsheet for its flexibility."
"The solution is straightforward. Whenever a requirement arises, we create three things in Smartsheet: a project plan, a dashboard, and internal documents. It is done through the form and Smartsheet's automation services. This process shortens the time to market from seven days to less than 12 hours."
"Granting access to Smartsheet is much simpler. Anyone can access it with just a link and password. Smartsheet also offers intelligent forms, allowing us to collect project proposals easily. Before our first meeting, I can review initial project ideas submitted through these forms. Additionally, attaching files is straightforward - no need to navigate through menus. The search function is also nice."
"To me, one of the most powerful features of Smartsheet is being able to email others."
"The most valuable features of Smartsheet are its collaboration tools, the ability to centralize and prioritize projects, and robust reporting capabilities."
 

Cons

"It would be great if Asana could create a library for each project within the interface."
"For large teams, scalability should be improved."
"You need to have an action plan, otherwise, it won't be as effective."
"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."
"It would be beneficial if Asana had a predecessor feature that automatically adjusts all subsequent dates when changes are made to a timeline. For example, if I assign a designer four hours for one task and two days for another, and the completion of a task takes longer than anticipated, it would be convenient if updating one date could prompt the adjustment of all other relevant dates. Essentially, this feature would streamline the process and eliminate the need for manual adjustments."
"The solution could have a bigger pop-up when someone assigns a task or have a notification similar to Facebook, where you see a number indicating the notifications you receive."
"Some updates are outdated, and their functionalities can affect the end outcomes."
"More features can be added."
"I think that the mobile interface needs to be improved. If you cannot access it through your laptop, I'd prefer to have that option on the mobile, but I don't think that it's user-friendly and easy to navigate."
"The product must include more modules for project management."
"I think it is all going to be about APIs in the future and I don't think Smartsheet is doing a lot in that regard. They have some integrations with Jira, but you have to pay for them."
"I would like if Smartsheet allowed more formulas in its sheets. I don't think working with formulas is as intuitive as it is in Excel. I use Vlookups and index matches in some of my sheets, and I had to find an outside consultant to help me build out those formulas."
"Asana has a modern look and feel, particularly its agile project management interface featuring movable cards between columns."
"There are some pain points for me. Other people use it a little differently, but I would like to be able to do a little more with it. I would like database functionality with it wherein if I bring in several Excel spreadsheets of data and load them into Smartsheets, I should be able to make a correlation between an index field and run a report against those two. I can do it, but it's a little clunky. So, I need a little more experience to feel comfortable doing that."
"An area for improvement in Smartsheet is that if you're in the government or you're a regulated customer, you're not allowed to use APIs due to internal restrictions, so there are specific things that you cannot connect to it. Another area for improvement in the solution is that because there's a capacity of how many records you can have, and there's a capacity of how many functions you can apply, Smartsheet has set up their system where they can force people into purchasing a $20,000 additional module that is called Control Center, that will create documents for them on the fly, so they don't use so many functions and automation. Smartsheet also needs to improve on training, because the training that is out there is very little. The solution requires a steeper learning curve. You have to do your own training and you have to work on your own solution."
"Smartsheet needs to improve the user interface."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the solution is reasonable."
"Price-wise, I think it's an affordable option for mid to large-sized companies."
"The cost is $25 US per unit per month."
"There is a free version of Asana, but we use the paid version to receive all the features we want. The overall price is reasonable."
"Asana has two different types of structures: company vs workspace. Company is really best if all the users you plan to assign work to are all internal (have the same corporate domain in their user ID email address). Once one person signs up (even for a free account) with a corporate email address, Asana will automatically relate that person to that company, if it already exists. If you plan to use it for external collaboration as well as internal, then creating a workspace is a better approach."
"It has a free version."
"We paid a monthly licensing fee for the product."
"Its price is fair. Its licensing cost is cheaper than Microsoft Project. I would rate it a two out of five in terms of pricing."
"There's a trial version and a free version. Each license costs a decent amount, $25 per month or something."
"There's a license for Smartsheet, and the enterprise plan comes down to about $750. My company also pays an extra $60 monthly apart from the standard licensing fee."
"If I'm not mistaken, it was pretty manageable. It was about 200 bucks a seed. The business really felt a strong need for it. So, it was viewed as a safer and more straightforward cost that we were willing to pay as compared to Domo, which took some convincing."
"The solution is reasonably priced."
"The tool's monthly fee is 25 dollars, which is within the range of most cloud-based project management tools. I rate the tool's pricing a five out of ten."
"There would be more extensive usage if the solution were cheaper. It's really expensive right now, and that's why we provide a few licenses for admins. The rest of them are just users without admin privileges."
"The solution is expensive."
"This licensing is straightforward and they charge per user."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
56%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Educational Organization
41%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Government
5%
 

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?
The pricing is reasonable. We paid and received equal functionality.
What needs improvement with Asana?
The solution could have a bigger pop-up when someone assigns a task or have a notification similar to Facebook, where you see a number indicating the notifications you receive. This way, you can se...
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 Smartsheet?
The tool creates shareable dashboards. These dashboards allow us to display project deliverables' status, their position in the queue, expected delivery timelines, and more. The best part is that t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Smartsheet?
Smartsheet can be low-priced, with personal subscriptions around eight dollars a month, but I imagine it gets pricier for enterprise systems. Microsoft Project can be more expensive.
 

Comparisons

 

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Uber, Vodaphone, NASA, Spotify, Lyft, Baggu, Udacity, Patreon, Flipboard, Dropbox, Intel, Samsung, Airbnb, SFMoma, Hubspot, Trivago
Sony Music, ESPN, Hilton, Unisource, Colliers, Extreme Networks, Groupon, Netflix
Find out what your peers are saying about Asana vs. Smartsheet and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.