Asana vs Smartsheet: Which Is Better in 2026?
Asana is a work-management tool built around tasks, projects and the people responsible for them. Smartsheet is project management for people who think in spreadsheets. Asana’s strength is keeping cross-functional work visible: who owns what, by when, and how projects add up to goals; Smartsheet’s is portfolio-level planning and reporting in a format finance and operations already understand.
01Pricing
Asana: the Starter plan costs $10.99/user/mo, about $110 a month for a team of ten. Smartsheet: the Pro plan costs $9/member/mo, about $90 a month for a team of ten. At ten people Smartsheet is cheaper by about $20 a month, or $239 a year. Asana has a free plan (up to 2 users). Smartsheet has no free plan; the trial runs 30 days.
| Team size | Asana | Smartsheet |
|---|---|---|
| 5 users | $55 | $45 |
| 10 users | $110 | $90 |
| 25 users | $275 | $475 (Business) |
| Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Limits | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Up to 2 users; Unlimited tasks and projects; 100MB max per file | |
| Starter | $10.99/user | $13.49/user | Timeline and Gantt views; Reporting dashboards; Unlimited automations; Forms with custom fields | |
| Advanced | $24.99/user | $30.49/user | Unlimited portfolios; Goals and resource management; Approvals and proofing; Forms branching and customization | |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | SAML authentication; User provisioning (SCIM); Capacity planning; Service accounts | |
| Enterprise+ | Custom | Custom | SIEM integration; Data residency; Audit logs |
| Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Limits | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro | $9/member | $12/member | 1-10 Members; 250 automations per month; 20 GB attachment storage | Unlimited free Contributors; Gantt, table, board, and calendar views; Unlimited sheets, forms, and reports; Conversational AI features |
| Business | $19/member | $24/member | 3-seat minimum; 3+ Members; 1 TB attachment storage | Unlimited free Guests; Timeline view; Unlimited automations; Admin capabilities |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | 10-seat minimum; 10+ Members; Unlimited attachment storage | Scenario Planning; Portfolios; SAML-based SSO; Enterprise Plan Manager |
| Advanced Work Management | Custom | Custom | Control Center; Dynamic View; Data Shuttle; Connectors |
Prices are per month on annual billing. † marks prices taken from the vendor’s documentation or page data instead of its visible pricing page. Asana pricing and Smartsheet pricing have the full detail.
02The Two Tools
Asana
Asana is a work-management tool built around tasks, projects and the people responsible for them. The same project can be viewed as a list, a board, a timeline or a calendar, and portfolios and goals roll individual projects up for managers. It is polished and structured, which is why marketing and operations teams tend to adopt it without much argument.
- Best at
- Keeping cross-functional work visible: who owns what, by when, and how projects add up to goals.
- Falls short
- It charges per seat for nearly everything that makes it good, and it has never been a comfortable home for software teams that want sprints and issue tracking.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet is project management for people who think in spreadsheets. Sheets gain Gantt charts, forms, automated workflows and dashboards, and reports roll data up across many projects. Large organizations use it for portfolio tracking where a familiar grid matters more than a modern interface.
- Best at
- Portfolio-level planning and reporting in a format finance and operations already understand.
- Falls short
- It still feels like a spreadsheet, collaboration is less fluid than in newer tools, and capabilities such as resource management cost extra.
03Which Fits Your Situation
| If you are | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business | Asana | Gives a growing company structure without needing an administrator, at a per-seat price that adds up. |
| Enterprise | Either | Asana: Portfolios and goals connect team projects to company objectives, and adoption outside engineering is strong. Smartsheet: Portfolio roll-ups and reports in a grid that finance and operations already trust. |
| Freelancers | Asana | Workable on the free plan for the smallest teams; the paid tiers are priced for companies. |
| Startups | Asana | A sound choice once the company has non-engineering teams to coordinate. |
| Remote Teams | Asana | Clear ownership and due dates on every task reduce the need to ask who is doing what. |
04Verdict
Choose Asana if you want structure that non-technical teams will actually keep up to date. Choose Smartsheet if you run a project office that lives in spreadsheets and needs roll-up reporting.
05FAQ
Is Asana or Smartsheet cheaper?
For a team of ten, Asana comes to about $110 a month and Smartsheet to about $90. Prices are per month on annual billing.
Do Asana and Smartsheet have free plans?
Asana has a free plan (up to 2 users). Smartsheet has no free plan; the trial runs 30 days.
Which is easier to learn, Asana or Smartsheet?
There is little between them: both are moderately involved to set up.
Which is better for freelancers, Asana or Smartsheet?
Asana. Workable on the free plan for the smallest teams; the paid tiers are priced for companies.