Many tools promise to help you manage your tasks, plan your projects, collaborate, and boost your productivity. The sheer number of options can be overwhelming, so if you narrowed your choices down to Notion and Asana — two popular project management platforms — you’re already on the right track.
The real question is, how do they compare to one another? Most importantly, how can you make sure you’re choosing the right tool for your team?
This article will provide an unbiased Notion vs. Asana comparison — covering everything from key features and ease of use to pricing plans and security features — and hopefully, help you make an informed decision.
Notion vs. Asana in a nutshell
Notion was introduced in 2016 and has since grown into one of the leading productivity tools—an “all-in-one workspace” that focuses on database features and handles internal documentation.
Asana launched in 2012, a few years before Notion, offering a more traditional approach to project management and productivity — boasting advanced capabilities wrapped in an intuitive interface.
It’s worth noting that the global market for project management software is expected to reach $11.4 billion by 2032, following a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.4%.
There’s clearly an increasing demand for project management platforms.
Of course, Notion and Asana aren’t your only options:
There are all-in-one platforms that combine the best of what Notion and Asana have to offer and then take it to the next level with additional functionalities, such as chats, video meetings, goal tracking, email, and more — and Lark is one of them.
Which has the best features?
Notion and Asana have similar project management and collaboration features — including different types of project views, AI capabilities, comments, @mentions, and templates.
But as you’re about to see, there are quite a few differences.
Task and project management features
You’re here to choose project management software, so clearly, these are the features that matter most to you.
Here’s what Notion has to offer:
Multiple types of project views, including timelines, boards, and calendars
Complex projects can be broken down into tasks and subtasks
Option to add assignees, statuses, and due dates to tasks and track dependencies
Progress bar for project tracking
Basic and custom workflow automations
Asana has a more powerful range of features for project management, including:
Customizable project sections with different types of views, including Kanban boards, lists, calendars, timelines, and Gantt charts
Option to add subtasks, start dates, and due dates, assignees, dependencies, additional descriptions, and file attachments
Custom fields for tagging your tasks
Option to create recurring tasks
Embedded time-tracking tool with a detailed log
A library of ready-made and custom templates
If you’d like to have access to all these essential project management features — and more — under one roof, go with Lark.
Read more: Why Lark Base is the ultimate project management tool
Collaboration features
Most, if not all, popular project management tools support team collaboration — to some extent — and Notion and Asana are no exceptions.
Here’s an overview of Notion’s main collaboration features:
Shared workspace with real-time collaboration tools and comments
The option to invite up to 250 guests (depending on the plan)
Open and closed team spaces, with the option to make them private if needed
Asana can’t compete with Notion in terms of real-time collaboration.
You can still leave comments and send messages to other teammates — but it lacks Notion’s collaborative editing.
If that’s a must-have for your team, then Lark is the collaborative workspace you’re looking for — complete with chat, Docs, and video conferencing tools.
Read more: Empowering remote collaboration and communication with Lark
File storage
Notion limits file size to 5 MB for free accounts; otherwise, it allows file uploads of up to 5 GB per file. Asana offers unlimited storage regardless of your subscription level, with a limit of 100 MB per file, so it has a slight advantage over Notion regarding file storage.
That said, Notion also doubles as a file management tool — something that Asana cannot do.
But ultimately, they can’t compete with Lark:
Lark’s free version includes 100 GB of storage, a 250 MB upload limit, and access to Lark Wiki — an integrated tool for creating your team’s knowledge base.
Reporting features
Now, this is where Asana takes the lead:
Asana’s goals and reporting features allow you to set company-wide goals and track progress with automatic updates. You’ll also have access to Asana’s reporting dashboards with up to 20 different charts, which are crucial for managing workloads, tracking project progress, and monitoring project costs and revenue.
Notion, on the other hand, lacks reporting features.
You can still generate basic reports with Notion AI — but overall, Asana has more advanced reporting capabilities.
AI features
Notion and Asana employ artificial intelligence (AI) to improve your workflow and make handling complex projects easier.
Here’s an overview of AI capabilities that can be useful for project teams:
Notion AI is available as an add-on and costs $8 per user per month. It has three core capabilities: Q&A, which provides quick answers about ongoing projects; Autofill, which can turn complex databases into summaries and actionable insights; and Writer, which can generate first drafts and translations and support brainstorming.
Asana Intelligence — Asana’s built-in AI functionality — can help you generate status updates, provide quick answers about ongoing projects, summarize tasks, and build workflows according to your goals.
Which has the best integrations?
Both tools offer a wide range of integrations with third-party apps, so connecting them to other tools your team is currently using shouldn’t be an issue. What’s more, you can further extend their range of features through Zapier and IFTTT — leading platforms for workflow automations and integrations with hundreds of apps.
Asana does have a slight advantage here:
It boasts more than 100 free integrations — including Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace apps (Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Gmail, Sheets, and Slides), OneDrive, Dropbox, Zoom, and Slack, to name a few — with the option to build custom integrations through Asana’s API.
Plus, it also integrates with Lark:
That’s not to say that Notion doesn’t offer plenty of integrations:
It connects with over 80 other apps and platforms, including Asana, ClickUp, Dropbox, Google Drive, Zoom, Slack, Jira, and GitHub.
Which has better pricing options?
Notion has four pricing plans, including a free version for individuals — with a limited trial for two or more members — that lets you invite up to 10 guests and access basic collaboration and task management features.
Here’s an overview of Notion’s paid plans:
Plus starts at $8 per user per month and adds the option to invite up to 100 guests, with custom database automations, unlimited file uploads, and a 30-day page history
Business starts at $15 and includes 250 guest invites, 90-day page history, SAML Single Sign-On (SSO), and advanced page analytics
Enterprise has custom pricing and includes advanced admin controls and security features
Asana also has a free version — but overall, it’s more expensive than Notion.
The Personal plan is great for individuals and small-sized teams since it supports collaboration with up to 10 teammates and includes essential project management features.
In addition to that, Asana’s pricing model includes the following plans:
Starter plan starts at $10.99 and includes Asana Intelligence, 250 workflow automations per month, and additional admin controls, with support for up to 500 teammates
Advanced plan starts at $24.99 per month and unlocks advanced reporting
Two custom plans for enterprise-level users — Enterprise and Enterprise+ — with no user limit, 24/7 support, and access to Asana’s advanced features, including privacy and security features and admin controls
If you’re looking for a more generous free plan, consider Lark:
The free version supports up to 50 users and includes unlimited messages, video conferencing, real-time collaboration tools, 5,000 automations per month, Lark-hosted email, online customer support options — and more.
Which has the best support?
Notion and Asana share the common feature of offering several different customer support options and a wide range of available resources.
Notion has a Help Center with tutorials, guides, supporting documentation, and webinars. Users also have access to the Notion Community, which has tons of additional resources, while Enterprise users have the option to work with Notion’s customer success managers.
Unfortunately, there’s no live chat support. That’s a potential deal-breaker, considering that 61% of US customers list this as their preferred method of contacting support.
Asana’s customer support options include access to a Help Center with video tutorials, courses, and tips for getting started, as well as Asana Academy and Asana Forum. It also offers 24/7 support — although it’s reserved for Enterprise and Enterprise+ users — and customer success options for easier onboarding, consultations, and training.
Which one is easier to get started with?
As we pointed out earlier, both platforms provide onboarding resources, making it easier for new users to get started. That said, there’s a bit of a difference in ease of setup and user experience — and overall, Asana seems easier to use.
With Notion, you get a minimalistic user interface, a wide range of customization options, and different configurations — which sounds great on paper. However, that level of customization can be overwhelming for new users.
On the other hand, Asana is more of a traditional and user-friendly project management tool — with a simple, easy-to-navigate interface and an intuitive range of features — that should be relatively easy to implement.
Which one is more secure and compliant?
A 2022 survey revealed that 65% of US consumers trust websites more when they offer multi-factor authentication (MFA).
On that note, both Notion and Asana have built-in security features, including data encryption at rest and in transit, multi-factor authentication, Single Sign-On (SSO), and user provisioning (SCIM).
Notion has a comprehensive privacy and security program with SOC 2 Type 2 compliance and certification for the following four ISO standards — ISO 27001, ISO 27701, ISO 27017, and ISO 27018.
Both platforms also boast HIPAA compliance.
That said, Asana maintains SOC 2 Type 2 and SOC 3 compliance and adheres to global and regional privacy laws:
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Additionally, it holds certifications for ISO/IEC 27001:2013, ISO/IEC 27017:2015, ISO/IEC 27018:2019, ISO/IEC 27701:2019.
Using a project management tool also means trusting it with your company’s sensitive data — so you have to choose wisely.
Lark’s commitment to security is not just a promise; it’s the fundamental principle behind the platform.
What are users saying about them?
There are hundreds of Notion and Asana customer reviews on peer-to-peer review websites like G2. We did some digging — and here’s what we’ve found:
Most user reviews praise Notion for its flexibility and note that it’s useful for personal productivity and organization. However, they also admit that the wide range of features and configurations can be overwhelming, with the steep learning curve listed as one of Notion’s biggest downsides.
Asana users agree it’s an intuitive and easy-to-use platform for basic project management. The relatively high pricing and the lack of customization options and advanced functionalities are the main complaints expressed in the less positive reviews.
That’s another reason why you might want to consider Lark:
Not only is it favored by users for providing a wide range of features within a single productivity platform, maintaining a rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars on G2 — but it has also earned recognition as a leader in G2’s Fall 2023 Report.
Read more: Lark recognized in 2023 Gartner® Collaborative Content Workspaces and Meeting Solutions reports
Notion vs. Asana: Which project management and productivity software is right for you?
The choice between Notion and Asana comes down to your team’s specific needs:
Notion would be a better choice if you need a customizable tool to create and manage extensive documentation and keep your workspace organized while having access to essential project management features.
On the other hand, you should go with Asana if you value ease of use and need a wider range of task management features and third-party integrations.
But as we pointed out already, Notion and Asana are not your only options; Lark is another tool worth exploring.
In addition to robust project management features, this all-in-one productivity solution boasts a wide range of additional functionalities — including:
Lark’s comprehensive project management solutions — Lark Base and Meegle — with customized workflows, templates, dashboards, and automations
Lark Docs and Wiki create a unified workspace for real-time content collaboration and knowledge management — an alternative to Notion’s Docs and Wikis
Additional features that make Lark an all-in-one productivity platform, including Lark Messenger and Lark Meetings that replace instant messaging and video conferencing apps
Here’s what others have to say about Lark:
Conclusion
There’s no “right” or “wrong” choice; the best project management solution for your team will have all the features you need to keep projects on track, maximize productivity, and meet your goals.
But if there’s one thing that this Notion vs Asana comparison has shown, it’s that not all project management platforms are the same — far from it.
If you want an all-in-one solution that can handle more than just project management, consider a productivity superapp like Lark.
Get in touch with our team and see how Lark can supercharge your productivity.
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