Looking for project management software that can improve your workflow? It’s difficult to sift through competing information to find the best app for you.
With long lists of features, convoluted pricing plans, and broken promises, making the right decision is a real challenge. We aim to help companies make educated decisions with detailed comparisons and breakdowns.
In this post, we’re comparing Smartsheet vs. Asana for varying project management use cases. We’ll walk you through their features and pricing and help you determine which suits your team’s needs best.
Smartsheet vs. Asana in a nutshell
After examining both tools, these are our main takeaways about the pros, cons, and ideal use cases of each platform:
Smartsheet suits project managers and analysts who want more control over their data and workflows
Asana is a better option for small teams wanting to jump in and start their project. It’s also a good choice for larger teams with lower tech literacy
Asana is slightly more streamlined and easier to use
Smartsheet’s free plan is extremely limited (maximum three users), while Asana allows up to 10 users
Both platforms have similar customer reputations and, in terms of project management, have similar features
Both tools can help you manage projects effectively and automate certain repetitive tasks. However, we feel both platforms fall short regarding collaboration tools and features. Sure, Asana offers text-based chat for teams and projects, but that’s it. And Smartsheet only offers card comment threads and mentions.
Lark’s all-in-one platform for managing work packs a much bigger punch. Lark offers video calls, team chat, collaborative docs, email, and more built into our project management platform.
And that’s with up to 50 members in our free plan (featuring advanced PM features like Gantt charts).
Smartsheet vs. Asana: Which has the best features?
Let’s take a closer look at the features of both platforms to see which offers more functionality for project management, data management, and collaboration.
Asana’s features
Asana offers strong project management and advanced reporting features, along with a team chatting solution and more.
Basic project management features like tasks, assignments, checklists, notifications, deadlines, etc.
Project views like the table view, Gantt charts, and calendar views
Team chatting platform with teams, project channels, direct messages, status updates, and more
Custom fields
Goal management
Project dashboards
Project portfolio management
Automation features
Forms
Workload management
Time tracking
Asana Intelligence
Asana has robust features for time management as well, but they’re only included in paid plans. (If you want to compare its features to Asana alternatives, read our comparison.)
Smartsheet’s features
Smartsheet offers basic task management features, project views, templates, and a higher level of customizability. It also has powerful features for reporting and a built-in no-code platform.
Basic project management features: tasks, assignments, checklists, notifications, deadlines, progress tracking, etc.
Project views like the standard grid view, Gantt charts, and card view
Templates for various use cases like construction and agencies
Custom automation rules
File sharing and storage
Resource management tools
Form-based workflows
Performance reporting and project dashboards
Mobile apps
Intelligent workflows
Time management tools
No-code work apps
Which platform offers better features?
These apps have comparable features for project management but are packaged in different interfaces. So, which one is best depends on the needs of your business.
What surprised us is the lack of built-in communication tools in both platforms.
With Lark, you get team chat, video conferencing, email, and calendar tools built into the project management platform. This streamlines collaboration and helps you avoid relying on third-party integrations.
Smartsheet vs. Asana: Which has the best integrations?
In terms of built-in integrations, both Asana and Smartsheet have a lot of options.
Smartsheet has third-party integrations with 101 apps, including:
Slack
Microsoft Teams and Outlook
Gmail and Google Drive
Salesforce and Tableau
Zapier
Asana integrates natively with hundreds of apps, including:
Slack
Microsoft Teams and Outlook
Zoom
Gmail and Google Drive
Salesforce and Tableau
Adobe Creative Cloud
Zapier
But the important thing isn’t the number of total integrations. It’s whether the platform integrates with the rest of your tech stack. So you need to cross-check integrations against your software list to figure out which option is better.
If you want a platform that offers complete collaboration and communication tools without relying on integrations, consider Lark.
Smartsheet vs. Asana: Which has the best pricing?
Let’s compare both platforms’ subscription plans and see which offers the better pricing and value. We’ll look at the price, included features, usage limits, and more.
Asana pricing
Asana offers a limited free plan, two standard premium plans, and two tiers of enterprise plans:
Personal (free): Designed for small businesses, teams of up to 10 with unlimited projects, tasks, messages, and activity logs. (This robust free plan is a key difference between Asana and monday.com as well.)
Starter ($10.99/user/month): Includes advanced project views like timeline and Gantt charts, project dashboards, and a workflow builder. Offers 250 automations per month.
Advanced ($24.99/user/month): For larger, more complex teams and companies. Adds more advanced features and up to 25,000 automations per month.
Enterprise (custom pricing): This is for large companies that need to collaborate between departments and may have over 500 users.
Enterprise+ (custom pricing): Adds advanced security features, response time SLAs, auditing features, and more.
Smartsheet pricing
Smartsheet offers a limited free plan for small teams, a business plan, and an enterprise plan.
Free: This plan is for individuals who are new to project management. Only one user and two editors are allowed on this plan, with 500MB of attachments and 100 automations per month.
Pro ($7/user/month): Allows up to 10 users and unlimited sheets, ideal for small businesses and small teams. Offers 20 GB of attachment storage and 250 automations per month.
Business: ($25/user/month): Allows unlimited free editors, with a minimum of 3 paid users required for this plan. It adds several advanced features and more customization options for your workflows.
Enterprise (custom pricing): Adds features designed for large companies and more complex projects.
The best value plans
Asana has the most powerful free plan, so if you want to stick with the free plan, it’s the obvious winner. Smartsheet has the lowest price for the paid plan. That basic plan may be a good choice for small businesses that don’t need more advanced features.
For higher-level plans, you should compare the features to see what suits the needs of your business.
But across both platforms, we noticed that a lot of advanced project management features are reserved only for enterprise plans.
With Lark, things like Gantt views and workflow automation are included, even in our free plan. With Lark, you get Gantt charts, automations, integrations, and more for up to 50 users.
Plus, you get a wide range of features of many other SaaS apps in a single package. If you want messaging, video conferencing, collaborative docs, email, and calendars on top of project management features, Lark is the choice for you.
Smartsheet vs. Asana: Which has the best customer service?
Here’s a quick overview of how the platforms compare when it comes to customer service:
Asana offers FAQs, video tutorials, and a chatbot for free members. You can also use a community forum for more personalized help. Only enterprise customers get access to around-the-clock support.
Smartsheet offers various content and community support options for free members. Actual hands-on support is a paid add-on for all paid plans, including their enterprise one.
Because actual hands-on support is locked behind paid add-ons, this category goes to Asana. They offer better support to a wider part of their user base.
But still, you have to pay for enterprise plans to get access to robust support. At Lark, we offer in-app and email support 24/7 to all our users — including free ones.
Smartsheet vs. Asana: Which is the easiest to use?
Smartsheet offers a unique interface that looks more like an Excel spreadsheet than a typical project management tool.
If you’re used to spreadsheets, that makes it an easy platform to work with. However, Smartsheet’s interface can be confusing for beginners not used to handling data in this way.
On the other hand, Asana has a more basic and user-friendly interface that doesn’t bombard users with options. This makes it much easier for beginners to work smoothly with the platform.
So Smartsheet is a good choice for companies where data-literate project managers want more customizability. Asana is a better choice for companies where the average employee needs to use the platform.
If you want a more powerful tool that integrates collaboration functionality into the same platform, consider Lark.
Smartsheet vs. Asana: Which is the most secure and compliant?
Here’s a quick overview of the security and compliance features of Smartsheet and Asana:
Both apps implement industry-standard security and compliance protocols. If you care about compliance, however, you may need to opt for more expensive plans. In both tools, Enterprise plans offer more customizable security and compliance features.
Security testing site Upguard gave both apps an “A” rating. Smartsheet rated 826/950, while Asana rated 889/950, according to Upguard.
Both apps offer sufficient security protocols to keep your information safe. Ensure your company’s data security by using 2-factor authentication and educating your employees on proper password security measures.
Lark prioritizes both data security and compliance with privacy regulations. Out of the box, our data practices comply with the CCPA, GDPR, and other regulations.
We privately audit our data storage and processing workflows and have earned multiple certifications like SOC 2 Type II.
Smartsheet vs. Asana: What are other users saying?
Want to know how other users feel about each platform? Here’s an overview of their customer reputation:
Asana has a 4.3/5 rating on G2, with many users highlighting the ease of getting started as a key benefit.
However, many users complain about a lack of features — like multiple assignees to a single task — or task management issues. (This is also a key difference between ClickUp vs. Asana.)
Smartsheet has 4.4/5 stars on G2, with users complimenting the broad range of project management features. But with its Excel-like interface, many users struggle to use the platform effectively. Common complaints include:
The learning curve is steep.
It’s difficult to group sheets under the same project.
Keeping spreadsheets clean and organized is a repetitive chore.
If you’re looking for an app that is easy to get started with, consider Lark. You’ll also get a comprehensive set of features and the extensibility of a no-code platform.
Our streamlined interface flattens the learning curve significantly for beginners. Plus, we don’t limit standout features like Gantt charts in our free plan.
Smartsheet vs. Asana: Which is right for you?
While there’s no clear winner across all categories, it’s clear that each platform is better for different use cases:
Smartsheet is best suited for small teams that are heavily reliant on data. Its spreadsheet-related features are where it shines, and it works well for keeping your data organized and updated.
Asana is best suited for large, complex teams with many projects going at once. It’s also the best choice for project and task management. If your team is on a tight budget, it offers the most robust free plan.
Lark is great for teams who want to go beyond project management and use a comprehensive app to meet all their collaboration needs. With the addition of Meetings, Messenger, Docs, and email, collaboration is a breeze with Lark.
Why Lark is a better option for most teams
While Asana and Smartsheet can be solid project management tools, they aren’t holistic productivity solutions like Lark.
Lark is a super app that goes far beyond project management. It offers comprehensive features with everything your company needs for collaboration and productivity:
Base: Workflow management and automation platform that helps you streamline your operations and track task completion.
Messenger: Chat instantly with your team and get more done with faster communication.
Docs: Collaborate on key documents and spreadsheets, fully integrated with the task, project, and workflow management features of Lark.
Meetings: Invite your team to a video meeting they can join straight from the calendar. Integrate meetings into your workflow instead of disrupting it.
Email: Lark Mail offers free email capabilities for your whole team. Sync with Gmail and share your emails directly to Chat.
Calendar: Ensure your project deadlines are met and keep track of your team’s availability in the fully integrated Calendar suite. Create public calendars for your company and invite your team to meetings directly from the Calendar.
And unlike Google Suite and Microsoft 365, these tools are all integrated into a single cohesive platform. You get a seamless experience where you can access each tool within the same interface.
Plus, Lark’s free plan offers better project management features than many Smartsheet and Asana premium plans. Check out our pricing plans to learn more. (We offer suitable plans for smaller and larger teams and companies.)
Lark can help your on-site, hybrid, or remote teams work together seamlessly on complex projects. Don’t let time zones and language barriers stop you.
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