Asana vs Backlog

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Our analysts compared Asana vs Backlog based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Project Management Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Asana Software Tool

Product Basics

Asana is a cloud-based project management platform designed to help teams of all sizes manage and organize projects with customization, automation, AI and collaboration. Users can build custom workflows, templates and tasks, and visualize projects in multiple ways, including list, timeline, calendar, Kanban and Gantt views.

You can also build and trigger automation rules when tasks are moved or status or priority is changed. Stay aligned with goals, locate risks and hit project deadlines with reports and collaboration tools. Connect with other solutions using its open API and native integration with dozens of apps.

Our Research Process for Asana

Taking software at face value for a product page review is so passe. Luckily, with a little help from my company’s email address, I got a free trial of Asana’s Advanced plan for 30 days.

I set up a dummy project for content creation, complete with the stages and automations we currently use, so I’d have a more apples-to-apples comparison of a real-world project.

Additionally, I tested some “standout” features our researchers suggested and investigated the pros and cons users mentioned on review sites.

To learn the ropes, I visited the help center, watched demo videos and scoured Reddit for shortcuts. This webpage is the result of a week of dedicating all my working hours to living and breathing Asana.

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Backlog is a cloud-hosted issue tracking and resource management solution that helps developers work with design, IT and marketing teams. Its core capabilities include subtasking, bug tracking, file sharing, Gantt charts, burndown charts and watchlists. Businesses can track overall work progress while prioritizing tasks and to-do lists through team collaboration.

Developers can integrate it with SVN and Git to manage project tasks and source codes. It offers businesses visibility into project workflows and daily timelines using Gantt charts, which get updated in real time. Managers can track and compare project modifications, monitor document changes and leave comments on pull requests. Users can dissect Gantt charts by milestone, assignee or category and export to Excel sheets.
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$10.99/User, Monthly, Freemium
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Tailored to your specific needs
$35 Monthly, Freemium
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Tailored to your specific needs
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Product Assistance

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Live Online
Videos
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Videos
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Email
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FAQ
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
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Product Insights

  • Use Asana AI: Leverage AI in your project management strategy by using AI studio to draft workflows and create custom charts. Summarize your project and tasks using AI and use draft with AI to view next steps and actions. I drafted a project update by clicking on the Set Status tab and selecting “Draft update with AI.” After setting a status and date range, I also added an extra custom heading. The final product was comprehensive and easy to edit, which is great if you find staring at a blank page can be a stumbling block.
  • Create Tasks via Email: Make it easy to create tasks on the go by sending an email to your project email with all the details you need. I found the email associated with that project by clicking on the project dropdown and selecting import and then email. After that, I copied the email address and pasted it and added my email so I’d be the assignee, filled out the subject as the task name, added an additional description in the body and sent it. Like magic, the task showed up with all the details I wanted – 10/10, would recommend.
  • Set Up and Implement Custom Templates: Save time by creating your own custom cards and projects and converting them to templates or choosing from the built-in project templates. Click on the Customize button to add task templates and custom fields. I added a new article template with a relative start date, dependency and custom field for the editor and team.
  • Collaborate with External Users: Stay in sync with clients and suppliers by creating guest accounts and inviting them to access specific tasks and projects. I could invite users with a different email domain name and set access permissions like admin, editor, commentator or viewer in the invite.
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  • Gantt and Burndown Charts: Get a timeline view into the entire project for better planning. Track projects with details like tasks in progress, tasks assigned to each employee and completion dates. Automatically generate reports from both charts and drill them down for deeper insights. Update assignees, due dates and other details when required. 
  • Knowledge Sharing: Create accessible wikis that can be downloaded and edited by team members. Personalize capabilities and tools based on workflows. Store all team data and files while recording real-time conversations in a central place accessible by everyone. Retrieve files and customer information easily. 
  • Mobile App: Keep in touch with project progress and work updates, even when out of the office. Comment, create and update tasks on-the-go. Sync with online workspaces automatically using native Android and iOS apps. 
  • File Sharing: Store project files in a central location while adding comments for assigned employees. Upload files into folders created for a project, issue or team. Report issues by setting up an email address or through web forms. 
  • Notifications: Notify specific employees about tasks that require attention. Send notifications when posting a comment, creating a task, updating a wiki and more. 
  • Jira and Redmine Importer: Get step-by-step instructions on migrating data successfully from Jira and Redmine. Strengthen security with IP restrictions and manage workspace access for better information control. 
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  • Task Management: Create tasks with custom fields, deadlines, tags, subtasks, dependencies and descriptions during setup, adding tasks to the section you want when you create your first project or forwarding an email to [email protected]. Save time by converting your custom tasks into a template you can apply to new tasks and using AI to summarize tasks and draft subtasks. Switch between list, board, timeline, calendar and Gantt views to optimize visualization and drag-and-drop tasks between sections.
  • Project Planning and Scheduling: Kick your projects off with a plethora of templates ranging from product rollouts to hiring pipelines, or import your project from a spreadsheet. Convert tasks into milestones on the card and add details about why it’s a milestone. Add tasks to multiple projects and organize strategic initiatives by creating a portfolio where you can track the updates of all your projects.
  • Resource Management: Keep track of what’s on everyone’s plate by switching to the workload view. Drag and drop tasks to manage timelines and assignees and assign custom values like hours or points to tasks to accurately factor in employee effort.
  • Sprint Management: Hit the ground running by applying the sprint template to a new project. Add custom fields, use the timeline tab to map out sprint tasks and deadlines and set start and finish dates in the project view.
  • Collaboration Features: Add updates, questions and notes into the description. Comment on cards with mentions, files, lists, code blocks and even AI assists. Send messages directly to individuals or teams using the inbox. Keep your clients in the loop by creating guest accounts and sharing specific tasks and projects with them.
  • Reports and Insights: Tap into a bird’s eye view of your project by clicking on the dashboard tab where you can monitor overdue, complete and incomplete tasks and burnup charts and create custom charts with their AI tool. Visit the reporting tab to view trends, progress, resourcing and work health.
  • Custom Automations and Workflows: Build a workflow that’s a perfect fit for your project in the workflow tab by adding sections for each step in the process with custom transitions and rules when tasks are moved. Add custom automations and rules from scratch, use the options provided as a starting point or get a helping hand from the AI studio. Check out the automations we built in depth below.
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  • Project Management: Use burndown charts, Gantt charts or boards to monitor in progress or completed tasks and issues that require attention. Get a view of tasks within large projects and manage schedules with Gantt charts. Track team progress using Kanban boards.  
  • Task Management: Create task hierarchies to organize workflows. Split large projects into parent and child tasks. Divide child tasks or subtasks among team members, prepare checklists to monitor start and due dates, categories, project milestones, custom fields and more. Track project progress by monitoring assigned tasks while updating deadlines for clients. Use Gantt charts to get an overview of task status and status of task owners in one place. 
  • Bug Tracking: Identify bugs and prioritize the process to fix them. Collaborate with teams to fix bugs by logging them as issues, which act as a central hub to discuss and resolve each bug. Let managers and teams get a top view of progress on each bug. Understand bugs and fixes with the module's archives. 
  • Version Control: Discuss, organize and monitor all work progress in one location. Integrate with SVN and Git to manage source codes along with projects. Make codes better while discussing new features with the team before incorporating them into projects. View work on every branch, monitor changes and review team’s work. 
  • Team Collaboration: Eliminate confusion and get more done with enhanced team collaboration and communication. Set user roles and create guest accounts for non-technical teams and clients. Collaborate to edit, share and access wikis while getting notified about changes. Provide feedback, suggest changes and appreciate employees for good work. 
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Product Ranking

#2

among all
Project Management Software

#44

among all
Project Management Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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Customizations Dashboards And Reporting Mobile Capabilities Platform Features Project Planning And Scheduling Project Tracking Task Management Team Collaboration Time Tracking And Management 84 77 69 93 82 58 95 97 50 0 25 50 75 100
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Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 27379 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 312 reviews
89%
of users recommend this product

Asana has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 89% when considering 27379 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

90%
of users recommend this product

Backlog has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 90% when considering 312 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

4.8 (15)
4.5 (14)
4.4 (10490)
4.5 (163)
4.5 (13154)
4.5 (122)
4.3 (1084)
4.2 (6)
4.2 (2636)
4.5 (7)

Awards

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Backlog stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

User Friendly: Reviewers appreciated that the system is easy to use and intuitive with a clean UI, even if you’re new to projects.
Overall Functionality: Workflows and automation, task management and collaboration are everything you’d look for in a project management system, according to users.
Customization: Users liked the customization options for unique team needs, projects and workflows.
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Visual Task Boards: Backlog provides Kanban-style boards that give teams a clear overview of project progress, allowing them to easily track tasks through different stages of completion.
Gantt Charts: Users appreciate the ability to visualize project timelines and dependencies using Gantt charts, which helps with planning and scheduling.
Custom Fields: Backlog allows users to create custom fields to store project-specific information, making it adaptable to various workflows and use cases.
Wiki Functionality: The platform includes a built-in wiki feature that enables teams to document project details, share knowledge, and collaborate effectively.
Version Control: Backlog integrates with Git and Subversion, providing version control capabilities for managing code and documents within projects.
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>Cost: Users mentioned Asana’s paid plans were too expensive for smaller businesses making it difficult to upgrade from the limited free version.
Set-Up: Getting started can be overwhelming with so many customizations and task options. Users said you may need extra time to implement it effectively.
Advanced Features: Reviewers noted some features like AI, advanced project views, resource management and multiple task assignees require expensive plan upgrades.
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Limited Customization: Backlog's interface and workflow options can feel restrictive for teams with unique or complex project management needs. The platform's opinionated approach may not align with all team preferences, potentially hindering adaptability.
Reporting Capabilities: Generating in-depth reports or extracting specific data points can be challenging due to Backlog's reporting limitations. Users often find themselves needing to export data and manipulate it externally to gain deeper insights, adding an extra step to the process.
Mobile App Functionality: The Backlog mobile app has received feedback for lacking the full functionality and intuitiveness of the web version. This can limit users' ability to effectively manage tasks and projects while on the go, potentially impacting productivity and responsiveness.
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Asana is a work management platform designed to help users organize and streamline operations with a user-friendly, customizable interface, automation and AI. Key features include the ability to create custom fields, deadlines, and subtasks, utilize various project views like Kanban boards and timelines, and leverage AI for summarizing tasks and drafting workflows. During my test of the software, I liked how easy it was to create a task by email and create project and task summaries using their AI tool.Customization was also a win. I built a task template for my Content Creation project with custom fields, relative due dates, assignees and a bulleted checklist. However, head’s up, adding task templates to existing tasks requires creating a new task with the template and merging it. Hands down, workflow management was one of my favorite parts of testing Asana. Adding in new sections (without having to go to the list view) and creating custom rules for transitions with a little help from their version of prompts was a breeze.Collaboration is another plus, with in-card comments and mentions, an inbox, group and individual messaging in platform and guest accounts with custom permissions for external users.On the downside, if you don’t have access to a free trial of the paid version (like I did), the free version may not be as effective. You won’t be able to access AI features, certain project views and resource management. The setup also isn’t exactly intuitive, and you may need training plus multiple visits to the help center to conceptualize your project and pick the right template.Overall, Asana is a fantastic all-in-one project management solution for users looking for a flexible tool with AI assistance and don’t mind springing for one of the paid plans.

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Don't get stuck in a project management "backlog"; streamline your workflow with Backlog: This software has garnered positive attention for its user-friendly interface, making it a breeze for teams to jump right in and start managing tasks. Backlog's diverse features, like Kanban boards and Gantt charts, cater to various team needs, while its integrations with other tools ensure a seamless workflow. Users appreciate its affordability, making it a cost-effective solution for project management. However, some users point out that Backlog lacks certain features, such as time tracking, and offers limited templates and customization options. Compared to competitors like Asana and Trello, Backlog shines in its simplicity and focus on core project management functionalities. While it may not have all the bells and whistles of some platforms, its straightforward approach resonates with teams seeking an uncomplicated solution. Backlog's strength lies in its ability to bring clarity and organization to projects without overwhelming users with excessive features. Backlog is best suited for small to medium-sized teams, particularly those in software development and project management, who value a user-friendly and affordable solution with robust task management and collaboration features. Its intuitive interface and focus on essential project management tools make it an ideal choice for teams looking to enhance their productivity and streamline their workflows without the complexity of more feature-rich platforms.

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