Asana vs Todoist

Last Updated:

Our analysts compared Asana vs Todoist 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.

read more...

Todoist is a task management software designed to enhance productivity and organization for individuals and teams. Its user-friendly interface simplifies task creation, assignment, and tracking, making it ideal for those seeking a straightforward solution to manage their workload. Key benefits include its ease of use, diverse features, and integrations with other applications, promoting seamless workflow management. Todoist offers features like task prioritization, recurring due dates, and progress visualization, enabling users to stay on top of deadlines and track their accomplishments effectively.

Todoist provides a range of pricing options, including a free plan with basic features and paid plans with more advanced functionalities such as team collaboration and project management tools. The paid plans are generally considered affordable, making Todoist a cost-effective solution for individuals and businesses seeking to improve their task management processes. While user experiences with similar products may vary, Todoist is often praised for its intuitive design and comprehensive features, making it a strong contender in the task management software market.

read more...
$10.99/User, Monthly, Freemium
Get a free price quote
Tailored to your specific needs
$4 Monthly, Freemium
Get a free price quote
Tailored to your specific needs
Small 
i
Medium 
i
Large 
i
Small 
i
Medium 
i
Large 
i
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Windows
Mac
Linux
Android
Chromebook
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile
Cloud
On-Premise
Mobile

Product Assistance

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support

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.
read more...
  • Project Peace of Mind: Track the status of multiple projects at a time using organized lists for each individual assignment. Ensure no details fall through the cracks with visual dashboards to track progress. 
  • Streamline Projects: Turn complex projects into simple to-do lists with custom boards or ready-to-use templates. Manage projects among team members by assigning responsibility to tasks. 
  • Kickstart Productivity: Use dozens of readily available templates to quickly create lists depending on purpose and task. 
  • Cost Effective: Explore a free version and low-cost premium package to ensure value to any business at any price point. 
read more...
  • 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.
read more...
  • Task Prioritization: Use color-coded categories to organize tasks in order of importance and create structure in projects with multiple phases. Receive alerts for time-sensitive tasks to ensure users complete high-priority responsibilities on time. 
  • Project Delegation: Assign individual tasks to different members of a shared project. Customize assignments and use project sharing to add comments and have conversations with team members. 
  • Productivity Visualization: Interpret group productivity through line graphs and progress wheels used to visualize progress. Track and compare team project progress with comparable graphs. 
  • Widespread Integration: Bundle with other productivity, communication and scheduling software such as Dropbox, Google Calendar and Amazon Alexa. Turn emails into tasks by connecting to an email provider. 
  • Communication: Designate tasks and responsibilities to individual team members. Simplify teamwork and collaborative processes with a centralized plan. 
  • Notifications: Receive optional desktop, phone or email notifications for completed tasks, comments and new activity on a project. 
  • Personalized Boards: Rearrange the structure of lists to fit the needs of individual projects and support the workflow of team members. 
  • Activity History: Monitor the history of activity for all collaborative projects filtered by team member and project. 
  • Reward System: Gain points for achieving goals and using advanced features. Use those points to unlock Karma Levels, ranging from Beginner to Enlightened, to motivate project members. Maintain productivity to avoid breaking a streak and losing points. 
  • File Uploads: Attach text and multimedia files to add context to project tasks. Pair files with individual tasks to keep team members informed and connected. 
  • Free Access: Keep up to five active projects with up to 300 active tasks with the program’s free access option. Use up to three filters and upload up to five MB of content to projects.
read more...

Product Ranking

#2

among all
Project Management Software

#33

among all
Project Management Software

Find out who the leaders are

Analyst Rating Summary

85
we're gathering data
84
we're gathering data
77
we're gathering data
69
we're gathering data
Show More Show More

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Asana
Todoist
+ Add Product + Add Product
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
86%
0%
14%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
80%
0%
20%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
57%
0%
43%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
88%
0%
12%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
75%
8%
17%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
43%
14%
43%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
83%
17%
0%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
92%
0%
8%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
14%
0%
86%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A

Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

89%
0%
11%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
88%
0%
12%
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A
we're gathering data
N/A

User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 27379 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 3242 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.

91%
of users recommend this product

Todoist has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 91% when considering 3242 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

4.8 (15)
4.6 (14)
4.4 (10490)
4.4 (761)
n/a
4.6 (2268)
4.5 (13154)
n/a
4.3 (1084)
n/a
4.2 (2636)
4.4 (199)

Awards

we're gathering data

Todoist 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.
Show more
Intuitive Interface: Todoist is often praised for its clean and user-friendly design, making task management simple and efficient. The platform's layout is straightforward, allowing users to easily navigate and find the information they need.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: Todoist is accessible on a wide range of devices and operating systems, including web browsers, desktop applications, and mobile apps. This flexibility ensures users can manage their tasks seamlessly regardless of their location or preferred device.
Collaboration Features: Todoist facilitates teamwork through features like shared projects, task assignments, and comments. Team members can collaborate effectively, stay updated on project progress, and communicate within the platform.
Productivity Tools: Todoist offers various tools to enhance productivity, such as recurring due dates for repetitive tasks, priority levels to focus on important items, and progress tracking to monitor completion rates. These features help users stay organized and efficient in managing their workload.
Show more
>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.
Show more
Limited Free Plan: The free version of Todoist lacks several key features, such as reminders, labels, and filters, which can hinder effective task management for users with more complex workflows.
No Time Tracking: Todoist does not offer native time tracking functionality, making it difficult for users to monitor the time spent on tasks and projects, which is crucial for accurate project management and billing purposes.
Collaboration Challenges: While Todoist allows for task sharing, it lacks robust collaboration features like in-app communication and real-time editing, which can impede seamless teamwork and communication.
Show more

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.

Show more

Let's "to-do" this! Todoist has garnered a reputation as a productivity powerhouse, but it's not without its quirks. Users rave about its clean and intuitive interface, making task management a breeze. The platform's flexibility shines through with features like recurring due dates, priority levels, and project organization, allowing users to tailor their workflow. Todoist's cross-platform compatibility is a major plus, keeping users in sync across devices. However, some users find the free version limiting, desiring features like reminders and labels, which are exclusive to the premium plan. In comparison to competitors like Microsoft To Do and TickTick, Todoist strikes a balance between simplicity and functionality. While Microsoft To Do offers basic task management, it lacks the robust features of Todoist. TickTick, on the other hand, boasts similar features but with a more playful interface. Ultimately, Todoist is best suited for individuals and small teams seeking a straightforward yet powerful task management solution. Its intuitive design and flexible features make it ideal for those who value organization and efficiency without the need for extensive collaboration tools.

Show more

Screenshots

Top Alternatives in Project Management Software


Airtable

Basecamp

ClickUp

Jira

LiquidPlanner

MeisterTask

Microsoft Project

monday.com

ProofHub

Smartsheet

TeamGantt

Teamwork

Wrike

Zoho Projects

Related Categories

Head-to-Head Comparison

WE DISTILL IT INTO REAL REQUIREMENTS, COMPARISON REPORTS, PRICE GUIDES and more...

Compare products
Comparison Report
Just drag this link to the bookmark bar.
?
Table settings