Asana vs Jira

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Our analysts compared Asana vs Jira 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
Jira 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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Jira is an all-in-one solution suite that helps organizations manage projects with agile methodologies, customization and collaboration. It helps teams track, plan and release projects and supports Kanban, Scrum or hybrid workflows. Managers can plan and prioritize their team’s assignments in a fully-visible environment that tracks performance as progress is made.

It’s supported by over 3,000 modules that can be customized to enhance user experience. It’s accessible via internet-connected mobile devices and helps manage projects on-the-go. It integrates with tools like Azure, GitHub and Bamboo while remaining scalable for operations of any size.

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$10.99/User, Monthly, Freemium
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Tailored to your specific needs
$10/User, Monthly
Get a free price quote
Tailored to your specific needs
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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.
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  • Use Agile Project Management: Adopt the best of agile methodologies with a platform designed to optimize Kanban and Scrum boards along with mixed methodologies of your own. While their agile boards shine, we also liked that you’re not strictly bound by, say, using only Scrums with a board view and can use lists and custom fields to manage any type of project really, not just bug tracking or product development.
  • Optimize Sprint Planning: Race to the finish line one issue at a time with the Scrum feature. Set up sprints across projects with automations, custom boards and stories. Check out our dummy sprint below, but TLDR: we appreciated the drag-and-drop functionality to build sprints, advance sprint planning and the sprint report.
  • Build Custom Workspaces with Programming: Make your workspace fit the specific needs of teams and projects by adapting templates, building automations and modifying issues with code and logic-based modifications. It was quite simple to set up basic projects and create automations with our limited tech expertise even with some programming language thrown in here and there, but a full-fledged coder could really shine.
  • Customize Pre-Built Templates: Create projects suited to the task at hand (pardon the pun) with dozens of pre-built templates ranging from recruitment to customer service to web design and grant management. We checked out the different statuses for multiple templates and enjoyed how simple it was to customize issue types, workflows and automations when you’re not working from scratch.
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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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  • Agile Boards: Manage your tasks, or issues using Scrum and Kanban boards with custom statuses, fields and transitions. Create new issues using the button below each status. You can view projects using a list, board or timeline view.
  • Reports and Insights: Get insights into where your team is at throughout every stage of the project by generating custom reports like the average age report, created vs. resolved issues report and sprint report. Manage workloads with the time tracking report, user workload report and version workload report. Use the summary view to monitor activity, status overview, priority breakdown and related projects.
  • Collaboration Features: Communicate with team members and assignees directly on the issue card with comments and mentions. Attach files, view card activity and add descriptions for additional instructions. Integrate with Outlook, Slack and other communication tools.
  • Custom Automations: Build custom automation rules by setting a trigger with the option to add an action, a condition or a branch. Get a helping hand by searching for triggers related to what you want to automate and selecting recommended actions and conditions.
  • Sprint Management: Use the Scrum option to run sprints. Fill in project details like name, duration and scope and add tasks and drag and drop them to your sprint using the backlog. Complete your sprints and auto-add pending tasks to the backlog or to a new sprint and run a sprint report for insights.
  • Task Management: Manage tasks by creating customizable issue cards under each status or by importing issues from CSV files. Add assignees, due dates, time tracking, comments, descriptions, teams, labels, status and priority to issues. Move tasks from status to status using transitions and workflow automation.
  • Customizable Workflows: Create custom workflows for your tasks and subtasks by going to project settings and clicking on issue types. Set statuses based on the type of task you’re completing or from the project template you select. Automate actions by setting rules for transitions from one status to another.
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Product Ranking

#2

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Project Management Software

#3

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Project Management Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

85
76
84
86
77
90
69
75
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Team Collaboration
Task Management
Integrations and Extensibility
Platform Features
Platform Security
Platform Security
Dashboards and Reporting
Customizations
Task Management

Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

Asana
Jira
+ 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 86 90 75 64 78 63 85 77 54 0 25 50 75 100
86%
0%
14%
86%
0%
14%
80%
0%
20%
80%
0%
20%
57%
0%
43%
57%
0%
43%
88%
0%
12%
46%
21%
33%
75%
8%
17%
67%
8%
25%
43%
14%
43%
43%
0%
57%
83%
17%
0%
75%
17%
8%
92%
0%
8%
58%
17%
25%
14%
0%
86%
29%
29%
42%

Analyst Ratings for Technical Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

89%
0%
11%
61%
0%
39%
88%
0%
12%
88%
0%
12%

User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 27379 reviews
Great User Sentiment 26427 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.

87%
of users recommend this product

Jira has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 87% when considering 26427 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

4.8 (15)
5.0 (32)
4.4 (10490)
4.3 (5956)
n/a
4.4 (14556)
4.5 (13154)
n/a
4.3 (1084)
4.4 (2528)
4.2 (2636)
4.1 (3355)

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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Functionality: Users appreciated the ability to customize workflows, issue types and fields and the flexibility to navigate complex projects and problem-solve.
Collaborative: The system helps users collaborate with other teams, projects, and stakeholders and efficiently bridges gaps between remote teams, noted reviewers.
Integrations: Reviewers liked the extensive integrations with most third-party modules like Slack, Bitbucket and more to complete workflows and processes.
What Users Like
Customization: “We were able to tailor the workflow to fit our specific needs, which greatly enhanced our efficiency. For instance, we created custom issue types that aligned with our unique project phases, making it easier for team members to understand their tasks at a glance.” - Balázs Keszthelyi, Founder and CEO at TechnoLynx
Project Visualization: “[Jira’s robust roadmapping and dependency tracking capabilities are] invaluable for coordinating multiple product launches. Also, the premium version's Advanced Roadmaps feature lets us visualize our entire product pipeline so that's from sourcing to launch, but you've got to invest time in learning the system, and I think for smaller operations, it might be overkill.” - Dennis Sanders, Founder and CEO of Burning Daily
Task Management: “Jira has given us the structure to break down our complex workflows into clear, manageable steps, which was exactly what we needed as we expanded our customer base. With Jira, we can create specific 'boards' for each client’s SEO campaign, where every task is detailed and assigned to the right team member. Each board has phases, like keyword research, content writing, and on-page optimization, with clear deadlines. Having this setup has helped us catch any bottlenecks early. If the content team takes longer to deliver, for instance, we can adjust the timeline for the next steps right away instead of rushing it.” - Mushfiq Sarker, CEO of LaGrande Marketing
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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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Lags: Reviewers noted that the system sometimes lags and takes time to load, especially for multiple projects and large data sets.
Learning Curve: Its UX can feel complex, and it takes time to set up, customize and use to its full ability. An internal Jira expert may be required, according to some users.
Administration: Users mentioned that the system is difficult to administer, and its back-end is hard to manage.
What Users Dislike
Slow Loading Time: “Its interface moves like molasses.” - Dennis Sanders, Founder and CEO of Burning Daily
Learning Curve: “We had some initial challenges with team members who were not familiar with the platform, which required additional training sessions to ensure everyone was on the same page. However, once they became accustomed to the interface, the benefits outweighed the initial hurdles.” - Balázs Keszthelyi, Founder and CEO at TechnoLynx
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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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Jira is an agile-based project management platform that caters to a vast range of industries thanks to its all-in-one functionality, customization and flexibility. It allows users to fully customize workflows, issue types, fields and automations.After watching a few tutorials, I personally found it quite simple to create my own projects using the templates and modifying it to meet my needs. Although some of the automation actions and issues have some programming language involved, it’s not a huge roadblock and I created and tested multiple automations successfully.Task (or issue) management was on point, with multiple views, custom workflows, task assignment, in-card collaboration and time tracking and custom fields. It offered comprehensive (but not overly advanced) reports and a helpful summary dashboard.Sprints were intuitive and easy to execute, and I especially appreciated the drag-and-drop feature for planning. Some users mentioned a learning curve, and I would agree, as I relied on videos to guide me through some parts of the setup lest this test take weeks not days.Overall, Jira is a match made in heaven for agile enthusiasts and users who want a flexible, customizable project management platform and don’t mind getting into the weeds with learning courses and tutorials.

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