10 Best Asana Alternatives with AI Features in 2026
Asana scores a solid 88/100 in our rubric, but seven tools now rank higher. Here are the 10 best AI-powered alternatives for teams that need more flexibility, better AI, or lower costs.
Bottom Line Up Front: Asana remains a capable project management tool (88/100), but seven alternatives now score higher in our 100-point evaluation. Airtable (96) leads with AI assistants and natural-language app generation. Notion Projects (95) unifies docs and tasks with powerful AI Q&A. ClickUp (93) offers more views and deeper customization at a lower price. If you are hitting Asana's limits on pricing, customization, or AI capabilities, this guide covers the 10 strongest alternatives ranked by our scoring rubric.
In This Article
- Quick Rankings Table
- Why Look Beyond Asana?
- What Asana Still Does Well
- 1. Airtable -- Best for Database Flexibility
- 2. Notion Projects -- Best for Knowledge-Heavy Teams
- 3. Google Workspace -- Best for Lightweight PM
- 4. Jira Software -- Best for Engineering Teams
- 5. ClickUp -- Best for Customization
- 6. Linear -- Best for Fast-Moving Dev Teams
- 7. Zoho Projects -- Best for Budget-Conscious Teams
- 8. Wrike -- Best for Enterprise Portfolios
- 9. Smartsheet -- Best for Spreadsheet Users
- 10. Trello -- Best for Simple Kanban
- Asana vs. Top 5 Alternatives
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Key Takeaways
Quick Rankings: Asana Alternatives at a Glance
| Rank | Tool | Score | Starting Price | Top AI Feature | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airtable | 96 | Free / $20/user/mo | AI assistants, NL app gen | Database flexibility |
| 2 | Notion Projects | 95 | Free / $10/user/mo | AI Q&A across workspace | Knowledge-heavy teams |
| 3 | Google Workspace | 95 | $6/user/mo | Gemini AI in Docs/Sheets | Google ecosystem teams |
| 4 | Jira Software | 94 | Free / $8.15/user/mo | AI summaries, agile boards | Engineering-centric teams |
| 5 | ClickUp | 93 | Free / $10/user/mo | AI summaries, 15+ views | Customization seekers |
| 6 | Linear | 91 | Free / $10/user/mo | AI descriptions, keyboard-first | Fast-moving dev teams |
| 7 | Zoho Projects | 91 | Free / $5/user/mo | Zia AI assistant | Cost-conscious teams |
| 8 | Wrike | 91 | Free / $9.80/user/mo | AI risk prediction | Enterprise portfolios |
| 9 | Smartsheet | 88 | $7/user/mo | AI in spreadsheet PM | Excel/Sheets users |
| 10 | Trello | 88 | Free / $5/user/mo | AI-powered automation | Small teams, simplicity |
| Ref | Asana | 88 | Free / $10.99/user/mo | NL automations, goals | Portfolio management |
Scores are based on our 100-point rubric evaluating AI capabilities, ecosystem quality, UX, governance, and value for money.
Why Look Beyond Asana?
Asana has been a reliable project management platform for over a decade, and it still excels at portfolio-level visibility and cross-team coordination. But teams are increasingly running into friction points that push them to explore alternatives:
Pricing at Scale
Asana's Starter plan begins at $10.99/user/month, but meaningful AI features require the Advanced plan at $24.99/user/month. For a 50-person team, that is $15,000/year just for the Starter tier. Alternatives like Zoho Projects ($5/user/month) and Trello ($5/user/month) deliver AI features at less than half the cost. ClickUp offers comparable depth at $10/user/month with AI included.
Limited Customization
Asana provides list, board, timeline, and calendar views, but teams that need deeper customization hit walls quickly. ClickUp offers 15+ views including mind maps, whiteboards, and form views. Airtable lets you build entirely custom apps with relational databases. If your workflow does not fit neatly into Asana's structure, you end up building workarounds instead of working.
AI as an Add-On, Not a Core Feature
Asana introduced AI Studio with natural-language automations and smart status updates, but several competitors have embedded AI more deeply into their core experience. Notion's AI Q&A works across your entire knowledge base. Airtable's AI assistants can generate entire mini-applications from a text description. Wrike uses AI to predict project risks before they materialize. Asana's AI feels bolted on; in the tools above, it feels built in.
Workflow Philosophy Mismatch
Asana is designed around tasks and projects. That works for many teams, but not all. Engineering teams often prefer Jira's deep agile methodology support or Linear's keyboard-first speed. Knowledge workers may want Notion's docs-plus-tasks unified approach. Spreadsheet-native teams may prefer Smartsheet's familiar grid interface. The right tool matches your team's natural workflow.
What Asana Still Does Well
Before diving into alternatives, it is worth acknowledging where Asana (88/100) remains strong:
- Portfolio management: Asana's portfolio view gives leadership a real-time dashboard across all projects, with status rollups and progress tracking that few tools match natively.
- Goals and OKR tracking: Built-in goals connect company objectives to specific projects and tasks, creating clear alignment from strategy to execution.
- Natural-language automations: Asana's AI Studio lets you describe automation rules in plain English, lowering the barrier for non-technical users to build workflows.
- Polished UX: Asana's interface is clean, intuitive, and well-designed. Onboarding new team members is faster than with more complex tools like ClickUp or Jira.
- Enterprise governance: Admin controls, audit logs, and compliance features are mature and battle-tested at scale.
If these are your primary needs and you are comfortable with the pricing, Asana may still be your best option. The alternatives below are for teams whose priorities lie elsewhere.
1. Airtable -- Best for Database Flexibility
Airtable
Score: 96/100 Why switch from Asana: Airtable replaces rigid task lists with a flexible relational database that adapts to any workflow. Its AI assistants and natural-language app generation let teams build custom project management systems without code -- something Asana simply cannot do.
Key AI Features:
- AI Assistants: Embedded AI that can summarize records, categorize data, extract insights, and generate content directly within your bases.
- Natural-Language App Generation: Describe the app you need in plain English, and Airtable builds it -- forms, views, automations, and all.
- Smart Field Suggestions: AI recommends field types, formulas, and linked records based on your data patterns.
- Automated Workflows: Trigger-based automations enhanced by AI that can parse emails, route tasks, and update records intelligently.
Pricing: Free tier available. Team plan starts at $20/user/month. Business at $45/user/month.
Where it beats Asana: Customization depth, data modeling, AI-powered app creation, and extensibility through interfaces and synced views.
Where Asana wins: Out-of-the-box project management structure. Asana requires less setup for traditional task-based workflows.
2. Notion Projects -- Best for Knowledge-Heavy Teams
Notion Projects
Score: 95/100 Why switch from Asana: Notion unifies documentation, wikis, and project management in a single workspace. Instead of context-switching between Asana for tasks and Confluence or Google Docs for knowledge, everything lives in one place. Notion's AI Q&A can search across all of it.
Key AI Features:
- AI Q&A: Ask natural-language questions across your entire workspace -- docs, databases, projects -- and get instant, contextual answers.
- AI Autofill: Automatically populate project properties like summaries, categories, and action items from existing content.
- AI Writing Assistant: Draft, edit, translate, and summarize content inline without leaving your workflow.
- Connected Databases: Create relational views that link projects to specs, meeting notes, and design docs with AI-enhanced filtering.
Pricing: Free tier for individuals. Plus plan at $10/user/month. Business at $18/user/month. AI add-on included in paid plans.
Where it beats Asana: Docs-and-tasks unification, AI-powered knowledge retrieval, workspace-wide search, and flexibility of page-based structure.
Where Asana wins: Dedicated portfolio management, workload balancing, and more structured project templates for traditional PM workflows.
3. Google Workspace -- Best for Lightweight PM in the Google Ecosystem
Google Workspace
Score: 95/100 Why switch from Asana: If your team already lives in Gmail, Google Docs, and Sheets, Google Workspace with Gemini AI may be all the project management you need -- without adding another tool to your stack. Gemini's deep integration means AI assistance is available everywhere you already work.
Key AI Features:
- Gemini in Docs: Generate project plans, summarize meeting notes, and draft status updates using conversational AI inside Google Docs.
- Gemini in Sheets: Analyze project data, create Gantt-style trackers, and generate formulas from natural-language descriptions.
- Smart Canvas: Embed live Sheets data, checklists, and task assignments directly in Docs for a unified project workspace.
- Gmail AI: Summarize email threads, draft responses, and extract action items that can feed into project tracking.
Pricing: Business Starter at $6/user/month. Business Standard at $12/user/month with expanded Gemini features.
Where it beats Asana: No additional tool to adopt, Gemini AI deeply embedded across all Google apps, lower per-user cost, and native collaboration on docs and data.
Where Asana wins: Purpose-built project management structure, task dependencies, timeline views, and dedicated PM features that Google Workspace lacks natively.
4. Jira Software -- Best for Engineering-Centric Teams
Jira Software
Score: 94/100 Why switch from Asana: Engineering teams often find Asana too generalized for software development workflows. Jira provides native sprint planning, backlog management, and agile boards with AI-powered summaries that understand the software development lifecycle deeply.
Key AI Features:
- Atlassian Intelligence: AI-generated issue summaries, smart suggestions for assignees, and natural-language JQL queries.
- Sprint Insights: AI analyzes sprint performance and provides recommendations for velocity improvements.
- Smart Automation: AI-enhanced rules that learn from your team's patterns to suggest and optimize workflow automations.
- Confluence Integration: AI summarizes linked documentation and extracts requirements from specs into Jira issues.
Pricing: Free for up to 10 users. Standard at $8.15/user/month. Premium at $16/user/month.
Where it beats Asana: Agile methodology support, developer tool integrations (GitHub, Bitbucket, CI/CD), sprint analytics, and the broader Atlassian ecosystem.
Where Asana wins: Simpler onboarding for non-technical teams, better cross-functional project visibility, and more intuitive UI for marketing or operations teams.
5. ClickUp -- Best for Teams Wanting More Views and Customization
ClickUp
Score: 93/100 Why switch from Asana: ClickUp offers nearly everything Asana does, plus 15+ views, built-in docs, whiteboards, and deeper customization -- often at a lower price point. Its AI features are integrated across the entire platform rather than gated behind premium tiers.
Key AI Features:
- ClickUp Brain: AI that generates task summaries, writes project updates, creates subtasks from descriptions, and answers questions about your workspace.
- AI StandUps: Automatically generates standup reports by analyzing recent task activity and progress across your team.
- Smart Automation: Natural-language automation builder that creates complex workflows from plain English instructions.
- AI Writer: Draft docs, emails, and briefs directly within ClickUp with context from your projects.
Pricing: Free tier available. Unlimited at $10/user/month. Business at $19/user/month. ClickUp Brain add-on at $7/user/month.
Where it beats Asana: More views (15+ including mind maps, Gantt, whiteboards), built-in docs, deeper customization, and a more aggressive free tier. See our detailed ClickUp vs. Asana comparison.
Where Asana wins: Cleaner interface with less complexity, more polished portfolio management, and faster onboarding for non-power-users.
6. Linear -- Best for Fast-Moving Engineering Teams
Linear
Score: 91/100 Why switch from Asana: Linear is built for speed. Its keyboard-first interface, sub-50ms interactions, and opinionated workflow mean engineering teams spend less time managing tasks and more time building. If Asana feels slow and over-designed for your dev team, Linear is the antidote.
Key AI Features:
- AI Issue Descriptions: Automatically generates detailed issue descriptions from brief titles or bullet points.
- AI Project Summaries: Instant overviews of project status, blockers, and progress without manual reporting.
- Smart Triage: AI prioritizes incoming issues based on urgency signals, team workload, and historical patterns.
- Auto-labeling: Automatically categorizes and labels issues based on content analysis.
Pricing: Free for small teams. Standard at $10/user/month. Plus at $15/user/month.
Where it beats Asana: Raw speed, keyboard-driven workflow, developer-focused UX, and GitHub/GitLab integration depth.
Where Asana wins: Cross-functional team support, non-engineering workflows, portfolio management, and broader integrations for marketing/ops teams.
7. Zoho Projects -- Best for Cost-Conscious Teams
Zoho Projects
Score: 91/100 Why switch from Asana: Zoho Projects delivers solid project management with AI capabilities at a fraction of Asana's cost. For teams where budget is a primary constraint, Zoho offers Zia AI, Gantt charts, time tracking, and issue management starting at $5/user/month -- less than half of Asana's Starter plan.
Key AI Features:
- Zia AI Assistant: Predicts task delays, suggests optimal assignees, and provides natural-language interaction for task management.
- Smart Scheduling: AI-assisted timeline adjustments that account for team capacity and historical delivery patterns.
- Automated Notifications: Intelligent alerts that learn which updates matter to each team member and filter noise.
- Zoho Ecosystem: Integrates with 45+ Zoho apps (CRM, Books, Desk) with AI features spanning the entire suite.
Pricing: Free for up to 3 users. Premium at $5/user/month. Enterprise at $10/user/month.
Where it beats Asana: Price-to-feature ratio, built-in time tracking, broader Zoho ecosystem integration, and accessible AI without premium tier requirements.
Where Asana wins: More polished UX, stronger third-party integrations outside the Zoho ecosystem, and better portfolio-level views.
8. Wrike -- Best for Enterprise Portfolio Management
Wrike
Score: 91/100 Why switch from Asana: Wrike's AI risk prediction is its standout feature -- it proactively identifies projects likely to miss deadlines before problems become crises. For enterprise teams managing complex portfolios across multiple departments, Wrike provides deeper resource management and cross-project visibility than Asana.
Key AI Features:
- AI Risk Prediction: Analyzes project health indicators and flags at-risk deliverables before they slip, giving managers time to intervene.
- Work Intelligence: AI-powered recommendations for task prioritization, resource allocation, and workload balancing.
- Smart Search: Natural-language search across all projects, tasks, and documents with AI-ranked results.
- Automated Approvals: AI streamlines review and approval workflows by routing items to the right stakeholders.
Pricing: Free tier for small teams. Team at $9.80/user/month. Business at $24.80/user/month.
Where it beats Asana: Predictive AI for risk management, cross-functional resource management, proofing and approvals workflow, and enterprise security certifications.
Where Asana wins: Simpler UI for smaller teams, more intuitive goal tracking, and faster setup for standard project workflows.
9. Smartsheet -- Best for Teams Coming from Excel or Sheets
Smartsheet
Score: 88/100 Why switch from Asana: If your team thinks in rows and columns, Smartsheet provides a familiar spreadsheet interface with real project management features layered on top. Teams migrating from Excel-based project tracking find Smartsheet's grid view far more natural than Asana's task-centric approach.
Key AI Features:
- AI Formula Generation: Describe what you need in plain English, and Smartsheet writes the formula for you.
- AI Data Insights: Automatic trend detection and anomaly flagging across your project data.
- Smart Suggestions: AI recommends column types, automations, and templates based on your data structure.
- Content Generation: AI assists with writing task descriptions, status summaries, and report narratives.
Pricing: Pro at $7/user/month. Business at $25/user/month. Enterprise pricing on request.
Where it beats Asana: Spreadsheet-native interface, powerful data manipulation, better fit for PMO and operations teams, and robust reporting and dashboards.
Where Asana wins: More modern UX, better mobile experience, stronger collaboration features, and richer integration ecosystem for marketing/design workflows.
10. Trello -- Best for Small Teams Wanting Simplicity
Trello
Score: 88/100 Why switch from Asana: If Asana feels like overkill for your small team, Trello strips project management down to its essentials -- cards, columns, and drag-and-drop. Its visual kanban approach is instantly intuitive, and with Atlassian's AI enhancements, even simple boards now have intelligent automation.
Key AI Features:
- AI-Powered Butler: Trello's automation engine now includes AI-suggested rules based on your board activity patterns.
- Smart Card Suggestions: AI recommends due dates, labels, and assignees based on historical card data.
- Atlassian Intelligence: Generate card descriptions, summarize board activity, and create checklists from AI prompts.
- Power-Up Ecosystem: Access to AI-enhanced third-party integrations through Trello's extensive Power-Up marketplace.
Pricing: Free tier available. Standard at $5/user/month. Premium at $10/user/month. Enterprise at $17.50/user/month.
Where it beats Asana: Simpler onboarding, lower cost, visual kanban clarity, and less feature bloat for teams that want a straightforward tool.
Where Asana wins: More powerful reporting, timeline views, goal tracking, and scalability for growing teams with complex project structures.
Asana vs. Top 5 Alternatives: Head-to-Head Comparison
Here is how Asana stacks up against the five highest-scoring alternatives across the dimensions that matter most:
| Feature | Asana | Airtable | Notion | Jira | ClickUp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 88/100 | 96/100 | 95/100 | 94/100 | 93/100 |
| Starting Price | $10.99/user/mo | $20/user/mo | $10/user/mo | $8.15/user/mo | $10/user/mo |
| Free Tier | Yes (limited) | Yes | Yes | Yes (10 users) | Yes |
| Core AI Feature | NL automations | AI assistants + app gen | AI Q&A across workspace | AI summaries + JQL | ClickUp Brain |
| View Types | 4 (list, board, timeline, calendar) | 6+ (grid, kanban, gallery, calendar, Gantt, form) | 5+ (table, board, timeline, calendar, gallery) | 4 (board, list, timeline, calendar) | 15+ (all major views + mind maps, whiteboards) |
| Built-in Docs | No (needs integration) | Limited | Yes (full wiki) | Via Confluence | Yes |
| Portfolio Management | Strong | Custom-built | Basic | Via Jira Plans | Good |
| Best For | Cross-functional teams | Custom workflows | Knowledge workers | Engineering teams | All-in-one seekers |
How to Choose the Right Asana Alternative
Decision Framework
Match your primary pain point to the right tool:
- "We need more customization" -- Choose Airtable (database flexibility) or ClickUp (15+ views)
- "We want docs and tasks in one place" -- Choose Notion Projects
- "We are an engineering team" -- Choose Jira (agile at scale) or Linear (speed-first)
- "We need to cut costs" -- Choose Zoho Projects ($5/user/mo) or Trello ($5/user/mo)
- "We need enterprise portfolio management" -- Choose Wrike (risk prediction + resource management)
- "We already use Google everything" -- Lean into Google Workspace with Gemini AI
- "We think in spreadsheets" -- Choose Smartsheet
Most teams switching from Asana report that the migration takes 1-3 weeks depending on project complexity. All 10 alternatives on this list offer either built-in importers for Asana data or CSV-based migration paths. Start with a pilot team before rolling out organization-wide.
For a broader view of the project management tool landscape, check our full directory with side-by-side comparisons and our transparent scoring methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Asana alternative in 2026?
Based on our 100-point scoring rubric, Airtable (96/100) is the top-rated Asana alternative in 2026. It offers superior AI capabilities including AI assistants and natural-language app generation, plus unmatched database flexibility. Notion Projects (95/100) and Google Workspace (95/100) are close runners-up depending on whether you prioritize docs-plus-tasks unification or ecosystem simplicity.
Is ClickUp better than Asana?
ClickUp scores 93/100 compared to Asana's 88/100, making it a stronger choice in most categories. ClickUp offers more views (15+), deeper customization options, and comparable AI features at a lower price point ($10/user/month vs. Asana's $10.99/user/month for Starter). However, Asana has a more polished UI and stronger portfolio management for enterprise teams. See our full ClickUp vs. Asana comparison for a detailed breakdown.
Which Asana alternative has the best AI?
Airtable leads with AI assistants and natural-language app generation that go beyond simple task automation. Notion's AI Q&A lets you ask questions across your entire workspace of docs and projects. For predictive AI, Wrike stands out with AI-powered risk prediction that proactively flags project delays before they happen.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Asana with AI?
Yes, several alternatives offer AI features at lower prices than Asana. Zoho Projects starts at $5/user/month with Zia AI included. Trello offers AI-powered automation at $5/user/month. Google Workspace provides Gemini AI starting at $6/user/month. All three have free tiers as well, making them significantly more budget-friendly than Asana's $10.99/user/month Starter plan.
Can Notion replace Asana for project management?
Notion Projects (95/100) can replace Asana for most teams, especially knowledge-heavy organizations that want docs, wikis, and tasks in one platform. Notion's AI Q&A across your workspace is a significant advantage. However, Asana still has stronger native features for portfolio management, workload tracking, and enterprise governance. Teams running complex multi-project programs may find Asana's dedicated PM features more robust.
Which Asana alternative is best for large teams?
For large enterprise teams, Wrike (91/100) and Jira Software (94/100) are the strongest Asana alternatives. Wrike offers AI-powered risk prediction, cross-functional resource management, and enterprise-grade security. Jira is the go-to for engineering-heavy organizations with its deep agile tooling and Atlassian ecosystem integration. Both scale better than Asana for 500+ user deployments.
Key Takeaways
- Asana is solid, not dominant: At 88/100, Asana remains capable, but 7 of the 10 alternatives on this list score higher in our rubric.
- Airtable (96) leads overall: Its AI assistants and natural-language app generation provide a level of customization and AI depth that Asana cannot match.
- Notion (95) is the knowledge-work champion: If your team produces a lot of documentation alongside project tasks, Notion's unified workspace with AI Q&A is the strongest choice.
- Budget alternatives exist: Zoho Projects and Trello both deliver AI-powered PM at $5/user/month -- less than half Asana's entry price.
- Engineering teams have better options: Jira (94) and Linear (91) both outperform Asana for software development workflows with deeper agile support and developer tool integrations.
- Match the tool to your pain point: There is no single "best" alternative. The right choice depends on whether you need customization, cost savings, docs integration, engineering focus, or enterprise governance.