Smartsheet vs Asana

by Gralio Feb 27, 2025

Smartsheet and Asana are both powerful work management platforms, but they cater to different needs. Smartsheet is a strong choice for project-driven teams who value detailed tracking and reporting, while Asana is better for teams prioritizing task management and communication.

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This comparison was created by analysing 9872 reviews and 60 websites, saving 2 days, 7 hours, 20 minutes of reading.

About

Smartsheet is a work management platform used by companies to manage projects, automate tasks, and track progress. Its spreadsheet-like interface makes it easy to plan, schedule, and delegate work, while dashboards and reports provide real-time visibility into project status and team performance. Smartsheet also offers automation features, allowing you to streamline repetitive processes and improve efficiency. It integrates with popular business apps and prioritizes data security, making it a trusted choice for businesses of all sizes.
Asana is a work management platform designed to help teams organize tasks, projects, and goals in one shared space. It offers tools to improve team collaboration, transparency, and accountability. Used by companies of all sizes, it's particularly beneficial for managing complex projects and keeping everyone aligned on priorities. Features include task assignments, progress tracking, deadline setting, and communication tools. Asana aims to streamline workflows, enhance team productivity, and provide a clear overview of project statuses.

Summary

Main difference
Smartsheet offers a robust spreadsheet-like interface ideal for project management and reporting, especially for teams familiar with Excel. Asana excels in team collaboration and task management, with a user-friendly interface and seamless integrations with communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Relative strengths of Smartsheet (compared to Asana)

  • Superior project management and reporting capabilities with its spreadsheet-like interface.

  • Robust automation features for streamlining complex workflows and processes.

  • Strong integration with Salesforce, beneficial for sales and CRM processes.

Relative weaknesses of Smartsheet (compared to Asana)

  • Limited row capacity in spreadsheets, potentially hindering scalability.

  • Some standard Excel functions are missing, requiring workarounds.

  • Can be confusing for sharing and collaboration with external users without licenses.

Who is using Smartsheet and Asana?

Who should use Smartsheet VS. Asana

Smartsheet is a versatile work management platform ideal for businesses of all sizes across various industries. Users praise its intuitive interface, real-time collaboration features, and automation capabilities. However, some users have noted limitations with row capacity and occasional latency issues. If you're seeking a tool to streamline projects, automate tasks, and gain real-time insights, Smartsheet is worth considering.

Asana is a versatile work management platform that helps teams organize tasks, projects, and goals. Users praise its intuitive interface, flexible project views, and integrations with other popular tools. However, some users have noted concerns about cost and occasional performance issues. Asana offers a free plan and tiered paid options to suit different team needs.

  • Best for small, medium, and large businesses.

  • Suitable for businesses across all industries.

  • Ideal for teams of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises.

  • Suitable for a wide range of industries, including healthcare, finance, e-commerce, and more.

Smartsheet and Asana features

Supported
Partially supported
Not supported
Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

  • Automated workflows
    Supported

    Smartsheet supports automated workflows, which can be customized for onboarding processes.

    Supported

    Asana supports automated workflows, including for onboarding, through its rules engine and integrations.

  • Task Management
    Supported

    Smartsheet allows creating, assigning, managing, and tracking tasks within projects.

    Supported

    Asana allows users to create, assign, manage, and track tasks within projects.

  • Time Tracking
    Partially supported

    Smartsheet can be integrated with time tracking software but does not have this functionality natively. It offers a Resource Management add-on with time tracking, but this requires a separate license.

    Supported

    Asana supports time tracking for tasks and projects, but this feature is limited to Advanced, Enterprise, and Enterprise+ subscription plans.

  • File sharing
    Supported

    Smartsheet allows users to upload and share files in a variety of ways, including direct links, publishing, and email attachments.

    Partially supported

    Asana supports file sharing via integrations with cloud storage services like Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, and SharePoint.

  • Client portals
    Supported

    Smartsheet allows the creation of client portals for accessing project information and collaborating in a controlled environment through features like WorkApps, customizable dashboards, and integrations with tools like Foyer.

    Partially supported

    Asana can be used as a client portal with some limitations and requires third-party integrations for full functionality.

  • Collaboration features
    Supported

    Smartsheet enables team members to collaborate on tasks together through features such as real-time comments, file sharing, shared workspaces, and integrations with popular collaboration platforms.

    Supported

    Asana supports collaboration features such as comments and file sharing, enabling team members to work together on tasks effectively.

Qualities

  • Value and Pricing Transparency
    -0.56
    Rather negative sentiment
    -0.35
    Rather negative sentiment
  • Customer Service
    +0.01
    Neutral sentiment
    +0.41
    Rather positive sentiment
  • Ease of Use
    +0.74
    Strongly positive sentiment
    +0.84
    Strongly positive sentiment
  • Reliability and Performance
    +0.51
    Rather positive sentiment
    +0.84
    Strongly positive sentiment
  • Ease of Implementation
    -0.09
    Neutral sentiment
    +0.02
    Neutral sentiment
  • Scalability
    +0.23
    Neutral sentiment
    +0.31
    Rather positive sentiment

Smartsheet and Asana Pricing

Smartsheet offers a variety of add-on features to enhance the platform's functionality. These add-ons cater to specific business needs, such as managing multi-step processes with Dynamic View, centralizing data with Data Shuttle, and ensuring project consistency with Control Center.
Plans

User sentiment

Rather negative
-0.56

See full Pricing page

Asana offers a free plan for individuals and small teams. The Starter and Advanced plans are tiered subscriptions with per-user pricing, billed monthly or annually. Enterprise and Enterprise+ plans require contacting sales for pricing. They also offer 50% off for nonprofits.
Plans

See full Pricing page

Smartsheet and Asana review insights

Users love

  • Intuitive interface: Easy-to-use, even for those unfamiliar with project management tools. Many compare it favorably to Excel.
  • Collaboration features: Real-time collaboration capabilities, allowing multiple users to work on sheets simultaneously.
  • Automation features: Streamlines repetitive tasks with alerts, reminders, and automated workflows.
  • Customizable dashboards: Easily create visually appealing dashboards to track project progress and KPIs.
  • User-friendly interface, praised for its intuitive design.
  • Flexible project views: list, board, and calendar options.
  • Excellent integration with Slack, Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams.
  • Strong task management capabilities with deadlines, assignments, and progress tracking.

Users dislike

  • Limited row capacity: Maximum capacity of 20k rows is often too small, requiring backups.
  • Some standard Excel functions are not available or require workarounds.
  • Latency issues: Users have reported slow loading times and latency, especially with larger sheets.
  • Sharing with unlicensed users can be confusing, leading to unnecessary license requests.
  • High cost - the price per user is a deterrent for many teams.
  • Subtasks are not easily viewed in the main task view, requiring extra clicks.
  • Limited advanced reporting features.
  • Occasional bugs, freezing, and performance lags.

Smartsheet and Asana Ratings

  • G2
    4.4/5
    (2570)
  • Capterra
    4.5/5
    (2425)
  • Glassdoor
    4.0/5
    (982)
  • G2
    4.3/5
    (2486)
  • Capterra
    4.5/5
    (2414)
  • Glassdoor
    4.1/5
    (806)

Company health

Employee growth

5% increase in the last year
21% increase in the last year

Web traffic

8% decrease in the last quarter
8% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

May 2024 - $3B
May 2020 - $453M

How do Smartsheet's row limitations compare to Asana's project capacity?

Smartsheet has a hard row limit of 20,000 rows per sheet, which users have cited as a significant limitation. Asana, on the other hand, doesn't have row limits in the same way since it doesn't use a spreadsheet interface. Instead, Asana's limitations relate to the number of tasks and projects within a workspace, which is generally much higher than Smartsheet's row limit. While Asana has different pricing tiers that might impact storage or the number of tasks, it doesn't impose a fixed limit per project like Smartsheet's rows.

Which platform better integrates with existing tools like Salesforce or Slack?

Asana integrates better with existing tools, specifically mentioning excellent integration with Slack, Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams. While Smartsheet mentions Salesforce integration, Asana's broader integration with commonly used communication and collaboration platforms makes it more suitable for teams relying on these tools.

What are the advantages of Smartsheet?

Smartsheet offers robust automation features, including automated workflows and timesheet creation, which can significantly improve team efficiency. Its spreadsheet-like interface makes it intuitive and easy to use, particularly for those familiar with Excel. Smartsheet also boasts strong integration with Salesforce, enabling bidirectional data sync and automation. This is a key advantage over Asana, especially for sales and marketing teams. Finally, Smartsheet caters to a wider range of industries, making it a more versatile solution for businesses with diverse operational needs.

What are the disadvantages of Smartsheet?

Smartsheet's spreadsheet-like interface, while familiar, can lead to limitations with row capacity, forcing users to create backups for larger projects. Some common Excel functions are missing or require workarounds, potentially hindering users accustomed to those features. Performance issues like slow loading times and latency have also been reported, particularly with larger sheets. Finally, sharing with unlicensed users can be a confusing process, sometimes leading to unnecessary license requests.

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Page co-authored by
MK
Michal Kaczor
CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

TT
Tymon Terlikiewicz
CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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