Asana vs. Trello: Pros, Cons & Which To Choose, When

Post Summary

Asana and Trello are two project management platforms that help your team stay organized and work more efficiently.

Both platforms are effective tools, although Trello lends itself more to smaller teams while Asana is more suited for complex projects.

Pros

Asana:

• Versatile project management system perfect for complex projects
• Advanced features with multiple project views for teams of all types
• Beautifully designed interface that makes for an excellent user interface, experience, and workflow

Trello:

• Takes a simple approach to project management and is the perfect option for small teams with less complex projects
• Great ease of use which makes onboarding a breeze
• Free version allows unlimited users and you aren’t required to provide any payment information to sign up

Cons

Asana:

• Complex features can make it difficult to pick up at first
• Limited functionalities unless you pay for a premium tier
• Each task can only have one assignee

Trello:

• It has simplicity down pat, but it may be too simple for teams with complex projects
• Only has one project view available — a kanban board
• It’s very flexible, but you’ll need to create a process that works for your company and train everyone accordingly

It's important for your company to stay as organized as possible when managing your projects, due dates, and team responsibilities.

Asana and Trello are two project management platforms to help alleviate these pains.

In this article, we're putting the two head to head — Asana vs. Trello.

We'll go over the differences between the two and help you decide which one is the best fit for your company.

We'll cover features, project views, mobile apps, and other functionalities so you can make an educated decision.

Asana vs. Trello

Asana and Trello are two project management solutions that help teams work efficiently and stay organized.

Both tools have easy-to-use interfaces with advanced team collaboration, communication, and task management features.

Complex projects have many moving parts.

Each team member has different responsibilities and due dates.

Asana and Trello provide a centralized location for your team to stay on top of their work, collaborate, and complete projects on time.

You can assign tasks to teammates, comment back and forth regarding projects, and see the current status of each task.

Let's go over some key functionalities that can help you decide the best project management tool for your company.

Features

Asana and Trello are alike in many ways.

When it comes to software features, Asana seems to edge out Trello as a more versatile and flexible project management tool.

Asana aims to be an all-in-one project management software.

Beyond the wide range of project views, it also offers other features like progress reports, conversations, time tracking, and file storage.

In comparison, Trello is a more simple tool and has a limited number of features.

Asana’s progress reports allow you to see the overall status of the project — like the number of complete, incomplete, and overdue tasks.

Project owners can also create summaries and update teammates within the progress report view.

There's even a place to communicate with the entire team regarding the project rather than having to communicate within a task.

Although, the communication features aren't nearly as advanced as other solutions like Slack.

Trello only offers the ability to communicate with teammates within a specific task.

Asana also offers a centralized location for file storage.

You can see every file attached to the project all in one place.

Trello allows you to attach files to individual tasks but lacks a centralized place for your files.

Project Views

Trello and Asana start to diverge when it comes to usability.

Trello is a straightforward and simple tool — perfect for small businesses and teams.

Asana has more advanced functionalities and is a fitting option for teams with complex projects.

Asana offers multiple project views straight out of the box.

You can choose to use a kanban style board, timeline, Gantt chart, calendar view, or task lists.

Multiple views allow your team to organize many facets of your project.

Trello is much more limited when it comes to project views.

A kanban board is the stock project view.

A kanban board is like a whiteboard full of sticky notes that you drag and drop from one column to the next.

You’ll need to use one of Trello’s third-party “power-ups” if you want to organize your projects in a different interface.

Trello is easy to set up and start using right away since it’s less complex and there’s only one view.

Asana has a steeper learning curve and is more challenging for first-time users.

Mobile App

Both Asana and Trello offer users a mobile app to get work done while on the go.

The two project management platforms approached their mobile applications slightly differently.

Trello’s project management app is a mirror image of its desktop application.

It allows all of the same functionalities and gives you the exact same interface.

The drawback is that it can be somewhat difficult to drag cards in between columns.

Asana developed a mobile-friendly version of its platform that simplifies many of its functionalities.

It’s incredibly user friendly, although you can’t do all of the same things as the desktop version.

Price

Trello and Asana have tiered payment plans for teams of all sizes.

You’ll need to sign up for a higher tier if you have more team members or want access to advanced functionalities.

Both platforms also offer a free version of their service.

Asana will give you access to the free version, but only for one user.

Trello’s free plan allows unlimited users.

Both platforms limit certain functionalities with their free version.

You’ll need to upgrade to a higher tiered payment plan if you want to experience the full breadth of each platform — like custom fields, automation, and reporting features.

Here is a breakdown of Asana’s pricing tiers:

• Basic: Free for one user
• Premium: $10.99 per user per month if billed annually, or $13.49 per user per month if billed monthly
• Business: $24.99 per user per month if billed annually, or $30.49 per user per month if billed monthly
• Enterprise: Asana will give you a custom quote depending on your requirements

Trello’s pricing structure is not much different.

Here is a quick breakdown:

• Free: $0 for as many users as you’d like
• Business Class: $9.99 per month/per user if paid annually; $12.50 per month/per user if paid monthly
• Enterprise: Custom quotes that are dependent on the number of users you have; for example, 20 users would cost $17.50 per month. The cost goes down when you have more than 250 users.

Security

Security should be a top concern for your company if you’re dealing with sensitive information.

You should consider security features like two-factor authentication and third-party security checks — both of which Asana and Trello have.

Two-factor authentication requires users to enter a password and verify their account with a code that's sent to their device.

This prevents unwanted users and hackers from entering your projects and accessing your sensitive information.

Both platforms are also SOC 2 Type 2 compliant.

This means a third-party performed a security check and verified that their security protocols are both up to code.

There’s not much difference between the two platforms here — either is a safe choice from a security standpoint.

Support

Asana and Trello have comparable support features.

A ticketing system, forum, and knowledge base are all at your disposal for both platforms.

Trello makes it incredibly easy to submit a ticket to the customer support team.

You can access customer support and submit a ticket right from the dropdown menu in the project view.

Asana makes it slightly more difficult.

You’ll need to answer a series of questions describing your issue before you’re directed to the customer support ticketing form.

When it comes to user forums, Asana has a more robust forum and active user community.

You’re able to find answers for previously asked questions from other users.

Trello’s user forum isn’t as active, although you’re still able to find answers to common issues.

Asana also offers the Asana Academy which is a robust collection of video tutorials to help you learn the ins and outs of the software.

Trello will occasionally release video tutorials within its help section, but it doesn’t come near to the scope of Asana’s offerings.

Try Before You Buy

When it comes to comparing the two — Trello vs. Asana — it all depends on the size of your team and the complexity of your project.

Trello takes a relatively simple approach to project management and is a great fit for smaller teams.

Asana offers more functionalities and is more suited for complex projects.

Sign up for the free versions of each and play around with the tools before determining what works for you.

Head to Asana and sign up for the free trial.

You can then compare to Trello's free trial version before making your final decision.