Asana vs. Jira: which is right for your team in 2023?

We’ve all been a victim of decision fatigue. If you’re in the market for a new project management tool and are stuck between two solid options like Asana and Jira, making yet another work-related decision can seem daunting. We’ve taken the hard part out of it for you by collecting all the details you need to know to make a quick decision.

Asana, a task management tool, helps teams tackle projects one task and subtask at a time. With multiple customization features, integrations, and collaboration features, it’s a good option for teams who like focusing on task-based projects. Jira, a project and issue-tracking software, primarily helps development teams track bugs that arise in programs so that they can be dealt with collaboratively. Both sound like good options, but which one is good for you? Keep reading our complete comparison to see which software is most fitting for your needs.

At a glance: Asana vs. Jira

If you’re in a rush, here’s a quick overview of each software’s need-to-know details for you to compare side-by-side. For a more detailed breakdown of each tool, keep on scrolling down.

Asana vs. Jira: features

While both Asana and Jira are used for project management purposes, their intended uses are slightly different. Asana is focused more on helping teams work on tasks while Jira helps teams focus on fixing bugs. That said, there are many similar features, like communication and collaboration tools for example, but there are also a number of features that make each solution unique. Let’s take a more in-depth look at each project management solution’s standout features.

Asana features

With Asana, teams can collaborate on tasks and subtasks without all the extra features some alternative project management tools offer. This enables teams to cut through the noise and focus on what matters. Asana’s features are built to make collaboration easy and painless, here are a few of them:

1. Task management: Break down projects into bite-sized tasks to make work more manageable. You can assign tasks, break them up into smaller steps called subtasks, group them into sections, set deadlines, add custom fields, attachments, and more.
2. Team collaboration: Asana includes features like multiple timeline and board views to help you get an overview of team tasks, as well as a goal-setting feature that helps teams stay aligned and collaborate on reaching targets.
3. Analytics and reporting: Run reports to see how a team is performing and how tasks are progressing. You can also monitor the status of tasks in real-time to help keep your initiatives on track.
4. Workflow builder: Asana enables teams to set their own custom workflows so that you can create your own work process between teams using automation and visual tools.
5. Automation: Users can create their own automations, which Asana calls “Rules,” to keep teams working efficiently by removing the need to spend time on manual tasks.

Jira features

While Jira is positioned as a bug-tracking app, it still has multiple features that make it ideal for general project management. With Jira, teams can work collaboratively on complex projects made up of many pieces without losing track of anything. Here’s a closer look at some of Jira’s best features:

1. DevOps features: Development teams can view repositories, issues, development statuses, and visualize progress all in one unified place.
2. Scrum boards: With Jira’s scrum boards, teams can benefit from an agile project management methodology and deliver projects quickly when working in sprints.
3. Roadmaps: Jira’s interactive roadmap allows users to map out work tasks and dependencies in an organized timeline to help keep team members synced.
4. Drag and drop automations: Building your own automations is simple in Jira as users can drag and drop automation instructions, start from templates, and even connect external work tools.
5. Reports and insights: Get insight into your work, even during a sprint, to optimize efficiency. Jira’s robust reporting allows teams to pull reports for sprints, burndowns, releases, and more.

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Asana vs. Jira: integrations

Integrations are an important factor to consider when shopping around for a project management solution. You likely already use a number of different work tools for things like communication, time tracking, accounting, document sharing, or even industry-specific ones.

A project management tool that allows you to integrate with products you already use will help you minimize the onboarding process for new software by allowing you to continue working with the tools you’re already familiar with.

Both Asana and Jira have many integration options to help you make the most of the work tools you’re already using. They also both offer integrations for each other, so if you can’t decide on one software, you can use both!

Asana integrations

With over 200 apps to choose from, Asana has tons of integrations with some of the most popular work apps, like Trello, Mailchimp, Loom, Zapier, Salesforce, Microsoft apps, and more. Asana’s app offerings focus more on the tools that teams might use in general rather than integrations for more industry-specific tools, like development apps, which is where Jira shines.

Jira integrations

Unsurprisingly, Jira’s integrations are more catered to developers so users will find a wider variety of technical apps. Boasting over 3,000 app integrations, Jira seems to have an app for everything, such as GitLab, Timesheet Tracking, draw.io, Zephyr Scale, Scriptrunner, and others, including many of the popular integrations Asana offers.

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Asana vs. Jira: pricing

Cost is an important consideration when shopping for software, but before comparing prices, it’s important to know what the price includes. Rather than comparing different software prices one-to-one, compare the value each plan gives you. Let’s break down what you can expect to pay for Asana and Jira.

Asana pricing

Here’s a breakdown of Asana pricing for different plans available on the platform:

• Basic: for individuals or teams of less than 15, Asana offers its Basic plan for free “forever,” and includes unlimited storage, access to its iOS and Android mobile apps, and unlimited projects
• Premium: Asana’s Premium plan cost $10.99 per user per month, and grants access to forms, dashboards, and inviting unlimited free guests
• Business: Asana’s Business plan sets teams back $24.99 per user per month, offering advanced integrations with Salesforce and Tableau, customizing forms, time tracking, and advanced reporting
• Enterprise: there aren’t huge differences between the Business and Enterprise plans, except that the Enterprise plan includes User provisioning & de-provisioning (SCIM) and priority support, but the cost isn’t listed and organizations need to contact Asana for a custom quote

Check out this guide to learn more about Asana’s pricing plans.

Jira pricing

Plans look similar to Asana’s when working with a lower number of users, but Jira pricing works on a sliding scale where organizations pay less per user the more users they have. Let’s look at Jira’s plans:

• Basic: Jira’s Basic plan is also free, albeit only for teams of up to 10, and has a limit of 2 GB of file storage
• Standard: Jira’s Standard plan starts at $7.75 per user per month for up to 35,000 users, and offers customer support during local business hours. It includes 250 GB of storage, audit logs, the ability to set user roles and permissions, and anonymous access, which is used to give customers the ability to view and submit bugs and feature requests
• Premium: The Premium plan starts at $15.25 per user, granting users the ability to archive projects, unlimited file storage, and 24/7 premium support
• Enterprise: The Enterprise plan is available only on annual billing and has a minimum of 801 users with a price tag of $134,500. The price includes 24/7 enterprise support, centralized security controls and user subscriptions, unlimited sites, and more.

Still looking for a Jira and Asana alternative and figuring out which plan is best for you? Check out this page to read all about it!

Asana vs. Jira: ease of use

While neither Asana nor Jira is particularly difficult to use, some users feel it’s easier to use one software over the other. Largely, this can come down to user preferences, but sometimes a tool has a steeper learning curve, which makes it more difficult to use from the get-go. Here’s a closer look at the usability of each software.

Asana ease of use

Asana users note that the software is easy to use without skimping on important project management functionalities. That said, some users have noted that it takes some getting used to. According to an Asana user on TrustRadius, the software “was not as intuitive to understand and start using as [they] thought it would be.” Users who are unfamiliar with the platform might need help getting started, but once they get the hang of it Asana is known to be quite user-friendly. That said, some users who are looking for more complex project management solutions have found that Asana lacked some of the tools needed to make for a positive user experience.

Jira ease of use

Overall, Jira is also relatively straightforward to use and offers some great features that make it user-friendly. Users like Jira’s dashboard, which offers a number of widgets and customization options to make it easy to see tasks on deck. Additionally, Jira’s right-hand side quickstart bar helps guide users through basic tasks, making it easy to get the hang of. That said, Jira does feel more clunky than Asana to many users, with some on Jira’s TrustRadius page calling it “complicated” and “cluttered” along with comments on how some parts of Jira’s interface are difficult to understand.

Asana vs. Jira: customer support

Customer support has the potential to make or break a customer experience. Software with solid support means onboarding is easier, questions get answered quickly, and users feel guided through product use. When comparing software options, look at the different ways customer support is offered along with what other learning resources are available. Here’s a look at Asana and Jira’s support options.

Asana customer support

Asana offers the following resources and support options:

• Online support form
• Help center
• Community forum
• Chatbot for basic questions
• Training, webinars, and courses from Asana’s Customer Success team
• Guides, use cases, and developer’s guide for more details

When you submit a form, someone from Asana’s support team will address your inquiry. Asana claims that its team is available 24/7/365.

Jira customer support

• Online support form to submit a ticket
• Community forum
• Feature suggestions and bug reports
• System status check
• Documentation

Jira’s support is available on weekdays during working hours based on where the company’s local offices are located (there are quite a few around the world). For enterprises, there is 24/7 phone support, but for other clients, they’ll need to wait to get a response to their ticket.

Asana vs. Jira: customer reviews

Browsing customer reviews is a good way to gauge how current or past users feel about the software. It can be helpful to browse some Asana and Jira reviews to see what people are saying if you’re still debating between the two. Here are the customer review highlights for both tools.

Asana customer reviews

On popular software review site, G2, Asana scores a 4.3/5 based on over 9,000 reviews. Many reviews mention how users love collaboration features and how user-friendly the software is. Overall, customer service is also positively reviewed on G2, but some users commented on missing features like built-in time tracking for some plans and how the software isn’t equipped enough to handle the demands of more robust project management.

Have a look at Asana’s G2 review page for more insights.

Jira customer reviews

When it comes to customer review scores on G2, Asana and Jira are neck and neck, with Jira also scoring a 4.3/5. However, that’s based on over 5,000 reviews, whereas Asana has more. Many of the reviews on G2 state how the customization and collaboration features are great, how it has improved organizations’ project management, and how it’s ideal for development teams. That said, some users have commented that the interface is sometimes not very intuitive, and it can be challenging for non-technical users.

To check out more opinions on the software, have a look at Jira’s G2 review page.

Jira vs. Asana: which one is right for you?

Essentially, the product you choose will come down to your own preferences. In many categories, Asana and Jira are quite similar, but the teams and use cases where each software is used most often slightly differ.

If you’re looking for a simple yet efficient task management tool, Asana is the way to go. You get tons of customization and collaboration features that help you make sure your project flows as it should. If you’re a dev team or working in a heavily development-focused organization, then Jira would better serve you, especially if you’re an agile team already familiar with the format. Jira’s built-in tools and available integrations make it an ideal project management solution for DevOps.

Still haven’t found the tool of your dreams? We’d like to introduce ourselves: monday.com—the platform that manages anything.

monday.com: the alternative you’ll love

With monday.com, you have access to a range of features that simplifies project management from start to finish, not to mention our incredible customer success agents who are there to guide you 24/7/365 with an average response time of less than 60 min.

monday.com is full of features for collaboration, document sharing, visual boards, task delegation, budget management, and analytics reporting.

Here’s a look at what our visual platform offers:

• An easy-to-use, visual interface that lets any team member jump in and get started
• Hundreds of ready-made templates based on how real teams use monday.com
• 8 different visual workflows
• Create, customize, and share forms with your team members and clients
• 70+ high-quality integrations — both for developers and non-developers alike
• Custom workflow automation to automate mundane tasks, notifications, and even emails (no coding needed)
• Drag and drop files, use advanced search capabilities, upload files, and give feedback all in the same place

Aside from these features available to all users, monday.com is so configurable that it can be used for any industry or type of team – including developers. Monday dev is built for development teams to help them handle product strategy to launch and everything in between. With monday dev, you can manage sprints, create your own automation, use templates for an agile workflow, and add on integrations with development tools you already use. So, rather than choosing between the simplicity of Asana and Jira’s dev features, monday.com gives you the best of both worlds.

Don’t just take our word for it: monday.com has a rating of 4.6/5 on G2. When you’re ready to start tracking your projects, use our free project tracker template!

FAQs

What is Asana?

Asana is a task management software that helps teams collaborate on projects. It has a number of features that allow teams to set and manage deadlines, track tasks and project progress, create custom automations, and much more.

What is Jira?

Jira is a project management and issue-tracking software designed for software development teams. It has an easy-to-use framework and includes workflow management tools to help teams communicate, manage, and track projects.

Can Asana replace Jira?

Though both help with project management, Jira is designed for software teams to track and manage tasks while Asana is better suited for overall project management. In some cases, Asana might be more suitable than Jira for project management, but both platforms can also complement each other when used together.

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