This guide will compare Asana vs Todoist in terms of their features and unique capabilities in project management.
Teams today have begun adapting to flexible work modes, whether it’s to promote work-life balance or accommodate logistical limitations. Now, you don’t always have to “go to work” because, with the right tools, you can take your work anywhere with you.
For digital nomads, project management tools can be a lifesaver–and task managers are at the heart of it. Anyone from freelancers to business owners can benefit from the likes of Asana and Todoist, two of the leading tools for task management today.
But though they both offer competent task management solutions, one might win your team over the other. Because when it comes to team workflow, it’s important to choose a platform that meets your team’s needs and grows with you as well.
And that’s what this Asana vs Todoist guide is all about. We’ll explore the key features of Asana and Todoist, as well as their similarities and differences.
What Is Asana?
Asana is a work management platform for teams to organize projects and work around company goals in one place. Teams create projects in Asana by turning large-scale operations into actionable tasks, defined with assignees, due dates, and more.
Tasks and Project Views
Asana’s commitment to accessibility is evident in the create button, which users can click from almost anywhere in the workspace. This button allows users to create tasks, projects, messages, and portfolios instantly.
Asana has a thoroughly equipped, and expandable platform for projects and tasks. Asana’s competitive task management features suit growing teams best, but work for individual users just as effectively.
Whether users are managing projects or their own tasks, they can choose from a wide array of views like list, Kanban, calendar, and timeline.
Creating tasks in Asana motivates users to build projects with detail and intention. With spaces provided for task and project assignments, due dates (and start dates, for paid plans), dependencies and fields, tasks become actionable.
Users can break down these tasks into subtasks, following the same format. In descriptions, users can attach supplementary data like links and images, while the comments section provides a place for project members to collaborate.
Goal Management
Use cases for Asana frequently involve goal management, one of its main functions as a work management tool. Inspired by the idea that every task is a key element toward company goals, Asana offers robust reporting tools.
Dashboards allow teams to asses their progress through visual aids. Meanwhile, project managers can also plan workloads and team capacities, so teams utilize their resources in the most efficient way they can.
Dashboards visualize team operations from various perspectives, such as in resource allocation, task progress, and overall company growth. With several custom widgets to choose from, managers can create reports on specific projects, individual workloads, tasks, and more.
For simpler, quicker reporting, users can create status updates on projects they manage or take part in. For easy reviewing, recent and past status updates appear in a project’s overview tab.
Asana Workload encourages teams to regulate their work distribution and maintain healthy workspaces by setting work boundaries. With a project portfolio–or a portfolio of projects–managers can see which team members might have too much on their plates.
Coupled with capacity plans, Workloads help teams measure each other’s bandwidth and achieve goals without compromising their well-being. Capacity plans display resource allocation through a timeline, so all team members can apply their roles fairly.
What Is Todoist?
Todoist is a task management app meant for taking down and managing tasks through a user-friendly interface. Following the GTD or “Getting Things Done” system, Todoist allows users to note and accomplish their tasks without the clutter of more comprehensive project tools.
With its simple and accessible design, Todoist is ideal for users who find their tasks overwhelming and their work style impractical. Users look to Todoist when they have trouble finishing tasks due to a disorganized workspace.
A notable feature of Todoist is its Quick Add button, signifying the app’s one-stop task-making capabilities. Users can create tasks instantly with Quick Add’s corresponding sidebar button or by pressing Q on the keyboard.
Another feature is the Uncompletable Task, a unique element that offers users flexibility in creating their tasks. Uncompletable tasks are non-actionable tasks that act as headings within a project, section, or task.
Users may reserve uncompletable tasks for supplementary task information such as descriptions, links, images, and other attachments. Adding an asterisk and space before a task will automatically convert it into an uncompletable task.
Adding to Todoist’s accessibility features is its ability to process natural language to set times and time segments. For example, typing “tomorrow” or “every other [day]” will let Todoist automatically plot tasks onto their respective places on a timeline or calendar.
Ultimately a task-managing app, Todoist comes in several versions fit for office and remote users. Beyond desktop, web, and mobile versions, Todoist has versions for smartwatches as well. Without opening their phone or getting on a computer, users can create tasks from their watches and get on with their day.
Asana vs Todoist: Key Similarities
Task Management
Both platforms provide intuitively designed project spaces for tasks and subtasks.
Moreover, both provide different project views, namely list, board or Kanban, and calendar views. But Asana projects have added features, such as Gantt views, dashboards, notes, and files.
Tasks in Asana and Todoist allow users to assign tasks, set deadlines and start dates, and priority fields. But while Todoist enables users to set reminders apart from deadlines, Asana has Rules to automate tasks, such as for reminders. Asana Rules can also standardize routine tasks.
Users can divide tasks into sections and lists in Asana and Todoist. With this, users of both Asana and Todoist can filter tasks, so they control which tasks to see each time. However, Asana uses task attributes like due dates and completion status, while Todoist also allows custom labels to distinguish tasks.
Scalability and Customization
Both designed to adapt to growing teams, Asana and Todoist can accommodate individual users and teams of varying sizes.
Asana provides workspaces to create customizable projects and portfolios. Users can create projects of varying contexts, from campaigns and product releases, to file storage and standard onboarding processes.
Meanwhile, Todoist excels in both task management and project management, such that it offers customizable team setups and projects.
However, the allowed team members in Asana varies per plan. The free version allows up to 10 members, Starter and Advanced plans 500 teammates, then Enterprise and Enterprise+ plans allow unlimited users.
Meanwhile, only Todoist’s Business plan offers a shared team workspace wherein each member can create up to 300 projects.
Collaboration and Communication
Both Asana and Todoist allow users to create teams within their workspace. In these teams, users can assign tasks to their members, resulting in productive collaboration.
In both platforms, users can create projects accessible to all team members and ones with restricted access. Private projects create a concentrated environment for projects, leaving members with more control over their tasks and functions.
To communicate in Asana and Todoist, users go to task comments. With attachment options, users can share links and files under tasks apart from leaving comments and reminders. However, Asana offers more flexibility with formatting options, allowing users to modify their comments for clarity or emphasis.
Moreover, Asana users can send messages to other members or directly onto projects for collaborators to see. Projects have a Messages tool to store project-specific updates and ideas, much like chat or email.
Third-Party App Integrations
Asana and Todoist allow app integrations to amplify their inherent capabilities.
Asana allows teams to integrate over 200 apps into their workspaces, so they can contain all their needed tools in one platform. Users may also access Asana API functions to build apps that fit their workflows more specifically.
Being primarily a task management app, Todoist allows calendar, email, messaging, and automation integrations, among many others. Apart from over 60 integration-ready apps, Todoist allows users to connect with thousands more with automation partners. Todoist users can also access the app’s API to build custom web extensions or integrations.
Pricing
Asana’s comprehensive user plans reflect the platform’s flexibility for scaling teams. The first three plans fit small and growing teams. Meanwhile, Enterprise plans suit large businesses and enterprises that qualify for negotiable rates.
Personal
Free for up to 10 people.
With unlimited tasks, assignees, and due dates, its users have the freedom to create as many actionable tasks as they can. Unlimited projects, messages, and storage for 100MB files equip teams with enough space to expand their projects.
Here, users can view their projects and tasks from a calendar, list, and board layout. Time tracker apps, as well as over 100 more apps, are also available for integration under this plan.
Starter
Annual plans at $10.99/user/month; Monthly plans at $13.49/month. Up to 500 team members.
The Starter plan introduces Asana AI, in which users can delegate automatable tasks, like interpreting data insights, so teams can focus on important tasks.
Tasks and events get clearer timelines in the Starter plan, now allowing start dates and due dates. As for project views, this plan offers timelines and Gantt views for planning dependencies and complex schedules.
Dashboards become available in the Starter plan to accommodate large teams that rely on visual aids when conducting progress check-ins.
Starter plan teams may utilize Asana Forms and project templates to standardize projects. Also, private teams and projects in Starter plans help in streamlining and close collaborations.
Advanced
Advanced plans at $24.99/user/month; Monthly plans at $30.49/month.
Adding to the Personal and Starter plan features, reporting tools have advanced to setting up goals, building portfolios, and managing workloads.
Asana Approvals and more customizable forms are also available, as teams under Advanced plans may need more help streamlining workflows.
With large teams, data protection can get trickier. Getting the Advanced plan can for such situations can help, with its adapted security features.
Enterprise
Unlimited users, with essential features.
The Enterprise plan provides resource management functionalities and premium support. This is to help teams allocate resources strategically and maximize efficiency in their operations.
Workflow bundles in the Enterprise plan allow users to choose among templates, which may help tackle recurring tasks.
With SAML eliminating multiple log-ins and projects employing admins, teams can better centralize their operations and trace activity easily.
The Enterprise plan also introduces custom branding, so Enterprise plan teams can personalize their workspace.
Enterprise+
The highest tier, Enterprise+ features preventive measures for data loss, which is essential for large corporations that may find data security difficult to manage.
In this plan, users can archive their integrations to declutter their workspace and move on to new projects.
And by approving workspaces, organizations prevent the establishment of random workspaces, which may take up unnecessary digital space.
For elevated security, the Enterprise+ plan includes data residency, which enables teams to store their data in different locations that uphold varying local regulations. Moreover, teams can create requirements for custom passwords, thus improving security.
With a more specialized set of functions, Todoist offers much simpler but practical user plans fit for everyday use. It offers three plans, and these are some of their essential features:
Beginner
Free for up to 5 personal projects.
- Quick Add
- Task reminders
- List and board layouts
- 3 filter views
- 1-week activity history
- Integrations with email, calendar apps, and more
Pro
$5/user/month for up to 300 personal projects
- Added Calendar layout
- Task duration (start and due dates)
- 150 filter views
- Unlimited activity history
- AI assistant
Business
$8/user/month for up to 500 projects in total
- Shared team workspace with up to 1000 team members and guests combined
- Detailed activity logs, so users see who handles which tasks
- Assigning team roles and setting up permissions
Pros and Cons of Asana
Pros: Strong collaboration tools for managing complex team projects
Cons: Steeper learning curve compared to simpler platforms
Pros and Cons of Todoist
Pros: User-friendly and portable tool for personal productivity
Cons: Limited project management features, such as reporting and analytics tools
Asana vs Todoist: What’s The Best Project Management Platform?
Asana, primarily, is a comprehensive work management platform that offers collaboration and project management solutions. Todoist is a task management app for decluttering mental workspaces, whether they tackle daily personal tasks or full-scale projects.
Given its selection of intuitive work tools, Asana works best for teams and complex projects. Asana workspaces do more than create task lists; they offer goal-setting functionalities, portfolios, and progress analytics, too. Structured for scaling collaborations, Asana adapts to changing workflows by aligning teams to company objectives constantly.
Meanwhile, Todoist aims to organize tasks so users can dedicate more time and mental energy to more meaningful work. Todoist is ideal for teams who want a simple and clean yet organized workspace–enough to keep their work moving. But despite its simplicity, Todoist specializes in task management to elevate individual and team productivity.
Asana suits users looking to coordinate team projects while achieving organizational goals. Todoist excels in leading individuals and teams to mental clarity, affecting their work in positive ways.
Care to join satisfied Asana users worldwide? Sign up for a free trial today, and see what Asana has in store for you!
