Every project manager has a unique approach to managing projects, shaped by their work style and team dynamics.
While managing my projects, I focus the most on collaboration. My team and I speak to each other constantly, share progress, ask queries, and work async. Whereas, Binit Kiran, our Growth Partner prefers giving all the team members their tasks and adding clear deadlines to follow.
So, for this blog, I – a casual product user, have partnered up with Komal Shah – an expert product owner and analyst at 5day.io, to give you an honest and detailed breakdown of Smartsheet vs. Asana.
I’ve covered the top features for both the tools, real difference in value each tool provides, and which tool is best for what particular use case.
Asana vs. Smartsheet: Compare Features at a Glance
Features | Asana | Smartsheet |
Ease of use | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The learning curve is less steep, and it is relatively easier to get started once you play around with the tool. | ⭐⭐⭐ It’s a complex product, and you’ll need dedicated training if you are a spreadsheet novice. |
Task management | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ It is easy to create, assign, and track tasks. | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Creating and assigning tasks is simple. |
Collaboration | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Intuitive features for discussions, sharing docs, and async work. | ⭐⭐⭐ Discussion is only available at task level, where you can see every comment within the project. |
Analytics | ⭐⭐⭐ Asana has basic project analytics with limited customizations. | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Smartsheet’s analytics is very powerful, with complete customization and detailed insights. |
Project Views | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ All commonly used views are available (basic views available for free.) | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ All commonly used views are available (all paid.) |
Intuitiveness | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ It is relatively easy to find most features in Asana. | ⭐⭐⭐ The interface is not as intuitive for a layman user. |
Customization | ⭐⭐⭐ Limited project customization is available. | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Complete customization is available, but it is difficult to figure out. |
Smartsheet – Standout Features
Smartsheet is an enterprise work management software, which might deceive you by how it looks at first but packs a powerhouse of features.
It’s a completely customizable tool that project managers can use to plan, track, and manage nearly every single thing in their company on a large scale. Let’s look at the top features that make Smartsheet so powerful.
Automation
Smartsheet has a very strong automation system in place, which can automate almost everything from messages, regular updates, status changes, moving tasks, and more. You can set specific criteria for each action, create multiple conditions, and automate it hourly, daily, or weekly based on your requirement.
Here’s a basic automation I ran while testing the tool:
If a task’s status changes to “Done,” send a message to Mansi saying, “Ready for Review.” You can see below, that upon changing the status, I received a notification immediately.
Source: Smartsheet Tool
Source: Smartsheet Tool
Additionally, Smartsheet also provides automation templates which can be incredibly useful to new users, in case you want to set up complex automation conditions.
Why I liked this feature:
I do not see automation as just a feature for managers to handle updates, I see it as a powerful tool to get manual, friction causing work done faster. I spend hours every week just changing statuses, tagging people, and sending my work from editors to WordPress developers, but a feature like this can make all of this so easy.
Source: Smartsheet Tool
P.S.: It’s a feature under testing in 5day.io right now, and I am so excited for it to launch and make everyone’s life 1000x times easier.
Reporting & Dashboard
Smartsheet has 2 functionalities for admin reporting: Reports and Dashboards
Reports are a consolidated form of data from your projects, and dashboards pull data from these reports to give a high-level overview of the key metrics across various reports.
Smartsheet has a widget-based dashboard, where you can configure the data based on your needs. Here’s a dashboard I created while using the system.
Source: Smartsheet Tool
Compared to simple task dashboards in Asana, Smartsheet offers a complete view of everything, not just on a project level, but a business level. Which can be a powerful tool for larger companies where heads of departments require to regularly present complex data in a digestible way.
Why I like this feature:
I liked this feature as it makes presenting data less daunting. After compiling reports of all the data you want from projects, you can quickly pull it up in dashboards and even present in from within Smartsheet in your meetings.
While the presentation mode is just a full screen mode of the same report (a PPT or Slide wise breakdown would’ve been nice), it somehow feels less distracting.
Resource Management
The resource management feature in Smartsheet is massive. It consists of these 3 modules:
- Workload Management
- Time Management
- Resource Management
These features combine to give you a solid overview of who is doing what, when, and for how long.
Editor’s note: The visibility into the feature is limited, as it is available only as an add-on feature on all plans.
Smartsheet - Usability
Expert Opinion by Komal
Thinking of Smartsheet as a project or task management tool would not be accurate. Even describing it as a work management tool does not offer a complete picture of its capabilities.
Given its capabilities, you can consider it a business management tool that helps you keep it all in place and gives you an overview of everything. But getting there requires a great effort. Although, if you are a spreadsheet pro who has adopted Excel as their holy grail but are frustrated with its limitations, Smartsheet can be a solid step up for you.
Casual User Opinion by Me
When I first logged into the system, it looked like what I thought was just a fancy spreadsheet. And with all due respect to our expert’s opinion, it just doesn’t work for me. Given all the upside of complete customization, a big downside for me as an everyday user is the complexity of the product. Smartsheet has a massive learning curve, and it took me a significant amount of time to get used to it.
Intuitiveness is a big factor for me when I try out new tools, because if a tool isn’t intuitive, it slows me down instead of helping me move faster. This challenge multiplies when you work with a team because everyone adapts to tools at a different pace. And without support, it can get tricky.
Aside from its intuitiveness, Smartsheet is a worthy candidate which once adapted to, can help you straighten out almost every aspect of your business from projects and finances to teams and workloads.
Asana – Standout Features
Asana is a very popular project management software, known by almost all project managers out there. The tool focuses strongly on project collaboration and task management. Let’s look at the top Asana features that make the tool so popular.
Task Management
Asana has a solid task management feature, where you can see detailed task information neatly organized in every project. You can create sections, add custom fields, and store tasks in multiple places to keep all the different teams in sync with each other during project execution.
Source: Asana Tool
Why I like this feature:
All the task management features in Asana are built to increase communication and clear ownership of work within team members. With all the customization of task fields available, you can add all the necessary information you need without any hassle.
My Tasks
Asana’s my task feature is great for people who like to work by themselves and resurface from their work bubble only for team meeting and shared tasks. It is an elevated to-do list where you can track all the different tasks assigned to you across projects and create tasks you want to tackle on your own.
Source: Asana Tool
Why I like this feature:
I liked how I could add the small tasks that were too small or irrelevant to add in the project but made my day more productive, or helped me accomplish my work better in this list.
It was essentially like my personal pen and paper list, where I could share the important tasks with my team members, but still have a list of work just to make sense of my messy, non-sequential thoughts.
Plus, clearly seeing which project the task was associated with helped me decide the overall priority of the task too.
P.S.: This is also one of my most extensively used features in 5day.io, I barely ever open the projects
Goals
Setting up goals in projects is very easy in Asana. You can create and assign goals to different teams and associate them with various sub-goals, projects, or tasks. As your associated sub-goals, projects, or tasks progress, so does your goal.
Source: Asana Tool
Why I like this feature:
Setting up goals is a great way to keep your entire team and company in the loop and working towards a shared effort to accomplish something. It makes it easy for everyone to collectively keep their eye on the ball and work on things that truly matter.
Asana - Usability
Expert Opinion by Komal
Asana is a good tool for managing small projects. It primarily works as a great task management and collaboration tool but falls short when it comes to managing projects with higher complexity.
The product has an extensive array of features, but they all somehow fall short or are basic versions of the full potential a feature could reach. Let’s take automation for example. Asana’s automation software is limited and can help you speed up communication or automate basic mundane tasks, but it does not compare anywhere to the potential Smartsheet shows.
All in all, it is a solid for casual users who need a place to organize their work and keep track of the moving parts.
Casual User Opinion by Me
Asana is a visually delightful tool great for task management. Its free version can help you get the basic projects up and moving quickly.
Although not as complex as Smartsheet, Asana still has a decent learning curve to it, as I found a lot of important features to be layered or “hidden.” Learning how to navigate the tool will require dedicated time and effort.
Additionally, access to basic features seems incomplete, like due dates available in free plan, but start dates hidden behind a pay wall.
Other than that, Asana can be a solid choice for users that focus more on task management aspect and collaboration of projects.
Smartsheet vs. Asana: Detailed feature comparison
Now that we know the most powerful features both the products have to offer, let’s understand the difference between Smartsheet and Asana when it comes to an intermediate user’s project management needs.
Project Views
Both the tools have the majority of the popular project views available, but Asana’s views are visually better. Its default view is a list view that neatly organizes all the information you need from your tasks.
Task Management
Asana is stronger in task management as the tool understands that accessing granular information about tasks is the building block of successfully accomplishing them, and thus, your projects.
The task is much more detailed compared to Smartsheet with a space to discuss, share files, and collaborate.
Both the tools have the majority of the popular project views available, but Asana’s views are visually better. Its default view is a list view that neatly organizes all the information you need from your tasks.
Timesheet Management
Smartsheet has a more powerful timesheet management tool because it combines with your resource management, giving you a complete system to manage your team’s time. It is also much more detailed compared to Asana, which only has time tracking via integration.
Automation
Smartsheet has a very strong automation system that can handle complex workflows and manage almost all of your daily repetitive tasks with ease. Plus, its workflow templates are useful to start building complex workflows without prior knowledge.
User Experience
Asana has a better user experience in terms of navigation and fits the traditional framework of a project management tool.
Smartsheet, on the other hand, offers a better user experience in terms of its capabilities to streamline your work processes.
Support & Training
Smartsheet offers personalized support only as an add-on no matter the plan you purchase. It offers guided content, ticketing, and community support for their basic Pro plan.
Asana provides 24/7 personalized support for their Enterprise and Enterprise + plans, while providing help guide, community, help center, webinar, and guided content support to other plans.
Asana vs. Smartsheet: Which project management software is best for you?
Choose Smartsheet if:
- You want to manage complex workflows
- You want to make sense of tangible insights from heaps of project data
- Customization is a priority for you, and you’re comfortable with a steeper learning curve
- You’re managing enterprise-level projects and need a tool that scales across departments
Choose Asana if:
- You prioritize ease of use and quick team adoption
- Task management and collaboration are your primary focus
- You’re looking for a budget-friendly option that still offers solid project organization
Meet 5day.io - An alternative to Smartsheet vs Asana for project management
Choosing the right project management software comes down to what works best for your team. Smartsheet and Asana offer extensive features for handling long, complex workflows. However, with more features comes more complexity, which leads to feature overload and unnecessary time spent on organization.
If you’re looking for a software that gives you all the essential features without the clutter so you can focus on getting real work done, there’s a smarter choice.
5day.io is an alternative to Asana and Smartsheet but with one bold distinction: it aims to get out of your way when you do the work. It’s a software built with just the essential features to get you started working on your projects right away. Top features of 5day.io include
- Analytics and Reporting
- Automation (coming soon)
A tool should help you move faster, not slow you down with unnecessary complexity. The right balance is having all the core features you need, without spending hours configuring workflows or navigating bloated interfaces. If your current setup feels like more work than it’s worth, it’s time for a change.
Stop managing the process. Start making progress. Try 5day.io today. Start your 3-month trial and explore all the premium features, no credit card needed.
