Two strong project tools, very different price tags.
Asana is one of the most popular work management tools, known for a clean interface and flexible views. Zoho Projects is Zoho's project management app, known for built-in time tracking, Gantt planning and a much lower price. Both manage tasks, projects and teams well. The differences are in cost, how much project control you get and how each connects to the rest of your systems. This comparison sets them side by side and gives a clear recommendation by situation. It is part of our Zoho Projects guide.
Choose Zoho Projects if you need timesheets, Gantt charts with dependencies and billing, use Zoho CRM or Zoho One, or want to pay less: paid plans start at $4 per user per month billed annually. Choose Asana if your team values its interface and broad third-party integrations for collaborative work management, and you can budget from $10.99 per user per month.
| Zoho Projects | Asana | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, for very small teams | Personal plan, capped at 2 users for new accounts |
| Entry paid plan (annual) | Premium: $4 per user per month | Starter: $10.99 per user per month |
| Mid plan (annual) | Enterprise: $9 per user per month | Advanced: $24.99 per user per month |
| Time tracking and timesheets | Built in on paid plans | Timesheets and budgets as a paid add-on |
| Gantt and dependencies | Gantt charts on all plans; cross-project views on higher plans | Timeline view from Starter |
| Issue tracking | Built in | Handled through tasks and custom fields |
| Client users | Built in | Guests |
| Zoho CRM and Zoho Books | Native integration | Through connectors |
| Included in Zoho One | Yes | No |
Prices are published annual rates in US dollars as reported in 2026. Asana's monthly prices are $13.49 and $30.49. Confirm on Zoho Projects pricing and Asana pricing.
Zoho Projects costs a fraction of Asana at each level. For a team of ten on annual billing, Zoho Projects Premium costs $40 per month and Asana Starter about $110 per month; at the next level, Zoho Projects Enterprise costs $90 per month and Asana Advanced about $250. Asana's free plan has also been reduced to two users for new accounts, while Asana sells seats in set increments, so the actual bill can be higher than the per-user price suggests.
For agencies and service businesses, this is often decisive. Zoho Projects includes timers, timesheets, approvals and billable hours on its paid plans, and connects to Zoho Books to invoice clients. Asana offers timesheets and budgets as a separate paid add-on, and billing needs a third-party accounting integration.
Zoho Projects leans toward traditional project management: Gantt charts, task dependencies, milestones, Blueprint workflows and issue tracking. Asana leans toward flexible work management: list, board, timeline and calendar views, goals and portfolios on higher plans, and a polished experience for cross-team collaboration. Teams running structured client or delivery projects often prefer Zoho Projects; marketing and operations teams coordinating many small pieces of work often like Asana.
Both tools automate routine work. Zoho Projects offers task automation and Blueprint on paid plans, with Zia AI features such as task creation and summaries. Asana offers rules, with more advanced rule building on Advanced, and AI Studio with credits bundled per plan. For most teams, both cover everyday automation.
Asana connects to a very wide range of third-party apps. Zoho Projects connects natively to Zoho CRM, Zoho Books, Zoho Desk, Zoho Cliq, Zoho Sprints and WorkDrive, and to popular tools such as GitHub and Dropbox on paid plans. If your business runs on Zoho, Zoho Projects avoids integration work; if you depend on many non-Zoho tools, Asana's catalog may fit better.
Whichever you lean toward, run a short pilot: move one real project into each tool for two weeks and ask the team which they would rather use every day. Adoption decides the value of any project tool.
Asana is widely praised for its clean, intuitive interface, which helps adoption in teams new to project tools. Zoho Projects has more features and a slightly steeper learning curve, which pays off for teams that need timesheets, dependencies and client access. Good templates and short training sessions close most of the gap.
| Zoho Projects Premium | Asana Starter | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (annual billing) | 10 x $4 = $40 per month | 10 x $10.99 = about $110 per month |
| Yearly cost | $480 | About $1,319 |
| Timesheets | Included | Paid add-on |
Using published annual prices, Zoho Projects Premium costs a little over a third of Asana Starter for the same team, before Asana's timesheet add-on. On Zoho One, Zoho Projects adds no extra cost.
Zoho Projects includes task, time, budget and resource reports, with advanced reports and dashboards on higher plans and deeper analysis in Zoho Analytics. Asana offers dashboards, with portfolios and goals on Advanced for leadership views across many projects. Teams that report on billable hours and budgets usually find Zoho Projects more complete out of the box.
| Your situation | Better choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Agency or service business billing for time | Zoho Projects | Built-in timesheets and billing through Zoho Books |
| You use Zoho CRM or Zoho One | Zoho Projects | Native integration, included in Zoho One |
| You want the lowest cost per user | Zoho Projects | Roughly a third of Asana's price at comparable levels |
| Cross-team work management with many non-Zoho tools | Asana | Flexible views and broad integrations |
| Your team prioritizes the simplest possible interface | Asana | Widely praised usability |
Both vendors offer help centers, email support and faster support on higher plans. Before you commit, check how seats are sold, especially Asana's seat increments, whether guests or client users are free, and how add-ons such as Asana's timesheets are priced. With Zoho Projects, check whether you already have it through Zoho One.
List active projects and the templates or sections you rely on in Asana.
Build matching project templates in Zoho Projects, with task lists and statuses.
Export active projects from Asana and import them, or recreate only active work.
Set up timesheets and connect Zoho Books if you bill for time.
Run one or two new projects in Zoho Projects first, then move the rest.
Archive Asana once active work has moved.
Yes. Zoho Projects paid plans cost $4, $9 or $14 per user per month billed annually, compared with Asana's $10.99 Starter and $24.99 Advanced plans per user per month billed annually.
Zoho Projects includes timers, timesheets and billable hours on its paid plans. Asana offers timesheets and budgets as a paid add-on.
Yes, especially for agencies, service businesses and teams on Zoho CRM or Zoho One. Asana remains strong for flexible cross-team work management with many third-party tools.
Asana's Personal plan is free, but for accounts created since November 2025 it is limited to two users. Zoho Projects also has a free plan for very small teams.
Yes. Active projects can be exported from Asana and imported into Zoho Projects, or recreated from templates. Many teams move only active work and archive the rest.
For most agencies, Zoho Projects, because timesheets, client users and billing through Zoho Books are built in. Asana suits agencies focused on collaborative work management that already use many non-Zoho tools.
Asana is widely praised for its simple interface. Zoho Projects has more built-in features, such as timesheets and issue tracking, with a slightly steeper learning curve that templates and short training sessions help overcome.
Often, yes. Zoho Projects supports boards, lists, calendars, automation and dashboards that marketing teams use, and adds timesheets and Zoho CRM integration. Teams heavily invested in Asana's third-party integrations should check those first.
We help teams compare their real workflows and move to Zoho Projects with templates, timesheets and billing ready.