Plane vs Asana: Which Project Management Tool Should You Use in 2026?

A factual comparison of Plane and Asana covering pricing, features, and migration steps to help small teams pick the right project management tool.

Updated 2026-09 · 2026

Plane

Open-source project management for issue tracking and sprints

Freeself-hosted or up to 12 members on cloud free plan

Strengths

+Open-source and self-hostable, no per-seat cost if you run it yourself
+Cloud free plan supports up to 12 members with unlimited projects
+Built-in cycles (sprints), modules, and issue tracking similar to Linear/Jira

Weaknesses

-Smaller ecosystem of native integrations compared to Asana
-Self-hosting requires DevOps effort (Docker/Kubernetes setup)
-Fewer built-in reporting/portfolio views for non-technical teams

Best for

Engineering and product teams that want Jira/Linear-style issue tracking without the cost, and are comfortable self-hosting or using a small cloud team.

Asana

Work management platform for tasks, projects, and cross-team coordination

Freeup to 15 users on Personal plan; Starter $13.49/user/month billed monthly ($10.99 billed annually)

Strengths

+Free plan works for teams up to 15 people with unlimited tasks and projects
+Multiple views: list, board, timeline, calendar, and Gantt-style timelines
+Deep integration library (Slack, Google Workspace, Jira, Salesforce, etc.)

Weaknesses

-Costs scale quickly per seat as team grows past free tier
-Advanced features (Portfolios, custom rules, forms) locked behind higher tiers
-Not built for deep engineering workflows (no native sprints/cycles like Plane)

Best for

Cross-functional teams (marketing, ops, HR, product) needing task management with strong integrations and reporting, not primarily code-focused work.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Plane	Asana
Free tier user limit	12 members (cloud) / unlimited self-hosted	15 users
Self-hosting option	Yes, open-source (Plane Community)	No
Sprints/Cycles	Native (Cycles)	Via Timeline/manual setup only
Kanban boards	Yes	Yes
Gantt/Timeline view	Basic (Modules)	Yes (Timeline, paid tiers for advanced)
Workflow automation	Limited, via API/webhooks	Yes (Rules, paid tiers)
Native integrations	GitHub, GitLab, Slack (limited list)	100+ (Slack, Salesforce, Jira, Zoom, etc.)
API access	Yes, on free/all tiers	Yes, on paid tiers
Mobile apps	Basic iOS/Android	Full-featured iOS/Android
Custom fields	Yes	Yes (paid tiers)
Reporting/dashboards	Basic analytics	Advanced reporting (paid tiers)
Pricing model	Free/self-hosted or $8/user/mo (Pro, cloud)	Free or $10.99–$24.99/user/mo (annual)

The Verdict

If your team is engineering-heavy and wants Jira/Linear-style sprints without licensing costs, Plane's self-hosted option is genuinely free forever and worth the setup effort. If you need broad integrations, polished reporting, and cross-team collaboration beyond dev work, Asana's free tier covers small teams well, but costs climb fast once you need automation or advanced views. For a 5-10 person startup on a budget, Plane wins on cost; for a mixed team coordinating marketing, sales, and ops, Asana's maturity is worth paying for.

How to switch from Plane to Asana

1Export each project from Plane individually via Settings > Exports, downloading the CSV file containing tasks, states, assignees, and due dates; save attachments separately since they aren't included in the export.
2Clean up the CSV files to match Asana's import format (Asana supports CSV import via 'Add Task' > 'Import spreadsheet'), mapping columns like assignee, due date, and status.
3Import each cleaned CSV into a corresponding new Asana project, then manually recreate custom fields and sections that didn't map automatically.
4Rebuild any GitHub/GitLab integrations using Asana's native integration setup, and recreate automation rules (e.g., auto-assign, status changes) using Asana Rules if you were relying on Plane's API/webhooks.
5Invite your team to the new Asana workspace, set project permissions, and run both tools in parallel for one sprint/cycle to confirm nothing was missed before decommissioning Plane.
6Once verified, archive or shut down the Plane instance (or cancel the Plane Cloud subscription) and update any documentation or bookmarks pointing to it.

Plane vs Asana: common questions

How do I export my data from Plane before switching to Asana?+

Plane lets you export issues per project as a CSV file from the project settings (Settings > Exports), which includes task titles, states, assignees, and due dates. There's no native full-workspace export, so you'll need to run this per project. Back up any file attachments separately since they aren't included in the CSV export.

What features will I lose moving from Plane to Asana?+

You'll lose native Cycles (sprints) and Modules, which don't have a direct equivalent in Asana — you'd need to recreate sprint-like workflows using Asana Timeline and custom fields. You'll also give up self-hosting and full API-level control unless you're on Asana's paid Enterprise tier. Issue-tracking-style workflows (backlog, cycle velocity) are less native in Asana.

Is Asana's free plan actually enough for a small team?+

Yes, for teams under 15 people doing basic task and project tracking, Asana's free plan covers unlimited tasks, projects, and basic boards/lists. You won't get Timeline (Gantt), custom rules, or advanced reporting on the free plan, so if you rely on automation you'll need Starter at minimum. Most small teams outgrow the free plan once they need workflow automation or forms.

What integrations do I need to rebuild when switching from Plane to Asana?+

If you connected Plane to GitHub or GitLab for issue syncing, you'll need to set up Asana's equivalent GitHub/GitLab integration, which works differently (task-to-PR linking rather than native issue tracking). Any custom scripts built on Plane's API will need to be rewritten against Asana's REST API. Slack notifications transfer easily since both tools have native Slack apps.

Will switching from Plane to Asana cost more over time?+

Yes, if you're currently self-hosting Plane for free, moving to Asana introduces recurring per-seat costs starting at $10.99/user/month (annual) once you exceed 15 users or need paid features. For a 10-person team, that's roughly $1,300/year on Starter, versus $0 on self-hosted Plane. If you were already on Plane Cloud's paid Pro plan (~$8/user/month), the cost difference is smaller but Asana's Advanced tier ($24.99/user/month) is notably more expensive.