Asana and Airtable are both market leaders in the project management industry, each offering unique features and capabilities. Making the right choice will involve considering multiple factors.
In this comprehensive comparison, I’ll break down the key features, pricing, and user feedback for each software to help you make an informed decision.
➡️ I’ll also introduce you to a third option that covers both tools’ weaknesses with its all-in-one project management capabilities: SmartSuite (that’s us).
TL;DR
✅ Asana excels with its goal tracking and automation bundling feature but comes with a hefty price tag and a minimum of two user seats. The platform is ideal for SMEs looking for best-in-class customization options and workflow automation.
✅ Airtable shines in database flexibility and customization. However, new users find the platform complex to use. I found the platform to be best for teams needing highly customizable workflows and database management.
✅ SmartSuite offers the best value-for-money platform with comprehensive features at lower price points, built-in team communication, and an intuitive interface. The software is best for teams wanting an all-in-one solution at an affordable price.
Airtable vs. Asana vs. SmartSuite: Features
TL;DR
- Asana offers a comprehensive range of features, including customizable dashboards, workflow automation and dedicated portfolios, but the tool lacks collaboration functionality.
- Airtable offers best-in-class workflow automation, AI and task management capabilities, but the tool lacks advanced reporting and collaboration features.
- SmartSuite offers an all-in-one project management solution for teams to plan, manage, and track projects, resources, and stakeholders.
Let’s go over the 3 tools’ features, starting with SmartSuite: 👇
SmartSuite Features
SmartSuite is an all-in-one project management solution that lets you manage all your projects on a centralized platform with built-in automation and a communication centre.
But we are not trying to add to the noise of other project management solutions.
Our platform aims to create one unified no-code platform that runs the entire operation, from project management to process automation to real-time collaboration.
Comprehensive Project Management
SmartSuite’s project management feature helps you plan, track, and manage simple to complex projects.
To simplify the process, you get numerous built-in intuitive features to execute your tasks perfectly.
Here’s what SmartSuite has in store for you.
- Smart task management: You can turn any item field into a task—a checklist item, comments, or sub-item.
Your team will be able to build a solid task list and assign it to the right person with a due date and priority status.
- Project phases and milestones: Having milestones ensures your project stays on track and moves towards the objective.
With SmartSuite, you can set them, monitor them through your reporting dashboard, and flag issues.
- Files and project deliverables: With SmartSuite, you can manage and organize all your documents. You can also attach project-related files, share feedback with your team, and manage version history, all within your work context.
SmartSuite supports formats like PDF, GIF, CSV, PNG, and MP4. The tool also integrates with Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and Microsoft OneDrive, making adding files to your workflows easy.
Also, you can add images directly in SmartSuite by connecting your social media and Unsplash accounts.
- Native time tracking: Monitor and evaluate task and project completion times. Built-in tracking helps group time entries see estimates and segment billable and non-billable entries.
💡 Interested in how other team leaders are using SmartSuite? You can check out our video walkthrough:
Native Team Collaboration
SmartSuite outperforms Asana and Airtable with its built-in communication and collaboration features.
You can connect with peers in group chats or 1:1 conversations for quick feedback and to keep stakeholders updated.
SmartSuite’s members’ directory provides a holistic view of the project team by examining each teammate’s details, such as availability status, job profile, and other relevant information.
Like the other two tools, you can use comments and @mentions to share updates, nudge teammates, or add new people to the conversation.
Comprehensive Project Reporting
Unlike Airtable, SmartSuite offers a dynamic project analytics tool with configurable charts and graphs.
The reporting dashboard helps you track project performance, understand resource allocation, and identify slow-moving projects.
Based on these insights, you can quickly develop plans to overcome roadblocks and get the project back on track.
You and your team can visualize reporting in Grid, Card, Kanban, Timeline, Map, Calendar, or Dashboard views.
You can also add as many as needed to build a visual storyboard for your project’s progress.
To share reports with stakeholders or clients, you can make the report public and share the necessary access. SmartSuite also supports printing or exporting PDF, Excel, Google Sheets, or CSV format.
Advanced Workflow Automation
SmartSuite's no-code automation builder is one of the most intuitive on the market, giving a neck-and-neck competition to Asana and Airtable in automation.
You can assemble automation at the task and project and automate repetitive tasks based on triggers like changing dates, sending notification emails, or updating statuses.
There are six pre-defined triggers and 15+ actions, with options to build custom ones.
SmartSuite is the right choice if you:
✅ Are looking for a platform with a user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop customization.
✅ Need a project management tool that can adapt to various business processes with templates.
✅ Want to centralize team communication and collaboration.
✅ Want affordable and feature-packed software.
SmartSuite isn’t the best option if you:
❌ Are looking for a well-established platform with a long track record, as SmartSuite is relatively new.
❌ Require extensive third-party integrations, as SmartSuite offers fewer native integrations than Airtable and Asana.
💡 If you’re interested in how SmartSuite compares to Airtable in more detail, you can check out our SmartSuite vs. Airtable detailed comparison guide.
Airtable’s Features
Task Properties With A Side Comment View
Airtable lets you add subtasks, attach files, and function fields to automate input in various fields.
Each task then opens up in a two-column window, enabling you to see comments from your colleagues.
Automated Workflows
You and your team can create triggers on every field level, such as sending emails when a status changes.
You can then integrate it with Microsoft & Google Suite, Jira, Salesforce, and Twilio.
💡 Along with no-code workflows, Airtable supports JavaScript to extend logic capabilities.
Interface Designer
Airtable lets you build a custom interface without coding knowledge, similar to other platforms on the market.
From designing the layout to deciding the key elements, you get full control over how the interface looks and feels.
Your admin team can adjust the permission access (editor, commenter, or read-only) depending on the guests’ involvement in the project.
You can build custom views for different departments in your organization, which is something I found to be ideal for larger companies.
Different departments of your organization can access customized lists, Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and calendar views.
Airtable AI
In response to competition from ClickUp and Monday, Airtable has also launched their AI-powered capabilities on their project management solution that lets you:
- Generate AI content, including launching briefs and creating blog posts, FAQs, and supportive articles.
- Automatically categorize information, such as tagging tasks.
- Routing work in progress to the best person in your organization.
- Translating content for better internal and external communication.
Airtable is the ideal choice if you:
✅ Are looking for a highly flexible and customizable platform for diverse project management needs.
✅ Require real-time collaboration features for seamless teamwork.
✅ Would benefit from centralized data management to keep all project information in one place.
Airtable isn't the best option if you:
❌ Need advanced project management features like budgeting and critical path analysis.
❌ Are working with a tight budget and can't afford premium features, which is why some customers have been searching for Airtable alternatives.
❌ Rely heavily on mobile functionality for project management on the go.
➡️ You can check out our detailed Airtable review, where we dive deeper into the platform’s capabilities, pros, and cons.
Asana’s Core Features
Customizable Dashboard & Data Visualization
With Asana, you can create detailed custom dashboards with visual elements like line charts, bar graphs, tables, progress bars, and more.
Each dashboard can be customized, enabling you to present project information in the most preferred way to your team members and external stakeholders.
You and your team can pull data from multiple sources, and each chart gets updated in real-time.
Workflow Automation
Asana gained recognition for its automated workflows. The tool helps you create and manage automated processes to eliminate manual tasks.
You can also create automation bundles catering to specific projects and use the same automation across projects, standardizing the work.
Goals & Reporting
Through Asana’s detailed reporting features, your team can create project and company-wide goals and track progress over time.
The project management software helps you connect each task to the bigger goals, provide visibility into how milestones and portfolios contribute to objectives, and keep your team focused on tasks with the highest impact on the bottom line.
Dedicated Portfolios
You can set up Asana’s dedicated portfolios where your team can organize multiple projects if you’re a professional services company looking for project management software.
Each portfolio can be tailored to your clients and provides an overview of work status and go-live dates.
Asana is best suited if:
✅ Your company prioritizes goal-setting and aligning work with company objectives.
✅ You are looking for advanced data visualization and reporting capabilities for project insights.
✅ Your team needs a clean, intuitive interface with a focus on task and project management.
Asana may not be ideal if:
❌ You're working with a tight budget, as Asana can be expensive for large teams.
❌ Your organization needs extensive collaboration tools, as Asana doesn't offer competing tools in this area.
❌ You need phone-based customer support, which Asana doesn't provide.
💡 You can check out affordable and collaborative alternatives to Asana.
Integrations: Airtable vs. Asana vs. SmartSuite
SmartSuite Integrations
SmartSuite integrates with major platforms, from communication to social media, but does not integrate with as many platforms as other alternatives on the market.
Our software offers five connectors, including Zapier, Ply, Integrately, Relay, and Make, to connect with 1,000s of apps to transfer data.
Some of the notable native integrations include:
- Salesforce.
- Slack.
- Twilio.
- Jira Cloud.
- HubSpot.
- Intercom.
Airtable Integrations
Airtable includes numerous native and third-party integrations to expand its functionalities.
Some of its major native integrations include Jira, Google Workspace, Salesforce, Zendesk, and Box.
The software also supports third-party platforms like Notion, Slack, Shopify, and Hubspot. Like the other two tools, it also offers connectors such as Zapier.
Some other popular integrations are:
- Gmail.
- Typeform.
- ChatGPT.
- Stripe.
- Mailchimp.
Asana’s Integrations
Asana offers an integration suite that consists of advanced tools for team communication, finance, productivity, and connectors.
Compared to the other alternatives on the market, Asana casts a wider net with its connectors, including Clari Connect, portable, Workato, Power BI, Tableau, and Microsoft Power Automate.
The platform also offers an open AI for custom integrations.
Here are Asana’s key integrations
- Figma.
- Salesforce.
- HubSpot.
- Bynder.
- DocuSign.
- Notion.
Winner: Asana
Asana wins with its 200+ native integrations with various productivity platforms, while SmartSuite and Airtable have to rely on third-party connectors like Zapier.
Pricing: Airtable vs. Asana vs. SmartSuite
SmartSuite Pricing
Similar to both Airtable and Asana, SmartSuite offers a forever-free plan, which is among the most generous on the market.
The free plan gives you 100 automated triggers, team collaboration tools, 7+ task views (Dashboard, table, boards, cards, list, calendar, and grid), time tracking, and more.
We offer four paid plans, each with a 14-day free trial.
- Team: Starts at $10/user/month when billed annually, including 8+ dashboard views, 5000 automation runs, time tracking, and collaborative SmartDocs.
- Professional: Starts at $25/user/month when billed annually, including two-factor authentication, Gmail & Outlook integrations, and unlimited editors.
- Enterprise: Starts at $35/user/month when billed annually, including audit logs, data loss prevention, and 50,000 API calls monthly.
- Signature: Customized plan tailored to your organization’s needs and team size.
Airtable Pricing
Airtable has a free plan with unlimited task creation, 5 spaces, and guest invites with full access.
You can start using Airtable with its free plan, which comes with a single workspace with all basic dashboard views and 100 automation runs/month.
Airtable offers three pricing plans:
- Team: Starts at $20 per user/month with a 14-day free trial with access to 25,000 automation/month, custom branded forms, and Gantt charts.
- Business: Starts at $45 per user/month, including multi-source syncing and dynamic filtering.
- Enterprise Scale: Includes admin reports, enterprise-level integrations, and premium support. Contact sales for a quote.
➡️ You can learn more about Airtable’s pricing structure and figure out if it’s worth the cost with our in-depth Airtable pricing guide.
Asana Pricing
Asana offers a free tier for up to 10 users with unlimited file storage (100MB per file) and three task views: board, list, and calendar.
The platform has four paid plans with a 30-day free trial:
- Starters: Starts at $10.99/user/month for up to 500 members, which includes Asana AI, private projects and teams.
- Advanced: Starts at $24.99/user/month, which includes 25,000 automations/month, 100 portfolios, universal reporting, and goal tracking.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, which includes advanced integrations, unlimited seats, portfolio, and automation bundles.
- Enterprise +: Custom pricing, which includes audit log API, HIPAA compliance, and data loss prevention integrations.
➡️ You can check out our in-depth Asana pricing guide to learn more about what’s included in each paid tier.
Winner: SmartSuite
SmartSuite wins with its generous free plan and lower entry point for business-grade paid plans in comparison to Airtable and Asana. The price-to-feature ratio is well distributed across tiers compared to the other two tools.
Lastly, our software offers flexible per-user pricing, not locking you in unused seats.
What are customers saying about Asana, Airtable, and SmartSuite?
TL;DR:
- Asana customers are happy with its clean and intuitive interface but are not satisfied with its lack of native time tracking and confusing timeline view.
- Airtable customers like the platform’s customization options and adaptability but are not happy with the platform’s pricing model and learning curve in the beginning.
- SmartSuite users are satisfied with its intuitive interface, built-in communication features, customization options, and value for money when compared to alternatives. Despite this, some users are not happy with SmartSuite’s range of integrations.
SmartSuite Reviews
G2 Rating: 4.8/5.
What users love:
- Intuitive interface and quick setup.
- Inbuilt communication features.
- Flexible customization options.
- Good value for money compared to competitors.
Common complaints:
- Limited integration options compared to established competitors.
- Some advanced features are still in development.
- Newer platform with a smaller user community.
Airtable Reviews
G2 Rating: 4.6/5.
What users love:
- Flexibility tool to build and manage databases.
- Advanced automated workflows.
- Low-cost project management tools with essential features.
Common complaints:
- Steep learning curve.
- Flexibility can increase adoption time.
- Limited customization for interface designer features.
Asana Reviews
G2 rating: 4.4/5.
What users love:
- It has a clean and intuitive interface.
- Strong goal-tracking features.
- It's a reliable mobile app.
- Excellent for task dependencies.
Common complaints:
- Limited to one assignee per task.
- Timeline view can be confusing with subtasks.
- Missing native time tracking in comparison to other alternatives on the market like SmartSuite.
- Higher-tier plans are needed for essential features.
Asana, Airtable, or SmartSuite: Summary
Get Started with SmartSuite For Free Today
➡️ If you use linear project methodology, heavily rely on automation and are not afraid to spend on a good platform (e.g., you work in a professional services company), Asana can be a good option for your needs.
➡️ On the other hand, if you’re looking for more customization options and database capabilities to handle your remote team, Airtable might be the better choice.
But with such flexibility comes a higher learning curve and a hefty price tag.
To top it up, Asana and Airtable lack critical project management features, such as collaboration features and reporting.
SmartSuite’s platform helps you tackle this by offering just the right customization, native collaboration capabilities and a library of 200+ project management templates to get your projects up and running.
Here’s what's in it for your team when you try SmartSuite:
- Access to a generous free plan with features including multi-board views (Kanban, Chart, Map, Timeline, Card, and Calendar), 100 automation/month, and 40+ field types, including formula and linked record fields.
- No-code automation builder to set up to 500,000 trigger/action workflows.
- Built-in productivity tools, including time tracking, status tracking, and checklists.
- Team collaboration and planning tools such as whiteboards and SmartSuite docs (unlike Asana, which does not have them).
- Resource management across projects and teams.
- 40+ field types, including the option to add your custom fields.
Sign up for a free plan to test the water, or get a 14-day free trial to explore all its amazing features.
Or, if you’d like to talk to our team of experts, schedule a demo.
Read More
- Airtable vs. Monday: Check out our in-depth comparison guide between Airtable and Monday.
- Asana Review: Look at our comprehensive and honest Asana review that goes over the platform in more detail.
- Asana vs. Monday: Learn more about the differences between Asana and Monday to make the right choice.
- Asana vs. ClickUp: Compare the 2 project management giants and see why people are more willing to pay the premium price for Asana.
- Asana vs. Trello: Check out our comparison between Asana and Trello, going over both platforms in greater detail.
- The 10 Best Project Management Software For Engineers: We break down the top 10 project management solutions built with engineers in mind in 2025.
- Top 10 Teamwork Alternatives and Competitors In 2025: Learn why some companies are looking to switch from Teamwork and its best alternatives on the market.
- 10 Best Healthcare Project Management Tools in 2025: Find out the best healthcare project management solutions on the market.
- 10 Best Project Management Software for Construction in 2025: A useful guide if you operate in the construction industry and you’re looking for a project management app.
