Trello vs. Asana vs. SmartSuite: Which one is better? [2025]

This article presents a detailed, unbiased comparison of SmartSuite vs. Trello vs. Asana based on thorough research and an overview of features, integrations, and pricing. 

By the end of this buyer guide, you’ll have all of the necessary information to make an informed decision based on your team’s needs.

TL;DR

• SmartSuite offers the best value-for-money platform with advanced features like built-in team communication, 8+ work views, and workflow automations.‍
• Asana excels with its goal tracking and automation bundling feature but comes with a hefty price tag and a minimum of two user seats.‍
• Trello is best for managing tasks across multiple projects with an intuitive interface and budget-friendly pricing plans.

Trello vs. Asana vs. SmartSuite: Features Comparison

SmartSuite Features

SmartSuite is a comprehensive project management tool that lets you manage all your projects on a centralized platform with built-in automation and a communication center.

Robust project management

SmartSuite’s robust project management features help 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 we have in store for you.

• Smart task management: You can turn any item field into a task—a checklist item, comments, or sub-item. With this flexibility, you can easily assign tasks 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 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.

Team collaboration

SmartSuite outperforms Asana with its built-in communication and collaboration features. 

You can connect with peers in group chats or 1:1 conversations for quick feedback and 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

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 can visualize reporting in Grid, Card, Kanban, Timeline, Map, Calendar, or Dashboard views. 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, giving a neck-to-neck competition in automation.

You can assemble automation at the task and project and automate recurring 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:

✅ Need a user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop customization.

✅ Need a platform that can adapt to various business processes.

✅ Want to centralize team communication and collaboration.

✅ Want affordable and feature-packed software.

SmartSuite isn’t the best option if you:

❌ Need extensive third-party integrations, as SmartSuite offers fewer options than Trello and Asana.

Asana Features

Advanced dashboard and data visualization

Asana lets you create detailed reporting dashboards with visual elements like line charts, bar graphs, tables, progress bars, and more. 

Each dashboard is customizable, letting you present project information in the most preferred way to your team members and external stakeholders.

You can pull data from multiple sources, and each chart gets updated in real-time.

Workflow automation

Asana is known for automating complex workflows. It 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 and reporting

Through Asana’s detailed reporting features, you can create project and company-wide goals and track progress over time. 

It 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.

Asana is best suited if:

✅ Your organization prioritizes goal-setting and aligning work with company objectives.

✅ You need robust data visualization and reporting capabilities for project insights.

✅ Your team requires 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 larger teams.

❌ Your team needs extensive collaboration features, as Asana's offerings in this area are basic compared to some competitors.

❌ You require phone-based customer support, which Asana doesn't provide.

💡 Check out affordable and collaborative alternatives to Asana.

Trello Features

Drag-and-drop task management

Trello's intuitive drag-and-drop functionality allows users to effortlessly move tasks (represented as cards) between different stages of completion (represented as lists).

For example, you can move one card from “To Do" to "In Progress" to "Completed" lists, ensuring timely updates and tracking of each task’s status.

Advanced task checklists

Checklists allow you to build up a series of sub-tasks within each task card, breaking down complex tasks into manageable subtasks. 

You can assign specific deadlines to individual checklist items, add files, documents, or multimedia relevant to the checklist items, and use labels for visual organization.

Workflow automation

Trello's built-in automation tool, Butler, allows users to create powerful automation without coding knowledge. 

You can set up if-then rules to automate repetitive tasks, such as moving cards from To-do to in-progress when certain conditions are met.

Trello is best suited if:

✅ You work best using a visual project management approach and are familiar with Kanban boards.

✅ You need an intuitive, easy-to-use, flexible dashboard to move tasks around.

✅ You want affordable task management tools to plan and manage routine projects.

Trello may not be ideal if:

❌ You work on large-scale, complex projects that demand advanced features like Gantt charts or resource allocation tools.

❌ You want native team communication and collaboration tools.

❌ Your team needs advanced reporting and analytics capabilities, as Trello's native reporting features are relatively basic.

Integrations: Asana vs. Trello vs. SmartSuite

SmartSuite Integrations

SmartSuite integrates with major platforms, from communication to social media. It offers five connectors, including Zapier, Ply, Integrately, Relay, and Make, to connect with 1000s of apps to transfer data.

Some of the notable integrations are:

• Salesforce.
• Slack.
• Twilio.
• Jira Cloud.
• HubSpot.
• Intercom.

Asana Integrations

Asana’s integration suite has advanced tools for team communication, finance, productivity, and connectors. 

Compared to the other two tools, Asana cast a wider net with its connectors, including Clari Connect, portable, Workato, Power BI, Tableau, and Microsoft Power Automate.

It offers an open AI for custom integrations, like SmartSuite and Trello.

Here are Asana’s key integrations

• Figma.
• Salesforce.
• Hubspot.
• Bynder.
• DocuSign.
• Notion.

Trello Integrations

Trello offers over 500 integrations and power-ups encompassing different categories, including sales, social media, productivity, and communication.

Some of the Trello's notable integrations are:

• Slack.
• Jira Cloud.
• Microsoft.
• Github.
• Miro.
• Google Drive.
• Pipedrive.

⭐️ Winner: Asana

Asana wins for enterprise teams due to its advanced tools, open API, and analytics integrations (Power BI, Tableau). It’s the go-to option for organizations seeking data-driven decision-making and advanced scalability.

Pricing: Asana vs. Trello vs. SmartSuite

SmartSuite Pricing

SmartSuite offers a forever-free plan, which is among the most generous. 

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, including 8+ dashboard views, 5000 automation runs, time tracking, and collaborative SmartDocs.
• Professional: Starts at $25/user/month, including two-factor authentication, Gmail & Outlook integrations, and unlimited editors.
• Enterprise: Starts at $35/user/month, including audit logs, data loss prevention, and 50,000 API calls monthly.
• Signature: Customized plan tailored to your organization’s needs and team size.

Asana Pricing

Asana offers a free plan for up to 10 users and four pricing plans with a 30-day free trial. Asana’s paid plans are as follows:

• Starters: Starts at $10.99 per user/month, with up to 500 teammates collaboration, Asana AI, and unlimited activity logs.
• Advanced: Starts at $24.99 per user/month, with 25,000 automation per month, scaled security, advanced reporting, and goal tracking.
• Enterprise: Advanced integrations, unlimited seats, custom branding, and premium support. Contact sales for a quote.
• Enterprise+: Audit log API, HIPAA compliance, and data loss prevention integrations. Contact sales for a quote.

Trello Pricing

Trello offers a 14-day free trial of its premium plan. A free plan with built-in automation and 10 workspace collaborators is also available. 

Trello’s paid plans include the following:

• Standard: $5 per user/month with unlimited workspace collaborators and one card view.
• Premium: $10 per user/month with unlimited card views, AI, and data export options.
• Enterprise: $17.50 per user/month for up to 50 users, including unlimited workspaces, multi-board guest access, and public board management.

⭐️ Winner: SmartSuite

SmartSuite strikes the perfect balance of price, features, and scalability, making it ideal for teams of any size. It outshines Asana and Trello in automation triggers and task management features and provides enterprise-level automation and security at mid-tier pricing ($25/user/month for Professional vs. Asana's $24.99/user/month).

What are Customers Saying about Asana, Trello, and SmartSuite?

SmartSuite Reviews

G2 rating: 4.8/5

What users love:

• Intuitive interface and quick setup.
• Built-in communication features.
• Flexible customization options.
• Value-for-money compared to competitors.

Source

Source

Common complaints:

• Limited integration options compared to established competitors.
• Some advanced features are still in development.
• Newer platform with a smaller user community.

Source

Asana Reviews

G2 rating: 4.4/5

What users love:

• Clean and intuitive interface.
• Strong goal-tracking features.
• Reliable mobile app.
• Excellent for task dependencies.

Source

Common complaints:

• Limited to one assignee per task.
• Timeline view can be confusing with subtasks.
• Missing native time tracking.
• Higher-tier plans are needed for essential features.

Source

Source

Trello Reviews

G2 rating: 4.4/5

What users love:

• Intuitive interface with a focus on Kanban boards.
• Budget-friendly task management tool.
• Free power-ups to extend the tool’s functionality, such as adding charts and other visuals.
• Ease of dragging and dropping cards across different lists.

Source

Source

Common complaints:

• Lack of clarity in user permission and roles.
• Limited reporting capabilities that make users rely on paid integrations.
• Lacks a clear separation between private items and shared team boards.

Source

Source

Final Verdict: Asana, Trello, or SmartSuite?

Both Trello and Asana are best for task assignments, subtask creation, and integrating with multiple apps. However, an all-in-one project management solution is non-negotiable for managing more complex projects.

If so, choose SmartSuite. Our platform offers the best combination of features, from resource planning to detailed reporting.

You can begin exploring SmartSuite today with our platform’s generous free plan, schedule a personalized demo, or jump right in with a free trial to explore the features.

‍