Jira vs Asana: engineering process or general project work?

Jira is built for software teams — sprints, issue types, workflows, agile reporting — and its free plan covers 10 users. Asana is built for everyone else, with cleaner task management but a 2-user free plan and quote-based paid pricing.

Which one fits you?

Choose Jira if…

You run sprints, releases and bug triage and want deep agile reporting.

Choose Asana if…

You coordinate marketing, operations or client work across teams.

Consider Akievo if…

You want a board that's usable in minutes, with Timeline and dependencies included and AI that writes the plan.

The differences that matter

Free plan size

Jira Free supports 10 users with 2GB storage and 150 automation runs. Asana's free plan supports 2.

Setup and admin

Jira needs project configuration, workflows and permissions. Asana is closer to ready out of the box.

Audience

Jira assumes software delivery vocabulary. Non-engineers usually find Asana faster to live in.

Jira vs Asana vs Akievo

"Paid" means the feature exists but needs a higher tier. Data checked September 2026.

Feature	Jira	Asana
Views and planning
Kanban board
Table / grid view
Calendar view
Timeline / Gantt		Paid
Task dependencies	Limited	Paid
Critical path		Paid
Board dashboard and reports		Paid
Eisenhower decision matrix
AI
AI builds the whole plan for you	Paid	Paid
AI included in the plan price	Paid	Paid
Manage tasks from ChatGPT
Connect your own AI agents (MCP)
Platform and pricing
REST API		Paid
Webhooks		Paid
Slack integration
Import from Trello	Limited
Free plan available		Limited
Flat price, not per seat

Pricing side by side

Jira

Free$0

Up to 10 users, 2GB storage, 150 automation runs a month

Standard~$9 per user/mo

Audit logs, more storage, higher automation limits

Premium~$18 per user/mo

Advanced roadmaps, sandbox, 24/7 support

EnterpriseContact sales

Multiple sites, unlimited automation, 99.95% SLA

Asana

Personal$0

2 users, unlimited tasks, list / board / calendar views

StarterPer user/mo

Timeline and Gantt, dashboards, forms, custom fields

AdvancedPer user/mo

Goals, portfolios, resource management, approvals

EnterpriseContact sales

SAML, SCIM provisioning, admin controls

Akievo

Free$0

1 board, 1 workspace, 2 members, 1 AI credit a month

Starter$5/mo

4 boards, 2 workspaces, 2 members, 25 AI credits a month

Pro$12/mo

Unlimited boards, unlimited workspaces, 5 members, 500 AI credits a month

Pro Plus$29/mo

Unlimited boards, unlimited workspaces, unlimited members, 2,000 AI credits a month

Prices checked September 2026 from Jira and Asana. Akievo prices are per account, not per seat. Always confirm current pricing with each vendor.

Where each tool wins

We'd rather you picked the right tool than switched and regretted it.

Jira is the better pick when…

The best issue tracker in software, full stop — sprints, epics, backlogs, releases

Deep integration with Bitbucket, GitHub, Confluence and the Atlassian suite

Advanced roadmaps and capacity planning for multi-team programmes

Enterprise compliance, residency and governance options

Asana is the better pick when…

Goals and portfolios give large organisations genuine top-down visibility

Workload and capacity planning across many projects

A very large integration catalogue and mature enterprise security

Proofing and approval workflows for creative teams

Where Akievo fits

Every view — Kanban, Table, Calendar, Timeline, Dependencies, Matrix and Dashboard — from the $5 plan.

A flat account price instead of per-seat billing, with no seat minimums.

AI that drafts the whole plan: lists, tasks, dates and dependencies, from one description.

Import your Trello boards directly, so switching doesn't mean retyping work.

Manage tasks from ChatGPT or connect your own AI agents over MCP.

Jira vs Asana FAQs

Can non-engineers use Jira?

They can, but the terminology and configuration overhead usually make a general tool a better fit.

How much does Jira cost?

Standard is around $9.05 per user per month at 100 users, Premium around $18.30, with a free tier up to 10 users.

Does Asana publish its pricing?

No — Starter and Advanced are now quoted by sales.

What's the lighter option?

Akievo is usable within minutes of signing up, and includes Kanban, Timeline, Calendar, Dependencies and reporting on a flat price.

Still deciding? Try the third option

Describe your project and Akievo builds the board, the tasks, the dates and the dependencies. No card needed.

Where Akievo fits: the features behind this comparison

AI board generator Project timeline & Gantt Critical path MCP project management Task dependencies

See all Akievo features

Keep comparing

Jira alternative Asana alternative Trello vs monday.com Trello vs Asana Trello vs ClickUp Trello vs Notion monday.com vs Asana monday.com vs ClickUp

See the full comparison table