project management tool · head to head
Asana vs Wrike
Comparison Summary
Asana scored 6.7 and Wrike scored 5.8 on our project management tool test script.
Asana: Asana is the smoother tool to work in: pasting builds tasks, the CSV import understood all our columns and finished 200 rows in about 10 seconds, its AI was accurate, and the export keeps dependencies. But a new account runs on a 14-day trial, and much of what impressed us, from Gantt charts and rules to custom fields and the AI, is paid. The free plan is for two people and has list, board and calendar views.
Wrike: Wrike is a deep, enterprise-style tool: five user types, real recurrence, dependencies, a Gantt chart and a fast importer for hundreds of tasks. But everyday work takes more effort than in the other apps we tested: no multi-line paste, weekend due dates moved to Monday by default, and an importer that only takes its own Excel template. Its AI got the task count wrong and could not create subtasks, and the free plan is limited to a board and a table.
Editor's Verdict
Choose Asana if…
Best for: Teams ready to pay for Starter or Advanced who want a polished, fast-to-learn project tool with strong import and export.
- The CSV import recognised all seven of our columns with no manual mapping; 200 rows took about 10 seconds
- Pasting a multi-line list creates one task per line, and dates can be typed
- Rules can be built by describing them in a chat; ours fired within about 20 seconds
Choose Wrike if…
Best for: Larger teams that need strict roles, Gantt planning and reporting, and will pay for Business or above.
- Fast import: 200 rows in under a minute and 500 in under 20 seconds, with dates and descriptions
- Five user types, from Admin to view-only Viewer, plus custom roles
- Proper recurrence settings and a working status automation
Head to Head
Task by task
The same prompts, pasted word for word into each app on a clean Windows 11 PC. On the 8 tasks both apps were graded on, Asana completed 5 and Wrike completed 1.
| Task | Asana | Wrike |
|---|---|---|
| P1 · Build a project | Partial≈ 9 min | Partial≈ 20 min |
| P2 · Views | Pass≈ 2 min | Partial≈ 3 min |
| P3 · Rules | Pass≈ 6 min | Partial≈ 10 min |
| P4 · 200-row import | Partial≈ 4 min | Partial≈ 10 min |
| P5 · Scale | Pass≈ 1.5 min import | Pass≈ 2 min |
| P6 · Permissions | Pass≈ 10 min | Partial≈ 4 min |
| P7 · AI | Pass≈ 20–30 s each | Partial≈ 4 min |
| P8 · Leave | Partial≈ 6 min | Partial≈ 4 min |
Measured on the same PC
| Measurement | Asana | Wrike |
|---|---|---|
| On disk | 1.1 GB | 403 MB |
| Admin rights | Not needed | Optional |
| Starts with Windows | No | No |
| 40-task project | ≈ 9 min | ≈ 20 min |
| Views on the free plan | 3 / 4 | 2 / 4 |
| Cold start | ≈ 14 s | ≈ 9 s |
| Memory | 1.4 – 1.8 GB | 1.3 – 1.8 GB |
| Left after uninstall | ≈ 245 MB | ≈ 112 MB |
Pros and cons
Asana
+ What works
- The CSV import recognised all seven of our columns with no manual mapping; 200 rows took about 10 seconds
- Pasting a multi-line list creates one task per line, and dates can be typed
- Rules can be built by describing them in a chat; ours fired within about 20 seconds
- Recurring tasks and rules did not get in each other's way
- Dash, the AI chat, got our project summary and the overdue question right
- The project CSV export includes subtasks and dependencies
- Removing a member took effect on their next page load and offers a handover of their tasks
- No admin rights, no startup entry and no services
− What falls short
- New accounts start a 14-day trial, so you see paid features first; there is no button to end it early
- The free plan is for 2 users, with list, board and calendar only; Gantt, Timeline, rules, custom fields and AI need Starter
- No priority field on the free plan: priorities are a custom field, which is a paid feature
- The import keeps “Done” as a label, does not mark those tasks complete and does not split “qa;legal” tags
- Heavy: about 14 seconds to a usable window and 1.4–1.8 GB of private memory, with a working set up to 3.2 GB
- Dash created subtasks without asking first, and an AI field suggestion kept coming back after we dismissed it
- Closing the window leaves Asana running; the uninstall leaves about 245 MB
- Marketing emails are pre-ticked at sign-up
Wrike
+ What works
- Fast import: 200 rows in under a minute and 500 in under 20 seconds, with dates and descriptions
- Five user types, from Admin to view-only Viewer, plus custom roles
- Proper recurrence settings and a working status automation
- Instant, complete Excel export of every task, folder and field
- Valid code signature and an optional install without admin rights
− What falls short
- The importer only accepts Wrike's own Excel template: no CSV, and your status names must match
- Pasting a list creates one task, not one per line
- “Working Days Only” is on by default, so weekend due dates silently move to Monday
- Dependencies did not reschedule our tasks; the Gantt chart only showed a conflict
- Copilot miscounted completed tasks and cannot create subtasks
- Free plan: board and table only, no Gantt, no automation, no AI
Privacy and security
What we saw on our own test PC. Each review also lists what the vendor states about data handling, training and certifications.
Asana
No startup entry
The installer added no startup entry, services, scheduled tasks or listening ports. The app does keep running after you close its window.
Marketing emails pre-ticked
Sign-up ticks “Get feature updates and tips via email” by default, and the industry question notes that Asana may contact you about its products.
Organization-wide by default
New projects are open to everyone in the organization as Editors until you make them private.
Left after uninstalling
A 236 MB profile folder with the signed-in session and a 10 MB updater.
Wrike
Signed installer
The MSI is signed by Wrike, Inc. with a valid certificate.
No background services
The app added no startup entry, services or listening ports.
Detailed roles
Five user types, from Admin to view-only Viewer, plus custom roles and per-item access levels.
EU data centre
Our account ran on Wrike's EU servers (app-eu.wrike.com).
Features & Pricing
| Asana | Wrike | |
|---|---|---|
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| macOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | — | — |
| iOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paid from | $10.99/mo | $10/mo |
Asana plans
- Personal$0
- Starter$10.99/user/mo
- Advanced$24.99/user/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
From Asana's pricing page, checked Oct 29, 2026.
Wrike plans
- Free$0
- Team$10/user/mo
- Business$25/user/mo
- PinnacleContact sales
- ApexContact sales
From Wrike's pricing page, checked Oct 30, 2026.
Who makes them
- Company
- Asana:Asana, Inc.
- Wrike:Wrike, Inc.
- Headquarters
- Asana:San Francisco, California, USA
- Wrike:San Diego, California, USA
- Founded
- Asana:2008
- Wrike:2006
- Funding
- Asana:Public company, listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ASAN) through a direct listing in September 2020.
- Wrike:Acquired by Citrix in 2021; part of Cloud Software Group since 2022.
Timelines, official links and sources are in each review: Asana · Wrike.
Read the full reviews
This page compares the two side by side. Each full review has the complete test log, every screenshot, the scoring notes, pricing, security and company details.
Asana reviewSituational 6.7 Asana is the smoother tool to work in: pasting builds tasks, the CSV import understood all our columns and finished 200 rows in about 10 seconds, its AI was accurate, and the export keeps dependencies. But a new account runs on a 14-day trial, and much of what impressed us, from Gantt charts and rules to custom fields and the AI, is paid. The free plan is for two people and has list, board and calendar views. Read the full review → Wrike reviewSituational 5.8 Wrike is a deep, enterprise-style tool: five user types, real recurrence, dependencies, a Gantt chart and a fast importer for hundreds of tasks. But everyday work takes more effort than in the other apps we tested: no multi-line paste, weekend due dates moved to Monday by default, and an importer that only takes its own Excel template. Its AI got the task count wrong and could not create subtasks, and the free plan is limited to a board and a table. Read the full review → Project Management Alternatives
ClickUp Recommended Small teams that want lists, boards, Gantt charts, automations and AI in one free workspace and do not mind a busy, heavy app 7.4 Read reviewReview 
Notion Situational Individuals and small teams who want tasks living next to their docs and wiki, and who are happy to build their own setup 6.9 Read reviewReview 
Airtable Situational Teams who want a flexible database behind their projects, with automations and reliable CSV in and out 6.8 Read reviewReview 
