switchpoint

Project management · 2026

Asana·vs·Kanboard

Two solid choices in project management. Here's how they stack up on pricing, fit, and trade-offs — so you can decide in a minute.

Reviewed by Switchpoint Editors ·

Take on Asana

Asana's pricing has crept up faster than its feature set in the last two years. If you're paying for features you don't use (Goals, Workload), look at Motion or ClickUp. If you genuinely use the timeline + portfolio views, stay — competitors haven't matched the UX.

Contender A

Asana

Work management platform popular with marketing and ops teams.

Best for

Cross-functional teams running campaigns and launches.

Pricing

Free up to 10. Starter from $10.99/user/mo.

Pros

  • Strong portfolio and timeline views
  • Polished UX

Trade-offs

  • Per-seat pricing
  • Key features behind upgrades

Contender B

Kanboard

Free, open-source kanban.

Best for

Self-hosters who just need boards.

Pricing

Free, open source.

Pros

  • Free forever
  • Self-hostable

Trade-offs

  • Sparse UI

The matrix

Side-by-side

Best for

Asana

Cross-functional teams running campaigns and launches.

Kanboard

Self-hosters who just need boards.

Pricing

Asana

Free up to 10. Starter from $10.99/user/mo.

Kanboard

Free, open source.

Top strength

Asana

Strong portfolio and timeline views

Kanboard

Free forever

Biggest trade-off

Asana

Per-seat pricing

Kanboard

Sparse UI

The verdict

Which should you pick?

If…Pick Asana

Cross-functional teams running campaigns and launches.

If…Pick Kanboard

Self-hosters who just need boards.

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