← Back to home
Comparison · PM

Asana vs Smartsheet

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Asana and Smartsheet — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Asana vs Smartsheet: at a glance

FeatureAsanaSmartsheet
SectorPM, CollabCollab, PM
Velocity score6.35.0
Sparks · 30d10
Top themeswork-management, structured-data, ai-context, governancetable-view, enterprise, integrations, ai-features
Last editorial update1d ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Asana?

Asana Tables puts vendor and asset records next to tasks, and AI Teammates can read them.

Asana has added a new object type. Tables, live on Advanced, Enterprise and Enterprise+, stores reference data such as vendors and assets as records with custom fields, linked to tasks, projects and other tables. It follows a fall of structural and control work: subtask types set by the parent, Subtask Date Rollups, automation rules running on their owner's current permissions, and a reorganized Admin Console.

Read the full Asana trajectory →

What is Smartsheet?

Smartsheet retires card view for Enterprise and moves AI into three named views.

An October batch ends a stretch of mostly navigation pages in this feed with real product changes. Card view is retired for Enterprise customers in favor of board view, and AI capabilities are now reached only from Table, Board and Timeline views. Around that sit a Workday sync through the Integrations panel, SharePoint file import, bulk attachment handling and new keyboard shortcuts in table view.

Read the full Smartsheet trajectory →

Asana vs Smartsheet: editorial side-by-side

Asana logo
Asana
PMCOLLAB
6.3

Asana Tables puts vendor and asset records next to tasks, and AI Teammates can read them.

◆ Current state

Asana has added a new object type. Tables, live on Advanced, Enterprise and Enterprise+, stores reference data such as vendors and assets as records with custom fields, linked to tasks, projects and other tables. It follows a fall of structural and control work: subtask types set by the parent, Subtask Date Rollups, automation rules running on their owner's current permissions, and a reorganized Admin Console.

◆ Where it's heading

The fall's hierarchy cleanup now reads as groundwork for a broader data model: Asana is moving from tracking work to also holding the records work refers to. Tables feed AI Teammates and Asana Dash directly, so structured data becomes context for the agents launched over the summer. Asana is drawing the limit itself, saying Tables won't replace a CRM or a formula-heavy spreadsheet.

◆ Prediction

Expect Tables to gain richer lookups between records and more ways for rules and AI Teammates to act on them. The entries don't show whether Tables will reach lower plans.

Smartsheet logo
Smartsheet
COLLABPM
5.0

Smartsheet retires card view for Enterprise and moves AI into three named views.

◆ Current state

An October batch ends a stretch of mostly navigation pages in this feed with real product changes. Card view is retired for Enterprise customers in favor of board view, and AI capabilities are now reached only from Table, Board and Timeline views. Around that sit a Workday sync through the Integrations panel, SharePoint file import, bulk attachment handling and new keyboard shortcuts in table view.

◆ Where it's heading

Table view is being built into the primary work surface, with attachment management and shortcuts arriving there and AI access narrowed to a defined set of views. The Workday and SharePoint additions pull enterprise data in rather than leaving it to be re-keyed. The April Contributor seat was packaging; this batch is product consolidation.

◆ Prediction

Card view's retirement starts with Enterprise, so wider retirement is the logical next step, though the entries give no date. More table view parity work looks likely given how much of this batch landed there.

Asana alternatives

Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Tap any card for the full editorial trajectory or compare directly with Asana.

See all Asana alternatives →

Smartsheet alternatives

Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Tap any card for the full editorial trajectory or compare directly with Smartsheet.

See all Smartsheet alternatives →

Recent activity from Asana and Smartsheet

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 3d agoAsanaIntroducing: Tables ⚡
  2. 6d agoSmartsheetManage your sheet and row attachments in table view
  3. 6d agoSmartsheetWork faster with keyboard shortcuts in table view
  4. 6d agoSmartsheetCard view has been retired for Enterprise plan customers
  5. 6d agoSmartsheetImport files from SharePoint
  6. 6d agoSmartsheetSync Workday data into Smartsheet
  7. 6d agoSmartsheetUse AI tools in Table, Board, and Timeline views
  8. 17d agoAsana:puzzle_piece: Subtask types now follow their parent, across projects
  9. 24d agoAsana🗓️ Subtask Date Rollups: bring your parent dates up to date
  10. 27d agoAsanaA clearer way to find your Admin settings 🧭
  11. 1mo agoAsana🔐 Automation rules now use their owner’s current permissions
  12. 1mo agoAsana🗂️ Bulk-add from Portfolio now works for editors and admins!

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Asana and Smartsheet?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Asana is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Asana better than Smartsheet?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Asana is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other PM products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Asana?

Top Asana alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Asana alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/asana for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Smartsheet?

Top Smartsheet alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Smartsheet alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/smartsheet for the full list with editorial commentary on each.