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Comparison · PM
Asana vs SmartSuite
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Asana and SmartSuite — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:project-management
Asana vs SmartSuite: at a glance
| Feature | Asana | SmartSuite |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | PM, Collab | PM |
| Velocity score | 5.0 | 7.5 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 1 |
| Top themes | project-management, ai-automation, rich-text, enterprise-compliance | project-management, automations, no-code, linked-records |
| Last editorial update | 1d ago | 8h ago |
| Website | Visit → | — |
What is Asana?
Asana ships HIPAA for Gov and deepens AI-assisted rule management while completing its rich-text document overhaul.
Asana has shipped a concentrated run of rich-text and document improvements — threaded comments, text highlighting, syntax-highlighted code blocks in editors, rich custom fields, and Pages (the upgraded Notes). Alongside this, the AI automation layer is deepening: AI Teammates reason about project rules, and the Slack integration gained a conversational task-creation channel via @asana. HIPAA compliance in Asana Gov extends the platform's reach into healthcare and regulated verticals.
What is SmartSuite?
SmartSuite ships viewer-interactive linked record filters and conditional automation branching in rapid succession.
SmartSuite is in an aggressive multi-surface shipping phase, pushing significant features across automations, linked records, forms, dashboards, and mobile in a single two-week window. The Sep 3–10 push alone covers viewer-interactive linked record filters, conditional branching in automations, Slack actionable approval buttons, and workspace-wide mobile search. This is a product closing real capability gaps against Airtable and Notion for complex enterprise workflows.
Asana vs SmartSuite: editorial side-by-side
Asana
5.0PMCOLLAB
Asana ships HIPAA for Gov and deepens AI-assisted rule management while completing its rich-text document overhaul.
◆ Current state
Asana has shipped a concentrated run of rich-text and document improvements — threaded comments, text highlighting, syntax-highlighted code blocks in editors, rich custom fields, and Pages (the upgraded Notes). Alongside this, the AI automation layer is deepening: AI Teammates reason about project rules, and the Slack integration gained a conversational task-creation channel via @asana. HIPAA compliance in Asana Gov extends the platform's reach into healthcare and regulated verticals.
◆ Where it's heading
The rich-text investment is largely complete — most standard document features are now present in task descriptions, Pages, and custom fields. Gravity is shifting toward AI-first project management: rules authored and interpreted by agents, tasks created from Slack conversations, and AI Teammates as active workflow participants. Compliance tier expansion suggests Asana is pursuing larger regulated-sector enterprise deals in parallel.
◆ Prediction
The next move is likely deeper AI agent autonomy — having AI Teammates act on rules with less human review rather than just explain them. The @asana Slack capability may expand to full two-way project management from Slack threads.
SmartSuite ships viewer-interactive linked record filters and conditional automation branching in rapid succession.
◆ Current state
SmartSuite is in an aggressive multi-surface shipping phase, pushing significant features across automations, linked records, forms, dashboards, and mobile in a single two-week window. The Sep 3–10 push alone covers viewer-interactive linked record filters, conditional branching in automations, Slack actionable approval buttons, and workspace-wide mobile search. This is a product closing real capability gaps against Airtable and Notion for complex enterprise workflows.
◆ Where it's heading
The pattern across these entries is systematic composability at every layer: filtering at the widget level, branching at the automation level, viewer control at the linked record level, and parity at the mobile level. SmartSuite is assembling the building blocks — conditional logic, nesting, viewer-facing filters — that distinguish an enterprise-grade no-code platform from a feature-rich spreadsheet. The mobile parity push (Calendar, Card, Charts, Forms, Power Search across six weeks) is a parallel track, not a distraction.
◆ Prediction
The automation roadmap points toward a Wait or Delay step next — the loop, branch, and nesting primitives are in place, but long-running async workflows still require that missing block. A timer-based or external-trigger wait action would complete the core automation primitive set.
Alternatives to Asana and SmartSuite
Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Asana or SmartSuite.
Fibery
Fibery's Custom Apps go GA, completing its turn from work tracker to embedded app platform
NocoBase
NocoBase adds authenticated knowledge base retrieval to its AI workflow layer.
RentRedi
RentRedi's AI maintenance helper is the product's first step toward intelligent property operations.
Hive
Hive is quietly maturing Buzz AI from a novelty into operational workflow infrastructure, adding OAuth sharing and capacity-aware planning.
Productboard
Productboard's v2 API is growing toward a full programmatic data surface.
See all Asana alternatives → · See all SmartSuite alternatives →
Recent activity from Asana and SmartSuite
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 12h agoSmartSuiteForms: Support for Checklist Field Type
- 12h agoSmartSuiteLinked Records: Advanced Settings
- 12h agoSmartSuiteLinked Records: Static Filters
- 12h agoSmartSuiteLinked Records: Dynamic Filters ⚡
- 1d agoAsana🔒 HIPAA is now available for Asana Gov customers
- 3d agoAsana🎉 Multiple approvers are now live in Timesheets and Budgets add-on (TBAO)
- 7d agoSmartSuiteDashboards: View-Based Widget Preset Filters
- 7d agoSmartSuiteMobile: Power Search
- 24d agoAsana⌨️ Syntax highlighting in text editors is now live!
- 24d agoAsana🎉 @mention Asana in Slack to create tasks and get answers
- 1mo agoAsanaMake key details pop with text ✨ highlighting ✨
- 1mo agoAsana📝 Rich text in custom fields is now live!
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Asana and SmartSuite?
Both compete on the same themes — project-management — within PM. SmartSuite is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 7.5 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 SmartSuite?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. SmartSuite is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 7.5 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 SmartSuite?
Top SmartSuite alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SmartSuite alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/smartsuite for the full list with editorial commentary on each.