Asana
AI-powered work management platform orchestrating complex editorial workflows and multi-channel content campaigns
Best for small, mid-market and enterprise publishers.
Summary review · Last verified Sep 20, 2026 · Scored on 10 criteria · Vendors can't pay for scores
Research by Vahe Arabian · Scored and edited by the SODP team
Key facts
- Score
- 4.0 / 5
- Tier
- Strong Choice
- Pricing model
- Free Personal tier (up to 2 users); Sta…
- Type
- Editorial calendar
- Hosting
- SaaS
- Publishers using it
- 7
- Founded
- 2008
- HQ
- San Francisco, United States
- Headcount
- 4,400
At a glance
- Asana scores 4.0/5 (Strong Choice) in Benchmark Grid's independent editorial calendar software benchmark, assessed on 10 published criteria.
- It is built for small, mid-market and enterprise publishers.
- Strongest on Collaboration (4.7) and Planning & scheduling views (4.6); weakest on Performance tracking (1.2).
- Pricing: Free Personal tier (up to 2 users); Starter from $10.99/user/month; Advanced from $24.99/user/month (annual billing). Enterprise and AI add…
- 7 publishers in our tracking use Asana, from ads.txt files, page code and public case studies.
- Scores last verified 20 Sep 2026. Vendors cannot pay for a score or a position.
Summary
Editor's update, July 2026: Web data applied via freshness queue
Asana provides editorial teams with a robust environment for content planning and production management through tasks, timelines, and automated workflows.
Asana is a versatile project management powerhouse designed to handle the intricate demands of modern digital publishing. It serves as a centralized hub for teams to manage everything from daily article assignments to long-term strategic initiatives. By bridging the gap between high-level organizational goals and granular tasks, it ensures that every stakeholder remains aligned on production milestones across the entire content lifecycle.
The platform’s primary strengths lie in its exceptional flexibility and integration ecosystem. With over 300 connected apps and sophisticated automation via the AI Studio, teams can build customized pipelines that automate repetitive approvals and status updates. Features like Portfolios and Workload views provide managers with the visibility needed to balance resources across multiple content series or complex marketing campaigns effectively, making it a favorite for large-scale operations.
However, Asana is a horizontal tool rather than a niche editorial solution, meaning it lacks native content-specific features like SEO tools or direct CMS publishing. Publishers will need to rely on integrations to connect their planning to their final output. Additionally, while it excels at process tracking, the lack of built-in content performance analytics means teams must look to external tools for data on how their published work is actually performing.
Score breakdown
4.0 = 0.45 × 4.08 capability + 0.40 × 4.00 publisher fit + 0.15 × 3.50 cost
Σ (criterion rating × weight) across 10 criteria · scale 1 (poor) → 5 (excellent)
The tool offers robust, interactive calendar, board, and Gantt-style timeline views that allow for sophisticated long-term content scheduling.
14% of capability · What we check: Calendar, board and timeline views for planning stories and campaigns.
Sophisticated automation rules and native proofing tools allow for the creation of complex, multi-stage editorial approval workflows.
14% of capability · What we check: Status stages, approvals and deadlines built for editorial teams.
Native task-level comments, mentions, and notifications provide a seamless environment for cross-departmental content coordination.
12% of capability · What we check: Assignments, comments, mentions and notifications.
While it offers over 300 integrations with various apps, it lacks native direct-to-CMS publishing functionality.
12% of capability · What we check: Connections to CMS, social scheduling and newsletter tools.
The platform functions as a centralized hub that effectively coordinates production across social, marketing, and web initiatives.
10% of capability · What we check: Plans web, social, newsletter and print in one place.
Extensive custom field capabilities and reusable project templates allow teams to tailor the environment to specific editorial requirements.
10% of capability · What we check: Custom fields, story templates and saved views.
The platform tracks project status and strategic goals effectively, but lacks native analytics for measuring published content performance.
8% of capability · What we check: Shows how published pieces performed inside the plan.
The interface is widely recognized for being intuitive and accessible to non-technical staff despite the depth of the tool's features.
8% of capability · What we check: How quickly a newsroom can adopt it day to day.
The platform supports granular role-based permissions and maintains high security standards required by its large enterprise client base.
6% of capability · What we check: Roles, permissions and security certifications.
The vendor provides enterprise-grade support resources and documentation, though smaller teams may rely primarily on self-serve materials.
6% of capability · What we check: Onboarding help and support availability.
Asana scores 4.0/5 in Benchmark Grid's independent Best Editorial Calendar Software benchmark (benchmarkgrid.com/best-editorial-calendar-software/asana, verified Sep 20, 2026)
Strengths & limitations
Strengths
- Customizable workflow with features like custom fields, subtasks, and calendar views
- Free version available
- 80% usage rate by Fortune 100 companies
- Connects social media, PR, and marketing teams for cross-functional collaboration
- Over 300 integrations
- Recognized as a leader by the top three analyst firms
Limitations
- Could do better with built-in content performance analytics
Who uses it
Detected from site code, ads.txt records and published case studies — not from the vendor's own customer list. 2 confirmed, 5 seen in a single source.
By publisher size
By content vertical
Publishers running Asana7
- USA TodayEnterprise· News
- BOOM! StudiosMid-market· Arts & Entertainment
- DiscoveryEnterprise· News· reported
- Dow JonesEnterprise· News· reported
- SpotifyEnterprise· Arts & Entertainment· reported
- VoxMid-market· News· reported
- Gear PatrolSMB· Hobbies & Interests· reported
Cost of ownership
Pricing
Free Personal tier (up to 2 users); Starter from $10.99/user/month; Advanced from $24.99/user/month (annual billing). Enterprise and AI add-ons require custom quotes.
Pricing unclear for your setup? — we'll make the introduction. Free, and it never affects the score.
Cost data sourced from vendor pricing pages and community signals. Vendors may dispute any factor.
What users say
Users praise the platform's robust feature set, intuitive web interface, and quick performance, though they frequently report frustrations regarding limited mobile functionality, offline accessibility, and higher pricing tiers.
Sources: X 34% · Reddit 32% · Blog 14% · Hacker News 7% · Podcast 7%
Most discussed
Recent quotes
"Asana’s work management and collaboration platform is an impressive tool that enables teams to significantly reduce the time they spend dealing with processes and task management."
Positive·Blog·8y ago·via CIO
"In this episode we're talking with Allea Grummert of Duett about how she uses Asana to streamline her two main client services. If you’re trying to improve your email marketing, using Asana will help you do so."
Positive·Podcast·via The Smart Influencer Podcast
"Asana Premium in 2025 remains a highly effective and approachable project management tool for small to midsize teams."
Positive·YouTube
"No projects. No boards. No noise. No bloated tools like Asana or ClickUp."
Negative·Hacker News·9mo ago
"Using Asana's pyramid of clarity in a work session tomorrow. Useful for orgs trying to visualize strategy"
Positive·X·via rpk GROUP
44 mentions from 7 independent sources, each read and scored by our analyser. Mentions we could not tie to a real user, and those flagged as promotional, are excluded. Sentiment is opinion, and is independent of the verified publisher adoptions shown above.
The company behind Asana
Company facts come from an independent business-data record rather than the vendor's own site.
- Founded
- 2008
- Employees
- 4,400
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, United States
- Ownership
- Public Company
Compare Asana
The head-to-heads publishers look at most, then the closest contests in the same benchmark.
FAQ
How is Asana scored?
Asana scores 4.0 out of 5 in Benchmark Grid's independent Best Editorial Calendar Software benchmark. The overall figure blends capability (45%), publisher fit (40%) and cost of ownership (15%). Capability is itself a weighted average of 10 criteria; the heaviest are planning & scheduling views (14%), editorial workflow & approvals (14%) and collaboration (12%). Vendors cannot pay for a score.
What size publisher is Asana built for?
Asana is built for small and local publishers, mid-market publishers and enterprise publishers. That is the vendor's own stated target, and it is one of the inputs to our publisher-fit score — a platform that suits a national newsroom often carries more operational load than a small one can absorb.
What does Asana cost?
Free Personal tier (up to 2 users); Starter from $10.99/user/month; Advanced from $24.99/user/month (annual billing). Enterprise and AI add-ons require custom quotes. Our cost-of-ownership score is 3.5/5, which weighs pricing transparency, entry cost, implementation cost, hidden-fee risk and ongoing cost. Ask the vendor for a written first-year figure that includes implementation before you commit.
Who uses Asana?
We have evidenced 7 publishers running Asana. Adoptions are detected from site code, ads.txt records and published case studies rather than taken from the vendor's own customer list, and each one is listed on this page.
Can Asana pay for a better score?
No. Scores come from our editorial review of the product's documentation, demos and public evidence. A vendor can claim this listing or request a re-review, but nothing they buy changes a score or a position.
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