Softwr

Accounting · head to head

ADP vs Asana

ADP logo

ADP

Accounting

Always Designing for People

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Asana logo

Asana

Technology

Manage your team's work, projects, & tasks online

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Asana has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: ADP no pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken; Asana the free Personal tier is capped at 2 users, so it does not cover a small team
  • They diverge on capability: ADP covers Payroll, Asana covers Multiple project views.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ADP and Asana actually diverge.

Attributes where ADP and Asana differ
AttributeADPAsana
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
CategoryAccountingTechnology
Founded19492008

Identical on both: platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ADP

  • Payroll
  • Tax services
  • HR management
  • Time & attendance
  • Benefits administration
  • QuickBooks
  • Sage
  • Oracle

Only in Asana

  • Multiple project views
  • Task dependencies
  • Milestones
  • Portfolios
  • Goals & OKRs
  • Workflow automation
  • Resource management
  • Reporting dashboards

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ADP

  • Payroll processing and tax filingnot Asana
  • HR administration and employee recordsnot Asana
  • Time and attendance trackingnot Asana
  • Benefits administrationnot Asana
  • Talent management on the mid-market and enterprise productsnot Asana

Asana

  • Project planning & trackingnot ADP
  • Campaign managementnot ADP
  • Product launchesnot ADP
  • Event planningnot ADP
  • Agile & Scrum managementnot ADP

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ADP

  • No pricing is published; every quote is custom and driven by employee count and which services are taken
  • Split into three separate products by company size, RUN for 1 to 49 employees, Workforce Now for 50 and above, and Lyric HCM for enterprise, so growing across a threshold means changing product rather than plan

Asana

  • The free Personal tier is capped at 2 users, so it does not cover a small team
  • Timeline and Gantt views, reporting dashboards and time tracking all require Starter at $10.99 per user per month
  • Portfolios, goals, workload management and approvals need Advanced at $24.99 per user per month
  • Salesforce, Tableau and Power BI integrations are Advanced or above
  • Monthly billing costs more, at $13.49 and $30.49 against the annual rates

Pricing, plan by plan

ADP

$29/month
  • Essential$79/month
    • Payroll
    • Tax filing
    • Direct deposit
  • Enhanced$139/month
    • HR tools
    • Background checks
    • Job posting

Asana

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Asana review.

Which should you pick?

Choose ADP if

  • You need payroll.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want tax services.
ADP review

Choose Asana if

  • You need multiple project views.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want task dependencies.
Asana review

Questions people ask

Is ADP or Asana better?
Neither clearly leads. ADP starts at $29/month and Asana at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ADP or Asana?
Asana has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for ADP and Free for Asana.
Does ADP or Asana run on more platforms?
ADP runs on Web, Ios, Android. Asana runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Asana for free?
Yes. Asana has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ADP starts at $29/month.
What is ADP best used for?
ADP is most often used for payroll processing and tax filing, hr administration and employee records, time and attendance tracking, benefits administration. Of those, payroll processing and tax filing and hr administration and employee records are not what Asana is typically brought in for.
What can ADP do that Asana cannot?
ADP covers Payroll, Tax services, HR management, Time & attendance. Asana covers Multiple project views, Task dependencies, Milestones, Portfolios.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ADP: How is ADP pricing organized?

ADP organizes pricing by business size: Small Business (1-49 employees), Midsized (50-999 employees), and Enterprise (1,000+ employees). Each segment receives customized pricing tailored to specific business needs.

Source
Asana: Does Asana have a free tier?

Yes. Asana offers a free Personal plan for up to 2 users, plus free trial access to paid plans.

Source
ADP: Is there a current promotional offer for ADP payroll?

ADP currently offers 3 months free when signing up for small business payroll (promotion ends 9/24). Contact sales at 800-225-5237 for details and to request pricing based on your employee count.

Source
Asana: What is the starting price for Asana paid plans?

Asana Starter plan begins at $10.99 per user per month when billed annually, or $13.49 per user when billed monthly.

Source
Asana: Does Asana integrate with other work tools?

Yes. Asana offers 200+ integrations including Slack, Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Jira, and Zoom.

Source
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