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Alibaba Cloud vs Asana

Alibaba Cloud logo

Alibaba Cloud

Software

Asia's leading cloud computing provider

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Asana logo

Asana

Software

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Alibaba Cloud technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included; Asana the free Personal tier is capped at 2 users, so it does not cover a small team
  • They diverge on capability: Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Asana covers Multiple project views.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alibaba Cloud and Asana actually diverge.

Attributes where Alibaba Cloud and Asana differ
AttributeAlibaba CloudAsana
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Api, CliWeb, iOS, Android
Founded20092008

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Alibaba Cloud

  • Elastic Compute Service
  • Object Storage Service
  • RDS Database
  • MaxCompute
  • Function Compute
  • CDN
  • Load Balancer
  • API Gateway

Only in Asana

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

Both cover

  • SOC2
  • ISO27001

What people use each for

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

Alibaba Cloud

  • Cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in China and Asia Pacificnot Asana
  • Pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitmentnot Asana
  • Committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloadsnot Asana
  • CDN and data transfer packages for content deliverynot Asana

Asana

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

Where each one falls short

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

Alibaba Cloud

  • Technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
  • Service prices are not shown as a rate card and route through a calculator or sales
  • Committed discounts require savings plans, reserved instances or capacity packages rather than being automatic

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

Alibaba Cloud

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • Free tier credits
    • ECS instances
    • Cloud storage
  • Pay-as-You-GoFree
    • Flexible billing
    • No commitments
    • Global reach

Asana

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Asana review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Alibaba Cloud if

  • You need elastic compute service.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
  • You also want object storage service.
Alibaba Cloud 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 Alibaba Cloud or Asana better?
Neither clearly leads. Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Asana at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alibaba Cloud or Asana?
Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Asana at Free.
Does Alibaba Cloud or Asana run on more platforms?
Alibaba Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli. Asana runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Alibaba Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Alibaba Cloud best used for?
Alibaba Cloud is most often used for cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific, pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment, committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloads, cdn and data transfer packages for content delivery. Of those, cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific and pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment are not what Asana is typically brought in for.
What can Alibaba Cloud do that Asana cannot?
Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, RDS Database, MaxCompute. Asana covers Multiple project views, Task dependencies, Milestones, Portfolios. Both handle SOC2, ISO27001.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
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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Related pages

More on Alibaba Cloud

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