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Software · head to head

Asana vs Chef

Asana logo

Asana

Software

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Chef logo

Chef

Software

Infrastructure automation and management

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Asana the free Personal tier is capped at 2 users, so it does not cover a small team; Chef priced per node per year, at $59 on Business and $189 on Enterprise, so cost scales with fleet size rather than with team size
  • They diverge on capability: Asana covers Multiple project views, Chef covers Recipes.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Asana and Chef actually diverge.

Attributes where Asana and Chef differ
AttributeAsanaChef
Pricing modelUnknownopen-source
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidLinux, Windows, Mac, Api
Founded20082009

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 Asana

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

Only in Chef

  • Recipes
  • Cookbooks
  • Roles
  • Data bags
  • Attributes
  • Chef Server
  • Chef Infra
  • Chef Compliance

What people use each for

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

Asana

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

Chef

  • Configuration management and infrastructure automation across server fleetsnot Asana
  • Enforcing compliance and audit policy on managed nodesnot Asana

Where each one falls short

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

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

Chef

  • Priced per node per year, at $59 on Business and $189 on Enterprise, so cost scales with fleet size rather than with team size
  • Tripling the price between the two published tiers puts compliance and audit features well above basic automation
  • Enterprise Plus and every self managed deployment are custom quoted with no published price

Pricing, plan by plan

Asana

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Asana review.

Chef

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Chef Infra
    • Community support
    • Full functionality
  • Chef Automate$4000/year
    • Chef Infra
    • Compliance automation
    • Insights

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Chef if

  • You need recipes.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
  • You also want cookbooks.
Chef review

Questions people ask

Is Asana or Chef better?
Neither clearly leads. Asana starts at Free and Chef at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Asana or Chef?
Asana starts at Free and Chef at Free.
Does Asana or Chef run on more platforms?
Asana runs on Web, iOS, Android. Chef runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Api.
Can I use Asana for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Asana best used for?
Asana is most often used for project planning & tracking, campaign management, product launches, event planning. Of those, project planning & tracking and campaign management are not what Chef is typically brought in for.
What can Asana do that Chef cannot?
Asana covers Multiple project views, Task dependencies, Milestones, Portfolios. Chef covers Recipes, Cookbooks, Roles, Data bags.

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

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