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Technology · head to head

Asana vs Memcached

Asana logo

Asana

Technology

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Memcached logo

Memcached

Databases

Distributed memory object caching system

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; Memcached no persistence at all: restart a node and its cache is gone, which every design must assume
  • They diverge on capability: Asana covers Multiple project views, Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Asana and Memcached actually diverge.

Attributes where Asana and Memcached differ
AttributeAsanaMemcached
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee; managed cloud billed separately
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted
CategoryTechnologyDatabases
Founded2008Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Asana

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

Only in Memcached

  • In-memory key-value cache
  • Multithreaded
  • Client-side sharding
  • Predictable memory use

What people use each for

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

Asana

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

Memcached

  • Caching expensive database query results to cut loadnot Asana
  • Session storage where losing sessions on restart is acceptablenot Asana
  • Fronting an API whose responses are costly and change slowlynot 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

Memcached

  • No persistence at all: restart a node and its cache is gone, which every design must assume
  • No replication or failover, so losing a node loses that share of the cache
  • Only simple key-value, with none of the lists, sorted sets or streams Redis offers
  • Values are capped at 1MB by default, which surprises teams caching large documents

Pricing, plan by plan

Asana

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Asana review.

Memcached

Free
  • MemcachedFree
    • Full functionality
    • Self-hosted
    • No usage limits

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 Memcached if

  • You need in-memory key-value cache.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted.
  • You also want multithreaded.
Memcached review

Questions people ask

Is Asana or Memcached better?
Neither clearly leads. Asana starts at Free and Memcached at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Asana or Memcached?
Asana starts at Free and Memcached at Free.
Does Asana or Memcached run on more platforms?
Asana runs on Web, iOS, Android. Memcached runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted.
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 Memcached is typically brought in for.
What can Asana do that Memcached cannot?
Asana covers Multiple project views, Task dependencies, Milestones, Portfolios. Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache, Multithreaded, Client-side sharding, Predictable memory use.

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
Memcached: Is Memcached free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

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
Memcached: Memcached or Redis?

Memcached is a pure cache: simpler, multithreaded and very predictable. Redis adds persistence, replication and rich data structures, which is why it is the default choice unless you specifically want a cache and nothing more.

Asana: Does Asana integrate with other work tools?

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

Source
Memcached: Does Memcached persist data?

No. Everything is in memory and lost on restart, by design.

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