Softwr

Software · head to head

Asana vs Northbeam

Asana logo

Asana

Software

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Northbeam logo

Northbeam

Software

Marketing intelligence for growth brands

From
$1500/month
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Asana has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Asana the free Personal tier is capped at 2 users, so it does not cover a small team; Northbeam limited creative-level reporting focused on campaign and ad set rather than individual ad performance
  • They diverge on capability: Asana covers Multiple project views, Northbeam covers Cross-platform attribution.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Asana and Northbeam actually diverge.

Attributes where Asana and Northbeam differ
AttributeAsanaNorthbeam
Starting priceFree$1500/month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, API
Founded20082020

Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), 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 Northbeam

  • Cross-platform attribution
  • Media mix modeling
  • Creative analytics
  • Real-time dashboards
  • Incrementality testing
  • Customer journey
  • Cohort analysis
  • LTV predictions

Both cover

  • SOC2

What people use each for

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

Asana

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

Northbeam

  • Marketing attributionnot Asana
  • Media optimizationnot Asana
  • Creative testingnot Asana
  • Budget allocationnot 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

Northbeam

  • Limited creative-level reporting focused on campaign and ad set rather than individual ad performance
  • Lack of transparency in attribution modeling methodology and how credit is assigned
  • Pageview-based pricing that can scale faster than perceived value for high-traffic, lower-conversion brands
  • Slower reporting cadence limits real-time feedback for teams requiring immediate performance data

Pricing, plan by plan

Asana

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Asana review.

Northbeam

$1500/month
  • Starter$1500/month
    • Multi-touch attribution
    • Media mix modeling
    • Up to 1M monthly pageviews
  • Professional$2500/month
    • All Starter features
    • Creative analytics
    • Export API access

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.

Choose Northbeam if

  • You need cross-platform attribution.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want media mix modeling.

Questions people ask

Is Asana or Northbeam better?
Neither clearly leads. Asana starts at Free and Northbeam at $1500/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Asana or Northbeam?
Asana has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Asana and $1500/month for Northbeam.
Does Asana or Northbeam run on more platforms?
Asana runs on Web, iOS, Android. Northbeam runs on Web, API.
Can I use Asana for free?
Yes. Asana has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Northbeam starts at $1500/month.
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 Northbeam is typically brought in for.
What can Asana do that Northbeam cannot?
Asana covers Multiple project views, Task dependencies, Milestones, Portfolios. Northbeam covers Cross-platform attribution, Media mix modeling, Creative analytics, Real-time dashboards. Both handle SOC2.

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
Northbeam: How is Northbeam priced?

Northbeam offers three tiers: Starter ($1,500/month), Professional ($2,500/month), and Enterprise (custom quote). Pricing is based on monthly pageviews and refreshed data frequency. There are no setup fees, free plan, or free trial.

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
Northbeam: What platforms does Northbeam integrate with?

Northbeam integrates with Shopify, Meta Ads, Google Ads, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube, Klaviyo, Recharge, and others. It pushes attribution data to Meta CAPI, Google Conversion API, GA4, and TikTok Events API.

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
Northbeam: What does Northbeam measure?

Northbeam uses multi-touch attribution (MTA), media mix modeling (MMM), and Northbeam Apex to measure how paid media spend translates to revenue. Apex sends attribution data directly back to ad platforms for algorithm optimization.

Source
Northbeam: Who should use Northbeam?

Northbeam is ideal for intermediate to advanced ecommerce operators at Shopify-based DTC brands generating $1M+ annual revenue and spending at least $1.5M yearly on paid media across multiple channels.

Source
Northbeam: What are Northbeam's main limitations?

Key limitations include a steep learning curve and complex interface, shallow creative-level reporting, lack of model transparency, pricing that can scale faster than value for high-traffic brands, and slower reporting cadence compared to real-time dashboards.

Source

Related pages

Other head to heads