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Technology · head to head

Asana vs Orb

Asana logo

Asana

Technology

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Orb logo

Orb

Accounting

Revenue design platform automating usage-based billing and pricing strategy

From
On request
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; Orb custom pricing model requires sales consultation, no transparent public pricing
  • They diverge on capability: Asana covers Multiple project views, Orb covers Usage metering.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Asana and Orb actually diverge.

Attributes where Asana and Orb differ
AttributeAsanaOrb
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownCustom pricing based on billing volume and events
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, API
CategoryTechnologyAccounting
Founded2008Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Orb

  • Usage metering
  • Automated billing
  • Pricing modeling
  • Revenue recognition
  • Spend controls
  • Pricing calculator
  • NetSuite integration
  • Data warehouse sync

What people use each for

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

Asana

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

Orb

  • Implementing usage-based billing for cloud infrastructure providersnot Asana
  • Modeling and testing multiple pricing strategies before launchnot Asana
  • Automating revenue recognition for financial reportingnot Asana
  • Managing complex hybrid pricing (seats plus usage) at scalenot Asana
  • Providing customers real-time spend controls and usage visibilitynot 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

Orb

  • Custom pricing model requires sales consultation, no transparent public pricing
  • Pricing based on both events and billing volume adds complexity to cost estimation
  • Enterprise-focused positioning may be overkill for simple subscription use cases
  • Requires integration with existing accounting systems for full value
  • Limited information on free tier or trial availability

Pricing, plan by plan

Asana

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Asana review.

Orb

On request
  • Core$undefined/custom
    • Real-time event ingestion (up to 250K+ events/second)
    • Real-time alerting
    • Hybrid and usage-based billing
  • Advanced$undefined/custom
    • All Core features
    • Data warehouse sync
    • Salesforce integration
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • All Advanced features
    • Enterprise-grade SLAs
    • Dedicated support

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 Orb if

  • You need usage metering.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want automated billing.

Questions people ask

Is Asana or Orb better?
Neither clearly leads. Asana starts at Free and Orb at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Asana or Orb?
Asana has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Asana and On request for Orb.
Does Asana or Orb run on more platforms?
Asana runs on Web, iOS, Android. Orb runs on Web, API.
Can I use Asana for free?
Yes. Asana has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Orb starts at On request.
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 Orb is typically brought in for.
What can Asana do that Orb cannot?
Asana covers Multiple project views, Task dependencies, Milestones, Portfolios. Orb covers Usage metering, Automated billing, Pricing modeling, Revenue recognition.

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
Orb: How does Orb pricing work?

Orb uses custom pricing based on your billing volume (total value of invoices) and events (raw data records ingested). Specific costs must be discussed with their sales team.

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
Orb: What is the difference between Core, Advanced, and Enterprise plans?

Core includes event ingestion and basic billing automation. Advanced adds data warehouse sync and Salesforce/NetSuite integrations. Enterprise adds SLAs, dedicated support, and mission-critical guarantees.

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
Orb: Can Orb handle hybrid pricing models?

Yes. Orb supports hybrid pricing combining seat-based, usage-based, and flat-rate components, making it suitable for complex monetization strategies.

Source
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