Softwr

Technology · head to head

Asana vs Render

Asana logo

Asana

Technology

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

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Render logo

Render

Cloud & Infrastructure

A modern cloud platform for the next generation

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; Render the free Hobby workspace is limited to 25 services and 5 GB of bandwidth
  • They diverge on capability: Asana covers Multiple project views, Render covers Web services.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Asana and Render actually diverge.

Attributes where Asana and Render differ
AttributeAsanaRender
Pricing modelUnknownusage-based
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Api
CategoryTechnologyCloud & Infrastructure
Founded20082019

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 Render

  • Web services
  • Static sites
  • Background workers
  • Postgres database
  • Redis database
  • Scheduled jobs
  • Environment variables
  • Custom domains

What people use each for

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

Asana

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

Render

  • Deploying web services, static sites and cron jobs from a Git repository without managing serversnot Asana
  • Running managed Postgres and Redis alongside application servicesnot Asana
  • Preview environments per pull request for small teamsnot 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

Render

  • The free Hobby workspace is limited to 25 services and 5 GB of bandwidth
  • Every paid plan charges the workspace fee plus compute on top, so $25 per month for Pro is a floor rather than a total
  • SAML SSO and SCIM require the Scale plan at $499 per month
  • HIPAA-compliant workspaces, inbound IP rules and advanced RBAC roles are Scale plan features
  • Organization-level audit logs require Scale; Pro provides only workspace audit logs
  • Contractual uptime SLAs, support response SLAs and a technical account manager are Enterprise only, and Enterprise is custom priced with no published rate
  • Included bandwidth is 25 GB on Pro and 1 TB on Scale, with usage beyond that billed separately

Pricing, plan by plan

Asana

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Asana review.

Render

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 web service
    • 1 static site
    • Shared CPU
  • Starter$7/month
    • Unlimited services
    • Dedicated CPU
    • 2GB RAM

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 Render if

  • You need web services.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want static sites.
Render review

Questions people ask

Is Asana or Render better?
Neither clearly leads. Asana starts at Free and Render at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Asana or Render?
Asana starts at Free and Render at Free.
Does Asana or Render run on more platforms?
Asana runs on Web, iOS, Android. Render runs on Web, 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 Render is typically brought in for.
What can Asana do that Render cannot?
Asana covers Multiple project views, Task dependencies, Milestones, Portfolios. Render covers Web services, Static sites, Background workers, Postgres database.

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 Asana

More on Render

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