Management software for simple and complex projects: Asana VS Wrike

Choosing management software for simple and complex projects that is truly effective and results-oriented means finding the right balance between visibility, process control and ease of use.

Asana and Wrike are two leaders in the project management market: both are robust, feature-rich, and suitable for organisations that want to standardise their work and scale up.

Below is a comprehensive comparison of the strengths and differences between the two software programmes: discover which one is best suited to assist your team in project management!

Asana: structure, automation and strategic vision

Asana is one of the most widely used project management software programmes internationally: it is designed to make the work of teams and organisations more organised and transparent.

The platform stands out for its intuitive and versatile interface, which allows you to view tasks and projects in different modes – list, Kanban style board or timeline – and provides a clear overview of progress.

One of Asana’s main strengths is its no-code automations (‘Rules’) that reduce manual work: automatic assignments, field updates, reminders, and smart notifications. These features allow you to standardise processes, optimise productivity, and minimise errors, even in diverse teams.

In recent years, Asana has also introduced artificial intelligence to support project management, which is useful for generating reports, summaries, and planning suggestions. The Portfolios module is an additional advantage for managers, as it allows them to monitor multiple projects simultaneously via interactive dashboards and summary performance indicators.

In terms of usability, Asana offers quick onboarding and a low learning curve, suitable for teams of all sizes. The free version is designed for groups of up to 10 people, while paid plans start at € 10.99 per user/month (Starter) and € 24.99 per user/month (Advanced).

In summary, Asana is an efficient, modern and strategic solution, ideal for companies seeking a balance between operational simplicity and overall vision for managing their projects.

Wrike: configurable power and cross-team collaboration

When it comes to managing simple and complex projects, Wrike is the ideal software for companies that need in-depth control over difficult processes and activities distributed across multiple departments.

It is particularly appreciated for its flexibility and customisation capabilities, which allow it to adapt to teams of very different natures – from marketing to professional consulting, to IT and operations departments.

Among the best advantages it offers is the wealth of views available: from activity lists to advanced Gantt charts, to customised dashboards and workflows for end-to-end work management. This variety allows you to coordinate multiple projects simultaneously, while maintaining an accurate and up-to-date overview at all times.

Wrike also includes extensive configuration options for roles, permissions, and processes, ideal for organisations that need to manage large, multi-level teams. Customisable automations and modules make it possible to create complex workflows without sacrificing data consistency, while ensuring a high level of security and control.

In terms of plans, Wrike offers a scalable solution starting with a Free version, followed by Team, Business, and Enterprise levels. The most advanced features—such as the ‘enterprise’ Gantt chart, intelligent automations, and in-depth reports—are available starting with the Team plan, which costs from $10 per user/month (billed annually).

It should be noted that Wrike, while extremely powerful, has a steeper learning curve than simpler tools such as Asana. Once properly configured, however, it becomes a comprehensive and scalable platform, perfect for cross-team collaboration and managing large-scale projects.

Asana vs Wrike: key differences (with pros and cons)

Here is a comparison of the main features and differences.

Working model and automation

Asana favours rapid standardisation: simple rules to set up, ideal for scaling consistent practices across departments. Good for teams that want to “streamline” recurring processes without IT complexity.

Wrike offers more granular automation and blueprints with a strong enterprise focus: excellent when multi-level workflows, SLAs and fine-grained governance are required.

Multi-project visualisation and control

Asana offers Portfolios with summary dashboards, useful for managers and PMOs to keep track of KPIs, budgets and progress.

Wrike focuses on Gantt charts and highly detailed timeline views, with complex dependencies and sophisticated planning options even in the intermediate plans.

User experience

Asana excels in interface cleanliness and onboarding, and is great for diverse teams that want to get started right away.

Wrike is highly powerful but more ‘dense’: ideal for experienced PMs and organisations with mature processes, willing to invest in configuration.

Pricing and scalability

Wrike: Free plan and tiers starting at $10/user/month, advanced features (Gantt, etc.) in Team/Business plans and above.

Asana: free for up to 10 people, Starter/Advanced plans with increasing pro features and new 2025 structure, no 1-user plan.

Which one to choose for project management

Choose Asana if you want quick organisation, immediate automation and a strategic level (objectives/portfolios) that can also be used by management without intensive training for managing your projects.

Choose Wrike if you are looking for operational depth, advanced Gantt charts, and strong customisation for cross-functional processes, with enterprise governance and high scalability.

Both are excellent products: Asana reduces friction and speeds up adoption; Wrike offers power and control over complex cases. The choice depends on the maturity of the processes, the need for governance, and the time you are willing to invest in configuration.

Are there any more comprehensive alternatives?

We now understand that both Asana and Wrike are excellent solutions for managing simple and complex projects, but often this is not enough.

Many companies are still searching for a balance that is not easy to find: a comprehensive project management tool like enterprise software, but as simple as an everyday app.

It is precisely in this regard that Twproject software stands out, because it manages to combine power, flexibility and immediacy in a single intuitive and easy-to-use work environment.

With Twproject, you can manage projects, activities, time, costs, resources, documents and portfolios in an integrated manner, moving seamlessly from a classic approach (Gantt) to an Agile one (Kanban).

All features are designed for real workflows, reducing the need to use multiple separate tools or external spreadsheets.

Here’s why Twproject is an excellent alternative to Asana and Wrike:

1. Functional completeness: includes interactive Gantt charts, resource management, cost control, timesheets and financial reporting;
2. Single, centralised view: plans, execution and documents in one place, without plug-ins or complex integrations;
3. Optimised resource management: automatic workload balancing to avoid delays and overloads;
4. Immediate usability: clear interface, quick set-up and advanced features that can be activated only when needed;
5. Methodological flexibility: smooth transition between traditional and Agile management, without imposed constraints.

Twproject aims in particular to offer a more balanced and concrete compromise, capable of combining operational depth and ease of use, promoting rapid adoption, lower integration costs and measurable results on every project.

Would you like to try it? Twproject is free for the first two weeks, during which you can get to know it better thanks to its support team, who will guide you through the initial setup free of charge. Try it now!