Asana
Focalboard
| Feature | Asana | Focalboard |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $10.99/mo | Free only |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4 / 5 |
| Best For | teams, enterprise, marketing-teams, agencies | self-hosters, mattermost-users, small-teams, open-source-advocates |
| Founded | 2008 | 2021 |
| Tasks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Timeline | ✓ | ✗ |
| Boards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Portfolios | ✓ | ✗ |
| Goals | ✓ | ✗ |
| Forms | ✓ | ✗ |
| Automations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Kanban Boards | ✗ | ✓ |
| Table View | ✗ | ✓ |
| Calendar View | ✗ | ✓ |
| Templates | ✗ | ✓ |
| Filters | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hosting | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Asana Pros
- Clean interface
- Great for teams
- Timeline view
- Many integrations
✗ Asana Cons
- Limited free plan
- Can feel complex
- No built-in docs
✓ Focalboard Pros
- Completely free and open-source
- Self-hostable for data control
- Multiple view types (board, table, gallery)
- Integrates with Mattermost
✗ Focalboard Cons
- Limited to basic project tracking
- No built-in time tracking
- Smaller community than alternatives
The Verdict
Asana is built for teams and enterprise, with a focus on tasks and timeline. Focalboard targets self hosters and mattermost users and leads with kanban-boards and table-view.
Focalboard uses custom enterprise pricing, while Asana starts at $10.99/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Asana edges out on user ratings (4.4 vs 4). While both are well-regarded, that gap reflects real differences in user satisfaction worth considering.
Feature-wise, Asana offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Focalboard takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Bottom line: Asana has a slight overall edge — but if completely free and open-source matters most to you, Focalboard may still be the right call.
