Choose Jira if the team ships software, or if up to 10 people want a timeline without paying. Choose Asana if the work is campaigns, operations or client projects and the team wants a tool it can learn in an afternoon.
Cost for the same team
Prices checked September 28, 2026. Asana: asana.com/pricing (Personal is free for 2 users; Starter $10.99 and Advanced $24.99 per user per month billed yearly; seats are sold in bundles past 5 users). Jira: atlassian.com/software/jira/pricing (Free up to 10 users; yearly plans are priced by user tier, $900 on Standard and $1,850 on Premium for up to 10 users; monthly billing is $9.05 and $18.30 per user).
Asana vs Jira, side by side
 Asana |  Jira | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Personal, 2 users | Free, 10 users |
| Timeline on the free plan | No (Starter) | Yes |
| First paid plan | Starter, $10.99 / user yearly ($13.49 monthly) | Standard, $900 / year up to 10 users, or $9.05 / user monthly |
| Storage | Unlimited, 100 MB per file | 2 GB on Free, 250 GB on Standard |
| Automations | Unlimited rules from Starter | 150 steps / month on Free, 400 per user on Standard |
| Guests | Unlimited free guests from Starter | Free guest access from Standard |
| Built for | Business teams: projects, tasks, goals | Software teams: backlogs, sprints, work items |
| Refunds | No refunds | Within 30 days of a yearly payment |
On paper Jira wins more lines. It has the bigger free plan, a timeline for $0 and a lower price per person at 10 users. Asana wins where the table cannot show it: a marketing manager can open Asana and understand the screen, while Jira asks someone to set up work types, workflows and fields before the team gets going.
Jira now calls projects spaces and issues work items. The model is still the same: a backlog of items that move through a workflow, planned in sprints or on a kanban board.
The free plans, line by line
| Asana Personal | Jira Free | |
|---|---|---|
| Users | 2 | 10 |
| Tasks and projects | Unlimited | Unlimited work items and spaces |
| Views | List, board, calendar | Backlog, list, board, timeline, calendar, summary |
| Dashboards | Status updates only | Reports and dashboards |
| Dependencies | No (Starter) | Yes, within a space |
| Forms | No (Starter) | Unlimited |
| Automations | None | 150 steps a month for the whole subscription |
| Storage | Unlimited, 100 MB per file | 2 GB |
For a team of 3 to 10, this is not close: Jira Free does what Asana charges Starter for. Asana Personal is a good plan for one or two people who want a clean task list, with storage that will not run out. Past 2 users, Asana's only option is to pay.
Jira Free has two limits to watch. Automation steps are shared by the whole subscription, and 150 a month goes quickly once rules run on every status change. And if you add an eleventh user, Atlassian moves you to a 7-day trial of Standard; past the trial, more than 10 users means a paid plan.
What you get when you pay
| Plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Asana Starter | $10.99 / user yearly, $13.49 monthly | Timeline and Gantt, dashboards, unlimited rules, forms, custom fields, dependencies, unlimited free guests |
| Asana Advanced | $24.99 / user yearly, $30.49 monthly | Goals, portfolios, time tracking, approvals and proofing, critical path, two-way Jira Cloud sync |
| Jira Standard | $900 / year up to 10 users; $9.05 / user monthly | User roles and permissions, free guest access, 250 GB, 400 automation steps per user, Rovo AI (25 credits per user), business-hours support |
| Jira Premium | $1,850 / year up to 10 users; $18.30 / user monthly | Advanced planning, cross-team dependencies, capacity planning, approvals, 750 automation steps per user, unlimited storage, 99.9% uptime SLA |
The first paid plans solve different problems. Asana Starter is where Asana becomes a team tool at all: timeline, dashboards, forms and automations all start there. Jira Standard adds very little to the day-to-day screen; you pay for more than 10 users, permissions, guests, storage and support.
At the next level, Asana Advanced is about portfolios and goals across many projects, and it is the plan with native time tracking. Jira Premium is about planning across several teams and spaces, with capacity and scenario planning. Both are for organizations with more than one team to coordinate.
Cost by team size
Yearly billing. Asana sells 2 to 5 seats exactly, then steps of 5 up to 30. Jira prices yearly plans by user tier: 1 to 10, 11 to 15, 16 to 25, 26 to 50 and so on.
| Team | Asana Starter ($10.99) | Jira Standard | Asana Advanced ($24.99) | Jira Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 people | $395.64 | $900 (tier up to 10 users) | $899.64 | $1,850 (tier up to 10 users) |
| 5 people | $659.40 | $900 (tier up to 10 users) | $1,499.40 | $1,850 (tier up to 10 users) |
| 10 people | $1,318.80 | $900 | $2,998.80 | $1,850 |
| 12 people | $1,978.20 (15 seats billed) | $1,350 (tier up to 15 users) | $4,498.20 (15 seats billed) | $2,750 (tier up to 15 users) |
| 15 people | $1,978.20 | $1,350 | $4,498.20 | $2,750 |
| 25 people | $3,297 | $2,250 | $7,497 | $4,600 |
| 50 people | $6,594 | $4,550 | $14,994 | $9,150 |
Asana StarterJira StandardAsana AdvancedJira Premiumtier up to 15 users
At 12 people, Jira Standard is $1,350 a year and Asana Starter is $1,978.20, because Asana bills 15 seats. The gap grows with the team: at 50 people it is $4,550 against $6,594.
Small teams should check Jira's monthly price before buying a year. The yearly tier charges $900 for anyone from 1 to 10 users, while monthly billing is $9.05 per actual user. Eight users on monthly billing pay $868.80 a year; from nine users, the yearly tier is cheaper.
How each one bills you
- Asana: per seat, in bundles once you pass 5 users (a team of 6 buys 10 seats). No refunds; a cancelled plan keeps paid features until the end of the period. Guests are free from Starter.
- Jira monthly: billed on the exact number of users each month, by card or PayPal. Refund within the first paid month.
- Jira yearly: billed for the user tier that covers your team, by card, bank transfer or check. Refund within 30 days of payment.
- Trials: Jira offers a 7-day trial of Standard and Premium, with no payment details required.
Using Asana and Jira together
Many companies do not pick one. Engineering stays in Jira, and marketing, sales and operations plan launches in Asana. Asana Advanced includes a two-way sync with Jira Cloud, so a launch project in Asana can show the status of the Jira work it depends on. If you go that way, budget Advanced ($24.99 per user billed yearly) for the Asana side, not Starter.
Pick by situation
- A software team of up to 10: Jira Free. Backlog, sprints and a timeline for $0.
- A business team of up to 10 on no budget: Jira Free still works, if one person is willing to set it up. Otherwise see the next section.
- Two people who want a calm task list: Asana Personal.
- A marketing or client-services team ready to pay: Asana Starter. The timeline, forms and automations are what those teams use every week.
- Several teams with dependencies between them: Jira Premium for engineering-led work, Asana Advanced for portfolio and goal tracking.
If neither fits
The usual reason is the free-plan cap: 2 users on Asana, 10 on Jira. ClickUp's free plan has no member limit, and Unlimited is $7 per user billed yearly. It is closer to Asana in how it is used, with more features and a busier screen. See ClickUp vs Asana. For a single plan with no account at all, the free project planner on this site runs in the browser.
Try ClickUp freeRelated guides
Frequently asked questions
Is Asana or Jira better?
Jira is better for software teams that work in backlogs and sprints, and for any team of up to 10 that wants a free timeline. Asana is better for marketing, operations and client teams, who get a simpler app and plain vocabulary: projects and tasks rather than spaces, epics and work items.
Is Jira free?
Yes, for up to 10 users. Jira Free includes unlimited spaces and work items, backlog, list, board, timeline and calendar views, reports and dashboards, 2 GB of storage and 150 automation steps a month for the whole site. Support is through the Atlassian Community.
Which is cheaper, Asana or Jira?
For 10 people billed yearly, Jira Standard is $900 a year and Asana Starter is $1,318.80. For 3 people, Asana Starter is $395.64 a year, while Jira's yearly tier is $900 for anyone up to 10 users; on Jira, those 3 people would use the free plan or monthly billing ($325.80 a year) instead.
Does Asana have a timeline on the free plan?
No. Asana Personal has list, board and calendar views. Timeline and Gantt views start on Starter at $10.99 per user per month billed yearly. Jira includes a timeline view on its free plan.
Can Asana and Jira work together?
Yes. Asana Advanced includes a two-way sync with Jira Cloud, so a business team can follow engineering work from Asana while developers stay in Jira.
Can non-developers use Jira?
Yes, and Jira Free is a generous plan for a small business team. The friction is the vocabulary and the setup: workflows, work types and fields are powerful, but they are made for software delivery first.
Which one refunds a paid plan?
Atlassian refunds monthly subscriptions within the first paid month, and yearly subscriptions within 30 days of payment. Asana's pricing FAQ says it does not offer refunds; a cancelled plan runs until the end of the period.