Comparison
Deckbell vs Asana
Asana is built for cross-functional project management: launches, operations, portfolios and goals. Deckbell is built for software teams: issues, sprints, pull requests, and the chat that goes with them.
Updated October 2026, using each vendor's public list prices and documentation.
The short version
Asana is strong at planning work across a whole company: timelines, portfolios, goals, workload, forms, approvals and rules, with AI Teammates and AI Studio for automating work. If you coordinate many non-engineering teams, it's a better fit than Deckbell.
Deckbell is narrower and quicker for engineering work: issue keys, sprints with story points, sub-tasks and blocking relations, GitHub, and agents that open pull requests. Team chat with channels and huddles is built in, where Asana has task comments and messages but no calls. Deckbell also costs less: Pro is $10 a seat ($8 billed annually) against Asana Starter at $13.49 ($10.99 billed annually).
Who it's for
Switch to Deckbell if…
- Your engineers want a tracker built for software work, with sprints, estimates and GitHub.
- Your team's discussion happens in Slack, away from the tasks.
- You want coding agents that work from an issue and open a pull request.
- Asana's per-seat price is hard to justify for an engineering-only team.
Stay with Asana if…
- You manage portfolios, goals and workload across many departments.
- You rely on timelines, forms, approvals or rules.
- Non-engineering teams share the same Asana projects.
- You need native apps or a long list of integrations.
Feature by feature
What each product does out of the box, as of October 2026. Where Asana does more, we say so.
| Feature | Deckbell | Asana |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking | ||
| People on the free plan | Up to 5 | Up to 2 (Personal) |
| Issues with keys (WEB-142), priorities, estimates and labels | Yes. | Yes. Tasks with custom fields |
| Kanban board and list views | Yes. | Yes. |
| Sprints (cycles) with story points | Yes. Pro and up | No. Possible with templates and custom fields |
| Sub-tasks and blocked-by / blocking relations | Yes. | Yes. Subtasks and dependencies |
| Saved views and filters, shared with the team | Yes. Pro and up | Yes. |
| Roadmaps, timelines or Gantt charts | No. | Yes. Timeline and Gantt from Starter; portfolios and goals from Advanced |
| No-code workflow automation | No. | Yes. Rules from Starter |
| Communication | ||
| Channels and direct messages | Yes. | Yes. Messages and team conversations, plus task comments |
| Group calls with video and screen sharing | Yes. Huddles; 1:1 voice on Free, groups from Pro | No. |
| Each board has a linked channel; issue comments and thread replies are the same thing | Yes. | No. |
| Turn a message into an issue | Yes. | Yes. From Slack or Teams, through the integration |
| AI | ||
| AI coding agents that take an issue and open a pull request | Yes. Coder, Reviewer and Security roles | AI Teammates and AI Studio for workflows |
| AI usage included in the seat price | Yes. $5 (Pro), $15 (Business) or $25 (Enterprise) per seat a month, or your own key | Yes. A monthly allowance of AI requests and AI Studio credits from Starter |
| Platform and security | ||
| GitHub integration | Yes. | Yes. |
| Other integrations and an app marketplace | No. GitHub only today | Yes. |
| Public API and webhooks | No. Not yet | Yes. |
| Native desktop and mobile apps | No. Web app that works on phones | Yes. |
| SAML single sign-on | Yes. Enterprise | Yes. Enterprise |
| Audit log | Yes. Business and up | Yes. Enterprise+, or an add-on on Enterprise |
| EU data hosting | Yes. Every workspace, in Germany | Yes. Data residency on Enterprise plans |
Price per seat
All charge per user. Asana has messages and comments but no calls, so many teams also pay for Slack; the other columns add it.
| Tier | Deckbell | Asana | Asana + Slack | Linear + Slack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Free$0Up to 5 members, 2 projects, 250 issues | Personal$0Up to 2 users | Personal + Free$0 | Free + Free$0 |
| Entry paid plan | Pro$10 / month$8 / month billed annually | Starter$13.49 / month$10.99 / month billed annually | Starter + Pro$22.24 / month$18.24 / month billed annually | Basic + Pro$20.75 / month$17.25 / month billed annually |
| Business plan | Business$18 / month$15 / month billed annually | Advanced$30.49 / month$24.99 / month billed annually | Advanced + Business+$48.49 / month$39.99 / month billed annually | Business + Business+$36 / month$31 / month billed annually |
| Enterprise | Enterprise$30 / month$24 / month billed annuallyFrom 10 seats | EnterpriseCustom | Enterprise + Enterprise+Custom | Enterprise + Enterprise+Custom |
What a 10-person team pays in a year
On annual billing where it's sold, before tax.
Entry paid plan
- Deckbell Pro
- $960
- Asana Starter
- $1,319
- Asana + Slack (Starter + Pro)
- $2,189
- Linear + Slack (Basic + Pro)
- $2,070
Business plan
- Deckbell Business
- $1,800
- Asana Advanced
- $2,999
- Asana + Slack (Advanced + Business+)
- $4,799
- Linear + Slack (Business + Business+)
- $3,720
Asana also sells Enterprise+, for compliance needs such as audit logs and data residency. Asana Personal workspaces created before November 2025 may allow more people.
Public list prices in US dollars per user per month, from each vendor's pricing page in October 2026. Combined columns add up the two products' matching plans. Prices exclude tax, change often, and can differ by region, team size or promotion, so check the vendor's page before you decide. Sources: Asana pricing, Slack pricing, Linear pricing, Deckbell pricing.
How to switch from Asana
- Step 1
Create a workspace and connect GitHub
Sign up free, invite your engineering team and connect GitHub so agents can work in your repositories and open pull requests.
- Step 2
Export your Asana project
In Asana, export the project to CSV from the project's menu. Deckbell recognises Asana's export, including its sections, and suggests how the columns map.
- Step 3
Turn sections into columns
Map each Asana section or status to a board column, then add sprints and estimates, which Asana projects usually model with custom fields.
- Step 4
Leave the rest in Asana
Teams outside engineering can keep their Asana portfolios and goals. Engineering moves its issues and conversations to Deckbell.
Moving from more than one tool? See every importer and a migration plan.
FAQ
Deckbell vs Asana: questions
Something we didn't cover? Write to support@deckbell.com and a human replies.
Is Deckbell an Asana alternative for engineering teams?
Yes, that's the fit: issue keys, sprints with story points, sub-tasks, blocking relations, GitHub pull requests and coding agents, with team chat and huddles in the same workspace.
Does Deckbell have timelines, portfolios or goals?
No. Deckbell plans work with boards, list views, sprints, estimates and saved views. If you manage portfolios or goals across departments, Asana does more there.
How does pricing compare with Asana?
Asana Starter is $10.99 per user per month billed annually ($13.49 monthly), and Advanced is $24.99 ($30.49 monthly). Deckbell Pro is $8 billed annually ($10 monthly), and Business $15 ($18 monthly), with chat, huddles and AI credits included. Prices as of October 2026.
Can we import from Asana?
Yes. Export a project to CSV from Asana and upload it to a Deckbell board. Deckbell recognises the Asana export, lets you map each section to a column, and reports anything it skipped.
Can marketing or operations use Deckbell too?
They can use chat, huddles and boards for straightforward work. Deckbell has no forms, approvals, portfolios or goals, so teams that rely on those are better served by Asana.
Other comparisons
- Deckbell vs Slack (and Linear + Slack)Replace your chat app and your tracker with one workspace, for less than the pair costs.
- Deckbell vs LinearA Linear-style tracker with team chat, huddles and coding agents built in.
- Deckbell vs JiraA fast tracker with sprints, chat and agents, instead of a configurable platform.
- Deckbell vs ClickUpFewer features, on purpose: a focused tracker, chat and agents for software teams.
- Deckbell vs NotionA dedicated tracker and team chat. Keep Notion for your docs and wiki.
Try Deckbell with your team.
Free for up to 5 members, no credit card. Import from Asana when you're ready.