Free Asana Alternatives With Real Free Plans, for Startup Teams That Outgrew Two Seats
Asana is still a strong project management tool, but its free plan is now built for one or two people. If your team is bigger than that, or you simply do not want a per-seat bill yet, there are project management tools that stay free for a whole small team. We checked the free plan of every tool below on its official pricing page (or its GitHub repository for the open-source ones) on 1 November 2026, wrote down the limits that actually bite, and listed separately what has changed since our earlier version of this list, including one tool we dropped.
Quick answer: for a small team that wants boards, use Trello (10 collaborators free); for the most features with unlimited members, use ClickUp (watch the 60 MB storage cap) or Freedcamp (unlimited projects and users); for software teams, Jira is free for 10 users and Plane for 12; and if you want to own your data, self-host the open-source OpenProject, Plane or Taiga.
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What Asana's Free Plan Includes in 2027
To know what you are replacing: on the Asana pricing page (checked 1 November 2026) the free Personal plan is described as being for one or two people managing personal projects. It gives you 2 users, unlimited tasks and projects, list, board and calendar views, unlimited storage with a 100MB limit per file, status updates, time tracking through integrations and more than 100 free integrations. Timeline and Gantt views, reporting dashboards, unlimited automations, forms, custom fields and unlimited free guests start on Starter, at $10.99 per user a month billed annually. If you are a solo founder or a co-founder pair, Asana's free plan may still be enough. From the third teammate on, the tools below are worth a look.
Free Asana Alternatives Compared
Sources: each tool's official pricing page (default view) or GitHub repository, checked 1 November 2026; monday.com, Notion and Zoho showed EUR or Dutch pages from our location. Free plans change often, so check before you move your team.
The Best Free Asana Alternatives in 2027
1. Trello: free Kanban boards for up to 10 people
Trello is the simplest switch if your team mainly uses Asana's board view. According to its pricing page, the free plan is for up to 10 collaborators per Workspace and includes unlimited cards, up to 10 boards per Workspace, an Inbox that captures to-dos from email, Slack and Teams, unlimited Power-Ups per board, unlimited storage with a 10MB limit per file, 250 Workspace command runs a month, assignees and due dates, and iOS and Android apps. Standard costs $5 per user a month billed annually ($6 monthly) and removes the board limit. See the head-to-head Asana vs Trello.
2. ClickUp: unlimited members, small storage
ClickUp is the most generous free plan for a growing team that wants tasks, docs and chat in one place. Its Free Forever plan lists unlimited tasks and subtasks, unlimited free members, collaborative Docs, Kanban boards, a calendar view, sprint management, time tracking, SyncUps video calls, one form and up to 5 Spaces. The catch is storage: 60 MB of file storage for the whole Workspace, and ClickUp's AI (Brain) is a 500-credit trial. Gantt charts and custom fields are limited trials on the free plan. Compare it in Asana vs ClickUp.
3. Notion: projects and docs in one workspace, best solo
Notion lets you build a project tracker as a database with board, list, calendar and timeline views, next to your docs and wiki. The Free plan is aimed at individuals: for workspaces with two or more members, pages and blocks are limited, uploads are capped at 5 MB per file, page history covers 7 days and Notion AI is only a trial. That makes it a good free Asana replacement for a solo founder, and a trial for a team. If you would rather host it yourself, see our list of open-source Notion alternatives.
4. Jira: free for software teams of up to 10
Jira's Free plan is free forever for up to 10 users. The pricing page lists unlimited goals, projects, tasks and forms; backlog, list, board, timeline, calendar and summary views; AI-driven reports and dashboards; 150 automation steps per month; 2 GB of storage; and support from the Atlassian Community. It is the strongest free option for a product or engineering team that works in sprints. See Asana vs Jira.
5. monday.com: a free plan for two seats
monday.com has a free-forever plan, but it is small: up to 2 seats, up to 3 boards, up to 3 Docs, more than 200 templates, 8 column types and the iOS and Android apps. AI features start on Basic, which our location saw priced at €9 per seat a month billed annually. Use it to try monday.com with a co-founder, not to run a team. Compare Asana vs monday.com.
6. Zoho Projects: five users and three projects
Zoho Projects is free for up to 5 users. According to its pricing page, the free plan includes 3 projects, subtasks, a whiteboard, 5 GB of storage, iOS and Android apps, 50 workflow-action runs a month and integrations with Google apps and Office 365. Unlimited projects, custom views, timesheets and recurring tasks start on Premium. It fits a team that already uses Zoho Mail or Zoho CRM.
7. MeisterTask: unlimited members, three projects
MeisterTask is a clean Kanban task manager. Its free plan includes unlimited tasks (with checklists, comments and time tracking), unlimited team members, 5 Content Manager seats who can create and manage projects, up to 3 projects and up to 5 notes per team. Unlimited projects, external sharing and advanced search start on Pro. It can import from Asana and Trello, which makes it easy to try.
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8. Wrike: essential task management for free
Wrike's Free plan is described as essential task management: web, desktop and mobile apps, project and task management, a board view and a table view. Its pricing page no longer states a user or project limit for the free plan, so check after sign-up. Interactive Gantt charts, shareable dashboards and AI features start on Team, at $10 per user a month for 2 to 15 users.
9. Freedcamp: unlimited projects, tasks and users
Freedcamp has one of the most generous free plans on this list. It includes unlimited projects, tasks, storage and users, subject to a fair-usage policy, with Tasks, Discussions, Calendar, Files, Milestones, Time and Passwords, plus an API and Zapier integration, and a 10 MB limit per file. Pro, at $1.49 per user a month billed annually ($2.49 monthly), adds advanced subtasks, recurring tasks, a table view and cloud file links; Gantt, Wiki and CRM are on Business.
10. Airtable: project tracking in a database
Airtable is a database rather than a project tool, but many teams run their roadmap or content calendar in it. The free plan's data on its pricing page lists unlimited bases, 1,000 records per base, 1 GB of attachments per base, 5 editors and 100 automation runs a month. The Team plan costs $20 per user a month billed annually. For a self-hosted option, see our open-source Airtable alternatives.
11. ProProfs Project: all features, up to 3 users
ProProfs Project offers a free-forever account for up to 3 users with all premium features, which on its site include Gantt charts, Kanban boards, time tracking and invoicing. Beyond 3 users you need the Business plan for unlimited users. A good fit for a three-person founding team that wants Gantt charts for free.
12. Plane: open-source project tracking, free for 12 users
Plane is an open-source alternative to Jira and Asana for product teams. Its free cloud plan has a seat limit of 12 users and includes projects and work items, cycles and modules, five layouts with unlimited views, work-item intake, estimates and project pages. You can also self-host the Community Edition, which is licensed under the AGPL-3.0; version 1.4.3 came out in October 2026. More options like it are in our open-source ClickUp alternatives.
13. OpenProject: classic project management you host yourself
OpenProject's Community edition is free with no minimum number of users and community support. It is open source under the GNU GPL version 3 and covers classic, agile and hybrid project management, including Gantt charts and work packages. Version 17.9.6 came out in October 2026. Paid Enterprise plans start at €5.95 per user a month with a 25-user minimum, so for a small team the free self-hosted edition is the realistic choice.
14. Taiga: free agile boards, self-hosted or in the cloud
Taiga is an open-source agile tool with Kanban and Scrum boards, epics, sub-tasks, swimlanes and WIP limits. Self-hosting is free; the code is under the Mozilla Public License 2.0 and the latest backend release, 6.10.2, came out in July 2026. Its free cloud plan allows 1 public and 1 private project, 10MB of storage and unlimited users; the Enthusiast plan (€5 a month) raises that to 5 private projects. See also our open-source Basecamp alternatives.
15. Kanboard: minimal self-hosted Kanban
Kanboard is a free, MIT-licensed Kanban tool you install on your own server. It has drag-and-drop boards, WIP limits, sub-tasks, automatic actions, a simple search language and LDAP or OAuth2 login. Its GitHub README says the project is in maintenance mode: no major new features, only small fixes, with community releases (1.2.57 came out in October 2026). Choose it only if you want a stable, minimal board. For more boards like it, see open-source Trello alternatives with AI.
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What Changed Since Our 2025 List
Several free plans in the 2025 version of this article are different now, and one tool no longer fits:
- Trello: the old list said unlimited members; the free plan now allows up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace.
- ClickUp: free storage is 60 MB, not 100MB, and the paid plans are now called Core and Business.
- Zoho Projects: the old list said 3 users and 2 projects; the free plan now allows 5 users and 3 projects.
- Wrike: the old list promised unlimited projects and users on the free plan; the pricing page no longer states that.
- Hubstaff Tasks (dropped): its pricing page now shows only a 14-day free trial, with no free plan.
- Miro (moved out): it still has a free plan with 3 editable boards, but it is an online whiteboard rather than a project tool; we cover it with whiteboards.
- New: Jira, monday.com, MeisterTask, Plane, OpenProject, Taiga and Kanboard, which all have a free plan or are free open-source software.
Which Free Asana Alternative Should You Choose?
- You are one or two people: stay on Asana's free plan, or use Notion if you also want docs.
- You are a team of up to 10 that thinks in boards: Trello.
- You build software in sprints: Jira (10 users free) or Plane (12 users free).
- You want unlimited members for free: ClickUp, if 60 MB of files is enough, or Freedcamp.
- You want your data on your own server: OpenProject for classic projects, Plane or Taiga for agile teams, Kanboard for a minimal board.
- You run projects in a spreadsheet today: Airtable, within 1,000 records per base.
- You are three people and want Gantt charts: ProProfs Project.
Want to see paid tools too? Read our open-source Asana alternatives and the open-source picks for monday.com alternatives with AI.
How Founders Use a Free Project Management Tool
A free project tool works best when it is boring: one board or project per goal, one owner per task, and a weekly review where the team closes or moves every card. Do not import every idea from day one. Start with the next four weeks of work, then add a roadmap once you have paying customers. Our guide to project management for remote teams covers the routines that make this work across time zones.
If your tasks are mostly personal, a to-do app is lighter than a project tool: see our free Todoist alternatives and the self-hosted open-source Todoist alternatives, or, if you want your calendar to plan your day, our free Motion alternatives. Before you plan months of work, validate your startup idea with real customers, and turn what you learn into articles that rank with the F/MS AI SEO Tool.
FAQ About Free Asana Alternatives
What is the best free alternative to Asana?
For most small teams it is Trello (free for up to 10 collaborators per Workspace) or ClickUp (unlimited members, 60 MB storage). Software teams should look at Jira, free for 10 users, or Plane, free for 12.
What does Asana's free plan include in 2027?
When we checked on 1 November 2026, the free Personal plan covered 2 users with unlimited tasks and projects, list, board and calendar views and 100MB per file. Timeline, Gantt, dashboards and forms start on Starter at $10.99 per user a month billed annually.
Which free Asana alternative allows the most users?
Freedcamp's free plan allows unlimited users and projects, ClickUp's allows unlimited members, and MeisterTask allows unlimited members but only 3 projects. Self-hosted OpenProject, Taiga and Kanboard have no user limits.
Is Jira free for small teams?
Yes. Jira's Free plan is free forever for up to 10 users, with unlimited projects, backlog, board and timeline views, 2 GB of storage and 150 automation steps a month.
Does monday.com have a free plan?
Yes, but it covers only up to 2 seats, 3 boards and 3 Docs, so it works for trying the tool with a co-founder rather than for a team.
Which free Asana alternatives are open source?
Plane (AGPL-3.0), OpenProject (GPL v3), Taiga (MPL-2.0) and Kanboard (MIT) are open source and free to self-host. Kanboard is in maintenance mode.
Is Hubstaff Tasks still free?
Its pricing page now shows a 14-day free trial and no free plan, so we removed it from this list.
Which free tool has Gantt charts?
ProProfs Project includes Gantt charts in its free plan for up to 3 users, and the self-hosted OpenProject Community edition has them too. Jira's free plan includes a timeline view.
Can I use Notion instead of Asana for free?
Yes for one person: Notion's Free plan is for individuals. For two or more members, pages and blocks are limited, and uploads are capped at 5 MB.
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About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
