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Project management comparison · Los Angeles, CA

Zoho Projects vs Asana for US teams that bill time

Both run tasks well. Only one of them carries an approved hour all the way to a paid invoice.

Asana is the friendlier place to plan internal work, with free guests and a polished interface people pick up in a day. Zoho Projects costs less per seat and keeps timesheets, budgets and client billing in the same system, through Zoho Books. We implement Zoho in Glendale, so we have a side. Below you’ll also find where Asana is the better buy.

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Zoho Advanced PartnerZoho Projects consultants, Los Angeles area
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SampleOne task, 6.5 billable hours

  1. Asana
  2. TaskHomepage wireframesDone · 6.5 h trackedAsana tracks time natively on Advanced, and through integrations on lower plans.
  3. Hours leave Asana here
  4. TimesheetPaid add-onTimesheets and BudgetsAsana sells timesheets and budgets as an add-on to Starter, Advanced and Enterprise.
  5. InvoiceAnother appCopy hours acrossAsana has no invoicing, so billing happens in your accounting tool.
  1. Zoho Projects
  2. TaskHomepage wireframesPhase 2 · DesignTasks sit inside phases, Zoho’s current name for milestones.
  3. Timesheet6.5 h approvedBillable · manager sign-offTimesheets and approvals come with Premium, $4 a user billed yearly.
  4. Invoice$910.006.5 h × $140 · INV-1048Approved hours become an invoice line in Zoho Books.
  5. PaidClient paidRecorded in Zoho BooksThe payment lands against the same project, so margin reports stay honest.
Sample data. Hover or tap a step to see what happens on each side.

01The short answer

Which is better, Zoho Projects or Asana?

For client projects where hours turn into invoices, Zoho Projects, because timesheets, budgets and billing are built in and the seat price is lower. For internal teams that plan campaigns, launches and requests, Asana is often the happier choice. Plenty of companies end up somewhere in between.

Lean Zoho ProjectsAgencies, consultancies, contractors and IT shops that sell time or fixed-fee phases.

Lean AsanaMarketing, product and operations teams whose work never becomes a client invoice.

Run both, deliberatelyInternal teams stay in Asana while billable delivery moves to Zoho Projects.

02Job by job

Where does each tool pull ahead?

Asana leads on ease of use, guests, goals and its outside app list. Zoho Projects leads on scheduling depth and everything money-related: time, budgets and invoices. Ten everyday jobs, side by side.

  1. Daily task lists and boards

    Zoho ProjectsTask lists, subtasks, a Kanban board and custom statuses.

    AsanaList, board and calendar views in a clean, quick interface.

  2. Scheduling

    Zoho ProjectsGantt with all four dependency types. Critical path and baselines arrive on Enterprise.

    AsanaTimeline and Gantt views with dependencies from Starter.

  3. Phases and milestones

    Zoho ProjectsPhases (Zoho’s renamed milestones) carry owners, approvals and phase invoicing.

    AsanaMilestones sit as markers on the plan.

  4. Timesheets

    Zoho ProjectsTime logs and timesheets, with multi-level approvals from Premium.

    AsanaNative time tracking on Advanced, integrations below it. Timesheets are a paid add-on.

  5. Project budgets

    Zoho ProjectsBudgets and earned value from Premium.

    AsanaBudgets come in that same paid add-on.

  6. Invoicing the work

    Zoho ProjectsApproved hours or finished phases invoice through Zoho Books.

    AsanaNo invoicing. Hours go to a separate billing tool.

  7. Clients and guests

    Zoho Projects10 read-only users on Enterprise, 100 on Ultimate, plus client user seats on paid plans.

    AsanaUnlimited free guests from Starter.

  8. Goals, portfolios, workload

    Zoho ProjectsA portfolio dashboard on Enterprise; resources included on Ultimate.

    AsanaGoals, unlimited portfolios and workload on Advanced.

  9. Automation and AI / SI

    Zoho ProjectsWorkflow rules, Task Blueprint for approvals, and Zia, Zoho’s AI (now also called SI, super intelligence).

    AsanaUnlimited automations on Starter, approvals on Advanced, and AI Studio with monthly credits.

  10. Connections

    Zoho ProjectsNative links to Zoho CRM, Books, People, WorkDrive and Cliq, plus Zoho Flow.

    AsanaA wide directory of outside apps such as Slack, Teams and Google.

03US list prices

Zoho Projects vs Asana pricing in the US

Per user per month in USD, Zoho Projects runs $4 to $14 billed yearly and Asana $10.99 to $24.99 before its sales-quoted Enterprise tier. The bigger gap for billable teams is the add-on: Zoho includes timesheets and budgets from Premium, Asana sells them separately.

StepZoho ProjectsAsanaWhat changes at this step
Free$0Free · up to 5 users, few projects$0Personal · up to 2 usersZoho’s free plan fits a small crew; Asana’s suits a pair working together.
First paid$4Premium · $5 billed monthly$10.99Starter · $13.49 billed monthlyZoho Premium already has timesheets and budgets. Starter brings free guests, Gantt and dependencies.
Middle$9Enterprise · $10 billed monthly$24.99Advanced · $30.49 billed monthlyZoho adds critical path, baselines and 10 read-only users. Asana adds goals, portfolios, approvals and workload.
Top$14Ultimate · $15 billed monthlyQuoteEnterprise · contact salesZoho Ultimate includes 100 read-only users and 100 resources.
Billable-hours kitIncludedFrom PremiumAdd-onTimesheets and BudgetsAsana does not publish the add-on price; its sales team quotes it.

USD, before tax. Asana bills seats in steps once a team passes five users (blocks of 5 up to 30, then 10 up to 100), so a 12-person team pays for 15. We re-check both lineups against your real headcount the week you choose.

04Same week, two teams

Client work vs internal work: which tool fits which week?

The deciding question is where the work ends. If it ends in an invoice, the money trail favors Zoho Projects. If it ends in a launch, a report or a shipped feature, Asana’s simplicity often wins. Two sample teams, one Monday to Friday.

Sample · 9-person design studio, Pasadena

Client work: a fixed-fee website plus hourly extras

  1. Mon
    The project starts from a templateFour phases, tasks and owners appear in one click, with a $12,000 fee on the final phase.
  2. Wed
    The client asks for extra pagesAn out-of-scope request becomes a billable task, so nobody argues about it later.
  3. Thu
    The client checks progressThey sign in as a client user and see only their project, not the studio’s other accounts.
  4. Fri
    Hours get approved and billedThe lead approves 31 hours, and the extras go out as a Zoho Books invoice that afternoon.

Fits Zoho Projects. Asana could plan this week fine. It would still need the add-on and an accounting app to finish Friday.

Sample · 25-person marketing team, Irvine

Internal work: a spring product launch

  1. Mon
    Requests pour in through a formSales asks for one-pagers, product wants a demo video; each lands as a task.
  2. Tue
    The outside agency joinsThree agency designers come in as free guests, so no extra seats are bought.
  3. Thu
    Drafts get approvedApprovals and proofing on Advanced keep feedback attached to the right file.
  4. Fri
    Leadership checks the goalThe launch rolls up to a quarterly goal, with no hours or invoices involved.

Fits Asana. Zoho Projects can run this too, but nothing here needs a timesheet, and the team already likes Asana.

05Team shape calculator

What would your team pay on each?

Seat counts alone mislead here, because guests and billable hours change the plan on both sides. Tell us who works in the tool, who only looks in, and whether the hours are billed. We pick the lowest plan that fits and add up a year of list prices.

Do you bill clients for these hours?
How you would pay

Zoho Projects

Enterprise

$1,296a year

12 users × $9 × 12 months

  • Covers 3 guests inside the 10 read-only users

Asana

Starter + add-on

$1,978.20a year

15 billed seats × $10.99 × 12 months

  • Guests are free

Zoho Projects costs $682.20 less a year at list price, before Asana’s add-on.

Check these numbers with us

Sample calculator using US list prices per user. Asana seats are rounded up to its billing steps. The Asana Timesheets and Budgets add-on and Zoho client user seats are priced by each vendor’s sales team, so they are named here but not added. Taxes and discounts are left out.

06When to choose which

Should you choose Asana or Zoho Projects?

Choose Asana when adoption and guest access matter more than billing. Choose Zoho Projects when you schedule tightly, track hours against a budget, or already run Zoho CRM or Zoho Books. Tap the lines below that fit and watch which way the rope moves.

AsanaZoho Projects

07Moving or mixing

Can you move from Asana, or keep it alongside?

Both work. A full move maps your Asana projects, sections, tasks and milestones into Zoho Projects, where milestones arrive as phases. A mixed setup leaves internal teams in Asana and puts only billable client delivery into Zoho Projects, so the hours reach Zoho Books without copying.

Read the Asana to Zoho Projects migration plan →See our Zoho Projects implementation work →

Side by side: Asana stays

  • Internal teams keep planning in Asana.
  • Billable client delivery runs in Zoho Projects.
  • Billing happens in Zoho Books, fed by approved hours.
  • We agree which work lives where, so nobody logs the same hour twice.

Full move into Zoho Projects

  • Projects come across, and Asana sections become task lists.
  • Milestones arrive as phases; Asana rules are rebuilt as workflow rules.
  • One stopper date, plus a sample import you check before the rest moves.
  • Asana goes read-only once your team confirms everything landed.

08Who is doing the comparing

Who has Elite Tech Global built for?

US companies running on connected Zoho apps. Our two published stories, LendingUSA in consumer financing and myHHBS in behavioral health, show how we wire several Zoho apps around one record, the same habit behind joining Projects to Books.

Each story is shared with the client’s permission and simplified on purpose. Their real setups stay private, and a project plan you build with us gets the same care.

Certified Zoho Advanced Partner, 40+ team, led from Glendale, working with clients across the US, Canada and Latin America.

Read our case studies

09Zoho Projects vs Asana questions

What do teams ask before choosing?

Mostly price, guests and billing. Bring your Asana plan, seat count and renewal month to a call and we will run the comparison on your numbers.

Book a discovery callBack to the team calculator →

Is Zoho Projects cheaper than Asana?

At list price, yes. Zoho Projects Premium is $4 per user a month billed yearly, against $10.99 for Asana Starter. A 12-person team pays $576 a year on Premium and $1,978.20 on Starter, because Asana bills 15 seats at that size. Asana does give guests free access, which can narrow the gap for teams with many outside viewers.

How much does Asana cost in the US?

Asana Personal is free for up to 2 users. Starter is $10.99 per user a month billed annually or $13.49 billed monthly, and Advanced is $24.99 or $30.49. Enterprise is priced by Asana sales. Timesheets and budgets are a separate paid add-on.

How much does Zoho Projects cost?

Zoho Projects is free for up to 5 users with a small project limit. On yearly billing, Premium lists at $4 per user each month, with Enterprise at $9 and Ultimate at $14. Month to month, those become $5, $10 and $15.

Can Asana track billable hours and send invoices?

Asana tracks time natively on Advanced and through integrations on lower plans, and its Timesheets and Budgets add-on covers billable hours and rates. It has no invoicing, so the hours still go to an accounting app. In Zoho Projects, approved hours can be invoiced through Zoho Books from the same project.

Does Zoho Projects still have milestones?

Zoho Projects now calls them phases. A phase works as a checkpoint with its own tasks, owners and dates, and a fixed-fee job can be invoiced when a phase is finished. When we move work over from Asana, its milestones come across as phases.

How do clients and guests work on each tool?

Asana lets you invite unlimited guests for free from the Starter plan. Zoho Projects includes 10 read-only users on Enterprise and 100 on Ultimate, and client users who need to do more can be added on paid plans. We check how your clients really use the tool before choosing a plan.

Is Asana easier to use than Zoho Projects?

For most people, yes, at least in the first week. Asana is known for a clean interface that new users learn quickly. Zoho Projects has more screens because it does more, so we set up templates and train each role at go-live to keep it simple.

Can we use Asana and Zoho Projects together?

Yes, and sometimes it is the right answer. Internal teams keep planning in Asana while billable client delivery runs in Zoho Projects, so hours reach Zoho Books. We agree up front which work lives where, so no one tracks the same hour in both.

What does Elite Tech Global charge to set up Zoho Projects or move us off Asana?

A first call with us costs nothing. After that, the Zoho Projects setup or Asana move gets one fixed price, written into a signed BRD with the delivery schedule. A large workspace with years of projects may need a paid review first, and we quote it before it starts.

What is SI?

SI stands for super intelligence. In September 2026 a US executive order asked federal agencies to use “super intelligence” or “SI” in place of “artificial intelligence” in official communications. Most businesses still say AI, so we use both terms.

10Next steps

From this comparison to a working Zoho Projects setup

The first call is free and short. If Zoho Projects fits, we write the templates, billing rules and any Asana import into a signed BRD with one fixed price, before a single project is configured.

  1. Discovery callHow your team plans, who bills and which tools touch the hours
  2. Workspace reviewYour current projects, templates, rates and guest list
  3. ScopePhases, timesheet approvals and the Zoho Books link agreed with your leads
  4. Signed BRDRequirements, the fixed price and a dated delivery schedule

What happens after sign-off is laid out step by step. See how we work →

11Let’s talk

Tell us what you’re building. We’ll map the fix.

Book a free consultation with Elite Tech Global. We review your Zoho, AWS, Shopify or WordPress setup, show where AI / SI agents can save time, and agree the next step. If we work together, every requirement and a fixed price go into a signed BRD before the build starts.

Real people, one team. Led by co-founders Ikramul Karim and Khris Kakosimidi, and a 40+ member team across Zoho, AWS and AI.

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