Planitude vs Asana: critical path scheduling for free
Asana is a solid platform for coordinating team work. For planning with dependencies and a critical path, and for working with Microsoft Project files, Planitude offers these capabilities free of charge to every user.
In this article
Asana is one of the most widely used platforms for coordinating a team’s work: lists, boards, calendars and shared projects. When a project has a binding deadline and dozens of interdependent tasks, however, it needs a schedule that calculates dates and highlights critical tasks. That is where Planitude focuses.
The comparison below is based on Asana’s official pricing page.
Who Asana and Planitude are for
Asana is designed for teams that need to organize and track work: who does what, by when and with which priority. From the Starter plan it includes unlimited free guests[1].
Planitude is designed for people who need to plan:
- construction work, product launches, events and implementations structured in phases and dependencies;
- project managers coming from Microsoft Project who want the same logic;
- teams that need Gantt charts and the critical path without per-user costs.
Comparison at a glance
| Feature | Planitude | Asana |
|---|---|---|
| Opening .mpp files | Available.mpp/ | Not statedNot stated |
| Export | AvailableMicrosoft Project XML, CSV, print/ | Not statedNot stated |
| Dependencies (4 types, with lag) | AvailableFS, SS, FF and SF, with lag | AvailableStarter plan |
| Critical path | Availableon demand, with total float | AvailableAdvanced plan (USD 24.99) |
| Baselines | Availablesaved automatically at first progress; slippage in days | Not statedNot stated |
| Calendars and holidays | Availableworking calendars with exceptions | Not statedNot stated |
| Date constraints | Availableconstraint dates and deadlines | Not statedNot stated |
| Resources and over-allocation | Availableproject members assigned to tasks, daily workload, over-allocation warnings | Availableworkload (Advanced plan) |
| Costs and budget | Partialfixed and baseline costs from imported files; no budget view | Not statedNot stated |
| Earned Value Management (EVM) | Not availableNot available | Not statedNot stated |
| Automatic resource levelling | Not availableapplies the leveling delay from .mpp files; does not calculate it | Not statedNot stated |
| Views | AvailableSummary, Gantt, list, board, calendar, workload | Availablelist, board, calendar, timeline, Gantt |
| Collaboration | Availableowner, editor and viewer roles; comments with @mentions | Availableunlimited free guests from the Starter plan |
| Public sharing | Availableread-only public link | Not statedNot stated |
| Interface languages | Available10 | Not statedNot stated |
| Self-hosting | Not availablemanaged service, EU servers (Germany) | Not statedNot stated |
| Entry price | Availablefree, ad-supported | Not availableUSD 10.99 per user/ |
| Free plan | Availableall features, no seat limit | AvailablePersonal plan: 2 users, no timeline or Gantt |
The data is the same as in our full comparison. “Not stated” means that Asana does not list the feature on its pricing page, not that the feature is missing.
Scheduling
In Asana, dependencies are available from the Starter plan and the critical path from the Advanced plan[1]. In Planitude, the entire scheduling engine is included for every user:
- FS, SS, FF and SF dependencies with lead and lag;
- date constraints and deadlines;
- calendars with holidays and exceptions, including per resource;
- a critical path recalculated with every change;
- baselines showing the variance of each task;
- multi-level subtasks created with the Tab key, as in MS Project.
The same plan is also available in the Summary, List, Board, Calendar and Workload views, and the version history makes it possible to restore an earlier state.
Example: a product launch
A typical case is a product launch involving development, testing, translations, marketing materials and a fixed release date. In Planitude, translations start when the copy is ready (finish-to-start), testing starts alongside the last development phase (start-to-start, with a lag of a few days) and the release date is set as a constraint. The critical path identifies the tasks with no float: if acceptance testing runs longer than planned, it is immediately clear whether the release date is at risk and by how much. The Workload view flags overallocated people in those weeks, and the AI assistant can propose how to reorganize the phases, applying changes only after you confirm them.
Import, export and migration
Planitude reads .mpp, Microsoft Project XML and Primavera .xer files, with an import report, and exports to Microsoft Project XML, CSV for Excel and print/PDF. This compatibility is valuable when clients or stakeholders work in MS Project. Asana’s pricing page does not list .mpp import[1].
Collaboration
Asana excels at collaboration and, from the Starter plan, allows unlimited free guests[1]. Planitude offers link invitations with roles, tasks that can be assigned to several people, comments with mentions, unique task keys (as in Jira), a change history and a read-only public link.
Pricing
Asana Starter costs USD 10.99 per user per month billed annually, or USD 13.49 billed monthly; the Advanced plan, which includes the critical path, costs USD 24.99[1]. Planitude is free, supported by advertising, with no limit on the number of users.
Languages, data and AI assistant
Planitude is available in 10 languages and hosts data on servers in the European Union, in Germany. The AI assistant reads the plan, provides estimates and proposes changes for you to confirm; it can also generate a first version of a plan, with phases, tasks and dependencies, from a description. Through API keys and the MCP server, it integrates with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Cursor and VS Code.
How to move from Asana to Planitude
- Export your tasks from Asana to a spreadsheet format, using the options available on your plan.
- Create a free Planitude account and a new project, or start from a template.
- Paste the rows from Excel into the Planitude grid: names, durations and indentation become tasks and subtasks.
- Link the tasks with dependencies: the engine calculates the dates and the critical path.
- Save a baseline and invite your team.
Try Planitude with your own plan
Create a free accountConclusion
Asana remains an excellent platform for managing a team’s day-to-day work. When a project requires a schedule with dependencies, calculated dates and a critical path, Planitude provides these capabilities free of charge and to every user, together with compatibility with Microsoft Project files.
Frequently asked questions
Does Asana’s free plan include a Gantt chart?
No. The free Personal plan includes neither the timeline nor the Gantt view, which are available from the Starter plan[1].
Is the critical path free in Planitude?
Yes, for every user. In Asana, the critical path is included in the Advanced plan[1].
Can Planitude be used alongside Asana?
Yes. Many teams manage day-to-day tasks in one tool and the schedule in Planitude; CSV export makes it easy to exchange data.
Does Planitude have an AI assistant?
Yes. The assistant reads the plan, proposes changes that are applied only after you confirm them, and can generate a plan from a description.
Sources
Every fact about the products mentioned comes from these official pages, checked in September 2026. Prices are list prices, in the currency and billing period shown by the vendor, and may change.
- Pricingasana.com
Try Planitude with your own plan
Create a free account, import your .mpp file or start from a template: within minutes you will see the Gantt chart with dependencies, calendars and the critical path.