In this guide · 8 sections
Short answer
Choose Notion if your team mostly writes docs, wikis and simple trackers. Choose ClickUp if you want the most task features for the lowest seat price. Choose Asana if you run client projects with deadlines and want AI included without a separate add-on.
Notion vs ClickUp vs Asana at a glance
Prices are in US dollars per user per month from each vendor's pricing page, approximate, as of October 2026, before any tax.
Notion
Docs firstPlus US$10 (yearly) / US$12 (monthly)
- Pages, wikis and databases in one place
- Notion AI on Business (US$20 yearly)
- 10 external guests on Free; unlimited on paid plans
- Custom AI agents use credits at US$10 per 1,000
Best for: Teams whose work lives in documents and simple trackers.
ClickUp
Lowest seat priceUnlimited US$7 (yearly) / US$10 (monthly)
- Tasks, docs, chat, whiteboards and goals
- Guests with permission control from Unlimited
- Brain AI add-on US$9 per user
- Many features can feel busy for a small team
Best for: Teams wanting many views and automations at low cost.
Asana
AI includedStarter US$10.99 (yearly) / US$13.49 (monthly)
- Projects, timelines, forms and automations
- Asana AI included on paid plans
- Unlimited free guests on paid plans
- Less flexible for docs and wikis
Best for: Client projects with deadlines and handoffs.
What a team of five pays each month
The table shows yearly billing for five people, which is the cheaper option on all three. Monthly billing costs more.
| Tool and plan | Per user (yearly) | 5 users per month | AI for 5 users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notion Plus | US$10 | US$50 | Trial only; upgrade to Business |
| Notion Business | US$20 | US$100 | Notion AI included; agents use credits |
| ClickUp Unlimited | US$7 | US$35 | +US$45 for Brain AI (US$9 each) |
| ClickUp Business | US$12 | US$60 | +US$45 for Brain AI |
| Asana Starter | US$10.99 | US$54.95 | Included |
| Asana Advanced | US$24.99 | US$124.95 | Included |
For a team that wants AI, the totals end up close: about US$80 to US$100 a month for five users on ClickUp Unlimited with Brain AI, Notion Business or Asana Starter.
AI features and what they cost
All three now sell AI, but they package it differently.
- Notion: Free and Plus include only a trial of Notion AI. Business adds Notion AI, AI Meeting Notes and enterprise search across connected apps. Custom AI agents are free to try, then charged at US$10 per 1,000 monthly Notion credits. Notion says it does not use your data to train its models unless you opt in, and that its AI subprocessors are contractually barred from training on customer data.
- ClickUp: AI is a separate add-on. Brain AI (US$9 per user) includes unlimited AI chat with models such as Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini and 1,500 AI credits per user a month. Everything AI (US$28) adds AI note-taking and automations. Extra credits cost US$10 per 10,000.
- Asana: paid plans include Asana AI, with AI Teammates, an assistant called Asana Dash and AI Studio for building automations. AI Studio includes a monthly credit allowance per billing account, with more available to buy.
If staff already use ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini through a business plan, you may not need a second AI subscription in your project tool. Our ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini guide compares those plans.
Guests, permissions and client access
Small businesses often share projects with clients, freelancers or agencies. How each tool handles guests affects both cost and security.
| Notion | ClickUp | Asana | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guests on free plan | Up to 10 external guests | Guests must get full access (no permission control) | Personal plan is for one or two people |
| Guests on paid plans | Unlimited guests | Guests with permission control (Unlimited and up) | Unlimited free guests |
| Lock down guests | Disable guests and restrict external sharing on Enterprise | Restrict who can add guests on higher plans | Guest invite permissions on higher plans; automatic guest removal via a paid add-on |
Treat guests like staff accounts: invite them with their work email, give access only to the projects they need, and remove them when the job ends.
Removing leavers: the step most teams forget
A former employee or freelancer who still has access to your project tool can see client names, prices and plans. Removing them takes minutes if you do it on their last day.
Transfer what they own
Reassign their tasks and projects, and move any private pages or docs into a shared space before removing them.
Remove them from the workspace
Use the admin or members settings to remove the user. Removing them from a project only is not enough.
Check guest and shared links
Look for public links or pages shared outside the workspace that they created, and turn off any you do not need.
Review connected apps
Disconnect integrations they set up with their own accounts, such as calendar or email connections.
Free up the seat
Reduce your seat count so you stop paying for them at the next billing date.
If staff sign in with Google or Microsoft accounts, removing access starts with that account. Our password manager guide covers shared logins, and the MFA set-up guide helps protect admin accounts on all three tools.
Which one suits which team
| Your team | Usually the better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Agency or consultancy running client projects | Asana | Clear projects and deadlines, unlimited free guests, AI included |
| Team building a company wiki, SOPs and simple trackers | Notion | Docs and databases in one flexible workspace |
| Tight budget, wants many views and automations | ClickUp | Lowest seat price with a wide feature set |
| Mostly Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace users | Check what you already have | Planner, Loop or Google Tasks may be enough for light needs |
If you already pay for Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, check their built-in task tools first; our Microsoft 365 vs Google Workspace guide covers what each suite includes. Run a two-week trial with one real project before you move everyone.
Do it yourself or get help?
Signing up and creating a first project is easy on all three. The time goes into setting up templates, automations and permissions that people actually follow, and into keeping access tidy as people join and leave.
Workflow Automation (S$390 per workflow) connects your project tool to forms, email or invoicing so tasks are created automatically. Access Review & Leaver Tool (from S$1,200) lists who has access to which apps and gives you a checklist to remove leavers on their last day.
Frequently asked questions
On seat price, ClickUp Unlimited is cheapest at US$7 per user a month on yearly billing, against US$10 for Notion Plus and US$10.99 for Asana Starter, as of October 2026. Once you add AI, ClickUp's Brain AI add-on, Notion Business and Asana Starter end up close in total cost.
Yes. Asana's pricing page lists Asana AI as included on Starter, Advanced and Enterprise, with AI Teammates, the Asana Dash assistant and AI Studio for building automations. AI Studio comes with a monthly credit allowance per billing account, and more credits can be bought.
Notion's Free and Plus plans include only a trial of Notion AI. Notion AI is included in the Business plan at US$20 per member a month on yearly billing, or US$24 monthly. Custom AI agents are free to try and then charged at US$10 per 1,000 monthly Notion credits.
Usually, yes. Asana's paid plans include unlimited free guests. Notion's paid plans allow unlimited guests, and the Free plan up to 10. ClickUp allows guests on all plans, but on Free they get full access; permission controls for guests start on the Unlimited plan.
On their last day, reassign their tasks and move any private pages to a shared space, remove them from the workspace rather than just from projects, turn off public links they created, disconnect apps they connected, and reduce your seat count so you stop paying for them.