Asana and Asana Goals: pros, cons and an alternative
Asana connects goals to the projects that deliver them. Clearahead connects the goal to what’s stopping it
The short answer
Asana is a work management platform for tasks, projects and portfolios, with a Goals feature that links company and team goals to the work beneath them. Clearahead isn’t project management. It holds one goal, the constraints holding it back and the moves that clear them, with AI keeping it current. If you want goals tied to a big structure of projects, Asana does that well. If your goal keeps slipping and you need everyone focused on what’s in the way, Clearahead is built for it.
What is Asana?
Asana is work management software. Teams use it to plan and track tasks and projects, viewed as lists, boards, timelines or calendars, with owners, due dates and dependencies. Portfolios group projects so leaders can see how a set of work is going, and workload views show who has too much on.
Since 2020 Asana has also had Goals. Company goals cover the long-term direction; team goals support them over shorter periods. Goals can be linked to projects and portfolios, so progress shows up as the work moves, and every goal is visible to everyone in the organisation. Asana says Goals works with any framework, including OKRs. Company goals are part of its business and enterprise plans.
Where Asana came from
Asana was founded in 2008 by Dustin Moskovitz, a co-founder of Facebook, and Justin Rosenstein, who had worked on Facebook's Like button. The idea grew out of the internal tools they'd built to keep teams co-ordinated. It launched commercially in 2012 and went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2020. Since 2023 it has added a range of AI features.
Asana's founding belief, that teams waste a huge amount of time on "work about work", is one we share. We've written about that cost, which we call the coordination tax, in Why are you doing that?
Asana pros and cons
What Asana does well, and where it struggles.
Where Asana shines
- It’s a mature, polished tool for tasks, projects and portfolios.
- Goals can be linked to projects and portfolios, so progress rolls up from real work.
- Goals are visible to everyone in the organisation.
- It scales well to large companies with many teams.
- It has a broad set of AI features and integrations.
Where Asana struggles
- Goals show progress based on linked work, which tells you activity is happening, not whether the right work is.
- There’s no built-in way to name what’s blocking a goal and put those blockers in order.
- Company goals are on Asana’s business-tier plans, so smaller teams may not have them.
- Getting value from goals means keeping a large structure of projects tidy and linked.
- Many people only ever see their tasks, not the goal they serve.
Asana vs Clearahead: side by side
| Asana | Clearahead | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Work management: tasks, projects, portfolios and goals | An operating model for one company goal: constraints, moves and evidence, run by an AI called AJ |
| Where it comes from | Founded 2008 by Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein; Goals launched 2020 | The Theory of Constraints, rebuilt for teams that work with AI |
| How goals work | Company and team goals, linked to projects and portfolios | One goal per workspace, constraints in your order, moves with one owner and a due date |
| The question it answers | Is the work linked to this goal getting done? | What is holding the goal back, and who is clearing it? |
| Keeping it current | Progress from linked work and status updates | Owners tell AJ in a sentence; AJ updates the model and logs the evidence |
| Projects and tasks | Yes: lists, boards, timelines, dependencies, workload | No. Moves have owners and dates, but there’s no task or project management |
| Cost | Free plan for small teams; paid plans priced per user, with Goals on higher tiers | Free for up to 3 people and 1 workspace; £297/month or £2,997/year for the whole company |
How Asana and Clearahead differ in practice
Asana and Clearahead both care about goals, but they come at them from opposite ends. Asana starts with the work and rolls it up to the goal. Clearahead starts with the goal and asks what's in the way.
Linked work, or named constraints
In Asana, a goal's progress comes from the projects linked to it. That shows whether the planned work is getting done, which is useful, but it can't tell you if it's the right work. Clearahead is built on the Theory of Constraints: you name the handful of constraints really holding the goal back, put them in order, and plan moves under each. If a constraint isn't clearing, you can see it, whatever the project status says.
A big structure, or a small one
Asana Goals shines when there's a lot of work to roll up: many teams, many projects, many portfolios. For a smaller company, that structure can be more than the goal needs. Clearahead keeps it small on purpose: one goal per workspace, a few constraints, a handful of moves each with one owner and a due date.
Status updates, or a sentence to AJ
Keeping Asana goals honest relies on project owners updating statuses. In Clearahead, owners tell AJ, the AI inside Clearahead, in a sentence when a move starts, gets stuck or finishes. AJ updates the model and logs the evidence, and each week writes This week from AJ with up to three things that need a decision.
What Clearahead doesn't do
Clearahead doesn't manage tasks, projects, portfolios, timelines or workloads, and it doesn't sync with Asana today. If your challenge is co-ordinating a lot of work across many teams, Asana is the better tool.
Should you choose Asana or Clearahead?
Choose Asana if
- You need full project and portfolio management, and want goals in the same tool.
- You’re a larger organisation with many teams whose work rolls up to company goals.
- Your problem is co-ordinating lots of work, not deciding which work matters.
- You’re already on Asana and your goals are moving.
Choose Clearahead if
- Lots of work is getting done, but the goal still isn’t moving.
- You need to see what’s blocking the goal, in order, not just what’s linked to it.
- You’re a smaller company that needs focus more than a project portfolio.
- You want everyone, including advisers and the board, working from one simple picture.
Our honest read
Asana is excellent at what it does, and its Goals feature is a genuine step towards connecting work to strategy. For larger organisations with lots of work to roll up, it's a strong choice, and you probably want it whatever else you use.
Where we see teams reach for Clearahead is when the work is all moving, the goal isn't, and nobody can say why. Linking more projects to the goal won't fix that. Naming what's in the way, in order, and getting the whole team moving on it might. That's the job Clearahead does, and it sits comfortably alongside Asana.
Questions about Asana
Is Clearahead an Asana alternative?
Only for running the company goal. Clearahead doesn’t manage tasks or projects, so most teams that use Asana for their work would keep it and use Clearahead alongside.
Can you use Asana and Clearahead together?
Yes. Keep projects and tasks in Asana. Use Clearahead for the goal, the constraints holding it back and the handful of moves that matter most. A move in Clearahead can stand for a whole project in Asana.
How is Asana Goals different from Clearahead?
Asana Goals tracks goals by the work linked to them. Clearahead tracks the goal by what’s stopping it: a short, ordered list of constraints, each with moves, owners and evidence, kept current by AJ.
Does Clearahead integrate with Asana?
Not today. Owners update their moves by telling AJ in a sentence, so the detailed work can stay in Asana without the two needing to sync.