Paymo vs Asana pricing breakdown
Both tools charge per user, which means the monthly cost scales with team size. The difference is in what that cost covers: Paymo includes time tracking and invoicing, Asana does not.
Paymo Pricing (2026)
- Free: $0/month. One user, up to five clients, unlimited projects and tasks. Time tracking and invoicing included. Functional for solo freelancers testing the platform.
- Starter: $9.9/user/month. Unlimited users and clients, all project views including Gantt, task dependencies, and budgeting tools. The most common starting point for small teams.
- Small Office: $15.9/user/month. Adds timesheet approvals, client invoicing with multiple currencies, and priority support. Suited to teams with a mix of salaried staff and hourly contractors.
- Business: $23.9/user/month. Adds online payments, advanced reporting, and employee scheduling. Full feature access for teams that need billing and project delivery in one place.
Asana Pricing (2026)
- Free (Personal): $0/month. Up to 10 users, unlimited tasks and projects, list, board, and calendar views. No timeline or automation.
- Starter: $13.49/user/month (annual). Adds timeline view, task dependencies, rule-based automation, and project templates. Most small business teams end up here.
- Advanced: $30.49/user/month (annual). Adds portfolios, goals, workload management, time tracking integrations, and advanced reporting. Suited to larger teams managing multiple departments.
The real cost: what users actually pay
Paymo's pricing looks complete on paper, but most users still need supplementary tools for proposals, contracts, and client portals. Asana requires additional tools for time tracking and invoicing from the start:
- Proposals and contracts: Bonsai or PandaDoc ($0-24/month)
- Time tracking (Asana users): Toggl or Harvest ($9-12/month per user)
- Invoicing (Asana users): FreshBooks or Wave ($0-17/month)
- Client portal: Neither platform has one; workarounds add cost
A four-tool stack for an Asana user billing clients runs $60-100 per month before team seat costs. Paymo users avoid the time tracking and invoicing costs but still need proposals and contract tools. All-in-one platforms like Plutio start at $19/month flat with no per-user pricing and no feature gating across proposals, contracts, projects, time tracking, and invoicing.
The verdict: For a solo freelancer, Paymo's free plan and $9.9 Starter are among the lowest costs for a tool that includes both project management and time-to-invoice. Asana's free plan is more generous for teams (10 users vs 1), but adds zero billing capability. At scale, both tools' per-user pricing exceeds flat-rate all-in-one platforms for teams of three or more.
Which tool is better for your business type?
The fundamental difference between Paymo and Asana is billing: Paymo covers time-to-invoice for client-facing service businesses, Asana focuses on internal team task coordination without any billing layer.
Freelancers billing hourly
Paymo has an advantage here. The combination of task-level timers, timesheet reports, and invoice generation from tracked hours covers most of what a solo freelancer needs to bill a client. The free plan works for a single user with a handful of clients. Asana has no time tracking at any tier, so hourly freelancers need Toggl or Harvest alongside Asana, then a separate invoicing tool, which adds two subscriptions and two manual data transfers per invoice cycle.
Internal creative or product teams
Asana handles internal team coordination at a depth Paymo does not match. Portfolios let a creative director see all active campaigns in one view. Goals connect individual projects to quarterly objectives. Rule-based automation moves tasks between stages without manual updates. For teams where billing is handled by a separate finance function and project management is the daily need, Asana's feature set justifies the higher Starter cost. Paymo covers the basics but lacks the organizational layers.
Small service agencies billing clients
Both tools show limitations for agencies. Paymo's invoicing works for basic client billing, but no proposals or contracts means intake is manual. Asana's automation is useful for internal workflows, but billing clients requires a full separate stack. Agencies typically land on platforms that handle intake to invoice in one workflow. Platforms like Plutio for agencies cover proposals, contracts, project management, time tracking, and invoicing in one subscription at a flat rate.
Consulting businesses with retainer clients
Retainer billing exposes gaps in both tools. Neither Paymo nor Asana has automatic subscription billing where cards are charged monthly without manual client action. Paymo can schedule recurring invoices, but clients must pay each one manually. Asana has no invoicing at all. Consultants on monthly retainers end up managing payment collection outside both platforms, typically through Stripe or a dedicated billing tool.
International businesses
Paymo supports multiple currencies on Small Office and Business plans. Payment processing goes through Stripe and PayPal, which cover most markets. Asana runs globally and imposes no geographic restrictions on team use, but since it has no billing, currency handling depends entirely on whatever invoicing tool you pair with it. For international freelancers, Paymo is the option between the two if time-to-invoice matters.
What both tools are missing
Paymo and Asana both handle internal project management. Paymo adds time tracking and basic invoicing. But once client onboarding, proposals, contracts, or a professional client portal enter the picture, both tools send users to other apps.
No proposals or contracts
Neither Paymo nor Asana has a proposal builder or contract signing. Starting a project means sending a proposal through a separate tool like PandaDoc, Bonsai, or a simple PDF, then asking the client to sign a contract through DocuSign or similar, adding two tools before the project even starts in the platform you will use to manage it. Each signed contract has to be manually converted into a project, with task templates recreated from scratch. Platforms with built-in proposals that auto-create projects on acceptance close that gap.
No white-labeled client portal
Both tools allow clients to access projects, but neither offers a branded portal on your domain. Paymo clients log into paymoapp.com. Asana guests see Asana's interface. For service businesses whose brand presentation is part of the service, this undercuts the experience. Clients see the software vendor's name, not yours, on every project access screen. True white-labeling, where the client portal runs on your domain and shows only your branding, is not available in either tool at any plan level.
Time tracking is entirely missing from Asana
Missing time tracking is the single most common reason Asana users end up with a three-tool stack. Time tracking integrations exist, but each one adds a login, a cost, and a manual step when billing. Toggl Track's Business plan runs $20/user/month. Harvest's free plan is limited to two projects. Clockify has a generous free tier but requires manual export for invoicing. Paymo solves this, but the same billing gap that Asana has appears in Paymo at the proposal and contract stage.
No automatic subscription billing
Monthly retainers are common for consultants, coaches, and agencies. Neither Paymo nor Asana has automatic recurring charges where a card is billed on a schedule without client action. Paymo can schedule recurring invoices, but clients must log in and pay each one. Asana has no billing at all. Retainer businesses end up using Stripe subscriptions separately, adding another system to manage alongside the project tool.
Limited client communication tools
Both tools allow comments on tasks. Neither has a dedicated inbox or messaging system for client communication separate from task threads. Client questions, revision requests, and file deliveries all land in task comments, which mixes client-facing messages with internal team notes. Platforms with a dedicated inbox separate client messages from internal project communication.
What users do when neither tool is enough
Most users who find Paymo or Asana incomplete take one of two paths: assemble a multi-tool stack that covers the gaps, or move to a platform that handles more of the workflow natively.
The typical workaround stack
A freelancer or small agency using Asana typically runs:
- Asana for project management ($13.49/user/month on Starter)
- Toggl Track or Harvest for time tracking ($9-12/user/month)
- FreshBooks or Wave for invoicing ($0-17/month)
- PandaDoc or Bonsai for proposals and contracts ($0-24/month)
- Google Drive or Dropbox for file storage ($0-15/month)
The full stack runs $40-80 per month for a solo user before team seat costs, plus four or five logins to context-switch between daily.
A Paymo user on the Business plan at $23.9/user/month still needs proposals, contracts, and a client portal, which adds $10-24/month more depending on the tools chosen.
The hidden cost: time spent on handoffs
Each tool handoff costs time. A project signed in PandaDoc has to be manually recreated in Asana or Paymo. Toggl hours have to be exported and imported into FreshBooks for invoicing. Client emails arrive in Gmail while project updates live in Asana. Each handoff takes 5-15 minutes. Across 20 active projects per year, that is 30-60 hours of manual data transfer that software should handle automatically.
The one-platform alternative
All-in-one platforms handle intake through delivery in a single subscription. The trade-off is learning a new system and migrating existing projects and client data. For users who have invested in Asana's template library or Paymo's recurring task setup, migration takes time. For users whose multi-tool stack is actively slowing them down, the switch recovers that time within weeks.
What one platform looks like in practice
If you are curious: Plutio is one platform that covers the complete workflow. Client inquiries convert into proposals that auto-create projects. Task-level time tracking flows directly into invoices. Clients access a portal on your domain, not the software vendor's. The comparison table below shows exactly where Plutio fills the gaps Paymo and Asana leave open. The goal is not to push you toward Plutio specifically, but to show what a connected workflow looks like compared to a multi-tool approach.
Final verdict: Paymo vs Asana
Paymo and Asana both handle project management competently. The difference is everything that surrounds the project: time tracking, billing, proposals, and client-facing portals.
Paymo trade-offs:
- Includes task-level time tracking and invoice generation from hours, but there are no proposals or contracts, so client onboarding still requires a separate tool
- Per-user pricing at $9.9-23.9/user/month stays manageable for solo users but increases faster than flat-rate platforms for teams of three or more
- Gantt chart with task dependencies ships on Starter at $9.9/user/month, while competitors lock it to higher tiers
- No built-in automation rule engine, so conditional workflow logic requires Zapier and adds cost outside the Paymo subscription
But know that: Paymo's invoicing is basic and the platform has no client portal, so agencies sending final deliverables to clients still need additional tools for the client-facing experience.
Asana trade-offs:
- Portfolios, goals, and rule-based automation cover internal team coordination at a depth Paymo does not match, making it a fit for larger teams with multiple parallel projects
- Free tier supports 10 users, which gives teams more room to evaluate before committing to per-user costs
- No time tracking at any plan level means every hourly billing workflow requires at least two additional tools
- Starter at $13.49/user/month costs more than Paymo Starter at $9.9/user/month, with no billing capability in either tier
But know that: Asana focuses on internal team task coordination. Client-facing service businesses that need to track time and invoice clients will add significant cost and complexity to their workflow using Asana alone.
Consider switching to one platform if:
- Your billing workflow currently touches three or more apps: a project tool, a time tracker, and an invoicing tool at minimum
- Manual data transfer between tools is consuming 2-5 hours per week that could go to client work
- Clients ask where they can check project status, and your answer is a manual email update
- Your business sends proposals and needs those to connect directly to projects without manual recreation
- Monthly retainer clients need automatic billing, not manual invoice chasing each month
But know that: Switching platforms means rebuilding templates, migrating client data, and learning a new system. For most teams, this takes a focused week. The time savings from a connected workflow typically recover that investment within the first month.
The bottom line: Paymo covers time tracking and basic invoicing alongside project management, but has no proposals, no contracts, and no client portal. Asana handles internal team task coordination with depth that Paymo lacks, but has no billing capability at all. Both tools stop well short of covering the full client lifecycle. If your workflow already spans multiple tools and you want to see what a connected approach looks like, the comparison table below shows how all-in-one platforms like Plutio stack up against both.
Research & Sources
This comparison is based on direct hands-on testing, official documentation review, and analysis of user feedback across major review platforms. All data was verified in March 2026.
Research methodology
Each tool was evaluated through active trial accounts, official feature documentation, and analysis of 500+ user reviews across G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius. The focus was on common pain points from 1-3 star reviews, where users share honest limitations rather than promotional content.
Platform ratings (March 2026)
- Paymo: 4.6/5 on G2 (600+ reviews), praised for time tracking integration with project management, criticized for limited automation and no client portal
- Asana: 4.4/5 on G2 (10,000+ reviews), praised for task organization and automation, criticized for no time tracking and high cost at scale
- Plutio: 4.6/5 on G2 (200+ reviews), praised for all-in-one coverage and white-labeling
Common user complaints (from 1-3 star reviews)
Paymo users frequently mention: "No proposals or contracts," "Per-user pricing gets expensive," "Client portal is basic," "No automation builder"
Asana users frequently mention: "No time tracking built in," "Expensive for large teams," "Have to use multiple tools for billing," "Overwhelming for small projects"
Pricing sources (verified March 2026)
- Paymo: Official pricing page
- Asana: Official pricing page
- Plutio: Official pricing page
Feature verification
- Paymo G2 reviews (600+ reviews)
- Asana G2 reviews (10,000+ reviews)
- Paymo Help Center
- Asana Help Center
If you find any inaccuracies or outdated information, please let us know so we can investigate and update.
