Free Asana alternative
A free alternative to Asana for your own projects.
Plan work with boards, lists, a calendar and a timeline, with sections, subtasks, priorities and due dates. No seats to pay for and no account to create.
What you can do with openWorkstand
| If you use Asana for… | In openWorkstand, use |
|---|---|
| Projects with list and board views | Projects: list, board, calendar and timeline |
| My tasks and due dates | To-do list with Today and Upcoming |
| Project briefs and wikis | Notes with nested pages and templates |
| Brainstorming | Whiteboard with templates |
| Time tracking | Focus timer that logs time on tasks |
openWorkstand vs Asana: an honest comparison
Where each one is stronger. Last reviewed October 2026; products change, so check Asana’s own site for current details.
| Topic | Asana | openWorkstand |
|---|---|---|
| Account | An account is required; teams are invited by email. | Not needed.Stronger here |
| Where your data is kept | In Asana’s cloud. | Projects and tasks are JSON files in your folder.Stronger here |
| Offline | Primarily online. | Yes, once the page has loaded.Stronger here |
| Teamwork | Built for teams: assignees, comments, notifications, permissions and integrations.Stronger here | Single user: assignee names are labels only, with no notifications or permissions. |
| Views | List, board, timeline, calendar and more. | List, board, calendar and timeline. |
| Price | Free tier with limits; paid plans for advanced features. | Free. Public tool pages may show a few ads; the workspace has none.Stronger here |
| Connected workspace | Integrates with many other apps. | Documents, spreadsheets, calendar, notes, tasks, projects, tables and whiteboards in one app, linked together. |
Why people choose openWorkstand
- Unlimited projects and tasks for free.
- Calendar and timeline views included.
- No sign-up.
- Files are saved in a folder on your own computer, never uploaded.
When Asana is the better choice
Asana is the better choice when a whole team needs shared projects with accounts, permissions, comments, notifications and integrations. openWorkstand projects are files on your computer.
Asana is a trademark of its owner. openWorkstand is an independent project and is not affiliated with it.