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Buyer’s guide

The best Asana alternatives for client work

Asana is excellent at moving projects, but it was not built for client work. There are no contracts, no invoices, and no client CRM. Here is an honest guide to alternatives that keep the project strength and add the client side.

Reviewed mid 2026. Pricing changes often, so confirm the current numbers on each tool's site.

First, a fair word

Asana is polished. So why look?

Client work needs more than tasks and timelines.

No native invoicing or contractsYou bill and sign in separate tools.
No client CRMClient history lives outside the project.
Time needs an add onTracking and billing are not built in.
No client portalClients have no branded home to look at.

The shortlist

5 alternatives worth a look.

01StelaahBest for client work

Keeps Asana's clean project management and adds contracts, invoices, CRM, and portals in one workspace.

Strengths

Client flow plus real project management
Time, budgets, and margin in one view
Client and vendor portals, inventory, reporting
Aria drafts, answers, and takes action
Free to start, scales from solo to a team

Worth knowing

More than a solo owner needs on day one
You grow into the breadth over time
Pricing · Free to start, then per seat. Aria included.Try Stelaah free
02Teamwork.comBest for billable projects

Project management built specifically for client and billable work.

Strengths

Built for client and billable projects
Time tracking and billing
Client users and workload views

Worth knowing

Less broad than a full workspace
CRM and creative tools are lighter
Pricing · free tier, then around $11 to $20 a seat. Check teamwork.com.Visit Teamwork
03ClickUpBest for flexible project management

Powerful, flexible project management with a generous free tier.

Strengths

Deep, flexible project tools
Strong automations
Generous free tier

Worth knowing

No native contracts or invoicing
Can overwhelm a small studio
Pricing · free tier, then around $7 to $12 a seat. Check clickup.com.Stelaah vs ClickUp
04MondayBest visual platform

A flexible, visual work platform you can shape to fit.

Strengths

Very flexible, colorful boards
Strong dashboards
Broad use cases

Worth knowing

Client and billing side is add on or separate
Sold in seat tiers
Pricing · small free tier, then around $9 to $19 a seat. Check monday.com.Stelaah vs Monday
05BonsaiBest for freelancers

An all in one for freelancers, with light accounting included.

Strengths

Proposals, contracts, invoicing, time
Built in bookkeeping and tax help
Friendly and quick to start

Worth knowing

Lighter project depth for bigger work
Some features sit behind higher tiers
Pricing · from around $25 a month. Check hellobonsai.com.Visit Bonsai

How to choose

Pick by where you are, not by the longest feature list.

Mostly need clean project management? ClickUp and Teamwork both go deep, with Teamwork built for billable work.

Want a visual platform to shape? Monday is the most configurable.

A freelancer who wants client flow and accounting? Bonsai bundles both.

Want projects and the client side together? Stelaah and Teamwork carry billing; Stelaah adds CRM, portals, and Aria.

Happy with Asana for projects and billing elsewhere? Asana may still be the right project layer.

Common questions

The best Asana alternatives for client work, answered.

What is the best Asana alternative for client work?
Stelaah, because it keeps strong project management and adds invoicing, contracts, and CRM. Teamwork is also built for billable client projects.
Does Stelaah track time and bill it, unlike Asana?
Yes. Time tracking flows straight to invoices, where Asana relies on integrations and has no native billing.
Which is best for an agency or studio?
Stelaah, because it carries projects, clients, contracts, and invoices in one workspace.

Try the one built for client work

Keep the projects. Add the clients.

Stelaah keeps clean project management and adds the client side Asana leaves out. Try it free.

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