The Asana alternative for engineering: sprints, Jira workflows and 78 MCP tools
Asana organizes general work; Ciclal is built for teams that ship software in cycles.
Executive summary
TL;DRp95 speed
< 50 ms
vs Asana: General work management
Yearly cost · 100 users
$16,800
vs Asana: $29,988 on Advanced (yearly)
Migration time
15 min
From Asana: assisted migration (Enterprise)
MCP tools
78 native
vs Asana: AI with credits
< 50 msIn-depth comparison
Ciclal next to Asana, category by category
| Category | Ciclal | Asana |
|---|---|---|
| Speed and UX | CiclalUnder 50 ms per interaction, ⌘K for everything, 2,000 cards per column without lag | AsanaPartialGeneral work management |
| Governance and workflows | Ciclal4-level hierarchy, transition rules with a modal screen and cascading fields | AsanaPartialAutomations and portfolios |
| JQL / KQL queries | CiclalNative KQL and JQL-compatible: saved filters import as they are | AsanaNot includedAdvanced search and saved views |
| Analytics and time reports | CiclalCycle time, lead time p50/p85, CFD, Gantt and worklogs included | AsanaPartialDashboards from Starter; native time tracking and portfolio reports on Advanced |
| AI agents / MCP | CiclalMCP server with 78 tools, OAuth 2.1 and no per-token fee | AsanaPartialAI with usage credits |
| Total cost without a marketplace | Ciclal$14/user/mo on Business, with guests, time tracking and MCP included | AsanaNot includedAdvanced $24.99/user/mo billed yearly |
Total cost calculator
How much you save next to Asana
Yearly cost from each tool's public price list, billed yearly.
Team size
You save $13,188/yr
44% less than Asana
Ciclal Business
$14/user/mo · all included
$16,800/yr
500 free guests · time tracking, workflows, Gantt and MCP included
Asana Advanced
$24.99/user/mo
$29,988/yr
1-Click migration
From Asana to Ciclal in 15 minutes, with a dry run before any write
The preflight reads your instance and shows the full diff. You import only when it reports zero differences.
- 1ConnectJira or Linear token, read-only
- 2Dry runPreflight diff, nothing written
- 3ImportIdempotent: safe to resume
- 4CutoverZero-gap cutover with key redirects
Frequently asked questions
More comparisons and guides