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Asana is a refined project management tool for coordinating teams. Pinboard covers the projects — and the tickets, the pipeline, the hours, and the invoicing that surround them.
For pure internal coordination, Asana earns its reputation. The moment clients enter the picture, the math changes.
The stack math
Most comparisons price tool against tool. But you're not buying a tool — you're covering a job: the projects, the requests, the hours, the clients. Itemize it.
per user / mo for time tracking — with three lines still blank.
per seat / mo — only what you switch on. Free during early access.
Asana Starter lists at $10.99/user/mo and Advanced at $24.99/user/mo (annual billing), with AI Studio priced separately on a credit model. Pinboard's planned pricing is Pro at $10 per editor/mo with optional per-seat add-ons — and the full platform is free during early access. Competitor prices are public list prices for annual billing as of mid-2026 and change often — always confirm on their pricing page. Pinboard's numbers are planned pricing; the whole platform is free while in early access.
Side by side
An honest snapshot — both products ship constantly, so treat this as a map, not a contract.
| Feature | Pinboard | Asana |
|---|---|---|
| Projects, tasks & subtasks | ||
| Portfolio dashboards | ||
| Docs & wiki | Project briefs | |
| Spreadsheet-style boards | List view | |
| Time tracking | Advanced tier ($24.99) | |
| Client billing & retainers | ||
| Customer service desk (SLAs, live chat) | ||
| CRM | ||
| Meetings & agendas | ||
| Automation | Rules, by tier | |
| AI assistant | Across every app (planned add-on) | AI Studio, credit-based |
| Bring-your-own-AI (MCP) | 56-tool MCP server + open API | Open API |
Credit where due
No tool wins everywhere. If these are the things you need most, Asanais a strong choice — and we'd rather you pick right than pick us.
The Pinboard case
Projects, support, CRM, hours — and AI that works across all of it, in one set of records.
Service desk with SLAs and live chat, CRM pipeline, and per-client time billing are native apps in Pinboard — in Asana those are integrations or other vendors' products.
Asana's native time tracking arrives on its Advanced tier ($24.99/user/mo list). Pinboard includes timers and timesheets in the platform, with billing reports attached.
When work is really a table — trackers, registers, pipelines — Pinboard's workboards behave like a spreadsheet with formulas, conditional formatting, and API access.
Beyond the in-app assistant, Pinboard's MCP server means the AI you already use can create tasks, log time, and file tickets directly.
Don't take the table's word for it
Questions
Honestly: if coordination between internal teams is the whole job and you want the most mature tool for exactly that, Asana earns its reputation. Pinboard's advantage compounds when the same people also handle customer tickets, client hours, or a sales pipeline — the workflows Asana hands off to other products.
Nothing — every approved workspace gets the full platform free during early access. The planned pricing after general availability is a free plan for small teams and Pro at $10 per editor per month, with optional Service Desk, CRM, and AI add-ons. You'll get notice before anything is ever charged.
Yes — through CSV import and Pinboard's open API and MCP server (56 tools), which can create projects, tasks, tickets, contacts, and time entries programmatically. During early access we help teams move over directly. There's no one-click migrator yet, and we'd rather tell you that than promise one.
Pinboard ships an MCP server with 56 tools, so you can connect the AI assistant you already use — Claude, or any MCP-compatible assistant — and drive Pinboard from it: create tasks, log time, file tickets, query boards. Your AI subscription, Pinboard's data, no copy-pasting between tabs.
Early access
Request early access — every app, no credit card, free while in alpha.
Free plan available · No credit card · Free while in early access