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Monday lists $9 to $19 and Asana $10.99 to $24.99 per user per month billed annually. They are excellent project management tools; a custom business tool, at $6,800 to $22,400 (€6,000–€20,000)excl. VAT, is only a useful replacement when you run a business process in them that they cannot model.
Monday and Asana are excellent tools for tracking projects and tasks. The trouble starts when you ask them to do something else: manage customer files, orders, field service jobs or production. Columns multiply, automations become fragile, and everyone keeps a spreadsheet on the side. Here are the public prices, a 3-year comparison, and how to tell whether you need a business tool.
Monday and Asana public pricing
Prices checked in October 2026 on monday.com’s pricing page (Work Management) and Asana’s pricing page. At the time, both pages displayed prices in US dollars, per user (or seat) per month. The amount you are billed depends on your billing country.
| Tool and plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly |
|---|---|---|
| monday Basic | $9 per seat per month | higher, not shown (about 18% more per the FAQ) |
| monday Standard | $12 per seat per month | same |
| monday Pro | $19 per seat per month | same |
| monday Enterprise | custom quote | custom quote |
| Asana Starter | $10.99 per user per month | $13.49 |
| Asana Advanced | $24.99 per user per month | $30.49 |
| Asana Enterprise | custom quote | custom quote |
On monday, paid plans start at 3 seats, and the page states that taxes are added depending on the country. Both vendors also offer a free plan limited to 2 users.
The 3-year cost compared with custom software
Assumptions for this example, to replace with your own: 30 users, annual billing, no price change over 3 years. For the custom option: a business tool at $16,800 (€15,000)excl. VAT plus €2,500 a year for hosting and maintenance. SaaS amounts are in dollars, custom in euros.
| Option | Annual cost | 3-year cost |
|---|---|---|
| monday Standard ($12) | $4,320 | $12,960 |
| monday Pro ($19) | $6,840 | $20,520 |
| Asana Starter ($10.99) | $3,956 | $11,869 |
| Asana Advanced ($24.99) | $8,996 | $26,989 |
| Custom business tool ($16,800 (€15,000)excl. VAT + €2,500 a year) | €2,500 a year, plus the upfront investment | €22,500 |
Let’s be clear: on license price, Monday and Asana are hard to beat. Custom software is not justified by subscription savings. It is justified by lost time: double entry, parallel spreadsheets, errors, information nobody can find. That hidden cost is what you need to quantify, using the 3-year total cost method.
Project management or business process?
The right question is not “Monday or custom”, but “what are you really doing in Monday”.
| What you manage | Suitable tool |
|---|---|
| Internal projects, tasks, deadlines, team workload | Monday or Asana |
| Marketing campaigns, content, launches | Monday or Asana |
| Customer files with stages, documents and calculations | Business tool |
| Orders, field service, production, inventory | Business tool |
| Processes involving customers or partners with precise permissions | Business tool |
| Data that must sync with the ERP, CRM or invoicing | Business tool, or a dedicated connection |
If most of your boards fall into the second half, you are using a project management tool as a business database. It works for a while, then the structure becomes hard to maintain.
When to keep Monday or Asana
Keep them if:
- you genuinely manage projects: a start, an end, tasks and owners;
- your processes change often and your teams like adapting them themselves;
- no critical data (prices, stock, invoicing) depends on the boards;
- native automations are enough without fragile workarounds.
The best scenario is often a mix: Monday or Asana for projects, a business tool for the operational process. That is the approach described in extending existing software without replacing it.
What a custom business tool costs
| Building block | Indicative price (my pricing) |
|---|---|
| Focused business app (base) | $6,800 to $22,400 (€6,000–€20,000)excl. VAT |
| Accounts and roles | $1,700 (€1,500)excl. VAT |
| Customer or partner portal | $2,800 (€2,500)excl. VAT |
| Dashboard | $1,700 (€1,500)excl. VAT |
| Notifications and offline mode | $1,200 (€1,000)excl. VAT |
| Data migration from Monday or Asana | $900 (€800)excl. VAT |
| Connection to other tools | $2,300 (€2,000)excl. VAT |
The full offer is on the business apps page. The estimator adds up these building blocks for your case in one minute.
Where to start
- Export your main boards and spot the ones that run a process rather than a project.
- Note the workarounds: spreadsheets, copy-paste, automations that break.
- A 30-minute call to check whether a business tool makes sense.
- Scoping (1 to 2 weeks): your boards become a requirements document, with a fixed quote.
- Clickable mockups, development in batches, go-live, with data migration and three months of support.
Frequently asked questions
Why replace Monday if the subscription is cheap?
Rarely for the price. You replace it when your boards are really managing customer files, field service jobs or production, with calculations, documents and permissions the tool handles poorly, or when data must flow to and from the ERP and invoicing.
Can we keep Asana for projects and build a tool for the rest?
Yes, and that is often the best setup. Asana stays the tool for internal project tracking, and the business tool runs the operational process. The two can exchange information through their APIs if needed.
How long does it take to build the business tool?
1 to 3 months for a focused first version, scoping included. Your existing Monday or Asana boards are a solid basis for the requirements: they already show the stages, fields and owners.
Will our customers be able to access the tool?
Yes, if planned: a customer or partner portal with precise permissions is a common building block, priced at around $2,800 (€2,500)excl. VAT in my pricing. It is one of the frequent reasons to move away from a generic project management tool.