| Plan | Annual /seat/mo | Monthly /seat/mo | Free plan | Seat minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ClickUp UnlimitedCheapest | $7 | $10 | Most generous of the three | None published |
| Monday Basic | $9 | not discounted | 2 seats | 3 seats2-person teams pay for 3 |
| Monday Standard | $12 | not discounted | — | 3 seats |
| Asana Starter | $10.99 | $13.49 | 2 users | None published |
Per-seat figures exclude taxes, checked on vendor pricing pages September 2026. Monday's pricing page lists annual rates; its help content states the monthly plan is not discounted and the yearly plan saves 18%.
On paper Monday Basic wins at $9. On a whiteboard ClickUp wins at $7. Neither survives contact with the feature list, because the three tools do not put the same capabilities at the same tier — which is exactly what the next table is for.
The fair comparison is the cheapest tier that includes what all three consider standard at entry level: timeline or Gantt views, guest access, automations and dashboards. On ClickUp that is Unlimited ($7). On Asana it is Starter ($10.99). On Monday it is Standard ($12) — Basic omits the calendar view, guest access and automation actions that the other two ship in their first paid tier.
| Plan (feature parity) | Per month, 15 seats | Per year, 15 seats |
|---|---|---|
| ClickUp Unlimited | $105 | $1,260 |
| Asana Starter | $164.85 | $1,978.20 |
| Monday Standard | $180 | $2,160 |
If a 15-person team genuinely fits inside Monday Basic — task lists, no outside guests, no automations — the bill is $1,620 a year and Monday beats Asana on price. In our experience reading feature tables, that profile describes very few teams of fifteen; the moment shared calendars or client guests enter the picture, Basic is off the table.
| Annual billing | 5 seats /mo | 15 seats /mo | 50 seats /mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| ClickUp Unlimited | $35 | $105 | $350 |
| Asana Starter | $54.95 | $164.85 | $549.50 |
| Monday Basic | $45 | $135 | quote required |
| Monday Standard | $60 | $180 | quote required |
Annual-billing figures computed from vendor pricing pages, September 2026. Monday's help content states that accounts above 40 users move to quoted pricing, so the 50-seat figures are not list-rate extrapolations — request a quote.
The 50-seat column is where the three diverge in kind, not just in price. Asana and ClickUp publish per-seat rates all the way up (Asana Starter totals $6,594 a year at 50 seats; ClickUp $4,200). Monday moves large accounts to a sales conversation — which cuts both ways: room to negotiate, but no public number to hold the quote against. Teams between 40 and 60 seats should get the Monday quote in writing before comparing it to the published rates above.
| Entry tier, 15 seats | Annual /yr | Monthly /yr | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asana Starter | $1,978.20 | $2,428.20 | +$450 (+23%) |
| ClickUp Unlimited | $1,260 | $1,800 | +$540 (+43%) |
| Monday (any paid tier) | list rates above | not discounted | annual advertised as 18% saving |
Per-seat prices exclude taxes, checked on vendor pricing pages September 2026.
ClickUp has the largest monthly penalty in percentage terms (+43%) and Asana in absolute dollars at mid tiers (+$5.50/seat on Advanced versus +$3 on ClickUp Unlimited). If a team expects to run month to month for more than a few months — seasonal teams, project-based hires — that penalty can exceed the entire price gap between the tools. Lock the annual rate on whichever tool you pick; the billing cycle moves the bill more than the brand does.
Monday's Basic tier is a loss-leader for search traffic. Calendar view, guest access, timeline and Gantt, and the automation allowance all live on Standard and above, and the 3-seat minimum means even a two-person team pays $27/month on Basic. The honest comparison for a 15-person team is $12 against ClickUp's $7 and Asana's $10.99 — at which point Monday is the most expensive option on the board. Full tier breakdown in our Monday.com alternatives guide.
Asana's step is unusual because Starter already includes the portfolio, form and approval features most mid-size teams buy Asana for — the $10.99 tier is genuinely usable at 15 seats. The step to Advanced at $24.99 nearly doubles the bill (from $1,978 to $4,498 a year at 15 seats) and is only worth it for advanced workflow builders and portfolio-level workload planning. Asana's risk is not the first step; it is the second.
Unlimited at $7 covers dashboards, custom fields, 100+ automations and guest access; Business at $12 adds everything else most teams will never open. The ladder is the flattest of the three — which is the entire price argument for ClickUp, and the setup burden is the argument against. Someone has to build the workspace the other two sell pre-assembled.
The tables above use 5, 15 and 50 seats because those are the points where the ranking changes. For any other headcount, multiply the per-seat rates — or use the stack cost calculator, which prices all three tools plus ten more at your exact seat count on both billing cycles.
Billed annually at the tier most 15-person teams need: ClickUp Unlimited $1,260, Asana Starter $1,978.20, Monday Standard $2,160. Only teams that fit inside Monday Basic — no guests, no automations — see a different order, and that bill is $1,620.
At Basic, yes on paper ($9 versus $10.99 and $7). At the feature line a 15-person team actually needs, no: Monday Standard at $12/seat is the most expensive of the three, and paid Monday plans enforce a 3-seat minimum besides.
No, it widens it. Asana's monthly penalty is +$450 a year at 15 seats and ClickUp's is +$540, so annual ClickUp ($1,260) versus monthly Asana ($2,428.20) is nearly a two-to-one gap for comparable feature sets. Monday's monthly plan carries no discount at all.
ClickUp's is the most generous of the three. Asana's Personal caps at 2 users — though Starter's unlimited free guests offset that for teams with outside collaborators. Monday's free plan allows 2 seats while paid plans start at 3, the least forgiving small-team setup of the three.