Why Switch?
Teams typically switch from Asana to Monday.com for three reasons: they need better dashboards and reporting, they want more visual customization per project, or they're outgrowing Asana's flexibility for non-project workflows (CRM, bug tracking, onboarding). If any of those sound familiar, this guide covers the whole migration.
Step 1: Audit What's in Asana First
Before touching Monday.com, take stock of your Asana setup. Most teams have more projects than they think. Export a project list from Asana's admin panel and tag each one:
- Active — people are working in it this week
- Dormant — not touched in 30+ days, but might need later
- Archive — no longer relevant
Only migrate Active projects. Dormant ones can be exported as CSV and stored. Archive projects get exported and deleted. This alone cuts migration effort by 30-50%.
While you're doing this, write down which Asana features your team actually uses. If nobody uses Portfolios or Goals, you won't need to map them to Monday.com equivalents.
Step 2: Map Asana Concepts to Monday.com
The two tools use different mental models. Here's how concepts translate:
| Asana | → | Monday.com |
|---|---|---|
| Project | → | Board |
| Task / Subtask | → | Item / Subitem |
| Section | → | Group |
| Custom Field | → | Column |
| Assignee | → | People Column |
| Due Date | → | Date Column |
| Tags | → | Status or Label Column |
| Dependencies | → | Dependency Column |
| Portfolio | → | Dashboard (multi-board view) |
| Forms | → | Forms (built-in) |
Key difference: Asana thinks in projects containing tasks. Monday.com thinks in boards containing items. A Monday.com board is more flexible than an Asana project — you can use it for a project, a CRM pipeline, a bug tracker, or an onboarding checklist. This flexibility is why most people switch, but it also means you need to define a standard board structure upfront.
Step 3: Export Your Data from Asana
Asana gives you a few export options:
- CSV export (per project): Project menu → Export → CSV. Fast but loses attachments, comments, and subtask relationships.
- JSON export (per project): Project menu → Export → JSON. More complete — includes custom fields, dependencies, and subtask hierarchy. Better for large projects.
- Asana API: Use for 20+ projects. Pulls everything programmatically. Takes 1-2 hours to script if you have a developer, saves days of manual export.
Warning: What CSV Export Won't Capture
- Comments and conversations — export separately or screenshot key threads
- Attachments — download manually or via API
- Dependencies — JSON export captures these, CSV does not
- Custom field configurations — note them down before exporting
- Project members' roles and permissions
Step 4: Set Up Monday.com Boards
Create a board template first. You'll clone it for each Asana project you're migrating. Your template should include:
- Standard columns: Status, Priority, Owner, Due Date, Project Phase (or whatever custom fields your team uses in Asana)
- Standard groups: Match your Asana sections. If Asana had "Backlog," "In Progress," "Review," "Done," create those same groups.
- Board views: Set up at least a Table view (for planning) and a Kanban view (for status tracking). Calendar view is useful if your team works on deadlines.
Build one template board, get feedback from 2-3 team members, refine it, then clone it for each project. Resist the urge to customize each board differently — standardization makes dashboards work across projects.
Step 5: Import and Clean Up
Monday.com's CSV import is straightforward — Board menu → Import → CSV. Map your Asana columns to Monday.com columns in the import wizard. Key points:
- Import one project at a time. Batch importing 10 projects into one board creates cleanup hell.
- After import, spot-check 10% of items. Are due dates correct? Are assignees mapped? Dependencies working?
- Attachments need to be re-uploaded manually unless you used the API. Drag-and-drop from your download folder works fine for small teams.
Step 6: Set Up Cross-Project Views (Dashboards)
This is where Monday.com shines. Create a dashboard that pulls from all your migrated boards so the team can see everything in one place:
- My Work widget: Shows each person only their items across all boards
- Timeline widget: Gantt-style view of deadlines across projects
- Workload widget: See who has too much (or too little) on their plate
- Status widget: At-a-glance view of project health
In Asana, you needed Portfolio for this. Monday.com gives it to every plan.
Step 7: Onboard the Team
The tool migration succeeds or fails on this step. Team habits die hard — people will want to go back to Asana for the first week. Here's what works:
- Run both tools for 2 weeks. Use Monday.com for new work, keep Asana open for reference. Don't cut off Asana on day one.
- 30-minute training session. Walk through one real project in Monday.com. Show views, filters, and the mobile app. Record it for people who miss the meeting.
- Identify Monday.com champions. Find 1-2 people who pick it up fast and make them the go-to helpers.
- Close new tasks in Asana. After week 1, all new work goes into Monday.com. Asana becomes read-only.
- Archive Asana after week 3. Export a final backup, then close it. Don't leave both tools running — people will drift back.
Common Migration Problems
Dependencies breaking
Asana's dependency system (task A blocks task B) doesn't always survive CSV export. Use JSON export or manually re-create critical dependencies after import. For teams with complex dependency chains, consider using Unito to sync rather than export/import.
Custom fields not mapping cleanly
Asana dropdowns may map to Monday.com Status columns, but the colors and labels won't carry over. Budget 30 minutes per board to fix column configurations after import.
Team resistance
"I know where everything is in Asana" is the most common objection. Counter it by showing Monday.com's My Work view — seeing all your items across every board in one list is the killer feature that wins over skeptics.
Is the Switch Worth It?
For most teams considering the move, yes. Monday.com gives you more flexibility per board, better dashboards, and stronger non-project workflows (CRM, bug tracking, onboarding). The cost is a slightly busier interface and less mature task dependencies.
But if your team uses Asana's advanced features heavily — Portfolios, Goals, workload management at the enterprise level — the switch is harder to justify. Asana is genuinely better at those. Stay if those features are core to your workflow.
Quick Decision Guide
Switch to Monday.com if:
- You need better dashboards and cross-project views
- You want to use the same tool for projects + CRM + onboarding
- Your team finds Asana's view options limiting
Stay with Asana if:
- Portfolios and Goals are core to your workflow
- Your projects have complex dependency chains
- The team loves Asana and doesn't want change
Bottom Line
A small team (under 10 people, under 5 projects) can migrate from Asana to Monday.com in a weekend. Export CSV, set up board templates, import, spot-check, and run both tools for two weeks. The technical part is straightforward. The human part — getting people to build new habits — takes longer. Budget for it.
Start with one pilot project. Migrate it end-to-end, iron out the template, then roll out the rest. A clean migration beats a fast one every time.