Project Management with a Bit of Magic
Plan, manage, and deliver projects efficiently. Merlin Project for macOS and iOS
Merlin Project vs. Asana
Looking for an Asana alternative on Mac with pro-grade scheduling? Let's compare Asana with Merlin Project, a professional project management tool on macOS and iOS.
Merlin Project
Project management software on Apple Devices
Asana
Web-based work management
Quick Comparison Chart
| Capability | Merlin Project (macOS/iOS) | Asana (web/desktop/mobile) |
|---|---|---|
| Project planning & Gantt | Advanced Gantt with critical path, dynamic baselines, constraints | Advanced-for-web: Timeline/Gantt with dependencies, critical path, and baseline snapshot/compare. |
| Resource management | Robust: people / equipment / materials, utilization view, multi-project leveling | Workload & Capacity views; allocations across projects; no automatic resource leveling. |
| Budget & cost tracking | Built-in costs, rates, planned vs. actual reports | Manual/Templates + native time tracking; budgets via custom fields, dashboards, or integrations. |
| Collaboration | File-based sharing; comments, attachments; works offline and online | Real-time collaboration, Rules automations, and broad integrations. |
| Multi-Project Management | Advanced: master/subprojects, shared resource pools, portfolio reports | Portfolios and cross-project reporting; cross-project dependencies need workarounds (not native). |
| Portfolio/ large projects | Handles thousands of activities locally; fast on device | Scales for teams, but performance depends on architecture; forum users report slowdowns with very large/complex projects, while others run large projects with careful structure. |
| Platform | native Mac, iPad, iPhone, Vision Pro | Browser + desktop apps + iOS/Android; offline mainly on mobile; desktop app does not support offline. |
| Pricing | See pricing | See pricing |
| Trial | 30-Days Free Trial | 30-Days Free Trial |
| Best for | PMOs/pro PMs on Apple who need advanced scheduling, resource management & costs tracking functionality | Teams wanting flexible, collaboration-first work management with automations/dashboards—comfortable structuring processes for planning and capacity. |
Merlin Project: The Asana Alternative for PM Pros
Planning & Scheduling
Merlin Project: For the Professional Project Manager
Start with mind maps to gather every idea. Turn those ideas into a WBS/Gantt chart to set dates and links between tasks. Run the work on Kanban boards without breaking those links. Keep an eye on the critical path, lock dynamic baselines, and view side-by-side changes to spot delays fast.
Every view pulls from the same single file, so nothing slips through the cracks. It's an all-in-one setup that requires no plug-ins.
Asana: Timeline with Dependencies and Critical Path
Asana offers a timeline view with dependencies, critical path and a compare mode to add a baseline to single tasks. It works for simple–mid complexity plans, but fine-grained constraints remain lighter than desktop PM.
What users say: practitioner threads praise visibility and speed to value, but raise concerns about feature gaps in advanced scheduling and baseline analytics (e.g., task-level variance fields) and occasional quirks with critical path.
Managing Your Team
Merlin Project: Resources Beyond “Assignees”
Managing people and resources goes beyond just assigning names to tasks. Merlin Project treats resources as real assets you need to track and optimize. There are four types of resources: people, equipment, companies and materials. Each type works differently because they have different constraints. People have skill sets and availability windows, equipment might be shared across projects, and materials have costs that change over time.
Asana: Workload & Capacity
Workload charts and Capacity planning give leaders a cross-project view of staffing and allocations. Accuracy depends on consistent estimates and field conventions.
There’s no multi-project resource leveling. Forum guidance and user posts emphasize the need for governance (standard fields/templates) to keep cross-project rollups trustworthy.
Tracking Money
Merlin Project: Built-in Money Tracking
Money management in Merlin Project works like a real accounting system, not an afterthought. Set budgets at the project level or break them down by phase and individual activity. Set fixed costs for equipment or materials, hourly rates for personnel that multiply against time spent, and one-time expenses assigned to specific activities. Change the schedule and the costs will update as well.
Asana: Budgeting, Dashboards & Integrations
Asana has native time tracking (estimate + actual). Budgeting/costs are typically modeled with number fields, dashboards, templates, or integrations—effective with process discipline, but less “built-in” than desktop PM accounting.
Multi-Project Management
Merlin Project: Master/Subprojects & Resource Pools
Merlin Project's master/subproject system links projects together while keeping them organized, with the master project acting like a dashboard for your entire program. Subprojects connect automatically so schedule changes roll up to show the overall timeline, while resources get shared through a common resource pool to prevent double-booking.
Asana: Portfolio Management; no Pooled Resources
Portfolios provide status, summaries, and reporting across projects. Cross-project dependencies and pooled resource leveling aren’t native; teams use conventions, rules, or add-ons to approximate program behavior.
Working Together
Merlin Project works by sharing files. Team members save the same project file on cloud services like iCloud or Dropbox. The program prevents problems when multiple people edit at once. You can add comments and attach files to activities. People who don't use Merlin can view projects through web pages.
Asana is built for real-time collaboration with rules automation and a large integrations ecosystem. Strong for stakeholder visibility once your model is standardized.
Trade-offs of web vs desktop
Web tools centralize access and automate workflows but require connectivity and vendor infrastructure. Desktop keeps data local and performs consistently offline, but requires a sharing strategy. Choose based on compliance, uptime needs, and team composition.
Asana note: Offline is supported on mobile only; the desktop app does not support offline use. If offline execution on laptops is essential, plan accordingly.
Performance & Scale
Merlin Project: Local files handle thousands of activities smoothly; no round-trips to a server.
Asana: Collaborates at team scale, but performance depends on design (task counts per project, fields, rules). Forum posts note slowdowns at high volumes; others operate large projects successfully with sectioning/filters. Validate with your data model.
Understanding Platform Choices
Merlin Project: Mac Ecosystem by Design
Merlin Project works exclusively on Apple devices: Mac, iPad, iPhone and Vision Pro. This is an intentional design choice that allows deep integration into a system that simply works. Teams already using Mac computers get software that feels natural and works seamlessly with their existing workflow.
Best for: Teams already committed to Apple's ecosystem who value performance, offline capability, and data control.
Asana: Universal Access with Apps
Asana runs in any modern web browser, plus desktop and mobile apps. Offline is primarily a mobile capability; desktop requires connectivity.
Best for: mixed-platform teams prioritizing collaboration, automation, and integrations over deep, native scheduling.
