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Nucleus One vs Asana

Asana tracks the task. Nucleus One keeps the document the task was about.

If your projects end in a signed contract, an approved invoice or a completed form, the task is the easy part. Here is an honest, row-by-row look at where each tool fits, checked on Asana's own site.

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On the left, a task to renew a vendor agreement with the agreement attached as a file. On the right, the same agreement as a document in Nucleus One, with four versions from draft to signed, full-text search, a workflow, a client portal and its activity history.A TASKRenew vendor agreementAssignee · due FridaySubtasks: legal, financeComments: 14agreement_v3.pdfattachmentIN NUCLEUS ONEVendor agreementv4Signed, in orderv3Approvedv2Their redlinev1DraftEvery word searchableWorkflow and approvals on itShared through a client portalFull activity history
The same agreement, as an attachment and as a document. Generic drawing.

Row by row

Ten things to compare, with Asana's own words linked.

Built around
Asana: Tasks, organized into projects, portfolios and goals. source
Nucleus One: Documents, with the workflows, approvals and signatures that happen on them.
Files
Asana: Attached to tasks and comments, from your computer or from Box, Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive and SharePoint. source
Nucleus One: Each file is a document in its own right, with every version kept and restorable.
Search
Asana: Searches text fields such as names, descriptions and comments. Asana does not say it searches inside attached files. source
Nucleus One: Full-text search inside every document, scanned pages included, plus field search.
Written docs
Asana: Pages: shared docs with co-editing, comments and version history. source
Nucleus One: The documents themselves carry the versions and the activity history.
Approvals
Asana: An approval task type: approve, request changes or reject (Advanced plans and above). source
Nucleus One: Approval workflows for one person or a group, attached to the document.
Forms
Asana: Each form submission becomes a task in a project. source
Nucleus One: Forms whose answers become documents and fields.
E-signatures
Asana: Not built in; through apps from its directory, such as Jotform Sign. source
Nucleus One: Built in, with a signing order.
People outside
Asana: Guests see only what is shared with them. A client portal comes with the Client Management add-on. source
Nucleus One: Client portals where customers upload, fill in and sign.
Paper
Asana: Upload scans yourself. source
Nucleus One: A small Windows app scans from any TWAIN scanner into a project, and CapturePoint 6 sends read and named scans straight in.
Connecting
Asana: A REST API and a Zapier app. source
Nucleus One: A REST API and a Zapier app, so the two can work together.

Asana details checked on asana.com and help.asana.com on 4 October 2026. Features and plans change; follow each source link for the current version.

Which one, then?

Keep Asana if

Your work is mostly planning: projects, timelines, goals and who is doing what, and the documents are incidental.

Choose Nucleus One if

Your work is the documents: contracts, forms, invoices and files that must be found, approved, signed and shared with clients. You can keep Asana for the plan and connect the two through Zapier.

Bring the document your last project waited on.

Start Nucleus One, or book a free live demo and we will set that document up with its approval and signatures.

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Paper too?

CapturePoint 6 reads and names scanned pages on your PC and sends them straight into Nucleus One.