Switch From Asana to ClickUp: Migration Steps and Gotchas

Switch from Asana to ClickUp with the built-in importer: 8 migration steps, what does not transfer, and the checks to run before cancelling Asana.

By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-11T22:25:46+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-11T22:25:46+00:00

Switch from Asana to ClickUp: migration steps and gotchas for moving projects

Switch From Asana to ClickUp: Migration Steps and Gotchas

Switching from Asana to ClickUp is a supported move. ClickUp ships a built-in Asana importer. It moves projects, tasks, assignees, due dates, attachments and comments. It does not move everything. This guide covers the steps, the gaps, and the checks to run before your team switches.

Plan the move before you start it. A rushed migration leaves tasks orphaned and rules broken. A planned one takes an afternoon, including cleanup.

Before You Switch From Asana to ClickUp

First, audit your Asana workspace. List every active project. Note which ones are done. A migration is the best chance to leave dead projects behind. Export an archive of the old workspace first, so nothing is lost if you skip it.

Second, decide your ClickUp structure. Asana organises work as Teams, then Projects. ClickUp organises work as Spaces, Folders and Lists. Map each Asana project to a ClickUp List before you import. Decide which Space each List belongs to.

Third, check the storage limit. The ClickUp Free Forever plan allows 60 MB of storage. Asana does not report the size of your attachments in advance. A team with many files should start on a paid plan, or clean up attachments first.

Fourth, list what the importer will not move. Freestanding tasks that sit outside any Asana project do not import. Nested subtasks do not import. Tasks shared between projects do not import. Private tasks do not import. At-mentions do not import. Recurring tasks do not transfer either. Write these down now, while you can still see them in Asana.

Switch From Asana to ClickUp: The Migration Steps

  1. Prepare Asana. Move freestanding tasks into projects. Add a note to tasks shared between projects, so you can recreate them as tasks in multiple ClickUp Lists later. Add a note to private tasks, so you can make them private in ClickUp after import. List every recurring task and its schedule.
  2. Set up your ClickUp Workspace. Create the Spaces and Folders you planned. Invite your team, or plan to map people during the import. Keep the structure simple at first. You can refine it after the move.
  3. Open the importer. Click your Workspace avatar in the top left. Select Settings. Scroll down and select Imports / Exports. Select Asana. If your Workspace already has import history, select Import items first, then Asana.
  4. Sign in to Asana. A pop-up asks you to sign in to your Asana account. Use an account that can access every project you want to move. Grant the importer access when asked.
  5. Map your projects and people. Choose where each Asana project lands. You can create a new Space and List for each project. You can create a new Folder and List inside a Space you choose. Or you can customise the mapping project by project. Match Asana users to ClickUp users so task ownership survives.
  6. Choose your import options. Decide whether to include completed tasks and attachments. Including attachments is useful, but it eats storage. Including completed tasks preserves history, but it clutters new Lists. Most teams import open tasks and attachments, and archive the rest in Asana.
  7. Start the import. Click Start import. The import runs in the background. It can take from 1 minute to a few hours. The time depends on how much data you have and on Asana's rate limits. You can keep working while it runs.
  8. Review the results. Check the import summary when it finishes. Open a few Lists and confirm tasks, assignees and due dates arrived. Copy the import reference ID if you need support. You will find it in the import history.

Gotchas After the Import

Rebuild what the importer skipped. Move nested subtasks into their parent tasks by hand. Recreate recurring tasks with ClickUp's recurrence settings. Re-add tasks that were shared between projects to each List they belong to. Make private tasks private again.

Rebuild Asana Rules as ClickUp Automations. Rules do not carry over. This is also a chance to simplify them. Many teams find they had rules nobody remembers writing.

Check custom fields. Asana custom fields map to ClickUp equivalents, but names and types may differ. Confirm that dropdown values, dates and numbers survived. Fix any field that mapped to plain text by mistake.

Check sections. Asana sections can map to a Label custom field, to separate Lists, or to statuses. Pick the option that matches how your team actually works. A wrong choice here confuses everyone for weeks.

Train the team on day one. Show them where their projects live now. Show them the views they will use: List for daily work, Board for stand-ups, Calendar for deadlines. A short live walkthrough beats a long written guide.

Switch From Asana to ClickUp: Bottom Line

The importer handles the heavy lifting. Your job is the planning around it. Audit Asana, map the structure, and write down everything the importer skips. Then import one project first as a test. Check it fully. Then import the rest.

Keep Asana open for a week after the move. Treat it as a read-only archive. Once the team is working happily in ClickUp and nothing is missing, cancel the Asana subscription. Do not cancel on migration day.