Best Trello Alternatives: Features and Pricing Compared

Trello is one of the most popular project management software for small businesses on the market. Its simple and intuitive Kanban board interface, fitted with lists and cards, can help organize almost any business operation. However, a lot of businesses will find it too basic, especially if they’re looking for a platform that can handle multiple teams working across various projects.

Luckily, many Trello alternatives offer advanced features that it lacks in 2024, such as better collaboration tools and better-defined user permissions. Our research finds that monday.com is the best alternative to Trello. It’s very easy to get to grips with – building customized dashboards displaying project data, for example, is a breeze – and you get features like an automation builder straight out of the box, whereas this is an add-on with Trello.

If you’re looking for something slightly cheaper, try ClickUp – it’s got a free plan with unlimited users and tasks or paid tiers from just $7 per user, per month. It has much better collaboration features than Trello, too, like card commenting and tagging. Here are the other Trello alternatives we ranked highest.

The Best Trello Alternatives Compared

Before we dive into the details of what makes each Trello alternative great, here’s a topline comparison of what each can offer your business operations.

monday.com – Best Trello Alternative For Ease of Use

monday.com vs Trello: Features and functionality

Team management

monday.com provides strong team management features, including the ability to assign tasks to multiple team members, set priorities, and decide deadlines. Its workload view allows managers a clear look at team capacity so tasks can be distributed evenly.

One of its key traits here is its automation tools to manage recurring tasks and reminders, like automatically tagging a certain user when a project reaches a certain stage, which can help keep the team aligned without manual oversight.

Trello’s user management is more straightforward and visually driven through its Kanban board cards, with less emphasis on workload distribution or advanced team metrics. Without additional integrations (what Trello calls Power Ups), it lacks some of the advanced team management features of monday.com, like workload balancing.

Customization

monday.com is known for being highly customizable, offering multiple views such as Kanban, Gantt, Calendar, and Table. Users can create custom dashboards tailored to specific workflows and custom fields, or simply with items they are tagged on.

Trello does allow for customization through its integrations, as well as built-in custom fields on its boards and cards (e.g. labels and checklists), but these features are more limited compared to monday.com. For instance, it can’t do complex automation or multiple custom views like monday.

Collaboration

Monday.com includes real-time collaboration features such as instant messaging, file sharing, task comments, and integration with other communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Trello team members have almost identical communication tools to monday. You can comment on cards, attach files, and mention other users, as well as integrate with communication tools.

monday.com vs Trello: Ease of use

monday.com strides ahead when it comes to usability, scoring 4.1/5 ahead of Trello’s 3.6/5. Here’s what our senior researcher had to say:

monday.com vs Trello: Integrations

When it comes to Integrations, monday.com does have a wider range of options, but keep in mind that to access integrations you’ll need to be subscribed to the Standard projects plan, or above. If you’re looking for a cheaper option for integrations, we’d recommend Notion or Smartsheet.

What type of business is monday.com best for?

monday.com’s extensive customization and robust team management features make it ideal for companies with complex workflows that span multiple departments.

For any business with repetitive tasks and structured workflows, monday’s ability to automate is also invaluable, while being able to comment and tag different users makes communication easy too.

ClickUp – Best Trello Alternative for Functionality

ClickUp vs Trello: Features and functionality

Task management

Trello has a straightforward task management system based on Kanban boards. Each task is represented as a card, which can be easily moved across lists representing different stages of a project.

On the other hand, ClickUp not only includes Kanban boards but also provides additional views such as List, Gantt, Calendar, and Timeline. It also adds support for nested subtasks, task dependencies, and custom statuses which Trello doesn’t offer, allowing for improved management of more complex projects.

Customization

While Trello allows for some customization, with features like custom fields and board backgrounds, this is limited to visual elements and basic task attributes.

With ClickUp, users can tailor nearly every aspect of their workspace, including custom fields, task views, statuses, and workflows. This could make it more adaptable to a variety of businesses, though it’s worth noting that you’ll need its Unlimited plan to use these tools without any limits.

Collaboration features

It’s another win for ClickUp in terms of collaboration functionality. Trello provides basic collaboration tools, such as card commenting, file sharing, and the ability to tag team members.

This should be enough for teams with straightforward tasks and pipelines, though ClickUp’s built-in chat, live editing, and real-time collaboration detection (showing when users are working on the same task), plus its whiteboard feature for brainstorming remotely, are useful add-ons if comments and tags aren’t enough.

ClickUp vs Trello: Ease of use

In our research, ClickUp won in terms of usability, too. Our testing criteria gave the edge to ClickUp based on how easy our participants found using the product. Here is what our senior researcher had to say:

ClickUp vs Trello: Integrations

When it comes to integrations, ClickUp has the edge in 2024. It integrates with over 1,000 third-party applications today, despite lagging behind Trello just a few years ago. That’s not to say Trello lacks integrations though, offering many of the same as ClickUp.

Here’s a brief comparison of what each offers (though do check out each provider if you want to know if an exact third-party is covered):

What type of business is ClickUp best for?

ClickUp adds a lot of extra tools to Trello’s offering but whether they are required of your business will vary.

We think it is best suited to medium to large businesses that require more comprehensive and highly customizable project management features. The choice of collaboration options is a key area where ClickUp stands out over Trello, which has more basic teamwork tools, and we think it could be deployed across most industries.

But if you just need a simple project management software, with similar integration potential, then Trello is still a top choice with great usability.

Notion – Best Trello Alternative For Collaboration Features and Integrations

Notion vs Trello: Ease of use

Task management

Like Trello, Notion can also be used as a Kanban board, however, we’d suggest it offers far more flexibility in how you view, understand, and organize task management.

Notion allows you to create databases where tasks can be organized not just as cards but also in lists, tables, calendars, and more.

Tasks in Notion can include extensive details, including rich text, embedded files, and relational databases that connect to other pages or databases within Notion. Trello performs more linearly as a basic project workflow.

Customization

Trello provides basic customization options, such as custom fields and backgrounds, limited to visual elements and the arrangement of cards and lists on the board. As noted, its Power-Ups can add further functionality, too.

However, Notion is something of a customization powerhouse. Users can build entirely custom workspaces from scratch, using pages, databases, and blocks to create a project management system tailored to their exact needs.

It’s essentially a modular design for infinite flexibility, whether you’re creating a simple task list or a complex knowledge management system. However, this does make it more complex to set up compared to Trello, in our view.

Collaboration features

Notion allows multiple users to edit pages and databases simultaneously, and it includes real-time commenting and the ability to tag team members across various blocks of content. That’s a little bit like a Google Doc, for those unfamiliar with Notion.

With Trello, collaboration is limited to mentioning others on cards, attaching files, and moving items through the workflow. That’s instantly more intuitive but that leaves the interactions limited to tasks rather than anything more fluid.

Notion vs Trello: Ease of use

Based on our testing of Notion, it’s a worthy competitor of Trello because it has a streamlined interface that makes finding tools and features an easy task. Here is what Notion users on Trustpilot say:

Notion vs Trello: Integrations

Notion is a great alternative to Trello if you want a project management tool that can double as an army knife for integrations. Although it misses out on finance integrations directly, it has a great range of CRM, marketing, and data integrations on offer.

What type of business is Notion best for?

Notion is best suited for businesses that need a flexible, all-in-one workspace to manage diverse functions like project management, documentation, and team collaboration.

Its highly customizable interface allows companies to create tailored workflows, though it is a little harder to understand at first glance. That might limit larger cooperations that need to train employees faster compared to Trello which is more simple and intuitive.

Smartsheet – Best Trello Alternative For Spreadsheet Fans

Smartsheet vs Trello: Features and functionality

Task management

Smartsheet takes task management to a more advanced level by offering a spreadsheet-like interface that is highly flexible and capable of handling complex workflows. You can create detailed project plans with dependencies, Gantt charts, and automated workflows.

Trello is more effective for projects that benefit from a visual, drag-and-drop approach, in our view. However, the more advanced functionality is undoubtedly with Smartsheet.

Customization

We think Smartsheet has solid customization options that are a little more extensive than Trello. It allows users to tailor their sheets with various views (Grid, Gantt, Calendar, Card), custom fields, and automated workflows. You can also make customized templates to use again and again.

Trello does allow you to customize backgrounds and labels, but that customization is generally confined to visual aspects and basic task details.

Collaboration

Trello’s simplicity in collaboration is a boon, with features like card comments, mentions, and file attachments that make it easy for team members to stay on the same page.

But this straightforward approach might be a little limiting depending on what you need. Smartsheet lets you collaborate in different ways such as shared sheets, automated alerts, and activity logs.

Smartsheet vs Trello: Ease of use

Smartsheet is the top of the top when it comes to usability, pulling the highest score (4.3/5) in this category in our research. This outranks Trello, which trails behind at 3.6/5. Here is what our senior researcher had to say:

Smartsheet vs Trello: Integrations

When it comes to integrations, Smartsheet is a worthy Trello competitor. Although it comes short in the number of CRM platforms on offer, it makes up for it in data and reporting. Do keep in mind that Trello is better for communication integrations, so if you want an alternative that does well in this category, take a look at ClickUp.

What type of business is Smartsheet best for?

If your team requires advanced project management capabilities, particularly those needing robust tools for managing complex workflows, detailed reporting, and resource allocation, then Smartsheet could be for you.

Its spreadsheet-like interface will be best applied by larger teams that handle intricate and interdependent tasks, where Trello’s simplicity may fall short.

Airtable – Best For Database Management

Airtable vs Trello: Features and functionality

Task management

Airtable has a flexible task management system, combining the look of a database with a spreadsheet interface. It can be viewed in multiple formats too, as a Calendar, Grid, Gallery, Gantt chart, and a Trello-style Kanban.

Unlike Trello, Airtable’s task management can include rich data fields, linked records, and advanced filtering, too.

Customization

Trello provides basic customization options, such as custom fields, labels, and Power-Ups (integrations) that add specific functionalities like calendar views or time tracking. Trello’s customization is mostly focused on visual organization and simple workflow enhancements, which keeps the tool user-friendly but limits its adaptability for more complex needs.

Like Trello, Airtable can create custom views and fields, but also databases that are tailored to specific project requirements. Airtable’s blocks (a feature in its premium plans) allow users to add custom widgets for charts, maps, and timelines, amongst other things, too. Like Notion, this requires a little bit of understanding to get to grips with but after that, you’ve got a more capable setup than Trello to work with.

Collaboration

Airtable allows multiple users to work on databases in real time, share views with different levels of permissions, and use comment threads for detailed discussions.

For managing complex data or content creation, Airtable is a superior choice, since Trello’s collaboration is largely card-based.

Airtable vs Trello: Ease of use

Based on our first-hand testing, and on what other users have to say, Air Table is a user-friendly alternative to Trello. Here is what users had to say:

Airtable vs Trello: Integrations

Airtable isn’t a great replacement for Trello when it comes to integrations. Although it covers CRM, marketing, finance, and communication integrations, its range of compatible platforms is narrower than Trello’s. If integrations are a must on your project management checklist, we’d recommend looking at Notion or monday.com instead.

What type of business is Airtable best for?

We reckon Airtable is a versatile platform combining the simplicity of a spreadsheet with the power of a database.

Airtable offers far greater flexibility with customizable views (Grid, Kanban, Calendar, Gallery) than Trello and the ability to link records across different tables. In general, it’s a more sophisticated tool where extensive data tracking and relational databases are required.

Why Is Some Well-Known Project Management Software Not On This List?

When it comes to comparing project management tools, placing Trello in the same bracket as some other well-known names, like Jira or Asana, just doesn’t make sense.

Trello doesn’t offer the same service as other project management software, in large part because it only offers a small range of general features. Jira, for example – while a serviceable project management platform for any team – has its roots in the world of software development, so naturally is a great fit for tech teams.

Asana, on the other hand, can be used by thousands of employees at once, and the functionality is just so much vaster than Trello’s. So, even though Trello can still be a helpful organizational tool, it doesn’t make sense to compare it to these sorts of project management platforms.

Is Choosing a Trello Competitor the Right Option for Me?

While Trello is definitely in our hall of fame for project management platforms, it’s not the most powerful of them all because its features are comparatively narrow.

Whether you’re on the hunt for the perfect blend of modern design with functionality, want an easy setup, or just want to keep working with a spreadsheet-esque interface that is familiar to you, we think monday.com, ClickUp, Notion, Smartsheet, and Airtable are all choices that could fit your business.

What’s the Best Free Alternative to Trello?

The best free alternative to Trello is ClickUp. As companies and individuals alike tighten their belts with the looming threat of recession, a free solution can be more appealing. With ClickUp’s free plan, you have access to virtually all the task management features (except burndown charts), and almost all of the workflow creation features (except billing and invoicing).

You also can access all the collaboration features ClickUp comes equipped with, including resource management, task comments, and document editing – for free! Overall, you get a lot for paying nothing.

Read more about the best free project management software.