If you’re looking for a simple, user-friendly project management software, Trello could be the right choice for your team.
In this article, we’ll break down Trello’s pricing plans — and all the other details you need to make an informed choice.
We’ll also tell you a little bit about an alternative to Trello — monday.com. If you’d like to see why we feel like it’s a better option for many businesses, why not try it out for yourself for free?
Get startedAbout Trello
Trello was launched back in 2011 by Fog Creek Software, a New York-based software firm. In 2017, it was purchased by Atlassian, a major Australian software developer.
Trello was initially created to help Fog Creek keep track of their in-house projects. The goal was to create a simple tool that would let the Fog Creek team collaborate and manage their projects online — essentially, a digital whiteboard with a Kanban-style format.
By the time Atlassian bought the product, this simple tool, originally put together by a team of 4 programmers, was being used by over 19 million users.
Trello Review
If you’re looking for a visual, intuitive, and easy-to-use project management tool, Trello is a great choice. With a rating of 4.4/5 from over 13,000 reviewers on G2, clearly there’s a lot to like here. Here’s the low-down on Trello:
Trello: Top Features
- Boards, lists, and cards — Trello is organized into boards (projects). Then each board is divided into columns (or “lists” in Trello terms) which are usually stages for a project task (think “To do”, “Doing”, and “Done”) but could also be categories of task (e.g., “Social Media”, “Blogs,” “Videos”). Finally, individual tasks can be added as “cards” in each list. These cards can be color-coded, and you can attach relevant files to keep all the information in one place.
- Checklists and due dates: You can also add checklists to each card, turning the task into a task list. And you can manage deadlines from within the cards by adding a due date to each card.
- Communication features: Trello makes it easy to collaborate on tasks as a team — you can tag another team member to bring a card to their attention, add comments and notes on the card, or ask questions within the card itself.
Trello: The Pros
Trello is very easy to set up and use. For instance, one G2 reviewer comments, “Trello’s best feature, from my perspective, is its ability to simplify task and project management.”Another reviewer likes the intuitive interface: “You can just pick and move the card from one stage to another simply.”
Trello has also made great use of automation: “It allows you to create custom rules and workflows reducing manual work and saving time,” says this reviewer.
Trello: The Cons
In terms of Trello’s downsides, some people say they find the interface clunky and time-consuming: “While the user interface is visually appealing, it’s cumbersome to organize and reposition cards manually, one at a time, by moving them up or down.”
Reviewers also mention limited features fairly frequently. The impression is that, while Trello is very good at what it does, it may not be the right fit for teams looking for advanced reporting tools, advanced automation, or a high level of customization. To quote a review by a marketing director on G2, “It is a bit too basic – it does what it is supposed to but not as much as some of the other tools out there.”
If you’re looking for a more comprehensive, flexible project management software, you might want to check out monday.com.
Get startedWhat pricing plans does Trello offer?
When it comes to Trello pricing plans, there’s one free plan and three paid plans you can choose from. Here’s how that breaks down:
1. Free
The Trello Free plan offers the platform’s core features. You can create unlimited personal boards, cards, lists, and up to 10 team boards. This isn’t a free trial, either. You can use the Trello free plan for as long as you want.
Here’s what you can expect in the Free plan:
- Unlimited cards: Add as many cards as you want to your boards without limitations.
- 10 boards per Workspace: Create up to 10 different boards for your Workspaces.
- Unlimited storage: Upload as many files as you need as long as the files don’t exceed 10MB each.
- 250 Workspace commands: If you’ve created workflow automations, they’ll be able to run up to 250 times per month.
- Integrate your work tools: Trello calls integrations ‘Power-ups,’ and with a free plan, you can integrate as many as you want, such as Slack, Google Drive, or Salesforce.
While the Trello Free plan is pretty impressive, it’s meant for individual use or small teams; it would be limiting for teams who want to scale with their work tools. For example, teams might find it frustrating to work within the set limits for file uploads or command runs. You won’t get access to all the features you need to take your work to new heights, meaning your team might quickly outgrow it.
2. Standard
Trello Standard plan clocks in at $5 per month per user when billed annually or $6 per month billed monthly. Compared to the Free plan, the Standard plan comes with additional features that make it ideal for small teams.
In addition to everything in the Free plan, you also get:
- Unlimited team boards: There’s no limit to how many team boards you have.
- Custom fields: Add custom details to each card, giving you much more control and structure over the information you can view.
- 1,000 Workspace commands: Run your workflow automations up to 1,000 a month.
- Upgraded file storage: You still get unlimited file storage, but the file size allowance increases to 250MB/file.
- Advanced checklists: Break down projects into different tasks on a checklist, enabling you to assign owners and due dates to individual tasks.
3. Premium
Trello’s Premium plan is where the software starts getting more relevant for teams juggling multiple projects. The plan costs $10 a month per user when billed annually, or $12.50 billed monthly. The Premium plan gives you access to more visual project overviews as well as enhanced administrative controls.
Building off the Standard plan, the Premium plan gives you:
- Multiple views: Rather than only viewing your projects or tasks on a board, toggle your view by looking at a timeline, table, dashboard, calendar, or map.
- Workspace views: Choose between Workspace tables to see tasks in a spreadsheet-style list or in a calendar view to sort them by due dates.
- Unlimited comment runs: In the Premium plan, you’re no longer limited to a fixed number of Workspace comment runs.
- Admin and security features: Get access to administrative and security features such as limiting a user’s actions on a board, deactivating members, or creating an observe-only user profile.
- Priority support: Premium users get access to priority customer support, ensuring emails are answered within one business day.
4. Enterprise
Finally, Trello’s Enterprise plan offers wider control and access to all features. The price of the Enterprise plan varies depending on how many users need access. The plan starts at $21 per user billed annually (or $17.50/month) for 50 users, with the cost per user decreasing based on a higher user count.
The Enterprise plan gives you access to everything in the Premium plan with certain added features:
- Unlimited Workspaces: No limit on how many workspaces you can have.
- Enhanced security: Set organization-wide permissions or attachment permissions and get Power-up administration controls.
- Atlassian Access: Add an extra layer of security by setting up SAML SSO to make single sign-on easier.
- Control who sees what: You’ll be able to create public and private organization-visible boards and control who sees what.
Is Trello the right choice for your team?
If you’re looking for a simple, Kanban-style project management tool that feels like a digital whiteboard, Trello could definitely be a great option for your team. Trello has a visual interface, is intuitive to use, and makes it easy to collaborate on projects, keep task information in the same place, and track task deadlines.
However, if you need more comprehensive project management features, like time-tracking, Gantt charts, reporting, and budgeting, then Trello’s G2 reviews suggest you might want to look elsewhere. For example, you’ll find all those features (and more!) on monday.com.
How does monday.com compare to Trello?
For a complete set of project management features and much more, take a look at monday.com. With monday.com, you get features that Trello doesn’t offer, like:
- 24/7 support for all paid plans (whereas in Trello, that’s just in the Enterprise package)
- Time-tracking baked in (not just in an integration, as in Trello)
- Gantt charts, budgeting, resource planning, and other tools to help you manage complex projects
- A fully customizable Work OS, that you can set up however you want (rather than being limited to a Kanban-style approach like Trello)
While both tools are solid options for managing projects, there’s a reason why we have the edge over Trello on G2, with a score of 4.7/5.
If you’d like to see a deep dive comparison of the two tools, check out our in-depth Trello vs. monday.com comparison.