Looking for Trello alternatives that go beyond personal productivity & task management? In this article, you’ll look at the top tools that can replace Trello for managing team projects.
Freelancers love Trello for its simple task management and collaboration features as well as affordable price plans.
But project teams need more. Without project planning, resource planning, and workload management teams struggle to deliver projects on time.
Ready to look at the tools that deliver these features? Let’s dive in.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Reasons why Trello may not be for you
- Top-rated Trello alternatives for managing team projects
- Quick comparison of Trello alternatives
3 Reasons why Trello may not be right for you
People often start using Trello as a personal task manager. With add-ons (called powerups), you can even extend its functionality to work for small team projects. In addition, Trello has a generous free plan and affordable paid plans.
But if you juggle multiple projects across teams or manage complex projects with dependencies, Trello may not be for you. Here’s why:
Lack of project planning features
Any project that’s longer than a couple of weeks needs some planning.
As a project manager, you need a way to create a project’s schedule. Your team and stakeholders need to see your project’s timeline to visualize tasks, people, and team dependencies. Finally, when things change, you also need a way to quickly replan the schedule.
Now, Trello does have a couple of different views — the timeline view and the calendar view. But it’s far from a project planning tool.
But these views are only available in the Premium plan. Plus, these views don’t factor in your team’s availability, capacity, and workload when planning.
Lack of resource planning features
The next big feature that Trello lacks is an overview of the team’s availability and capacity.
A team’s availability is limited by holidays and vacations. On the other hand, capacity is limited by the availability of resources and the time allocated to other projects.
Trello does not have a way to plan and adjust project timelines based on availability or capacity.
Lack of workload management features
In 2021, APA found that over 79 percent of American workers experience work-related stress.
Work-related stress often results in a lack of interest, motivation, and efforts at work eventually leading to burnout. And burnout remains one of the biggest reasons for team churn.
You can easily avoid work-related stress by planning balanced workloads across your team. This helps avoid situations where some team members are overworked while others aren’t.
Trello doesn’t come with any workload management features.
Top-rated Trello alternatives for managing team projects
Toggl Plan
Toggl Plan is a beautifully simple work management tool. Its simple, drag and drop timelines and Kanban boards make it easy to plan, track, and deliver team projects on time without the last-minute rush.
Features
| Feature | Trello | Toggl Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Kanban boards for task management | ✔ | ✔ |
| Work timelines for project planning | Paid feature | ✔ |
| Team timelines for resource management | – | Paid feature |
| Multi-assign tasks | ✔ | ✔ |
| Customizable workflows | ✔ | ✔ |
| Workflow automation | ✔ | – |
| Mobile apps | ✔ | ✔ |
Toggl Plan has better features when it comes to project and resource planning. However, you cannot automate workflows with Toggl Plan. Both tools come with mobile apps which help manage work on the go.
Integrations
Toggl Plan comes with integrations for Toggl Track (for time tracking), Slack, Github, and Google Calendar. Compared to Toggl Plan, Trello has a lot of integrations. However, you often won’t need to use all the integrations.
Pricing
You can try Toggl Plan free for 14 days with your team. After the trial period, you can upgrade to a paid plan or continue using Toggl Plan as a solo user.
Paid plans range between $9-$15 per user per month.
Should you choose Toggl Plan over Trello?
Toggl Plan is perfect for teams that need to work on multiple projects at a time and need clarity about who’s working on what and when.
On the other hand, if you need workflow automation features, Trello is a better option for you.
Asana
Asana is a work management tool for big organizations. It helps you plan and manage your entire workflow from setting goals to getting tasks done.
Features
| Feature | Trello | Asana |
|---|---|---|
| Kanban boards for task management | ✔ | ✔ |
| Work timelines for project planning | Paid feature | Paid feature |
| Workload management | – | Paid feature |
| Multi-assign tasks | ✔ | – |
| Sub-tasks | – | ✔ |
| Workflow automation | ✔ | ✔ |
| Mobile apps | ✔ | – |
Asana has better goal planning, work management, and workload management features compared to Trello. It also comes with a lot of different views for visualizing tasks including, Kanban boards, lists, calendars, and timelines.
Integrations
Both Asana and Trello come with a ton of integration options.
Pricing
Asana has a free plan which is good for teams of up to 15 members. However, timelines and workload management features are only available in the paid plans.
Paid plans range between $13.49-$30.49 per user per month.
Why should you choose Asana over Trello?
For complex team structures or implementing organization-wide work management practices, Asana takes care of almost all workflows.
However, it’s expensive and you’ll have to shell out as much as $30.49 per user per month to use these features.
Wrike
Wrike is an enterprise-grade work management and collaboration platform. It comes with a comprehensive set of features that’ll help you manage everything from your organization’s goals to your team’s workloads.
Features
| Feature | Trello | Asana |
|---|---|---|
| Kanban boards for task management | ✔ | ✔ |
| Work timelines for project planning | Paid feature | Paid feature |
| Workload management | – | Paid feature |
| Time tracking and timesheets | – | ✔ |
| Real-time reports and dashboard views | – | ✔ |
| Workflow automation | ✔ | ✔ |
Wrike comes with everything you need to manage your organization’s workflows.
It comes with enterprise-level features including real-time reports, shareable dashboards, and timesheets. Plus, it comes with a proofing feature that supports over 30 file-formats including docs and videos.
Integrations
Wrike comes with integrations for all the common collaboration tools as well as enterprise tools such as Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, and Tableau.
Pricing
Wrike has a free plan with unlimited members. However, timelines, workload management, and timesheet features are only available in the paid plans.
Paid plans range between $9.80-$24.80 per user per month.
Why should you choose Wrike over Trello?
If you’re looking for an enterprise-grade work management tool, Wrike may be right for you. For small teams, however, it may feel overwhelming and pay overhead to keep it up to date.
ClickUp
Like Asana, ClickUp is another work management tool. In addition to goals, projects, and tasks ClickUp also offers docs, reminders, and even an email inbox. That way all your work stays inside ClickUp.
Features
| Feature | Trello | ClickUp |
|---|---|---|
| Kanban boards for task management | ✔ | ✔ |
| Timelines for project planning | Paid feature | Paid feature |
| Workload management | – | Paid feature |
| Customizable task fields | ✔ | ✔ |
| Dashboard views | – | ✔ |
| Collaboration via documents and email | – | ✔ |
ClickUp offers a lot more features than Trello. In addition to managing goals, projects, and tasksClickUp also comes with inbuilt documents and an email inbox.
Like Trello, ClickUp also comes with native mobile apps for all devices.
Integrations
ClickUp offers integrations with 1000+ tools via Zapier. It also offers native integrations with the most popular collaboration tools.
Pricing
ClickUp’s free plan is very generous with unlimited users and tasks. However, the free plan does not come with planning, workload management, and time tracking features. In addition, the free plan also limits the number of task lists you can create.
Paid plans range between $9-$29 per user per month.
Why should you choose ClickUp over Trello?
If you need a one-stop work management solution, ClickUp may be right for you.
However, you may end up paying for features you probably don’t need. In addition, you also have to factor in training costs to onboard your team.
Microsoft Planner (+ Project)
Microsoft Planner is a simple, collaborative Kanban-based task management software. It comes along with your Microsoft 365 subscription. However, to add planning capabilities you’ll also need to purchase a Microsoft Project subscription.
Features
| Feature | Trello | ClickUp |
|---|---|---|
| Kanban boards for task management | ✔ | ✔ |
| Timelines for project planning | Paid feature | With MS Project |
| Workload management | – | With MS Project |
| Customizable task fields | ✔ | – |
| Charts dashboard view | – | ✔ |
| Mobile Apps | ✔ | ✔ |
MS Planner offers some more features than Trello. But to add timeline planning to your toolset, you’ll need to also purchase a Microsoft Project subscription. MS Planner also comes with a charts view that shows you how your project is progressing.
One of the biggest advantages you get with MS Planner is that it has direct integrations with other Microsoft products.
Integrations
MS Planner integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products including Office 365, Project, and Teams.
Pricing
Microsoft Planner comes along with the Microsoft 365 subscription which ranges from $6-$22 per user per month with an annual commitment. Microsoft Project costs an additional $10-$55 per user per month.
Why should you choose Microsoft Planner over Trello?
If your team is already using Microsoft tools like Teams, Office, etc. it makes sense to invest in Plan and Project. For enterprise teams, you also get top-class support from Microsoft.
However, for others, you’ll have to pay for multiple tools increasing your overall costs per month.
Monday.com
Monday.com is another all-in-one Work OS. Uniquely, it comes with custom items. Custom items are databases and can be anything from clients, projects, tasks, etc. Each custom item also has customizable columns. Together these items and views help you manage every aspect of your work.
Features
| Feature | Trello | Monday.com |
|---|---|---|
| Kanban boards for task management | ✔ | ✔ |
| Timelines for project planning | Paid feature | Paid feature |
| Team workload management | – | Paid feature |
| Custom databases | – | ✔ |
| Dashboard views | – | ✔ |
| Workflow automation | ✔ | ✔ |
| Mobile apps | ✔ | – |
Monday.com is more flexible than Trello as you can use its custom databases and columns to match your team’s needs. Like Asana, it also comes with a lot of different views for visualizing tasks including, Kanban boards, lists, calendars, and timelines.
Integrations
Monday.com comes with hundreds of integration options.
Pricing
Monday.com has a free plan which is limited in the number of tasks you can manage. Unlimited task items, views, and automation are only available in paid plans. In addition, Monday.com also limits the number of automation and integration actions you can perform depending on the plan you choose.
Paid plans range between $10-$20 per user per month.
Why should you choose Monday.com over Trello?
If you need a fully customized work management solution, Monday.com is right for you.
However, customized solutions are often more complex. Plus, because of team size-based pricing plans, you may end up paying more than your actual use.
Notion
Notion is another tool that’s similar in flexibility to Monday. Similar to Monday.com’s items, Notion comes with blocks. Blocks can be simple text items or customizable databases with custom columns.
In combination with database views, such as Kanban boards, lists, tables, timelines, and calendars blocks can represent goals, projects, tasks, teams, team members, etc.
Unlike Monday.com though, Notion is more free-form. You can practically create your own internal app within Notion.
Features
| Feature | Trello | Notion |
|---|---|---|
| Custom databases | – | ✔ |
| Document collaboration | – | ✔ |
| Workload management | – | – |
| Lists and table views | – | ✔ |
| Kanban board view | ✔ | ✔ |
| Timeline view | Paid feature | ✔ |
| Calendar view | Paid feature | ✔ |
Notion is understandably more flexible than Trello.
To create a custom work management solution though, you’ll either need to invest your time or hire a consultant to build a workflow in Notion that works for you. In addition, you will also need to invest in establishing norms on how to use Notion as well as train your team.
If you don’t want a customized solution though, Notion offers templates for project management that you can use out of the box.
Integrations
Notion comes with dozens of native integrations including Asana, GitHub, Slack, Google Drive, etc.
Pricing
Notion’s free plan is good for individual users. For a collaborative workspace though you’ll need to upgrade to a $10 per user per month plan.
Why should you choose Notion over Trello?
Frankly, it’s better to invest in a project management tool instead of a generic tool like Notion.
However, Notion may be for you if you’re okay with hacked solutions or prefer to have one affordable solution for work and document management.
Airtable
Airable is the next customizable database table on our list.
Similar to Notion, Airtable combines custom databases with diverse views including timelines, boards, calendars, galleries, forms, etc. to help you build customizable workflows. And just like Notion, you can practically create any workflow application using Airtable.
However, unlike Notion, Airtable comes with automation and reporting features.
Features
| Feature | Trello | Airtable |
|---|---|---|
| Custom databases | – | ✔ |
| Kanban board view | ✔ | ✔ |
| Timeline view | Paid feature | ✔ |
| Calendar view | Paid feature | ✔ |
| Automation | ✔ | ✔ |
| Reporting | – | ✔ |
As a part spreadsheet, part database Airtable is more flexible than Trello.
However, to create a custom workflow solution you’ll either have to use one of Airtable templates or hack together your own solution.
Integrations
Airtable has a robust API and offers integrations via Zapier, Automate.io, Integromat, etc.
Pricing
Airtable’s free plan is limited to 1200 records per database. For more records and the timeline view, you’ll need to upgrade to the $20 per seat, per month Pro plan.
Paid plans range from $10-$20 per user per month.
Why should you choose Airtable over Trello?
Airtable is great if you need a custom solution with automation and reporting. However, it’s always better to use a specialized project management tool like the ones mentioned in this article.
Jira
Jira is a specialized project management tool for agile software development teams.
It helps you manage all aspects of your software development lifecycle including planning, tracking, release management, and reporting.
Features
| Feature | Trello | Airtable |
|---|---|---|
| Kanban boards | ✔ | ✔ |
| Scrum boards | – | ✔ |
| Roadmap timelines | Paid feature | ✔ |
| Agile reporting | With Addons | ✔ |
| Automation | ✔ | – |
| Integration with dev tools | With Addons | ✔ |
Jira is made specifically for agile software development teams.
In addition to Kanban boards, you also get Scrum boards in Jira. Scrum boards help you plan and manage epics, sprints, and issues along with your task backlog.
Jira also comes with over a dozen in-built reports to get real-time updates on your team’s progress.
Integrations
Other than the standard integrations that most project management tools offer, Jira offers specialized integrations with other software tools. These include BitBucket code repository, Confluence knowledge management, and Atlassian Devops.
Pricing
Jira has a free plan for up to 10 users. However, advanced roadmap timelines and capacity planning are only available in the top $14.50 per user per month plan.
Paid plans range from $7.50 to $14.50 per user per month.
Why should you choose Jira over Trello?
This one’s simple — Jira is a no-brainer for agile software development teams. Other than its features, Atlassian’s end-to-end software development lifecycle management tools integrate really well with Jira.
However, for design, marketing, and creative teams Jira may feel overwhelming.
OpenProject
As its name suggests, OpenProject is an open-source Trello alternative.
The software is available in three flavors:
- Community edition: a self-hosted free version of the tool
- Enterprise on-premise edition: Similar to community edition but with paid Enterprise-level support
- Enterprise cloud edition: Managed and hosted on OpenProject’s cloud infrastructure
Features
| Feature | Trello | Airtable |
|---|---|---|
| Kanban boards | ✔ | ✔ |
| Scrum boards | – | ✔ |
| Roadmap timelines | Paid feature | ✔ |
| Time tracking | With Addons | ✔ |
| Automation | ✔ | – |
| Resource planning | – | – |
OpenProject is built for agile project teams. As a result, software development teams will find OpenProject quite useful.
In addition to Kanban boards and timelines, OpenProject also comes with project portfolio management and time tracking features.
However, it misses out on team capacity and availability planning features.
Integrations
OpenProject offers out-of-the-box integrations for Jira, GitHub, GitLab, MS Project, etc.
Pricing
The Community edition is completely free to download, install, and use on your own infrastructure. However, you’re responsible for maintaining your setup.
On the other hand, the Enterprise edition pricing starts at €5.95 per user per month after a free 14-day trial.
Why should you choose OpenProject over Trello?
OpenProject may be perfect for software development teams that need an open-source, self-hosted project management tool.
However, for small teams, it adds an overhead to maintain the software.
A quick comparison of the best Trello alternatives
So what should you replace Trello with? Here’s a quick comparison table to help you.
| Trello Alternative | Price/user/month | Who is it for? |
|---|---|---|
| Toggl Plan | $9-$15 | Creative, design, and marketing teams that need a simple work management tool to deliver projects on time without the overwhelm. |
| Asana | $13.49-$30.49 | For organizations that need to track everything from goals to project portfolios along with delivering projects and managing workloads. |
| Wrike | $9.80-$24.80 | Enterprise-grade work management tool with custom reports and dashboards. It also comes with hundreds of add-ons and templates. |
| Clickup | $9-$29 | All-in-one project and task management tool with document management, email inbox, timelines, and boards. |
| Microsoft Planner + Project | $16-$77 | Microsoft’s project planning and tracking tools with integrations for Teams and Office 365. Maybe for you if you’re already using other Microsoft products. |
| Monday.com | $10-$20 | Customizable, all-in-one workflow management tool that comes with workload management and multiple ways to visualize your work. Needs some onboarding and customization work. |
| Notion | $10 | All-in-one custom database and document management. For teams that need an affordable, all-in-one hacky solution to manage their work. |
| Airtable | $10-$20 | Custom databases with multiple views and an ability to create your own UI on top. Use their readymade templates or hack your own custom workflow solution. |
| Jira | $7.50-$14.50 | Best for software teams that also need code repository, continuous integration, continuous deployment, and knowledge management |
| OpenProject | €5.95 | Best for software development teams that are looking for a self-hosted, open-source project management tool. |
Choosing from the Best Trello Alternatives
It sure is hard picking a favorite tool from the 10 Trello alternatives.
Like every team, your team has its own workflows, budgets, and needs. Hopefully, this article has given you a starting point from where you can start evaluating a couple of options. And finally, settle in on a project tool that your team can enjoy using every day.
As you begin your evaluation journey, you definitely want to give Toggl Plan a try. It comes with everything your team needs to deliver projects. What’s more, Toggl Plan is easy to get started with and something your team will actually use.
