Why Look for Trello Alternatives in 2026
Trello is still one of the easiest ways to put work on a board, and the price is low: Standard is $5 per user per month billed annually. The reasons people look elsewhere usually show up in the plan details.
- The Free plan has hard ceilings. A free Workspace allows up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards, 10MB per file and 250 automation command runs a month. Custom fields need Standard.
- Views beyond the board cost Premium. Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views are only on Premium ($10 per user per month billed annually, $12.50 monthly) and Enterprise. That is double the Standard price.
- Enterprise security is a separate purchase. SSO and user provisioning need the Enterprise plan with Atlassian Guard, which is its own subscription starting at $4 per user per month.
- Some teams outgrow "just a board". Teams that want portfolios, goals, resource planning or a flat price for many users will find those handled better elsewhere.
None of this makes Trello a bad choice. This guide compares it with Asana, ClickUp, monday.com, Notion, Basecamp and Jira, with a focus on boards, simple task tracking and what you pay to get more than that.
Trello review
Trello is a Kanban tool first. Boards hold lists, lists hold cards, and the rest comes from Power-Ups, built-in automation (each run is a "command run") and extra views on higher plans.
Key features
- Kanban boards with unlimited cards and unlimited Power-Ups per board on all plans
- Built-in automation: 250 command runs a month on Free, 1,000 on Standard, unlimited on Premium and Enterprise
- Custom fields, advanced checklists, card mirroring and single-board guests (Standard and up)
- Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views (Premium and up)
Pricing
- Free: $0. Up to 10 collaborators and up to 10 boards per Workspace, 10MB per file, 250 command runs a month.
- Standard: $5 per user per month billed annually, or $6 billed monthly. Unlimited boards, 250MB per file, 1,000 command runs a month.
- Premium: $10 per user per month billed annually, or $12.50 billed monthly. Unlimited command runs. Trello describes it as best for teams of up to 100.
- Enterprise: $17.50 per user per month billed annually ($210 per user per year). Unlimited Workspaces. Trello says the price drops with volume. A monthly price is not listed.
- Atlassian Guard: a separate subscription from $4 per user per month, needed for SSO and user provisioning.
Any Workspace can start a free trial of Premium. The pricing page does not say how long it lasts.
Pros
- Low entry price: Standard is $5 per user per month billed annually
- Unlimited cards and Power-Ups per board, even on Free
- Built-in automation on every plan, unlimited from Premium
- Premium trial available to any Workspace
Cons
- Free plan limits Workspaces to 10 collaborators and 10 boards
- Timeline, Table, Calendar and Dashboard views require Premium
- SSO and user provisioning need Enterprise with Atlassian Guard
Who should use it
Small teams that think in "to do, doing, done". Standard covers most of them: unlimited boards, custom fields and 1,000 command runs a month.
Who should skip it
Teams that need timelines or dashboards will pay Premium prices for views other tools include lower down. Companies that need SSO should price Enterprise plus Atlassian Guard first.
Asana review
Asana is built for structured team work. Boards are one of several views, alongside list, calendar, timeline and Gantt, with reporting and automations on top.
Key features
- List, board and calendar views on every plan, including free Personal
- Timeline and Gantt views, reporting dashboards and custom fields (Starter and up)
- Unlimited automations, forms and custom templates (Starter and up)
- Portfolios, goals, resource management and approvals or proofing (Advanced and up)
Pricing
- Personal: $0, free forever, up to 2 seats.
- Starter: $10.99 per user per month billed annually, or $13.49 billed monthly.
- Advanced: $24.99 per user per month billed annually, or $30.49 billed monthly.
- Enterprise and Enterprise+: custom pricing through sales.
Seats are sold one at a time up to 5 users, then in steps of 5 up to 30, steps of 10 up to 100, steps of 25 up to 500 and steps of 50 above that. Asana does not give refunds; if you cancel, you keep access until the end of the paid period. AI use beyond the included credits costs $0.50 per request prepaid or $0.60 pay-as-you-go. The pricing page does not mention a free trial.
Pros
- Unlimited automations, forms and free guests from the Starter plan
- Timeline and Gantt views from the entry paid tier
- Portfolios, goals and resource management on Advanced
- Enterprise security options such as SAML, SCIM and data residency
Cons
- Free plan is capped at 2 seats
- Advanced costs $24.99 per user per month annual ($30.49 monthly)
- No refunds on cancelled subscriptions
- Timeline, Gantt, automations and guest access are not on the free plan
Who should use it
Teams that have outgrown a single board and want timelines, dashboards and automations. Starter has all three; Advanced adds portfolios and goals.
Who should skip it
Teams of more than 2 who want a free tool. Teams that only need a board will pay more than twice Trello Standard's price.
ClickUp review
ClickUp combines tasks, docs, boards, sprints, time tracking and AI. Its free plan is generous on features and people, and tight on storage. Its pricing page appears to be mid-change (new plan names at the top, older sections lower down), so check it before buying.
Key features
- Tasks, docs, Kanban boards, calendar view, sprints and time tracking on Free Forever
- Unlimited Gantt charts, custom fields and task types, and unlimited forms (Core and up)
- Automations with monthly quotas: 1,000 on Core, 10,000 on Business, 1 million on Enterprise and MAX
- Advanced dashboards, resource management, timesheets, and private views and docs (Business)
Pricing
- Free Forever: $0. 60MB of storage, unlimited tasks, unlimited free members, 1 form, and 500 AI credits per workspace as a trial. No credit card needed.
- Core: $9 per user per month billed yearly. 1,000 AI credits per user per month (pooled), unlimited storage, unlimited Gantt charts, 1,000 automations a month.
- Business: $17 per user per month billed yearly. 1,500 AI credits per user per month (pooled), 10,000 automations a month, advanced dashboards, resource management and timesheets.
- Enterprise: custom. 3,000 AI credits per user per month, 1 million automations a month, SSO, SCIM, SAML and HIPAA.
- MAX: $100 per user per month billed yearly. Everything in Enterprise plus maximum AI use, 10,000 credits per user per month.
Extra AI credits cost $10 per 10,000. The page says you can "save up to 33% with yearly" billing; we only list the yearly prices because the monthly prices are not clearly labeled. ClickUp offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pros
- Free plan allows unlimited free members
- Unlimited storage and Gantt charts from Core
- AI credits included on every paid plan
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- Free plan storage is only 60MB
- Core caps automations at 1,000 per month
- MAX costs $100 per user per month billed yearly
Who should use it
Teams that want Trello-style boards plus docs, sprints and time tracking in one place. Free members are unlimited, so the whole team can test it.
Who should skip it
Teams that just want a board. ClickUp has far more to set up, and 60MB of free storage fills quickly.
monday.com review
monday.com is built around boards of items, with automations and integrations on a monthly action quota.
Key features
- Boards with unlimited items, even on the Free plan
- Gantt/timeline and calendar views (Standard and up)
- Automations and integrations with monthly action quotas (250 on Standard, 25,000 on Pro)
- Guest access (Standard and up); private boards and docs and time tracking (Pro)
Pricing
- Free: $0 forever. Up to 2 seats, 3 boards, 3 Docs, unlimited items and unlimited free viewers.
- Basic: $9 per seat per month billed annually, or $12 billed monthly. 1,000 AI credits a month.
- Standard: $12 per seat per month billed annually, or $14 billed monthly. 250 automation actions and 250 integration actions a month, guest access, Gantt and timeline views, 2,000 AI credits.
- Pro: $19 per seat per month billed annually, or $24 billed monthly. 25,000 automation and 25,000 integration actions a month, private boards, time tracking, 3,000 AI credits.
- Enterprise: custom. 250,000 automation and integration actions a month.
Paid plans start from 3 users, and you pick seats from a team-size selector rather than adding one at a time. Above 40 users, monday.com asks you to request a quote. Yearly billing saves 18%. There is a 14-day free trial of Pro.
Pros
- Unlimited items and free viewers even on the Free plan
- Gantt/timeline views and guest access from Standard ($12 per seat annual)
- Pro raises automation and integration quotas to 25,000 actions a month
- 14-day Pro trial
Cons
- Paid plans require at least 3 seats
- Standard's 250 automation actions per month is low for busy teams
- Monthly billing costs more: $12, $14 and $24 per seat vs $9, $12 and $19 annual
Who should use it
Teams of 3 or more that want timelines, guests and automations on one plan. Standard is the practical entry point; Pro suits heavy automation.
Who should skip it
Solo users and pairs who want a paid plan, since paid plans start at 3 seats.
Notion review
Notion is a docs and wiki tool with databases built in. A database can be shown as a board, so a Kanban tracker can sit next to the docs it refers to.
Key features
- Databases with table, board, list, calendar, gallery and chart views, plus filter, sort and group
- Database relations and rollups to link and summarize items across databases
- Subtasks, dependencies and custom properties on all plans
- Custom forms and custom database automations (Plus and up); basic forms and button automations on Free
Pricing
- Free: $0. Unlimited pages and blocks for individuals, a limited block trial for workspaces with 2 or more members, 5MB file uploads, 10 guests, 7-day page history, 1 chart, basic forms, basic button automations and a limited Notion AI trial.
- Plus: $10 per member per month billed annually. Unlimited blocks, unlimited uploads (about 5GB per file), unlimited guests, 30-day page history, unlimited charts, custom forms and custom database automations.
- Business: $20 per member per month billed annually. Adds Notion Agent, AI Meeting Notes and Enterprise Search (beta), private teamspaces, granular database permissions and 90-day page history.
- Enterprise: custom. Unlimited page history and zero data retention with LLM providers.
Custom Agents are free to try, then cost $10 per 1,000 monthly Notion credits. Monthly billing costs more (Notion says you save up to 20% with yearly), but we could not confirm the exact monthly prices.
Pros
- Free plan is unlimited for individuals
- Databases with relations, rollups and many views on every plan
- Custom database automations and forms from Plus ($10 per member annual)
- Business includes Notion AI agent, meeting notes and enterprise search
Cons
- Free plan limits blocks for teams of 2 or more and keeps only 7 days of history
- Full AI features require Business at $20 per member per month annual
- Custom Agents cost extra via Notion credits ($10 per 1,000)
Who should use it
Teams whose tasks live next to a lot of writing, such as specs, content calendars or wikis.
Who should skip it
Teams that want a ready-made task tool. In Notion you build the tracker yourself, and free teams of 2 or more hit the block limit.
Basecamp review
Basecamp charges a flat monthly price and limits active projects instead of seats. Each project holds several tools.
Key features
- Flat monthly price with unlimited users on Studio and above
- Project templates, multiple tools per project and time tracking on every plan, including Free
- Unlimited tools per project (Studio and up)
- MCP support and connectors for ChatGPT, Claude and AI agents on all plans
Pricing
- Free: $0. 1 project, 1GB of storage, up to 5 users.
- Freelancer: $25 a month. Up to 3 active projects, 5GB, up to 20 users.
- Studio: $59 a month. Up to 10 active projects, 25GB, unlimited users.
- Pro: $99 a month. Up to 25 active projects, 100GB, unlimited users.
- Unlimited: $299 a month billed annually. Unlimited projects, 1TB, unlimited users, priority support and personalized onboarding. An extra 5TB costs $100 a month.
Freelancer, Studio and Pro list "annual billing" as a feature, but the page does not say whether their listed prices are for monthly or annual billing. Archived and deleted projects do not count toward the active-project limit. Nonprofits (501(c)(3)) get 10% off. Trials run 30 days on Freelancer, Studio and Pro, and 45 days on Unlimited. You cannot downgrade a paid account to Free, and cancelling an annual plan gets a prorated refund.
Pros
- Flat pricing with unlimited users from Studio ($59 a month)
- Time tracking and project templates included even on Free
- Long trials: 30 days on most plans, 45 on Unlimited
- Prorated refund when cancelling an annual plan
Cons
- Paid tiers cap active projects (3, 10 or 25) below Unlimited
- Unlimited costs $299 a month and is billed annually
- Free plan allows only 1 project and 5 users
Who should use it
Agencies and teams with many people but few live projects. 30 people on 8 projects fit Studio's flat $59 a month.
Who should skip it
Teams that run many projects at once, since the active-project caps push you up the tiers quickly.
Jira review
Jira is built for software teams. Compared with Trello it adds backlogs, configurable workflows, roles and permissions, and cross-team planning. Its free plan covers up to 10 users.
Key features
- Backlog, list, board, timeline, calendar and summary views on all plans
- Automation rules: 150 steps a month on Free, 400 per user per month on Standard, 750 on Premium
- Rovo Search, Chat and Agents and AI-powered work features (Standard and above, per the pricing page)
- Cross-team planning and dependency management (Premium)
Pricing
- Free: $0 for up to 10 users. 2GB storage, 150 automation steps per month for the whole subscription, community support.
- Standard: $9.70 per user per month billed monthly for users 1 to 100, with lower rates above ($8.20 for users 101 to 250, $6.85 for 251 to 1,000). Annual billing is priced by tier: $950 a year for up to 10 users, $1,450 for 11 to 15, $4,850 for 26 to 50, $9,700 for 51 to 100. Includes roles and permissions, 400 automation steps per user per month and 250GB storage.
- Premium: $19.60 per user per month billed monthly for users 1 to 100 ($14.65 for 101 to 250, $10.20 for 251 to 1,000). Annual: $1,950 a year for up to 10 users, $19,500 for 51 to 100. Adds cross-team planning, dependencies, approvals, 750 automation steps per user per month, unlimited storage and a 99.9% uptime SLA.
- Enterprise: contact sales, annual only, listed for 801 or more users. 1,000 automation steps per user per month and a 99.95% uptime SLA.
Note that the headline prices on Atlassian's page ($8.48 for Standard and $15.56 for Premium) are averages for a 300-user monthly subscription, not small-team prices.
Pros
- Free plan for up to 10 users with board, backlog, timeline and calendar views
- Built-in automation on every plan, with larger per-user allowances on paid plans
- Scales to 100,000 users per site with graduated per-user discounts
- Premium adds cross-team planning, dependencies and unlimited storage
Cons
- Small-team list price is $9.70 per user per month for Standard and $19.60 for Premium on monthly billing
- Free plan has only 2GB storage and 150 automation steps a month
- Roles and permissions and planning features are gated to paid tiers
Who should use it
Software teams that need backlogs and configurable agile workflows. Teams of up to 10 can start free.
Who should skip it
Non-technical teams that liked Trello for its simplicity.
Head-to-Head Comparison
Ease of use
Trello is the simplest tool here, with very little to configure. Basecamp is also simple, since each project is a set of ready tools. Asana and monday.com need a little more setup (fields, owners, dates) and reward it with timelines and dashboards. Notion and ClickUp are the most flexible, so you design the system before people use it. Jira is the heaviest and aimed at software teams.
Features: views and automation
Every tool here can show work as a board. What differs is what else you get on the same plan.
- Trello: custom fields from Standard; Calendar, Timeline, Table and Dashboard only from Premium. Automation: 250 runs a month on Free, 1,000 on Standard, unlimited from Premium.
- Asana: timeline, Gantt and custom fields from Starter, with unlimited automations; no automations on Free.
- ClickUp: boards, calendar and sprints on Free; Gantt and custom fields from Core. Automations: 1,000 a month on Core, 10,000 on Business.
- monday.com: Gantt, timeline and calendar from Standard. Automations: none listed on Basic, 250 actions a month on Standard, 25,000 on Pro.
- Notion: board, table, list, calendar, gallery and chart views on every plan; custom database automations from Plus.
- Basecamp: project templates and time tracking on every plan, including Free.
- Jira: board, backlog, list, timeline and calendar on every plan. Automation: 150 steps a month on Free, 400 per user on Standard (4,000 a month for 10 users).
If you want a timeline on a cheaper plan than Trello Premium, Asana Starter, ClickUp Core, monday.com Standard and Jira (even Free) all include one.
Pricing value: a 10-person team
Yearly cost for 10 people on the likely plan, using confirmed annual prices where available.
- Trello Standard: 10 users x $5 x 12 months = $600. Premium (for timeline and dashboard views): 10 x $10 x 12 = $1,200.
- Basecamp Studio: $59 x 12 months = $708, for unlimited users and up to 10 active projects (the page does not say whether $59 is a monthly or annual billing price).
- Jira Standard: $950 a year on annual billing for up to 10 users. On monthly billing: 10 x $9.70 = $97 a month, or $1,164 over 12 months.
- ClickUp Core: 10 x $9 x 12 = $1,080.
- monday.com Basic: 10 x $9 x 12 = $1,080. Standard (for timeline and automations): 10 x $12 x 12 = $1,440.
- Notion Plus: 10 x $10 x 12 = $1,200.
- Asana Starter: 10 x $10.99 x 12 = $1,318.80.
Trello Standard is the cheapest per-user option. Basecamp wins as headcount grows within its project caps: at 30 people, Studio is still $708 a year, while Trello Standard is 30 x $5 x 12 = $1,800.
On free tiers, Trello (10 collaborators, 10 boards), Jira (10 users) and ClickUp (unlimited free members, 60MB storage) all fit 10 people. Asana and monday.com stop at 2 seats, and Basecamp Free allows 1 project.
Integrations and ecosystem
Trello connects to other apps through Power-Ups, unlimited per board on every plan. monday.com meters integrations like automations (250 actions a month on Standard, 25,000 on Pro). Basecamp offers MCP support and connectors for ChatGPT, Claude and AI agents on every plan. For AI, ClickUp and monday.com include monthly credits on paid plans, Notion puts its full AI on Business, Jira lists Rovo from Standard, and Asana charges for use beyond included credits.
Limits that bite
- Trello: 10 collaborators and 10 boards per free Workspace; 10MB files on Free; most views locked to Premium.
- Asana: free plan stops at 2 seats; no refunds; 100MB per upload.
- ClickUp: 60MB total storage on Free; 1,000 automations a month on Core.
- monday.com: 2 seats and 3 boards on Free; 3-seat minimum on paid plans; 250 automation actions on Standard.
- Notion: block limit for free teams of 2 or more; 7-day history and 5MB uploads on Free.
- Basecamp: 3, 10 or 25 active projects below Unlimited; no downgrade from paid to Free.
- Jira: 2GB storage and 150 automation steps a month on Free; roles and permissions only from Standard.
How to Choose: Decision Framework
Questions to ask
- Is a board enough? If so, stay with Trello on the cheapest plan that fits your headcount and board count.
- Do you need a timeline? Compare Trello Premium ($10 annual) with Asana Starter, ClickUp Core, monday.com Standard and Jira.
- How many people, and how many projects? Many people and few projects points to Basecamp. Otherwise, per-user tools.
- How much do you automate? Estimate monthly runs and compare with Trello Standard's 1,000, monday.com Standard's 250 or ClickUp Core's 1,000.
- Is this a software team? If you need backlogs and configurable workflows, look at Jira.
- Do your tasks live next to docs? Then Notion lets the board and the docs share one workspace.
Red flags
- A free plan that fits today but not in six months: Asana and monday.com cap free use at 2 seats, Basecamp at 1 project.
- Seat minimums and bundles: monday.com paid plans start at 3 seats, and Asana sells seats in steps above 5 users.
- Metered automations on the plan you can afford: 250 actions a month on monday.com Standard goes quickly.
- No way back: Basecamp does not let you downgrade a paid account to Free, and Asana does not refund cancelled subscriptions.
What to test in a trial
- Rebuild one real Trello board, including custom fields and a few automations.
- Invite a guest and check what they can see on the plan you plan to buy.
- Check that the view you are switching for is on your plan, not only the trial.
- Check the automation counter after a week of normal use.
Trials: Trello Premium (length not stated), monday.com Pro (14 days), Basecamp (30 days, 45 on Unlimited). ClickUp has a 30-day money-back guarantee. Asana and Notion list no trial, but both have free plans.
The Verdict: Final Recommendations
1. Trello: stay if a board is enough
Trello is still the cheapest, simplest Kanban for small teams. Move to Standard when you need custom fields or more than 10 boards.
2. Asana: best step up for structured teams
Pick Asana if you need timelines, dashboards and unlimited automations. Check where your headcount falls in its seat steps before you buy.
3. ClickUp: best for one tool that does everything
Start on Free Forever with the whole team, then move to Core for unlimited storage and Gantt charts.
4. monday.com: best for visual boards with automations
Start the 14-day Pro trial, then pick Standard or Pro based on the automation actions you used.
5. Notion: best when tasks live with docs
Choose Notion if your board should sit next to your docs. Budget for Plus, since free team workspaces are limited.
6. Basecamp: best flat price for large teams
Count your live projects first, since that, not headcount, sets your Basecamp plan.
7. Jira: best for software teams
Teams of up to 10 can start free; above that, compare annual tier pricing with the $9.70 monthly rate.
Conclusion
Trello does one thing well and cheaply. Teams leave when they need views beyond the board, hit the Free plan's 10-board or 10-collaborator ceiling, or want pricing that suits their size. For structure, look at Asana or monday.com. For one workspace, ClickUp or Notion. For a large team with few projects, Basecamp. For software, Jira. Rebuild one real board in your top two choices before you switch.
Sarah Chen