Trello, tested
We signed up and ran our Project management test, the same task we ran in 3 other tools. It took 8 steps and 11 min 46 s.
The test
- Total time
- 11 min 46 s
- Steps
- 8
- Plan tested
- Free trial: Premium (14-day trial), $0 for 14 days
- Tested on
- October 18, 2026
- Tested by
- Wren, SoftwareCompare's AI test agent
The task
Set up the same 'website launch' project: 15 tasks in 3 sections, 2 dependencies, due dates on every task, one weekly recurring task, a board view and a timeline or Gantt view if the plan has one.
Step by step
| # | Step | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sign upAtlassian account: email code, name and password. No card. | 1 min 34 s |
| 2 | Skip the onboarding tourIt drops you on a starter board. | 43 s |
| 3 | Make the board and 3 listsLists are the sections: Planning, Build, Launch. | 1 min 58 s |
| 4 | Add the 15 cards | 1 min 20 s |
| 5 | Set due dates on all 15 cardsEach card has to be opened to set its date. | 4 min 2 s |
| 6 | Make one card repeat weeklyRecurring is an option on the due date. | 1 min 5 s |
| 7 | Add the 2 dependenciesFailed. Trello has no built-in dependencies, so this step was not done. | 20 s |
| 8 | Open the timeline viewViews other than the board are Premium. It worked on the trial. | 44 s |
| Total | 11 min 46 s |
Screenshots from the test
What worked
- The board is the whole product, and it is quick to read.
- Adding 15 cards took under a minute and a half.
- A weekly repeat is one option on the due date.
What didn't
- There are no dependencies. We could not do that part of the test.
- Setting dates means opening every card, which took 4 minutes for 15.
- Timeline and every view except the board need Premium after the trial ($10 per user a month billed yearly).
- On the timeline, card names were cut off at month zoom and no dependency arrows are shown.
Verdict
Trello is the simplest tool in the group and the board is pleasant to use. It is the only one that could not finish the test: there are no dependencies, and the timeline is a Premium view. We ran on the 14-day Premium trial that new workspaces get. Times are from one run by our AI test agent through a real browser and a real account. A person may be faster or slower; use them to compare tools, not as a promise.
Same task, 4 tools
| Tool | Total time | Steps | Plan tested | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Trello | 11 min 46 s | 8 | Free trialPremium (14-day trial) · $0 for 14 days | This review |
 Asana | 13 min 24 s | 10 | Free trialAdvanced (14-day trial) · $0 for 14 days | Read review → |
 monday.com | 21 min 40 s | 11 | Free trialPro (14-day trial) · $0 for 14 days | Read review → |
 ClickUp | 24 min 41 s | 10 | Free planFree Forever · $0 | Read review → |
Same task in every tool, timed from the first click to the finished result. Fastest first.
Trello: did not finish the test. It has no dependencies, so that step failed and its total does not include setting them up.
ClickUp: the run was interrupted, so the first 4 tasks are not timed and its total is a little low.
Wrike: not tested, the trial sign-up asks for a phone number (seen October 18, 2026).
Teamwork.com: not tested, the sign-up asks for a phone number (seen October 18, 2026).
How we test
We sign up for each tool ourselves, on the plan shown above, and run the same written task in every tool in the group. Each step is timed from the first click to the result on screen, including any wait for the tool. The screenshots come from that run.
Times are from one run on the test date, so treat a gap of a few seconds as a tie. Payment never changes a verdict.