6 Trello Alternatives to Consider

Project management software gives businesses a way to manage their projects and track individual tasks.

It also provides a unified platform for team members to collaborate. Many US workers say that communication (or lack of) is one of the biggest obstacles to their teams’ success.

The key takeaway is that communication is a critical component of project management.

You may already be aware of Trello – a popular web-based project management software that uses a kanban board to manage projects.

But if you need certain features like time tracking, it may not be the best option. In fact, 20% of organizations report that the lack of appropriate project management software is a common challenge they face.

Fortunately, there are many Trello alternatives that may be a better fit for your business.

But trying to find objective information online isn’t easy. You’re bombarded with pages and pages of search results and ads. Sorting through all of them is simply not practical.

That’s why we’ve compiled a comprehensive resource on the leading Trello alternatives. Use this guide to help you make an informed decision for your business.

Trello Alternatives:

Introduction to Trello

trello logo

What the Vendor Says: “Trello lets you work more collaboratively and get more done.”

About Trello

Trello is a web-based project management software that enables teams to collaborate on projects and keep their tasks organized easily.

What’s Offered by Trello?

Trello uses kanban boards – a system of boards and cards that allows teams to arrange work at various stages of a project visually. Projects are managed using “boards,” which can be categorized using lists and then filled with cards for individual tasks.

Trello is accessible on any device with mobile apps available for Android and iOS. With “Power-Ups,” businesses can add functionality like file management, HR and more into their boards with third-party integrations.

Additional features include:

  • Drag-and-drop editing
  • File attachments
  • Card records archive
  • Built-in workflow automation
  • Custom branding
  • Automated notifications from any device

Dashboard at a glance:

dashboard view of trellodashboard view of trello

How Much Does Trello Cost?

Trello has a free plan that includes built-in automation, unlimited cards, up to 10 boards per Workspace, unlimited Power-Ups per board, unlimited storage (at 10 MB per file), Trello templates, up to 250 Workspace command runs per month, custom background and stickers, unlimited activity log, assignee and due dates, a mobile app and two-factor authentication.

There are three paid plans:

  • Trello Standard – The Trello Standard plan is intended for small teams. It costs $5 per user, per month and includes all of the features of the free plan, plus unlimited boards, advanced checklists, custom fields, unlimited storage (at 250 MB per file), up to 1,000 Workspace command runs per month, single board guests and saved searches.
  • Trello Premium – Trello Premium is intended for teams with up to 100 members who need to track multiple projects. It costs $10 per user, per month. In addition to the features of the Standard plan, Trello Premium includes dashboard/timeline/calendar/workspace table/maps views, unlimited Workspace command runs, admin and security features, workspace-level templates, Board Collections (ability to group boards together), Observers, priority support, Google Apps sign-on and simple data export.
  • Trello Enterprise – Businesses with more extensive needs can opt for Trello’s Enterprise plan, which offers features designed for large companies that must coordinate projects with multiple teams. It starts at $17.50 per user, per month and adds on unlimited workspaces, organization wide permissions, organization visible boards, public board management, multi-board guests, attachment permissions, Power-Up administration and free SSO and user provisioning with Atlassian Access.

Pros and Cons of Trello

Pros: User-friendly interface that utilizes a Kanban board. Integration with popular third-party applications via Power-Ups.

Cons: Currently unable to show relationships between tasks and projects. Some users note limited flexibility in arranging cards.

Check out our comprehensive review of Trello for more information.

Trello Alternative #1: Clarizen

clarizen logo

What the Vendor Says: “Imagine it, achieve it and make an impact with Clarizen’s enterprise collaborative work management solution.”

Introduction to Clarizen

Clarizen is a robust project management software that’s built to streamline work processes and maximize business outcomes across the entire work lifecycle.

What’s Offered by Clarizen?

Clarizen is a cloud-based work management solution that enables enterprises to transform their ideas into actionable strategies. The platform supports in-context collaboration and gives managers real-time visibility into their projects.

Key features include:

  • End-to-end project dashboards
  • Project financial planning
  • Time and expense management
  • Issue and risk tracking
  • Document management
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Security and user management

Clarizen offers three products: Clarizen Go is a simple task management solution for smaller organizations, Clarizen One provides more advanced features for enterprises and Clarizen Eagle enables executives to manage all business initiatives.

Dashboard at a glance:

dashboard view of clarizendashboard view of clarizen dashboard view of clarizen

How Much Does Clarizen Cost?

Clarizen offers two pricing tiers: Enterprise and Unlimited. 

Here’s a snapshot of the features available for each:

clarizen pricing

Pricing information isn’t publicly displayed on the pricing page. Prospective clients should reach out directly to Clarizen for more details. Clarizen also offers different types of licenses depending on user access.

There is a free 30-day trial that interested businesses can sign up for.

Pros and Cons of Clarizen

Pros: Robust project management software for enterprise organizations. Configurable solutions that support the work lifecycle.

Cons: Not intended for businesses looking for a lightweight project management tool. Some users note a steep learning curve with the software. 

Read an in-depth review of Clarizen for more details.

Trello Alternative #2: Asana

asana logo

What the Vendor Says: “Asana is the work management platform teams use to stay focused on the goals, projects, and daily tasks that grow business.”

Introduction to Asana

Asana is a web-based project management software that’s designed to help organizations manage their projects and follow tasks through every stage — all from a single platform.

What’s Offered by Asana?

Asana provides a robust platform that enables teams to collaborate on projects and assign tasks with different priorities seamlessly. Project managers can use features like Timeline to create project plans and Portfolio to monitor their progress in real-time.

Asana is accessible from any browser. There are also apps available for Android and iOS devices.

Additional key features include:

  • Real-time activity monitoring
  • In-context collaboration
  • Project templates
  • Workflow automation
  • Custom calendars and views
  • Mobile apps available

Dashboard at a glance:

dashboard view of asanadashboard view of asanadashboard view of asana

How Much Does Asana Cost?

Asana offers a free version with basic functionality for teams up to 10 members. For companies that require more features and customizations, there are three paid plans available: Starter, Advanced, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus. 

Interested businesses can test drive the software for free for 30 days.

Pros and Cons of Asana

Pros: Intuitive interface for managing team workflows. Ability to create custom rules that can automate routine tasks. Free plan up to 15 users available with basic features. 

Cons: No time-tracking feature and limited exporting functionality. Users can only be assigned one task at a time.

Read our comprehensive review of Asana for more information.

Trello Alternative #3: Basecamp

basecamp logo

What the Vendor Says: “Get it together and manage projects the right way.”

Introduction to Basecamp

Basecamp is a web-based project management software that’s built for organizations of all sizes to manage their projects and keep everything organized in one intuitive interface. 

What’s Offered by Basecamp?

Basecamp offers a robust project management tool that serves as a single source for everything an organization needs to manage their projects and facilitate collaboration.

Activity view enables managers to view current projects and see all tasks that are due soon or overdue. The “My Stuff” menu allows individual users to easily view their assignments, bookmarks, recent activity and more.

Additional key features include:

  • Message boards
  • To-do lists
  • Shared user calendars
  • Document management
  • Automatic check-ins
  • Real-time group chat
  • Search and booking
  • Client email forwarding
  • Reports and notifications

Dashboard at a glance:

dashboard view of basecampbasecamp pricing

How Much Does Basecamp Cost?

Basecamp costs $15 per user, per month, which includes includes 500 GB of storage and unlimited projects, integrations, support, training and security. It bills only for the company’s employees or internal contributors, so external collaborators (e.g., clients, vendors) can use the software for free.

There’s a Pro Unlimited plan for unlimited users at $299 per month (billed annually), which adds on 5 TB of storage, 24/7 priority support, a one-on-one onboarding tour and the option to pay by check.

Interested businesses can sign up for a 30-day free trial without having to enter their credit card information.

Pros and Cons of Basecamp

Pros: A robust project management software that allows teams to collaborate on a single platform.

Cons: Lacks time tracking and doesn’t offer the ability to create Gantt charts. Some users have noted that the layout can be confusing and difficult to navigate.

Read this comprehensive review of Basecamp for more information.

Trello Alternative #4: Celoxis

celoxis logo

What the Vendor Says: “Get enterprise-class features, dynamic dashboards & tons of customizations in one economical solution.”

Introduction to Celoxis

Celoxis is an all-in-one project management tool built with enterprise-class features that enable organizations to track and manage projects of all sizes. 

What’s Offered by Celoxis?

Celoxis offers an integrated and highly customizable project management solution that eliminates the need to manage multiple spreadsheets or files from different locations. 

Managers can easily track every aspect of a project, including tasks, resources, financials and more. The dedicated client portal allows organizations to collaborate with clients and customers. The software can be deployed in the cloud or on-premise. 

Key features include:

  • Customizable layouts
  • Multiple dashboards per user
  • Project request tracking
  • Project planning and tracking
  • Resource management
  • Project accounting
  • Portfolio management
  • Time tracking
  • Reporting and analytics

Dashboard at a glance:

dashboard view of celoxisdashboard view of celoxisdashboard view of celoxis

How Much Does Celoxis Cost?

Celoxis has monthly, biannual or annual billing. Its annual billing starts at $22.50 per user, per month. If the company wants to purchase a perpetual license, they’ll need to contact the vendor for a price quote. There’s a five-user minimum to purchase the software regardless of deployment. Clexois also offers three optional training packages: Essentials ($1,650), Enhanced ($2,775) and Comprehensive ($4,250).

 

Prospective clients can sign up for a free 30-day trial to test drive the software.

Pros and Cons of Celoxis

Pros: Robust project management software with enterprise-grade features and flexible deployment options. 

Cons: Primarily intended for larger enterprises that require enhanced functionality. Might be too full-featured for smaller companies. Some users note a steep learning curve.

Check out our comprehensive review of Celoxis to learn more.

Trello Alternative #5: monday.com

monday.com logo

What the Vendor Says: “Monday.com is the Work OS that powers teams to run projects and workflows with confidence.”

Introduction to monday.com

Monday.com is a leading project management software that bills itself as a “Work OS” that gives teams the tools they need to manage their projects and collaborate.

What’s Offered by monday.com?

Monday.com offers a cloud-based solution that aims to simplify the way organizations manage their projects. Users can fully configure and customize their boards.

Color-coded boards provide a highly visual way for users to manage their workload and track the progress of their projects. Managers can use features like timelines to track projects that span over some time and set deadline reminders. monday.com also offers code-free automation that allows users to automate critical processes.

Additional key features include:

  • Centralized management with boards
  • Pulses for organized communication
  • Visual organization with meaningful colors
  • Fully customizable tables
  • Advanced search
  • Reporting and analytics

Dashboard at a glance:

dashboard view of monday.comdashboard view of monday.com dashboard view of monday.com

How Much Does monday.com Cost?

Monday.com has four pricing tiers: Basic, Standard, Pro and Enterprise. Each plan provides different features and has limitations on certain ones like the number of boards allowed per dashboard.

Here’s a snapshot of monday.com’s pricing for five users per month:

monday.com pricing

And here’s its pricing per month for 100 users:

monday.com pricing

Interested businesses can save 18% with a yearly plan. Enterprises with over 200 users will need to reach out directly to monday.com to request a quote.

Pros and Cons of monday.com

Pros: Scalable project management software with a rich feature set. The fully customizable boards let users gain key insights across projects and teams.

Cons: The Basic plan lacks many important project management features. Some users note that the interface can appear cluttered when there are too many comments and boards.

Read our comprehensive review of monday.com for more details.

Trello Alternative #6: Workzone

workzone logo

What the Vendor Says: “Project management software that’s powerful and easy to use.”

Introduction to Workzone

Workzone is a project management solution that enables organizations to securely collaborate in the cloud and share files with the entire team.

What’s Offered by Workzone?

Workzone offers an intuitive dashboard that enables users to view key metrics at a glance like who is responsible for a project, start and end dates, how much is complete and additional notes.

The file-sharing module allows users to drag-and-drag files from their desktops into Workzone and set permissions. The platform also automates the approval workflow from emailing the request to the appropriate users to recording responses and sending alerts. Managers can create templates from existing projects and save a lot of time in the process.

Additional key features include:

  • To-do lists
  • Task dependencies
  • Workload reports
  • Time tracking
  • Group calendars
  • Email alerts
  • Custom branding

Dashboard at a glance:

dashboard view of workzonedashboard view of workzone

 

How Much Does Workzone Cost?

Workzone provides three pricing plans (billed annually). The Team plans costs $24 per user, per month and includes most project and task management features and 100 GB storage.

The Professional plan costs $34 per user, per month and adds on 150 GB of storage, custom project intake forms and API access. The Enterprise plan requires a custom quote, and it includes 200 GB of storage, public access forms, cross-project dependencies, single sign-on (SSO), custom fields and reports, workspace groups and critical paths.

Pros and Cons of Workzone

Pros: User-friendly project management tool with document sharing and collaboration capabilities. Users can build templates from their current projects and automate workflows.

Cons: Doesn’t have features like budgeting, accounting and expense tracking. Some users note that notifications can be overwhelming. 

Read our comprehensive review of Workzone for additional information.

The Right Trello Alternative for Your Business

Finding the project management software that’s right for your business can be challenging.

Here are some Trello alternatives that we recommend for different types of businesses:

The Right Trello Alternative for Startups

We recommend startups check out:

  • Asana

The Right Trello Alternative for Small to Mid-Sized Companies

We recommend small to mid-sized companies check out:

  • Basecamp

The Right Trello Alternative for Enterprises

We recommend enterprises check out:

  • Clarizen

Conclusion

Project management software offers companies a solution to manage their projects and provides users with a collaborative workspace.

Trello is a leading project management tool that uses boards and cards within tasks to manage projects. 

But if you’re looking for additional functionality, you may consider other alternatives to Trello for your business. Better Buys has several resources to help you make an informed decision.

Related Resources: