Trello vs ClickUp: Which Tool is Better for Project Management?
In the market for the best project management software and looking to compare ClickUp vs Trello? Both of these software apps offer powerful features and capabilities, but they are designed with different users in mind.
What is the better project management software? Before making any big decisions, let’s thoughtfully compare Trello vs ClickUp based on features, performance, collaboration capabilities, customization options, scalability, and cost.
By evaluating each product through identified criteria it will be easier for you to make an informed decision about choosing the right project management tool for you and your team.
Let's dive in!
What is ClickUp
ClickUp is one of the top-rated project management software and productivity tools used by all kinds of teams and businesses. This software offers a majority of the tools and functions that you can find at little to no cost at all. With ClickUp, software developers, engineers, product managers, and more can streamline product releases through simpler but highly customizable workflows based on any need.
ClickUp also offers team collaboration features and other functions such as time tracking tools and project goals to further improve how you work and manage other team members. Users are also able to take advantage of ready-to-use templates for a faster workspace setup. Track multiple projects and teams with the help of this productivity software and tool.
Best Features
- Various views including List view, Board view, Box view, Gantt Chart view, Calendar view, and more
- Simplified task hierarchy to give you more flexibility and control
- Integrate and connect more than 1,000 tools for free
Limitations
- Learning curve due to amount of available features
- No Table view in the mobile app, yet
Pricing
- Free: Free forever
- Unlimited: $5 per user per month
- Business: $12 per user per month
- Business Plus: $19 per user per month
- Enterprise: Contact sales
User Ratings
G2: 4.7/5 (4800+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.7/5 (3100+ reviews)
“ClickUp is an incredibly flexible platform that truly revolutionized how I worked. The ability to customize the system to fit my workflows was a major selling point when I first looked into it and something that has been invaluable ever since. It offers me the unique opportunity to choose from a range of pre-made tasks, processes and boards or create my own - allowing me unlimited freedom in designing how I want to get things done.
The flexibility of Clickup also allows for collaboration between different members of the team without any hassle. Every user can have their own customized view and share what they’re working on with others so everyone is always on the same page. This makes communication much more efficient, as well as reduces errors through shared knowledge about which tasks are assigned where and by whom.” - Xavier W., Director
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What is Trello
Trello is a project management tool that specializes in organizing projects into boards, making it easy for teams and project managers alike to visualize tasks and keep track of project status at a quick glance. This project management app also offers multiple ways to view tasks, project templates, and an option for workflow automation via Butler.
Best Features
- Organize projects and tasks with a board system
- Integrations with productivity tools such as Google Drive and Slack
- Mobile app allows users to access board and lists on the go
Limitations
- Not suitable for complex projects
- Only one board can be opened at a time
- Can't assign tasks to multiple people
Pricing
- Free Plan
- Standard ($5 per user/month; billed annually)
- Premium ($10 per user/month; billed annually)
- Enterprise (contact for pricing)
“Trello was a great software to get my feet wet, so to speak, when it came to getting the hang of using a project management software for my business. It definitely helped me to graduate to the next level in my ability to keep my team productive. Even as my team has grown, I have decided to keep the Trello software for the purposes of managing all of my management teams scheduling, tasks, and etc.” - Caitlyn R.
Find the Top Trello Alternatives for Project Management This Year
ClickUp vs Trello in the Community
When looking for reliable information about ClickUp vs Trello, it is important to include resources from the community. This is because the community perspective offers a unique view on each of these tools, as members are unbiased and have likely used both options themselves.
Check out this video from a popular influencer:
Using the G2 Grid for project management software comparison is also a great way to quickly evaluate the two tools and make an informed decision. G2Crowd sources from a diverse set of user reviews to create this measurement to help potential customers compare different solutions side-by-side.
As you can see, ClickUp scores very well and is in the leader category while Trello can be seen near the top of the grid.
Depending on your use case, you may want to consider these scores and rankings as they are a very good reflection of current user satisfaction and an indication of future potential.
ClickUp vs Trello on Reddit
What better way to really get a feel for a tool than reading through what users on the internet are candidly sharing? Check out some Reddit posts on both tools.
ClickUp Reddit Review
“What I like about ClickUp is its flexibility. Certainly it is not going to tick all the boxes. But it brings a solid suite of features. For me, it is fantastic that lists are flexible and support custom fields. There's various ways to display your tasks - Gantt chart, Kanban, tabular etc. You can reference ClickUp Docs as well - think of it like a simplified MS Word but being able to reference your tasks. I use it for my personal projects, for a list of books I want to read, for tracking gift ideas, for managing more complex personal side projects etc.” - via Reddit
Trello Reddit Review
“I find Trello useful for having a way to view the big picture across projects, tasks, etc that I am working on. I think the strength of Trello is that it is very simple (boards, lists, cards) and easy to use so it can be applied to just about anything where you need to organize information. It isn't a perfect 100% fit but it is often good enough and much less complex and expensive than tools focused on more narrow solution areas.” - via Reddit
Now, onto our honest opinions on different categories of comparison between Trello and ClickUp.
Usability and Feature Comparison
ClickUp's Usability and Features
ClickUp is known for its intuitive and user-friendly interface. Its drag-and-drop capabilities allows users to easily use the tool and the Home feature displays all your tasks in one place. There are over 15+ custom views available for anyone, from individual contributors to executives, to see work from their point of view.
Besides the standard project management tools such as Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and Sprints, ClickUp also offers a variety of unique features such as the screen recording Clip feature. Record your screen and attach it directly to ClickUp tasks, saving you from having to use other screen recording apps such as Loom.
Its whiteboards are an incredibly useful and versatile tool that allows users to visualize concepts, brainstorm ideas, and plan out entire projects. You can create an unlimited number of boards that can be viewed by anyone with access. The boards are also customizable, allowing users and guests to add text, images, notes, and more.
The sheer multitude of ClickUp features does make it a bit difficult and overwhelming for beginners. This can be compensated by being able to turn on and off different ClickApps so you can choose which features you want enabled for your team to eliminate overwhelm.
Sandra D., a digital marketing specialist says: “As a Scrum Master, I feel that ClickUp is a marvelous tool for any Agile marketing teams out there. We have biweekly sprint planning sessions, and using ClickUp makes getting through them a breeze. Custom views can be created at all levels -- for an individual list (we use these to separate business lines within our team), for an entire folder (which we use for a view of all the areas of our team). At the folder level, during grooming, I filter by all items due in the coming two weeks and then we can go through them and groom them. ClickUp allows for custom fields so that any details that are relevant across the board on a task can be filled in. This allows us to keep tasks organized by their values in the custom fields.”
Trello's Usability and Features
Trello is an easy and free to use tool to create workspaces and boards for task management, project management, collaborations, and more in a simple and straightforward platform. The app helps users prioritize tasks and organize work to improve productivity with its simple Kanban board that you can arrange and customize with elements. Assign tasks to various users and add deadlines, labels, alerts, and important information or files to each card. While Trello is a great platform with tools to organize and manage work, it does not feature a dedicated chat tool or video calling feature which some may find inconvenient. However, Trello can be integrated with significant third-party applications to further improve productivity.
Ashley L., a small business CEO says the following: “Trello is so simple to use. It has so many features that are available in the free version. You can add users and communicate by tagging people or assigning tasks. It's visually helpful, especially if you like to be able to see how tasks are organized. You can have multiple boards which are essentially spaces for your different projects.”
Collaborative Capabilities Comparison
ClickUp's Collaborative Capabilities
ClickUp's collaboration features make it an ideal choice for distributed teams and remote work. Its wide range of features allows users to communicate quickly and effectively, no matter where they are located. For example, you can assign tasks to team members, comment on tasks and projects, @mention teammates and assign comments to them, and create task lists that can be shared with contractors and clients outside of your team.
ClickUp's Chat View is also an incredibly useful feature that allows users to communicate and brainstorm easily in a specific List or Folder without having to switch between different applications. There's also an in-built Calendar feature that syncs with Google and Outlook calendars to help team members decide on important dates and team meetings.
Its broad range of features makes it a great choice for any team looking to get organized and collaborate more effectively.
Reema D., an associate director says: “The best parts about ClickUp are the potential for collaboration and the visual ability to watch tasks go through stages of completion. My team uses ClickUp primarily for candidate tracking and hiring. Through ClickUp, my team can share candidates, track contact logs, view resumes through their attachment upload feature, make notes, and move the candidate through the hiring process.”
Trello's Collaborative Capabilities
Trello is a great way to maintain a smooth collaboration between you and other users when working on important projects. Invite them to a dedicated Trello board for each project for a robust communication process. Each member of the team can create tasks and keep track of their progress. Trello’s structure may be too simplistic if not managed well. With full use of each card’s functionality, users are able to fully utilize Trello as a collaboration tool.
Karrie B. says this about Trello’s collaboration features: “Overall, I simply love Trello. I use it for every client that I work and most of them start their boards as well when they see how easy it is to use. Works as a great communication tool for the team and is a great way to document processes and flows within the organization. The ability to move cards between lists and boards allows you to really keep track of a process without getting overwhelmed.”
Customization and Scalability Comparison
ClickUp's Customization and Scalability
ClickUp is highly customizable and can be tailored to fit the specific needs of any organization or individual. It is designed to accommodate a diverse range of users, including neurodiverse users. For example, users can customize their view with different filters and sorting options, such as due date, assignee, priority and tags.
Its scalability is enabled by the multi-dimensional structure - for instance, ClickUp’s organizational hierarchy allows users to structure their workspace in whatever way works best for them. ClickUp also offers extensive reporting capabilities which can be adjusted depending on the size of an organization. For example, businesses can customize reports to track specific metrics, such as project progress, total time tracked or employee workload.
This makes it a great solution for organizations of all different sizes and types that are looking for an intuitive yet powerful project management tool.
Dimitrije C., Head of Audio agrees: “I think ClickUp is very good at making large-scale processes visible to a large number of teams and people, and for me, it's been a massive improvement compared to a few project management solutions we've used previously in that aspect, especially since we started remote work. I don't know how I'd be able to keep up with the work of other departments in my company if I didn't have the flexible options of ClickUp, for following only the tasks which are relevant for my team and me.”
Trello's Customization and Scalability
Trello is a simple platform featuring a Kanban board that you can personalize according to you and your team’s needs and preferences. Lists and cards can be moved in between boards which are great for bigger teams or businesses with multiple departments.
Integrate the tool with third-party apps to extend functionality which may be needed in complex projects. Regardless of its simplicity, it can be customized to work even for an Agile team with external plugins or an enterprise plan.
Yenireth Rozo comments: “Trello is an excellent tool to organize and take control of the daily activities that must be carried out and sometimes of projects that must be carried out in certain periods. You can customize, place, colors, time, and small activities within the main ones.”
Cost Comparison
ClickUp's Pricing
By offering several plans, ranging from the free Forever Free plan to the Enterprise Plan, ClickUp has something for everyone. The Forever Free plan is perfect for small teams who need basic project management capabilities and don’t require the comprehensive feature set of a premium plan. For those looking for an even more advanced project management solution, the Unlimited Plan and Business Plan provide access to powerful features such as Gantt charts, timelines and workload management.
ClickUp's Enterprise Plan is the ideal choice for more complex organizations. It is designed to meet even the most demanding needs, from HIPAA compliance and whitelabeling to custom integrations and dedicated support.
Here's what Allan G., a project manager says about the cost: “[ClickUp] allows me to treat my business like software. I can adapt procedures so that orders flow through our company naturally. It can work like a manual ERP if you set it up correctly. I love that you can really do whatever you want, all for a very low price.”
Trello's Pricing
Trello has a free version where users can manage and create multiple projects but may lack advanced features for complex and bigger projects. The free version includes 10 boards per workspace and other basic features and commands for managing projects and tasks. The Standard plan starts at $5 per user/month with unlimited boards, custom fields, and 1,000 commands per month.
Bigger teams with multiple projects can upgrade to a Premium plan starting at $10 per user/month. This plan comes with additional workspace views, security features, unlimited command runs, and more. Enterprises may contact sales for a custom plan with advanced integrations and control options.
Mees J. mentions the pricing: “Trello is a great tool that helps keeping track on projects which I find easy to use. The best of all is that the core features are completely free. Trello is also extremely helpful when collaborating with others and there are plenty of features for this.”
Trello vs ClickUp: Bottom Line
Choose ClickUp if:
- You need an all-in-one project management platform
- You're looking for a tool with lots of features and customization
- You need scalable organization and collaboration tools
Choose Trello if:
- You need a simple and easy-to-use project management tool
- You're looking for an application with powerups and integrations for more functionality
- You're looking to follow a Kanban approach when it comes to task management