Trello vs Notion: Which Tool is Better for Project Management?
In the market for a good project management tool and looking to compare Notion vs Trello? Both of these software apps offer powerful features and capabilities, but they are designed with different users in mind.
So, which should you choose? Before making any big decisions, let’s thoughtfully compare Trello vs Notion 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 your next project management solution.
We’re also going to suggest a third tool that can save you even more time and money!
Let’s take a look at each productivity app and their individual pros and cons to find the best fit for you!
What is Notion
Organize your personal and business-related tasks and projects with Notion. This project management tool is a simple but intuitive application that is great for personal and team productivity. Notion is a highly customizable cloud-based application to support project management. Compared to other apps with a steep learning curve, this app is an easy way to manage tasks, personal information, and other records. Users looking for simpler project management tools will find Notion a great alternative to help you stay organized and productive.
Best Features
- Easy to use and customize according to your needs and preferences
- Offers features to help with goal setting and lead management
- Drag and drop interface for ease of use without the need for trainings
Limitations
- May not be suitable for individuals working for the software development industry
- Limitations with the actions that can be performed within software integrations
Pricing
- Notion offers a free plan for individuals
- Plus: $8 per user per month
- Business: $15 per user per month
- Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing
User Ratings
G2: 4.6/5 (1000+ reviews)
Capterra: 4.7/5 (1000+ reviews)
“Notion is an extremely flexible software. Thanks to their databases and multiple views like calendar, Kanban, tables, and lists. I found it to be extremely intuitive and fun to use. I can definitely see how it could replace a Google Doc and be a central place for your team.” - Jason Edward N., Marketer
What is Trello
Trello is a productivity and project management platform that prides itself on being an intuitive tool for tracking anything, from large-scale corporate projects to household chores. It's a great example of the kanban method in action – with cards for each task and boards for different project stages. Trello makes it easy to label tasks and set deadlines, move items around between boards, comment and collaborate with other users, as well as visualize progress updates. Trello combines all the features of Kanban methodology into one powerful yet straightforward platform – helping streamline every stage of your project without overwhelming you – or your team!
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
- Limited to 3 boards in the free plan
- No time tracking features
- Not suitable for complex projects
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., Editor-In-Chief
Notion vs Trello in the Community
When looking for reliable information about Notion 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.
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, both Notion and 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.
Notion 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.
Notion Reddit Review
“I noticed that after about a week of building, I was already using it many times a day. The things that were getting utilized the most were my daily to-do list, my shopping database, my notes page, and various other lists. Two weeks in, I was adding to my goals and projects and keeping track of my cleaning. Three weeks in, I finally nailed my habit tracker. Now, I’m using all of the above, and I just started a new project that has been so enjoyable to work on in Notion. The reason Notion works so well for me is not because I’m using everything all the time. It’s because everything is THERE for me to use whenever I need it.” - 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 Notion.
Usability and Feature Comparison
Notion's Usability and Features
Source: Notion
Notion is a great workspace app that combines note-taking, task management, to-do lists, and a database organization feature to help users manage their day-to-day tasks and work. It is a great app for storing, organizing, and sharing important information and documents.
Notion is a simple yet flexible tool for tracking personal goals and project tasks. It provides a clean canvas that you can customize according to your needs. The app has a great community offering fully developed templates that you can use to start creating your own board.
Alberto G., says “My favorite thing from Notion has to do with its flexibility. I use it mainly to draft essays, blog posts, and articles. It's easier for me than any word processing software because Notion allows me --beyond being a multiplatform app-- to reorganize both my text and my files very smoothly. The heaps of templates available are also a great deal.”
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.”
A Project Management Tool with Better Features and Usability
Before you limit yourself to just these two tools, you might want to throw our favorite, ClickUp, into the mix. While both Trello and Notion are great tools in terms of features and usability, ClickUp is one of the top project management software. Regardless of getting a free or paid plan, you are able to enjoy better functionality than the paid versions of both Notion and Trello.
Search your entire Workspace to find tasks, Docs, Whiteboards, and more with ClickUp’s advanced search. With hundreds of flexible tools, drag-and-drop functionality, and over 1,000 integrations to streamline your workflows, ClickUp takes your productivity to new heights.
Check out ClickUp’s multiple features.
Collaborative Capabilities Comparison
Notion's Collaborative Capabilities
Source: Notion
Improve communication and collaboration with your remote team in real-time with Notion. This online application allows multiple users to edit the same document at the same time. Edits and comments are updated instantly to keep everyone in sync.
The application shows a record of all the updates made by each user at a specific time. To communicate with an individual user, you can mention users to directly address them regarding certain matters. Notion pages can be shared with anyone.
Aryan G. says this about Notion’s collaboration features: “The thing I like the most about Notion is the ability to limit who I share information with and the clean interface allowing me to focus on what comes first. It has helped me form habits, info-dumps & create SOPs for my team to asynchronously learn from while I'm away.”
Trello's Collaborative Capabilities
Source: Trello
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.”
Next Level Real-Time Collaboration with ClickUp
If you’re looking for productivity apps to keep your hybrid, remote, and in-office teams connected and working together efficiently, ClickUp can do the job, and do the job better.
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.
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.
Our idea of a great choice for team leaders and project managers. Just sayin’!
Learn more about the types of teams that ClickUp can support.
Customization and Scalability Comparison
Notion's Customization and Scalability
Source: Notion
Notion has a simple user-friendly interface that makes it easy to navigate and personalize according to your needs. Set up your system the way you want it with custom templates or a variety of ready-to-use templates for various uses such as project management and note-taking.
Drag and drop to create your ideal dashboard and modify it whenever needed. While its blank and clean interface may be tricky for some to navigate around, it provides tools to help quickly create, assign, and track tasks. Notion can be integrated with popular apps to create better workflows for you and your team.
Clea S., a customer support manager says: “What I like best about Notion is the variety of ways information can be formatted, shared and stored paired with clean communication tools. I love the various media types I can include and the number of useful plug-ins grows regularly.”
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 teams following an Agile methodology 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.”
Consider ClickUp’s Highly Customizable and Scalable Tool for Your Team
Take ClickUp’s massive feature set, collaboration and customizability, and put it together. You get scale. ClickUp's rich set of fully customizable features is ideal for aligning each team member, working together, and delivering high-quality products on time and on budget. The tool can be customized as a personal board or a resource management tool.
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. This might also be beneficial for software developers and organizations handling customer support ticketing systems.
This makes it a great solution for organizations of all different sizes and types that are looking for an intuitive yet powerful management tool.
Cost Comparison
Notion's Pricing
Source: Notion
Notion can be used for free with basic features and integrations. The free version also has a limited block trial for teams. Consider upgrading to team plans for more features. For bigger teams, a Plus plan starting at $8 may be a reasonable option for small organizations and businesses. Plus plan users can access a 30-day page history, invite up to 100 guests, and have unlimited file uploads.
Companies looking to use Notion for management can get Plus features and more. These features include SAML SSO, private teamspaces, 90-day page history, and a limit of up to 250 guests. Bigger organizations can upgrade to a custom Enterprise plan which includes custom guest limit, advanced security controls, workspace analytics, and more.
Nitin S., a senior graphic designer comments about the pricing: “Even if it's affordable, its paid plan doesn't have much for freelancers compared to the free plan of Notion. More features make things complicated and sometimes heavy in terms of getting a quick overview.”
Trello's Pricing
Source: Trello
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. 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.”
A More Cost-Effective Plan with ClickUp
Save and get the best value for your money with ClickUp. Choose from a variety of plans ranging from the Free Forever plan to the Enterprise Plan. The Forever Free plan is perfect for small teams who need basic project and task management capabilities and don’t require the comprehensive feature set of a premium plan.
If you need even more advanced management tools and unlimited storage, the Unlimited Plan and Business Plan provide access to powerful features such as unlimited project planning Gantt charts, timelines and workload management. ClickUp also offers an Enterprise Plan for more complex organizations.
Get started with ClickUp today, for free!
Trello vs Notion: Bottom Line
Choose Notion if:
- You're looking for a simpler application to setup
- You need an app that can invite team members to join in on specific projects and boards
- You're looking for a drag-and-drop functionality
Choose Trello if:
- You need a simple and easy-to-use kanban project management tool
- You're looking for an application with powerups and integrations for more functionality
- You're looking for a productivity app
Get All Features Combined with ClickUp
Now that you have a better idea of each of these tools’ advantages and disadvantages, you are now better equipped to make a better decision when it comes to picking the right tool for your needs.
If you’re still not sure about the best project management software that will help you achieve your project goals and team objectives, why not get an all-in-one solution like ClickUp that will allow you to grow and scale as your team gets bigger.
ClickUp offers not just project management solutions but team collaboration tools, flexible views, detailed reports, and so much more all under one single application. Take advantage of organization wide permissions to help teams stay aligned with common goals and objectives.
Save time, stay focused, and improve overall productivity by creating and customizing the perfect workspace. Choose from a library of templates to get started and handle any task or project with ease. Try ClickUp for free today and discover the best tools to improve your overall workflow and productivity all under one application.
