A comparison · checked October 30, 2026
Looking for a Trello alternative? Here is an honest comparison
The best Trello alternative depends on what you have outgrown. If it is the free plan, Trello Free stops at 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace [1]. If it is planning, Trello's Timeline view is only on Premium and Enterprise [5], and Trello says it has no built-in task dependency management [6]. If it is automation, Free includes 250 automation runs a month and Standard 1,000 [3]. This page compares Kavanah, Trello, Asana and ClickUp on what their own pages said today, says exactly what a Trello board import keeps and what it leaves behind, and names the cases where you should stay on Trello.
#Why it is different
Why teams look for a Trello alternative
Trello is a board, and teams outgrow it at predictable points. The Free plan is for up to 10 collaborators per Workspace and up to 10 boards, with files capped at 10MB each [1]. Standard, at $5 per user a month billed annually or $6 monthly, removes the board limit and raises files to 250MB [1]. The views most teams want once a project has dates in it, Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map, are listed on Premium, at $10 per user a month billed annually or $12.50 monthly [1]. Trello's help centre says there are no current plans to bring Timeline to free Workspaces, and that Timeline is no longer available on mobile devices [5].
Planning is the other limit. Trello's own help article says Trello does not have built-in task dependency management, and suggests checklists and links between cards instead [6]. Automation is metered: Free includes 250 automation runs a month, Standard 1,000, and Premium unlimited runs within an operations quota of 150,000 a month plus 10,000 per user, capped at 250,000 per Workspace [3]. Exports are the third surprise. CSV export is for boards in Premium Workspaces, a board's JSON export holds only its 1,000 most recent actions, and CSV exports leave out comments [2]. A team that finds this out on the day it decides to leave has already lost some of its history.
Be fair to Trello, though, because the reasons to stay are real. It is simple, and a board is understood by everyone on the first day. Its AI features, which generate boards and checklists, merge duplicate cards and detect due dates, are available from Standard [4], and its MCP server is available to any Trello user [4]. Power-Ups add features to every board, including on Free [1], and Trello says it is ISO/IEC 27001 certified [1]. Leaving is a good decision when your work has dates, dependencies and hours behind it. It is a bad one when a simple shared board is the whole job. The checklist below is how to tell which.
#What to require
What to check in any Trello alternative before you move
Use this list on every tool you shortlist, including ours. The first two are where most Trello migrations go wrong, because they are only discovered after the import.
01
An importer that reads Trello's own export
Trello exports a board as JSON on every plan and as CSV on Premium [2]. A tool that only reads CSV makes a Free or Standard team upgrade Trello to leave it. Ask whether the importer reads the JSON file, and what it does with lists, checklists, labels, members and archived cards.
02
Comments and attachments, counted before you start
A board's JSON export carries only its 1,000 most recent actions, comments included, and a full Workspace export with attachment files needs Premium and a Workspace admin [2]. Decide which history you need, and export it while you still can.
03
Dependencies and a timeline on the plan you will buy
Trello's Timeline is on Premium and Enterprise [5], and dependencies are not built in [6]. If your projects have dates that depend on each other, check that the new tool links tasks and shows the chain on a timeline or Gantt chart, on the plan you will actually pay for.
04
Automation without a monthly run count
Trello meters automation runs and operations per Workspace each month [3]. Ask any vendor how its automations are counted, what happens when the count runs out, and whether AI actions draw on the same allowance.
05
Time tracking that is built in
Trello's pricing page does not list time tracking on any plan [1]. If you plan or bill by the hour, check that the new tool logs time against tasks natively rather than through a paid add-on.
06
AI with a scope, an approval step and a record
Trello's AI drafts, summarises and suggests inside a board [4]. Tools that let AI act across projects should say what it may touch, which actions wait for a person, and how you reverse one.
07
The price at your real team size
Trello Free covers 10 collaborators per Workspace [1]; Asana's free plan is for up to 2 users [7]; ClickUp's free plan caps storage at 60MB [8]. Price the team you will have in a year, with the views and automations you need, before you compare.
#How Kavanah does it
How Kavanah covers what you use Trello for
Kavanah is an agentic project management platform: boards, tasks and planning, with AI employees that do coordination work inside limits a person sets. Each item below describes the product as it ships today, including where it falls short of Trello.
A direct Trello board importer
Upload the board's JSON export, the file Trello produces on every plan, in a project's Integrations tab. A preview shows what will be created, then a workspace admin imports it as a new project. Lists become board columns in the same order, cards become tasks with their description, due date, first label and checklist items, archived cards land in an Archived column as done, and card links and attachment links are kept as links. Members are matched to your team by name or email; names that match no one are listed in the report. Up to 1,000 cards per import, and importing the same board twice is skipped.
What the importer leaves on Trello
Attachment files stay on Trello: Kavanah keeps the link, not the file. Comments come across only if they are in the export, and a board export holds its 1,000 most recent actions. Custom fields, Power-Up data, start dates and automation rules are not imported. There is no live connection to Trello and no two-way sync; the import is one-shot.
Boards, and every other view
Custom columns per project, plus list, calendar, gallery and map views, a Timeline view (tasks as bars on a calendar, by person), task dependencies (blocked by / blocks) and a critical-path chart in Planning, on every plan.
Several assignees and real sub-tasks
A task can be assigned to several people and appears in each of their work lists. Checklists stay checklists, and first-class sub-tasks are there when a checklist item grows into its own piece of work.
Time tracking and a client portal on every plan
Native time tracking on every plan, not a Power-Up. Clients you invite through the client portal can follow and collaborate on their projects without being charged as a seat.
Automations, recurring tasks and intake
Automations run actions on triggers, recurring tasks run from a rule, and a request page lets people inside or outside the company submit work that becomes a task.
AI employees with controls
AI employees with a role, scoped tools and access only to the projects you choose; once you turn it on, a task assigned to one is worked by it. Safe mode removes risky actions, action policies make chosen categories wait for approval, every action lands in a ledger, and actions can be undone. Anything that runs on its own or spends AI credits is off until you turn it on.
Learn moreExport whenever you like
Export any project as CSV in a standard, Jira or Asana column layout, or as JSON, from the board or the API, on every plan.
Learn moreIdentity and security, stated plainly
SAML 2.0 and OIDC single sign-on and SCIM on the Enterprise plan, TOTP and passkey sign-in, per-project and per-task access control, and an audit log. The SOC 2 Type II observation period is underway; there is no report yet.
Learn morePriced per seat, AI metered separately
The free Starter plan covers up to 5 members and 10 projects. Basic is $3 a seat a month ($2 billed yearly) with 100 AI credits per seat shared by the workspace, and Pro is $6 ($4 yearly) with 250. Pay as you go drops the seat fee entirely: seats and projects are unlimited and you buy credits in packs from $10 per 1,000.
Learn more#In practice
Migrating from Trello to Kavanah, step by step
One team lead and a workspace admin
1. Take stock before you move
- List the boards that are still active, and close the ones that are not.
- Note which Power-Ups and custom fields each board depends on, and which automation rules route its cards. None of these come across.
- If you need every comment or the attachment files, ask a Trello Workspace admin on Premium for a Workspace export with raw attachments [2]; a board export carries only the 1,000 most recent actions.
- Invite your team to Kavanah first, using the names or emails they use in Trello, so members match on import.
Board admin
2. Export each board as JSON
- In Trello, open the board menu and export the board as JSON [2]. This works on every Trello plan.
- Keep each file under 10 MB and 1,000 cards. Split a very large board by archiving finished cards first, or import it in parts.
- Keep the exports, and Trello itself, as your archive until the move is done.
Workspace admin
3. Import it as a new project
- Open any project's Integrations tab, choose Trello, and pick the JSON file.
- Read the preview: the columns that will be created, the number of cards, and which members matched.
- Name the project and import. Invite anyone whose name matched no member, then reassign their tasks.
- Or attach the export in chat and ask the agent to import it; the agent uses the same importer.
Team lead
4. Rebuild what an import does not carry
- Recreate the custom fields you report on, and set start dates and dependencies (blocked by / blocks) on the tasks.
- Rebuild automation rules as Kavanah automations, and recurring cards as recurring tasks.
- Turn cards shared by several people into one task with several assignees.
- Run one week in Kavanah before you cancel Trello seats.
#Compared
Kavanah, Trello, Asana and ClickUp compared
Each competitor cell describes only what that vendor's own public page said when we checked on October 30, 2026: Trello's pricing page and its help articles on export, automation quotas, AI, Timeline and dependencies [1][2][3][4][5][6], Asana's pricing page and CSV importer page [7][9], and ClickUp's pricing and import pages [8][10]. ClickUp's pricing page labels a second, higher figure "Regular price" without saying it is the monthly rate, so only the yearly figure is given. "Not described" means the page did not say, not that the product lacks it. Kavanah cells describe the product as it ships.
| Criterion | Kavanah | Trello | Asana | ClickUp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry paid price | Basic $3 per seat a month, $2 billed yearly; or Pay as you go, no seat fee, credits from $10 per 1,000 | Standard $5 per user a month billed annually, $6 monthly [1] | Starter $10.99 per user a month billed annually, $13.49 monthly [7] | Core $9 per user a month billed yearly [8] |
| Free option | Starter: up to 5 members and 10 projects, 2 GB | Free: up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, 10MB per file [1] | Personal: 2 users, unlimited tasks and projects [7] | Free Forever: unlimited free members, 60 MB storage [8] |
| Bringing work over from Trello | Reads Trello's board JSON: lists, cards, descriptions, due dates, first label, checklists, links, archived cards; 1,000 cards per import | Board JSON on every plan; CSV on Premium; JSON holds the 1,000 most recent actions [2] | CSV importer for data from tools including Trello [9] | Imports Trello boards as Spaces [10] |
| Timeline and Gantt | Timeline view and dependencies on every plan; no Gantt view | Timeline on Premium and Enterprise [5] | Timeline and Gantt views from Starter [7] | Gantt charts on Core and up; trial on Free [8] |
| Task dependencies | Finish-to-start dependencies that refuse cycles | Not built in, per Trello's help centre [6] | Not described | Not described |
| Automation allowance | Trigger-based automations; plans do not cap them by run count | 250 runs a month on Free, 1,000 on Standard, unlimited runs on Premium within an operations quota [3] | Unlimited automations from Starter [7] | 1K automations a month on Core, 10K on Business [8] |
| Native time tracking | Every plan | Not described [1] | Advanced; through integrations on Personal [7] | Core and up; trial on Free [8] |
| AI included | Credits, about a cent each: 100 or 250 per seat a month pooled on seat plans, or bought in packs | AI features on Standard, Premium and Enterprise [4] | 5 AI requests per user a month, up to 50 per account; separate AI Studio credits [7] | Pooled credits, 1K per user a month on Core; top-ups at $10 per 10K [8] |
| AI agents and their controls | AI employees with scoped tools; safe mode, approval policies, action ledger and undo | Generates boards and checklists, merges cards; Trello MCP server for outside assistants [4] | AI Teammates and AI Studio [7] | Super Agents, paid for with AI credits [8] |
| SSO and SCIM | SAML 2.0 / OIDC SSO and SCIM on Enterprise | SSO and user provisioning with Atlassian Guard, included on Enterprise [1] | SAML authentication and SCIM on Enterprise [7] | SSO, SAML and SCIM on Enterprise [8] |
| Security attestations named | SOC 2 Type II observation period underway; no report yet | ISO/IEC 27001 [1] | SOC 2 Type II [7] | SOC 2 and ISO 27001 [8] |
#Questions
Questions buyers ask
- What is the best Trello alternative?
- It depends on what you have outgrown. Asana suits teams that want timelines, goals and portfolios. ClickUp suits teams that want docs, goals and time tracking in one tool. Kavanah fits teams that want a board plus dependencies, time tracking and a client portal on every plan, and AI employees doing coordination work under real controls. If a simple shared board is the whole job, staying on Trello is often the better call.
- Is there a free Trello alternative?
- Yes. Kavanah's free Starter plan covers up to 5 members and 10 projects with 2 GB of storage, and includes the Timeline view, dependencies and time tracking. Asana and ClickUp both have free plans with their own limits. Trello's own Free plan allows up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, so for a small team that only needs boards it remains a strong option.
- Can I import my Trello boards into Kavanah?
- Yes. Export the board as JSON from Trello, which works on every Trello plan, and upload it in a project's Integrations tab. Lists become columns, cards become tasks with their descriptions, due dates, first label, checklist items and links, and archived cards come across as done. Up to 1,000 cards per import. Attachment files stay on Trello as links, and custom fields, Power-Up data and automation rules are not imported.
- Do Trello comments come across?
- Only the ones in the export file. Trello's board JSON export holds the board's 1,000 most recent actions, comments included, so an older or busier board will be missing early comments. If you need all of them, a Trello Workspace admin on Premium can create a full Workspace export first, and you should keep that file as your archive.
- Does Kavanah sync with Trello?
- No. The Trello importer is one-shot: it reads an export file and creates a new project, and importing the same board again is skipped rather than duplicated. There is no live connection to Trello and no two-way sync, so plan a cutover date rather than a long period of running both tools.
- Does Kavanah have a Trello-style board with a timeline and dependencies?
- Yes. Every project has a board with its own columns, plus list, calendar, gallery and map views, a Timeline view (tasks as bars on a calendar, by person), task dependencies (blocked by / blocks) and a critical-path chart in Planning, on every plan including the free one. There is no dedicated Gantt view. Trello lists its Timeline view on Premium and Enterprise and says dependencies are not built in.
- When should a team stay on Trello?
- When the board is the whole job: a small team, few dates that depend on each other, no hours to track, and Power-Ups that already cover the gaps. Trello's simplicity is a real advantage, its Free plan covers 10 collaborators, and its AI features are on Standard and above. In that case the cost of moving is likely to exceed what you gain.
#Go deeper
One question at a time
- Trello Alternatives: An Honest Comparison of Kavanah, Asana and ClickUpTeams leave Trello for dates, dependencies, automation limits or hours. Here is how Kavanah, Asana and ClickUp answer each one, what each costs, and when Trello is still the better tool.
- How to Migrate From Trello to Kavanah: What a Board Export Keeps, and What It LeavesKavanah reads Trello's board JSON export directly. Here is what comes across (lists, cards, checklists, labels, archived cards), what stays on Trello, and the order to do it in.
- Trello Pricing Explained (2026): Plans, Guests, Automation Quotas and What Each Tier UnlocksTrello's per-user price is simple; what each plan unlocks is not. Here is Free, Standard, Premium and Enterprise from Trello's own pages, who counts as a billable user, and what a team of 12 really pays.
- When a Trello Board Needs a Plan: Dependencies, a Critical Path and Hours on Every TaskA board shows what is in progress. It does not show what a slipped date will push, or how many hours are left. Here is where Trello stops, and how Kavanah plans the same work.
Related reading
- Asana alternative: an honest comparisonSeat steps, AI requests, and what an Asana import carries.
- ClickUp alternative: an honest comparisonTwo price line-ups, Brain credits, and a simpler setup.
- Agentic project managementWhat AI employees do, and the controls that keep them in bounds.
- PricingPer-seat plans, Pay as you go, and how AI credits work.
Sources
- [1] Trello pricing: Free, Standard, Premium, Enterprise — Trello (Atlassian), 2026, updated
- [2] Export data from Trello — Atlassian Support, 2026, updated
- [3] Automation quotas and limits — Atlassian Support, 2026, updated
- [4] AI features in Trello — Atlassian Support, 2026, updated
- [5] Timeline view — Atlassian Support, 2026, updated
- [6] Create and manage task dependencies — Atlassian Support, 2026, updated
- [7] Asana pricing: Personal, Starter, Advanced, Enterprise — Asana, 2026, updated
- [8] ClickUp Pricing and Plans — ClickUp, 2026, updated
- [9] CSV + Asana: Import work data into Asana — Asana, 2026, updated
- [10] Import anything into ClickUp — ClickUp, 2026, updated
Sources and the comparison were checked on October 30, 2026. Product details change; check each vendor's own pages before you decide.
Run it on your own work.
Free to start, priced per seat from $3 a month with AI usage metered in credits.