Monday.com and Trello are both visual project management tools, but the similarity ends there. Monday.com is a Work OS platform with advanced automations and reporting. Trello remains a simple Kanban tool that you understand in five minutes. Which fits your way of working?
Monday.com in brief
Monday.com is a visual Work OS platform that helps teams plan and automate projects, workflows, and tasks. It offers many views: Kanban, Gantt, timelines, dashboards. You can customize columns to fit your own workflow and set up complex automations without code. Monday.com also has specific products for CRM and software development. The power lies in the flexibility and the ability to combine data from multiple boards into one dashboard. That makes it suitable for larger teams with complex projects.
Trello in brief
Trello organizes projects according to the Kanban method: boards with lists and cards that you drag back and forth. It’s built on simplicity. You create a board, add lists, and start dragging cards. Butler automation helps with repetitive tasks, and Power-Ups add extra functionality. Trello is part of the Atlassian ecosystem, which makes it convenient if you already use Jira or Confluence. The free version is usable for small teams and solo users.
Monday.com vs Trello: the differences
The biggest difference is in complexity. Trello is built on one concept: Kanban boards with cards. You drag tasks from left to right. That’s it. Monday.com offers many more views: Kanban, Gantt charts, timelines, tables, calendars. You can choose per board how you view the data. For teams that need different perspectives on the same project, that’s powerful. For teams that just want to check off tasks, it feels like overkill.
The automations also differ widely. Trello’s Butler lets you create simple rules: “If a card moves to ‘Done,’ send a notification.” Monday.com goes much further with dependencies between boards, status changes that trigger other tasks, and integrations that automatically synchronize data. Users often call Monday.com ‘Excel on steroids’ because of these capabilities. But that power also requires time to learn. Trello’s automation works immediately without a manual.
Reporting is another important difference. Monday.com has extensive dashboards where you combine data from multiple projects. You see progress, bottlenecks, and team capacity at a glance. Trello lacks this native reporting functionality. You need paid Power-Ups for even basic reports. For management that wants overview, that’s a dealbreaker. For teams that just want to get work done, it’s less relevant.
Then there’s the structure. Trello works with loose cards that you move freely. Monday.com works with rows in a database. That sounds technical, but it makes a big difference. In Trello, cards can quickly become chaotic when you have hundreds of tasks. In Monday.com, everything stays structured in columns with fixed data types. The new MondayDB infrastructure has improved speed on large projects. Still, Trello remains visually calmer for people who get easily overwhelmed by too much information.
Mobile work is possible on both platforms, but with limitations. Monday.com’s mobile app is often experienced as more limited compared to the desktop version. Complex dashboards and Gantt charts are difficult to read on a small screen. Trello’s cards fit better on mobile, but there too you miss functionality that is available on desktop.
Pricing compared
Both tools have a free plan, but with different limitations. Trello’s free version supports a maximum of 10 members per workspace, 10 boards, and 250 automation commands per month. For a solo user or small duo, that’s more than enough. Monday.com’s free plan limits you to 2 users and 3 boards, without integrations or automations. That’s mainly intended to test the tool.
With paid plans, the difference becomes larger. Trello starts at € 5 per month for the Standard plan (with annual subscription). Monday.com starts at € 9 per month for the Basic plan. But watch out: Monday.com charges per seat with a minimum of 3 users. That means you pay at least € 27 per month, even if there are only two of you. For freelancers and duos, that’s a major pain point.
Trello’s Premium plan costs € 10 per month and gives you unlimited boards, advanced automation, and more Power-Ups. Monday.com’s Standard plan (€ 12 per month per seat) adds timelines and integrations. For extensive features like time tracking, you need the Pro plan: € 19 per month per seat. Add up the minimum 3 seats, and you quickly reach € 57 per month.
Monday.com has also increased prices and split products into Work Management, CRM, and Dev. Want full functionality across these areas? Then you pay for multiple products. Trello has not implemented price increases in subscriptions, but has set the free collaborator limit. That forces growing teams into a paid plan faster.
Conclusion
Monday.com wins if you manage complex projects, need extensive reports, or work with larger teams. The automations are more powerful and the different views give you more control. But you pay for that functionality, both in money and in learning time.
Trello wins on simplicity and price. The free plan is usable for real projects, not just for a trial period. The Kanban interface works immediately without training. For solo users, small teams, and simple projects, it’s the logical choice. Also when budget is an important factor.
Most teams are better off with Trello if they simply want to organize tasks. Choose Monday.com if you value scalability, reports, and advanced workflows more than a low barrier to entry.
