Trello made kanban boards simple: cards, lists and drag-and-drop. That simplicity is also why teams outgrow it. As projects get bigger, people need timelines, dependencies, workload views, reporting and automation that go beyond Power-Ups. Others want a self-hosted or open-source board, or a tool that fits a software team’s workflow.
The Trello alternatives below cover each of those needs. We reviewed each product’s website for board features, other project views, automation, integrations and free plan availability. Rankings reflect that review, not payment.
Top Trello Alternatives To Try
| Tool | Best For | Free Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Asana | Cross-team project planning | Yes |
| monday.com | Visual work management across departments | Yes, limited |
| ClickUp | Teams that want every view in one tool | Yes |
| Jira | Software development teams | Yes, small teams |
| Notion | Boards combined with docs and wikis | Yes |
| Wrike | Complex projects and resource planning | Yes |
| MeisterTask | Simple, polished kanban boards | Yes |
| Taiga | Open-source agile boards | Yes, self-hosted |
1. Asana
Asana offers boards plus lists, timelines, calendars and portfolio views, with dependencies, goals and rules-based automation. It is a natural step up for teams that started on Trello and now coordinate work across several projects or departments.
Best for: marketing, operations and cross-functional teams.
2. monday.com
monday.com is a visual work management platform with highly customizable boards, dashboards and no-code automations. Its colorful, spreadsheet-like boards appeal to teams that want more structure than Trello without losing the visual feel.
Best for: organizations managing many workflows beyond software.
3. ClickUp
ClickUp packs boards, lists, Gantt charts, docs, whiteboards, goals and time tracking into one product. It is one of the most feature-rich Trello alternatives and offers a generous free plan, though the breadth comes with a learning curve.
Best for: teams that want to consolidate several tools.
4. Jira
Jira, from Trello’s parent company Atlassian, is built for software teams running Scrum or Kanban. It adds sprints, backlogs, issue types, workflows and developer integrations that Trello does not offer.
Best for: engineering and product teams.
5. Notion
Notion databases can be viewed as kanban boards, tables, calendars or timelines, and every card can hold a full page of notes. It suits teams that want their tasks to live right next to their documentation.
Best for: small teams combining tasks and knowledge.
6. Wrike
Wrike handles complex projects with Gantt charts, workload management, custom request forms, approvals and detailed reporting. It suits larger teams that need resource planning and governance Trello was never designed for.
Best for: mid-size and enterprise teams with complex projects.
7. MeisterTask
MeisterTask keeps the kanban simplicity Trello users like, with a clean interface, section automations and time tracking. It is a good fit for teams that want a polished board without moving to a heavyweight platform.
Best for: small teams that like Trello’s simplicity.
8. Taiga
Taiga is an open-source project management tool for agile teams, with kanban and Scrum boards, epics and user stories. It can be self-hosted for free, which appeals to teams that want full control of their data.
Best for: agile teams that prefer open source and self-hosting.
One Check Worth Making
Check which of your Power-Ups you actually rely on and confirm the new tool covers them natively or through an integration. Calendar views, custom fields and automations are paid add-ons or plan features on Trello, and moving without a plan for them is the most common reason a migration stalls.
Conclusion
Asana and monday.com are the strongest all-round Trello alternatives, ClickUp is best for consolidating tools, and Jira is the choice for software teams. Notion suits teams that want tasks beside docs, Wrike handles complex projects, MeisterTask keeps things simple, and Taiga is the open-source pick.
If you want to add your company to this list, drop us a line or submit a form in the Best Choices section. After a thorough review, we’ll decide whether it’s an appropriate addition.
