Alternative
Trello alternatives 2026: 5 tools compared
Trello is excellent until sprints, time tracking or permissions are missing. Five alternatives with prices from 3 August 2026 — and when Trello should stay.
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Trello wins the first week. It is instantly understandable, costs nothing and nobody needs training. The move away almost always has the same cause: the team grew into it, and three things are missing — sprints, time tracking and reporting. Five alternatives, each for a different situation.
Why teams leave Trello
- No sprint, no backlog. Past a certain size, "columns from left to right" stops being enough.
- No time tracking. Anyone billing hours runs a second tool alongside.
- The Power-Up stack. Every gap can be bought — until the total costs more than a tool that had it built in.
The alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Price | Free tier | Data location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zuuna | Free €0 · Plus €4 · Business Standard €8 · Business Pro €16 · Developer €24 (per seat/month, incl. VAT) | 2 members, 2 boards, 100 cards | Germany |
| Asana | Starter $10.99 · Advanced $24.99 (per user/month, billed annually) — 2-seat minimum | Personal: maximum 2 users | US vendor |
| ClickUp | Unlimited $7 · Business $12 (per user/month, billed annually) | unlimited tasks, but 60 MB storage | US vendor |
| monday.com | Basic €9 · Standard €12 · Pro €19 (per seat/month, billed annually, excl. VAT) — 3-seat minimum | maximum 2 seats, 3 boards | US vendor |
| Notion | Plus $10 · Business $20 (per member/month, billed annually; the EU page served €9.50 for Plus) | 5 MB file uploads, 7-day page history | US vendor |
| Trello | Standard $5 · Premium $10 · Enterprise $17.50 (per user/month, billed annually) | 10 collaborators per workspace, 10 boards, 250 automation runs/month | Atlassian Cloud |
All prices taken from each vendor's own pricing page, accessed 3 August 2026. Currencies are not converted — each figure carries the symbol the vendor publishes it in. Prices change; check before deciding.
Zuuna — when sprints and time tracking should be built in
Fits: teams who like Trello's board character but need sprints, backlog, time tracking and reporting in the same tool — and anyone for whom the server location matters. Hosted in Germany, priced in euros including VAT.
Where it is weaker: fewer integrations and no ecosystem on Trello's scale. And the free tier is tighter than Trello's: 2 members, 2 boards, 100 cards. Direct comparison: Zuuna vs Trello
Asana — when many departments take part
Fits: larger, mixed teams with dependencies and timelines. Where it is weaker: the free tier ends at 2 users and paid plans start at 2 seats — entry costs more than Trello.
ClickUp — when breadth counts
Fits: teams who want as few tools as possible. Native time tracking from the $7 Unlimited tier. Where it is weaker: the interface is considerably busier than Trello's — precisely what some people are escaping.
monday.com — when it should be colourful and guided
Fits: teams who work through templates and visual boards. Where it is weaker: a 3-seat minimum, a free tier that ends at 2 seats and 3 boards, and prices quoted excluding VAT.
Notion — when documents matter more than cards
Fits: teams whose work is mostly knowledge — specs, notes, databases. Where it is weaker: Notion is not a project tool with a sprint engine. Sprints and burndown can be rebuilt from templates; native time tracking does not exist.
When Trello should stay
If the board is a shared list, the team stays small and nobody asks for reporting, Trello remains the right answer. Moving would be changeover effort with nothing in return — and we write that down despite selling an alternative.
Migrating: the honest route
Jira connects directly: create an API token in your Atlassian account, paste the site address, the email and the token, and Zuuna reads the project itself — no app registration, no OAuth, no administrator involved. If you would rather upload a file, use the Jira CSV export. Trello exports as JSON and you upload that. Every other tool goes through the spreadsheet: CSV or Excel. The import runs once — it does not watch the source, and nothing flows back.
During the import you map each column — title, status, priority, due date, assignee or a custom field. The values in the status column become the board's columns. Limits: 15 MB per file, 50 columns, 10,000 rows, 30 status columns. The delimiter is detected automatically, so a German Excel export with semicolons works unchanged.
What does not come along: attachments, comment threads and history. If you need those, export them separately or keep the old system as an archive. The full guide walks through it step by step.
Read on
The move, step by step
The JSON export works on free Trello too, unlike the CSV one: export a Trello board and migrate.
FAQ
Why do teams leave Trello?
Almost never because Trello is bad — because the team outgrew it. Sprints, backlog, time tracking, finer permissions and reporting are missing, and Power-Ups only close that gap so far.
What does Trello cost right now?
The free tier allows 10 collaborators per workspace, 10 boards and 250 automation runs a month. Standard is $5, Premium $10 and Enterprise $17.50 per user per month billed annually (as of 3 August 2026).
Which alternative feels most like Trello?
Zuuna and monday.com — both stay board-centric. ClickUp and Notion are conceptually further away: more powerful, but they need more explaining.
Can I bring my Trello boards with me?
Yes. Board menu → Share → Export as JSON (this works on free boards too), then upload the file. Lists become columns in Trello's own order, empty ones included. What comes across: descriptions, labels, due dates, members, checklists with their tick state, and comments. What does not: the attachment files themselves, Power-Up fields, card covers, votes and Butler automations; archived cards and lists stay behind as well.
When should I stay on Trello?
When the board is mainly a shared list, the team stays small and nobody asks for reporting. Then moving is pure changeover work with nothing in return.