Alexis Kestler
Hey there!
Managing projects can be challenging. With so many moving parts and people involved, you need an efficient system to stay on top of everything. This is where project management (PM) software comes in super handy!
You’re probably familiar with Trello – the popular kanban-style PM tool. It‘s known for its flexible boards and cards that let you visualize workflows. But have you heard of monday.com? This relatively new tool has been gaining traction as a powerful work OS with custom boards and reports.
So should you go with Trello or monday for project management? Great question! I‘ve done a thorough comparison of both tools based on my experience as a project manager. Read on as I break down their key differences across pricing, features, use cases and more.
Let‘s dive in!
A Quick Intro to Trello and monday
First, a quick refresher on what each tool is all about…
What is Trello?
Trello is a visual PM software that organizes your projects into boards, lists and cards. It was launched in 2011 by Fog Creek Software and has become hugely popular, with over 50 million users worldwide.
Some cool things you can do on Trello:
- Create multiple boards to break down projects
- Make customizable lists within each board
- Add colorful cards to represent tasks and move them across lists
- Assign members, labels, due dates and more to each card
- Attach files, add comments and activity logging
The simple drag-and-drop kanban interface is intuitive and flexible. Trello integrates nicely with tools like Slack, Salesforce and Zendesk. Pricing starts free for basic use.
Notable users include Google, Airbnb, Fender and even the FBI!
What is monday.com?
monday.com is a relatively newer PM platform launched in 2014, but it‘s rapidly gaining devotees. It‘s described as a work operating system since you can create configurable boards for any kind of work.
Here are some of its useful features:
- Build customizable project boards from scratch or templates
- Manage tasks in a spreadsheet-like column view
- Time tracking and dependencies to map out project plans
- Charts, reports and dashboards for data insights
- 100+ app integrations with Google Drive, Slack, Jira and more
- Android and iOS mobile apps to track work on the go
With robust workflows and tracking capabilities, monday.com is popular among agencies, digital media firms, software companies and more. Users include Phillips, Discovery Channel, Wix, Deliveroo and Trivago.
Now that you have a basic idea of both tools, let‘s look at how they compare across some key factors:
Feature Comparison
The features available determine how easily you can manage different kinds of projects. Here‘s an in-depth look at what Trello and monday offer:
Boards and Task Management
Trello boards are highly flexible allowing you to create numerous customized lists within them. Tasks are represented as cards that you can drag across lists to indicate progress.
Cards only display high level details like title, members, labels and dates. You click into each card to see descriptions, subtasks, conversations and attachments.
monday.com boards take a spreadsheet-like approach. Columns represent stages, and tasks are tracked in rows called pulses. All information stays within the pulse including conversations, files and dates.
Trello‘s cards (left) vs monday‘s pulses (right) [Source: monday.com]
While Trello just has a board view, monday offers board, calendar, timeline and map views for different perspectives.
monday‘s boards are more customizable – you can add lots of fields, colors, automation rules etc. But Trello‘s flexibility in creating lists lets you shape workflows too.
Templates
Trello doesn’t offer ready-made templates. You’ll have to either start boards from scratch or duplicate existing boards to reuse them.
monday has tons of templates suited for different verticals like marketing, engineering, finance etc. Templates make it faster to create boards for recurring projects.
Workflows
Trello follows a basic kanban workflow. You create columns for the different stages and move task cards across them to show progress.
monday also uses kanban boards but lets you build more complex workflows:
- Set milestones and dependencies between tasks
- Assign multiple people to a pulse
- Link parent and subtasks
- View interleaved timelines
- Automate rule-based workflows
So monday offers greater flexibility in modeling workflows for elaborate projects.
Automation
Trello lets you automate basic tasks like card movement, reminders, mentions etc through its Butler bot. But you have to manually configure each automation rule.
monday.com provides over 200 ready-made automation recipes you just have to switch on! You can trigger automatic status changes, updates, alerts etc to streamline project workflows.
Collaboration
Both tools make collaborating on projects a breeze. You can:
- Comment on cards or pulses
- Assign tasks to teammates
- Share files and attachments
- Get notified on updates via email, browser, mobile
A few extras monday offers:
- Private subgroups within boards
- Chat and video conversations
- Progress and planning handoff
Trello highlights activity from all your boards in its Community section. monday has an Updates tab showing recent team activity.
Reporting
Trello keeps it simple when it comes to reporting. The built-in options are limited to showing board members, number of cards in different lists, etc.
For detailed reports, you‘ll have to rely on Trello‘s Power-Ups like Butler or third-party integrations like Scoro.
monday has strong reporting capabilities with:
- Task, lead and sales reports
- Workload reports
- Timelines and Gantt charts
- Customizable dashboards
- Automated scheduled reports
This makes it easy to analyze project progress and team performance without switching tools.
Mobile Apps
Trello and monday both offer mobile apps for Android and iOS so you can manage projects on the go.
Trello‘s mobile app is highly functional. You can easily create and edit cards, lists, labels etc. It offers a great experience similar to web.
monday‘s mobile app is more limited. You can only view and create basic items. For editing boards and workflows, the web app is still required.
Integrations
Trello intergrates with thousands of apps via its Power-Ups. Most are free including time tracking, mind maps, docs, spreadsheets etc.
monday connects with 100+ apps like Slack, Dropbox, Google Drive etc. But many integrations are only available on higher pricing tiers.
Overall Trello makes it easier to mix and match tools you already use thanks to its open ecosystem. monday limits third-party integrations to paid users.
Security
Both tools offer enterprise-grade security:
- ISO 27001 certification
- SOC 2 Type 2 audited
- 256-bit encryption
- Data privacy assurances
Trello has an advantage when it comes to permissions. You can selectively control access for members down to board, list and even card level.
monday just offers workspace-level permissions for private vs public projects. This makes it tougher to manage access for external partners.
Ease of Use
When comparing two tools, it‘s good to look at how easy they are to use. Let‘s see how Trello and monday stack up.
Trello
Trello wins when it comes to simplicity and user-friendliness. Its interface resembles a classic kanban board that will seem instantly familiar.
With just boards, lists and cards – you can jump right in without going through a learning curve. Trello also has handy tooltips, keyboard shortcuts and getting started guides.
Within minutes, you can create your first board, add some lists, move cards around – no formal training needed!
However, power users may find Trello limiting. Boards cannot be converted into other views that may provide more insight like calendars or timelines. The fixed kanban structure can sometimes feel restrictive.
monday.com
At first glance, monday‘s interface may seem slightly more overwhelming with different menu bars, buttons and customization options across the top.
However, once you get past the initial learning, monday becomes very powerful and flexible. You can customize boards beyond recognition and design complex workflows.
I‘d recommend going through their learning materials like 10-minute video tutorials and getting started templates when onboarding on monday.
Within a few hours of guided learning, you‘ll be in good shape to leverage all that monday has to offer. The extensive resources really help shorten the learning curve.
Use Cases
Let‘s look at some typical use cases where Trello or monday excel:
When to Use Trello
Thanks to its intuitive interface, Trello is great for:
✅ Personal task management
✅ Small teams with simple workflows
✅ Basic kanban project boards
✅ Lightweight visual collaboration
It‘s easy to get started with Trello if you just need a shared virtual board for your projects without a lot of complex features.
Freelancers, remote teams and startups often use Trello for agile project management. Its flexibility also makes it popular among design teams and marketers.
For larger or highly regulated businesses, Trello may not offer the depth of permissions, control and audit trail required.
When to Use monday.com
monday.com shines when you need:
✅ Advanced workflows and scenarios
✅ Visual data insights
✅ Robust reporting
✅ Planning projects down to the smallest details
✅ Managing multiple complex projects
With timelines, Workload charts and Formulas, monday suits intricate projects that require sequencing tasks and tracking progress.
I‘ve found monday.com to be very popular among ad agencies, video production teams, software firms and professional services who routinely handle multifaceted projects.
The templates make monday a great fit for regulated industries like healthcare, finance and legal that need standardized processes.
Here are some examples of real companies using Trello and monday:
Trello
- Kickstarter
- Fender
- ASOS
monday.com
- Discovery Channel
- Wix
- Deliveroo
- Phillips
Pricing Comparison
Pricing plays a key role in tool selection. Here‘s an overview of what Trello and monday charge:
| Plan | Trello | monday.com |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Unlimited boards, lists, 1 power-up per board |
14-day trial only |
| Paid Starting | $5 per user/month billed annually |
$8 per seat/month billed annually |
Trello Pricing
Trello lets you use their free forever plan without any feature limitations. Paid upgrades give you added capabilities like:
- Unlimited power-ups
- Custom backgrounds
- Advanced checklists and calendars
- 2-way Slack integration
- Priority email support
Trello Business Class starts at $5 per user/month billed annually. There are volume discounts available as well.
monday.com Pricing
monday.com does offer a free trial but doesn‘t have a free forever plan. Their paid plans start at:
- Basic – $8 per seat/month billed annually
- Standard – $10 per seat/month billed annually
- Pro – $14 per seat/month billed annually
Higher tiers add features like timeline, workload charts, forms, and advanced integrations.
Volume discounts are offered for larger teams of over 100+ members. Educational and non-profit organizations get discounted rates.
Overall, Trello gives you more bang for buck especially at lower pricing tiers. monday‘s premium features justify its steeper pricing that scales for larger businesses.
Support
Getting timely help when you‘re stuck is important. Let‘s see how Trello and monday compare when it comes to customer support.
Trello Support
Trello provides email-based customer support along with an extensive knowledge base containing guides, videos and webinars.
Some prominent support resources:
- Getting started and user manuals
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Product updates
- Community forums
However, options for live interaction like chat or phone support are not available. You‘ll have to rely on email and community forums for assistance.
monday.com Support
monday.com offers multiple live support channels in addition to its knowledge base:
- 24/7 chat support
- Phone support
- In-app messaging
Some areas where help is provided:
- Onboarding assistance
- Data migration
- Custom integrations
- User training
- Troubleshooting
Paid users also get access to a dedicated Customer Success Manager for customized onboarding and ongoing account management.
monday clearly offers superior support, which can make a big difference for larger, busier teams.
Final Verdict
Phew, that was a detailed feature-by-feature comparison between Trello and monday!
Let‘s summarize the key strengths of both tools:
Trello‘s Strengths
Simplicity – Intuitive kanban interface requires minimal learning
Affordability – Generous free plan plus low pricing for basics
Flexibility – Boards, lists and cards can be endlessly customized
Mobility – Fully-functional mobile app
monday.com‘s Strengths
Customization – Fully configurable boards with various views
Tracking – Robust timelines, charts and analytics
Scalability – Handles complex projects for large teams
Support – Phone, chat and onboarding assistance
So which tool wins in the battle of Trello vs monday?
For smaller teams with basic projects, Trello is the easy choice. It gets you started instantly without a steep learning curve. Solo users will find great value in Trello‘s free plan.
Once you scale in team size and project complexity, monday.com pulls ahead thanks to its depth in features, workflows, insights and customer support. Larger agencies find monday well worth the premium pricing.
My recommendation would be to sign up for both free trials. See which tool aligns closest to your specific needs. Trello and monday are both excellent in their own right. Your requirements will determine which is a better organizational fit.
I hope this detailed feature comparison of Trello vs monday has given you clarity to decide between the two popular project management tools. Let me know if you have any other questions!
