ClickUp vs Trello: Which Is Better for Your Agency?

Trello has long been the go-to solution when it comes to basic task management and no-frills Kanban functionality. That being said, most of us who have used it in the past are more than familiar with its limitations.

At ZenPilot, ClickUp’s #1 rated Solutions Partner, we’ve helped dozens of agencies, professional services firms, and marketing teams migrate their project management workflows from Trello to ClickUp. Today, we’re going to take a closer look at the key differences between the two platforms and help you find the right solution for your company’s needs.

Let’s get right into it!

Key Takeaways

• ClickUp is the clear winner for growing teams - it offers native time tracking, Gantt charts, real-time chat, workload management, and 1,000+ integrations that Trello simply doesn’t have. Teams that need more than basic Kanban boards will outgrow Trello.
• Trello wins on simplicity and speed to set up - if your team needs a lightweight Kanban tool and nothing more, Trello is easier to learn and can be running in minutes. But most views beyond Kanban require the Premium plan at $10/month per user.
• ClickUp offers more value at every price point - ClickUp’s free plan includes multiple view types and unlimited members, while Trello’s free plan caps you at 10 boards and basic Kanban only. ClickUp’s Unlimited plan ($7/user/month) delivers far more than Trello’s Standard ($6/user/month).
• The AI gap is enormous - ClickUp Brain offers workspace-wide knowledge retrieval, Super Agents, multi-model AI, and automated standups. Trello’s AI is limited to basic writing assistance and simple automation descriptions.

Table of Contents

• What is ClickUp?
• What is Trello?
• ClickUp vs Trello: Direct Comparison
• Features
• Lists
• Views
• Team Communication
• Ease of Use
• ClickUp vs Trello: Pricing
• ClickUp Pricing
• Trello Pricing
• ClickUp vs Trello: Pros and Cons
• ClickUp Pros and Cons
• Trello Pros and Cons
• Which One is Best For You?

What is ClickUp?

ClickUp is a full-suite collaboration platform that helps teams share documents, create reports, manage tasks, and edit files with colleagues in real-time. ClickUp also has a team chat function and whiteboard capabilities to further aid with collaboration.

What is Trello?

Trello is a Kanban board web app and a subsidiary of Atlassian. The platform lets you create task cards, automate simple workflows, and easily attach files from Dropbox or Google Drive.

How Do ClickUp and Trello Compare?

Features

Top ClickUp features:

• Task management
• Recurring tasks
• Time tracking
• Dependencies
• Whiteboards
• Real-time team chat
• Custom views
• Custom fields
• Chrome extension
• Reporting and workload management
• Mobile apps (iOS and Android)
• Integrations and automations

Top Trello features:

• Kanban task boards
• Checklists
• Custom fields
• Unlimited storage (5 MB to 250 MB per file, varies by plan)
• Trello Views (Premium plan or higher)
• Mobile apps (iOS and Android)
• Integrations and automations

Winner: ClickUp wins the battle of features since it’s a full-suite platform whereas Trello mostly centers around task management with Kanban boards.

Views

ClickUp, across its five subscription tiers, has quite a few views to choose from. You could use Kanban, Gantt, forms, timelines, or even create custom views. This makes it extremely flexible, if not a bit tricky to get the hang of at the start.

You’ll also be able to set default views for specific areas in your workspace. This means your content team could have their tasks set up as Kanban boards while your operations personnel can use Gantt charts to visualize the overarching schedules.

While Trello was initially known for its Kanban boards, the development team has introduced other view options over the years. Nowadays, you can view your projects as a timeline, table, calendar, dashboard, or even map depending on what’s most convenient for the task at hand.

The downside is that Trello Views is only available on the Premium tier or higher, meaning you’ll need to pay a minimum of $10/month for each user if you want to use anything other than Kanban boards on the platform.

Winner: both platforms have a diverse selection of views but ClickUp has more options on its Free and Unlimited plans, getting it the win.

Team Communication

ClickUp’s chat view lets you communicate with fellow team members in real-time and actually feels rather similar to using Slack. Don’t get us wrong, ClickUp won’t be competing with Slack on the team chat front anytime soon but there are a few benefits to using this view for projects.

First of all, you won’t have to get your entire team signed up to another platform just to be able to send real-time messages. Instead, you’ll essentially have a native version of almost-Slack that makes it possible to coordinate on projects without ever switching between tabs.

With ClickUp’s chat view, it’s possible to @mention any user on your workspace and they’ll automatically receive the message on their main notifications feed. Lastly, the chat view even has slash commands which are reminiscent of Notion and help you format messages quicker.

ClickUp has a chat view with real-time channels that feels quite similar to Slack. If most of your team is already on ClickUp then it’ll be a lot easier to reach them since you can just @mention any user on your workspace from the chat view.

Trello, on the other hand, tends to fall quite short on team communication. While you can integrate Trello with popular team chat solutions such as Slack or Google Hangouts, it doesn’t have any native real-time communication.

This means that the majority of your communication inside Trello itself will consist of commenting on task cards and tagging your colleagues to ensure they see it – leaving much to be desired.

Winner: ClickUp gets the win for having native team communication features.

Ease of Use

Those who have used both platforms probably already know where this is going. That being the case, we’re gonna keep this short and say that Trello is clearly the easier product to use if you’re looking for a platform that can be up and running in minutes.

All you have to do is sign up for an account, create your workspace, add a couple of team members, and start assigning task cards. Conversely, ClickUp’s flexibility and breadth of features to choose from can make for a steep learning curve.

To be fair to ClickUp, it does have extensive documentation on its knowledge base and the UI is rather intuitive. Still, by the very nature of being a full-suite platform instead of a single-purpose product, it’s going to be harder to use for most new users when compared to Trello. Teams that want a structured rollout - whether agencies, professional services firms, or operations-focused organizations - can work with a ClickUp implementation partner to flatten the learning curve.

If you’re an agency, be sure to see this webinar on ClickUp for agencies.

Winner: Trello’s simplicity gets it a decisive victory in the ease of use category.

ClickUp vs Trello: Pricing

ClickUp Pricing

ClickUp’s free plan is rather feature-dense compared to some of its competitors. You’ll be able to add an unlimited number of team members, share files with 100 MB cloud storage capacity, and utilize most of the core features that bring people to the platform.

At the same time, ClickUp provides more than enough incentive to upgrade to one of the paid plans. The Unlimited plan will likely be the most appealing to SMBs, growing agencies, and small professional services teams since it grants unlimited storage, unlimited integrations, and reporting for only $7/month per user (billed annually).

The Business plan, coming in at $16/month for each user or $12/month if you bill annually, includes features that would be highly valuable to bigger companies. Advanced automations, workload management, advanced time tracking, and Google SSO are just a few of these.

The Business Plus and Enterprise tiers will likely be overkill for most people. That said, power users may enjoy features like custom role creation, APIs, admin training, white labeling, and even a dedicated success manager. Here’s a summary table for all the plans:

ClickUp Plans	Free	Unlimited	Business	Business Plus	Enterprise
ClickUp Pricing	Free	$7/month/user	$12/month/user	$19/month/user	Custom pricing
Customer Support	24/7 Support	24/7 Support	24/7 Support	Priority Support	Dedicated Success Manager
Storage Capacity	100 MB	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
Top Features	Native Time Tracking	Guest Users	Advanced Automations	Custom Permissions	Single Sign-On

Trello Pricing

Trello has three paid plans and a freemium tier that lets you have up to 10 boards in your workspace and create unlimited task cards. Unlike ClickUp that offers 100 MB worth of cloud storage on its free plan, Trello’s free plan offers unlimited storage for files smaller than 10 MB.

Similarly, you can add as many freemium users as you want to your workspace without upgrading to a paid plan. If you upgrade to the Standard (6/month per user) plan then your individual file size limit goes up to 250 MB.

You’ll also get other features on the Standard tier like custom fields, board guests, saved searches, advanced checklists, and unlimited boards. The Premium plan which costs $12.50/month per user or $10/month is perfect for large teams with multiple projects.

Not only will you unlock Trello’s other available views but you’ll also be able to use workspace templates, create collections, add observers, receive priority support, enable Google Apps sign-on, and more.

Finally, Trello’s Enterprise tier at $17.50/month per user (billed annually) lets you add multi-board guests, set custom attachment permissions, create unlimited workspaces, and enable SSO through Atlassian Access.

Here’s a summary table to help you compare the four plans that Trello currently offers:

Trello Plans	Free	Standard	Premium	Enterprise
Trello Pricing	Free	$6/month/user	$12.50/month/user	$17.50/month/user (billed annually)
Customer Support	Email support	Email support	Priority support	Priority support
Storage Capacity	Unlimited (10 MB per file)	Unlimited (250 MB per file)	Unlimited (250 MB per file)	Unlimited (250 MB per file)
Top Features	Mobile Apps	Unlimited Boards	Trello Views	Unlimited Workspaces

ClickUp vs Trello: AI Features

AI is one area where the gap between these two tools is enormous.

Trello’s AI is limited to basic writing assistance (brainstorm, summarize, fix grammar) in card descriptions and comments, plus enhanced Butler automation where you can describe rules in plain English. There’s also a Board Builder that generates a board structure from a prompt, but it’s a novelty feature rather than a workflow tool. Trello has no workspace-wide knowledge retrieval, no project summarization, no risk prediction, and no AI agents. AI writing features are included with Premium ($5/user/month) and up.

ClickUp Brain is a fundamentally different product. It includes workspace-wide knowledge retrieval (ask questions about your tasks, docs, and comments in plain language), automated standup reports, AI writing, Super Agents (AI coworkers you @mention and assign tasks to with 500+ skills), multi-model access (GPT-5, Claude, o3), MCP integration, and AI-powered meeting notes. Brain is an add-on starting at $9/user/month.

This isn’t a close comparison. If AI capabilities matter to your team’s productivity, Trello doesn’t compete at this level. ClickUp, Asana, Notion, and Jira all have meaningfully more developed AI platforms.

That said - if your team uses Trello for simple Kanban boards and doesn’t need AI-powered project management, that’s perfectly fine. Don’t pay for capabilities you won’t use. But if you’re evaluating tools for the next 2-3 years, the AI gap between Trello and the rest of the market is only going to widen.

For a full breakdown of what ClickUp’s AI can do (and where it falls short), see our ClickUp AI guide.

ClickUp vs Trello: Pros and Cons

ClickUp Pros and Cons

If you’re not quite sure whether ClickUp is the right choice for your business then here are a few pros and cons that might be helpful.

| ClickUp Pros | ClickUp Cons | | Most powerful and flexible project management software | Longer learning curve | | Frequently releases new features | A few bugs on newly-released features | | 1,000+ integrations | Not as many pre-built integrations |

Trello Pros and Cons

| Trello Pros | Trello Cons | | Unlimited task cards on free plan | Most features are Kanban-centric | | Mobile apps with 2FA | No real-time team chat | | Easy to use | Not as flexible |

Which One is Best For You?

At the end of the day, it’s clear that these are two products built with very different use cases in mind. Trello is the go-to team when you just need a quick and easy tool that will help you assign tasks across an organization.

It doesn’t have nearly as many features as ClickUp but there’s power in simplicity and Trello definitely has a place in the tool stack of smaller teams and organizations. ClickUp is the exact opposite since it’s an all-in-one platform that helps you manage everything in your workflow from tasks to chats.

Ultimately, your purchase decision will depend on how much you’re ready to pay, how tech-savvy your team is, and just how flexible you need your project management software of choice to be.

That’s all for now but be sure to share this article with a friend or two if you found it helpful - stay productive, pilots!

Related: Evaluating other options too? See our comparisons of ClickUp vs Asana, ClickUp vs Monday, ClickUp vs Notion, and our full guide to choosing the best project management tool.

How to Migrate from Trello to ClickUp

Ready to make the switch? Here’s a step-by-step process for migrating from Trello to ClickUp:

1. Use ClickUp’s native Trello import. ClickUp has a built-in Trello importer that pulls in your boards, lists, and cards automatically. Go to your ClickUp workspace settings, select “Import/Export,” choose Trello, and authorize the connection. This handles the bulk of your data migration in minutes.
2. Map your Trello boards to ClickUp’s hierarchy. Trello’s flat structure (Boards > Lists > Cards) maps to ClickUp’s deeper hierarchy. Each Trello board typically becomes a List or Folder in ClickUp, each Trello list becomes a status or group, and each card becomes a task. Plan this mapping before importing so your workspace is organized from the start.
3. Rebuild your workflows with ClickUp’s additional capabilities. Now that you’re off Trello, take advantage of what you were missing - add custom fields, set up dependencies between tasks, configure automations, and create views beyond Kanban (Gantt, Timeline, Workload). Don’t just replicate your Trello setup - improve it.
4. Set up templates for repeating work. If you had recurring Trello boards or card patterns, build ClickUp templates for those workflows. Templates in ClickUp are far more powerful - you can template entire Folders, Lists, or individual tasks with pre-mapped dates, assignees, and custom fields.
5. Migrate your Power-Ups to native features or integrations. Many Trello Power-Ups (time tracking, calendar views, custom fields) are native features in ClickUp. Audit your Power-Ups and identify which ones are now built-in vs. which need a ClickUp integration to replace.
6. Train your team on the new views and features. Trello users are accustomed to simplicity, so start with a familiar Board view in ClickUp and gradually introduce additional views. Run a 1-2 week parallel period where the team can reference Trello while getting comfortable with ClickUp.

Need help with the migration? ZenPilot has guided 3,100+ teams through ClickUp implementations - including many Trello migrations. Book a call to talk through your transition plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Trello?

Trello is a Kanban-focused project management tool owned by Atlassian. It’s built around task cards and boards, making it one of the simplest ways to visualize and organize work. Trello is popular with small teams and individuals who need a lightweight, easy-to-learn system for basic task tracking.

Is ClickUp better than Trello?

For anything beyond simple Kanban workflows, yes. ClickUp offers native time tracking, Gantt charts, workload management, robust automations, custom fields, and a deep hierarchy for organizing work across clients and departments. Trello excels at simplicity, but most teams outgrow it once their project management needs become more complex.

Can Trello handle complex project management?

Trello is limited for complex project management. It has a flat hierarchy (boards, lists, and cards), no native time tracking, no workload views, no Gantt charts, and limited reporting capabilities. Teams managing multiple clients, deliverables with dependencies, or cross-department workflows will find Trello’s capabilities insufficient and end up relying on workarounds or third-party Power-Ups.

Is Trello free?

Trello does offer a free plan with unlimited task cards and up to 10 boards per workspace, but it’s limited - files are capped at 10 MB, and you only get basic Kanban views. ClickUp’s free plan is more generous, offering unlimited members, 100 MB of storage, and access to most core features including multiple view types beyond just Kanban.

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