Pricing overview
Trello employs a tiered pricing model, structured primarily on a per-user, per-month basis, with discounts offered for annual billing. The platform maintains a free tier, providing core task management functionalities suitable for individual users or small teams with basic requirements. As user needs scale, Trello offers three paid plans: 'Standard', 'Premium', and 'Enterprise'. These tiers progressively unlock advanced features, including increased automation capabilities, enhanced administrative controls, and enterprise-grade security and compliance options. Users can choose between monthly and annual payment cycles, with annual commitments typically resulting in a lower effective monthly cost per user. The pricing structure is designed to accommodate a range of organizational sizes and operational complexities, from personal use to large-scale business deployments requiring extensive management and security features, as detailed on the Trello pricing page.
The strategic acquisition of Trello by Atlassian in 2017 integrated it into a broader suite of collaboration tools, including Jira and Confluence, which also utilize tiered pricing models for their respective services. This integration allows for potential bundling or cross-product functionality, though Trello's pricing remains distinct. The pricing model emphasizes scalability, allowing organizations to pay for the features and user capacity needed, with clear upgrade paths as their requirements evolve.
Plans and tiers
Trello offers a 'Free' tier and three paid subscriptions: 'Standard', 'Premium', and 'Enterprise'. Each tier builds upon the features of the preceding one, introducing more advanced functionalities for collaboration, administration, and security. The price per user decreases slightly when opting for annual billing compared to monthly billing across the 'Standard' and 'Premium' plans.
| Plan | Price (per user/month, annual billing) | Key Features & Limits | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 |
|
Individuals, small teams, or personal use needing basic task organization. |
| Standard | $5.00 USD |
|
Small to medium teams requiring more boards, enhanced organization, and basic team management features. |
| Premium | $10.00 USD |
|
Growing teams and departments needing advanced project visualization, extensive automation, and administrative oversight. |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing |
|
Large organizations and enterprises requiring advanced security, centralized administration, and comprehensive compliance capabilities. |
Note: Prices for 'Standard' and 'Premium' are based on annual billing. Monthly billing rates are typically higher, as outlined on the official Trello pricing page.
Free tier and limits
Trello's Free tier provides substantial functionality, making it a viable option for individuals and small teams initiating visual task management. It includes unlimited cards, a core component of Trello's board-based system, allowing users to create as many tasks or items as needed within their boards. A primary limitation of the Free tier is the restriction to 10 boards per workspace. This means that while individual boards can contain numerous cards, the total number of distinct project or task containers is capped at ten per collaborative space. This limit can be a factor for teams managing multiple concurrent projects or needing separate boards for different departments.
Other features of the Free tier include unlimited storage for attachments, though individual file sizes are limited to 10MB. Users also receive up to 250 Workspace command runs per month, which refers to actions executed by Trello's built-in automation tool, Butler. This automation capability allows for basic rule-based actions, such as moving cards automatically based on due dates or status changes, as explained in the Trello Free, Standard, Premium, and Enterprise comparison. Custom backgrounds and stickers are also available, adding a degree of personalization to the boards. This tier serves as an entry point, allowing users to experience Trello's core workflow before committing to a paid plan for expanded capabilities.
Real-world cost examples
To illustrate Trello's pricing, consider several common scenarios based on annual billing, which offers the most cost-effective rates:
-
Individual or Hobbyist: An individual using Trello for personal project management, habit tracking, or a small side project can typically operate entirely within the Free tier. With unlimited cards and up to 10 boards, this user would incur $0 per month.
-
Small Startup Team (5 users): A small startup with five team members requiring more than 10 boards for their projects, advanced checklists, and custom fields would likely opt for the Standard plan. At $5.00 per user/month (annual billing), the total cost would be $25.00 per month ($5.00/user * 5 users). This provides unlimited boards and increased attachment limits.
-
Mid-sized Marketing Department (20 users): A marketing department of 20 people needing advanced project visualizations (like Dashboard and Timeline views), unlimited automation, and priority support would choose the Premium plan. At $10.00 per user/month (annual billing), the total cost would be $200.00 per month ($10.00/user * 20 users). This tier also includes crucial integrations with tools like Google Workspace and Slack, essential for collaborative departments.
-
Large Enterprise Division (100 users): A large division within an enterprise, requiring organization-wide permissions, Single Sign-On (SSO), and extensive security and compliance features, would fall under the Enterprise plan. The cost for 100 users on the Enterprise plan is custom and generally requires direct engagement with Trello's sales team. However, based on the per-user model, the cost would scale significantly from the Premium plan, offering features critical for large-scale deployments, such as SCIM for user provisioning.
-
Freelance Project Manager (1 user): A freelance project manager who needs unlimited boards and custom fields for various client projects but doesn't require advanced reporting might choose the Standard plan. Their cost would be $5.00 per month (1 user * $5.00/user, annual billing). If they need advanced views for client presentations, the Premium plan at $10.00 per month would be necessary.
These examples highlight how Trello's pricing adapts to different scales of use, with the primary cost drivers being the number of users and the need for advanced features, administrative controls, or enterprise-grade security.
How the pricing compares
Trello's pricing structure is competitive within the project management and collaboration software market, particularly when compared to alternatives like Asana, Jira, and Monday.com. Each platform employs a per-user, tiered model, but the specific features bundled into each tier and the pricing points can vary significantly.
-
Vs. Asana: Asana also offers a robust free tier for individuals and small teams, with paid plans (Premium, Business, Enterprise) that escalate in price for advanced features such as portfolios, goals, and workflow builders. Asana's paid plans typically start at a slightly higher per-user cost for comparable feature sets, though it often provides more advanced reporting and project portfolio management tools at its higher tiers. For example, Asana's paid plans generally begin around $10.99 per user/month (billed annually) for Premium, offering a different suite of project management features compared to Trello's Standard plan at $5.00. The distinction lies in Asana's focus on structured lists and timelines versus Trello's visual board-centric approach, which influences feature prioritization and pricing.
-
Vs. Jira: Owned by the same parent company, Atlassian, Jira is primarily tailored for agile software development teams and IT service management. Jira's pricing starts with a free tier for up to 10 users, similar to Trello's user cap on its free plan, and its paid plans (Standard, Premium, Enterprise) are structured differently to reflect its specialized feature set, which includes advanced scrum and kanban boards, roadmaps, and deep integration with developer tools. Jira's Standard plan begins at $7.75 per user/month (billed annually) for up to 10,000 users, making it more expensive than Trello's Standard plan but offering tools more aligned with complex software development workflows. Trello is often considered a simpler, more visually oriented tool for general task management, making it more accessible for non-technical teams, whereas Jira is designed for the intricacies of software development, as detailed on the Jira pricing page.
-
Vs. Monday.com: Monday.com offers a broader range of project management and workflow customization options, often perceived as a more robust work operating system. Its pricing structure includes a Free plan for up to 2 users, and then tiered paid plans (Basic, Standard, Pro, Enterprise) which often have minimum user counts (e.g., minimum of 3 seats for Basic). Monday.com's Basic plan starts around $8 per user/month (billed annually), which is higher than Trello's Standard plan. Monday.com often emphasizes highly customizable dashboards, extensive integrations, and diverse view options, which are partially available in Trello's Premium tier but more central to Monday.com's base offerings. The pricing reflects Monday.com's positioning as a comprehensive workspace solution versus Trello's focused visual task management.
In summary, Trello's Free and Standard plans offer a strong value proposition for individual users and small to mid-sized teams looking for an intuitive, board-based task management solution. Its Premium tier remains competitive for teams needing advanced views and automation. For larger enterprises with complex compliance and administrative needs, its Enterprise plan provides comprehensive solutions, comparable to the top tiers of its competitors, but with custom pricing that requires direct consultation.