Jira vs Trello: Battle of the Project Management Software

When it comes to Jira vs Trello, our research suggests that Trello is the better project management software tool overall. Compared side-by-side, Jira and Trello excel in very different areas, so which one best suits your business will depend on what you’re looking for. Jira’s featureset and pricing may make it best for larger operations, while Trello is a great fit for small businesses.

Jira has a better range of task management features than Trello, including time-tracking, task dependencies, and decent data visualization tools on all of its plans – which means you’ll have an easier time managing complex projects with Jira.

However, you’ll find Trello easier to use than Jira, and that’s pretty crucial – there’s no point in buying productivity software that slows you down. Trello has all the basics and is quicker to set up, making Trello the best if an immediate, organizational boost is what you’re looking for – otherwise, opt for Jira.

It’s worth noting that Jira is a better value than Trello and offers the best value overall, since it offers many features at a relatively low cost. It’ll be a much better choice than Trello if you’re looking for a centralized hub to bring clarity to your projects, but it’s worth noting that Teamwork is actually a better option than both, and still very affordable. Before you sign up for either Jira or Trello, check out our project management comparison page to make sure your investment is worthwhile.

In this guide, we cover:

• Jira vs Trello: Head-to-Head
• Best for Value: Jira
• Best for Functionality & Features: Jira
• Easiest to Use: Trello
• Best for Individuals: Trello
• Best for Small Teams: Trello
• Best for Large Teams: Jira
• Best for Teams Working With IT: Jira
• Jira vs Trello: Is It Easy to Switch Between Them?
• Jira Pricing Plans
• Trello Pricing Plans
• Verdict: Why Trello Is Better Overall
• Jira vs Trello: FAQs

Jira vs Trello – Head-to-Head

Jira’s Work Management software and Trello are both great choices for teams managing projects. Trello is a simple, general-use project management program that will suit teams that need a central location to track tasks and check on project progress, whereas Jira is a full-fledged project management and issue-tracking tool with a wider range of capabilities. All in all, Trello is easier to use than Jira, and beats it overall with a score of 4.3/5 to Jira’s 4.1/5.

Jira has historically been geared towards IT and software development teams, and our researchers found it more capable than Trello when it comes to task management, data visualization, and collaboration.

Jira vs Trello: Key Differences

Jira has multiple ways to view projects on all plans, including Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and a spreadsheet-style view with formulas – which is why it’s slightly better for complex task management and the kind of issue-tracking software development, engineering, and tech teams do on a daily basis.

Jira’s Kanban board lets users complete each task within a larger project timeline. Source: Tech.co’s testing process

Trello, by contrast, only offers a spreadsheet-style view on its Premium and Enterprise Trello plans, but without those useful formulas Jira offers. The classic Gantt chart view, which is called a “Timeline” in Jira, isn’t included in Trello’s free or Standard plan. Jira includes this feature on all of its plans, as do most other competitors.

Another difference is the fact that Trello offers very few tools to visualize data on its free plan or Standard plan, with no custom or preset charts and no widget builder, whereas Jira has a lot more options for data visualization on its cheaper plans.

A dashboard for project data and preset charts are only available on Trello’s pricier plans, while Jira offers data dashboards with preset charts and 28 different widget options. However, Jira doesn’t have a custom chart builder, which means it scores 3.8/5 for data visualization – but this is better than Trello’s 2.9/5.

Overall, Trello is a much more basic program for simple task management, whereas Jira is better suited to larger teams, especially in software development and IT.

• Trello is best for independent workers or personal projects since it has a free tier with unlimited personal boards
• Jira is better for visualizing project data and better for data-intensive projects
• Trello is best for small teams that want a straightforward set up experience
• Jira is best for software development teams or IT departments, with great issue-tracking features
• Trello is better for basic task management and a minimalist approach
• Jira is better for large teams who want to centralize their workflows around a singular app

Jira Is Better Value Than Trello

Overall, Jira offers a better value than Trello, scoring 4.8/5 for pricing to Trello’s 4.1/5. Both providers offer free plans, but Jira’s free option is much better when it comes to features. There are lots of tools for visualizing data, for example, which isn’t covered by Trello’s free plan. Overall, it’s one of the better free plans we’ve tested, with providers like Asana providing much more limited software. Plus, a user limit of 10 is much more generous than Smartsheet and monday.com’s free plans.

Although Trello’s first paid plan is cheaper than Jira’s ($5 per user, per month vs $8.60 per user, per month or a little lower, depending on the total users), again, Jira has a larger set of features, including a Gantt chart for visualizing project progress, and just like Trello, includes custom and pre-built automation capabilities for streamlining workflows.

Task Dependencies

There are other crucial tools that you’ll find in most project management software tools – such as task dependencies – which Trello just doesn’t provide. They’re actually quite useful for understanding your project’s critical path and what you should be prioritizing, so it makes sense that Jira offers them on all of its plans.

Users can draw dependencies between tasks in Jira’s Timeline view. Source: Tech.co’s testing process

The bottom line is this: Trello and Jira are priced similarly, but with Jira, you’ll get significantly more bang for your buck. That being said, if you’re a very small team and you essentially just need a barebones program where you can collate your daily tasks, you won’t feel short-changed by Trello.

Jira Is More Functional, With More Features Than Trello

Jira was initially popular among software development businesses, but thanks to its broad range of features, lots of companies now use it. In fact, over 65,000 companies have signed up with Atlassian, Jira’s parent company – which also owns Trello.

Jira scores 3.1/5 for overall functionality, with custom project templates and pre-built and custom automation for managing workflows. There’s also a very strong range of task management tools contained in all Jira plans, including a Kanban board, custom fields, and a time-tracking function, helping it to a score of 3.8/5 for this assessment area.

Trello only scored 2.6/5 for features and doesn’t include some key features, such as task dependencies. Scrum and burndown charts are also not included in Trello, but Jira offers them – which makes it a better option for agile teams. monday.com, on the other hand, scores 4.2/5 for overall functionality – and its first paid plan is $9 per user, per month, which is only a little bit more expensive than Jira. ClickUp, on the other hand, scores 4.6/5 for functionality (check out our full ClickUp review for more info).

Trello scores 3/5 for workflow creation, and impressively for a cheap provider, offers custom automation on all of its plans. However, it struggles a little with budget information, and there’s no billing or invoicing function.

Data Visualization

As we’ve mentioned already, Jira scores much better (3.8/5) than Trello (2.9/5) for data visualization, with chart customization options all the way from the free to the enterprise plan, but scores just 2.1/5 for collaboration and doesn’t offer a team instant messenger. Trello scores slightly higher (2.7/5) for collaboration, however, and is very limited in these areas. You can comment on tasks using both software, but they really have very little beyond that to write home about.

Collaboration tools

Neither Jira nor Trello has as many collaboration features as the likes of ClickUp, which scores an impressive 4.7/5 for collaboration thanks to features like an online whiteboard and a project message board.

Security protocols

In terms of security, Jira scores slightly lower (4.2/5) than Trello (4.4/5). Both providers offer two-factor authentication options, but Trello offers guest access while Jira doesn’t provide this, and also has a user permissions function available on all plans, while Jira only offers this on paid plans.

Trello Is Easier to Use Than Jira

The advantage of not providing a huge list of features is that Trello is a lot easier to use and set up, scoring 4.1/5 on our ease-of-use tests compared to Jira’s 3.2/5. Trello has a similar card-and-board interface to Jira, but makes it much easier to get up and running because most things can be edited pretty easily with a couple of mouse clicks. There’s simply not as much menu-diving as you’ll experience with Jira, and the interface isn’t quite as busy, which makes it a little less overwhelming.

Trello’s Kanban board is simple and easy to edit. Source: Tech.co’s testing process

For that reason, Trello is often the better choice for smaller businesses that just need a barebones project management program, rather than a more complex offering such as Jira.

Trello itself is very easy to understand, but any team choosing the free tier will probably find themselves frustrated with it unless their needs are simple.

Customization

“I love Trello,” says Tech.co’s former head of commercial content support, Robyn Summers-Emler, who used software every day while in the role. “I’m a big fan of the simple visualization of how I’m making progress – it’s just the right level of customization without being confusing.”

“I also like that it’s simple to collaborate with other people by adding members to each card I’ve made” she continued. “Some of the other project management software have felt a little bit like they’re overcomplicating things, but Trello is perfect for managing my team’s tasks.”

“Overall, I think it’s a really simple idea executed really well – from what I can tell, Jira would have a lot of features I just wouldn’t need” she added.

Trello Is Better Than Jira for Independent Workers

Since it offers a free tier with unlimited personal boards, there’s no question that Trello is the best choice for freelancers working alone. It also supports up to 10 team boards, meaning you can invite colleagues – or even clients – when a team effort is required.

For a singular user, Jira might feel somewhat overwhelming – it’s got so many settings and features that a solo freelancer just wouldn’t get much use out of. Trello is less intimidating and is likely to have everything you need to orchestrate simple task-tracking.

Trello’s interface allows users to create and set any task labels they need. Source: Tech.co’s testing process

A downside of Trello’s free tier is that file attachments are limited to 10MB each, while the paid tiers support a maximum of 250MB per file attachment – although this is unlikely to affect those working solo or freelancers as much as it might multiple team members trying to work together. You’ll just have to store your files locally or on a cloud drive.

Trello Is (Usually) Better Than Jira for Small Teams

For very small teams with fewer than 10 members, Trello is the better choice, especially if your project is pretty straightforward and you just need a place to keep all of your tasks and information.

If what you need is effectively a glorified to-do list, then Trello’s uncomplicated interface will be your best bet. However, small teams with highly complex tasks may want to opt for Jira, simply because of the wider range of features for higher-level task management that we discussed in the Features section.

Jira and Trello both offer free plans with user limits of 10. However, Jira’s free plan has a much larger array of features across almost all areas of project management, from task management to collaboration.

So, if you have a small team, don’t want to spend anything at all on project management, and want the most features, then Jira is your way to go.

Compare Jira and Trello to other suites with our guide to the Best Project Management Software

Jira Is Better Than Trello for Large Teams

Trello is more flexible than Jira and will have you up and running quickly, but it just doesn’t have the range of features Jira does, which makes it the better option for larger teams.

On Jira’s Enterprise plan, you’ll have access to centralized security controls, user subscriptions, and Atlassian’s powerful data analytics tools, as well as 24/7 Enterprise support.

Jira’s integration with Confluence, plus its document templates under the Pages tab, provides easy ways to add necessary documents to a project. It also supports helpful features such as “at mentions,” which can draw a colleague’s attention to a document. There are thousands of apps on the Atlassian marketplace for Jira customers, of which 720 are free for up to 10 users, including Google Drive and Docs for Jira.

Both systems do offer a range of useful integrations with popular business software: They both integrate or connect with Slack, Google Workspace, and HubSpot, among others.

Trello can still be used by large businesses and teams to manage projects – and its enterprise plan is one of the cheapest around – but it’s still a more basic program that teams with complex project needs are likely to find more limiting than Jira.

Jira Is Better Than Trello for Teams Working With IT

For companies that are already invested in Jira for bug tracking, developing a company website, or creating products, using Jira as an extension of that makes a lot of sense. This is especially true for teams that have to work closely with the software development team. Using the same tool makes it easier for teams to communicate, and to understand how their project management workflow is structured.

Jira is purpose-built for software development, but it’s still flexible enough to work as a general project management tool. The only thing you’ll have to do is add some of the features that you feel are missing, such as Gantt charts or calendars. Jira marketplace apps typically cost money, but if you’re careful about how many you add, it still offers very good value – and as we’ve mentioned above, some are free, too!

Once you start adding apps, Jira becomes a little more complicated, and you can tell that many of the apps feature instructions and designs aimed at software developers. That may be a downside for some, and for those people, Trello may be the better choice.

Jira vs Trello: Is it Easy to Switch Between Them?

Yes – and it’s easy to use them alongside each other too. Jira and Trello are both products made by Australian software company Atlassian, and that means that it’s really simple to migrate your data from one to the other. There are extensive instructions on how to move your data both ways available on the Atlassian website.

There’s also a two-way sync tool available on the Atlassian Marketplace for Jira and Trello that will let you automatically turn Trello cards into Jira issues, as well as customize how the two products integrate. This may come in handy if another team in your company already uses Trello or Jira.

Jira Pricing

Jira’s Work Management software has three tiers, one of which is free. The cost for the two paid tiers will vary, depending on the number of users, but the low tier will cost $8.60 per user, per month for the first 100 users, and the higher tier will cost $17 per user, per month for the first 100 users.

The free tier has quite a lot included considering it costs nothing, offering 2 GB of storage, and the same set of data visualization features that you’ll have on the paid plans, like the ability to make custom charts.  It’s not quite as good as Teamwork’s free plan, which has 24/7 live support, a spreadsheet view for task management, and a team instant messenger for a small additional fee, all of which Jira’s doesn’t offer for free.

Teamwork was awarded a much higher ease-of-use score (4.3/5) than Jira (3.2/5) after perfoming better during Tech.co’s most recent platform testing series.

However, it does have a user limit of 10, which increases to 35,000 when you move to the Standard plan (starting at $8.60 per user, per month), and you’ll also get 250 GB of storage space. This is still cheaper than monday.com’s first paid plan ($9 per user, per month). While monday.com does beat Jira when it comes to collaboration (3.3/5 vs Jira’s 2.1/5), Jira’s standard plan is far superior for task management, customer support, and data visualization.

The pricer Premium tier starts at $17 per user, per month, although this price drops as the number of users expands, eventually costing just $6.11 per user per month for 50,000 user profiles. The storage cap is removed completely, meaning you won’t have to worry about how much data you include in your account.

For more information about Jira work management as well as other Jira software, check out our in-depth Jira pricing guide.

Trello Pricing

Trello has four plans, a free plan, a basic plan, a premium plan, and an enterprise-level plan. The free plan only allows a max of 10 MB per file, which is very small, so most businesses might find themselves getting stopped frequently by this. You’ll also only be offered 10 boards. It’s not as good as Jira’s free plan, however, with no features for displaying data (Jira has many options) and no Gantt chart view for managing tasks.

The Standard plan is ideal for small businesses that don’t require a lot of advanced features. It raises the file size to 250 MB, and gives the user unlimited boards. You get all the core functionality of a project management system, without a lot of bells and whistles – which explains why it scores slightly higher for usability (3.6/5) than Jira does (3.5/5). Most notably, you only get the on, albeit very popular, board view, whereas the next plan opens up a lot more.

The Premium plan is $10 per user, per month. You’ll be given priority support if you need to contact Trello. This plan also adds a wide range of new board views, including map, calendar, timeline, team table, and more.  You’ll also get access to unlimited automations, which is always attractive for saving time.

The final paid tier is the Enterprise tier, which starts at $17.50 per user, per month, with a per-user cost that drops as the total number of users increases. Users are capped at 5,000 (costing $7.38 per user, per month), although custom quotes can increase this number. This plan gives your organization a little more control over the software, allowing for branding on boards, attachment permissions, and custom fields.

For more information on Trello’s pricing plans, check out our Trello pricing page.

Alternatives to Jira vs Trello

Jira vs Trello isn’t the only project management head-to-head you should be thinking about – in fact, there are providers out there that scored better than both of them on our last round of testing.

Our best project management software tool is monday.com, not only because it scored the best for ease of use (4.5/5) – but is slightly more expensive than Trello and Jira, with its first paid plan available for $9 per user, per month. monday.com scores better than both Trello and Jira for task management and collaboration.

Our runner-up is Teamwork, which got close to monday.com in our ease of use tests (4.3/5), while also scoring highly for security (5/5) and well for customer support (3.8/5). Crucially, Teamwork’s first paid plan is available for just $5.99 per user, per month, making it almost as cheap as Trello.

Wrike’s pricing plans are also a bit more expensive than both Jira and Trello, but it has a free plan with no user limit and scores higher than both (4.4/5) overall too, and we found it better for managing complex tasks than Trello’s simple software. It also scores 5/5 for integrations, connecting to a much wider range of useful programs than either Jira or Trello.

Read our guides to the top Jira alternatives and Trello alternatives, or compare Jira vs Trello and various other matchups using our table below:

About Our Project Management Research

At Tech.co, we conduct extensive research into all the software, services, and products that feature in our reviews and head-to-head. We devise custom testing criteria to put the best providers on the market through their paces and then utilize them during extensive usability tests.

When we tested and assessed the top 14 project management software solutions, we focused on five key areas: Value for Money, Ease of Use, Customer Support, Security, Integrations, and Functionality.

Within the “functionality” criterion, each project management software application was given a score for collaboration, task management, data visualization, and workflow creation.

Although we do have commercial partnerships with some of the providers we write about, insights from our research allow us to maintain editorial independence. All of the conclusions we draw in our articles are based solely on our own research – which is the way it’ll always stay.

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