monday.com vs Trello (2026)
A side-by-side comparison of pricing, features and real-world ratings to help you choose between monday.com and Trello.
| Feature | monday.com | Trello |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Project Management | Project Management |
| Starting Price | $9/mo | $5/mo |
| Free Trial | 14-day trial | 14-day trial |
| G2 Rating | 4.7 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | Small Teams | Freelancers |
| Reviews | 12,500 | 23,100 |
Key differences between monday.com and Trello
User sentiment favors monday.com: it averages 4.6/5 across 12,500 reviews versus 4.5/5 for Trello (23,100 reviews).
monday.com leans into custom boards and dashboards, while Trello puts its weight behind kanban boards and power-ups — pick based on which of those you will actually use weekly.
Their sweet spots differ: monday.com is strongest for small teams, whereas Trello is built with freelancers in mind.
🏆 Our Verdict
monday.com is our overall pick, scoring 4.6/5 across 12500 reviews. That said, Trello remains a great option if you prioritise freelancers. Read the breakdown below before you decide.
Head to head
monday.com
monday.com sells a 'Work OS' rather than a project tool: colorful, spreadsheet-like boards that teams reshape into CRMs, content calendars, sprint trackers or intake queues. Its automation recipes and dashboard widgets are unusually approachable, which explains its popularity with marketing and operations teams. Pricing is the friction point — per-seat tiers with three-seat minimums and key features gated behind higher plans mean costs climb as adoption spreads.
monday.com
A colorful Work OS for any workflow.
Visit monday.com →Pros
- ✓Highly visual
- ✓Very flexible
- ✓Good automations
Cons
- ✗Pricing tiers add up
- ✗Min seat requirements
Trello
Trello is the tool people recommend when someone has never used a project manager: a board, lists and cards explain themselves in seconds. Power-Ups and Butler automation quietly extend it further than its simplicity suggests, handling recurring tasks and cross-board workflows. It starts to creak when work needs dependencies, workload views or formal reporting — that is usually the moment teams graduate to heavier platforms, often reluctantly.
Trello
Simple Kanban boards anyone can use.
Visit Trello →Pros
- ✓Dead simple
- ✓Generous free plan
- ✓Flexible boards
Cons
- ✗Limited for complex projects
- ✗Reporting is basic
How we compare tools
Every comparison on SaaS Compare follows the same recipe: we aggregate verified user ratings from G2 and Capterra, track published pricing (including free plans and trial terms), and weigh the practical pros and cons reported by real users. We refresh this data on a regular schedule and never let affiliate partnerships influence a verdict — the same criteria decide every matchup, including this monday.com vs Trello comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Is monday.com better than Trello?
Based on aggregated ratings, monday.com edges ahead with a 4.6/5 score. The right choice still depends on your budget and use case — monday.com suits small-teams, while Trello is strong for freelancers.
Which is cheaper, monday.com or Trello?
monday.com starts at a free plan and Trello starts at a free plan.
Does monday.com or Trello offer a free trial?
monday.com: 14-day trial. Trello: 14-day trial.
What do users say about monday.com and Trello?
monday.com averages 4.6/5 from 12,500 reviews (G2: 4.7/5, Capterra: 4.6/5). Trello averages 4.5/5 from 23,100 reviews (G2: 4.4/5, Capterra: 4.5/5). Ratings aggregate thousands of verified users, so small gaps are meaningful at this scale.
When should I pick Trello instead?
Despite the overall verdict, Trello is the better fit when dead simple and generous free plan matter most to your workflow, particularly for freelancers.