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Project Management

ClickUp vs Trello: Which Project Management Tool Is Right in 2026?

ClickUp is an all-in-one, highly configurable work platform; Trello is the simplest, most visual Kanban tool in the category. Here is what each costs and who outgrows which one.

ClickUp logoUnlimited — $7/seat/mo (annual), $10 monthly

ClickUp

VS
Trello logoStandard — $5/user/mo (annual), $6 monthly

Trello

Bottom line Editorial assessment

Which is better, ClickUp or Trello?

Choose Trello for the simplest, cheapest Kanban tool with the least setup; choose ClickUp if you want docs, time tracking, Gantt charts and dashboards built into the same platform. Trello Standard is $5/user/mo versus ClickUp Unlimited's $7/seat/mo, both billed annually.

Quick verdict: Trello is $2 a seat cheaper ($5 vs $7 a month, both annual) and is the simplest, fastest tool to onboard a small team onto — pure Kanban boards with no learning curve. ClickUp costs more but replaces far more tools: docs, whiteboards, chat, native time tracking, Gantt charts and dashboards are all built in, where Trello stays a focused board tool with Power-Ups for extensions. ClickUp has an official native Trello importer; Trello has no equivalent import path back.
Verified data

ClickUp vs Trello: quick facts

At a glanceClickUpTrello
CategoryProject Management
Entry priceUnlimited — $7/seat/mo (annual), $10 monthlyStandard — $5/user/mo (annual), $6 monthly
Free planFree Forever — unlimited members and guests, 60MB storage, unlimited tasksFree — up to 10 collaborators per Workspace, unlimited cards, up to 10 boards

Is ClickUp cheaper than Trello?

Trello, by $2 a seat a month: $5 against ClickUp’s $7, both billed annually. At 10 seats that is $50 a month for Trello against $70 for ClickUp. Trello’s free plan is also less restrictive on collaborators (10 per Workspace) than ClickUp Free’s 60MB total storage cap, though ClickUp Free has no member limit.

Verified data

ClickUp vs Trello at a glance

CategoryClickUpTrello
Entry priceUnlimited $7/seat/mo (annual)Standard $5/user/mo (annual)
Free planUnlimited members/guests, 60MB storageUp to 10 collaborators per Workspace, 10 boards
Built forAll-in-one work platform: docs, chat, dashboards, time trackingSimple, visual Kanban boards
Gantt chartsIncluded on UnlimitedNot native — Premium adds Timeline view
Native time trackingIncluded on UnlimitedNot included
AIAdd-on: Brain AI $9/user/mo, Everything AI $28/user/moIncluded on Standard
Import from the other toolNative Trello importer (boards, lists, cards, attachments)No native ClickUp importer
Learning curveSteeper — many configurable views and featuresMinimal — fastest to onboard

Verified September 23, 2026Prices recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page. See sources

Prices in USD from clickup.com/pricing and trello.com/pricing, both checked September 23, 2026.

Editorial assessment

How they actually differ

Both organize work into boards, lists and cards, but they sit at opposite ends of the configurability spectrum.

All-in-one vs. focused

ClickUp bundles docs, whiteboards, chat, native time tracking, goals and dashboards alongside its task views — it aims to replace several separate tools. Trello stays deliberately narrow: a Kanban board with Power-Ups (third-party and native add-ons) for anything beyond the basics, which keeps it fast to learn but thinner on built-in capability.

AI pricing

Trello includes AI features on its Standard plan at no extra charge. ClickUp’s AI (“Brain”) is a separate add-on starting at $9/seat/mo, rising to $28/seat/mo for its “Everything AI” tier — a real cost difference if AI features matter to your evaluation.

Moving between them

ClickUp has an official, native Trello importer (Workspace Settings → Import/Export → Trello) that pulls boards, lists, cards and attachments where the Trello API allows, mapping members by email and turning Trello lists into ClickUp statuses. There is no equivalent tool for importing ClickUp data into Trello — that direction is a manual rebuild.

ClickUp

Pros

  • Docs, whiteboards, chat, time tracking and dashboards built in
  • Native Gantt charts on the entry paid plan
  • Official native importer for moving from Trello
  • Deep customization: custom fields, statuses, automations

Cons

  • $2/seat more than Trello
  • AI is a separate paid add-on
  • Steeper learning curve, especially for small teams
  • Free plan storage capped at 60MB total

Trello

Pros

  • Cheapest entry price in the category ($5/seat)
  • Fastest to learn — minimal onboarding needed
  • AI included on the Standard plan, no add-on
  • Free plan allows up to 10 collaborators per Workspace

Cons

  • No native Gantt charts (Premium adds Timeline view only)
  • No native time tracking
  • Thinner feature set than ClickUp’s all-in-one platform
  • No import tool for pulling data from ClickUp
Verified data

Cost calculator: what does your team actually pay?

ClickUp

 
$0/mo

Trello

 
$0/mo
 

Standard list prices, both billed annually, checked September 23, 2026. ClickUp’s AI features are a separate add-on not included in the price shown. Promotions and taxes are not included.

Choose ClickUp if…

You want one tool to replace docs, chat, time tracking and dashboards, or you are moving off Trello and want a native importer.

Choose Trello if…

You want the simplest, cheapest Kanban tool with the least setup, or you want AI features included without an add-on.

Total cost over time

Uses your selections above. Estimate excludes add-ons, overages, and negotiated discounts.

Ready to pick your project management tool?

Both publish a genuine free plan. Move one real project into each and see which your team actually keeps using.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ClickUp or Trello cheaper?

Trello is $2 a seat cheaper: $5/user/mo against ClickUp’s $7/seat/mo, both billed annually.

Can ClickUp import my Trello boards?

Yes — ClickUp has a native Trello importer that pulls boards, lists, cards and attachments (where the Trello API allows) and maps members by email address.

Does Trello have Gantt charts?

Not natively. Trello Premium adds a Timeline view, but ClickUp’s Gantt charts on its Unlimited plan are more full-featured.

Is AI included in the price?

On Trello, yes, on the Standard plan. On ClickUp, AI is a separate add-on starting at $9/seat/mo.

Migration Guides

Already decided? Here’s how to actually switch.

Step-by-step migration guides covering what transfers automatically, what doesn’t, and how to handle the gap — in both directions.

Editorial assessment

When to Buy — and When to Walk Away

Every “best project management tool” listicle tells you why to buy. Here’s the other half: the specific conditions under which ClickUp or Trello is the wrong purchase for your team.

ClickUp

Buy ClickUp if:

  • You want docs, chat, time tracking and dashboards in one tool
  • You are migrating from Trello and want a native importer
  • You need Gantt charts or deep customization

Do NOT buy ClickUp if:

  • You want the cheapest possible seat price
  • Your team needs the shortest onboarding time
  • You do not want to pay extra for AI features

Trello

Buy Trello if:

  • You want the lowest seat price in the category
  • Your team needs to be productive on day one with no training
  • You want AI included without an add-on

Do NOT buy Trello if:

  • You need native Gantt charts or time tracking
  • You are consolidating several tools into one platform
  • You are moving from ClickUp and need an import tool

Sources

Prices on this page were recorded from each vendor’s own pricing page on the date shown at the top of the page. Vendors change pricing often — check the live source before you buy.

Every figure is also in our open dataset (JSON and CSV, CC BY 4.0), with its source page and verification date. See how we research pricing.

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Bill Belcamino, founder of HelpCompare
About the author

Bill Belcamino

Founder and author, HelpCompare

Engineer by training, operator by experience, marketer by choice. Bill spent nine years as an engineer at HP, was COO of Auctiva (the number one third-party selling platform on eBay, past 200,000 users) and ran Google’s $70M/year search syndication partnership at Alot.com. Then he spent 13 years building his own web properties with his own money at stake. He has bought, trialled, integrated and cancelled more SaaS tools than he can count, and started HelpCompare because the real cost of switching tools is the part nobody covers.

“I’ve sat on both sides of the table: the agency recommending the tool and the client paying for it.”

Researched and fact-checked by the HelpCompare team. Pricing on this page was last verified on September 23, 2026. No paid sponsorships, no affiliate commissions.