Trello suits small teams and solo business owners who want simple boards and cards with up to 10 collaborators free. Jira suits teams that run sprints, track bugs and map dependencies, also free for up to 10 users. Both start free, so the choice comes down to how much structure your work needs.
Trello and Jira both put work on boards, which is why people compare them. The difference shows up the moment your work gets complicated. Trello keeps cards light and adds extras through Power-Ups. Jira assumes you'll want views, workflows and dependencies from day one.
Jira and Trello feature by feature
| Jira | Trello | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Free forever for up to 10 users | Free for up to 10 collaborators per Workspace |
| Boards on free | Boards, lists, timeline and calendar views | Up to 10 boards per Workspace, unlimited cards |
| Storage | 2 GB on free | Unlimited, 10MB per file on free |
| Automation on free | 150 automation steps a month | 250 Workspace command runs a month |
| AI | Rovo AI from Standard | AI from Standard |
| Extra views | Timeline and calendar built in | Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map on Premium |
| Add-ons | Third-party apps and Atlassian tools | Unlimited Power-Ups per board |
| Capture | Track work from Slack, Figma and Gmail | Inbox captures to-dos from email, Slack and Teams |
| Mobile | iOS and Android apps | iOS and Android apps |
What Trello does well
Trello's free plan is generous for a small business: unlimited cards, up to 10 boards per Workspace, unlimited Power-Ups and 2-factor authentication. The Inbox pulls to-dos from email, Slack and Teams so nothing sits in a chat thread. Higher plans add AI, unlimited boards, a Planner and card mirroring.
- Quick to learn; a new team member can use a board in minutes.
- Power-Ups add calendars, fields and integrations board by board.
- An MCP server connects Trello to AI tools.
What Jira does well
Jira is built for work with moving parts. Templates cover agile sprints and marketing campaigns, timeline and calendar views come built in, and dependency mapping shows what blocks what across teams. Rovo AI can break big ideas into tasks and write automations from plain instructions on the Standard plan and up.
- Sprint templates and backlog structure ready to go.
- Dependency mapping for launches that span several teams.
- Room to grow to very large organisations on Standard.
Getting work in without copying and pasting
Trello's Inbox is on the free plan and pulls to-dos in from email, Slack and Teams, so a client's request doesn't sit in a thread until someone remembers it. Jira keeps work current from Slack, Figma and Gmail, which suits teams where designers and developers hand work back and forth all day. Neither needs a third-party tool for this, and that's one less thing you'll have to maintain.
The free plan detail worth knowing
Both free plans stop at 10 people, but they count differently. Trello's plans page counts collaborators per Workspace and caps boards at 10 per Workspace, while cards are unlimited. Atlassian counts Jira users per site and caps storage at 2 GB. Trello's free plan gives 250 Workspace command runs a month for automation; Jira's gives 150 automation steps a month. For a team that automates a lot, those numbers matter more than the logo.
If boards are new to you, my guide to kanban tools that show task progress explains why the board format works.
Who should go with which
You'll be happiest with Trello if you're a solo business owner, a small agency or a team whose work moves through a few clear stages: idea, doing, done. You'll want Jira if you plan in sprints, need timelines without upgrading, or have work that depends on other teams. Small teams often find project management harder than it looks, and the lighter tool is usually the one people keep using.
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My advice on Jira or Trello
Start with the lightest tool that fits today's work, because it's the one people will keep updating. If your team never mentions sprints, backlogs or dependencies, Trello's free plan will carry you a long way. The day those words start appearing in meetings, give Jira a full trial run with one live project before moving everything across.
Do you make a board-based or project management tool? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place in comparisons like this one.
Frequently asked questions
Is Trello free?
Yes. Trello's free plan covers up to 10 collaborators per Workspace with unlimited cards, up to 10 boards per Workspace and unlimited Power-Ups per board.
Is Jira free?
Yes. Atlassian's free plan is free forever for up to 10 users with 2 GB of storage.
Does Trello have a timeline view?
Yes, on the Premium plan, alongside Calendar, Table, Dashboard and Map views. Jira includes timeline and calendar views as standard.
Which one has AI?
Both, on higher plans. Trello adds AI from Standard, and Jira's Rovo AI credits start on Standard.
