ClickUp vs Trello

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Cheaper paid plan: Trello — $5/seat/mo vs $9/seat/mo for ClickUp
Free plan: Both have one
Public API: Both have one
Higher Trust score: Trello — 92 vs 86 for ClickUp
Best fit: ClickUp: Teams replacing separate task, doc and chat tools with one workspace · Trello: Small teams that need a shared board today with no setup ceremony

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

ClickUpWork management platform for tasks, docs, chat and dashboards, with the Brain AI layer that writes, searches, takes notes and runs agents.

TrelloKanban boards for teams, with AI that drafts whole boards and summarises cards and comments

Side by side

Fact	ClickUp	Trello
Category	Task & Project Management	Task & Project Management
Pricing model	Freemium	Freemium
Starts at	$9/seat/mo	$5/seat/mo
Public API	Yes	Yes
Trust score	86 / 100	92 / 100
Platforms	Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Chrome extension, API	Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, API
Company	Mango Technologies, Inc.	Atlassian
Launched	2017	2011
Last verified	Oct 29, 2026	Oct 16, 2026

What our research says

ClickUp

ClickUp fits teams that want to consolidate tasks, docs, chat and reporting into one tool and are willing to spend time configuring it; the bundled AI credits make Brain usable without a separate subscription. Small teams that just need a simple board, or anyone sensitive to dense interfaces, will find it heavier than it needs to be.

Pros

Very broad feature set covering tasks, docs, chat, whiteboards, goals and time tracking
Generous free plan with unlimited members and tasks
AI credits are included in every paid plan rather than sold as a separate seat add-on
Apps for web, desktop, mobile and a Chrome extension, plus a public API

Cons

The breadth of options makes setup and day-to-day navigation complex
Free plan limits storage to 60 MB and gives AI only as a one-off 500-credit trial
Headline prices assume yearly billing; monthly is roughly a third more

Trello

Still the easiest board tool to hand a non-technical team, and the AI additions are sensibly scoped - board generation and summarisation rather than an agent that reorganises your work. The limits are the old ones: a board is a board, and anything needing dependencies or resourcing outgrows it.

Pros

AI-generated boards turn a written goal into a populated board rather than an empty template
Summarisation works on both card descriptions and long comment threads
Inbox captures tasks from email and chat without leaving those tools
Apps on every platform plus a long-stable public API and a large Power-Up ecosystem

Cons

Calendar, timeline and dashboard views are held back until the $10 Premium tier
Free workspaces cap at ten collaborators, which small teams hit quickly
The board model does not express dependencies, so complex plans go elsewhere

Which one fits

Choose ClickUp if you need

Teams replacing separate task, doc and chat tools with one workspace
Agencies and operations teams that need custom fields, automations and dashboards
Companies that want workspace-aware AI search and meeting notes inside their project tool

Choose Trello if you need

Small teams that need a shared board today with no setup ceremony
Personal and side-project tracking, where the free tier is genuinely enough
Teams already inside Atlassian who want Jira's neighbour rather than Jira