Trello has a free plan. Free / from $5/user/mo.

Trello

Item: Trello
Rating: 4.4
Author: Aheri Systems

Best Free PM Tool

The most approachable project management tool available — free plan works for most small teams without ever paying.

★★★★★ 4.4 · Top-rated on G2 & Capterra

| Project Management | 50 million+ users

✦ Visual Kanban project management that makes it instantly clear who is doing what by when. ⏱ Live in Under 10 min Founded 2011

Independent reviews by the Aheri Systems team — for MSMEs and entrepreneurs worldwide.

Starting from

$0/mo

Up to 10 boards, unlimited cards, 250 automation runs/month, Power-Ups, 10MB attachments

Try Trello Free → View Pricing Plans

Your first automation could be live today.

Quick answer

Trello is a visual Kanban project management tool used by 50 million+ people with a free plan that includes 10 boards and unlimited cards. Standard plan costs $5/user/month. It's the top recommendation for African MSMEs replacing WhatsApp task tracking with a proper system — fast to adopt, easy to maintain, and powerful enough for most teams.

⏰ Save Time

4hrs/week

Visual task board eliminates daily status update meetings and manual progress chasing

💰 Reduce Costs

$100/mo

Replaces scattered project management across WhatsApp, email, and spreadsheets with one free tool

📈 Drive Revenue

+15% on-time delivery

Clear task ownership and deadlines reduce project delays that cost client trust and revenue

Based on Atlassian productivity research and independent project management tool adoption studies

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The Problem Trello Solves

The Pain

You are a small business owner whose team tracks tasks in a WhatsApp group and a shared Google Sheet. Nobody knows the status of half the tasks, deadlines are missed because messages get buried, and there's no single view of what the team is actually working on this week.

The Fix

Trello gives every task a visual card that moves across columns as work progresses — from To Do, to In Progress, to Done. Everyone sees the same board in real time, cards carry all relevant information and attachments, and automations send deadline reminders without you needing to chase anyone.

What is Trello?

Trello is a visual project management tool using Kanban boards — columns of cards representing tasks — used by 50 million+ people to organise personal projects, team workflows, and business operations. Owned by Atlassian, it integrates with 200+ apps and offers a genuinely useful free plan for small teams. For African MSMEs moving from WhatsApp group task tracking, Trello is the clearest and most accessible upgrade available.

Pros and Cons

+ What We Love

✓ Free plan is genuinely powerful for small teams — 10 boards is enough for most MSMEs
✓ Visual Kanban format is immediately intuitive — teams adopt it in hours not weeks
✓ 200+ Power-Up integrations including Google Drive, Slack, Zoom, and Salesforce
✓ Mobile app works excellently in low-bandwidth environments across Africa
✓ 75% nonprofit and education discount makes it nearly free for qualifying organisations

- Watch Out For

! No timeline or Gantt view on free or Standard plan — need Premium for date-based planning
! 10-board limit on free plan can be hit fast by agencies managing multiple clients
! Automation limit of 250 runs/month on free plan is tight for active boards

Trello features explained — what you get on each plan, in plain English All features →

What Can You Do With Trello? (Examples)

A few ways MSME owners and entrepreneurs use Trello — this is not an exhaustive list.

✓ Set up a content calendar board with lists for Idea, Writing, Review, Published, and Promoted

✓ Create a client project board for each account with standardised task templates

✓ Track a product launch with cards for each deliverable, assigned to team members with deadlines

✓ Manage employee onboarding with a checklist template that's duplicated for each new hire

✓ Run a weekly team meeting synchronously using the Trello board as the live agenda

🌎

A Nairobi digital agency uses Trello Standard ($5/user/month for 4 people) to manage 12 client projects simultaneously, replacing a chaotic WhatsApp group system that was causing missed deadlines and an embarrassing client communication failure. Real-world use case

See all Trello use cases — real workflows for your specific business situation View all →

Trello Pricing

Free

$0/mo

Up to 10 boards, unlimited cards, 250 automation runs/month, Power-Ups, 10MB attachments

Best for

Individuals and small teams managing projects without complex workflows

Standard

$5/user/mo (annual)

Unlimited boards, custom fields, 1,000 automation runs/month, advanced checklists

Best for

Growing teams who've hit the 10-board limit and need custom fields

Premium

$10/user/mo (annual)

Timeline, Calendar, Dashboard and Map views, unlimited automations, admin controls, priority support

Best for

Project managers needing multiple views and workflow visibility across teams

Enterprise

$17.50/user/mo (50+ users)

Unlimited workspaces, SAML SSO, organisation-wide permissions, 24/7 support, Atlassian Guard

Best for

Large organisations needing enterprise security and multi-department management

See the full Trello pricing breakdown — every plan explained Full breakdown →

Try Trello Free →

Your first workflow running in minutes.

Stop doing this manually. Start tonight.

Trello handles it. You focus on growing. Setup takes under 30 minutes.

Get Started Free →

Who Is Trello For?

Best For

✓Small teams migrating from WhatsApp and spreadsheet task tracking
✓Freelancers and solo operators managing multiple client projects
✓Marketing teams managing content calendars and campaign tasks
✓Operations teams tracking process workflows and repeatable tasks

Not Ideal For

✗Complex projects needing Gantt charts and resource management (use Asana or Monday)
✗Technical development teams needing sprint planning and backlog management (use Jira)

Trello Integrations

Tools Trello connects with — and what that connection actually does for your business.

Integration details coming soon

Trello connects with hundreds of apps. We are documenting each one with plain-English explanations.

View all →

Our Verdict

Trello's free plan is one of the best in any software category — 10 boards covers most small businesses for months. When you need more boards or views, the Standard plan at $5/user is among the cheapest paid upgrades in the market. For complex project management with Gantt charts and resourcing, you'll outgrow Trello, but most African MSMEs won't hit that limit for years.

Aheri Systems team review

"Trello keeps us organised and on track. It's so easy to use, even our least technical team member loves it."

★★★★★ via Capterra

Quick Facts

Category Project Management

Pricing Free / from $5/user/mo

Free Plan Yes

No Card No card needed

Access Web, iOS, Android

Skill Level No-code

Setup Time Under 10 min

Time Saved 4 hours/week

Founded 2011

HQ New York, USA (part of Atlassian)

Users 50 million+

Alternatives to Trello

notion ai View review hubspot View review pipedrive View review

Full comparison — pros, cons and pricing for every alternative Compare all →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Trello? +

Trello is Trello is a visual project management tool using Kanban boards — columns of cards representing tasks — used by 50 million+ people to organise personal projects, team workflows, and business operations. Owned by Atlassian, it integrates with 200+ apps and offers a genuinely useful free plan for small teams. For African MSMEs moving from WhatsApp group task tracking, Trello is the clearest and most accessible upgrade available. It is used by small teams migrating from whatsapp and spreadsheet task tracking and freelancers and solo operators managing multiple client projects.

Is Trello free? +

Trello has a free plan. Free plan includes: Up to 10 boards, unlimited cards, 250 automation runs/month, Power-Ups, 10MB attachments. Paid plans start from $5/user/mo.

What can I use Trello for? +

Trello is used for: Set up a content calendar board with lists for Idea, Writing, Review, Published, and Promoted; Create a client project board for each account with standardised task templates; Track a product launch with cards for each deliverable, assigned to team members with deadlines; Manage employee onboarding with a checklist template that's duplicated for each new hire; Run a weekly team meeting synchronously using the Trello board as the live agenda. It works best for small teams migrating from whatsapp and spreadsheet task tracking, freelancers and solo operators managing multiple client projects, marketing teams managing content calendars and campaign tasks, operations teams tracking process workflows and repeatable tasks.

Who is Trello best for? +

Trello is best for Small teams migrating from WhatsApp and spreadsheet task tracking, Freelancers and solo operators managing multiple client projects, Marketing teams managing content calendars and campaign tasks, Operations teams tracking process workflows and repeatable tasks. It is not ideal for Complex projects needing Gantt charts and resource management (use Asana or Monday); Technical development teams needing sprint planning and backlog management (use Jira).

How long does it take to set up Trello? +

Most users have Trello running within 30 minutes to 2 hours. No technical skills required. The free plan needs no credit card.

Does Trello work in Africa? +

Yes. Trello is Africa Ready — it works in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and across the continent with no country restrictions on core features.

Trello vs Notion ai — which is better? +

Trello is better for small teams migrating from whatsapp and spreadsheet task tracking because free plan is genuinely powerful for small teams — 10 boards is enough for most msmes. Notion ai may suit more complex needs. See our full comparison for a detailed breakdown.

What apps does Trello integrate with? +

Trello integrates with a wide range of popular business tools in the Project Management space and beyond. Check the Trello integrations page on their website for a full current list.

What are the limitations of Trello's free plan? +

On the free plan: Up to 10 boards, unlimited cards, 250 automation runs/month, Power-Ups, 10MB attachments. No timeline or Gantt view on free or Standard plan — need Premium for date-based planning. Upgrade to a paid plan when your usage grows past the free tier limits.

What are the best alternatives to Trello? +

The top alternatives to Trello are Notion ai, Hubspot, Pipedrive. Each has different strengths — Trello remains the best choice for small teams migrating from whatsapp and spreadsheet task tracking.