If you’re reading this article, it is more than likely that you are looking for top-rated alternatives to Trello, which is a good business task management tool but has its limitations.
Project management is not limited to task management and team collaboration only; it’s a process where several features are used to ensure successful project completion.
People have been using Trello for collaboration, task management as well as a personal productivity tool, but it’s not designed for project managers looking for a comprehensive and reliable solution that offers powerful tools to achieve more productivity in less time.
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Why Trello May Not Be “Good Enough” For Project Managers
Top Limitations of Trello:
- Isn’t Quite Scalable To Larger And More Complex Projects
One of the main drawbacks of Trello is that it’s not built for larger, complex projects. Any complex organization with a “mixed” range of boards, tasks, subtasks, lists, and cards may not prefer a “limiting” tool like Trello.
In fact, it is considered good only for general project management, with smaller teams and uncomplicated schedules. Trello users have to pay for “add-ons” (Gantt Charts, Calendars, Priorities) to get the job done.
Shouldn’t a project management software do that for you without asking you to pay more for using additional features?
- Interface That’s Too Easy
While Trello’s straightforward interface is one of its biggest USPs, the problem is that its Kanban board view is all there is for users to explore. It is limited in showing the status and priority view of the project, but project managers need to have several views to get a better overall picture.
Moreover, Trello is not designed for everyone. The Kanban system may not find favor with different departments of your organization. It may work like a breeze for content writers, but your marketing teams might prefer a list-based tool for their projects.
Shouldn’t you choose a tool that offers you a bird’s eye view across the entire project to manage teams easier, faster, and smarter?
- It Doesn’t Show Task Dependencies
Trello’s inability to show task dependencies can cause a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding among team members. Task dependencies are required by project professionals to obtain critical path information.
Without Gantt (project bar chart), users can find it cumbersome to coordinate, plan, and track specific tasks. Gantt charts are essential for project planning, modifying schedules, highlighting critical paths, and visualizing tasks in a timeline view.
Choose Trello alternative that has built-in Gantt chart software to track the progress of all tasks, from all the projects, at one place without having to jump through projects.
- It’s Not a Full-fledged Project Management Tool
Trello, at its best, is a task management and collaboration tool. It is not a full-fledged project management tool that has all the right features in one centralized location. Project managers’ responsibilities require them to go beyond team collaboration and task management.
Project teams need features like File Sharing, Time Tracking, Discussions, Reporting, and Integrations to make sure that projects progress in the right direction for timely delivery within budget.
Shouldn’t top-rated project management and collaboration tools have a range of features that can be used from a single platform by teams and managers for seamless project execution?
17 Top Rated Trello Alternatives For Project Professionals To Consider
1. ProofHub
ProofHub is an all-in-one project management and collaboration software. More than 85,000 teams and businesses, including global giants like NASA, Nike, TripAdvisor, and Google are using this incredibly effective project management tool to achieve high efficiency at work.
Unlike other popular tools, ProofHub does not charge per user and enables users to use multiple tools from one single, centralized location, thus eliminating waste of time (and money). It has all things you need (and more) to manage your project smartly.
Here’s why ProofHub is the best tool you can have for all your project management needs.
- Offers one single platform for team members, managers, and clients for effective collaboration
- A simple and easy-to-understand user interface with little to no learning curve that makes team onboarding easier
- Teams of all sizes, from any industry, any department, remote or in-house or cross-functional can use ProofHub to manage work
- Timely project delivery & on-point team accountability
- Provides ultimate control over teams and projects easier than ever
Key USPs That Give ProofHub An Upper Hand Over Trello
Multiple Views
Unlike Trello that provides only one view, ProofHub provides multiple views – List view, Kanban board view, Gantt chart view (timeline view), and also Calendar view so that different departments can change the project interface to match their workflow preferences.
Let’s take a closer look at these views.
- List View – The list view is perfect for teams and individuals who like to visualize their tasks and projects methodically. You get an easy and clear way of viewing your to-do list and move them to the done stage once you finish those tasks.
- Kanban Board View – ProofHub’s Kanban boards work great to give you flexibility in task management. Users can drag and drop assigned tasks easier to get things moving quickly. Team leaders and members can visualize tasks moving through multiple stages to track the project progress.
- Gantt Chart View – You can visualize tasks in a timeline view with ProofHub’s Gantt chart software. Highlight the critical path and have a bird’s eye view of all Gantt chart data from one place without having to jump through projects.
- Calendar View – ProofHub’s calendar view is the best place to schedule and organize your events, tasks, and milestones in one place. Users can view all calendar data across all projects in one place using one project calendar.
Users can add recurring tasks and events, set automatic reminders, Select your calendar view from day, week, 2 weeks or even a month and schedule work suitably.
Task management
ProofHub streamlines task management so that teams don’t have to wonder who is doing what, what’s next, and what’s pending.
- It lets you create tasks and subtasks for easy work allocation
- It allows you to assign tasks to multiple people/Group of people
- It allows you to create recurring tasks
- It allows you to create multiple task lists in a project
- It lets you add time estimates to improve team accountability
Workflows & Kanban boards
ProofHub simplifies the way you manage your work by letting you define basic, 3-stage Kanban workflow or a custom workflow that you can edit on your own as per your requirement.
- It adds flexibility to process with custom workflow
- It allows you to attach files, add time and labels to tasks
- It allows you to integrate workflows with the task lists
Gantt charts
ProofHub provides Gantt chart tool that lets you create a visual timeline for tasks to better plan the projects, manage resources more efficiently, and always stay on track.
- A clear view of task dependencies
- Efficient planning and scheduling
- Highlight important tasks with critical chain
Discussions and Chat
ProofHub makes it easier for everyone to have project-related or and casual conversations in the workplace. It eliminates confusion by helping you get rid of those email threads.
- Share opinions, updates, feedback or even have casual conversations in Group Chat
- Have real-time collaboration on discussion topics
- Add emojis to add fun to your office communication
- Email-in to be a part of the discussions even when on the go
Project calendar
ProofHub project calendar helps you manage your scheduled events, meetings, appointments, milestones, project deadlines and other important dates in one central place.
- It helps you schedule events and milestones more efficiently
- It allows you to create recurring events to save time
- It allows you to set automatic reminders for important events
- It lets you integrate and download your calendar
Reports
ProofHub reports provide you with a clear insight of how your projects are progressing and resources are being utilized. It helps you analyze your plan and iterate accordingly.
- It helps to bring back projects on track
- It helps to track the speed of the project
- It provides a clear view of how tasks are progressing
- It helps to manage available resources more efficiently
Online proofing
ProofHub helps to speed up your file review/approval process. It helps to bring clarity to the process and eliminates the need for too many revisions.
- It allows real-time collaboration and feedback sharing on files
- It provides advanced markup tools for better, faster feedback sharing
- It allows you to review files which can’t be proofed
- It allows you to review multiple versions of a file simultaneously
Time tracking
With ProofHub, you keep track of every minute/hour spent on a task. It helps you improve your time management skills and generate accurate invoices for clients.
- It helps you set accurate time estimates
- It allows you to save time data in private Timesheets
- It allows you to start multiple timers and switch between them as you jump from one task to the other
- It allows you to export timesheets for invoicing
Integrations:
- Google Drive
- DropBox
- OneDrive
- Box
2. Workzone
Workzone is the ‘just-right’ solution for many teams. It is more robust than most of the available entry-level tools and less complicated than high-end tools. Workzone has the reputation of being a simple-to-use project management software offering some powerful features to help users to get their work done quickly. It has advanced reporting features that drive greater efficiency.
Why use Workzone instead of Trello?
- Dedicated workspaces and personalized To-do lists
- Project dashboard gives visibility across organization
- Individual To-do lists focus each person on what needs to get done
- Share files stored in the cloud
- World-class customer support
Integrations:
- DropBox
- Slack
- HipChat
3. Teamwork
Everyone agrees that Teamwork is one of the easiest project management software to use. You can use it to accelerate your team’s performance by assigning tasks, communicating, and tracking progress in one place. Founded in 2007, Teamwork has brilliantly managed to make a name for itself in the present cut-throat project management scenario.
Why use Teamwork instead of Trello?
- Visual and intuitive interface is a cut above the rest
- Brilliant for managing all-size projects
- Powerful and printable interactive Gantt charts
- Ability to check anyone’s availability and progress
- Create task dependencies
Integrations:
- DropBox
- Google Docs
- Freshbooks
- Harvest
4. Paymo
Paymo is an easy project management software that boasts a community of over 70,000 small companies to manage projects. Paymo is helping teams to collaborate, track time and manage projects from start to finish. That’s why it is trusted by creative agencies, marketing, web design, software companies, departments, and freelancers from all over the world to improve their performance.
Why use Paymo instead of Trello?
- Store files for a project at a single place so that team members can access them anytime
- Keeps track of time spent on activities and use it judiciously
- Gantt charts give you an overview of the start date, duration, and end date between tasks
- Track expenses, generate price quotes, and invoice per client and get paid online
Integrations:
- Google apps and Suite
- Zapier
- Hubstaff
5. Podio
Some project management systems are a way too rigid and inflexible for certain industries. That’s where Podio can come to your rescue. Besides allowing you to customize your dashboard, it also gives you an opportunity to select from numerous apps to tailor your system to match your business needs. As it lets users create their own apps, Podio works quite well for developers and software companies.
Why use Podio instead of Trello?
- Attach files, view status, and add comments to any project
- With structured processes, teams can work in sync
- Podio’s stability and intuitive interface makes deployment straightforward
Integrations:
- DropBox
- Google Drive
- Box
6. Fusioo
Fusioo takes away the need for multiple project tools to manage your team’s workflow. It is perfect tool for growing businesses to get organized as it lets them create their custom online database in just a few minutes and manage projects, clients, ideas, and timesheets all in one place. This highly affordable project management software allows you to collaborate with both internal and external audience within a secure system.
Why use Fusioo instead of Trello?
- Simple interface for choosing fields for every task
- Real-time communication and collaboration with the ability to view and comment on tasks
- Database backups are done every hour
- Application builder to define what’s needed to track and manage projects
Integrations:
- Gmail
- Zapier
- Slack
- MailChimp
7. QuickBase
QuickBase is another cloud-based project management system that allows anyone to create better ways to work more efficiently. It promotes easy communication by giving hundreds of team members, associates, and clients a platform to collaborate and achieve higher levels of productivity. As QuickBase works as a series of apps, so it’s highly customizable in nature allowing you to use it the way you want.
Why use QuickBase over Trello?
- Empower everyday problem-solvers in your business to turn their ideas into customized apps
- As conditions change, update your apps with real-time information to gain a competitive advantage
- Build insightful dashboards that unlock data across teams to uncover opportunities for your business
Integrations:
- Google Docs
- Zendesk
- DropBox
- Box
8. Taskworld
Taskworld is a zen-like project management software being employed by many companies in every imaginable industry to track work, measure performance, and deliver great results. This collaboration software allows you to focus on performance, track tasks, and add notes to them. The visual dashboard is very pleasing to the eyes and the interactive timeline will help you plan projects from start to finish.
Why use Taskworld over Trello?
- Create multiple tasks, set due dates, and monitor progress with their interactive boards
- Drag-and-drop functionality in tasks, comments, and messages
- Keep a tab on the project completion rate in the progress bar
Integrations:
- DropBox
- Box
- Google Drive
9. BrightPod
Many digital marketing teams use this web-based project management and time-tracking software to get instant clarity about their team’s projects, goals, tasks, discussions, deadlines, and more. If you have a number of tasks that need to be organized, Brightpod can help you do that instantly. Their platform offers a clean and visual interface that makes learning curve easy. BrightPod is trusted by many social media, web design, content marketing teams in more than 110 countries.
Why use QuickBase over Trello?
- Actively keep tabs on the status of all your projects with insights
- Display lists and tasks as Kanban boards
- Streamlined approach to team communication on all the projects
- World-class hosting and zero-downtime network
Integrations:
- DropBox
- Box
- Google Drive
10. Kanbanize
Kanbanize is a perfect Trello alternative that lets you see your department and company workflows at a glance. In this effective task and project management app, you can easily visualize dependencies and also create your own workflow. Its portfolio approach to Kanban offers unmatched transparency across an organization.
Why use Kanbanize over Trello
- See the bigger picture of what’s going on
- Flow engine analytics make workflows predictable and reliable
- Automate dependencies via powerful business rules
Integrations:
- Zapier
- Trello
- Google Drive
- Box
11. MS Project
MS Project is known as one of the most robust project management software capable of handling complex projects with ease. If your project has complex processes, it can effectively address workflow challenges. Along with this, you can plan, collaborate, manage, and report projects with a lot of ease with the help of MS Project.
Why use MS Project instead of Trello?
- Effective resource management for shared facilities
- More agility with drag and drop navigation
- Emphasis on Kanban workflow
- Advanced modules for complex projects
Integrations:
- MS Office
- Google Docs
- Google spreadsheets
- Google calendar
12. Wrike
Wrike is loaded with business collaboration and information management features that can take your business to a higher level. It makes managing multiple projects as simple as 1-2-3 by providing end-to-end solutions for projects. There’s no doubt that with its robust work management and customization, you can expand your team’s capability by leaps and bounds.
Why use Wrike instead of Trello?
- One hub for all your work
- User-friendly navigation to keep things straight and goals under your sight
- Build reports from scratch or edit in a click
- Advanced security measures and controls
- Live chat support
Integrations:
- Box
- JIRA
- Google Drive
- One Drive
- Salesforce
13. Asana
Specialized in workflow management, Asana is definitely one of the top alternatives to Trello out there. It comes packed with a bouquet of tools that can help teams to manage tasks, information, and processes effortlessly. Widely used by small businesses, people are all praises for Asana that successfully makes collaboration a breeze for team members.
Why use Asana instead of Trello?
- Create and move projects forward by knowing who’s doing what and when
- Intuitive interface designed by Dustin Moskovitz, the co-founder of Facebook
- Customizable dashboard view
- Easiest way to track work and get results
- Affordable premium plan
Integrations:
- OneDrive
- Slack
- Uniteable
- Project Buddy
- JotForm
Read on: 11 Powerful Asana Alternatives for Project Management in 2019
14. Usersnap
Although Usersnap is primarily a bug-tracking system, it can also be used for project management especially for web-development teams. It not only tracks bugs but also makes communication faster between developers, clients, and quality assurance team members. Collaboration becomes easy with Usersnap on a single platform. This project management system is a perfect fit for IT teams, developers, and technology companies.
Why use Usersnap instead of Trello?
- Central place to organize your feedback and collect bug reports
- Invite team members to discuss and collaborate
- Easy feedback and approval process
- Perfect fit for your own development workflow
Integrations:
- JIRA
- Slack
- Trac
- Planio
Today, there’s a myriad of project management systems available in the market. So, it completely depends on what you need, your budget, and the integrations you require. If you’re using a Trello alternative which is not mentioned on the list, let us know that in the comments section.
15. LiquidPlanner
Both Trello and LiquidPlanner are closely related to each other as one uses the idea of boards whereas the other treats projects as living constructs. Plans in this project management software are built on priorities so that teams can focus on doing the work that matters the most. Big companies like CISCO, Thermo Fisher Scientific use this Trello alternative to manage their projects.
Why use LiquidPlanner instead of Trello
- Smart project schedules help you predict finish dates
- Instantly see the impact of resource availability to your bottom line
- Resource workload reports
- Effective at predicting and managing risks
Integrations:
- Google Drive
- DropBox
- Box
- Salesforce
- Zapier
16. Clarizen
If you want to move your enterprise forward then Clarizen’s collaborative project management might be of some help as it offers a set of comprehensive features. You can create automated and repeatable processes, alerts and workflows and this is what makes it a great Trello alternative.
Why use Clarizen instead of Trello
- Configurable workflows
- Make accurate data-based decisions
- Share immediate project data through dynamic reports
- Flexible and intuitive interface
Integrations
- Google Drive
- Box
- Salesforce
- Slack
- ServiceNow
17. ActiveCollab
ActiveCollab is a project management software that is quite effective in making you more organized especially when you outgrow email. This alternative to Trello lets you collaborate effortlessly with team members and clients. It is a simple but powerful software that can benefit your business in many ways with its wholesome features.
Why use ActiveCollab instead of Trello
- Advanced to-do lists and effective task management
- Track every minute of your work and bill clients accordingly
- Fosters team collaboration
- The self-hosted plan also available
Integrations
- Slack
- QuickBooks
- Xero
- PayPal
- Google Drive
Why You Should Look for an Alternative to Trello?
When it comes to finding simple, sleek project management and Kanban software, Trello is usually amongst the first five names that pop up into your head. It’s no surprise because the platform has been a part of the project management industry for years.
It was released at a TechCrunch event by Fog Creek (now renamed to Glitch) founder Joel Spolsky. Lifehacker addressed it as an application that “makes project collaboration simple and kind of enjoyable“.
Trello was the winner in the areas of benefits and cost. In addition to that, the ease of working with Trello made a significant mark on the minds of industry experts.
It soon became an all-in-one solution that offered teams an adaptable and highly visual management and collaboration tool with a three-tier information system that’s too easy to understand: Boards, Lists, and Cards.
Sounds great. Right?
Well, Trello worked extremely well in the past. In fact, it’s still helping many teams collaborate and deliver projects successfully. The problem is that it misses some robust agile features.
Teams are no longer satisfied with average or ordinary management capabilities. They’re looking for a powerful and flexible platform that fits their future management and collaboration needs. And to be honest, Trello isn’t one, especially with these limitations:
- Can’t handle big projects
- Limited email integration
- No Gantt chart
- The calendar does not work correctly
- Tasks are limited to only one board/project and more.
What To Look For in An Trello Alternative?
Now that you’re looking for an alternative to Trello, there are plenty of robust solutions available – you just have to figure out what you want.
For example, you should look for a Trello alternative that includes:
- Project planning
If you’re getting a Trello alternative, it better be able to help you plan and schedule your projects better. Consider looking for a PM solution that comes with Gantt chart tool.
- Task management
Trello does not allow you to create repetitive task lists. That means you can’t create the same tasks in multiple projects. That is why you should look for alternative project management and collaboration solution that supports effective task management, including recurring tasks.
- File management
Trello lets you attach files to tasks and search for them. However, if you forget the name of the attachment or the task it was attached to, you’ve got a problem. You will get a hard time searching for the file as there is no centralized file management directory in Trello. So look for an alternative that does.
- Team collaboration
An ideal Trello alternative should bring people (managers, teams, clients, and stakeholders) together to collaborate and work together with ease, effectiveness. Every organization has its own specific collaboration needs. Find an alternative tool that offers communication channels to address your concerns and make it easier to collaborate.
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