Asana Vs Trello: The Ultimate Showdown

When it comes to managing projects, there are a lot of project management software options available. From a niche market, like the software specifically for project management, you’re going to find that there are thousands of project management software solutions out there. 

Fortunately, most of these software solutions are becoming easier than they used to be.

At this point, it’s not uncommon for any business or organization to use some sort of project management software solution for their team. The good news is that there are several great options available when it comes time to choose the best project management software for your company or team (or for you personally if you work from home). 

In this Asana vs Trello showdown, we do a comparison of the two popular software used by large and small businesses alike.

Introduction to Trello

Trello is a project management tool created in 2011 by Fog Creek and Joel Spolsky. It is a cloud-based platform that allows users to organize and track projects using cards, lists, and boards. Trello is noted for using Kanban boards and Gantt charts to manage projects. Trello was originally designed as a way to manage ideas and tasks for software development teams. 

However, it has since been used for a variety of other projects, such as marketing campaigns, product launches, and customer service interactions.

Trello as a project management tool has been popular with startups and small businesses for several years. Trello is considered one of the most popular project management tools on the market today.

Key Features of Trello

Trello has received positive reviews from users for;

  •  ease of use and its ability to streamline project management tasks. 
  •  simpler interface and it can be used on desktop or mobile devices, which makes it more accessible for users.
  • Trello’s drag-and-drop interface makes creating and organizing tasks easy.
  • Trello also can be used on a small scale to manage simple projects, such as writing a business plan or creating a list of tasks for an upcoming meeting. 
  • ability to track progress and collaborators easily.

Some potential drawbacks of Trello include the fact that it can be difficult to find specific information about projects or tasks, and that it can be difficult to share project updates with team members outside of Trello itself.

Introduction to Asana

Asana is a relatively new project management software solution that was launched in April, 2012. The software is designed for companies and individuals within the business sector. 

The software offers features that help make everything run more smoothly as well as streamline communication through the use of checklists and task lists. It’s also simple to create and edit tasks, which makes it easy to track progress on any given project.

Key Features of Asana

A tool like Asana would be a good fit for this scenario: If you’re trying to manage multiple projects from start to finish within an organization, then it might make more sense for your team or company to use a tool like Asana. 

Another key feature of any project management software solution is how easy it is to learn how to use the software and Asana actually provides that.

Some notable features of Asana project management software are:

  • Suited for larger teams and organizations
  • Various templates and reporting tools
  • Intuitive interface with level of visibility into each project 
  • Asana easily manages complex and multiple projects concurrently without any difficulties
  • Offers free limited plan for teams up to 15 people.

Asana Vs Trello: Comparisons

Support and Customer Service

The key thing about a good project management software solution is that it should have strong support and customer service. It’s also important for a good project management software solution to be up-to-date with the latest features and updates. 

Both platforms offer a wide variety of features that can help manage customer support, including tracking tickets, managing projects, and sending notifications.

If you look at Asana and Trello you’ll see that all two have excellent support from their respective companies and forums (as well as solid reviews on sites like Amazon). This means that if you need help with something or have a question or concern, they should be able to provide valuable insight into your situation. 

However, one key difference between Asana and Trello is that Asana offers more robust customer support features. For example, Asana allows users to track tickets in a detailed way, send notifications when tickets are updated, and manage projects with milestones and deadlines. 

Overall, Asana is better suited for managing complex customer support processes.

Integrations

Most people need software that can integrate with their existing workflow or others as seamlessly as possible. 

Asana also has support for a variety of app integrations and systems like Google Drive, task management platforms like Trello, Dropbox, Slack, and more. 

The ability to work seamlessly across different systems is one of the things that makes a good project management software solution great. This means you can use your project management software solution to manage your projects without having to worry about constantly switching between different apps or applications. 

If you need an app that integrates heavily with your current workflows, then Asana may be the best option, they have integrations with so many different types of workflows already established across so many different platforms.

Data Security and Privacy

A quality project management software should have a strong focus on data security and privacy. This is especially true if the software you’re considering is geared towards enterprise level projects or teams. 

With Asana, project managers can limit the access to any project, create hidden teams for confidential work, or make projects public for the entire organization to access them.

Users can easily export or delete personal and sensitive data from Asana. Data can be backed up on a separate server. Asana Enterprise customers can enjoy 99.9% SLA uptime.

Trello on the other hand provides extra log-in with a two step verification process. Trello has a centralized admin process for enterprise plan users to manage and monitor all the activities of an entire project.

Enterprise users of Trello get mobile device management for iOS and Android devices via Atlassian Access. This Trello security feature gives administrators complete control over how company data and apps are accessed and used.

Customize Dashboards, Templates and Charts

Both Asana and Trello offer a variety of customizable options. Asana offers templates that can be used with any project. You are able to create a template for each task in your project. Customize the colors, layout, and more as needed. Trello has a similar option but without the customization options. You can also set up task dependencies in both Asana and Trello.

Trello is a simple, minimalistic project management solution that is effective for personal use. It’s a free service with limited memberships. Asana is an all-inclusive software that offers a lot more features and customization than Trello does. 

Each company also offers a Chart dashboard that you can use for graphs and charts about your projects. For example, on Asana, you can create different types of charts such as timeline, calendar view, trend analysis, or even bar graphs. While on Trello, you are limited to basic line graphs only.

Unlimited Automations

One of the biggest benefits of Trello is its unlimited automation features. You can create custom lists, tags, and cards that help you keep track of anything from tasks to deadlines or due dates for a project. This makes it easy to keep your projects organized, as you can use any kind of automation to help you stay on top of what needs to be done. 

Asana has similar tools for automating individual tasks, but Asana doesn’t offer quite as many options for customizing cards and lists. This might not be a con if you have a smaller project team and don’t need many ways to make your life easier. If your project involves complex workflows or planning out complicated tasks, like managing a large-scale event, give Trello a try!

Storage

Asana offers unlimited storage with no charge. They have a team and group plan that allows for up to 50 members in your team, with each member having their own sub-team.

Trello offers unlimited storage and there is no cost for this feature. There are two levels of pricing for Trello: free and Pro. The free membership has just enough features to get you going, but the Pro membership has all the features you could want out of the software and more.

Customer Rating

Asana has an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars on Capterra, interestingly Trello’s rating is also 4.5 out of 5 stars on Capterra.

But Trello is reviewed by over 21,200 people while Asana is reviewed by half of Trello’s reviewers score, which is 11,300 at the time of writing this article.

Platforms Supported

Asana has a strong community that is well-supported by integrations with popular apps and software. The Asana web app can be accessed on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. It also has integrations with Zapier and Salesforce. 

Trello, however, does not have as many integrations for software and apps. The Trello web app can only be accessed on a desktop computer and supports Windows and Mac computers. Additionally, Trello mobile app only supports mobile devices running iOS or Android operating systems.

Online Community

Asana’s Community Forum offers an online community where you can share and collaborate with colleagues in real-time. They have various categories where users can search to find unique challenges that they are facing with the app. The Asana community forum has a more intuitive interface.

Trello also has a large community with various groups, and is more focused on organizing tasks within the confines of a specific category. Trello uses lists feature to display the recent and past activities on the platform. Members are also awarded with badges as they perform various activities such as posting, commenting and liking other members’ posts. Trello’s community is not intuitive compared to Asana. 

Online Documentation

Asana’s Academy is the first go-to place if you want to master the platform, which you can access from your desktop or mobile device. 

Trello has less documentation and its navigation features are not the easiest. Asana’s online documentation is easy to find, read and offers clear step-by-step instructions on how to use the program. 

Online Reputation

The number one reason people choose Asana is because it has an online reputation that draws in those who are looking for a more professional and organized way to manage their projects. This type of software gives your business an air of professionalism and competence. In comparison, Trello doesn’t have the same level of online criticism as Asana does. 

In fact, Trello is widely used among freelancers and small businesses who use it as a tool to stay organized on the fly while they work on their project. The main drawback to Trello is that there aren’t any tools available for collaboration outside of the software itself. This means that if you want to collaborate with someone outside of Trello, you will need to send them a link.

Pricing

When it comes to pricing, first, there are free solutions with Asana and Trello. These solutions have their limitations and aren’t recommended for organizations who need more than just a basic schedule or list of tasks. 

Trello has three pricing packages namely standard, premium and enterprise which costs $5, $10 and $18 respectively.

Asana premium also has two pricing packages namely premium and business which also cost  $11 and $25 respectively. 

Trello tends to be less affordable and generous compared to Asana. 

Final Thoughts – Asana vs Trello: Which One is the Best?

To help you make a decision about which project management software to use for your company, let’s first break down these two major options: Asana and Trello. 

Trello

Trello has a more user-friendly interface and allows for more detailed tracking of tasks and projects than Asana. Additionally, Trello offers a host of other features, such as task collaboration and Kanban boards, that can make managing your projects even easier.

Asana

Asana was created in 2012 and has since grown to be one of the leading project management tools on the market. It offers a number of features that make it a great choice for large projects, including deadlines, milestones, and chat functionality. 

Ultimately, it comes down to what you need from a project management tool. If you need features like deadlines and milestones then Asana is likely the better option. If simplicity is key then Trello may be a better fit.

Our Verdict

It’s easy to get started with Trello because there are no complicated sign-up or installation processes required, making it a good choice for anyone who works remotely and needs something easily accessible from anywhere they can log on from. 

But for a comprehensive project that involves larger teams, Asana is recommended.

Trello vs Asana: Frequently Asked Questions

What are the limitations of Trello free?

Trello is a great tool for managing projects, but it has limitations. For example, Trello doesn’t support versioning or branching, so you can’t work on multiple versions of a project at the same time. 

Additionally, Trello doesn’t have a lot of tools for collaboration, so you may need to use another tool to help your team work together. Trello free plan can take up to 10 open boards per workspace. Every file uploaded is limited to only 10MB.  

Does Asana have Kanban?

Asana is now regarded as a popular Kanban software application that has been gaining in popularity in recent years. Some experts say that Asana can be considered a Kanban application, while others say that it is not true Kanban software. 

Kanban is a technique for managing work, and Asana does have some features that are typical of Kanban systems, such as boards and cards. However, some key elements are missing, such as limits on the number of cards in each column and the use of constraints to ensure work is completed within set timeframes. While it may not be true Kanban software, Asana does have many of the core features required for a successful Kanban system.

Is Trello a database?

No, Trello is not a database management tool, but Trello is a visual project management tool that has become popular due to its simplicity and ease of use. While Trello may not be considered a full-blown database, it can function as one if used properly. Trello works best when data is organized into boards and cards, which makes it perfect for tracking tasks, ideas, and resources.

Trello is a great tool for keeping track of projects and tasks. It can also be used as a database to store information. This can be useful for planning and tracking progress, as well as storing information that needs to be accessible across different projects.

What is the best project management software for small businesses, Asana or Trello?

Both Asana and Trello are popular project management software options for small businesses. Both platforms offer a number of features that can help manage projects efficiently, including easy drag-and-drop interface, task management, and communication tools. 

However, Asana may be better suited for larger businesses with more complex projects, while Trello is better suited for smaller businesses with simpler projects. Additionally, both platforms have their own strengths and weaknesses; so it’s important to decide which one is best suited for your specific needs.

What’s the main difference between Asana and Trello?

Asana and Trello are both popular time-tracking and project management software.

Trello is simpler than Asana, and it’s less customizable. It’s perfect if you just want to track a few tasks, whereas Asana is better if you want to organize your work more thoroughly.

Trello is great for quickly assembling a list of task ideas with Kanban features, while Asana can help you track the progress of those tasks and make sure they’re on schedule.

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