project management tool · head to head
Notion vs Trello
Comparison Summary
Notion scored 6.9 and Trello scored 6.0 on our project management tool test script.
Notion: Notion was the fastest app in our project-management test: it started in about 5 seconds, imported 200 rows in 10 and drew a 500-task board instantly, and all four views, including a timeline, are free. But it is a database tool more than a task manager: there are no automations on the free plan, recurring tasks are scheduled templates, its AI turned our subtasks into untitled pages, and the free plan is built for one person.
Trello: Trello is still the quickest way to put a list of tasks on a board, and its free automation rules work well. But it is a Kanban tool first: on the free plan you get the board only, priorities have to be colour labels, there are no dependencies, no CSV import and no project-wide AI, and adding hundreds of cards is slow and capped at 100 at a time.
Editor's Verdict
Choose Notion if…
Best for: Individuals and small teams who want tasks living next to their docs and wiki, and who are happy to build their own setup.
- All four views free, including a timeline; eleven view types in all
- The CSV import recognised all seven columns and imported 200 rows in about 10 seconds
- Priorities, dependencies and other custom properties are free
Choose Trello if…
Best for: Small teams and individuals who want a simple, visual Kanban board with a few automations.
- Pasting a multi-line list creates one card per line
- Free automation rules: ours moved a completed card within a second or two
- A recurring card rolls itself to next week when completed
Head to Head
Task by task
The same prompts, pasted word for word into each app on a clean Windows 11 PC. On the 8 tasks both apps were graded on, Notion completed 5 and Trello completed 0.
| Task | Notion | Trello |
|---|---|---|
| P1 · Build a project | Pass≈ 16 min | Partial≈ 20 min |
| P2 · Views | Pass≈ 4 min | Partial≈ 3 min |
| P3 · Rules | Partial≈ 5 min | Partial≈ 8 min |
| P4 · 200-row import | Pass≈ 3 min | Fail≈ 5 min |
| P5 · Scale | Pass≈ 10 s import | Partial≈ 10 min |
| P6 · Permissions | Pass≈ 10 min | Partial≈ 3 min |
| P7 · AI | Partial≈ 20–40 s each | Partial≈ 20 s |
| P8 · Leave | Partial≈ 30 min | Partial≈ 4 min |
Measured on the same PC
| Measurement | Notion | Trello |
|---|---|---|
| Install time | ≈ 25 s | ≈ 71 s |
| On disk | 400 MB | 368 MB |
| Starts with Windows | No | No |
| 40-task project | ≈ 16 min | ≈ 20 min |
| Views on the free plan | 4 / 4 | 1 / 4 |
| 200-row CSV import | ≈ 10 s | Not possible |
| Cold start | ≈ 5 s | ≈ 7 s |
| Memory | 0.9 – 1.4 GB | 0.6 – 0.85 GB |
| Left after uninstall | ≈ 540 MB | Nothing |
Pros and cons
Notion
+ What works
- All four views free, including a timeline; eleven view types in all
- The CSV import recognised all seven columns and imported 200 rows in about 10 seconds
- Priorities, dependencies and other custom properties are free
- Notion AI summarised our project and answered “what is overdue?” correctly
- Removing a member or cutting them to view-only took effect on their next page load
- No admin rights, no startup entry and no services
− What falls short
- No automations on the free plan
- Recurring tasks are templates that create a new page on a schedule, not tasks that repeat when completed
- Asked for subtasks, the AI created five untitled pages without asking first
- Free plan is for one person: with more members you get a limited number of blocks, and Member and Can edit roles need Plus
- Risky defaults: invites default to Workspace owner, shared pages to Full access, and anyone with your domain can join
- Pasting a list filled names and dates but left the select columns empty
- The workspace export leaves out private pages unless you switch them on
Trello
+ What works
- Pasting a multi-line list creates one card per line
- Free automation rules: ours moved a completed card within a second or two
- A recurring card rolls itself to next week when completed
- The Store app installs in about a minute without admin rights and uninstalls without leaving anything behind
- Quick to learn, with a clean board
− What falls short
- Free plan: board view only; calendar, timeline and table are Premium
- No priority field (we used colour labels) and no task dependencies
- No CSV import: we could only paste titles, at most 100 cards at a time
- Bulk card creation is slow, and 13 of our 500 cards were lost when we reloaded before it finished
- No AI chat for summaries or overdue tasks; AI checklists are a paid feature
- A new account starts a 14-day Premium trial; free workspaces are capped at 10 boards
Privacy and security
What we saw on our own test PC. Each review also lists what the vendor states about data handling, training and certifications.
Notion
Installs without a click
The web installer installed and opened Notion before we pressed Install, and sent a small event log with an anonymous device ID before we signed in. It adds no startup entry or services.
Permissive defaults
Invites default to Workspace owner, page sharing to Full access, joining by link is on, and setup pre-ticks joining for anyone with your email domain.
Marketing emails
You have to tick a box at sign-up to refuse marketing emails. Sharing workspace data to improve the AI was off by default.
Left after uninstalling
A 477 MB profile folder with the local database and logs, plus a 64 MB browser profile from the installer.
Trello
Store app
Installed and removed through the Microsoft Store, with no startup entry, services or leftovers.
Silent card loss
Cards still being created when we reloaded the board were lost without a warning.
Deletion is two steps
A board must be closed before it can be permanently deleted, so closing alone keeps the data.
Features & Pricing
| Notion | Trello | |
|---|---|---|
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| macOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | — | — |
| iOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paid from | $10/mo | $5/mo |
Notion plans
- Free$0
- Plus$10/seat/mo
- Business$20/seat/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
From Notion's pricing page, checked Oct 30, 2026.
Trello plans
- Free$0
- Standard$5/user/mo
- Premium$10/user/mo
- Enterprise$17.50/user/mo
From Trello's pricing page, checked Oct 30, 2026.
Who makes them
- Company
- Notion:Notion Labs, Inc.
- Trello:Atlassian (Trello)
- Headquarters
- Notion:San Francisco, California, USA
- Trello:Sydney, Australia (Atlassian); Trello based in New York
- Founded
- Notion:2013
- Trello:2011
- Funding
- Notion:About $343 million raised in total, including a $275 million round in October 2021 at a reported $10 billion valuation.
- Trello:Acquired by Atlassian in 2017 for about $425 million.
Timelines, official links and sources are in each review: Notion · Trello.
Read the full reviews
This page compares the two side by side. Each full review has the complete test log, every screenshot, the scoring notes, pricing, security and company details.
Notion reviewSituational 6.9 Notion was the fastest app in our project-management test: it started in about 5 seconds, imported 200 rows in 10 and drew a 500-task board instantly, and all four views, including a timeline, are free. But it is a database tool more than a task manager: there are no automations on the free plan, recurring tasks are scheduled templates, its AI turned our subtasks into untitled pages, and the free plan is built for one person. Read the full review → Trello reviewSituational 6.0 Trello is still the quickest way to put a list of tasks on a board, and its free automation rules work well. But it is a Kanban tool first: on the free plan you get the board only, priorities have to be colour labels, there are no dependencies, no CSV import and no project-wide AI, and adding hundreds of cards is slow and capped at 100 at a time. Read the full review → Project Management Alternatives
ClickUp Recommended Small teams that want lists, boards, Gantt charts, automations and AI in one free workspace and do not mind a busy, heavy app 7.4 Read reviewReview 
Airtable Situational Teams who want a flexible database behind their projects, with automations and reliable CSV in and out 6.8 Read reviewReview 
Asana Situational Teams ready to pay for Starter or Advanced who want a polished, fast-to-learn project tool with strong import and export 6.7 Read reviewReview 
