project management tool · head to head
Trello vs Wrike
Comparison Summary
Trello scored 6.0 and Wrike scored 5.8 on our project management tool test script.
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.
Wrike: Wrike is a deep, enterprise-style tool: five user types, real recurrence, dependencies, a Gantt chart and a fast importer for hundreds of tasks. But everyday work takes more effort than in the other apps we tested: no multi-line paste, weekend due dates moved to Monday by default, and an importer that only takes its own Excel template. Its AI got the task count wrong and could not create subtasks, and the free plan is limited to a board and a table.
Editor's Verdict
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
Choose Wrike if…
Best for: Larger teams that need strict roles, Gantt planning and reporting, and will pay for Business or above.
- Fast import: 200 rows in under a minute and 500 in under 20 seconds, with dates and descriptions
- Five user types, from Admin to view-only Viewer, plus custom roles
- Proper recurrence settings and a working status automation
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, Trello completed 0 and Wrike completed 1.
| Task | Trello | Wrike |
|---|---|---|
| P1 · Build a project | Partial≈ 20 min | Partial≈ 20 min |
| P2 · Views | Partial≈ 3 min | Partial≈ 3 min |
| P3 · Rules | Partial≈ 8 min | Partial≈ 10 min |
| P4 · 200-row import | Fail≈ 5 min | Partial≈ 10 min |
| P5 · Scale | Partial≈ 10 min | Pass≈ 2 min |
| P6 · Permissions | Partial≈ 3 min | Partial≈ 4 min |
| P7 · AI | Partial≈ 20 s | Partial≈ 4 min |
| P8 · Leave | Partial≈ 4 min | Partial≈ 4 min |
Measured on the same PC
| Measurement | Trello | Wrike |
|---|---|---|
| Installer | Microsoft Store | 175 MB |
| On disk | 368 MB | 403 MB |
| Starts with Windows | No | No |
| 40-task project | ≈ 20 min | ≈ 20 min |
| Views on the free plan | 1 / 4 | 2 / 4 |
| Cold start | ≈ 7 s | ≈ 9 s |
| Memory | 0.6 – 0.85 GB | 1.3 – 1.8 GB |
| Automation rule | ≈ 1–2 s | ≈ 2–3 s |
| Left after uninstall | Nothing | ≈ 112 MB |
Pros and cons
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
Wrike
+ What works
- Fast import: 200 rows in under a minute and 500 in under 20 seconds, with dates and descriptions
- Five user types, from Admin to view-only Viewer, plus custom roles
- Proper recurrence settings and a working status automation
- Instant, complete Excel export of every task, folder and field
- Valid code signature and an optional install without admin rights
− What falls short
- The importer only accepts Wrike's own Excel template: no CSV, and your status names must match
- Pasting a list creates one task, not one per line
- “Working Days Only” is on by default, so weekend due dates silently move to Monday
- Dependencies did not reschedule our tasks; the Gantt chart only showed a conflict
- Copilot miscounted completed tasks and cannot create subtasks
- Free plan: board and table only, no Gantt, no automation, no AI
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.
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.
Wrike
Signed installer
The MSI is signed by Wrike, Inc. with a valid certificate.
No background services
The app added no startup entry, services or listening ports.
Detailed roles
Five user types, from Admin to view-only Viewer, plus custom roles and per-item access levels.
EU data centre
Our account ran on Wrike's EU servers (app-eu.wrike.com).
Features & Pricing
| Trello | Wrike | |
|---|---|---|
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| macOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | — | — |
| iOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| Paid from | $5/mo | $10/mo |
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.
Wrike plans
- Free$0
- Team$10/user/mo
- Business$25/user/mo
- PinnacleContact sales
- ApexContact sales
From Wrike's pricing page, checked Oct 30, 2026.
Who makes them
- Company
- Trello:Atlassian (Trello)
- Wrike:Wrike, Inc.
- Headquarters
- Trello:Sydney, Australia (Atlassian); Trello based in New York
- Wrike:San Diego, California, USA
- Founded
- Trello:2011
- Wrike:2006
- Funding
- Trello:Acquired by Atlassian in 2017 for about $425 million.
- Wrike:Acquired by Citrix in 2021; part of Cloud Software Group since 2022.
Timelines, official links and sources are in each review: Trello · Wrike.
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.
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 → Wrike reviewSituational 5.8 Wrike is a deep, enterprise-style tool: five user types, real recurrence, dependencies, a Gantt chart and a fast importer for hundreds of tasks. But everyday work takes more effort than in the other apps we tested: no multi-line paste, weekend due dates moved to Monday by default, and an importer that only takes its own Excel template. Its AI got the task count wrong and could not create subtasks, and the free plan is limited to a board and a table. 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 
Notion Situational Individuals and small teams who want tasks living next to their docs and wiki, and who are happy to build their own setup 6.9 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 
