Notion and Trello are both fantastic project management tools to plan and organize your personal life, academics, or work projects. But which is the best one?
If you are looking to choose between Notion and Trello, this comparison of two leading productivity apps will help you make a well-informed decision. We'll compare both tools based on their ease of use, flexibility, collaboration, customization, integrations, mobile app interface, and last but not least, their pricing.
So, let's find out which one will be the best fit for your productivity habits.
1. Ease of Use
When you don't have to try to schedule tasks, you'll be more comfortable using a planner.
Trello is straightforward to use. Simple Kanban-style boards enable you to quickly create tasks and projects on a card. You can then drag them along through different stages of development as the project progresses. This tool makes tracking multiple projects much simpler.
You can use Notion in a variety of ways too, but setting up each board takes more planning. At first glance, it may look much easier to use than Trello, but moving forward, it demands more planning time.
Thus, if you use Trello to plan your projects instead of Notion, you will be able to do it quickly. It is also difficult to track the workflow in Notion. For these two reasons, Trello has an advantage over Notion in this category.
Winner: Trello
2. Flexibility
For individuals who enjoy the visual flexibility of Kanban boards, Trello is user-friendly. It allows users to move cards from one stage to another throughout the workflow. However, Trello only comes with one view, and unless you install Power-Ups you cannot change its interface display.
On the other hand, Notion gives you more flexibility. You can change the board-view, design custom templates, take notes in a planned manner, keep track of your activities, and plan whatever life throws at you. It is also possible for you to create databases and perform calculations.
Thus, Notion wins the race as it is is more multi-functional and flexible.
Winner: Notion
3. Collaboration
Ease of collaboration is an essential factor to consider if you plan to work in a team.
Trello makes collaboration easy with its intuitive interface. With Trello, you can invite other team members to your boards and assign tasks or projects much faster. Trello notifies everyone in the team about changes in workflow and reminds you about upcoming deadlines. This feature makes it a competitive choice against Notion.
Notion also has tools for adding team members and collaborating on projects. However, it lacks reminders and notifications for recent changes. So, Trello may be better at keeping your team on the same page through a project than Notion.
Thus, Trello is much more effective than Notion in collaboration. If you plan to work in a team, starting with Trello is the right decision.
Winner: Trello
4. Customization
In Trello, you can customize the cards using a special Power-up. However, it allows limited customization. You can also take advantage of templates to apply a preset structure to your boards.
On the other hand, you have more options to play within Notion. You can use different blocks, add databases, import media files, embed data from other sources, and design the page with advanced backgrounds and colors.
Therefore, Notion is a much more robust and customizable tool than Trello. Despite this, learning how to properly customize Notion may take some time.
Winner: Notion
5. Integrations
These tools won't replace all other apps you use each day. So, whether you can integrate other apps into these tools is also a decisive factor.
If you go into the Power-ups section of Trello, you will see a massive list of apps and integrations you can use. Trello integrates Social media platforms, Google Products, CRM, and a number of other marketing tools.
In contrast, Notion allows integrations with only a few applications. The list is growing but hasn't yet reached the level of Trello.
Winner: Trello
6. Mobile Apps
The user-friendliness of the respective mobile apps is also an important consideration when you work on the move.
Thanks to the user-friendly look and feel of the Trello Mobile App interface, the experience of navigating across Trello on mobile and desktop is nearly the same. You can use all the same features on the mobile app that you use on the web.
Notion also has a good-looking mobile app interface. So, just like Trello, you can easily navigate across the Notion App.
So, we have a tie on comparing the mobile app experiences on both these tools.
Winner: Tied
7. Pricing
For people on a tight budget, the affordability of the tool comes first. Let's compare the prices of both tools.
Trello offers a free version, so you can take full advantage of it without subscribing to their paid plan. To use more power-ups and make collaboration easier, you will have to pay $10 per month for the business class package.
Like Trello, Notion also has a free plan, but you can add a limited number of guests. Therefore, if you plan on using it by yourself, its Personal Pro plan at $4 per month will be a good choice. However, if you need to collaborate with your team more efficiently, you will have to pay $8 per month for their Team Plan.
So, although both tools are pretty affordable, Notion is relatively cheaper than Trello.
Winner: Notion
Which Collaboration Tool Should You Use?
Where Trello has the upper hand with its ease of use, collaboration, and integrations, Notion is a go-to option for better customization and flexibility.
Go with Notion if you only intend to use it for personal use. Although it may require a few hours for you to learn how to customize it, it will prove to be more beneficial in the long run thanks to the many ways you can stack your data in it. Go for the Personal Pro Plan to enjoy maximum benefits.
However, if you have never used a management tool before and wish to work with a team, start your journey with Trello and the effortlessness of its Kanban boards.
Ultimately, the best tool is the one that works for you and the nature of your projects. You can always try the free versions of both tools side-by-side and see which is best for you.