Which has the more generous free plan, Todoist or Trello?

It depends on the team size. Trello's free plan covers up to ten collaborators, which is generous for a small team. Todoist's free plan is built for one person, five projects, and does not extend the same way to a group.

Does Todoist have boards like Trello does?

It has list and board layouts as an option, but the product is built around tasks and natural language scheduling rather than a card-based workflow. Trello's entire structure is cards dragged between columns, which is a different mental model.

Which one handles a recurring publishing schedule better?

Todoist, specifically: typing a sentence like posting the newsletter every Tuesday creates a task that survives being missed once. Trello can use repeating cards through a Power-Up, but recurrence is not its core interaction the way it is for Todoist.

Which one is better for tracking dependencies between tasks?

Neither is built for that well. Trello's own materials note that dependencies, workload and timelines are where it runs out within a quarter. Todoist does not attempt project dependencies at all, since it deliberately avoids being a project management suite.

Todoist vs Trello Comparison 2026

Todoist is a personal task list built around natural language scheduling, typing a sentence to create a recurring task, free for five projects with one person in mind. Trello is a wall of cards dragged between columns for a small team's workflow, free for up to ten collaborators, more than most creator teams need. Todoist's free tier is generous for one person; Trello's is generous for a small team. Pick based on whether the job is a list you check alone or a queue several people move things through.

Todoist

A task list that survives being ignored for a week

Trello

Boards and cards for people who hate project plans

At a glance

Todoist starts cheaper, at $5.
Both have a genuinely free tier.

Side by side

	Todoist	Trello
Starting price (they differ)	From $5	From $6
Pricing model	Free plan, paid tiers	Free plan, paid tiers
Free tier	Yes	Yes
Billing	Monthly or annual	Monthly or annual
Free trial	Not stated	Not stated
API	Yes

Todoist

A task list that survives being ignored for a week

Todoist takes a typed sentence like "post the newsletter every Tuesday at 9" and turns it into a scheduled recurring task, which is the feature the whole product is built around. Five projects on the free account is enough for one person running one operation. Paying raises the limits, adds reminders and calendar layouts, and opens filters that make a large list usable. Teams get their own tier above that, and none of it tries to be a project management suite.

Our note

Treat the five-project free limit as the decision point rather than any feature, because a creator usually needs one project per channel and hits it in a month. At $5 the upgrade is not the question; whether you want a task list at all rather than a calendar is.

More Todoist alternatives Visit Todoist

Trello

Boards and cards for people who hate project plans

Trello is a wall of cards dragged between columns, which is enough structure to run an editorial calendar and not enough to put anybody off using it. The free plan covers ten collaborators, so a creator with two contractors never pays. Anything needing dependencies, a timeline or real reporting hits the ceiling inside a quarter.

Why people weigh these two

Trello instead of Todoist: Trello drags cards across a board instead of listing tasks by date, from $6, the visual version of the same queue for a small team rather than one person.
Todoist instead of Trello: Todoist lists recurring tasks by date rather than dragging cards across a board, from $5, built for one person's rhythm rather than a small team's queue.

Which one should you pick

Choose Todoist if the job is one person's publishing rhythm and the admin around it: five free projects cover one channel each, and Pro at $5 a user a month opens filters that make a long list usable rather than depressing. A team coordinating handoffs and dependencies will find it too simple and should buy something with a board in it instead.

Choose Trello if the work is a queue a small team moves things through, idea, script, film, edit, published: free covers up to ten collaborators, so a creator with two contractors never pays at all. Stay free until a specific view is costing real time, since most creator workflows never leave that plan, and the ones that do usually want Notion rather than Trello's next tier up.

Common questions

Which has the more generous free plan, Todoist or Trello?: It depends on the team size. Trello's free plan covers up to ten collaborators, which is generous for a small team. Todoist's free plan is built for one person, five projects, and does not extend the same way to a group.
Does Todoist have boards like Trello does?: It has list and board layouts as an option, but the product is built around tasks and natural language scheduling rather than a card-based workflow. Trello's entire structure is cards dragged between columns, which is a different mental model.
Which one handles a recurring publishing schedule better?: Todoist, specifically: typing a sentence like posting the newsletter every Tuesday creates a task that survives being missed once. Trello can use repeating cards through a Power-Up, but recurrence is not its core interaction the way it is for Todoist.
Which one is better for tracking dependencies between tasks?: Neither is built for that well. Trello's own materials note that dependencies, workload and timelines are where it runs out within a quarter. Todoist does not attempt project dependencies at all, since it deliberately avoids being a project management suite.

Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.