It is tough to talk about project management software without mentioning Trello or Monday.com. If you have been considering both developer tools for your project management needs, we will break them down in terms of features, pros, cons, and pricing so you can pick the right one for your software development team.
- Trello is ideal for smaller development teams seeking a simple, user-friendly tool for managing tasks, collaborating, and tracking progress.
- Monday.com is ideal for development teams seeking an affordable project management tool that all team members can use right out of the box regardless of technical skill.
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Trello
Trello is a solid project management pick for smaller teams seeking a basic, easy-to-use developer tool to stay organized. Over two million teams worldwide have made Trello their PM tool of choice for managing tasks and visualizing progress with simple drag-and-drop functionality.
Features of Trello
Trello has several features that have led two million plus teams to adopt it for their project management needs. Some of the PM software’s highlights include:
- Kanban boards
- Team collaboration built-in
- Power-Ups
- Workflow automation
- Mobile app
Trello’s Kanban boards are probably the project management tool’s best-known feature. Their drag-and-drop functionality makes them easy to use right out of the box, even for beginners, and they allow developers to manage tasks and visualize progress to stay productive.
Built-in collaborative features are another way that Trello promotes productivity for software development teams. Developers can collaborate with the PM software via comments, @mentions, file sharing, notifications, and integrations with popular third-party tools like Gmail and Slack. Speaking of integrations, they are officially called “Power-Ups” in Trello, and the PM tool has them for not only collaboration, but also reporting, automation, analytics, and more to give users added functionality.
Trello also has workflow automation, thanks to its “Butler” feature. Developers can create rule-based triggers plus desired actions to reduce time spent on recurring tasks. And, since many developers need to work on the go, they will be glad to know that Trello has a solid mobile app to help them do so.
Pricing of Trello
Trello has four pricing plans to choose from, with a free trial for its Premium option. Here are the PM tool’s pricing tiers:
- Free: A complimentary option for individuals and entire teams getting started with project management software.
- Standard: $5 per user, per month with annual billing.
- Premium: $10 per user, per month with annual billing.
- Enterprise: $17.50 per user, per month with annual billing. Contact Trello’s sales team for a custom pricing quote.
Choose Trello’s popular Free plan, and you can enjoy unlimited cards, storage, and Power-Ups, 10 boards per workspace, assignee and due dates, two-factor authentication, and mobile apps for iOS and Android. The Standard plan offers unlimited boards, custom fields, guests, advanced checklists, and saved searches for small teams looking to scale collaboration and manage work.
Trello’s Premium plan is for development teams with advanced tracking and visualization needs. It comes with map, dashboard, timeline, calendar, and table views, workspace-level templates, observers, data export, and admin and security features. And if you are a project manager in charge of an organization with needs for enhanced security and controls, Trello offers the Enterprise plan. It features public board management, unlimited workspaces, organization-wide permissions, attachment permissions, free SSO and user provisioning, and more.
Learn more about Trello’s pricing.
Pros of Trello
Trello has many pros that make it such a popular project management tool, including:
- Simplified interface
- Functional Free version
- Automation via Butler
- Extensibility through Power-Ups
Development teams seeking something simple with minimal onboarding will enjoy Trello’s user-friendly interface. And, if your development team has a limited budget, you will enjoy the developer tool’s Free version that offers just enough to manage simpler projects and tasks.
Automation through the Butler feature can be a significant time saver, and Trello’s Power-Ups come in handy for those seeking added functionality.
Cons of Trello
While it has many pros, Trello does have a few cons that highlight areas for improvement:
- Limited built-in functionality
- Not too many views
- Reporting is lacking
- Not ideal for large, complex projects
As you start comparing Trello to other project management tools, it becomes evident that it falls behind in terms of functionality when it comes to complex task management, roadmaps, multiple views, reporting and analytics. Yes, you can use Power-Ups to fill in some of the gaps, but the lack of certain features out of the box could make Trello less than ideal for larger, more sophisticated projects.
Want to learn even more about Trello? Check out our Trello Project Management Tool Review.
Monday.com
Monday.com is project management software that is feature-rich and used by teams of all types and sizes. While project managers of software development teams may find Monday.com ideal, it is also heavily used by operations, design, and marketing and sales teams to stay organized and in touch.
Features of Monday.com
Monday.com has made a name for itself in the PM software space thanks to its many features, which include:
- Various views
- File management
- Templates
- Multiple column types
- Automations
- Customization
- Integrated time tracking
- Third-party integrations
Monday.com offers project managers many ways to view progress with its Gantt, Kanban, timeline, map, form, calendar, and workload views. You can use the PM tool to store, organize, and share essential files, plus use pre-built templates to get started quickly.
The PM software has over 30 column types for customizing projects, and it also offers customization through its templates, dashboards, and time-saving automations. Out-of-the-box time tracking is another Monday.com highlight, and its already impressive functionality can be expanded even more with third-party integrations.
Pricing of Monday.com
There is no shortage of pricing plans to choose from with Monday.com. The PM tool offers five pricing plans, with a free trial available for all options except Enterprise:
- Free: A free forever option for up to two seats.
- Basic: $8 per seat, per month.
- Standard: $10 per seat, per month. Monday.com’s most popular option.
- Pro: $16 per seat, per month.
- Enterprise: Contact Monday.com for custom pricing for your software development team.
If you are an individual developer or part of a two-person team with a limited budget, Monday.com’s Free plan may suffice. It offers unlimited docs, three boards, 20-plus column types, 200-plus templates, and apps for iOS and Android. The Basic plan offers more project management features for smaller development teams, including unlimited items and free viewers, 5GB of storage, dashboards, and priority customer support.
Software development teams needing PM software with collaborative capabilities may find the Standard plan ideal. It has calendar, timeline, and Gantt views, automations, integrations, guest access, and more. Project managers looking to streamline their processes and workflows should choose Monday.com’s Pro plan. It offers a chart view, private boards and docs, 25,000 monthly automations, dependency and formula columns, and time tracking.
Lastly, software development teams needing enterprise-grade features can select the Enterprise plan. It comes with enterprise-level security, governance, scaling, and integrations, plus advanced reporting and analytics, multi-level permissions, custom onboarding, premium support, and more.
Learn more about Monday.com’s pricing.
Pros of Monday.com
Monday.com has many pros that make it a popular PM tool pick, such as:
- User-friendly interface
- Out-of-the-box time tracking
- Plenty of views
- Customizable templates, automations, and dashboards
A PM tool is no good if it has plenty of features, but you cannot use them. That is not the case with Monday.com, as its user-friendly interface is easy to get used to, even for beginners. Integrated time tracking is another Monday.com pro, as are the plethora of views.
And, if customization is key to your workflows, you will find it here in many ways, including customizable templates and dashboards.
Cons of Monday.com
Monday.com does have some weaknesses worth noting, including:
- Spotty performance
- Pricing for more advanced features
- Complicated tracking of expenses
Some Monday.com users have reported slow performance on occasion that can stunt productivity. While Monday is full of features, you may have to pay a premium to unlock some of the more desired ones, like time tracking. The bigger your team, the bigger that premium will become. And, on the topic of tracking, keeping track of expenses can seem complex with the PM software – as you add more members to the team and more add-ons, the price can shift.
You can learn even more about Monday by reading our Monday.com Project Management Software Review.
What to Look for In PM Software
As you try to determine whether Trello, Monday.com, or any other PM software is the right fit for your software development team, pay close attention to the features offered and the pricing. While each project management tool will differ in pricing, try to find something with basic features like:
- Multiple views
- Task and project management
- Time tracking
- Resource management
- Third-party integrations
- Reporting
- Dashboards
- Multiple ways to collaborate, built-in
We have a great tutorial that discusses What Features to Look For in Project Management Software that can help you choose the most important features.
Trello and Monday.com Alternatives
Still not convinced Trello or Monday.com are the right options for your software development team? We have a couple of articles that can help you find other PM solutions.
Our Monday.com versus Wrike and Smartsheet versus Monday.com comparisons stack Monday up against two of its strongest competitors, while our Monday.com Alternatives lists some great alternatives to the highly-regarded PM tool.
Our Trello versus Backlog article compares the two PM options, while our Alternatives to Trello rounds up even more options to compare Trello to.
Finally, our Best Project Management Software and Tools for Developers product round-up lists plenty of other PM offerings to help you make your decision.
Final Thoughts on Trello vs. Monday.com
Both Trello and Monday.com have carved out their spots in the project management software niche. Trello is a better fit for development teams seeking simplicity for tracking tasks and projects, while Monday.com offers more features for handling complex projects.
