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Most buyers should pick Trello.
Choose Trello if you want boards for organizing to-dos and a lower listed starting price: $5 per user monthly with annual billing, versus Basecamp Freelancer at $29 monthly. The billing units differ. Trello’s free tier allows 10 collaborators and 10 boards, with a 10MB file cap. Choose Basecamp for client collaboration and bundled discussions, tasks, files, and dates. Its Freelancer plan has no per-user fees but caps projects and users; Pro Unlimited removes those caps.
01Side by side
| Basecamp | Trello | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Freelancer: $29/month; no per-user fee | Standard: $5/user/month annually; $6 monthly |
| Free plan | One project, three users, 1 GB | 10 collaborators, 10 boards, 10 MB file cap |
| Best for | Client work and coordinated project workflows | To-dos, ideas, and responsibilities across boards |
| Core strength | Discussions, tasks, files, dates, staged workflows | Boards, Inbox, Planner, automation, mirrored to-dos |
| Learning curve | Ease-of-use review score: 7/10 | Ease-of-use review score: 8.5/10 |
| Integrations and data | Integration and export details not specified | Integrations; Premium adds simple data export |
| Team and seat costs | Freelancer: up to five users; no per-user fees | Standard: $5/user annually; $6 monthly |
| Support | Pro Unlimited: priority 24/7/365 support | Enterprise: 24/7 Enterprise Admin support |
Basecamp Choose Basecamp if
- Choose Basecamp if client collaboration is central to projects.
- Choose Basecamp if you want discussions, tasks, and files together.
- Choose Basecamp if fixed monthly pricing suits your team size.
Trello Choose Trello if
- Choose Trello if you want boards for organizing to-dos.
- Choose Trello if a free tier for up to 10 collaborators fits.
- Choose Trello if you want integrations and automation options.
02Pricing compared
Trello has the lower listed entry price, but its paid plans charge per user. Standard is $6 per user monthly or $5 with annual billing; Premium is $12.50 monthly or $10 annually. Its free Workspace allows 10 collaborators and 10 boards, with a 10MB file-size limit. Enterprise is listed at $17.50 per user monthly, billed annually.
Basecamp’s Freelancer plan costs $29 per month for up to five users and three active projects, with no per-user fees. Pro is $79 per month for up to 10 users and eight projects; Pro Plus is $99 for up to 15 users and 12 projects. Pro Unlimited costs $199 per month billed annually and removes project and user caps. Basecamp also has a free one-project plan. Compare the billing units: Trello’s prices scale by user, while Basecamp’s listed plans are monthly flat fees with capacity limits.
03Features and depth
Basecamp bundles project communication and coordination: message boards for discussions, to-dos with assignments, file sharing, and calendars or agendas for dates and meetings. It also supports workflows that move work through stages such as Design, Review, Build, QA, and Live, plus client collaboration on projects. That makes its feature set about keeping project work and its context together.
Trello centers on organizing to-dos, ideas, and responsibilities with Inbox, Boards, and Planner. It also lists integrations, automation, and mirrored to-dos that can appear across locations. Its paid tiers add specific capacity and views: Standard includes unlimited boards and 1,000 command runs per month; Premium adds Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard, and Map views, plus admin and security features. So the choice is less about one tool having every function: Basecamp emphasizes bundled project discussions, files, tasks, and dates, while Trello emphasizes board-based organization, automation, and configurable views.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Both products are organized around familiar work objects, but the setup differs. Trello’s Inbox, Boards, and Planner give teams distinct places to organize responsibilities; Basecamp brings discussions, tasks, files, and dates into a project. Teams already comfortable with boards may find Trello’s structure the more direct fit, while teams wanting project communication alongside tasks may prefer Basecamp’s bundled approach.
Our review scores rate Trello’s ease of use at 8.5 and Basecamp’s at 7. Basecamp’s review also notes user reports of disruptive redesign changes. Those scores are review assessments, not a guarantee of how quickly your team will learn either product. Before switching, compare how your team wants to organize work and whether Basecamp’s project and user caps fit.
Questions people ask
Is there anything better than Trello?
“Better” depends on the work you need to organize. Basecamp may fit teams that want project discussions, assigned tasks, files, dates, and client collaboration together. Trello may suit teams that prefer boards, automation, integrations, and mirrored to-dos. Compare pricing units and limits before switching.
Does anyone still use Trello?
We can’t confirm user numbers from the available information. Trello’s listed plans include a free Workspace with up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards, plus paid Standard, Premium, and Enterprise tiers. Its product information also lists Inbox, Boards, Planner, integrations, automation, and mirrored to-dos.
How much does Trello cost per month?
Trello’s Free plan costs $0 per Workspace monthly. Standard is $6 per user monthly, or $5 with annual billing; Premium is $12.50 monthly, or $10 annually. Enterprise is listed at $17.50 per user monthly, billed annually. The paid prices scale by user.
What are the downsides of using Trello?
The free plan limits a Workspace to 10 collaborators and 10 boards, and caps files at 10MB each. Paid plans charge per user, so costs rise with team size. Some partner Power-Ups require an extra subscription, and the listed source does not publish those prices.