Trello alternatives
The 6 best Trello alternatives in 2026
Most Trello-alternative roundups push you toward 10x heavier tools like ClickUp and Monday.com. This one doesn't. Here are six honest options ranked for small teams who want a simpler kanban — not a Work-OS.
Trello defined the simple kanban board fifteen years ago, but the product has drifted: a 10-board limit on the free plan, Power-Ups that slow the board down, and a slow pivot toward personal productivity. Most teams looking for Trello alternatives want the same thing they originally wanted from Trello — a fast, focused kanban board — without the new friction. The list below is built around that, not around piling on features.
Prefer a head-to-head? See GritShip vs Trello →
Trello alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| GritShip | Solo founders, freelancers, and small product teams who want fast kanban without Power-Ups or per-seat pricing | Free for 3 members + 3 projects. Pro $8/mo flat or $69/yr for up to 25 members per workspace and up to 3 workspaces. |
| Linear | Software teams that run structured sprints or cycles and want a polished, keyboard-first UI | Free up to 250 issues, ~$10/user/mo on paid plans |
| Notion | Doc-heavy teams that want to keep tasks alongside writing | Free for personal use, ~$10/user/mo for teams |
| GitHub Projects | Open-source maintainers and engineering teams already on GitHub | Free for public repos and individual accounts |
| Basecamp | Agencies and service businesses that want PM + chat + docs in one tool | $15/user/mo flat, or $299/mo Pro Unlimited |
| Plane (self-hosted) | Privacy-focused teams comfortable running their own infrastructure | Free if self-hosted; cloud plans available |
- 1.
GritShip
The simplest, fastest replacement
Best for
Solo founders, freelancers, and small product teams who want fast kanban without Power-Ups or per-seat pricing
Pricing
Free for 3 members + 3 projects. Pro $8/mo flat or $69/yr for up to 25 members per workspace and up to 3 workspaces.
GritShip is what Trello used to feel like — a fast, focused kanban board with sensible defaults. Priorities, labels, list view, and real-time sync are all built in, so you don't have to install three Power-Ups to make the board usable. Pricing is flat, not per-seat, and the free plan stays useful long-term: 3 members, 3 projects, unlimited tasks.
Pros
- Sub-200ms interactions, < 100KB initial bundle
- Built-in P1–P4 priorities and list view (no Power-Ups required)
- Flat pricing — no per-seat tax
- Full keyboard-first workflow (N, ⌘K, arrows)
- No 10-board cap
Cons
- No Power-Ups marketplace
- No Butler-style automation (yet)
- New product — smaller ecosystem than Trello
- 2.
Linear
For engineering teams who run cycles
Best for
Software teams that run structured sprints or cycles and want a polished, keyboard-first UI
Pricing
Free up to 250 issues, ~$10/user/mo on paid plans
Linear is the canonical "modern alternative" recommendation, and rightly so for engineering teams. If your team runs cycles or sprints, Linear is excellent — but if you ship continuously and just want a kanban board, the cycle structure is overhead you'll quietly ignore. Pricing is per-seat, which adds up fast as the team grows.
Pros
- Beautiful UI and great keyboard shortcuts
- First-class cycles, projects, and roadmap
- Strong GitHub integration
- Industry-standard for modern software teams
Cons
- Built around cycles — overhead if you ship continuously
- Per-seat pricing scales fast
- 250-issue cap on free tier hits sooner than you expect
- 3.
Notion
For teams who want PM and docs in one place
Best for
Doc-heavy teams that want to keep tasks alongside writing
Pricing
Free for personal use, ~$10/user/mo for teams
Notion is many things, and one of them is a kanban tool. It works well when most of your work is documents and the board is a secondary view. It works badly when the board is your daily driver — speed, real-time sync, and dedicated PM features all lag behind specialist tools.
Pros
- Combines docs, wikis, and databases under one roof
- Flexible — you can build whatever PM view you want
- Strong free plan for individuals
Cons
- Slow as a PM tool; opening a board takes real time
- Database flexibility = configuration overhead
- Per-seat pricing scales as you grow
- Not built for kanban-first workflows
- 4.
GitHub Projects
Free if you already live in GitHub
Best for
Open-source maintainers and engineering teams already on GitHub
Pricing
Free for public repos and individual accounts
If your team already lives in GitHub, Projects is the cheapest meaningful Trello alternative — it costs nothing and integrates with the issues you already track. The catch: it's only useful if your work is GitHub-shaped. For non-engineering tasks or for teammates who don't want a GitHub account, it falls apart fast.
Pros
- Free, no separate account or billing
- Native integration with issues and pull requests
- Multiple views (board, table, roadmap)
Cons
- Only meaningful if your work lives in GitHub issues
- Awkward for non-engineering teammates
- Limited customization beyond preset fields
- 5.
Basecamp
For service teams who want an all-in-one hub
Best for
Agencies and service businesses that want PM + chat + docs in one tool
Pricing
$15/user/mo flat, or $299/mo Pro Unlimited
Basecamp is a different category — an all-in-one work hub instead of a focused PM tool. If you want one tool for tasks, chat, and docs (instead of pairing GritShip + Slack + Notion), Basecamp is a strong pick. The trade-off is that the kanban experience is secondary to the to-do list.
Pros
- Bundles to-dos, message board, group chat, docs, schedule
- Calm, opinionated product philosophy
- Pro Unlimited tier is flat-priced for large teams
Cons
- To-do-list-first, not kanban-first
- Page-reload-heavy UX
- No permanent free tier
- 6.
Plane (self-hosted)
For teams who want full data ownership
Best for
Privacy-focused teams comfortable running their own infrastructure
Pricing
Free if self-hosted; cloud plans available
Plane is an open-source alternative for teams that want to own their data outright. The self-hosted option is genuinely free, but you're trading subscription dollars for Docker, Postgres, and ongoing maintenance. For most small teams the math doesn't work; for teams with a real privacy or compliance need, Plane is the strongest open-source pick in the category.
Pros
- Open-source, full data ownership
- Kanban + cycles + modules + pages
- Active development
Cons
- Self-hosting is real ops work
- Younger product — sharp edges
- Cloud plan exists but is less differentiated
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best free Trello alternative?
- If you want kanban without the 10-board limit, GritShip's free plan covers 3 members and 3 projects forever with no Power-Up tax. If your work lives in GitHub, GitHub Projects is free and integrates directly with issues. Notion's free plan works for individuals but not for collaborative team boards.
- Why are people leaving Trello in 2026?
- Three reasons: the 10-board cap on free workspaces, the Power-Up tax (basic features like custom fields require paid Power-Ups), and Trello's strategic drift toward personal productivity rather than team kanban. Most teams looking for alternatives want simpler, not bigger.
- Is GritShip really better than Trello?
- For small teams who want kanban without the friction, yes. GritShip is faster (sub-200ms interactions), has more built in by default (priorities, list view, keyboard shortcuts), and uses flat pricing instead of per-seat. Where Trello still wins: the Power-Ups ecosystem, Butler automation, brand recognition, and a longer track record.
- How do I migrate my Trello boards to a new tool?
- Every alternative on this list supports CSV import or manual setup. Trello lets you export each board to JSON or CSV. Most teams find the migration is also a good moment to retire half the boards they no longer touch and simplify their column structure.
Try the #1 pick free
GritShip is free for solo and small teams. No credit card. Set up your first board in 60 seconds.