Wrike vs Trello Compared 2023: Is Trello or Wrike the Best?

Let us guess: You've been searching for the best project management platform for you and your team for a while now.

Two names keep popping up in your research, Wrike and Trello.

So you’ve narrowed your focus to Wrike vs Trello, but which one is a better fit for you? 

In this comparison review, we'll compare the two tools in terms of ease of use, features, and product limitations. Hopefully, by the end of this post, you'll better understand whether Trello or Wrike ticks all the boxes for your task management needs.

What is the difference between Wrike and Trello?

The main difference between Trello and Wrike is that Trello is a Kanban-style project management tool designed for short and lightweight projects, while Wrike is a more elaborate tool. Trello is the best choice for people who want simplicity, while Wrike is geared towards teams that need more advanced features. 

The limited amount of features makes Trello a favored tool by solopreneurs, freelancers, startups, and small businesses. Trello is ideal if you are a visual thinker, as it puts all the information you need in front of your eyes. You only need a minimal structure to keep your tasks organized.

Wrike offers much more functionality and is more customizable than Trello; with Trello, what you see is what you get. For its myriad applications, Wrike is favored by marketing teams, agencies, and professional service providers.

Trello focuses on Kanban boards, while Wrike has Kanban boards, with the addition of native Gantt charts. To compare, Trello doesn’t have native Gantt charts, but you can add this functionality as an add-on, although it doesn’t work as well as Wrike’s. 

Wrike also comes with more features for resource management. It comes with a native time-tracking functionality that’s available to users of the Business and Enterprise plans. The easiest way for your team to log time directly in Trello is by adding a time-tracking Power-Up, but this comes at an additional cost. 

Wrike also has a Resources view that provides managers with an overview of users' effort allocation. 

Check out our Trello review if you need more details on this Kanban-based project management platform. If you’re more interested in Wrike, we also have a Wrike review available, so you can get a more in-depth look at this all-around tool, as well.

Wrike vs Trello comparison chart

^{*Prices start at}

Wrike vs Trello pricing

Let's start with Trello's paid plans. There are three monthly plans you can opt for, each higher plan with some additional features than the previous. The cheapest paid plan, Standard, costs $5 per user per month billed annually and comes with features like unlimited boards, advanced checklists, custom fields, unlimited storage, and 1,000 Workspace command runs per month. 

For $10 per user per month, the Premium plan introduces a few additional views, including Dashboard view, Timeline view, Workspace Table view, Calendar view, Workspace Calendar View, and Map view. It also includes unlimited Workspace command runs. The Enterprise plan starts at $17.50, but the price goes down as you add more users. 

That's for Trello. Now let's discuss Wrike's pricing structure, which is slightly more complex. 

Compared to Trello, Wrike comes with more plans but is also pricier. For instance, the cheapest paid plan costs $9.80 per user per month, almost double the price of Trello's Standard plan. 

But if you want to use Wrike's best features, you'll need to subscribe to the Business plan—this is where Wrike shines.  Although it's an expensive plan ($24.80/user/month), it comes with great features like custom workflows, real-time reports, request forms, time tracking, an automation engine, user and group permissions, and more. 

In addition to the three paid plans we just discussed, Wrike has two more plans at your disposal that are geared toward specific teams: Wrike for Marketing Teams and Wrike for Professional Services Teams.

But here's something else that might interest you: Wrike's sold in groups of users. For accounts of up to 30 users, subscriptions are sold in groups of 5. For accounts of 30 to 100 users, subscriptions are sold in groups of 10. For accounts with more than 100 users, subscriptions are sold in groups of 25.

What does this mean? It means things can get slightly inconvenient. Let's say you want to subscribe to the Business plan, and there are 12 people on your team. 

In this case, you need to pay for 15 users; that's three extra users that don't exist on your team, but you still need to bill for. Instead of paying $298 per month, you'll be looking at $372 per month, which is an additional $888 annually.

Also, many advanced Wrike features are offered as add-ons that contribute to your monthly billing. 

Which is best for you?

Trello's Standard plan is a light upgrade of the free plan. The Premium plan introduces a few additional features, but at $10 per user per month, it might not fit small teams' budgets. 

Wrike's tiered pricing can also put off many business class customers that don't see any point in paying for empty seats. If you have the budget and need a more robust tool, definitely opt for Wrike's Business plan—you won't regret it. 

If you prefer working in Kanban but also need a few different ways of viewing your projects, Trello's Premium plan seems like a top pick. 

Trello vs Wrike free versions

The good news is that both Trello and Wrike offer a generous free plan. The free plan of each tool might be a good solution for smaller teams that need to manage simple projects. 

Trello’s free plan doesn’t impose a user limit, but you can only have up to 10 boards per Workspace. Wrike’s free plan is similar to Trello’s in that it also doesn't have a user limit. The downside is that it’s designed for teams of 1-5 members. 

Trello’s free plan offers basic features like Unlimited cards, Unlimited Power-Ups per board, Unlimited storage, and 250 Workspace command runs per month. Wrike’s freemium version gives you access to features like task management and subtask management, custom work views (Kanban, Table view), and folder hierarchy. 

The downside is that Wrike’s free plan lacks a Gantt chart view, time-tracking functionality (only available with the Business plan and up), custom workflows, and real-time reports. 

Which is best for you?

The free version of both tools is good enough for simple projects and lightweight processes. If you’re a small team, the need to upgrade to a paid plan might never come.

Customer support

Trello offers Priority Email Support to users of the Premium and Enterprise plans, meaning the company reaches back within one business day. Users of the free plan and the Standard plan can find help in the knowledgebase or the community forum. 

Wrike does not mention a different level of customer service or support between plans. You can contact customer support via email, chat, and phone. Wrike's phone support is more easily accessible than Trello's, which can be critical when you have a time-sensitive issue. 

Which is best for you?

Both platforms offer a somewhat similar quality of customer service. You can contact support via email, phone, and chat, although Wrike's phone support is more easily available. Trello does reserve priority support for users of the Premium and Enterprise plans. 

Knowledgebase & learning

Trello's knowledge base contains 300+ help articles covering topics like automation, power-ups, templates, views, mobile apps, and more. Additionally, you’ll find free webinars that cover topics ranging from productivity hacks to setting up agile workflows. Trello regularly publishes in-depth blog posts on different topics like remote work and productivity. There’s also a community forum where you can ask questions and help other users with their issues. 

Wrike’s knowledge base offers a range of resources, including interactive training where you learn how the software works step-by-step, video tutorials, help articles, and monthly webinars. There’s also a community forum where you can ask for help and help out other users. 

Which is best for you?

In terms of knowledge base and resources, this round is a strong tie. Both tools come with an extensive knowledge base, in addition to other resources like blog posts, webinars, and a community forum. 

Trello vs Wrike features & functionality

In the following chapter, we’ll be comparing Trello and Wrike in terms of features and functionality in seven rounds. Keep in mind we’ll be comparing the most critical features and won’t be diving into every detail. Let’s begin!

Wrike or Trello for ease of use?

Trello is one of the most user-friendly project management tools you can use. Its simplicity is its strength. Even if you're new to project management software, it shouldn't take you more than an hour to learn how everything works. 

Everything happens in the Trello boards, which are lists of tasks you need to complete. You simply drag and drop your cards from one list to another. Even the newer views Trello has recently introduced, like Timeline and Calendar view, are easy to grasp. 

The most complex action in Trello might be adding a Power-Up, but you should get the hang of it in a matter of minutes. 

Wrike has a slightly steeper learning curve, but that’s the price of having more features. Wrike’s homepage is like a navigation center for all of your work; this is where you can quickly access the work important to you. 

You’ll find three panels: the left panel that gives you the latest notifications and assignments, the center panel that contains shortcuts to your work, and the right panel with quick links to smart folders and tools. 

Work gets done in Spaces, Folders, Projects, and Tasks. You use them to contain and organize information, which becomes quite straightforward once you get your head around how the system works.

The good news is that the more you work in Wrike, the easier it will get—you just need to put in the hours. 

Which is best for you?

When it comes to ease of use, Trello is a bit easier to use as it’s a less complex project management solution. Basically, Trello is all about dragging and dropping tasks from one list to another. 

If you need a tool that supports quick and easy project planning, Trello is what you need. Wrike is more robust and takes some time to learn. If you need a tool with more functionality, go with Wrike, but be ready for some trial and error. 

Integrations

You can connect Trello with other apps and tools via Power-Ups. You can connect your Boards with 200+ tools and apps to add additional functionality to your Boards, like Gantt charts, time-tracking, analytics, and more. Some Power-Ups come free of charge, while others require a subscription or a one-time fee. You can also build your own Power-Ups via Trello’s API. 

When compared to Trello, Wrike is more restrictive. It only allows specific app integrations based on your subscription plan. The free plan lets you integrate Wrike with cloud storage platforms, but that’s pretty much it. The Professional plan is slightly better as it lets you connect the platform with a productivity app. 

However, the native Salesforce integration and Adobe Creative Cloud extension are only available to users of the Business plan and higher. 

The paid add-on Wrike Integrate unlocks 400+ custom integrations, including Basecamp, Asana, Quickbooks, and Monday.com, but this comes at an additional cost. 

Which is best for you?

The best winner in this category will be different for different users. For instance, if your business requires a project management tool that integrates with Salesforce, then Wrike is a no-brainer solution. But if you only need a PM software with a basic functionality and you don’t need to add too many functions, Trello is your best choice. 

Product limitations

Wrike and Trello might be two of the most popular project management tools on the market, but this doesn't mean they don’t have their weaknesses. 

Trello might be perfect for smaller projects where you need to manage a few cards, but it's impractical for managing large-scale projects. If you start adding more boards, tasks, and cards, you'll lose visibility into your projects. 

Another downside of Trello is that it lacks Gantt chart capabilities and native reporting and time estimation features. Trello doesn't have many customization options for companies with more elaborate workflows.

Wrike's downside is that it's geared towards marketing teams and agencies—a lot of its features cater to this type of business. It's also not a suitable platform for software development teams. For that purpose, you may want to look into Jira.

Wrike's expensive paid plans are another limitation. The cheapest paid plan costs $9.80 per user per month. To gain access to the software's most powerful features, you'll have to shell out $24.80 per user per month for the Business plan. If you're a team of 15, you're looking at $4,464 annually. Not to mention the tricky pricing. 

Wrike also lacks a live chat or messaging function to message team members. The only way of communicating with team members is by using the "mention" function. You can also integrate the platform with HipChat to achieve this. 

Wrike doesn't support scrum workflow with sprints. You may want to look elsewhere if you're working with the scrum methodology.

Which is best for you?

There's no winner in this category as both tools come with their own limitations. Trello shines in simple project management but becomes cumbersome when you start adding more boards and cards. If you have a tight budget and need a beginner-friendly PM tool, go with Trello. If you need a PM tool that supports managing multiple projects with many moving parts, go with Wrike.

Mobile versions

Trello and Wrike have Android and iOS apps that support work on the go. The mobile apps are functional for managing simpler tasks but can't replace the desktop or web apps for performing more complex activities. 

This has nothing to do with the Trello or Wrike app's design; it's just the limitation of mobile screens. The good news is that mobile apps are easily accessible at no extra cost.

Which is best for you?

Both Wrike and Trello’s mobile apps come in handy when you want to stay up-to-date with tasks or make a quick note. However, neither of these apps can replace the desktop or web apps. 

Task management

Trello shines in task management. Three main features enable smooth task management: Boards, Lists, and Cards. All of your work will happen here. In short, you create a Trello Board containing different lists filled with cards. 

As work progresses, you move cards from one list to another using the simple drag-and-drop function. Each card can have comments, mentions, due dates, assignees, description, and attachments. You can even create labels for each card. These are all solid collaboration tools.

Recently, Trello has introduced several new Views that let you visualize your data in different ways. In addition to a Kanban view, you can view your work as a Timeline, Table, Calendar, Dashboard, and Map. 

In Wrike, all work happens in six blocks: Folders, Projects, Subfolders and Subprojects, Tasks, and Subtasks.

You can add tasks to Folders and Projects, and each task can have a due date, assignee, description, status, comments, and more. Subtasks come in handy when you need to break large tasks into smaller action items. 

Subtasks can have the same details as tasks. Additionally, you can detach a subtask and convert it into a standalone task. You can star important tasks to make them easier to find. All starred tasks appear in your Starred tasks folder. All users (except collaborators) on all account types can duplicate tasks and make tasks recurrent.

With Wrike, you can turn each project into an interactive Gantt chart. You can create tasks and link them using task dependencies and then track their progress against deadlines and milestones.

Which is best for you?

Trello can be a brilliant platform when working on less complex projects requiring manipulating only a few cards daily. But once you try to add more boards, cards, and lists, managing your workflows can become challenging. 

Wrike, on the other hand, comes with more advanced task management features, making the platform slightly more challenging to use, especially for beginners. It all comes down to this: if you want to do simple task management, go with Trello. 

If you need a tool that supports more complex task management, such as Gantt charts, you would want to go with Wrike. 

Reports and analytics

Wrike has a solid reporting and analytics function that lets you gain insights into your projects and tasks. You can use a predefined report template or build a custom report from scratch for more specific analytics. You can see data like the number of tasks at every stage, what tasks each team member has completed, tasks in progress, etc. 

Trello, on the other hand, lacks in-built reporting capabilities. You'll have to integrate the software with a report and analytics tool to gain this capability using a Power-Up. 

Which is best for you?

If you want to track your project progress, Wrike seems like a better fit. However, if you'll be using the PM tool for personal task management, Trello's lack of reporting function shouldn't be an issue. 

Security 

Wrike hosts its own data and encrypts it by using AES-256 both at rest and in transit. It has its servers in dedicated cages within data centers located in the US and EU. 

One downside is that two-factor authentication is only available with the Enterprise plan. The Enterprise plan also includes advanced security features like SAML 2.0 single sign-on (SSO), Advanced user access controls, and Locked Spaces.

Trello includes two-factor authentication in all of its plans, even the freemium version, which is a big plus. Trello also uses 256-bit AES encryption with GNU Privacy Guard. However, unlike Wrike, which uses in-house servers, Trello stores data with AWS. 

Which is best for you?

Although neither platform offers the greatest privacy, Wrike is just slightly better in this category. This is due to the fact that it stores its servers in-house, unlike Trello.  

Which is better: Trello or Wrike? Key takeaways

Let’s recap:

Wrike and Trello are two exceptional platforms in the project management market—and for a good reason. They each have their strengths and appeal to specific audiences. But they're not without their downsides. 

So, which software is the best option for you? Should you Wrike, or should you Trello?

The answer is not so simple. The best project management software for you depends on several factors such as budget, needs, team size, and type of business.

To make things easier for you, go with Wrike if you're a fast-growing business with an unlimited budget that needs more advanced features for project management. You can truly customize and tailor Wrike to your needs. And if you're a marketing team, an agency, or a professional service provider, Wrike is a no-brainer. 

Trello is the better solution for smaller projects without too many moving parts. If you don't care about time-tracking, Gantt charts, or advanced analytics, Trello may be exactly what you need. And if you're a team of only a few people, you may never need to upgrade from the free plan. 

The good news is that both platforms have a free plan, so nothing is stopping you from giving them a run. 

If you're still unsure which one is best for you, we recommend you check out the free plans of each platform. A friendly reminder that the paid plans of both Trello and Wrike come with a 14-day free trial.

You can also see how these apps stack up against a broader field in our project management software comparison, if you’re seeking a more meta-perspective.

It’s also possible you’ll end up not going with either one of the tools. In that case, you can check out our best Wrike alternatives to see what other apps might suit you. We also have an article covering the best Trello alternatives, so you can get coverage from the other side too.

We wish you good luck with whichever tool you end up choosing!