KanbanWP vs Trello

Kanban vs Trello compares two different things. Kanban is a method for managing the flow of work, and Trello is one product that shows work on a kanban board. This page explains that difference, then compares Trello with KanbanWP, our WordPress plugin, so you can see which one fits your team. Trello’s plan details were checked on Trello’s pricing page on October 20, 2026.

Kanban vs Trello: a method and a tool

The Kanban Guide defines kanban as “a strategy for optimizing the flow of value through a process.” It names three practices: defining and visualizing a workflow, actively managing the items in it, and improving it. It also asks teams to “explicitly control the number of work items in a workflow”. A work-in-progress (WIP) limit on each column is one way to do this.

Trello’s board covers the first practice. A Trello kanban board shows lists as columns and cards as work items, and you drag cards from list to list. Trello’s plan comparison does not list a WIP limit feature, so teams that want one add a third-party Power-Up such as Corrello’s Agile Tools.

KanbanWP has WIP limits per stage. When a stage holds more tasks than its limit, the column count is marked as over the limit. For how to set them, see WIP limits.

KanbanWP vs Trello at a glance

Is Trello free? The Trello free plan limits

Yes, Trello has a free plan. According to Trello’s pricing page, Trello Free includes:

• Up to 10 collaborators per Workspace.
• Up to 10 boards per Workspace, with unlimited cards.
• Unlimited Power-Ups per board.
• Files up to 10MB each.
• 250 Workspace automation command runs per month.
• iOS and Android apps, and a view-only Planner calendar.

Trello Free has no AI features, custom fields or advanced checklists, which start on Standard. The 10-collaborator limit counts Workspace members, guests and pending invites. Trello’s guide to Workspace collaborator limits says a free Workspace over the limit turns its boards view-only, and its automations stop running.

The paid plans, as listed on October 20, 2026:

• Standard: $5 per user per month billed annually, or $6 monthly. Adds AI, unlimited boards, custom fields and 1,000 command runs.
• Premium: $10 per user per month billed annually, or $12.50 monthly. Adds Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views.
• Enterprise: $17.50 per user per month, billed annually.

What KanbanWP includes

KanbanWP is a free plugin with no license key, no paid tier and no user limit. Every feature below is in the free plugin:

• Unlimited boards with stages, drag and drop and WIP limits.
• Tasks with priorities, due dates, assignees, labels, checklists, attachments and custom fields.
• Subtasks, task dependencies and recurring tasks.
• Swimlanes, saved views, folders, favorites and board templates.
• Board roles: admin, member, viewer and client.
• Comments with @mentions, plus internal-only tasks and comments that clients never see.
• In-app notifications, daily or weekly email digests, and Slack and Discord webhooks.
• Reports with workload and cumulative flow, exported as CSV.
• Cards linked to WordPress posts and pages, and tasks created from new WooCommerce orders.

The AI features run on your own API key. You pay your provider directly, set a monthly token cap per user, and see every request in a usage log. An MCP server lets AI agents list boards, read tasks, create and move tasks and add comments, with each call written to the activity log. Read AI project management for details.

Cost for a team of 12

Trello Free stops at 10 collaborators, so a team of 12 needs a paid Trello plan.

• Trello Standard: 12 users at $5 per user per month billed annually cost $60 a month, or $720 a year.
• Trello Premium: 12 users at $10 cost $120 a month, or $1,440 a year. Premium is the plan with Calendar and Timeline views.
• KanbanWP: the plugin costs nothing for any number of users. You pay for the WordPress hosting you already run, and for AI tokens if you turn on AI.

Where Trello fits better

Trello is the better choice in these cases:

• Your team does not use WordPress.
• You want native iOS, Android and desktop apps.
• You rely on Power-Ups to connect other tools, or on Trello’s quick capture from email, Slack and Microsoft Teams.
• You want Atlassian to handle hosting, backups and security.
• You invite many outside people who should not need an account on your website.

Where KanbanWP fits better

KanbanWP is the better choice in these cases:

• Your team already logs in to WordPress every day, so there is no extra account to manage.
• You have more than 10 people and want no per-user fee.
• You want task data in your own database. See the privacy policy for what the plugin sends to outside services.
• You run an editorial workflow and want cards linked to the posts they track. See the editorial calendar guide.
• You share progress with clients through a client portal without exposing internal work.

Moving from Trello to KanbanWP

Any Trello board member can export a board as JSON on any plan, according to Atlassian’s guide to exporting data from Trello.

KanbanWP’s Trello importer reads that file and creates a new board:

• Trello lists become stages, in the same order.
• Cards become tasks with their names, descriptions, due dates and labels.
• Card comments are imported as comments.
• Checklist items are added to the task description.
• Trello members are matched to WordPress users by username, and unmatched names are listed in the task description.
• Archived cards and lists are skipped.

The steps are in importing from Trello.

For more options, see best Trello alternatives in 2027 and Trello vs Jira. To install KanbanWP, go to downloads.