What is Trello?
Trello organizes work using a simple metaphor borrowed from kanban: a board represents a project, lists represent stages or categories, and cards represent individual tasks. Users drag cards between lists as work progresses, and each card can hold a description, checklists, due dates, labels, attachments, comments and assigned members.
That simplicity is the main reason for Trello’s popularity. People use it for software sprints and editorial calendars, but also for wedding planning, job searches and household chores, often without any training. Beyond the board itself, paid plans add alternative views such as a calendar, timeline, table and map, along with workspace-wide dashboards.
Trello’s extensibility comes from Power-Ups, which connect boards to tools like Slack, Google Drive and Jira, and from Butler, a built-in automation engine that runs rules, buttons and scheduled commands. More recently, Atlassian added an inbox and a planner that help individuals capture to-dos from email and chat and schedule them into their calendar.
Key features of Trello
- 01
Boards, lists and cards
The core kanban structure lets anyone map out a process in minutes and move tasks between stages with drag and drop, giving the whole team a shared view of progress.
- 02
Detailed cards
Cards hold checklists, due dates, labels, attachments, custom fields, comments and assigned members, so everything about a task stays in one place.
- 03
Butler automation
Built-in, no-code automation creates rules, card and board buttons, and scheduled commands, such as moving a card when its checklist is complete or creating recurring tasks.
- 04
Power-Ups
Integrations called Power-Ups connect boards to hundreds of other tools, including Slack, Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, Jira and Confluence.
- 05
Multiple views
Paid plans add calendar, timeline, table, dashboard and map views, letting teams see the same cards organized by date, workload or location.
- 06
Templates
A public gallery of board templates covers use cases such as product roadmaps, content calendars, sales pipelines, employee onboarding and personal planning.
- 07
Inbox and planner
Personal features capture to-dos from email, chat and other apps into an inbox and help users schedule those tasks into their calendar alongside their boards.
Who uses Trello?
- Small teams and startups manage projects, content calendars and hiring pipelines without the setup that heavier project management tools require.
- Individuals organize personal goals, reading lists, travel plans and household tasks on private boards.
- Marketing and editorial teams plan campaigns and track articles from first idea to publication, using lists as workflow stages.
- Teachers and students coordinate class projects, assignments and group work on shared boards.
History of Trello
Trello was developed inside Fog Creek Software, the New York company run by Joel Spolsky and Michael Pryor, and was unveiled at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in September 2011. It quickly attracted a large base of free users and was spun out as an independent company, Trello Inc., in 2014.
Atlassian acquired Trello in January 2017 for about $425 million, gaining a product aimed at non-technical teams to sit alongside Jira. Under Atlassian, Trello added Butler automation, advanced views and enterprise controls, and it has remained a separate product with its own brand rather than being merged into Jira.
- 2011
Fog Creek Software unveils Trello at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco.
- 2014
Trello is spun out of Fog Creek as an independent company, Trello Inc.
- 2017
Atlassian acquires Trello for about $425 million.
- 2018
Trello acquires Butler, which becomes its built-in automation engine.
Trello pricing
Pricing modelFreemium
Free plan for individuals and small teams; Standard, Premium and Enterprise plans add views, automation and admin controls and are billed per user.
Prices change often. Check the official Trello website for current plans.
Trello alternatives
Profiled on SoftwareLore:
Also considerAsana, Monday.com, ClickUp, Microsoft Planner and Wrike
Trello: frequently asked questions
Who owns Trello?
Trello is owned by Atlassian, the Australian software company behind Jira and Confluence. Atlassian bought Trello in January 2017 for about $425 million. The app was originally created in 2011 by Fog Creek Software, the company co-founded by Joel Spolsky and Michael Pryor.
What is Trello used for?
Trello is used to organize projects and tasks on visual boards. Teams use it for product roadmaps, content calendars, sales pipelines and hiring, while individuals use it for personal to-do lists, trip planning and goal tracking. Each task is a card that moves across lists as it progresses.
Is Trello free?
Yes, Trello has a free plan with unlimited cards and basic automation for individuals and small teams, with limits on the number of boards and collaborators in a workspace. Paid Standard, Premium and Enterprise plans remove those limits and add advanced views, security features and admin controls.
When was Trello released?
Trello was released in September 2011, when Fog Creek Software unveiled it at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference. It became an independent company in 2014 and was acquired by Atlassian in 2017.
What is the difference between Trello and Jira?
Both are made by Atlassian, but they serve different needs. Trello is a lightweight, visual board tool that anyone can learn quickly, while Jira is a more structured platform with custom workflows, sprint planning, advanced reporting and deep integrations for software development and larger organizations.
Sources
- Trello trello.com
- Trello pricing trello.com
- Trello, Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org
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