What are the main differences?

Trello and Slack are two of the most popular productivity apps, leading many people to wonder: how do Trello and Slack compare to each other? Can you get away with just one of these tools?

Having used both software for years, I can confidently say that Trello and Slack are great platforms with fundamentally different purposes. Trello is designed for project management and Slack is designed for communication and messaging, so one doesn't really replace the other. In fact, Trello and Slack work best when integrated together so they can complement each other's strengths.

However, keep in mind that Trello recently suffered a data breach involving over 15 million user accounts, so if security is an issue, you may want to stay away.

Let's dive into a hands-on comparison between Slack and Trello to break down the key differences.

Trello vs. Slack: comparison table

Trello vs. Slack: Pricing

Both Trello and Slack follow a similar pricing structure, although Trello is generally more affordable than Slack. Both platforms offer a generous free plan, followed by two paid plans at affordable prices. Trello and Slack have an Enterprise plan, but the pricing for Slack's Enterprise tier is not revealed, while Trello's is.

Trello Pricing

• Free: No cost for unlimited cards and up to 10 boards per Workspace
• Standard: $5 per user per month, billed annually, or $6 per user, billed monthly
• Premium: $10 per user per month, billed annually, or $12.50 per user, billed monthly
• Company: Between $7.38 and $17.50 per user per month, billed annually, depending on the number of users. Teams with more than 5,000 users can contact Atlassian for custom pricing.

For more information, check out our full Trello review and our list of Trello alternatives.

weak prices

• Free: Free for unlimited users with up to 10 integrations.
• Pro: $7.25 per user per month, billed annually, or $8.75 per user per month, billed monthly.
• Business+: $12.50 per user per month, billed annually, or $15 per user per month, billed monthly.
• Company: Custom Pricing – Contact the sales team for a quote.

For more information, check out our full Slack review and our Slack “cheat sheet” user guide.

Trello vs Slack: Feature Comparison

team communication

Winner: weak

Both Trello and Slack offer team communication features, but in my experience, they approach it very differently. Trello offers basic communication features that are practically standard in any project management software. These include leaving comments on messages, tagging people in comments, and reacting with emojis. However, you can't message a user or group of users directly, which other software solutions like Asana allow. Trello also does not offer native video or voice chat, instead relying on Zoom and other integrations for this functionality.

In contrast, Slack is all about team communication. You can send messages to individuals, groups of people, specific channels, or even the entire company. You can also host audio and video meetings within the app and send messages to guests outside your organization. You can reply directly to messages, @mention your colleagues, and add emoji reactions. Slack also offers a Huddle feature that supports virtual collaboration through video chats, multi-person screen sharing, and a dedicated thread for notes.

Project and task management.

Winner: Trello

After using both platforms, I can say that project management is where Trello really shines. The tool is known for its highly intuitive kanban boards, which are easy to learn even for a beginner. The drag and drop interface is almost effortless and the simple layout is quick to navigate. If the kanban board isn't working for you and you're on a paid plan, you can switch to one of the other project views: Timeline, Table, Calendar, Dashboard, Map, and Workspace.

Slack, on the other hand, doesn't offer much in terms of task or project management features out of the box, although some features can be added through integrations. It has a feature called Canvas that can be used for collaboration, but it's really only useful for co-editing content rather than actual project management. If you need more than an office messaging app, Trello is a better option than Slack.

Workflows and automations

Winner: Trello

Trello offers an automation builder called Butler that makes it easy to automate all types of repetitive actions. He can even link multiple actions to a single triggering event; for example, marking a due date as complete and moving a card to the “Done” column when a checklist is completed. Trello also offers the option to add custom board buttons and cards, which will execute multiple actions with a single click. Even free accounts have access to these automations, which is a nice bonus.

For paid plans, Slack offers limited automations that are pretty much limited to sending a message when a certain trigger action is performed. For example, you can set an automatic daily check-in message to send every weekday at the same time or automatically send a message when someone reacts to a conversation with a specific emoji. Slack offers half a dozen templates to choose from, but you can also create your own automation. To get more features, you will need to integrate third-party apps.

Pros and cons of Trello

Advantages of Trello

• Highly visual and intuitive kanban boards.
• Simple and robust automation generator.
• Low learning curve for beginners.
• Transparent and affordable pricing plans.

Cons of Trello

• Limited communication tools.
• It lacks certain native features, such as time tracking.
• Audio and video chats are not supported.
• Had a recent data breach that affected millions.

Pros and cons of Slack

Slack Advantages

• Excellent messaging features.
• Audio and video chats are supported.
• Unique Huddle and Canvas tools for collaboration.
• Great search function.

Cons of slack

• Limited project management tools.
• Video conferencing is limited compared to Zoom.
• Notifications can be overwhelming.

Should your organization use Trello or Slack?

Choose Trello yes. . .

• You need comprehensive, easy-to-learn project management tools.
• You don't need extensive communication tools.
• You are looking for intuitive kanban boards.
• You need a more robust automation builder.

Choose Slack yes. . .

• You need a business messaging app.
• You want audio and video chats to be supported.
• You don't need project management tools.
• You agree to limited automations.

Review methodology

I used free versions of Trello and Slack to test them extensively. When comparing the two tools, I focused on project features, communication tools, and workflow automations. I also considered factors such as learning curve, ease of use, interface design, pricing, and customer support.