Trello vs ClickUp: Which Should You Choose in 2026?

Choosing between Trello and ClickUp? We analyzed both tools using our proprietary 100-point scoring methodology. Here's what we found.

🏆 Quick Verdict

Winner: ClickUp

ClickUp edges out Trello with a higher overall score.

📊 Score Comparison

Trello

91
BUY
VS

ClickUp

92
BUY

📈 Detailed Score Breakdown

Category Trello ClickUp Winner
Value/Price (30pts) 28/30 28/30 Tie
Competitive Moat (25pts) 21/25 22/25 ClickUp
Transparency (20pts) 19/20 19/20 Tie
UI/UX (15pts) 14/15 14/15 Tie
Tech Maturity (10pts) 9/10 9/10 Tie

✅ Pros & Cons

Trello

Strengths

  • Highly accessible entry point with generous free tier
  • Extensive third-party integration ecosystem
  • Robust cross-platform availability
  • Advanced automation capabilities included in all plans

Weaknesses

  • Critical productivity views restricted to high-cost tiers
  • Hidden costs for enterprise-grade security
  • AI features are gated behind Premium subscriptions

ClickUp

Strengths

  • Highly aggressive and competitive pricing model
  • Strong enterprise-grade security and compliance posture
  • Transparent and user-centric billing policy for AI usage
  • Modern and professional visual design system
  • Robust technical reliability and uptime commitment

Weaknesses

  • Critical enterprise security features are gated behind the highest tier
  • Potential for significant platform complexity and feature bloat
  • Opaque pricing for Enterprise-level requirements

🏰 Competitive Moat Analysis

Trello

Trello's moat is primarily driven by its massive user base and the 'Power-Up' marketplace, which creates significant switching costs through workflow integration. As an Atlassian product, it benefits from deep integration with Jira and Confluence, making it a default choice for technical and non-technical cross-functional teams.

ClickUp

ClickUp's moat is built on high switching costs through its 'all-in-one' ecosystem strategy. By consolidating tasks, docs, chat, and AI agents into a single platform, they create a 'sticky' environment where data gravity makes migration difficult. Their recent pivot into 'Super Agents' and 'Connected Search' further strengthens this moat by positioning the platform as the central intelligence layer for company data, rather than just a project management tool.

🎯 Our Recommendation

Choose Trello if: Trello offers an industry-leading value proposition with a highly generous free tier and competitive scaling for enterprises, backed by the robust Atlassian ecosystem....

Choose ClickUp if: ClickUp demonstrates an exceptional value-to-feature ratio, offering a comprehensive all-in-one productivity suite at a price point significantly lower than the combined cost of the point solutions it...

Our Methodology

This audit uses Onyx Protocol's standardized evaluation methodology, scoring products across 5 categories: Value/Price (30pts), Competitive Moat (25pts), Transparency (20pts), UI/UX (15pts), and Technical Maturity (10pts). Each category is assessed based on publicly available information.

  • This analysis is based on publicly available information at time of audit
  • Pricing and features are subject to change
  • Individual use cases may have different requirements
  • Not a substitute for hands-on evaluation or free trial

Last updated: January 03, 2026. Scores may change as products evolve.