Is Trello Free? Free Plan Limits & When to Upgrade (2026)
Yes, Trello has a free plan. But it is significantly more limited than when Trello launched. Free now caps you at 10 boards per workspace, 250 Butler automations/month, and board-only views. Here is everything you need to know.
What Trello Free Includes
- Unlimited cards across all boards
- Up to 10 boards per workspace
- Unlimited Power-Up integrations
- 250 Butler automation runs per month
- Board view (Kanban)
- 10 MB file attachment limit
- iOS and Android mobile apps
- Activity log (limited history)
- 2-factor authentication
What Trello Free Does NOT Include
- More than 10 boards per workspace
- Timeline (Gantt) view
- Calendar view
- Dashboard view
- More than 250 automations per month
- Custom fields
- Advanced checklists with due dates
- Guest access controls
- Admin and security features
- SSO / SAML authentication
- Priority or dedicated support
How Atlassian Changed the Free Plan
A timeline of how Trello's free tier evolved from unlimited everything to today's restricted version.
2011
Trello launches at TechCrunch Disrupt. Completely free with no limits. Unlimited boards, unlimited users, unlimited everything. The product grows virally to millions of users.
2016
Trello introduces Business Class ($9.99/user/month) and Trello Gold ($5/month) as premium tiers. The free plan remains unchanged and generous. Revenue model established.
2017
Atlassian acquires Trello for $425 million. At this point, Trello has 19 million registered users. Atlassian begins integrating Trello into its product suite alongside Jira and Confluence.
2019
Free tier capped at 10 open boards per workspace. This is the first major restriction. Teams that had grown to 20+ boards are forced to close boards or upgrade. Significant user backlash.
2021
Trello introduces a completely new tier structure: Free, Standard ($5), Premium ($10), Enterprise ($17.50). Butler automation limits are set at 250/month for free users. The old Business Class plan is retired.
2023
Standard plan monthly billing increases to $6/user/month (annual stays $5). Automation limits remain unchanged. Free plan gets no additional features.
2024-2026
Current pricing locked in. Free plan unchanged since 2021. Atlassian focuses Enterprise sales and Trello-Jira integration. No indication of further free tier improvements.
5 Signs You Need to Upgrade from Trello Free
If any of these sound familiar, it is time to consider a paid plan or an alternative tool.
1You have hit the 10-board limit
If your team uses more than 10 boards for different projects, departments, or clients, you have no choice but to upgrade. Standard ($5/user/month) gives you unlimited boards. Consider whether consolidating boards or archiving old ones could keep you under the limit first.
2You need Timeline or Calendar views
Board view (Kanban) is the only view available on Free. If your team needs to see tasks on a timeline (Gantt chart), calendar, or dashboard, you need Premium ($10/user/month). Standard does not include these views either, so this is a jump from $0 to $10/user.
3Butler automation limit is restricting your workflow
With 250 runs per month, you will hit the limit quickly if you have multiple boards with automations. A single board with 5 automations triggering 10 times a day uses 50 runs/day (1,500/month). Standard gives you 1,000 runs/month; Premium gives you unlimited.
4You need custom fields for tracking
Custom fields let you add metadata to cards like priority levels, cost estimates, or status dropdowns. They are not available on Free. Standard includes custom fields, making it the minimum viable plan for teams that need structured data on their boards.
5You need guest access or admin controls
The Free plan has very limited guest access and no real admin controls. If you need to invite external collaborators to specific boards while keeping the rest of your workspace private, or if you need to manage team permissions, you need at least Standard.
Free Alternatives With More Features
If Trello Free is too limited but you are not ready to pay, these alternatives offer more on their free plans.
ClickUp Free
- Unlimited tasks and projects (no board limit)
- 100 automation runs/month
- Multiple views including List, Board, Calendar
- Built-in docs and whiteboards
- 100 MB storage
Notion Free
- Unlimited pages and blocks
- Database views (Kanban, Table, Calendar, Gallery)
- Collaboration for individuals
- 5 MB file uploads
- API access
Asana Personal (Free)
- Up to 15 team members
- Unlimited tasks and projects
- List, Board, and Calendar views
- Basic dashboards
- Time tracking