Kan vs Trello

Kan

• Individuals who want a free, minimal kanban board
• Teams leaving Trello that want to bring their boards along
• Organizations that prefer to self-host open-source software

Trello

• Individuals and small teams that plan work on kanban boards
• Groups of up to 10 collaborators sharing a free Workspace
• Teams already using Jira or other Atlassian products

Kan

• The free cloud plan is for one user; workspace members, assignees and mentions need Teams at $8 per user / month billed yearly.
• Free cloud workspaces are limited to 10 MB file uploads and limited API access.
• No mobile or desktop apps are listed; Kan runs in the browser.
• SAML SSO, an SLA and an account manager are Enterprise only.

Trello

• The Free plan is capped at 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, with 10MB per file.
• Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views are only on Premium and Enterprise.
• AI features and full Planner access start on the Standard plan.
• The Enterprise price is an estimate that depends on user count, and the plan is billed annually.

Kan

Kanban boards

Drag-and-drop boards made of lists and cards. Boards, lists and cards are unlimited on every plan, including the free one.

Card details

Cards carry labels, checklists and a comment thread, and an activity log records every change. Filters and search help find cards on a board.

Board visibility and templates

Each board has a visibility setting that controls who can view and edit it, and custom board templates can be saved for reuse.

Trello import

Existing Trello boards can be imported on every plan, following a step-by-step guide in the documentation.

REST API and MCP server

A REST API covers boards, lists, cards and workspaces. An MCP server lets AI clients such as Claude Desktop control boards; its hosted endpoint needs a paid workspace.

Self-hosting

The AGPL-3.0 code can be run on your own infrastructure with Docker Compose and PostgreSQL, or deployed from an official Railway template.

Trello

Boards, lists and cards

Work is laid out as cards in lists on a board. Cards are unlimited on every plan; the Free plan allows up to 10 boards per Workspace.

Inbox

Captures to-dos from email, Slack and other sources into a personal Inbox. It is included on the Free plan.

Planner

Brings a synced calendar into Trello so blocks of focus time can be set aside for work. Full Planner access starts on the Standard plan.

Automation

Built-in automation is metered by Workspace command runs: 250 a month on Free, 1,000 on Standard and unlimited on Premium.

Premium views

Premium adds Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views, including Workspace-level views that span boards.

Power-Ups and integrations

Power-Ups link boards to other tools, with unlimited Power-Ups per board on every plan. An MCP server connects Trello to AI tools.

Kan

• Free$0

  1 user with unlimited boards and cards, checklists, labels and filters, board templates and Trello import. 10 MB file uploads.

• Teams$8

  per user / month, billed yearly; $10 billed monthly

  Adds workspace members, assignees, mentions with email notifications, invite links, a custom workspace URL, unlimited file uploads and full API access.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Adds SAML SSO, advanced admin controls, a dedicated account manager, a custom SLA and an on-premise deployment option.

Trello

• Free$0

  Up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, unlimited cards and Power-Ups, and 250 command runs a month.

• Standard$5

  per user / month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly)

  Unlimited boards, AI features, full Planner, card mirroring, custom fields, 250MB per file and 1,000 command runs a month.

• Premium$10

  per user / month, billed annually ($12.50 billed monthly)

  Adds Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views, unlimited command runs, and admin and security controls.

• Enterprise$17.50

  per user / month, billed annually ($210 per user a year)

  Estimated price that depends on user count. Adds unlimited Workspaces, organization-wide permissions and Atlassian Guard Standard.

Kan

• Annual discount

  20% less with yearly billing

  Teams costs $8 per user a month on yearly billing against $10 per user billed monthly, which works out to a 20% saving.

• Other savings

  Free to self-host

  Kan's FAQ says the software can be self-hosted on your own infrastructure free of charge; the paid cloud plans fund the project.

Trello

• Annual discount

  Lower per-user price with annual billing

  Standard is $5 per user / month billed annually against $6 monthly (about 17% less), and Premium is $10 against $12.50 (20% less).

• Nonprofit

  Atlassian nonprofit discount covers Trello

  Trello's pricing FAQ confirms a nonprofit community discount. Atlassian's nonprofit program lists 50-100% off its apps, Trello included, for eligible organizations.

• Education

  50% off for academic institutions

  Atlassian's licensing page lists academic licenses at 50% off Trello Standard, Premium and Enterprise, and classroom licenses for students and teachers at 75% off Standard and Premium.