Kanboard vs Trello

Kanboard

• Teams that want a kanban board on a server they control
• Organizations that sign in through LDAP, Active Directory or OAuth2
• People who prefer a deliberately small feature set

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

Kanboard

• There is no hosted version: you install and maintain it yourself, which needs PHP 8.1 or later, a web server and a database.
• The project is in maintenance mode; the main developer makes only small fixes, and releases depend on community contributions.
• There is no official mobile app. The web interface is responsive, but the docs say the board is not practical on small screens.
• Gantt charts, a calendar and Slack or GitHub connections come from separately installed plugins, which the project does not review.

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.

Kanboard

Kanban board with WIP limits

Tasks are dragged between columns that can be added, renamed or removed at any time. A column that goes over its task limit is highlighted.

Tasks and subtasks

Tasks are described in Markdown and carry comments, attachments, a category, a color, an assignee and a due date. Subtasks hold time or complexity estimates.

Search and filters

A query language finds tasks by assignee, description, category or due date, and custom filters can be applied to the board.

Automatic actions

Per-project rules react to events such as a task moving to a column, then close the task or change its assignee, color or category.

Time tracking

Tasks and subtasks record estimated and spent hours. A subtask timer logs the time between status changes and adds it to the task's total.

Project analytics

Each project has a cumulative flow diagram, a burndown chart based on story points, and reports on average lead and cycle time.

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.

Kanboard

• Kanboard$0

  The complete application, installed on your own Linux, FreeBSD or Windows server with SQLite, MySQL, MariaDB or PostgreSQL.

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.

Kanboard

No public discounts listed.

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.