Nowadays, there are a lot of productivity apps and software that helps us in organizing our task so that we can work smartly and make our lives more productive. If you happened to look for good productivity apps, then you must have seen the names of Notion and Trello. 

Notion is best known for its flexibility, customization options, and good packages with fair pricing. It is considered to be one of the best productivity apps. However, Trello is also a very popular software well known for its simplicity, collaboration options, and integration. 

Among this two famous software, you might want to know which one is better. This article will help you decide on better software according to your tasks. 

So, let’s find out, is Notion better than Trello or vice versa?

Trello

Since its launch, Trello has been a very popular productivity software. It is a Kanban-style platform that has been upgraded for diverse uses. Its main focus is on versatility and automation. Trello allows its users to organize their tasks creatively with different cards and workflows. This decade-old platform is trusted by millions of people around the world.

Features of Trello 

• Thorough and Quick Overviews of Front/Back Cards
• Progress Meter Checklist
• Card Records Archive
• Activity Logs
• Task Assignment (individual/group)
• Backup
• Information Retrieval
• SSL Data Encryption
• Mobile-Friendly interface
• Easy, Drag-and-Drop and in-line Editing
• Easy Organization with Tags, Labeling and Comments
• Easy Upload 
• File Attachment
• Data Filters
• Deadline Alerts and Notifications
• Automatic Email Notifications
• Developer API
• Customer Support
• Options for Voting 
• Discussions

Benefits of Trello

Easy Editing

As productivity apps are mainly for organizing tasks to save your time so, they do not have to be complicated. Trello makes sure that you can edit task lists easily and in line by using the simplest drag-and-drop mechanism. You can completely customize the task lists that include the metrics in which you are interested and using the automated notifications to keep yourself updated with all changes.

Well-Organized Board

Trello’s developers have made your work easier with the easiest and most user-friendly workflow organization method. Trello offers you the unique Board and Card system for detailed progress views. There are fewer chances of confusion while using Trello because there is a separate board assigned for each project and a separate card for each task. This arranges all assignments in order so that they can be tracked with specific performance lists.

Source: Trello

Collaboration

The special feature that has been observed by many users is Trello’s collaboration system. There are several team features available in Trello’s collaboration system that enable the team members to participate in group discussions or one on one discussions. Also, you can share notes, files of all formats, and comment on tasks and assignments individually. You can upload files directly from your Dropbox, or Google Drive account.

Timeframes

Trello’s Power-Up calendar helps you to prioritize tasks that have shorter deadlines, assign operations at the last minute, and view them depending on their status of completion.

Search Option

Trello stores all relevant discussions and corporate data elegantly in the system for further usage, and back up against failure. There are labels and searching filters in Trello that help you locate the desired file in less time.

Security

One should not be worried about their data while sharing, as Trello is designed with the highest security standards, and uses a bank-level encryption procedure for the security of your data. You can also set permissions, and make your boards private to accessed only by authorized members.

Integrations

As mentioned in the features, Trello works with public developer APIs that enable you to connect your boards with any third-party app/system, plugin, or extension.

Mobile friendly

Trello has a mobile-friendly collaboration system in which you can access data from any device, including Android and iOS operated devices.

Notion

The Notion is a digital workspace that allows small to large businesses to manage notes, projects, tasks, calendars, records, and more. It is relatively a newcomer to productivity platforms as compared to Trello. Notion labels itself as an “all-in-one workspace”. It is a file management tool that allows users to comment on ongoing projects, receive any feedback, and participate in ongoing discussions.

Features of Notion

• API
• Access Controls/Permissions
• Alerts/Notifications
• Approval Process Control
• Collaboration Tools
• Create Subtasks
• Customizable Dashboard and Templates
• Data Import/Export
• Drag & Drop
• File Recovery and Sharing
• Forecasting
• Full-Text Search
• Gantt/Timeline View
• Goal Setting / Tracking
• Guest Access
• Visualization
• Text Editing
• Third-Party Integrations
• Time & Expense Tracking
• Search/Filter
• Self Service Portal

Benefits of Notion

Powerful Note Taking

Notion offers an important feature that is powerful note-taking. You can make notes by adding a list, plain text, sound, videos, code snippets, or whatever you want. This makes the creation of pages or databases quite easy. The rich text formatting enables your team to add comments and take detailed notes.

Tasks and Projects

Notion is a wiki tool.it can be used to assign tasks and create projects for different teams. All the tasks are stored on a Kanban board, so they can easily move around. 

To categorize notes, different folders can also be created within Notion. Task notifications can also be enabled to stay informed of any new developments.

Source: Notion

Templates

User can create their own template for notes in Notion. That is why it is easy to replicate pages in the database and create new pages quickly. 

Multiple Views

Tracking tasks can be difficult for some users because of the Kanban board interface. But there is a to-do list available in Notion that organizes all your tasks. This helps in instant checking off your tasks.

Source: Notion

Comparison between Trello and Notion

Huge Table Features comparison between Trello and Notion

The special features of both the software have already been mentioned. The following table shows the features which are offers by any one of them:

Features	Notion	Trello
Access Controls/Permissions		✔
Activity Dashboard		✔
Automatic Backup		✔
Billing & Invoicing		✔
CRM		✔
Approval Process Control	✔
Archiving & Retention	✔
Client Portal		✔
Collaboration Tools		✔
Cataloging/Categorization	✔
Commenting/Notes		✔
Cost-to-Completion Tracking		✔
Data Synchronization		✔
Desktop Notifications		✔
Document Capture	✔
Document Classification	✔
Document Generation	✔
Discussions / Forums		✔
Due Date Tracking		✔
Email Invitations & Reminders		✔
Email-to-Task Conversion		✔
Employee Activity Monitoring		✔
File Recovery	✔
Forecasting	✔
Full Text Search	✔
Financial Management		✔
Graphical Workflow Editor		✔
Issue Tracking		✔
KPI Monitoring		✔
Live Chat		✔
Meeting Management		✔
Messaging		✔
Offline Access	✔
Productivity Analysis	✔
Multiple Projects		✔
Percent-Complete Tracking		✔
Planning Tools		✔
Polls/Voting		✔
Process Change Tracking		✔
Project Tracking		✔
Push Notifications	✔
Self Service Portal	✔
Real Time Data\ Notifications\ Chat\Updates		✔
Recurring Tasks		✔
Remote Access/Control		✔
Remote Support		✔
Resource Request		✔
SSL Security		✔
Secure Data Storage		✔
Skills Tracking		✔
Status Tracking		✔
Templates		✔
Version Control	✔
Visualization	✔
Visual Workflow Management		✔

Trello offers many features that are not present in Notion. No doubt that Trello is kept updated with the requirement of time. 

Pricing Comparison between Trello and Notion

Source: Trello

Trello Offers three Packages

Free: You can start for work free with limited features.

Business Class: For businesses with multiple projects.

Enterprise: For 20 or more than 20 users with the average price per user is $210.

Further features are:

Free	Business Class	Enterprise
Unlimited cards	Everything in Free, plus:	Organization-wide permissions
Unlimited members	Unlimited boards	Organization visible boards
Up to 10 boards	Unlimited Power-Ups	Public board management
1 Power-Up per board	Dashboard view	Multi-board guests
Unlimited storage (10MB/file)	Timeline view	Attachment permissions
50 automated command runs	Workspace Table view	Power-Up administration
Unlimited activity log	Calendar view	Unlimited automated command runs
Assignee and due dates	Advanced checklists
iOS and Android mobile apps	Map view
2-factor authentication	Unlimited storage (250MB/file)
	Admin and security features
	Workspace-level templates
	Collections
	Observers
	Single board guests
	Custom backgrounds and stickers
	Saved searches
	Priority support
	Google Apps sign-on
	Simple data export

Notion offers four packages. The additional package is personal pro in which one can have special features without the need for a team or organization.

Source: Notion 

The Personal Pro package is a good offer by Notion. Also, the price of other packages is quite reasonable. Whereas, Trello is high on its rates just like its high on its features.

Ease of Use

As mentioned in the features of Trello, it is quite straightforward to use. You can quickly create tasks and projects with its simple Kanban-style boards. The task cards can be easily dragged along differently as the project progresses. That is why tracking multiple projects is much easier when you are using Trello.

Multiple tasks can also be performed by Notion in different ways but much pre-planning is required for setting up each board. Tracking of workflow is also difficult in Notion. So, you can perform your task in time if you are planning through Trello instead of Notion.

Flexibility

Trello provides visual flexibility to its users. Its interface is very user-friendly. You can moves cards from one place to another throughout the workflow. However, it comes with only one view. You cannot change its interface display unless you install Power-Ups.

Whereas, Notion provides more flexibility. One can change the board-view, design custom templates, keep track of your activities and take notes. One can also create databases and perform calculations in Notion.

Collaboration

Collaboration through Trello is quite easy because of its intuitive interface. Other team members can be invited to the boards that make the process of assigning tasks much faster. Every team member gets a notification about any change in workflow and also reminders about upcoming deadlines. 

The Notion also provides tools for adding team members and collaborating on different tasks. But it does not have the notifications of changes and reminders of deadlines. So, Trello is a strong competitor as far as collaboration is concerned. And for teamwork, Trello is a more effective platform.

Customization

In Trello, your cards can be customized using a special Power-up. But it allows limited customization. However, in Notion, you have more options for customization. These options are different blocks, databases, embed data, import media files, and design the page with different backgrounds.

So, Notion wins the category of customization. But learning the customization in notion may take some time.

Integrations

In the Power-ups section of Trello, there is a long list of apps and integrations that can be used. With  Trello, you can integrate Social media platforms, CRM, Google Products, and a number of other marketing tools.

On the other hand, Notion offers integrations with only a few applications. So, Trello is much far in integration than Notion.

Integration	Trello	Notion
APIANT	Yes
Dropbox Business	Yes
GitHub	Yes	Yes
Gmail	Yes
Google Calendar	Yes
Google Drive	Yes	Yes
Jira	Yes
Salesforce Sales Cloud	Yes
Slack	Yes	Yes

Based on the reviews of some users, the following comparison is made

Support	Notion	Trello
Email/Help Desk	Yes	Yes
FAQs/Forum	Yes	Yes
Knowledge Base	Yes	Yes
Phone Support	Yes	No
24/7 (Live Rep)	Yes	No
Chat	Yes	Yes

Platform	Notion	Trello
Windows	Yes	Yes
iOS	Yes	Yes
Android	Yes	Yes
Linux	No	No
MacOS	Yes	Yes
Web	Yes	Yes

On Google Play Store, Trello is rated 4.5/5 with 102,000 reviews. Notion is rated 4.4/5 with 26,000 reviews. 

Bottom line: Trello vs. Notion

Summary	Better App
Feature	Trello
Pricing	Notion
Ease of use	Trello
Collaboration	Trello
Customization	Notion
integration	Trello
Flexibility	Notion

You have gone through the detailed overview of Trello and Notion. Which one is better, depends upon its use.

Is Notion Better than Trello? Yes. If you have some experience of using such software and you have to use them in the future for personal use then Notion is better for you because it’s relatively cheaper.

If you are a beginner and want to use the software for personal use then go for the free version of Trello because it’s easy to use.

If you have to work with big organizations and teams, go for the business or enterprise version of Trello because Trello is quick and good at collaborating.

References

Trello Reviews: Pricing, Benefits And Features Analysis

https://www.makeuseof.com/notion-vs-trello-productivity-app/

https://clickup.com/blog/notion-app-review/#notion-features

https://nicklafferty.com/blog/why-notion-is-the-best-productivity-app-of-2020/