True cost comparison — not just what the pricing page says
Quick Verdict
Trello saves you 50%
Best for Trello
All-in-one project management with docs, whiteboards, and goals. Free plan is generous but paid plan
Best for ClickUp
Atlassian's visual Kanban board tool. Free plan is limited by Power-Up restrictions, automation caps
Atlassian's visual Kanban board tool. Free plan is limited by Power-Up restricti...
Advertised
$5
/month
True Cost
$20
/month (typical)
Power-Up Limit on Free
Free plan allows only 1 Power-Up per board. Need Slack + Google Drive + Calendar? That is 3 Power-Up...
Automation Command Caps
Free: 250 command runs/mo. Standard: 1,000. Premium: 6,000. Complex automations burn through limits ...
View Restrictions
Dashboard, Timeline, Calendar, and Map views require Premium at $10/user/mo. Free and Standard only ...
10MB Attachment Limit on Free
Free plan caps file attachments at 10MB per file. Standard allows 250MB. Teams sharing design files,...
All-in-one project management with docs, whiteboards, and goals. Free plan is ge...
Advertised
$10
/month
True Cost
$37
/month (typical)
Per-Seat Multiplication
10 users × $7/mo = $70/mo, not $7/mo. Per-seat pricing makes team growth expensive. The headline '$7...
AI Brain Add-on
ClickUp Brain AI is a SEPARATE add-on: $9/user/mo (1,500 credits) or $28/user/mo (5,000 credits). NO...
60MB Storage on Free
Free plan has only 60MB total storage — the most restrictive of any PM tool. A few file attachments ...
Automation Cap on Business
Business plan caps at 5,000 automations/month. No published overage rate — automations stop. Enterpr...
$7/mo annual
$12/mo annual
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission
ClickUp advertises $10/mo. Trello advertises $5/mo.
ClickUp has 4 documented hidden fees. Trello has 4.
ClickUp confidence: 76%. Trello confidence: 80%.
| Metric | Trello | ClickUp | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertised Price | $5/mo | $10/mo | Trello |
| True Monthly Cost | $20/mo | $37/mo | Trello |
| Hidden Fee Total | +$15/mo | +$27/mo | Trello |
| # Hidden Fees | 4 | 4 | Trello |
| Confidence Score | 80% | 76% | Trello |
| Pricing Tiers | 4 | 4 | — |
| Affiliate Program | No public affiliate program | 20% recurring | — |
Try the tool that fits your needs. Both offer free trials or free tiers.
Trello advertises $5/mo and ClickUp advertises $10/mo. However, when you include hidden fees, Trello has 4 documented hidden fees adding +$15/mo, while ClickUp has 4 hidden fees adding +$27/mo. Based on true cost, Trello is typically 50% cheaper.
Trello has 4 documented hidden fees: Power-Up Limit on Free, Automation Command Caps, View Restrictions, 10MB Attachment Limit on Free. These add approximately +$15/mo on top of the $5/mo advertised price.
ClickUp has 4 documented hidden fees: Per-Seat Multiplication, AI Brain Add-on, 60MB Storage on Free, Automation Cap on Business. These add approximately +$27/mo on top of the $10/mo advertised price.
Choose Trello if: All-in-one project management with docs, whiteboards, and goals. Free plan is generous but paid plan. Choose ClickUp if: Atlassian's visual Kanban board tool. Free plan is limited by Power-Up restrictions, automation caps. The right choice depends on your team size, usage volume, and which features you need most.
This comparison is based on manual research of official pricing pages, terms of service, and user reports. Trello data has a 80% confidence score and ClickUp has 76%. Prices were last verified in April 2026. For the most accurate estimate, enter your specific usage in our calculator.
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