Ready to get organised?  Here is a quick Trello vs Asana comparison to help you choose a system to help your productivity levels.

If you follow me on any of my social channels you will know that I am all about getting focused and un-muddling your life. It’s not just about business success, it’s also to clear headspace. I want you to have more time to focus on things that are important to you, whether that be family and caring responsibilities or pursuing your passions.  

Many of us business owners have multiple things on the go, with a side-hustle to the side-hustle along with our personal life. It can be easy to lose track of what we need to be doing to move our projects forward.

Some of the tools out there can take some of the muddle out of your head and put it into a cohesive order.  I have used a few of these systems and thought I would do a quick comparison of two of the leading tools Trello vs Asana.

Trello Overview – Ideal system for visual learners

Trello is a card-based task management system which is based on the Japanese Kanban methodology.  In Japanese, the word “Kan” means “visual” and “ban” means “card,” so Kanban refers to visual cards.  Another way to think about them is like online post-it notes.  If you can picture the basic scene there would be three boards “To Do” “In Progress” “Done” and you can move the cards along the boards as tasks are completed.  

In reality different boards are set up by project or focus area which could be anything from “launch new campaign” through to “holiday childcare” 

Trello is a very visual way of un-cluttering your mind and showing progress as a project moves through various stages. You can have several different boards for all sorts of things to keep your projects and ideas organised. 

Pros

• Easy to use and get to grips with, but lots more to do with it as your business develops
• Visual and able to attach lots of information to the front of cards, meaning you can see things at a glance.
• Gold version means you get extra features for only $5 a month, and lets you automate a whole bunch of stuff with a tool called Butler!

Cons

• Easy to all of a sudden have a million boards with no way to check them!
• It can look too busy for some, so may be overwhelming.
• Communication is not the easiest, and things can get confusing if you don’t get a good system in place to make sure everyone uses a board in the same way.

Perfect for visual people who like to see things at a glance and make it look great too!

Think of it like the a ring binger planner, gone digital, which you’d fill with notes and stickers if you wanted to. Or the Pinterest of organisational tools!

Asana overview – love a list?  This one is for you

Asana also has a simple clear UI and is a task-based system built around projects which then have tasks below them. Visually it is also clear and easy to use but probably has a more traditional linear feel. This makes it more ‘tick-able’ so definitely great for clients who need to see what’s coming next.

You can also do the Kanban style boards with the boards option in Asana too.

If you have project dependencies where things need to happen before the next part can start, you can set this up on Asana quite easily and if a project is quite complex this is probably the right system to use. It’s great for using with clients 

Pricing is similar for both systems, with a free version that can then be upgraded to use either more licences or a more feature-rich version. 

Pros

• Easy to follow list style interface that lets you or clients easily tick items
• ‘Cleaner’ lists but still with the ability to attach documents and comment on individual tasks within them, as well as add subtasks.
• Easily get or send email alerts from the project.   

Cons

• Can be harder to copy and invite people into the projects you’re working on, as there are different sections, and depending on whether you’re invited to someone’s project, or you invite them to yours, it can get a little muddled. Still the best client option in my opinion though.
• Not as easy to visually tell the difference between tasks

Perfect if you need something in a straight list and don’t want visual decoration or distractions.

Think a good old-fashioned notebook with lists – pimped up and made digital.

So, not much in it, but which is it, Trello vs Asana, can you guess which way I will go?!

For me as a creative, Trello is the system that I prefer as I am a visual designer, I enjoy setting up my own cards and seeing the whole picture, I found it quick and easy to get started. I love it so much I created a whole template shop 😜.

I find that it’s a real time-saver as I don’t have to continually re-write lists, I can just drag and drop tasks along as they progress.  It’s so easy to move my cards along as I complete an action and I have set my account up to sync to my calendar.

I can label my tasks in order of priority and also with my other focus task which is whether my task is to “grow” my business or “maintain” it.

BUT I do actually use both systems, so my personal recommendation is to use both if you have clients that you need to collaborate with, use Asana for them, and Trello for you. I use…

Asana – project management with clients, link it with Dubsado and Trello, all external facing.

Trello – home and business planning, weekly to-do’s and all internal stuff.

So you can also use Trello and Asana together if you’d like to. Check out the links you can make with Zapier to get an idea of how that could work for you.

Still can’t choose?

Ultimately, Trello Vs Asana, whichever you choose (or another tool altogether) it’s got to be right for you, so give it a go, spend some time trying them out and getting a feel for them, then make your decision.

If you want to start with a bang, why don’t you try one of the templates in the Trello template shop.