How Trello Alternatives Compare for Free: A Complete Comparison (2026)
Trello's free plan is still good, but maybe you're hitting limits or looking for different features. Here's how the top free Trello alternatives compare in 2026.
Why Look for a Trello Alternative?
People usually look for Trello alternatives for one of these reasons:
- You've hit the 10-board limit on the free plan
- You need more advanced features like timeline view or Gantt charts for free
- You prefer open source and self-hosting
- You don't like the direction Trello has taken with pricing changes
- You need more than 10MB per file attachment
Top Free Trello Alternatives
1. ClickUp
Free plan: Unlimited everything (tasks, projects, members)
ClickUp gives you unlimited boards on the free plan — that's already better than Trello. You get multiple views: list, board, timeline, calendar. The main downside is that the interface can be overwhelming for new users.
Best for: Teams that need unlimited boards for free and don't mind complexity.
2. Notion
Free plan: Unlimited pages, unlimited boards via database
Notion is completely customizable — you can build a kanban board exactly how you want it, and mix it with documentation and notes. The free plan is generous for small teams. If you're already using Notion for notes, it makes sense to manage projects there too.
Best for: Teams that want all-in-one workspace (notes + docs + project management).
3. KanbanFlow
Free plan: One board, unlimited tasks
If you just need one simple kanban board, KanbanFlow gives you that for free with built-in time tracking. It's lightweight and fast. The one-board limit is fine if you're a solo worker or small team working on one main project.
Best for: Solo developers or single-project teams that want simplicity.
4. WeKan
Free: Open source, completely free when self-hosted
WeKan is a pure open-source kanban board. It has all the core features you expect: member assignments, due dates, swimlanes, labels. If you can host it yourself, it's completely free with no limits.
Best for: Technical teams that want open source and self-hosting.
5. GitHub Projects
Free: Unlimited for public and private GitHub repos
If your team already uses GitHub for code, GitHub Projects integrates seamlessly. It's a basic kanban board that links directly to your issues and pull requests. Perfect for software development projects.
Best for: Software development teams already using GitHub.
Feature Comparison Table
| Tool | Free Boards | Team Members | Self-hostable |
|---|---|---|---|
| ClickUp | Unlimited | Unlimited | No |
| Notion | Unlimited | Unlimited | No |
| KanbanFlow | 1 | Unlimited | No |
| WeKan | Unlimited | Unlimited | Yes |
| GitHub Projects | Unlimited | Unlimited | No |
Our Recommendation
If you're hitting Trello's 10-board limit and want a free alternative:
- Most small teams: Go with ClickUp — unlimited everything for free
- Notion users: Just use Notion databases — you already have it
- Open source fans: WeKan is the best fully open-source option
- Development teams: GitHub Projects integrates perfectly with your workflow
All the options here have solid free plans that you can start using today. You don't need to pay for project management as a small team in 2026 — there are plenty of quality free options available.