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Microsoft Project Server vs Trello comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.1
Microsoft Project Server offers positive ROI, varying by organization type, with benefits of time savings and improved reporting.
Sentiment score
4.5
Trello's free version enhances workflow efficiency by improving organization, reducing miscommunication, and saving time, boosting productivity 20-30%.
Microsoft Project provides significant return on investment through time savings, enhanced visibility, real-time reporting, and risk mitigation for projects.
Project Manager at Digital Research Alliance of Canada
The efficiency gain is not from a formal measurement tool but from observed reductions in coordination time, fewer delays, and smoother task tracking across semester-long projects.
Research Assistant at a university with 10,001+ employees
Sometimes we can have a back-and-forth conversation in the comments, which helps minimize some meetings.
VP Product at PeerSpot
I think it actually pretty much exceeded our expectations or at least met all of our expectations regarding task management and sprint management.
CEO at Infohob
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.4
Microsoft Project Server support is decent but inconsistent; users rely on external resources and partners for comprehensive assistance.
Sentiment score
2.4
Trello users often bypass tech support due to its ease, while support experiences vary from effective to slow.
It's challenging to navigate, often making it necessary to search for solutions externally.
Project Manager at Digital Research Alliance of Canada
Their support tends to decline when not supporting cloud solutions.
Managing Director at Knights Innovation Support Centre
Communication with two people, one was knowledgeable while the other was learning.
Independent Business Consultant at Freelance
I tried to reach out to get answers before or even look on the web community support for things, such as the out-of-office notifications, without finding answers.
Senior Content Strategist at PeerSpot
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Project Server is scalable for large projects, though performance may vary based on version and infrastructure costs.
Sentiment score
5.9
Trello is praised for scalability and flexibility, but faces limitations with larger projects and could better serve larger teams.
The desktop version does not have scalability.
Independent Business Consultant at Freelance
Microsoft Project Server is fully scalable and is widely used in many industries.
Project Manager at Marvell Technology Group
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft Project Server is stable and robust, with minor delays, improved in newer versions, especially the cloud version.
Sentiment score
6.9
Trello is highly regarded for its stability and reliability, with users praising its consistent performance despite occasional slowdowns.
I have never had to reach out to their support because the product works as expected.
Project Manager at Digital Research Alliance of Canada
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Project Server requires better integration, customization, user-friendliness, cloud functionality, and agile methodologies to compete with alternatives.
Trello users seek better integrations, advanced analytics, flexible automation, enhanced usability, and more scalable features for complex projects.
Exporting data from Microsoft Project, especially Gantt charts, is overly complex and not user-friendly.
Project Manager at Digital Research Alliance of Canada
The lack of collaboration capabilities on the desktop version, unlike the cloud version, is a limitation.
Independent Business Consultant at Freelance
Microsoft has become increasingly expensive, and there seems to be a push towards cloud solutions which can be challenging for some.
Managing Director at Knights Innovation Support Centre
More control over email notifications would also be helpful.
VP Product at PeerSpot
Currently, notifications flood my inbox, making it hard to differentiate what I actually need to open.
CSM at PeerSpot
It would be beneficial to have a search system that can pull up topics using keywords or AI-driven capabilities, making it easier to find relevant cards.
Customer Success Manager at PeerSpot
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Project Server offers flexible pricing, with on-premise and cloud options, potentially costing enterprises $120,000 to $150,000 annually.
Trello offers a fair pricing model with a valued free version, but some find paid options costly for additional features.
Microsoft Project Server is on the expensive side due to high licensing costs.
Project Manager at Marvell Technology Group
Microsoft's products are expensive for individuals.
Independent Business Consultant at Freelance
Considering the infrastructure commitments to SharePoint and SQL, the implementation costs are low if already set up.
Managing Director at Knights Innovation Support Centre
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Project Server streamlines complex project management with resource allocation, integration, and robust tools for efficient collaboration and scheduling.
Trello optimizes task management with Kanban boards, automation, and collaboration tools, streamlining productivity and facilitating seamless integration.
The Gantt chart is also a very powerful tool for a visual presentation of sequences, critical paths, and execution processes, which simplifies comprehension for users.
Project Manager at Digital Research Alliance of Canada
This setup allows for comprehensive reporting and management across multiple projects and portfolios.
Managing Director at Knights Innovation Support Centre
The dashboards are amazing for data crunching and provide a project focus with upcoming predictions, including burn-up and burn-down charts.
Project Manager at Marvell Technology Group
It replaces ping-ponging emails back and forth with a board where people can follow a task from start to finish and see when it's done.
CSM at PeerSpot
Trello's interface is aesthetically pleasing for project management, and it enhances collaboration with other team members.
Customer Success Manager at PeerSpot
If I had to quantify it, I would say it improved our workflow efficiency by around twenty to thirty percent, mainly because it reduced confusion, duplicate work, and time spent on status updates during meetings.
Research Assistant at a university with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Project Server
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Project Portfolio Management (5th)
Trello
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
Project Management Software (7th)
 

Featured Reviews

Mouloud Fourali - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager at Digital Research Alliance of Canada
Visual project planning enhances collaboration and proactive management
The dependency management in Microsoft Project is highly valuable, as it visually maps dependencies and impacts within a project plan. The online version facilitates easy collaboration without having to share multiple versions of the file. The Gantt chart is also a very powerful tool for a visual presentation of sequences, critical paths, and execution processes, which simplifies comprehension for users.
reviewer2837325 - PeerSpot reviewer
Research Assistant at a university with 10,001+ employees
Visual task boards have structured academic research projects and improve team coordination
There are several areas where Trello could be improved based on our academic research and team project usage. One improvement would be more advanced built-in analytics, such as better progress tracking dashboards or productivity insights without relying on third-party tools. Another area is scalability for complex projects where boards get very large with many cards and dependencies. It can become harder to manage without additional structure or hierarchy features. Overall, it works very well, but these enhancements would make it even stronger for larger or long-term projects. One additional area of improvement in Trello is automation and integrations. While Trello does support basic automation through Butler, more advanced and flexible automation rules would be helpful, especially for academic research workflows where tasks often move between stages in more complex forms. It would help if automation rules were easier to set up and more flexible for different project workflows. Additionally, smoother integrations with tools such as Google Drive or other study applications would save time and reduce switching between platforms. I think one additional improvement for Trello would be support for larger projects with many tasks and team members. As boards grow, they can become crowded and harder to navigate. More advanced filtering, reporting, and project overview features would help users manage complex projects more efficiently.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise33
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business36
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project Server?
The pricing for Microsoft Project Server is standard, around $200-$250, but I think it's actually $80 to $100 per year. The pricing for Microsoft Project Server is relative; I would say it is cheap.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Project Server?
In order to improve Microsoft Project Server, collaborative features could be enhanced, as it is possible to improve it in a collaborative way similar to other office products, for example, using c...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Project Server?
Today, the use cases for Microsoft Project Server are for office tasks, such as writing in Word processors, worksheets in Excel, Word processors with Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft ...
What needs improvement with Trello?
There are several areas where Trello could be improved based on our academic research and team project usage. One improvement would be more advanced built-in analytics, such as better progress trac...
What is your primary use case for Trello?
My primary use case for Trello is project and task management for academic research. I use it to organize research activities, track deadlines, manage project milestones, design tasks with team pro...
 

Also Known As

MS Project Server
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Magnachip, Gwinnett County Schools, CLEAResult, Medbit Oy, Intelbras S.A., ETS, CORE Construction, Keller Foundations
Pixar, Google, PayPal, Kickstarter, National Geographic, Viewbox Holdings
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Project Server vs. Trello and other solutions. Updated: October 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.