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Microsoft Project vs Trello comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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
7.0
Microsoft Project improves efficiency and transparency, reduces costs, and consolidates tools, providing significant financial and time savings.
Sentiment score
4.5
Trello's free version enhances workflow efficiency by improving organization, reducing miscommunication, and saving time, boosting productivity 20-30%.
If I can eliminate delays, I achieve good ROI because resources can be utilized to their maximum capacity.
Domain Consultant at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Microsoft Project does help save time and money due to its completeness as a project management solution.
Principal: Cyber Security, Information Security Management, Data Privacy at Astrum
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
6.4
Microsoft Project's technical support is mixed; users value resource documentation, but some experience delays and expert accessibility issues.
Sentiment score
2.4
Trello users often bypass tech support due to its ease, while support experiences vary from effective to slow.
Currently, there are more support personnel who speak English, and Microsoft has increased its Spanish language support compared to previous years.
Desarrollo de negocios at SEGEN GROUP SAS
There is a website and a connection to AI for support.
Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
I would give somewhere around 10 for my overall experience with support.
Associate Director at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
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
6.9
Microsoft Project is scalable, supports various project sizes and needs, but requires understanding for adaptation and licensing considerations.
Sentiment score
5.9
Trello is praised for scalability and flexibility, but faces limitations with larger projects and could better serve larger teams.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Project is stable and reliable but may face challenges with large projects and complex dependencies.
Sentiment score
6.9
Trello is highly regarded for its stability and reliability, with users praising its consistent performance despite occasional slowdowns.
Microsoft Project is a stable tool, and when using it in different projects, it works perfectly.
Desarrollo de negocios at SEGEN GROUP SAS
Microsoft Project is a stable product.
Domain Consultant at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
I would rate the stability of Microsoft Project as an eight out of ten.
Project Lead at ABB
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Project requires enhanced intuitiveness, integration, agile support, user-friendliness, training resources, licensing flexibility, and cost-effective collaboration tools.
Trello users seek better integrations, advanced analytics, flexible automation, enhanced usability, and more scalable features for complex projects.
The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing.
Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
It would be beneficial to see enhanced reporting functionalities in future versions.
Project Lead at ABB
Microsoft Project tends to become very unstable on large project plans with more than 400 lines.
Principal: Cyber Security, Information Security Management, Data Privacy at Astrum
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 offers flexible pricing for cloud and on-premise licenses, starting around $30, with favorable enterprise reviews.
Trello offers a fair pricing model with a valued free version, but some find paid options costly for additional features.
The issue with Microsoft is that the license is per personnel, making it expensive.
Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
I believe it's usually included in the Microsoft 365 package.
Desarrollo de negocios at SEGEN GROUP SAS
Microsoft Project is affordable, but the standalone Project license should be included in the Office price to increase adoption.
Domain Consultant at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Project offers a familiar interface, robust tools, and integrations enhancing project management through scheduling, tracking, and collaboration.
Trello optimizes task management with Kanban boards, automation, and collaboration tools, streamlining productivity and facilitating seamless integration.
This tool is the most accurate project management tool, allowing me to run a full set of project activities without having to switch between different tools for scheduling and other tasks.
Principal: Cyber Security, Information Security Management, Data Privacy at Astrum
The collaboration features are valuable for controlling the project and transmitting information to other team members when working in a team.
Desarrollo de negocios at SEGEN GROUP SAS
The most valuable features are in the successor and predecessor determination and the tracking tools, such as obtaining data on the S curve financial curve.
Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
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
Ranking in Project Management Software
7th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Trello
Ranking in Project Management Software
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Microsoft Project is 2.0%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trello is 1.9%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Management Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Trello1.9%
Microsoft Project2.0%
Other96.1%
Project Management Software
 

Featured Reviews

Jacob-George - PeerSpot reviewer
Domain Consultant at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Improved project scheduling has maximized resource utilization and has reduced delays
I think the licensing structure presents a significant area for improvement. The full features are not offered on the standard E4 license. This becomes problematic when distributing the project plan. I can export the plan as Excel and CSV files, but then I lose all the rich features, including dependency mapping. To recreate all that functionality without proper licensing is challenging. Microsoft Project offers a light version available for free, but when I try to distribute a project plan, it requires separate licensing. Microsoft Project Central used to be more of an enterprise product. Microsoft Project currently focuses on very low-level task management, and it could do much more. I do not see significant advancement happening because there is confusion about where Microsoft Project is heading. I believe Microsoft should bundle the license with Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This approach would result in more people using Microsoft Project. That is my opinion on how to improve adoption and the product offering.
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
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
6%
Construction Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise42
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business36
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

Has anyone moved from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet? How has your experience been with Smartsheet?
Hi @Eire Zimmermann, I helped an organization evaluate both MS-Project and Smartsheet when they were conducting their PM tool RFP. The short of it is this, MS Project is not caught up with the mo...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project?
I would say Microsoft Project is affordable, but the standalone Project license should be included in the Office price to increase adoption.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Project?
I am not expert enough to explain areas of improvement for Microsoft Project because I have not explored it extensively or used it enough, so I am not the right person to comment on this. I have no...
What needs improvement with Trello?
Maybe some AI enhancements would be beneficial, but in terms of how we use Trello here, a lot of people seem to be really happy with Trello and that is always the go-to. Most people will just immed...
What is your primary use case for Trello?
I mostly do software development. I am building a SaaS platform for business process automation, so I mostly work with software now. That is why Trello is mentioned. I am not working much with netw...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Project Pro, MS Project
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aston Martin, ABANCA, Airbus Group, Capita, Cardiff University, City of Saskatoon, Intel, Pegasus Airlines, South Australia Power Network (SAPN), Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing
Pixar, Google, PayPal, Kickstarter, National Geographic, Viewbox Holdings
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Project vs. Trello and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
900,644 professionals have used our research since 2012.