Trello alternatives for when boards stop telling you what's next
Three Trello alternatives for people who want a daily plan, not only a board, with fair trade-offs, official prices and how to export your boards first.
Free during early access · no card needed
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The short answer
Trello makes work visible with boards, lists and cards, and the free plan goes a long way. People look elsewhere when a board shows everything but not what to do today, or when they want habits and a timer next to their tasks. Here are three options with different strengths, and how to take your boards with you.
1. Thendoo
Free during early access; paid plans come later
Best for: People who like seeing work on a board but need one calm Today view that puts tasks next to meetings, habits and bills.
Strengths
- Board view sits next to List, Table and Timeline views, so a Trello habit of moving cards still works.
- Today shows your Google Calendar meetings, time blocks and a Top 3 card, with free slots you can drag tasks into.
- Capture with ⌘K or Ctrl+K reads dates, times,
- Missed tasks show as Carried over, never as a red overdue pile.
Trade-offs
- Imports a board's JSON export, but comments and members stay in Trello.
- Single-user only, with no shared boards or guests.
- No native phone app yet; it runs in the browser and can be added to a phone's home screen. Reminders only pop up while a Thendoo tab is open.
Best for: People who want a personal list with a kanban option, plus a habit tracker, on every device.
Strengths
- List and Kanban views are included on the free plan.
- Habit tracking in the same app, with 5 habits on the free plan.
- Cross-platform sync, and several calendar views on Premium.
Trade-offs
- The free plan is capped at 9 lists and 99 tasks per list.
- Premium is sold as a yearly plan.
3. Asana
Free Personal plan; Starter $10.99 per user per month billed yearly, or $13.49 billed monthlysource
Best for: Small teams that like boards but also need lists, calendars and, later, timelines for shared projects.
Strengths
- The free Personal plan includes list, board and calendar views.
- Unlimited tasks and projects on the free plan.
- Timeline and Gantt views on the paid Starter plan.
Trade-offs
- The free Personal plan is for one or two people.
- Built for team projects, so it can feel heavy for a personal day plan.
Trello is easy to love. You make a board, add a few lists, and drag cards across as work moves. The free plan includes unlimited cards and up to 10 boards per Workspace, which is plenty for many people. So when someone looks for an alternative, the board usually still works. Something around it is missing.
Common reasons people look around
- The board is not the day. A board shows every card at once. It does not tell you which three things fit between today’s meetings.
- Cards pile up quietly. Old cards stay in “Doing” for weeks. For some brains, a crowded column makes it harder to start anything.
- Life lives elsewhere. Habits, a focus timer and bills often sit in other apps, so the board only holds part of the picture.
- The free plan limits. Free Workspaces stop at 10 boards, and CSV export needs Premium.
If Trello is doing its job for you, keep it. Moving tools costs energy too.
How to choose
Pick the sentence that sounds most like you:
- “I want kanban plus a habit tracker on my phone.” Try TickTick. It includes list and kanban views on the free plan and runs on many devices.
- “My team still needs shared boards, with calendars and timelines later.” Try Asana. Its free plan covers one or two people, and Starter adds timelines.
- “I want my own calm plan for today, with a board when I need one.” Try Thendoo, if a web app works for you. Today puts meetings, time blocks, habits and bills on one page. It is single-user, and it can import your Trello boards.
Before you switch
Export your boards as JSON before you change anything. Move only open cards. Give the new tool one ordinary week with real work, and keep Trello around until you are sure.
Moving from Trello to Thendoo
- 1Export each board first. In Trello, open the board menu, choose Print, Export, and Share, and pick JSON. Every board member can do this. CSV export needs Trello Premium.
- 2Keep the JSON files somewhere safe. The board export holds the 1,000 most recent actions, so long comment histories can be cut short; a Premium Workspace export covers all of them.
- 3In Thendoo, each imported board becomes a List in the Space you pick, and its Trello lists become statuses on the Board view.
- 4In Thendoo, open Settings → Import, choose Trello and upload each board's JSON. You see a preview before anything is written, a re-run adds no duplicates, and you can undo it for 30 days.
- 5Keep Trello read-only for a week, then archive the boards you moved.
Questions
Can Thendoo import my Trello boards?
Yes. Upload a board's JSON export in Settings → Import. Cards keep their descriptions, dates, labels and checklists, attachments come over as links, and you can undo the import for 30 days.
Does Thendoo have a board view like Trello?
Yes. Lists in Thendoo can be shown as a Board, a List, a Table or a Timeline. Thendoo is single-user, so there are no shared boards.
Which option is closest to Trello for a small team?
Asana, since its free Personal plan has a board view and paid plans add timelines. Trello itself stays free for up to 10 collaborators per Workspace, according to its pricing page.