NotePlan vs Trello (2026): Pricing, Features & Which to Choose

Who comes out ahead

Based only on the facts in our directory. The right pick still depends on the job you need done.

Lower starting price
Trello
From $5/mo against from $8.33/mo
Free plan
Trello
Only Trello has one
Higher rating
Trello
3.8 against 4.5
Same job?
Yes
Both are Productivity tools

Side by side

Compared on	NotePlan	Trello
Our rating	3.8	4.5Better
Starts at	$8.33/mo	$5/moBetter
Free plan	No	YesBetter
Category	Productivity	Productivity
Plans	From $8.33/mo	From $5/mo
Key features	Memo AI for turning voice notes into structured insights Daily notes with an integrated calendar and reminders Project notes with backlinks and time-blocking Personal Kanban boards Offline-first Markdown storage with optional iCloud sync	Atlassian Intelligence writing assistant built into card descriptions and comments AI summarization that condenses long notes or meeting minutes into a short overview AI action-item extraction that turns messy notes into a structured checklist Smart capture that converts incoming messages or notes directly into structured cards AI board generation from a plain-language goal description (limited 2026 rollout)
Pros	Notes stay as portable plain Markdown files Native apps on Mac, iPhone and iPad 7-day trial before any payment	Free plan is genuinely usable for individuals and small teams, not a limited-feature trial Fifteen years of market maturity means broad integration support and near-universal familiarity Atlassian backing brings enterprise-grade reliability and a clear AI roadmap
Cons	Only one AI feature, with little detail published No permanent free tier Built around the Apple ecosystem	AI features are recent additions layered onto an older product, not a ground-up AI-native design AI content generation is gated to the Premium tier, Quick Capture to Standard, so the free plan misses both Kanban-only structure is less suited to teams that need Gantt charts or complex dependency tracking natively
Company	NotePlan LLC	Trello (Atlassian), founded 2011

Prices come from each vendor's pricing page, last checked 20261006. Check the vendor before you buy.

FAQ

Questions people ask

Is NotePlan better than Trello?

In our reviews NotePlan scores 3.8 and Trello scores 4.5. The better pick depends on the job. NotePlan: Notes, tasks and calendar app for Mac, iPhone and iPad built around daily notes and Markdown files, with Memo AI turning voice notes into structured insights. Trello: The kanban-board work management tool, now with Atlassian Intelligence AI built into every card.

Which is cheaper, NotePlan or Trello?

Trello has the lower starting price: from $8.33/mo for NotePlan and from $5/mo for Trello.

Do NotePlan and Trello have free plans?

Only Trello has a free plan.

More comparisons

NotePlan compared with

All NotePlan alternatives

Trello compared with

All Trello alternatives