Head-to-head
Jira vs Trello: which one in 2026?
Jira is Atlassian's issue and workflow tracker for engineering and IT teams, and Trello is Atlassian's card-and-board tool for lightweight planning. Both come from the same company, so the choice is depth against simplicity, and the pages we opened leave Jira's prices and Trello's data handling unstated.
Verdict
Jira is the stronger choice for engineering and IT work where issues, history and integrations with coding agents matter. Trello is the easier tool for small teams and non-technical groups, and it is the only one of the two with prices we could read. Because both belong to Atlassian, many teams run Trello for planning and Jira for delivery, and connect the two. Ask Atlassian for the trust documents covering each product before approving either.
Jira and Trello side by side
| Jira | Trello | |
|---|---|---|
| Price entry | About $8.48 per user per month (Standard) | $5 per user per month (Standard, billed annually) |
| What a task is | Work is an issue inside configurable workflows, with agents, Rovo teammates and templates, including Jira Service Management ones. | Work is a card on a board, with Custom Fields, Power-Ups and a built-in rules system for automation. |
| Free plan limits | Free covers up to 10 users and 2 GB of storage, with support during local business hours only. | Free covers up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, with 250 command runs per month. |
| Published paid prices | Not captured: the pages opened named Standard, Premium and Enterprise but showed no per-user amounts. | Standard $5, Premium $10 and Enterprise $17.50 per user per month billed annually; Standard $6 and Premium $12.50 monthly. |
| Scale ceilings | Standard supports up to 35,000 users and 250 GB of storage, with audit logs and anonymous access. | Premium is described as best for teams up to 100, and Enterprise adds unlimited Workspaces and org-wide permissions. |
| Views | The pages we read named no list of views; they stress issues, search across Jira and Confluence, and the Teamwork Graph. | Premium adds Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views, while Standard adds a Planner that syncs calendars. |
| AI features | Agents in Jira hand work to coding agents, Rovo adds AI teammates, and MCP and CLI routes link Claude, Cursor, Codex and Copilot. | AI on Standard and above brainstorms ideas, organizes action items and condenses text, plus an MCP server for any AI tool. |
| Data handling statement | Not stated on pages opened: the AI trust page returned navigation only, and the privacy policy was cut off. | Not captured: the security page failed to load twice, so training, retention and certifications were not read. |
| Single sign-on | Not captured for any Jira plan, since the pricing and Enterprise pages showed no detail in what we read. | Enterprise includes free SSO and user provisioning through Atlassian Guard, according to the pricing page we read. |
Where each one wins
Jira wins on
- Built for issue workflows, with a documented route for handing assigned work to coding agents
- Standard lifts the ceiling to 35,000 users and 250 GB, with audit logs and data residency controls
- Connects to Confluence, Bitbucket, Loom and Service Management as part of one product family
Trello wins on
- Prices are published on one page from $5 per user per month billed annually
- A board of cards needs almost no setup, and Free allows 10 boards with unlimited cards
- Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views arrive at Premium without issue-type configuration
Which to pick
Pick Jira if
Your team runs sprints, backlogs and service queues, needs audit logs and scale, and can spend admin time on workflows.
Pick Trello if
You want a simple board that anyone learns in minutes, with prices you can read before you talk to anyone.
Each tool in context: Jira, Trello, and the full Best Project Management Software in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is Trello a replacement for Jira?
For small teams with simple flows, often yes: Trello offers boards, Custom Fields, rules and an MCP server. For sprint planning, backlog grooming and service queues, Jira is the tool built for the job. Trello also names Jira Lists among its integrations, so the two can be used together instead.
How much does Jira cost compared with Trello?
Trello's pricing page shows Standard at $5, Premium at $10 and Enterprise at $17.50 per user per month billed annually. Jira's pages we opened showed no per-user amounts for Standard, Premium or Enterprise, only user-count billing tiers, so we cannot compare directly. Use Atlassian's pricing calculator for Jira.
Which one handles bigger teams?
Jira Standard lists up to 35,000 users and 250 GB of storage. Trello Premium is described as best for teams up to 100, and Enterprise adds unlimited Workspaces, organization-wide permissions and Power-Up administration. For very large engineering organizations, Jira's numbers are the ones published.
Do Jira and Trello keep my data private from AI training?
We cannot say. The Atlassian trust page only points to responsible technology principles and a separate AI trust page that returned no statement, Trello's security page failed to load, and the privacy policy was cut off. Ask Atlassian for written terms for each product and plan.