The eleventh board will not fit. Trello free workspaces cap at 10 boards and 10 collaborators, and a team that hits that cap has two choices. Pay for Standard at 5 dollars a user a month, or move to a tool that does not cap the boards at all. That is the moment most teams start asking how to switch from Trello to Monday, and it is a fair question.
Trello is a simple board tool with a clean interface and a price that climbs fast once the team needs more than Kanban. Monday is a broader work platform that charges more per seat on the cheapest paid plan, but bundles timelines, dashboards, automations and time tracking into the same login. A team of ten that pays for Trello Premium spends about 100 dollars a month. The same team on Monday Standard spends about 120 dollars a month, and gets Gantt charts, guest access and automations that Trello locks behind Premium or does not offer at all.
The switch is not about which tool is better in general. It is about which price and which feature set match the way the team actually works. Trello charges per user and gates timeline, calendar and dashboard views behind Premium. Monday charges per seat too, but at 12 dollars a seat a month for Standard, and puts timeline, Gantt, guests and 250 automation actions on that plan. For a team that lives in boards and wants reporting for the same money, the gap is real. For a team that loves Trello calm interface and only needs cards on a board, Monday can feel busy, and this guide says so plainly.
This guide walks through how to switch from Trello to Monday in seven steps, with a checklist, a cost comparison, and a clear account of what transfers, what does not, and what to test before cancelling Trello. Follow the steps in order, run both tools side by side for two weeks, and the move will be boring in the best way. Skip the steps, cancel early, and Butler automations, Power-Up data and cover images can vanish without a trace.
The Price Gap That Starts the Conversation
Cost is the reason most teams switch, and the numbers explain why. Trello Free costs nothing, with unlimited cards, 10 boards per workspace, 1 Power-Up per board and 10 MB attachments, capped at 10 collaborators. Standard costs 5 dollars per user per month on annual billing, or 6 dollars monthly, with unlimited boards, 250 MB attachments and custom fields. Premium costs 10 dollars per user per month on annual billing, or 12.50 dollars monthly, and adds timeline, calendar, table and map views, unlimited automation and dashboards. Enterprise costs 17.50 dollars per user per month, with a 50 seat minimum, and adds SSO and audit logs.
Monday Free costs nothing for up to 2 seats and 3 boards. Basic costs 9 dollars per seat per month on annual billing, or 12 dollars monthly, and adds unlimited items, 5 GB storage and 1,000 AI credits a month. Standard costs 12 dollars per seat per month on annual billing, or 14 dollars monthly, and adds timeline and Gantt views, guest access, 250 automation actions and 250 integration actions a month. Pro costs 19 dollars per seat per month on annual billing, or 24 dollars monthly, and adds time tracking, private boards, 25,000 automation actions and 25,000 integration actions. Paid plans start from 3 seats, so a team of two pays for three.
A ten person team on Trello Premium pays about 100 dollars a month on annual billing. The same team on Monday Standard pays about 120 dollars a month, so Monday costs more, not less, at the mid tier. The saving appears at the top tier. A ten person team on Trello Enterprise pays about 175 dollars a month, while the same team on Monday Pro pays about 190 dollars a month, so the two are close, and Monday Pro adds time tracking and private boards that Trello Enterprise does not offer.
The free plans tell the same story. Trello Free caps at 10 boards and 10 collaborators, so it is a plan for a small team with a small board count. Monday Free caps at 2 seats and 3 boards, so it is a plan for a pair, not a team. A team that wants to test Monday with real work can do it on the 14-day Pro trial, which makes the trial short and the decision fast.
Trello vs Monday at a Glance
| Feature | Trello | Monday |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per user seat | Per seat, 3-seat minimum on paid plans |
| Free plan | 10 boards, 10 collaborators | 2 seats, 3 boards |
| Entry paid plan | Standard 5 dollars a user a month annual | Basic 9 dollars a seat a month annual |
| Mid plan | Premium 10 dollars a user a month annual | Standard 12 dollars a seat a month annual |
| Top plan | Enterprise 17.50 dollars a user a month annual | Pro 19 dollars a seat a month annual |
| Timeline and calendar | Premium only | Standard plan |
| Gantt charts | Not offered | Standard plan |
| Dashboards | Premium only | Basic has 1 board, Standard 5, Pro 20 |
| Time tracking | Not offered | Pro plan |
| Automations | Unlimited on Premium | 250 actions a month on Standard, 25,000 on Pro |
| Guest access | Guests count toward the collaborator cap on free | Standard and up |
| AI credits | Not listed on Standard or Premium | 1,000 a month on Basic, 2,000 on Standard, 3,000 on Pro |
Monday bundles more into each tier, and that bundling is the point of the switch. Timelines, Gantt charts, dashboards, guest access and automations all live in the same workspace, so a team stops paying for a separate reporting tool and a separate time tracker. Trello stays cleaner and calmer, with fewer menus and a gentler learning curve, and that calm is worth real money to a team that values simplicity over breadth. Check which side of that trade your team sits on before you move.
The Trade-Offs Nobody Mentions First
A switch guide that only lists the savings is not honest, so this section states the trade plainly. Trello is a focused board tool. Monday is a work platform that tries to do everything, and the difference shows in the daily work. A team that opens Trello, checks its cards and closes it will find Monday busier, with more menus, more views and more settings to learn. The first week in Monday feels slower, even when the reporting is better, and a team that hates setup will feel that friction daily.
A team that already pays for a reporting tool, a time tracker and a Gantt app will not miss the simplicity, because Monday replaces three subscriptions at once. The question is not which tool is better. The question is whether the team wants one deep workspace or one calm board list, and learning how to switch from Trello to Monday starts with answering that question honestly.
The seat minimum deserves a second look, because it decides the bill for small teams. Monday paid plans start from 3 seats, so a team of two pays for three on every paid plan. At Standard, that is 36 dollars a month for two people, against 10 dollars a month for two people on Trello Standard. Count the seats before deciding, and the math will make the choice. A team of two should stay on Trello Standard unless it needs the Monday reporting badly enough to pay for a seat nobody uses.
The automation cap also changes the bill. Trello Premium offers unlimited automation, while Monday Standard caps automation actions at 250 a month and integration actions at 250 a month. A team that automates heavily will hit the Monday Standard cap fast and need Pro at 19 dollars a seat a month. A team that does not automate much saves the full amount. Count the automation runs before choosing a plan.
How to Switch from Trello to Monday in 7 Steps
This is the full process for how to switch from Trello to Monday without losing the boards that matter. Do the steps in order, and do not cancel Trello until step 7.
Step 1. Audit the Trello workspace before touching anything
Open Trello and list every workspace, every board, every list, every card count, every Butler automation, every Power-Up and every member. Export each board as JSON, and note the renewal date and the contract terms, because cancelling mid contract can carry a fee. Pay special attention to Butler automations, Power-Up data, cover images and archived cards, because the importer does not move those cleanly. This audit takes an hour and prevents the most common switch failure, which is discovering a workflow only after it was deleted.
Step 2. Set up Monday and map the board structure first
Create the Monday workspace, choose the plan that matches the team size, and decide the board structure before importing anything. Trello boards become Monday boards, and Trello lists become groups or statuses, your choice during the import. Map lists to statuses if your team uses lists as workflow stages like to do, in progress and done. Do not import yet. A clean structure decided on paper saves a week of reorganising later.
Step 3. Run the Trello importer on one board first
Open Monday, choose Import, pick Trello, and authorise the connection. Import a single small board first, not the whole workspace. The importer brings across boards, lists, cards, checklists, labels, descriptions, comments, dates and attachments, and asks you to map each Trello user to an existing Monday member. Check the imported board carefully, count the cards against the Trello original, open a few cards to confirm comments and dates survived, and fix the mapping before the big import. A pilot import that takes an afternoon prevents a workspace-wide mess.
Step 4. Import the rest and rebuild what does not transfer
Once the pilot looks clean, import the remaining boards in batches, checking each one as it lands. Then rebuild what the importer leaves behind. Butler automations, Power-Up data and cover images do not transfer, and must be rebuilt in Monday. Attachments transfer, but cover images are not supported, so re-add them by hand. This is the largest single task in the switch, so budget a full afternoon for a normal workspace and do not promise a one hour migration.
Step 5. Move the team and set permissions
Invite the team to Monday and set access levels. Remember that paid plans start from 3 seats, so decide who needs a full seat and who can be a viewer or a guest. Assign each person to the boards they manage, and run a short training session on the views the team will actually use, because Monday has more views than Trello and a new user can drown in options. A teammate who cannot find their cards will fall back to Trello, and the switch will stall.
Step 6. Run both tools side by side for two weeks
Work from Monday for two weeks while Trello stays open and the old boards finish. Watch the card counts daily, check that due dates and assignees match, and confirm the automations you rebuilt actually fire. Compare a Monday dashboard with the Trello export from step 1 to spot any gap in reporting. Fix the problems while Trello is still available as a fallback, not after it is cancelled. Two quiet weeks of parallel running cost nothing and catch every problem early.
Step 7. Cancel Trello and confirm the data is safe
Once two weeks of Monday work look clean, export the final board data and any remaining reports from Trello, then cancel the subscription before the renewal date. Confirm the cancellation email arrives, and check that no auto renewal is set. Keep the Trello export files for six months, because the importer does not move everything and the old exports are the only record of Butler automations, Power-Up data and cover images. The switch is done when Monday has run cleanly for two weeks and Trello is cancelled without a surprise charge.
What Comes Across and What Stays Behind
The Monday Trello importer moves the core work well. Boards become boards, with lists, cards, descriptions, comments, assignees, due dates, checklists and labels coming across. Attachments transfer, and you map each Trello user to an existing Monday member during the import. For a normal board, that covers most of what a team needs to keep working on day one.
What does not transfer is specific, and the team should name it before starting. Butler automations do not transfer, so list each one and rebuild it as a Monday automation. Power-Up data does not transfer cleanly, so note what each Power-Up held and rebuild it by hand. Cover images are not supported, so re-add them after the import. Saved Trello views do not transfer, so rebuild the timeline and calendar views in Monday by hand.
It is a one time copy, not a live sync. Trello stays as it was, and later changes in either tool do not sync back. Check the import report afterwards, because some items can fail or duplicate. That is the full picture of how to switch from Trello to Monday without losing the work that matters.
The Go-Live Checklist
Use this checklist before starting step 1, and do not skip a line.
- List every Trello workspace, board, list, card count and Butler automation. – Export each board as JSON and save the files. – Note the Trello renewal date and any contract term. – Flag Butler automations, Power-Up data, cover images and archived cards. – Choose the Monday plan by team size and automation volume. – Decide how Trello lists map, to groups or statuses.
- List the Trello Power-Ups the team actually uses. – Count seats, because Monday paid plans start from 3 seats. – Plan a replacement for any Trello feature Monday lacks. – Set a switch date in a quiet week, not during a launch. – Tell the team the switch date and the new workflow before step 1.
What the Switch Saves in Real Money
The saving depends on team size and plan, because the two tools charge different rates for similar work. A ten person team on Trello Premium pays about 100 dollars a month on annual billing. The same team on Monday Standard pays about 120 dollars a month, so Monday costs more, not less, at the mid tier. The saving appears when the team drops separate tools. A team that pays 20 dollars a month for a time tracker and 15 dollars for a reporting tool saves 35 dollars a month by moving to Monday Pro, which turns the gap into a saving.
A five person team on Trello Standard pays about 25 dollars a month against about 60 dollars on Monday Standard, so at the entry tier Monday costs more, not less. The saving only appears when the team needs the timeline, Gantt and dashboard views, because Trello charges 10 dollars a user for those views while Monday includes them at 12 dollars a seat. Those figures use annual billing on both tools, and monthly billing widens the gap further, since Monday Standard costs 14 dollars a month on monthly billing against 12.50 dollars for Trello Premium.
The saving shrinks when the team adds automations or many guests. Monday Standard caps automation actions at 250 a month, so a team that automates heavily needs Pro at 19 dollars a seat a month. A team that runs on Trello Free, with 10 boards and 10 collaborators, saves nothing by moving, because Monday Free covers only 2 seats. Count the automation runs and the guests, run the two totals, and the answer will be clear. For most teams without heavy automation, Monday is worth the extra cost once the team outgrows Trello free.
Run the same math for your own team before you commit to how to switch from Trello to Monday, because the totals decide the plan.
Your First Two Weeks in Monday
The parallel run only helps if the team tests the right things, so set the tests before the first Monday task is assigned. Create tasks across every board the team uses, including one with subtasks, one with a custom field, and one with an attachment, and confirm each one shows the right assignee and the right due date. Then compare the Monday item counts against the Trello export from step 1, checking totals by board and by assignee. That test plan is the part of the switch that most teams skip, and it is the part that catches the problems while Trello is still available as a fallback.
Test the automations and the views next, because those are the workflows that break quietly. Trigger one rebuilt automation and confirm it fires, open the board, timeline and calendar views for the same project, and have a second teammate confirm they see the same tasks. Also test a task that needs a recurring setup, since recurrence must be rebuilt by hand and trips up teams that rely on it. A test that covers tasks, automations, views and recurrence in the first week leaves the second week for fixing what failed, which is exactly how a quiet switch is supposed to work.
Five Mistakes That Stall the Move
The first mistake is cancelling Trello before the Monday import is checked. A team that cancels on day one loses the Butler automations, the Power-Up data and the cover images in one move, and the rebuild takes days instead of hours. Keep Trello until step 7, and the switch stays boring. The second mistake is importing the whole workspace at once without a pilot. A mapping error on lists repeats across every board, and fixing it after the fact costs more than the pilot ever did.
The third mistake is forgetting the seat minimum math. A team of two pays for three seats on Monday, and a team that pays for Trello Standard only because it has 12 boards will find Monday Basic more expensive, not cheaper. Count the seats and the boards before choosing a plan. The fourth mistake is skipping the two week parallel run. A team that switches overnight discovers the automation gaps during a live sprint, when fixing them costs the most. Two quiet weeks of parallel running cost nothing and catch every problem early.
The fifth mistake is underestimating the manual rebuild. Butler automations, Power-Up data and cover images do not transfer, and a team that budgets an hour for the rebuild will run out of time. Budget an afternoon, rebuild the top automations first, and leave the long tail of old Power-Ups behind. The switch is a good time to clean the workspace, not a reason to move every old report into the new tool.
Life After the Switch
The first month after the move is when the change becomes real, and it is also when the new habits form. Set a weekly review in Monday, one hour where the team checks overdue tasks, clears the inbox and updates the dashboards, because a workspace with more views needs a steadier rhythm than Trello did. Tune the rebuilt automations after two weeks, not on day one, because the first fortnight shows which rules fire too often and which never fire at all. The work of learning how to switch from Trello to Monday does not end on cancel day. It ends when the team stops opening the old tool out of habit, and that usually takes a full month.
Revisit the plan choice after 90 days. A team that started on Standard may find it needs Pro for the automation cap or the time tracking, and a team that started on Pro may find it can drop to Standard if nobody uses the private boards. Count the seats again too, because Monday bills per seat with a 3-seat minimum, and a contractor who finished their project should come off the plan. The switch costs more once. The habits save it every month after.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to switch from Trello to Monday?
Most small teams finish the switch in one to two weeks. The setup takes an afternoon, the pilot import and the manual rebuild take another afternoon, and the two week parallel run catches the problems while Trello is still available. A team with many boards or heavy Butler automation should budget three weeks. Do not promise a one day switch, because the manual rebuild and the parallel run are what make the move safe.
Will I lose my cards when I switch from Trello to Monday?
Cards, descriptions, comments, assignees and due dates transfer through the native Trello importer, so export each board first and run a pilot import on one board to confirm the mapping. Butler automations, Power-Up data and cover images do not transfer, so flag them in the audit and rebuild them by hand. Keep Trello running until the Monday import is checked, and no card will be lost.
Is Monday really cheaper than Trello?
For most teams that need more than Kanban, no, not on the headline price. Monday Standard costs 12 dollars per seat a month on annual billing against 10 dollars for Trello Premium, so a ten person team pays about 20 dollars a month more. The saving appears when the team drops a separate time tracker and a separate reporting tool, which Monday Pro bundles into the same seat. At the entry tier, Trello Standard at 5 dollars a user a month is cheaper than Monday Basic, so a team that only needs Kanban should stay on Trello Standard. Count the dropped tools before deciding.
Does Monday have the same views as Trello?
Monday has more views than Trello, including board, timeline, Gantt, calendar, table and dashboard views, but views do not transfer, so the team rebuilds its preferred views by hand. Trello lists map to groups or statuses during import, so the structure survives even though the saved views do not. Pick the two or three views the team actually uses and rebuild those first.
Can I keep my Trello automations when I switch?
No, Butler automations do not transfer. Trello Butler rules must be rebuilt as Monday automations, and Monday caps automation actions at 250 a month on Standard and 25,000 a month on Pro. List the automations the team actually uses, rebuild the top ones first, and count monthly runs before choosing a plan. A team with heavy automation should check the cap against its real volume.
The Call
Switch to Monday if the team has hit the Trello free board cap, if the team is paying for Trello Premium and only using boards, timelines and calendars, or if the team wants dashboards, Gantt and time tracking in the same login. A team of five to twenty people will get reporting that Trello does not offer, and lose nothing it actually uses, as long as the audit flags the Butler automations and the Power-Ups first. For those teams, learning how to switch from Trello to Monday is worth an afternoon, and the reporting repeats every month.
Stay on Trello if the team loves the calm board interface and only needs cards on a board, if the team is on Standard at 5 dollars a user a month and does not need timeline views, or if the team is mid sprint and cannot afford a week of parallel running. A team that values simplicity over breadth will feel Monday as noise, and a team of two can find Monday Standard far more expensive than Trello Standard because of the 3-seat minimum. Stay also if the contract renewal is close and the team is mid launch. A switch during a launch costs more in chaos than it saves in subscription fees.
The decision rule is simple. Count the boards, count the people, list the views the team actually opens every week, and run the two totals with automations and guests included. If Monday covers the weekly workflow and the reporting is worth the extra cost, switch in a quiet week and follow the seven steps. If Trello covers a weekly workflow that Monday cannot match, stay and renegotiate the Trello plan instead. The right tool is the one that matches the work, not the one with the lower headline price.
