If you’re on the hunt for a content collaboration and project management tool, you might find yourself torn between the popular options of Trello and Airtable. At Zenith City News, we recognize the importance of staying organized and up-to-date with the latest developments. That’s why we’ve thoroughly tested both platforms to determine which one is the ultimate choice for handling projects, whether you’re a small business, nonprofit, startup, or Fortune 500 company.
Trello and Airtable in a Nutshell
Before diving into the details, let’s get acquainted with Trello and Airtable. Both are SaaS (software as a service) tools utilized by a wide range of organizations, including nonprofits, tech companies, and Fortune 500 companies. While they are commonly used for task management, their capabilities extend far beyond that, embracing functions such as managing editorial calendars, CRM, project tracking, sales and business development, and even event marketing.
What is Trello?
Trello stands out as a visual project management tool that employs Kanban boards to assist teams in visually organizing projects and monitoring progress. With Trello, you can create boards to represent different projects and lists to represent various stages of those projects. Each list can then be populated with individual tasks represented by cards. Currently boasting over 50 million users, Trello comprises three core components:
- Boards: These serve as project homes.
- Lists: Lists allow you to describe your project.
- Cards: Cards cater to your task-specific needs by accommodating files, deadlines, and chat functionality.
Trello Use Cases
Trello offers a plethora of features, enabling users to:
- Set goals and track project progress.
- Manage and organize to-do lists.
- Collaborate seamlessly with teams.
- Store and share files.
- Keep track of events and deadlines.
- Create notes that can sync with tasks.
- Set reminders.
- Integrate with existing tools like Slack and Google Drive.
Trello Pricing
To accommodate different user needs, Trello presents various subscription tiers. The free plan includes unlimited cards, up to 10 boards per space, unlimited storage, custom backgrounds, 2-factor authentication, assignee and due date features, and much more.
For users seeking additional functionality, Trello offers three paid tiers:
- Standard ($5/user/month): Includes everything from the free plan, plus custom fields, saved searches, and advanced checklists.
- Premium ($10/user/month): Offers everything from the standard plan, along with different types of views, admin and security features, priority support, and simple data export.
- Enterprise ($17.5/user/month for around 50 people): Provides everything from the premium plan, with additional features such as SSO, multi-board guests, attachment permissions, and more.
While Trello’s pricing is budget-friendly and delivers an excellent user experience, it does have a few limitations as your needs scale. We’ll delve deeper into these limitations shortly.
What is Airtable?
Airtable, on the other hand, brings together the flexibility of a spreadsheet with the power of a database. It serves as an exceptional solution for content collaboration and project management, especially when dealing with complex data and information. Think of it as a smarter and more robust version of Google Sheets.
Airtable Use Cases
One of Airtable’s core strengths lies in its versatility, offering customization options to fit an array of needs. Some popular use cases include:
- Content calendar management.
- Social media scheduling.
- Project management systems.
- Sales and recruiting pipelines.
- New hire onboarding.
- Event management.
- Bug tracking.
- Marketing campaign tracking.
- User research applications.
- Product catalogs.
- And much more!
Airtable Pricing
Airtable’s pricing structure revolves around bases (workspaces) and blocks (apps). The free plan allows unlimited bases and blocks, up to 5 creators, unlimited commenters and read-only users, 1,200 records per base, and 2GB of attachments per base.
For users seeking advanced features, Airtable offers two paid tiers:
- Plus ($12/seat/billed monthly): Includes everything from the free plan, and offers 3 extensions, 5,000 records per base, 5GB per base, custom branded forms, and a 6-month revision and snapshot history.
- Pro ($20/seat/billed monthly): Builds upon the plus plan by providing 10 extensions, 20GB per base, Gantt and Timeline Views, a 1-year snapshot history, personal and locked views, and support for 50,000 records.
For enterprise-level needs, Airtable also offers an Enterprise plan. For further information, please contact Airtable directly.
Trello vs Airtable: A Head-to-Head Comparison
Now that we’re familiar with the basics of Trello and Airtable, let’s weigh their strengths and weaknesses in terms of content collaboration, project management, and task management. Our comparison will encompass the following aspects:
- Which teams should opt for each tool?
- User experience.
- Types of content.
- Page layouts.
- Integration with websites.
- Collaborating with internal and external partners.
Trello vs Airtable: Which Teams Should Use It?
Trello shines when it comes to simple projects and tasks, making it an ideal choice for small teams. On the other hand, Airtable caters to businesses that need to track data and surpass the functionalities offered by traditional solutions like Google Sheets or Excel. Airtable proves particularly valuable for teams engaged in marketing, engineering, operations, and design, as it empowers them to:
- Manage workflows and project lifecycles.
- Track tasks and deadlines.
- Maintain comprehensive customer information.
- Share files seamlessly.
- Establish connections between different databases.
Trello primarily suits smaller teams that rarely collaborate outside their immediate circle. If you’re working on projects with few dependencies and collaborators, Trello might be the perfect fit.
Airtable vs Trello: User Experience
When it comes to user experience, Trello takes the crown for its simple and user-friendly interface. First-time users will find Trello’s visual appeal and ease of understanding highly enticing. While Airtable also boasts an intuitive interface, it may take a bit longer to configure your preferred view compared to Trello’s straightforward Kanban view.
However, if you’re seeking a tool that offers a wide range of views based on status, channel, owner, or color, Airtable’s UX shines once you’ve navigated the initial setup stage. With Airtable, you can seamlessly switch between Kanban, timeline, and list views. If you come from a spreadsheet background, Airtable will feel like heaven.
Trello vs Airtable: Types of Content
Trello focuses on visually organizing and tracking work, making it an excellent choice for those who prefer a simple to-do list approach. On the other hand, Airtable excels at handling complex content, data, and information by providing greater flexibility and customization options.
For instance, if you’re looking to create an editorial calendar for social media, Airtable’s ability to offer different views based on task status (e.g., assigned, needs copy, ready for review, posted) and channels (e.g., social, blog, PR) proves invaluable. Achieving the same level of complexity on Trello can be challenging due to its limited list-based structure. With Airtable, you can create custom views with filters and grouping capabilities, empowering you to examine your data from multiple angles.
An additional perk of Airtable is its ability to integrate information from external sources like Slack (via Zapier) or Airtable’s native form link, which conveniently captures data directly into your base.
If you’re eager to try out Airtable, we’ve got you covered with our Airtable content calendar template. Download it for free here (tutorial included)!
Trello vs Airtable: Page Layouts
Trello maintains a consistent look and feel across its entire platform, making navigation a breeze for users. However, customization options for Trello’s workspace layout remain limited to Kanban boards, lists, and cards.
Airtable, on the other hand, offers a similar look and feel to Trello but with greater variation. Its diverse range of views serves as the main differentiating factor, albeit with a slightly steeper learning curve compared to Trello. Airtable presents seven distinct page layouts: grid, calendar, gallery, Kanban, Gantt, timeline, and section. Additionally, each view offers three grouping options: field, formula, and count.
Trello vs Airtable: Integration with Websites
Both Trello and Airtable provide seamless integration with websites, offering an array of possibilities for users.
Trello, being a part of the Atlassian suite, boasts integration with tools like JIRA, Confluence, and Bamboo. It also seamlessly connects with other popular platforms such as Slack and Mailchimp. The extensive list of Trello integrations can be explored here.
Airtable shines in the integration department as well, thanks to its robust API and partnerships. Users can connect Airtable to a wide range of software solutions. Additionally, Airtable’s compatibility with Zapier allows for even more profound integration possibilities. Even popular web-based applications like Webflow and WordPress can be connected to Airtable, enabling users to create databases that seamlessly function on their websites without the need for additional software installations.
At Zenith City News, we’ve utilized Airtable as a form solution for our websites, serving as a CRM, event management list, and lead generation capture—all effortlessly managed within the Airtable database.
Airtable vs Trello: Collaborating with Internal and External Partners
When it comes to collaborating with teams, Airtable’s versatility gives it a competitive edge. Airtable allows for filtered views based on roles (e.g., copywriter, designer, project manager), making it easier to share external dashboards that external partners can access and edit. In contrast, Trello restricts access to individual tasks assigned to each collaborator. Trello’s filtering capabilities are limited, resulting in external partners being unable to access lists or projects beyond their own.
Trello vs Airtable: Making the Right Choice
After scrutinizing the differences between Trello and Airtable, it’s time to choose the best tool for your project management needs. However, there is no clear winner in the Trello vs Airtable showdown.
Both platforms offer unique strengths and limitations, ultimately dependent on your individual preferences and project requirements. The good news is that both Trello and Airtable offer free plans, allowing you to try them out and determine which one resonates with you.
If you’re seeking additional resources to enhance your workflow and editorial calendar management, look no further. At Zenith City News, we provide an array of free resources. Sign up for our newsletter to gain access to these powerful tools!
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Disclaimer: This article is authored by Zenith City News and reflects our unbiased opinions. The objective is to assist readers in making informed decisions, but the final choice of tool depends on individual needs and preferences.
