Airtable vs. Trello: Which Tool is Better for Your Small Business?

Updated March 29, 2023

Our Small Business Expert

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There are so many project management software options on the market today that it can be hard to narrow down which one is right for your business. If you've made it down to these two choices then congratulations are in order for making it this far.

I've used both of these tools not only in my time as a software expert for The Ascent, but also in several other previous positions as a director of communications, a digital marketing specialist, and as a content writer. That's why I've written out this comparison as an in-depth analysis of what you can expect whether you choose Trello or Airtable for project management.

Product	Trello	Airtable
Description	Trello is the perfect collaboration tool for beginners and seasoned professionals alike. Track all of your professional or personal projects with one of the best kanban-based software options.	Airtable is the perfect project management software for a true collaborative experience. Both aesthetically pleasing and highly functional, Airtable makes project management -- dare we say -- fun!
Best For	Easiest to Use	Consulting industry
Rating	Rating image, 4.10 out of 5 stars. 4.10/5 Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.	Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars. 4.00/5 Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor.
Pricing	Free: 10 team boards, 50 automated commands/month, 2FA Business: $9.99/user/month. 1,000 automated commands/month, advanced admin options, priority support Enterprise: From $20.83/user/month. Unlimited automated commands, personalized onboarding	Free: Unlimited databases, 1,200 records per database, 2GB storage per base, mobile app Plus: $10/user/month, 5,000 records per database, 5GB storage per base Pro: $20/user/month, 50,000 records per database, 20GB storage per base, advanced calendars Enterprise: Negotiated with client
What We Like	Offers free option Unparalleled user experience Easy onboarding procedure	Visually appealing user interface Flexible task-tracking systems Lots of project templates to choose from
Could Be Better	No financial management features No phone support for free users Calendars set as an add-on rather than a basic feature	Clunky task date functions Potentially confusing without instructions Limited user permissions
Key Features	Task scheduling and prioritization Shared team calendar Time tracking Multiple collaboration features	Task scheduling and prioritization Premade templates Time tracking Multiple collaboration features
Support	Most issues solved through support tickets Business and Enterprise plans have priority phone support	Mostly online forums, tutorials and videos No phone support
Ease of Use	Great beginner tutorials Great UI with easy navigation Simple, fast workflows	Great visuals help organize tasks Powerful tool with learning curve
Next Steps	Read Review	Read Review

Airtable vs. Trello: An overview

Who is Airtable for?

Airtable is the perfect choice for the project manager looking for a creatively bent software option who also appreciates and understands the utility of spreadsheets. If someone were to take Microsoft Excel and add more fun and personality to it, along with some additional team management features, you'd get Airtable. It's the perfect tool for marketing agencies and other service-based project teams.

Who is Trello for?

Trello, on the other hand, is a streamlined kanban-based project management tool that focuses on simplifying every aspect of your workflow. That being said, this tool is limited in its capabilities since it is a workflow tool and not comprehensive project management software. It's great for managing every step of your process and is meant for all kinds of teams from marketing project managers to software developers.

Airtable vs. Trello: Features

This is the bread and butter of this comparison since features are usually the first thing any software buyer considers before making a decision. Which platform offers superior functionality?

What Airtable offers

Airtable is a more comprehensive project management platform that covers most aspects of the planning, execution, and resolution steps of the project management process. This platform offers a plethora of features including task lists, kanban boards, project schedules, task collaboration, and even client access.

Airtabable's gallery boards for tasks at glance.

Airtable's gallery task tracking differs from the traditional kanban board organization. Image source: Author

While Airtable is a spreadsheet-based project management tool first and foremost, the gallery task management view is definitely a standout feature. It's different from a kanban view since it doesn't compartmentalize task cards into their own vertical categories but instead organizes each card into your own custom sorting method. You can sort these tasks by category, due date, kickoff date, client, project team, and alphabetical order.

Airtable doesn't offer a formal budgeting or reports tab. Instead, the records and categories you create using the spreadsheets and Airtable's formulas serve as your potential budget reports. However, if you're not feeling up to the challenge of creating a budget in Airtable's spreadsheets, not to worry, there are plenty of templates to choose from that'll give you the framework you're looking for.

Airtable's spreadsheets for creating lists, budgets and organizing content.

Airtable takes the standard spreadsheet and kicks it up a notch in the visuals department. Image source: Author

Airtable offers a lot of functionality as a visually pleasing project management tool. And it definitely rewards users with lots of versatility if they take the time to understand the spreadsheet formulas.

What Trello offers

As I mentioned before, Trello is strictly a kanban-style software, but it compensates for any lack in additional functionality with its stellar user experience. In my opinion, Trello has the best kanban experience I've ever seen in a project management tool, even better than Airtable's kanban feature. The task cards are simple to navigate and offer lots of functionality, such as labeling, comment threads, sub-task checklists, file attachments, and external tool integrations.

Trello boards showcasing tasks and images.

You can use Trello for all kinds of project management styles, including agile. Image source: Author

When using Trello for project management, you'll find it easy to incorporate and manage all of the standard project management steps using its lists and task cards. Essentially, it's the perfect tool for tracking, guiding, and managing your project workflow, even on the go with the Trello mobile application.

Trello task checklists for writing lists and organizing to-do lists.

Trello's task checklists provide a real-time update on the progress of your project. Image source: Author

On the other hand, Trello doesn't offer many additional project management features. There aren't any native financial management functions, but Trello tries to make up for this by offering a long list of integrations with other project tools in order to fill the gaps.

Results

Winner: Airtable

While Trello's task management exceeds expectations, I have to give the nod to Airtable based on the wider variety of management options and functions. However, I'm definitely disappointed that neither platform offers Gantt charts as a means for task management.