Jira vs Trello — Pricing, Plans, and Verified Costs (2026)
Jira starts at $8.15/mo. Trello starts at $6/mo. Trello is $2.1500000000000004/mo cheaper on the entry tier than Jira.
The dominant engineering project management platform from Atlassian, publicly traded (TEAM), ~$50B market cap. Distinctive for its deep customization (workflows, custom fields, JQL query language) that scales to enterprise engineering orgs but overwhelms small teams. Priced free (up to 10 users) then $8.15/user/mo (Standard) up to $16/user/mo (Premium). Real cost bloat comes from add-ons in the Atlassian Marketplace and Data Center licenses (which just got 15-20% price hikes from Appfire).
Kanban board that started as a side project at Fog Creek and sold to Atlassian for $425M in 2017. Distinctive for the simple card-drag UX that spawned dozens of clones. Free tier includes unlimited cards; paid tiers add automation (Butler), admin controls, and advanced features. Popular with side projects and small teams that would find Jira overwhelming. Now positioned as Atlassian's SMB on-ramp to the broader Jira/Confluence stack.
All plans compared
| Tier role | Plan | Jira monthly | Jira annual | Trello monthly | Trello annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free / starter | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Entry paid | Standard | $8.15 | $7.91 | $6 | $5 |
| Pro / power | Premium | $15.25 | $14.54 | $12.5 | $10 |
| Enterprise | Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom | $17.5 |
Tier names differ across vendors. Rows are aligned by tier role, not name. Full tier structures on each tool's page.
What each is best for
Jira is worth it if… engineering teams (10+ developers) that need structured sprint planning, backlogs, and release management — particularly if your org runs Scrum/SAFe/Kanban and you're already in the Atlassian stack (Confluence, Bitbucket). Free covers up to 10 users; Standard adds project roles; Premium adds Advanced Roadmaps and 24/7 support; Enterprise adds data residency.
Trello is worth it if… small teams (1-20 people) that want free visual kanban boards — the tool your team already knows how to use without training. Free covers most small team needs; Standard adds unlimited boards; Premium adds timeline/calendar views.
Bottom line: Similar positioning, closer to a preference call than a strategic one.
Choose Jira over Trello if…
Choose Jira if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, from $8.15/mo).
- You match the profile Jira is built for: engineering teams (10+ developers) that need structured sprint planning, backlogs, and release management — particularly if your org runs Scrum/SAFe/Kanban and you're already in the Atlassian stack (Confluence, Bitbucket).
- You need a general-purpose project management option rather than a vertical-specific one.
Choose Trello if…
- You want fixed-price predictability (per seat, from $6/mo).
- You match the profile Trello is built for: small teams (1-20 people) that want free visual kanban boards — the tool your team already knows how to use without training.
- You need a general-purpose project management option rather than a vertical-specific one.
At a glance
| Jira | Trello | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Entry price | $8.15/mo | $6/mo |
| Enterprise available | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | Per Seat | Per Seat |
| Last verified | September 14, 2026 | September 18, 2026 |
| Full pricing | View full pricing | View full pricing |
Pricing last verified September 18, 2026. Tracked daily.