Simplify vs Trello
Trello made kanban famous, and for a simple task board it's still excellent. But a growing company needs more than cards: deals, invoices, hours, budgets and hires. Simplify keeps the simplicity of boards and connects them to the rest of your business.
Feature by feature
| Simplify | Trello | |
|---|---|---|
| Kanban boards | Included | Included (core strength) |
| Gantt & resource planning | Included | Timeline view on paid plans |
| CRM & sales pipeline | Included | Not included; Power-Ups only |
| Invoicing & online payments | Included (Stripe, Mollie, client portal) | Not included |
| Cash flow forecasting & runway | Included with bank sync | Not included |
| Payroll & sales commissions | Included | Not included |
| Applicant tracking & careers site | Included | Not included |
| Time tracking | Included | Via Power-Ups |
| Setup time | Under 10 minutes | Minutes, but each Power-Up adds another moving part |
Comparison reflects publicly documented product scope at the time of writing; features and plans change. Verify details with each vendor.
Choose Simplify if…
- Your Trello board works, but everything around it lives in other tools.
- You bill clients for the work on your boards and want quote → task → invoice in one flow.
- You want one system as you grow past 5–10 people, not a stack of Power-Ups.
Choose Trello if…
- You need a free, dead-simple shared to-do board and nothing else.
- You're already deep in the Atlassian ecosystem.
- Personal or side-project task management.
Common questions
Is Simplify a Trello alternative with time tracking?
Yes. Simplify's boards support kanban and list views like Trello, with native time tracking, Gantt phases and todos (no Power-Ups required), plus invoicing so tracked hours become billed hours.
Can I import my Trello boards?
Yes. Export your boards to CSV and import tasks and tickets into Simplify. Guided migration is available on Startup and Growth packages.
Is Simplify harder to use than Trello?
The board experience is just as simple. The difference is what's behind it: the same workspace also handles your CRM, invoices, budgets and hiring when you need them.
More comparisons
See why teams switch from Trello to Simplify
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