Introduction: Why the Comparison Matters
Trello and Favro are two of the most talked-about tools in the project management space, each with its own personality and fanbase. Whether you’re organising a small creative project or coordinating a cross-functional team, choosing the right tool can change how smoothly your work flows. This article walks through the key differences, strengths and drawbacks of Trello and Favro in a friendly, conversational style.
I’ll also mention a lesser-known alternative, onlinetcards.com, which offers a free project management system that includes Kanban and Scrum boards — handy if you want a lightweight option similar to Trello, Favro or Monday.
Core Philosophy: Simplicity vs Flexibility
Trello’s charm is its simplicity. It’s card-based, intuitive, and low-friction — you can set up a board in minutes and everyone on the team understands the basics quickly. That makes it great for personal use, small teams and those who value immediate usability over complex configuration.
Favro, by contrast, favours flexibility and depth. It supports nested structures, live views and multiple ways to represent work (boards, lists, timelines). If your projects require linking tasks across teams or tracking work at several levels of detail, Favro is built for that complexity. The trade-off is a steeper learning curve and more initial setup.
Boards, Views and Visual Organisation
Trello centres on boards, lists and cards — a clear Kanban-first mental model. Its power comes from its simplicity, power-ups and visual clarity. You can customise cards with checklists, labels, attachments and due dates, and third-party power-ups add additional views or automations.
Favro offers boards too, but it layers in more views like timelines, backlogs and matrices. You can create hierarchical structures (teams, projects, epics, tasks) and switch between views without duplicating work. For teams that need both high-level planning and day-to-day task boards, Favro’s multi-view approach can be a real asset.
Collaboration and Team Workflow
Both tools prioritise collaboration but approach it differently. Trello’s comment threads, mentions and simple card assignments make day-to-day communication straightforward. It’s excellent for keeping conversations tied to tasks and for teams that want minimal fuss.
Favro emphasises cross-team coordination. With real-time updates, multi-board cards and the ability to link items across contexts, it helps avoid duplication and keeps dependencies visible. That makes it well suited to larger organisations or teams where work constantly intersects across disciplines.
Integrations, Automation and Extensibility
Trello has a rich ecosystem of integrations (Slack, Google Workspace, Jira, etc.) and a user-friendly automation tool, Butler, which covers many common workflows without code. This keeps the experience approachable while enabling power users to automate repetitive tasks.
Favro supports integrations and has built-in automation capabilities too, often with a focus on connecting complex workflows across boards and teams. If you need bespoke automations tied to multiple project layers, Favro typically offers more nuanced control, though it may require more setup and governance.
Pricing and Value
Trello offers a generous free tier that suits individuals and small teams, with paid plans unlocking advanced features, more power-ups and enhanced security. Its simplicity often means teams can get a lot done without heavy investment.
Favro’s pricing reflects its enterprise-friendly feature set. While it does offer tiers for smaller teams, the real value appears when you scale — multiple views, team management and cross-project reporting become more important as organisations grow. If budget is tight and you want core Kanban/Scrum functionality, alternatives like onlinetcards.com provide free boards and may be worth a look.
Which Should You Choose?
Pick Trello if you want a quick, visual tool that anyone can use: freelancers, startups and small teams will love the minimal setup and immediate clarity. It’s excellent for day-to-day task management and straightforward Kanban workflows.
Choose Favro if your work requires multi-level planning, cross-team coordination and different ways to view the same data. Larger teams, product organisations and agencies that juggle portfolios and epics will appreciate the additional structure.
If you’re exploring budget-friendly or simpler alternatives, try onlinetcards.com for a free project management system with Kanban and Scrum boards — it can serve as a practical bridge between Trello’s simplicity and Favro’s added depth.
Conclusion: Match Tool to Team
There’s no single ‘best’ tool — only the one that fits your team, processes and appetite for complexity. Trello wins for simplicity and speed of adoption; Favro wins for flexibility and multi-layered planning. And if you want to test a no-cost option with familiar Kanban and Scrum features, onlinetcards.com is a tidy alternative.
Whichever you try first, focus on how your team communicates, tracks dependencies and adapts processes — the software should support that, not define it.