Shortcut
Trello
| Feature | Shortcut | Trello |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $8.5/mo | Free / from $5/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | software-teams, startups, engineering-managers, product-teams | small-teams, individuals, beginners, simple-projects |
| Founded | 2016 | 2011 |
| Stories | ✓ | ✗ |
| Epics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Iterations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Milestones | ✓ | ✗ |
| Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Kanban | ✗ | ✓ |
| Calendar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Power Ups | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Templates | ✗ | ✓ |
| Due Dates And Labels | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Shortcut Pros
- Intuitive UI for engineering teams
- Great API and integrations
- Flexible iteration planning
- Excellent GitHub integration
✗ Shortcut Cons
- Limited reporting on free plan
- No time tracking built-in
- Smaller ecosystem than Jira
✓ Trello Pros
- Dead simple to use
- Great free plan
- Power-Ups ecosystem
- Mobile friendly
✗ Trello Cons
- Limited views
- Not great for complex projects
- Basic reporting
The Verdict
Shortcut is built for software teams and startups, with a focus on stories and epics. Trello targets small teams and individuals and leads with kanban and calendar.
Pricing is close: Trello starts at $5/mo versus $8.5/mo for Shortcut — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.
