I began using Trello ages ago, too long now to remember. It was the first system I used to start managing my work and my life. Then, a couple years ago I decided to jump ship to Asana. It provided the structure I felt Trello was lacking and seemed better for managing several projects. Today I’m back on Trello, and here’s why.
- Asana Premium is expensive. Asana has a free version which I was happily using for several months, then I decided to upgrade so I could get some more features like custom fields and adding clients as guests. When I decided to upgrade I misread the details and thought I was paying $6.25/month, a totally reasonable price. However, what I missed is that there is a 5 member minimum. As a solopreneur I would have to pay for 4 people that weren’t even using the system, making the total $31.25/month! This may be a drop in the bucket for some people, but it’s just not in my budget right now.
- Asana accounts are confusing. At some point over the past couple years I decided I was going to drop MOOSH and just use my name (nevermind on that one), so I had two email addresses that I was using for work at one time. When I decided to drop my name and keep using MOOSH I wanted to change my email address on all of my accounts. I found it near impossible to do this in Asana and even accidentally deleted my entire account (with ALL of my tasks) at one point! Thankfully support was able to retrieve an emergency copy for me, but I still haven’t figured out how to disconnect my other email address without losing everything.
- Asana was confusing for my clients. I have invited clients to use both systems with me and 100% of the time people that have used neither find Trello to be easier to pick up. Ultimately if I’m going to collaborate with my clients in a system it doesn’t matter what I prefer, I need them to feel comfortable using it so we can operate smoothly.
I know there are multiple camps when it comes to the best project management system, but for now I am firmly planted in Team Trello. As my budget and scale increase I may find reason to reconsider Asana or check out other options, but for now I’m content.