Trello Standard
5 MEMBERS · BILLED ANNUALLY
$25/month equivalent5 × $5 × 12 = $300/year
Custom fields and checklists. Premium views would instead cost $50/month equivalent for five members.
Verify current price ↗FOR CREATORS & SMALL MARKETING TEAMS
Compare project management tools for small teams
Start with Trello for a visual board, Asana for task handoffs, ClickUp for a configurable work hub, or Notion for briefs alongside tasks. Then check the plan limits, client access and work needed to maintain each option.
Official product information checked September 9, 2026. These are researched options and ToolMerit’s fit judgments, not hands-on vendor tests or scored reviews.
Four options, four different starting points
No universal winner: a lightweight board and an approval-heavy campaign system solve different problems. The fit column is our editorial judgment; plan details link to the vendor.
| Tool | Consider it for | Useful plan boundary | Check before inviting the team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trello | A small team moving cards through a visible production board. | Standard adds custom fields and advanced checklists; Premium adds Timeline, Dashboard and other views. | Free: up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace. A client on multiple boards can become billable on a paid Workspace. Official plans ↗ |
| Asana | Campaign work where tasks have owners, deadlines and blocking relationships. | Starter includes Timeline, Gantt, forms and custom fields. Approvals, proofing and portfolios are Advanced features. | Personal supports only 2 users. Do not budget a five-person team on the free plan. Official plans ↗ |
| ClickUp | A team that wants tasks, documents and several working views in one configurable workspace. | Unlimited includes Gantt charts, native time tracking and guests with permission control. Business adds unlimited Timeline views. | Free has 60MB storage. Advanced view trials are not unlimited use, and guest permissions differ by plan. Official plans ↗ |
| Notion | An editorial team keeping briefs, reference pages and a task database together. | Databases support subtasks and dependencies. Plus removes the collaborative block limit; granular database permissions are a Business feature. | Free is unlimited for an individual, but blocks are limited with 2+ members. A filtered database view is not an access-control rule. Official plans ↗ |
Guests, members and external clients are not interchangeable billing categories. Test with a separate, authorized guest account before adding live client material.
A HYPOTHETICAL FIVE-MEMBER TEAM
Budget the plan that unlocks your workflow
USD list-price examples for five paid members on annual billing, before tax, discounts, extra guest seats, AI add-ons or other charges. Monthly equivalents below are not monthly-payment quotes. These plans do not have identical features.
Asana Starter
5 MEMBERS · BILLED ANNUALLY
$54.95/month equivalent5 × $10.99 × 12 = $659.40/year
Task dependencies and Timeline. Advanced approvals are not included in this example.
Verify current price ↗ClickUp Unlimited
5 MEMBERS · BILLED ANNUALLY
$35/month equivalent5 × $7 × 12 = $420/year
Gantt and native time tracking. Confirm whether your reporting needs require Business.
Verify current price ↗Notion Plus
5 MEMBERS · BILLED ANNUALLY
$50/month equivalent5 × $10 × 12 = $600/year
Collaborative pages and databases. Do not assume Business-only database permissions.
Verify current price ↗Keep the pilot on monthly billing or a suitable free tier if an annual commitment is premature. Obtain the actual checkout total before purchase; the example is not a vendor quote or a claim that the cheapest option is the best fit.
What should change your shortlist?
VISUAL PRODUCTION QUEUE
Trello: keep the board simple
Consider it when the team can work from a card, an owner and a clear next list. If the important question is “what is waiting for review?”, a board is a sensible first pilot.
Reconsider if: dependent dates must reschedule reliably across projects. Trello’s documentation describes dependencies using checklists, linked cards and automation rather than a built-in dependency-management system. That setup is part of the operating cost, not a feature to assume from the word “board”. Dependency guidance ↗
Exit check: individual-board JSON exports and Premium CSV exports are different deliverables. Open the format you will actually use before committing. Export options ↗
CAMPAIGNS WITH HANDOFFS
Asana: make blocking work explicit
Consider it when copy, design and scheduling depend on each other and the project lead needs an owned task at each handoff. Dependencies are available from Starter; a dependent task’s assignee can receive changes about the preceding task. Dependency documentation ↗
Reconsider the plan if: a client needs a formal approval or marked-up proof, rather than a comment saying “approved”. The pricing page puts approvals and proofing in Advanced, not Starter. Test the exact approval path instead of treating a task status as evidence of authorization. Check the tier ↗
CONFIGURABLE OPERATIONS
ClickUp: choose a small starting configuration
Consider it when your team wants a common task system alongside documents and time tracking. Our recommendation is to pilot one Space and one shared status set before multiplying views; someone must own the configuration.
Reconsider a free pilot with clients: Free Forever guests have full create/edit permissions on what is shared with them; those permissions cannot be customized. Paid plans include an allowance of permission-controlled guests, and exceeding it can add a paid member seat. Do not interpret “guest” as “free and read-only”. Roles and billing ↗
EDITORIAL CONTEXT & TASKS
Notion: connect the brief to the task database
Consider it when source material, an editorial brief and related tasks should live together. Assign a database owner so that properties, templates and views remain consistent; this is a setup choice, not a ready-made publishing workflow.
Check date behavior: Notion dependencies can shift dates only on overlap, preserve spacing, or not shift dates automatically. Choose deliberately and move a test deadline to observe the result. Dependency settings ↗
Client boundary: do not use a filtered view as a substitute for permission controls. If a client must see only assigned database rows, verify the granular permissions listed under Business and test the guest experience. Plan permissions ↗
TRY THE SAME WORK IN TWO CANDIDATES
Pilot one content launch before migrating
Use a disposable brief and sample asset, not confidential client files. This proposed test checks whether a candidate handles your work; it is not a test ToolMerit has performed inside the four products.
- 01 · BriefProject leadAccept scope and date
- 02 · DraftWriterAttach a reviewable version
- 03 · ReviewEditorRequest changes or pass
- 04 · ApproveNamed approverRecord the agreed version
- 05 · SchedulePublisherUse only that approved version
1. Delay the draft
Move the draft deadline two days later while review and publication are still pending. Record which dates move, which owners are notified and what remains manual.
Pass condition: the team can identify the blocked work and the person who must decide whether the launch date changes. A new date is not automatically a new client commitment.
2. Return an approval for changes
Let the approver reject the sample. Replace the draft with a revised file and repeat approval. Check whether the accepted version and decision remain identifiable.
Pass condition: “approved” refers to the correct asset. If the software cannot enforce the gate, write down the human check required before scheduling.
3. Test a client and the exit
Use an authorized guest to inspect access to the sample project and an unrelated test project. Record the invitation’s billing effect. Export the sample work, then open the result outside the platform.
Pass condition: the client sees only permitted material; billing is understood; you know whether owners, dates, comments, attachments and links survive the export. Missing fields need a documented migration plan.
Prepare the work that goes into the board
CONTENT PLANNING
Content calendar
Prepare the publishing schedule before assigning individual production tasks.
Open the calendar → DECISIONS & FOLLOW-UPMeeting management software
Compare the meeting layer when decisions and action items are lost before they reach a project.
Compare meeting tools → REUSABLE STARTING POINTSWork templates
Find planning and review structures to adapt to a real team process.
Browse templates →