Google Tasks vs. Trello Summary
Who is Google Tasks for?
Google Tasks is a task management app that is simultaneously extremely easy to use, but also very simple and limited in what features it offers. It does however have an excellent integration with Google Calendar.
This ease of use and limited features makes Google Tasks perfect for users who just need an app where they can write down a task, set a reminder and have it synchronized with Google Calendar.
In exchange for this simplicity, users sacrifice various features such as customization, collaboration, complex calendar views, organization and filters etc.
Who is Trello for?
Trello is a project management app for individuals and companies and is built around the principles of Kanban.
Kanban is a work visualization method where you organize work into boards, and tasks have to traverse multiple boards from start to finish.
For example, let’s say you have a task called “Repair kitchen door”, and four Kanban boards:
- Define problem.
- Define requirements.
- Implementing solution.
- Quality assurance test.
In Kanban, the “Repair kitchen door” task starts in the “Define problem” board. There you write what exactly needs to be fixed: the hinges, handle, the door frame itself etc.
One that’s done, you move the task to the “Define requirements” board. There you specify how the problem can be fixed: getting new hinges, replacing the handle, fixing the door frame etc.
The task then goes to the “Implementing solution” board where you detail how the door was fixed, and from there to the “Quality assurance test” where you test the door to make sure it was fixed properly.
If you like this Kanban process, then Trello is the app for you. While primarily a project management app, the free version has a bunch of features found in traditional task management and to do apps such as reminders, completing tasks etc.
Ease of use
Google Tasks ease of use
Google Tasks is probably one of the easiest to use task management currently available.
You open the app and all you see is a simple screen where you see:
- Your lists of tasks.
- Favorite tasks.
- An Add Task button
- Completed tasks.
That’s it.
No tagging features, no collaboration, no calendar view, no filters etc. Google Tasks doesn’t even have a Settings button.
On a psychological level, this makes Google Tasks feel very low stress since opening and using the app doesn’t feel like work.
Trello ease of use
As a project management app, Trello is more feature rich but a bit more complicated to use compared to personal task management and to-do apps such as Todoist or Google Tasks.
Properly using Trello requires an initial time investment to set everything up properly, but also learning how to integrate a project management tool into your life.
The reward is that Trello offers a more structured way of handling tasks and projects, excellent collaboration features, and a pleasant UI once you learn Trello’s work philosophy.
Organization
Google Tasks organization
Google Tasks lets you organize tasks in 3 ways:
- Lists
- Subtasks.
- Tasks saved to Favorites.
The absence of a tagging feature is very noticeable, since many users rely on that feature to better sort and organize their tasks.
You can however save certain tasks to a Favorite list which can contain tasks from all of your lists.
Google Tasks lets you create subtasks for each task. However, the app does not let you create a chain of subtasks.
For example, in Todoist and TickTick, you can attach a subtask to a subtask, and then another subtask to that subtask.
In Google Tasks, this is not possible and you can only have a main task/sub task organization.
Very importantly however, subtasks in Google Tasks function as normal tasks, meaning you can attach individual descriptions and reminders for every subtask.
Although these features might seem basic, not all task management apps allow such features for subtasks.
Finally, Google Tasks only has basic sorting features where you can sort tasks by date, title, default order or recently saved.
Trello organization
Trello’s interface is built around Boards, Lists and Cards. A card represents an actual task, to which you can attach information such as photos, documents, descriptions etc.
A board contains lists, and lists contain cards.
Normally, boards in Kanban are supposed to represent what stage of work a certain task is in.
Trello however is quite flexible, so you can just as easily structure boards to be the equivalent of a list or a project in traditional to-do apps.
Besides boards and cards, Trello also lets you add labels to cards (tasks).
Using the search function, you can then filter through cards based on what is written in the label.
Finally, you can also add checklists to cards. Unfortunately, checklists in Trello are quite limited and don’t have many features found in task management apps such as Todoist:
- Checklist items cannot have individual reminders.
- Checklist items do not have their own start date and due date.
- You cannot add comments, attachments or descriptions to checklist items.
Scheduling and reminders
Google Tasks scheduling and reminders
Google Tasks scheduling and reminder features is better than nearly every other to-do app on the market.
Tasks can be scheduled to be either one time only, or to repeat themselves at regular intervals.
Repeating tasks can be scheduled in every possible configuration:
- Repeats every week, but only on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Repeats once every 3 months
- Repeats every month on the last Friday
- Repeats every 3 weeks.
- Etc.
We would have liked it if Google Tasks had the option to attach multiple reminders to a single task (such as 1 hour before start, 30 minutes before start, 10 minutes etc.) but that’s a minor complaint.
Trello scheduling and reminders
In Trello, cards (tasks) can have a start date and a due date. Task reminders are only triggered if there is a due date attached to the card. You are also limited to just one reminder per task.
Using standard settings, Trello lets you make only one-time cards/tasks, but not repeating tasks.
You can activate this feature, but it requires you to go to the desktop or web version, activate the “Card Repeater” plugin and then configure a card/task to repeat itself at certain intervals.
Unfortunately, you can only do this on the desktop or web version, so you cannot schedule repeating tasks on mobile.
Because repeating tasks are so tedious to use and limited only to desktop users, we consider that Trello doesn’t have a properly functioning repeating task feature.
Calendar and other integrations
Google Tasks calendar and other integrations
One of the biggest advantages of using Google Tasks is its deep integration with Google Calendar. This integration is automatic, you don’t need to do anything.
Adding a reminder to a task automatically creates a Google Calendar entry, without you having to synchronize Google Tasks and Google Calendar.
Unfortunately, Google Tasks doesn’t provide the option to directly integrate with other calendar apps such as iCal or Outlook Calendar,
Finally, Google Tasks doesn’t directly integrate with other programs such as Notion, Evernote, Slack etc.
Instead, you will have to integrate other apps with Google Calendar, and any information those other apps save into Google Calendar should be viewable into Google Tasks as well.
Trello calendar and other integrations
Trello doesn’t have free native integrations for the Google or Outlook calendar apps.
Instead, this is a paid plugin which you must activate on the web or desktop version of Trello.
In fact, this is a common problem with Trello. A large number of Trello features must first be activated from the desktop or web version, but even then it might not work on the mobile version of Trello.
Most of these plugins are also paid, so you have to take that into consideration.
However, Trello has so many plugins available that you can personalize and add new features that might not be available on other to-do or task management apps.
AI Features and Integrations
Google Tasks AI Features and Integrations
Google Tasks doesn’t have any AI features within the app, meaning there aren’t any buttons or options where you can ask an AI to create tasks or reminders.
Instead, Google Tasks integrates with Gemini or Google Assistant, and you can create or read tasks from those apps.
Based on our usage, Google’s own Gemini app seems to work best with Google Tasks, but it does have limitations. For example, Gemini can’t break down a large task into subtasks.
Other AI tools such as ChatGPT or Claude can also be integrated into Google Tasks/Calendar, but requires you to setup a Zapier account to do so.
Trello AI Features and Integrations
Trello’s free version doesn’t have any AI features integrated into the app.
You will need to subscribe to the $10 monthly plan to get access to AI and other features. Or you can try any of the various AI plugins available in the Trello plugin list.
Finally, Trello doesn’t have any natural language features that can transform written sentences into cards, reminders etc.
Special or unique features
Google Tasks special or unique features
Google Tasks is very simple compared to many of its competitors, but it still has a few, highly distinct features:
- Integration with Gemini/Google Assistant. It feels very nice to chat with an AI about your tasks, or to ask the AI to create new tasks itself. Unfortunately, you have to use Gemini for this to work properly.
- Excellent integration with Google Calendar. Google Tasks has the best integration with Google Calendar out of any task management app we’ve tested.
- Overall simplicity. Google Tasks has very few features compared to competitors, but this also makes the app very simple to use and understand.
Trello special or unique features
Trello is an old and very feature rich project management app that has lots of unique features for the right users.
Here are the features we think set it apart:
- Intuitive Kanban UI. Many other task management or project management apps have integrated Kanban features, but in our opinion Trello still does Kanban better than everyone else.
- Plugins and ecosystem. If you need Trello to do a certain task, then it’s almost certain you can find a plugin for it.
Cross-platform compatibility
Google Tasks cross-platform compatibility
Google Tasks can be downloaded on the following platforms:
- Mobile: Android and iOS.
- Other: Android and iOS smartwatches.
Importantly, Google Tasks doesn’t have a downloadable version for Windows or macOS. For those platforms you will have to use the web version instead.
Trello cross-platform compatibility
Trello can be downloaded on the following platforms:
- Desktop/laptops: Windows and macOS.
- Mobile: Android and iOS.
- Web versions for both mobile and desktop.
Collaboration and sharing
Google Tasks collaboration and sharing
Google Tasks has no built-in collaboration features. This means you cannot share a shopping list with your partner, or share a list of work tasks with your colleagues.
Any task saved into Google Tasks is yours and only yours.
The only exception to this is for companies that have paid for and set up a Google Workspace. From within Google Workspace, a person can share or assign tasks to others from within Gmail, Google Chat etc.
Trello collaboration and sharing
Trello is entirely built around working with others and has excellent collaboration features.
To start, you can even give someone access to your entire workspace (which contains all your boards and cards).
If that sounds too much, you can invite them to access only a certain board. From there, the other person can leave comments, create tasks, attach files etc.
As a board owner, you can also assign cards to other people, or approve/deny changes.
The free version of Trello allows up to 10 collaborators per workspace, which should be enough for families and small businesses.
Pricing
Google Tasks pricing
Google Tasks is completely free.
Trello pricing
Trello has a very good free version, but the paid plans unlocks even more features.
For individual users, Trello offers a Standard plan ($5 per month) and a Premium plan ($10 per month).
Some of the features unlocked by paying include: native AI integration, custom fields, list colors, uploading files up to 250 MB, different views: calendar, timeline, table, map etc.