Trello Free 10 boards: when indies should buy Standard

When multiple products and content calendars run in parallel, indie builders often search whether Trello Free’s ten boards are enough. This article does not compare Trello with Asana or Todoist. It only covers Free workspace caps and when Standard is justified. Facts are anchored to Trello’s pricing page as of 2026-09-28.

What a Free workspace includes

Free is $0 for up to 10 collaborators per Workspace, with unlimited cards, up to 10 boards, Inbox, unlimited Power-Ups per board, unlimited storage at 10 MB per file, 250 Workspace command runs per month, unlimited activity log, assignees and due dates, mobile apps, and 2FA. Standard is $5 per user per month annually ($6 monthly). Premium is $10 annually. Indies usually hit boards and automations first.

Merge work into ten boards

Use Product Now, Backlog, Content, Customers, Ops, and Personal, plus temporary campaign boards that archive afterward. Prefer lists over new boards. Power-Ups are unlimited per board but partners may bill separately. Merge before import and create boards only for active work.

10 MB files and 250 automations

Link files over 10 MB. Spend the 250 command runs on high-leverage reminders and list moves, not every status change. Stop adding rules near 200 runs and disable low-value commands first. Audit collaborators near ten for export-based read-only needs.

When to buy Standard—and when to wait

Buy Standard for an 11th board, automation pressure, or unlimited boards as the default. Wait when the ten-board skeleton is clear. Evaluate Premium separately if you mainly want views. After upgrading, merge duplicates and rewrite automations.

Read this beside comparison articles

Toolvori’s PM comparison covers tool choice. This page answers Free quota only. Pin naming rules, recheck pricing quarterly, and prefer lists and labels until structure breaks.

Keep the official numbers on a pinned ops note with a review date and source URL. When someone claims the free tier is always enough or that you must upgrade today, open the note instead of arguing from memory. Write upgrade triggers as a checklist: two consecutive weeks at the ceiling, mainline delivery blocked, link-out discipline already exhausted, and a paid feature that maps to the exact gap. Pay only when two of the four are true. Even as a solo builder, leave the checklist for your future self so release week does not trigger impulse subscriptions.

Pick one light monthly review: current usage, broken outbound links, and whether guests or collaborators are still needed. A single memo is enough. The conclusion should be stay on free, clean up and wait another month, or start a paid evaluation—with the next review date written in the same paragraph.

Keep the official numbers on a pinned ops note with a review date and source URL. When someone claims the free tier is always enough or that you must upgrade today, open the note instead of arguing from memory. Write upgrade triggers as a checklist: two consecutive weeks at the ceiling, mainline delivery blocked, link-out discipline already exhausted, and a paid feature that maps to the exact gap. Pay only when two of the four are true. Even as a solo builder, leave the checklist for your future self so release week does not trigger impulse subscriptions.

Pick one light monthly review: current usage, broken outbound links, and whether guests or collaborators are still needed. A single memo is enough. The conclusion should be stay on free, clean up and wait another month, or start a paid evaluation—with the next review date written in the same paragraph.