Trello is shutting down project management?

1. What happened with Trello

Trello's repositioning wasn't sudden. Over the past year, small cues - feature delays, fewer updates to collaborative views - hinted at a shift. The official announcement made it clear: Trello would no longer invest in team-level project management, instead focusing on personal task capture and lightweight organization.

Long-time users weren't surprised. Ever since Atlassian acquired Trello in 2017, there were concerns it would eventually overlap too much with Jira. The pivot toward personal use confirmed those fears. In fact, the Trello team posted that they will not be accepting new feature requests, which many users discussed in a Reddit thread about the change. The comments highlight confusion and frustration from teams who depended on Trello for more than individual to-do lists.

This shift leaves a gap. Trello earned loyalty because it was simple and flexible, but also powerful enough for small groups to coordinate without training. By stepping away from that balance, Atlassian is effectively directing those users toward Jira or other platforms - tools that often feel overwhelming for non-technical teams.

2. Why Atlassian is directing users to Jira

Atlassian has long owned both Trello and Jira. Jira, originally built for software development, is feature-rich and powerful. As Trello steps back from complex workflows, Atlassian is nudging many users toward Jira for features such as advanced issue tracking, custom dashboards, and automation. You can see this positioning echoed across support threads and community posts, and even comparisons like Jira vs Trello highlight how different the tools have become.

Behind the scenes, this isn't just about adding features. It's about aligning product strategy. Supporting both Trello-style simplicity and Jira-style depth is expensive. Atlassian appears to be consolidating features under Jira so that users seeking collaborative project management get more robust capabilities, while Trello focuses on lighter use cases.

Jira is also Atlassian's main revenue driver, while Trello has always been seen as an entry-level tool. From a business standpoint, it makes sense to channel serious project teams into Jira's paid ecosystem. But for many users, the jump from Trello's simple interface to Jira's complexity is not small. The learning curve, overengineering, and configuration needs in Jira often feel like more burden than help - especially for marketers, designers, content teams, or small businesses without dedicated technical resources.

3. Problems with Jira for non-technical teams

Jira's greatest strength - its depth and configurability - is also what makes it so challenging for non-technical teams. For people who don't write code, the interface, the language of issues, epics, and sprints, and the endless menus of settings can feel like an obstacle course. Something as simple as setting up a workflow or adjusting permissions can require technical knowledge that distracts from getting actual work done.

Many non-technical team members describe needing formal training just to complete what should be basic actions. For example, tasks that used to be straightforward in Trello - like editing fields or updating a dashboard - are buried several layers deep in Jira's configuration screens. One marketing consultant explained it well: “I used Trello boards with my writers, but switching to Jira felt like learning a new language.”

This complexity also creates hidden costs. More settings mean more maintenance, more potential for things to break, and more time spent on administration instead of creative or strategic work. A small agency shared that they tried Jira for campaign tracking but abandoned it after clients refused to log in. For small businesses or freelancers, that overhead quickly outweighs the benefits. It's why many teams start looking for alternatives to Jira, and comparisons such as Breeze vs Jira highlight how a simpler tool can deliver the same essentials without the weight of enterprise complexity.

4. Why Trello users loved simplicity

Trello offered a sweet spot: drag-and-drop boards, visual feedback, quick card creation, minimal setup. Teams could spin up a board for a new content calendar, campaign, or brief without formal training. No complex workflows, just visible tasks and shared context.

Many teams still value this level of simplicity. It meant less onboarding, fewer meetings to explain the process, fewer tools to maintain. When tools stay simple, people are more likely to use them consistently and with clarity - qualities that matter in content, campaign, SEO, or general project workflows. If you're weighing simplicity vs. complexity, it helps to recognize when tools get too complicated and what makes project software truly simple.

For collaborators who aren't full-time tech users - editors, writers, clients - the quick visual cues, labels, and drag-and-drop made Trello feel accessible. One content team shared how they built a working content approval workflow in minutes using Trello. That kind of speed is hard to find in overbuilt tools that require weeks of setup.

5. Breeze as the alternative

Breeze gives teams a familiar board view like Trello, but keeps collaboration at the center. You still get simple drag-and-drop tasks, lists, and deadlines, plus calendars, timelines, and reports so everyone can see what's happening without switching between tools.

The main difference is that Breeze stays easy to use even as projects grow. Assigning work, setting due dates, or attaching files takes only a few clicks. Built-in time tracking and simple reports make it clear where work stands, so teams don't need complicated dashboards. For small teams, Breeze also shows how simple project management works in practice, making it easier to keep structure without adding complexity.

Breeze also works well for non-technical groups. Marketing teams, design studios, and small businesses can set it up quickly without training or heavy setup. Everyone sees the same board, which cuts down on confusion and makes responsibilities clear. That's why many teams choose to switch to simpler project management software instead of struggling with tools that try to do everything.

Moving from Trello is straightforward. You can import your boards and tasks into Breeze and keep working without starting from scratch. And if you're worried about outgrowing another tool, it helps to know the signs that a project management tool is getting too complicated. Breeze is built to avoid those pitfalls and stay useful as your team expands.

A design studio managing 12 projects shared that after switching from Trello to Breeze, they cut their weekly status emails by half. Features like public project views, which let clients check progress without creating an account, and timeline views that make deadlines clear, help teams stay aligned without adding more overhead.

6. How to migrate from Trello to Breeze

Migrating from Trello to Breeze doesn't have to be painful. Here's a practical plan that many teams have followed successfully.

Step 1: Export from Trello. Download your board data, cards, attachments, and metadata. Trello supports JSON export; Breeze's import tools are designed to read those easily. If you prefer CSV, you can export that as well, though JSON keeps more detail intact.

Step 2: Import into Breeze. Use Breeze's import features to bring in tasks, card descriptions, due dates, and assigned owners. Breeze has guidance on how to export from Trello and map fields correctly.

Step 3: Recreate workflow stages if needed. If you used lists or columns for “To Do,” “In Progress,” “Done,” replicate with Breeze's lists or boards. If you used custom fields, use Breeze's tags or filters to get similar visibility without over-engineering.

Step 4: Review and prune your backlog. Boards often carry old cards, tasks no longer relevant, or drafts never finished. Clean up before you import to avoid noise. Archive or delete what's no longer useful.

Step 5: Onboard collaborators gradually. Give write access where necessary; invite clients, writers, or stakeholders as viewers so they see tasks without needing to master advanced features. Breeze even supports public project links so clients can follow along without extra logins.

7. Conclusion

If you relied on Trello for managing content, campaigns, briefs, or calendars, the recent shift away from team workflows can feel like losing a partner. But you don't need to switch to something overwhelming or rigid. Breeze gives you the simplicity Trello offered - boards, deadlines, visual feedback - alongside features that support real collaboration.

Many teams facing this transition are upset by unnecessary complexity. If you want fewer frustrations and more clarity, consider Breeze. For comparisons, see Breeze vs Trello and Breeze vs Jira. If you're still evaluating, this overview of Trello alternatives or the guide on Jira alternatives may help you choose what makes sense for your team.

Bottom line: you shouldn't have to choose between “too simple for one person” and “too complex for your entire team.” Breeze gives you the middle path - simple where it matters, structured where it helps - so you can keep shipping work on time. Start by moving your next project into Breeze and see the difference for yourself.