HEAD TO HEAD
Trello vs Todoist: could you build either?
Cheapest pair on the register, and the closest thing to a fair fight — both are thin layers over a list. If you're paying for either, you're paying for sync and polish, not logic.
Side by side
| Trello | Todoist | |
|---|---|---|
| verdict | Build it | Build it |
| vibe score | 95/100 | 95/100 |
| time to code | a weekend | a weekend |
| their price | $5/mo | $5/mo |
| per year | $60/yr | $60/yr |
| agent cost to build | $43–$86 | $43–$86 |
| hosting after | $0/mo | $0/mo |
| category | tasks | tasks |
| last checked | 2026-08 | 2026-08 |
These land in the same place — both worth building yourself. Both are a weekend of work. They cost the same — $5/mo each — so price isn't the tiebreaker here.
Why Trello gets Build it
- Drag-and-drop kanban libraries handle the fiddly reordering math; an agent wires the UI in a day
- Cards, lists, labels, due dates: one schema, one CRUD API
- Multi-board, multi-user for yourself alone needs no real access-control system
Why Todoist gets Build it
- Tasks, projects, due dates, done states: an afternoon of schema and forms
- Natural-language dates ("every other friday") are a solved problem with existing date libraries an agent wires in cleanly
- A PWA on your phone's home screen covers the mobile app for one person
Where the builds overlap
Both rebuilds are made of parts from the Vibe Codeability Database. The shared ones are work you'd do once either way — the split ones are what actually separates these two.
SHARED — 3 parts
| Landing page | 99 |
| CRUD database | 95 |
| User login | 92 |
ONLY TRELLO
Nothing — every part of this rebuild is also in Todoist.
ONLY TODOIST
Nothing — every part of this rebuild is also in Trello.
What you lose leaving Trello
- Butler-style automation rules ('when a card enters this list, do X') are a small workflow engine, not a weekend add-on
- Power-Ups (their plugin ecosystem) — you lose every third-party integration your team already uses
- Real-time sync so two people see the same board update instantly is doable but adds real complexity beyond solo use
What you lose leaving Todoist
- True offline sync across three devices is genuinely hard — the free tier of just paying is cheaper than building sync you trust
- Shared projects with a partner or team
- Ten years of their keyboard-shortcut muscle memory
Read the full verdicts
Questions
Is Trello or Todoist easier to build yourself?
These land in the same place — both worth building yourself. Both are a weekend of work. They cost the same — $5/mo each — so price isn't the tiebreaker here.
Can I build Trello?
Build it. A kanban board is columns, cards, and drag-to-reorder. That's a well-worn UI pattern with mature libraries behind it — the hard part of Trello was never the board, it's the automation rules layered on top, which most people never touch.
Can I build Todoist?
Build it. A task list is the classic first app for a reason: it's CRUD with a due date. The weekend goes on the parts that make you actually keep using it — quick capture and recurring tasks.
What do Trello and Todoist have in common technically?
Both rebuilds need landing page, crud database, user login. That shared foundation is why they score similarly on the parts they overlap on — the difference comes from what each one adds on top.
Other comparisons
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New verdicts, when they land
An occasional email when new apps get reviewed — the verdict, the effort, and what changed. No tracking pixels, no drip sequence, one click to leave.