Let's be honest about Trello first: the drag-and-drop Kanban board is one of the most satisfying interfaces ever built for tracking something through stages. If you're running a content pipeline, a hiring funnel, or a product sprint with defined columns, Trello clicks in a way few tools do. That's a real advantage, and it's worth saying plainly.
But here's the thing — most of your actual work isn't a pipeline. Most of it is a pile. Meeting notes, follow-ups, ideas that need a reminder, files you need to find later, tasks that don't belong in any column because they're just... things that need to get done. Trello's board metaphor starts to feel like a constraint the moment you try to use it for everything. That's exactly the gap TaskLoco was built to fill: a place where every thought, task, and file lives on a sticky note, organized the way your brain actually works.
The Board Isn't the Problem — It's That Everything Becomes a Board
Trello's core metaphor is elegant: lists of cards, arranged in columns, dragged through stages. For workflows with clear states — To Do, In Progress, Done — it's intuitive and visual. Power-Ups extend it with calendars, automation, and integrations. For teams who live and breathe Kanban, it's hard to fault.
The friction starts when you need something that isn't a staged workflow. A quick meeting note. A reminder to call someone back. A file you want to attach to a thought before it disappears. In Trello, everything has to become a card on a board, and that card has to live somewhere in a column. That overhead is invisible at first and exhausting over time. You end up with a graveyard board called "Miscellaneous" that nobody opens.
TaskLoco doesn't ask you to fit your thinking into a structure. A note is just a note — with a title, a body, attachments, a reminder, and a place on your wall. You arrange your wall the way you think, not the way a software designer decided pipelines work.
What TaskLoco Has That Trello Buries Behind Power-Ups
Trello's free tier is genuinely usable, but the features that make it a real productivity tool — advanced automation, custom fields, calendar view, additional Power-Ups — sit behind paid tiers or require third-party integrations. The base product is intentionally minimal. That's a design philosophy, not a flaw, but it means you're often stitching things together.
TaskLoco Premium is the opposite philosophy: everything in one place, no assembly required. Reminders are built in and delivered as push notifications directly to your phone and computer — tap the notification and it deep-links you straight back to the original note, not just the app. No hunting. Optional email and SMS notifications are available as additional channels if you want them. File attachments are included with 10GB of storage. The calendar view shows every note and task with a due date in a clean monthly layout. Team sharing works the way email does — share a note, and the recipient can clone it and make it their own, no permissions configurations needed.
None of that requires a Power-Up. None of it requires a separate subscription to a third-party service. It's just there.
File Attachments That Live With the Thought, Not in a Folder
Trello lets you attach files to cards, but the mental model is still a card-on-a-board. The file is a detail on a pipeline item. In TaskLoco, the file lives on the note itself — which means it lives with the idea, the meeting, the person, or the project that generated it. That's a small structural difference with a big practical impact when you're trying to find something three weeks later.
TaskLoco Premium includes 10GB of file storage per person, with add-on storage tiers — 10GB, 50GB, 200GB, and 1TB — that are stackable if you need more. Photos, documents, PDFs, screenshots — attach them directly to the note they belong to. When a teammate shares that note with you, you clone it and the files come with it.
The Chrome extension adds another layer: one click captures any webpage — article, product listing, job post, anything — as a note, complete with the URL and any content you want to pull from it. That note lives on your wall, can hold attachments, can have a reminder, and can be shared. It's a research workflow that Trello's browser Power-Ups approximate but don't quite match.
The Honest Comparison
| Feature | TaskLoco | Trello |
|---|---|---|
| Core metaphor | Sticky notes on a freeform wall | Kanban cards on column boards |
| Best for staged workflows | Calendar view and wall organization available; not a pipeline-first tool | Genuinely excellent — drag-and-drop Kanban is Trello's core strength |
| Free native mobile app | TaskLoco Lite — anonymous, no sign-in, 20 notes on-device, no sync FREE | Free mobile app with board access |
| Free synced tier | Lite Plus+ — 30 notes, syncs across all devices, free Chrome extension FREE | Free tier syncs across devices |
| Chrome extension | One-click webpage capture — saves any page as a note instantly FREE | No equivalent one-click capture extension |
| Reminders | Push notifications to phone and computer; deep-links back to the original note. Optional email and SMS channels available. | Available via Power-Ups or paid tiers; not built into the base product |
| File attachments | 10GB included with Premium; add-on storage tiers stackable | 10MB per attachment on free tier; larger limits on paid tiers |
| Calendar view | Built into Premium — see all notes and tasks by date | Available as a Power-Up; not in base free tier |
| Team sharing | Yes — included with Premium. Each team member requires a separate subscription — currently $9.99/month per person, but TaskLoco is offering a Charter Member special: 50% off for life, currently $4.99/month per person for the first 500 subscribers with code CHARTER50. | Board-level sharing with member roles and permissions |
| Unlimited notes/tasks | Unlimited with Premium; 20 on Lite, 30 on Lite Plus+ | Unlimited cards on free tier |
| Anonymous use (no account) | TaskLoco Lite requires zero sign-in and stores nothing on any server FREE | Account required for all tiers |
| Gantt charts / timelines | Not available | Available on paid tiers via Timeline view |
| Automation | Not available | Butler automation built in — rule-based triggers and actions |
| Third-party integrations | Limited integrations | Extensive Power-Up ecosystem — Slack, Google Drive, Jira, and more |
| Full-text search | Full-text search across all notes and attachments | Search available across cards and boards |
| Per-person pricing model | One straightforward per-person subscription; charter offer locks in 50% off for life | Per-user pricing with multiple tier levels |
| 7-day free trial | No charge until day 8; cancel anytime | Free tier available; trial terms vary by plan |
Who Should Use Each
Use TaskLoco if…
- Your work is a mix of notes, tasks, ideas, and files — not a defined pipeline that fits neatly into columns
- You want reminders that push directly to your phone and computer and drop you back into the right note with one tap
- You need file attachments, a calendar view, and team sharing without configuring Power-Ups or third-party integrations
- You want to try a productivity tool completely anonymously with zero sign-in before committing to anything
- You want one transparent per-person price that includes everything — no feature tiers, no add-on module costs for core features
- You want to capture webpages instantly with a one-click Chrome extension and turn them into notes
Use Trello if…
- Your team runs on Kanban and you want the best drag-and-drop pipeline visualization available — Trello is genuinely hard to beat here
- You need Butler-style automation — rule-based triggers that move cards, send notifications, or update fields automatically
- Your workflow depends on a broad ecosystem of integrations with tools like Jira, Slack, or Google Drive via Power-Ups
- You need a Timeline / Gantt view for tracking project dependencies across dates
TaskLoco Premium is regularly $9.99/month per person. Right now, charter members can lock in 50% off the regular price — forever. That means $4.99/month per person today. And if our price ever goes up, you still pay half. Always.
Code CHARTER50 auto-applies at checkout. First 500 spots only — once they're gone, this offer is gone permanently. Act fast while spots last.
Every Premium subscription includes unlimited notes, 10GB file storage, reminders, calendar, and team sharing. Each team member requires a separate subscription. 7-day free trial — no charge until day 8. Cancel anytime.
Free Options: TaskLoco vs Trello
TaskLoco Lite
- Native iPhone & Android app
- Completely anonymous — no sign-in
- Data stays on your device
- Up to 20 notes
- Free forever
TaskLoco Lite Plus+
- Web app + Chrome extension
- Sign in with Google
- Wall syncs across all devices
- Up to 30 notes
- Free forever
Lock In 50% Off — Forever
7-day free trial. No charge until day 8. CHARTER50 auto-applies at checkout.
🔒 Lock In My Charter SpotSee TaskLoco in Action
Frequently Asked Questions
Is TaskLoco actually a Trello replacement or just a different kind of tool?
It depends on how you use Trello. If Trello's Kanban board is the core of how your team manages staged workflows, TaskLoco isn't a direct replacement — it doesn't do drag-and-drop pipeline columns. But if you use Trello because it's the best-known productivity tool and you've always found the board metaphor a bit forced for daily work, TaskLoco is a genuine upgrade. Notes, reminders, file attachments, calendar view, and team sharing — all in one place, no board required.
Does TaskLoco have a free version?
Two, actually. TaskLoco Lite is the native iPhone and Android app — completely anonymous, no sign-in required, stores up to 20 notes only on your device. TaskLoco Lite Plus+ is the web app and Chrome extension — free, sign in with Google, syncs up to 30 notes across all your devices. Neither free tier includes reminders, file attachments, or team sharing. Those are Premium features, and Premium comes with a 7-day free trial — no charge until day 8.
What does the TaskLoco Chrome extension do?
One click captures any webpage as a note — article, product page, job listing, anything. The note lands on your TaskLoco wall with the URL and content you want to pull from it. From there you can add attachments, set a reminder, or share it with a teammate. It's free and works with both Lite Plus+ and Premium.
How does team sharing work in TaskLoco compared to Trello?
In Trello, sharing means adding someone to a board and managing their role and permissions. In TaskLoco, sharing works like sending an email — you share a note, the recipient gets it, and they can clone it and make it completely their own copy. No permissions to configure, no access levels to manage. It's faster and simpler, especially for teams that share information without needing a formal approval workflow.
How do TaskLoco reminders work?
Set a reminder on any note and it's delivered as a push notification to your phone and your computer. Tap it and it deep-links you directly back to the original note — you land in context, not just in the app. Optional email notifications are available as a free additional channel. Optional SMS notifications are an add-on. Reminders are a Premium feature.
What are the real reasons to stick with Trello instead of switching?
Three genuine ones: Trello's Kanban board is best-in-class for visualizing staged workflows — if your team runs on columns, nothing replicates that feel. Trello's Butler automation lets you create rule-based triggers that move cards and fire notifications automatically, which TaskLoco doesn't have. And Trello's Power-Up ecosystem connects to a wide range of third-party tools that TaskLoco has limited integration with. If those features are central to your workflow, Trello earns its place.
What does TaskLoco Premium cost?
$9.99/month per person (currently $4.99/month per person for first 500 charter members with code CHARTER50)
Born in Brooklyn. Powered by AWS. Your data stays yours.
TaskLoco is available on iPhone, Android, Chrome, and every web browser.