Comparison
Manage Agency vs Trello
Honest breakdown for agencies choosing between a real client portal and a shared Trello board. Trello is useful — but sharing a board with a client isn't a portal.
Pick Manage Agency if…
- — Clients need their own login and dedicated portal experience.
- — You want contracts, onboarding, and approvals — not just cards.
- — You want the client-facing surface to carry your brand.
- — Your agency is growing past one shared board per client.
Stay on Trello if…
- — A shared board link is genuinely enough for your clients.
- — All you need is basic card-based task tracking.
- — You're a solo operator with one or two simple projects.
- — The free tier covers everything you need today.
Feature by feature
Real client login with authentication
Trello guests see boards — no dedicated client identity or portal.
Separate branded client portal
Trello has no concept of a client portal — it's a board.
Per-client feature toggles
No equivalent in Trello.
White-label branding (logo + colours)
Trello Business has custom backgrounds — nothing per-client.
Custom domain for client portal
On the Manage Agency roadmap — not possible in Trello.
Client-facing onboarding checklists
Trello checklists exist on cards but have no client completion UX.
Contracts send + sign + track
No contract or e-signature feature in Trello.
Deliverables with status + approvals
Trello cards can track status; no dedicated approval flow.
Messaging in context of a client
Trello has card comments — nothing scoped to a client relationship.
Role-based permissions (agency vs client)
Trello has member vs guest; no agency/client role distinction.
Built specifically for agencies
Trello is a general-purpose task board.
Audit trail of status changes
Trello has card activity; no structured audit log.
Export your data at any time
Kanban view + drag-to-reorder
Trello is native Kanban — it does this well.
Simple, fast setup with no config
Both tools are quick to get into.
Free tier available
Both tools offer free access.
A board link isn't a portal. Give clients a proper home.
If you're sharing Trello boards with clients today, you already know it doesn't feel right. A portal scoped to the client, branded to your agency, and built around the relationship — that's what this is.