At Balay ni Bruno & Co. our team works remotely across several client accounts. We wanted one shared board where everyone can see their tasks, without paying per person every time someone new joins. So before choosing, we ranked 8 task board tools plus 2 extras against one simple question: what happens to the free plan as the team grows?
How the Free Plans Compare
Here is what each free plan allowed when we checked in November 2026. Free plans change, so check the current terms before you commit.
| Tool | Free plan limit that matters for a team |
|---|---|
| ClickUp (Free Forever) | Unlimited members |
| Trello | 10 collaborators per free workspace |
| monday.com | 2 seats |
| Asana | 2 seats |
| Notion | 1,000 block limit once 2 or more members share it |
Free plan limits as we found them in November 2026.
For a team that keeps adding people, ClickUp's free plan was the only one that did not put a ceiling on headcount. That made the choice for us.
The Setup Mistakes Worth Avoiding
Picking the tool was the easy part. Setting it up taught us more. These are the things we would tell any business owner on day one.
On the free plan, guests can edit everything, and that setting cannot be changed. A guest invite gives you no extra protection, so invite your team as members.
ClickUp's onboarding creates 2 sample Spaces, and they use 2 of the 5 Spaces the free plan allows. Check they only hold samples, then delete them.
Typing one email and pressing Enter sends that invite straight away. To invite several people at once, add each email as its own entry, then click "Send free invites".
The free plan has no private Spaces. If the owner has tasks the team should not see, keep them in a separate workspace.
If you assign tasks automatically, match each person by their exact email. One teammate's first name sat inside another person's full name, and one early build put cards on the wrong person.
Easy to get wrong
- Inviting the team as guests to "limit" them
- Leaving the 2 sample Spaces in place
- Assigning tasks by matching first names
- Owner's private tasks on the shared board
What we do now
- Everyone joins as a member
- Sample Spaces checked and deleted
- Tasks matched to people by exact email
- Owner's own tasks in a separate workspace
If You Connect It to Your Other Tools
We keep our board in step with the rest of our systems, so tasks appear and close on their own. If you plan to do the same, two things caught us out.
Each key belongs to one workspace: a personal access key only works in the workspace where it was made. A new workspace needs its own key.
A new key switches off the old one everywhere: if you make a fresh key, every computer still using the old one stops working until it gets the new one. Hand it over privately, never through a shared folder.
A free task board can carry a whole remote team, as long as you pick one that does not cap headcount and you set it up with members, clean Spaces and email-based matching from the start.
Common Questions
Which free task board allows unlimited team members?
When we compared the main options in November 2026, ClickUp's Free Forever plan was the only free plan with unlimited members. Trello's free plan capped a workspace at 10 collaborators, monday.com and Asana capped their free plans at 2 seats, and Notion's free plan hit a 1,000 block limit once two or more members shared it.
Should I invite my team to ClickUp as guests or members?
As members. On the free plan, guests can edit everything and that cannot be changed, so a guest invite gives no extra protection. Inviting your team as members is the clearer and safer choice.
Why do I only have 3 Spaces left on ClickUp's free plan?
ClickUp's onboarding creates 2 sample Spaces, and they count toward the 5 Spaces the free plan allows. Check that they only hold sample content, then delete them to get those 2 Spaces back.
Key Takeaways
- Check what a free plan does to headcount before anything else.
- In our November 2026 comparison, ClickUp's free plan was the only one with unlimited members.
- Invite your team as members, because free guests can edit everything anyway.
- Delete the 2 sample Spaces so you keep all 5 free Spaces.
- Match people by exact email, and keep the owner's private tasks in a separate workspace.