Knowledge migration

Trello → Notion

Notion's Trello importer turns boards into databases, cards into items, and lists into groups. It is built for boards under about 5,000 cards and 5,000 comments. Power-Ups, automations, and permissions stay behind.

Typical timeline8–20 business days16–40 hours active work

Statusneeds review

Source profileTrello export help reviewed 2026-11-01

Destination profileNotion import help reviewed 2026-11-01

Documentation date2026-11-01

Review window2026-11-012027-02-01

Evidence3 sources

This route needs review.Use it as a planning baseline, then verify the dated sources and test with representative data before production.

Before you migrate

Should you make this move?

Both platforms have a case. Compare what you gain with what you give up before scheduling the cutover.

Current platform

Trello

Reasons to stay

Visual boards are immediately understandable and require almost no training
Structured ownership, status, and workflow views improve operational visibility

Reasons to leave

Dependencies, planning depth, reporting, and scale expose its simplicity
Custom fields, automations, history, and reporting are difficult to reproduce exactly

New platform

Notion

What gets better

Polished pages and databases let teams build flexible workspaces without code
Flexible documents make it easy to capture and organize team knowledge

What gets worse

Offline use, export fidelity, and large-workspace governance remain weak points
Structure, links, permissions, and rich blocks often degrade during export

Best of the move

Notion: Polished pages and databases let teams build flexible workspaces without code. This removes a major source-side concern: Dependencies, planning depth, reporting, and scale expose its simplicity.

Worst of the move

What you lose: Visual boards are immediately understandable and require almost no training. What you inherit: Offline use, export fidelity, and large-workspace governance remain weak points.

Jump to a section

01At a glance

Know the shape of the move.

Transfer outcome12 features audited

Clean0

Partial5

Manual5

Lost2

Mapping route8 of 10 fields have a destination path

SourceTrello10 mapped fields

Automatic3

Transform3

Manual2

Unsupported2

DestinationNotion8 supported paths

This timeline assumes

You are importing boards with Notion's Trello importer on desktop or web. Notion says imports are not available on mobile.
The site already documents Trello → Asana and Trello → Linear.
A board you care about is under the limits Notion publishes, or you split it first.
Trello stays available until the team has used the Notion boards for a real week.
You accept that Power-Ups will be rebuilt or dropped.

02What transfers

What survives the move.

“Partial” and “manual” are not footnotes. They are work that must be scheduled and verified.

Item	Outcome	Impact	What happens	Mitigation
Boards, lists, and cards	partial	critical	Notion says a board imports as a database, a card as an item, and a list as a group. You can send the board to a teamspace, a private space, or an existing database. An existing database needs a field mapping before the import starts.	Import one board into a new database first. Map fields only after that shape looks right.
Size limits	partial	critical	Notion says the importer is reliable up to about 5,000 cards per board, recommends about 5,000 comments per board, and allows 10 boards at a time. Going past the comment guidance can drop comments even when the import succeeds.	Split large boards. Count comments before you start.
Power-Ups, automations, and permissions	lost	high	Notion says those do not carry over and have to be rebuilt.	List Butler rules and Power-Ups. Recreate the ones the team used last month.
Anything that is not a board	lost	medium	Notion says Trello content that cannot be represented as a board, list, or card may not transfer.	Walk the board menu for views and Power-Up data that live outside the card.
Comments over the guidance	partial	high	The import can report success and still lose comments once you pass the recommended comment count.	Export a JSON backup from Trello and spot-check comment-heavy cards.
Members and guests	manual	high	Trello membership does not become Notion page permissions. People see the new database only if you invite them.	Invite the same people before you ask them to stop using Trello.
Attachments	partial	high	Card attachments need a check after import. A link to a Trello file can break when you later close the board.	Open a card with a file, an image cover, and a link. Download anything that still points at Trello.
JSON export versus the importer	manual	medium	Trello can export a board as JSON. Notion's current help describes an account link, not a JSON upload, as the Trello path.	Use the importer for the move. Keep the JSON as the backup.
Connection errors	manual	medium	Notion says a stuck spinner can mean you should remove and re-add the Trello account, and an unrecognized URL means the board link is not in a supported shape.	Reconnect once. If it fails again, export JSON and import a smaller board.
Learning time	manual	high	In a January 2025 Reddit thread, DougFromFinance wrote that it took him about six months to make Notion work, and that he then had nothing left in Trello. SundayRed replied in April 2025 that he had moved the other way, back to Trello, because Notion felt too complex for how he works.	Run one team on Notion for a week before you archive Trello.
Link previews	partial	low	Notion's Trello connection can also paste a card as a live preview. That is not a migration. The card still lives in Trello.	Do not treat pasted previews as an import.
Workspace location	manual	medium	Importing into the wrong teamspace hides the boards from the people who need them.	Pick the destination teamspace in the importer. Check with a second account.

03Field and feature mapping

Where each thing goes.

Source	Destination	Method	Notes
Board	Database	automatic	Or map into an existing database.
List	Group	automatic	Notion's word is group, usually a status.
Card	Database item	automatic	Title and description come across with the card.
Label	Property you map	transform	Required if the destination database already exists.
Member	Person property or a mention	manual	Invite them separately.
Comment	Discussion	transform	They come across until a board is past Notion's comment guidance. Check the heavy cards.
Attachment	File on the item	transform	Open one after import.
Power-Up data	No destination	unsupported	Rebuild or drop.
Butler rule	No destination	unsupported	Rebuild as a Notion automation if you still need it.
Board permission	Page permission	manual	Set it after import.

04Before you begin

Make the move recoverable.

Backup procedure

Create the source-of-truth backup

Keep a Trello JSON export so a comment loss is recoverable.

Count cards and comments on each board.
Export each board as JSON from the board menu.
Note Power-Ups and Butler rules in a short list.
Import one small board and compare it with Trello before you queue the rest.
Leave the Trello boards open.

Proof to capture: A JSON file per board and a card-and-comment count.

Transformation · Notion Settings, Import, Trello

Native importer

Create a database per board without a JSON upload.

Connect Trello from desktop or web.
Pick up to 10 boards.
Send them to a new database unless you have already mapped fields.

Proof to capture: Save the input, output, command or tool settings, warnings, and final item counts.

Transformation · Trello list moves, then a second import

Split large boards

Stay inside the published card and comment guidance.

Split a board that is over about 5,000 cards or comments.
Import each piece.
Compare comment counts on the heaviest cards.

Proof to capture: Save the input, output, command or tool settings, warnings, and final item counts.

05Handle with care

The things most likely to hurt.

These are operating limits. Treat every “Stop if” condition as a blocked migration, not a suggestion.

Pilot

Comments disappear on a successful import

criticalpossible likelihood

The board is over the comment guidance and Notion still says the import finished.

Consequence: The database looks done and the discussion is gone.
Mitigation: Count comments first and keep the JSON export.

Stop if: A heavy card is missing comments you can still see in Trello.

Cutover

The team cannot find the database

highpossible likelihood

The import landed in a private space.

Consequence: People keep working in Trello because Notion looks empty.
Mitigation: Import into the teamspace and invite the members.

Stop if: A second user cannot open the database.

Planning

Power-Ups were the real workflow

highpossible likelihood

The board depends on a Power-Up or Butler rule you did not list.

Consequence: Cards arrive and the process does not run.
Mitigation: Write down every Power-Up before you archive Trello.

Stop if: A daily automation has no Notion replacement and no one accepts the manual step.

06Precise timeline

Do the work in this order.

Estimate forA workspace of Trello boards moving into Notion with the official importer

Total elapsed8–20 business days

Active work16–40 hours

BufferAdd time for boards over 5,000 cards, or for rebuilding several Power-Ups.

Days 1–3Counts and Power-Ups1–3 days

Days 2–4JSON export1–2 days

Days 4–10One board3–6 days

Days 10–14Import and invite1–3 days

Days 13–20One working week5–7 days

01
Days 1–3 · inventory
Counts and Power-Ups
3–6 hours active1–3 days elapsedBoard owners waiting
- Count cards and comments.
- List Power-Ups and Butler rules.
Depends on: A Trello admin and a Notion workspace owner
Stop / go checkpoint
Export JSON?
Go when: Every board is under the limit or has a split plan.
Stop when: A board over the comment guidance has no split.
02
Days 2–4 · backup
JSON export
2–4 hours active1–2 days elapsedExport download waiting
- Export each board as JSON.
- Store the files outside Trello.
Depends on: Board list
Stop / go checkpoint
Import a sample?
Go when: Each board has a JSON file and a count.
Stop when: An export is missing.
03
Days 4–10 · pilot
One board
4–12 hours active3–6 days elapsedTeam review waiting
- Import one board into the right teamspace.
- Check cards, comments, and a file attachment.
Depends on: JSON backups
Stop / go checkpoint
Import the rest?
Go when: The sample matches Trello on the checks you signed.
Stop when: Comments or files are missing.
04
Days 10–14 · cutover
Import and invite
4–10 hours active1–3 days elapsedImporter waiting
- Import the remaining boards, 10 at a time.
- Invite members and tell them Trello is read-only.
Depends on: Passed sample
Stop / go checkpoint
Stop Trello edits?
Go when: A second user can see every database.
Stop when: A board failed to connect.
05
Days 13–20 · observe
One working week
3–8 hours active5–7 days elapsedReal use waiting
- Watch whether cards are updated in Notion.
- Keep Trello boards available.
Depends on: Invites sent
Stop / go checkpoint
Close Trello?
Go when: The team got through a week without reopening Trello to edit.
Stop when: People are still moving cards in Trello.

07The point of change

Cut over with a way back.

Go live

Cutover

Finish the imports and make Notion the place new card updates happen.

Recommended window: After one board has been checked, not on a mobile-only day. The importer is desktop or web.

Import remaining boards in batches of 10.
Invite the members into the teamspace.
Compare counts with the JSON exports.
Tell the team Trello is the archive.
Leave the boards in place for the week.

Proof to capture: Each board has a database, a second user can open it, and card counts match.

Return to safety

Rollback

Send the team back to Trello, which still has the original boards.

Deadline: Before you close or delete the Trello boards.

Tell the team to edit Trello again.
Export any Notion comments written after the import.
Copy those notes onto the Trello cards that need them.
Leave the Notion databases in place so you can retry.
Do not close the Trello boards.

Proof to capture: Trello is the board people edit. Notion is not required for the day's work.

Rollback immediately when

Missing comments on a heavy card
A board over the limit imported anyway
Members cannot open the database
A Power-Up workflow has no replacement
The team is still doing the work in Trello after a week

08Verification report

Prove the migration worked.

Every blocking check must pass. Capture the evidence before cleanup begins.

ID	Check	Method	Expected result	Evidence
`V-01`Blocking	Cards	Compare Trello card counts with Notion database items.	Counts match for every board.	Count sheet.
`V-02`Blocking	Heavy cards	Open the three cards with the most comments.	Comments match Trello, or the board was split first.	Comment sample.
`V-03`Blocking	Groups	Compare list names with the group property.	Every list you kept is a group.	Board screenshot.
`V-04`Blocking	Attachment	Open a card with a file and a cover image.	The file opens without a Trello login.	File check.
`V-05`Blocking	Second user	Sign in as someone who is not the importer.	They can open the teamspace databases.	Access note.
`V-06`Blocking	Batch size	Confirm no import was over 10 boards or a board you did not split past the guidance.	Splits happened first.	Import log.
`V-07`Blocking	Power-Ups	Walk the Power-Up list with the board owner.	Each one is rebuilt, replaced, or dropped in writing.	Power-Up list.
`V-08`Blocking	JSON files	Open one JSON export and find a card title.	The backup is readable outside Notion.	JSON sample.

09Post-migration cleanup

Remove the scaffolding safely.

Safe after: A week of edits in Notion, with Trello boards still open.

Store the JSON exports with the count sheet.
Remove the Notion import user's extra Trello access if you granted it only for the move.
Keep Trello until the team agrees it is an archive.
Close boards only after that agreement.
Rebuild or delete the Butler rules you listed.
Review Notion permissions on the imported teamspace.

10Experiences from the field

When the plan met reality.

First-hand accounts are preferred. Vendor case studies are labeled, and every note below is an editorial paraphrase—follow the link for the full context.

First-person accountDougFromFinance · RedditJan 9, 2025

One person emptied Trello into Notion, and another moved back2025

On 9 January 2025, DougFromFinance replied to a designer who was using Trello and Notion side by side. He wrote that it took a solid six months to make Notion work, that leaving Trello was hard, and that he then had nothing left in Trello. On 28 April 2025, SundayRed replied on the same thread that he had just migrated from Notion back to Trello, because Trello felt more polished and simpler for his use, and because a tool people will not open does not get used. Neither comment names an importer, a card count, or a lost attachment.

What they recommend

Plan for a learning period. DougFromFinance's was about six months, and it was his own use.
Ask whether the team will open Notion every day. SundayRed's reason for returning was complexity.

Worth noticing

One commenter finished in Notion and preferred it. Another finished a move back to Trello.
The thread is about fit over months. It is not a record of what the importer keeps.

Sources and evidence

Verify against the primary material.

Platform behavior changes. Check these sources and the review dates above before executing a production migration.

Notion: import dataAccessed 2026-11-01
Trello: export dataAccessed 2026-11-01
Notion: Trello connectionAccessed 2026-11-01

Know the shape of the move.

This timeline assumes

What survives the move.

Where each thing goes.

Make the move recoverable.

Create the source-of-truth backup

Native importer

Split large boards

The things most likely to hurt.

Comments disappear on a successful import

The team cannot find the database

Power-Ups were the real workflow

Do the work in this order.

Counts and Power-Ups

Export JSON?

JSON export

Import a sample?

One board

Import the rest?

Import and invite

Stop Trello edits?

One working week

Close Trello?

Cut over with a way back.

Cutover

Rollback

Prove the migration worked.

Remove the scaffolding safely.

When the plan met reality.

Verify against the primary material.