pylotik
An operational commitment management software: contracts, projects and maintenance, steered with clients, and team management. It replaces the project task tool, and keeps your ERP, to which it sends the billing orders.
Comparison French alternative to Trello: pylotik vs Trello, to steer your client projects
Looking for an alternative to Trello often means noticing that the cards move forward and the projects slip anyway. Trello organizes tasks in boards, lists and cards, simply and for everyone. pylotik, a French software designed and hosted in France, steers contracts, projects and maintenance with clients, and includes staffing, workload plan and team time. Trello remains an excellent choice for tracking tasks; it documents no client contract, no validation by the client and no native dependency management.
In 30 seconds
Cards on one side, commitments on the other.
Trello
A kanban board tool published by Atlassian: boards, lists and cards, due dates, checklists, automations and Power-Ups. It suits people and teams of all trades who want immediate visual tracking.
The difference
Trello says what is done. pylotik also says what had been promised, by which date, with which teams and what margin, and has the client validate it. The milestone, the contract and the minutes are starting objects there.
The time to switch
When Trello is no longer enough.
The signs come back from one organization to the next, as soon as the portfolio of client projects grows.
Late projects that the board did not announce
Cards move from column to column, but nothing links a card to a milestone promised to the client. Atlassian itself writes that Trello has no native dependency management between tasks, and suggests workarounds through checklists and automations.
Clients who discover the drift in a meeting
Inviting the client to a board means showing them every card, with no possible masking, and with no documented validation workflow. The committee minutes stay in a separate document, which the client contests.
Overloaded teams that nobody sees
Time entry goes through third-party Power-Ups, and the workload view is reserved for the Premium offer. Staffing is rebuilt in a spreadsheet, and the overload only shows when a team member leaves.
A margin discovered at invoicing
Fixed price, time and materials, ordered, invoiced, amount still due: these notions are not documented in Trello. They live in the ERP or in a spreadsheet, far from the project that makes them move.
In all frankness
Where Trello remains the better choice.
Tracking tasks, simply
For a team that tracks tasks with no contract to hold and no team to steer, Trello is picked up in a few minutes, and its free offer includes automations and Power-Ups.
A small team, with no budget
Trello's free offer welcomes up to ten collaborators per workspace. pylotik has neither a free version nor a trial: its prices are public, per seat per month, excluding VAT.
Native apps
Trello offers iOS, Android, macOS and Windows apps. The mobile app of pylotik is an installable web app, with no offline mode.
An API and a catalog of extensions
Trello offers a public API and a vast directory of Power-Ups. pylotik has no public API; it connects to project ticketing tools such as Jira and to the ERP, through a connector built to your needs.
Feature by feature
The comparison table.
Each cell points to the vendor's public documentation. "Not documented" means that this documentation does not mention it, not that the feature is absent.
| Feature | pylotik | TrelloCloud Act |
|---|---|---|
| European sovereignty | France | Non-EUUnited States |
| Project management (tasks, milestones, schedule) | YesWork packages, tasks, phases, milestones, Gantt | YesBoards, lists, cards, start and due dates, checklists; Timeline view reserved for Premium and Enterprise (https://support.atlassian.com/trello/docs/timeline-view/); no milestones documented. |
| Multi-project steering | YesPortfolio steering and arbitration | Via moduleWorkspace Table and Calendar views grouping the cards of several boards, Premium and Enterprise only. |
| Linked or nested projects | Via moduleLinked projects, one level (Extended Project) | Not documented |
| Dependencies between projects | Via moduleMonitored, without recalculating dates | No"Trello doesn't have a built-in task dependency management"; workaround through checklists, link attachments and automations; dependency links via third-party Power-Ups (e.g. Planyway, https://trello.com/power-ups/58bd1f9aca72f48c8900574f). |
| Resources and assignments | Yes | PartialAssignment of members to cards; no capacity management or resource directory documented. |
| Workload plan | Yes | Via moduleDashboard view (Premium) with cards broken down by member; workspace Calendar presented for workload planning (Premium and Enterprise, https://support.atlassian.com/trello/docs/workspace-calendar-view/). |
| Time entry | YesWeekly, on web and mobile | Via integrationNo native time entry documented; third-party Power-Ups (TimeCamp, Everhour, etc.). |
| Client contracts | YesA contract for each project | Not documented |
| Maintenance contracts | YesVolume, catalogue, committee | Not documented |
| Intervention scheduling | Via moduleInterventions module | Not documented |
| Fixed-price projects | YesPayment schedule on milestones | Not documented |
| Time-and-materials projects | YesMonthly schedule, days × rate | Via integrationBillable rates via the third-party Everhour Power-Up, third-party vendor source. |
| Invoice issuing | Via integrationBilling orders sent to the ERP; the invoice is issued by the ERP | Not documented |
| Financial tracking and margin | YesOrdered, invoiced, paid, margin | Not documented |
| Calendars | YesPersonal, project, client | Via moduleCalendar view in Premium and Enterprise (https://trello.com/pricing); Calendar Power-Up built by Trello (https://support.atlassian.com/trello/docs/using-the-calendar-power-up/); Standard offer limited to read-only Planner. |
| Meetings and minutes | YesAgenda, minutes | Not documented |
| Decision log | Yes | Not documented |
| Action tracking | Yes | Not documented |
| Risk register | YesShared or internal | Not documented |
| Client access | Yes | PartialWorkspace guests (clients, contractors): they only see the boards they are invited to, but see all the cards of those boards, with no possible masking; no dedicated client portal. |
| Client access without a license | YesExternal client organizations | YesFree guests on the boards of a free workspace; in Standard and Premium, a guest on a single board is not billed, a guest on two or more boards is billed at the rate of a member; in Enterprise, multi-board guests are not billed (https://support.atlassian.com/trello/docs/multi-board-guests/). Guests count towards the collaborator limit (10 per workspace on the free plan). |
| Client validation | YesMinutes, amendments, interventions | Not documented |
| Dashboards | Yes | Via moduleDashboard view (cards by list, due dates, members, labels) reserved for the boards of Premium workspaces, guests included. |
| Mobile app | YesInstallable web app | YesiOS and Android, plus macOS and Windows desktop apps; the Timeline is no longer accessible on mobile (https://support.atlassian.com/trello/docs/timeline-view/). |
| Connectors and API | PartialProject ticketing (Jira) and ERP; optional connectors depending on needs; no public API | YesPublic REST API and unlimited Power-Ups per board; some partner Power-Ups are paid (https://trello.com/pricing). |
| French-language interface | YesAnd in English, chosen by each user | YesFrench among more than 20 languages; on mobile, the language follows that of the device. |
Information checked in October 2026, against the vendors' public documentation. It changes: see the sources. The flag shows the vendor's country; the Cloud Act badge flags a vendor under US law, or owned by a US group, subject to the CLOUD Act; Non-EU, a vendor established outside the European Union.
The right use case
Where pylotik is a relevant alternative.
No single feature makes the difference. What counts are the combinations, when they rest on a single set of data.
- Milestones and contract together Fixed price, the payment schedule follows the milestones; time and materials, it is calculated each month from the days and the profile rate. Ordered, invoiced, paid, amount still due and margin can be read in the project financial tracking.
- Committees and client validation Minutes submitted to the client, who validates them, refuses with a reason or asks for a correction; decisions, actions and risks attached. This is the core of project governance.
- A client involved at no extra cost The client portal is free on all tiers for external client organizations. The client sees what concerns them, never your margins, your workload or your internal steering.
- Team staffing and time Forecast workload plan, time entered weekly, weekly report, reviews and overload alerts: team steering, without rating anyone.
- Linked projects and monitored dependencies Multi-project steering links projects together, including that of a supplier whose client you are, and monitors the milestones that depend on it.
- Maintenance in continuity with the project Maintenance contract management tracks volume, catalog and committee, with the same client.
The client's access
Inviting a client to Trello, inviting a client to pylotik.
In Trello, a client is invited to a board. According to Atlassian's documentation, the guest is free on the boards of a free workspace, and a guest present on a single board is not billed; beyond one board, they are billed as a member, except in the Enterprise offer. The guest sees all the cards of the board, and no approval workflow is documented.
In pylotik, the external client organization accesses for free, whatever the tier, a space that shows only what concerns it. It validates or refuses the minutes, the interventions and the amendments. A client team internal to your organization, on the other hand, occupies a seat according to its role.
Leaving Trello does not mean rewriting everything: the projects, their work packages and their milestones are carried over into pylotik, and Excel or PowerPoint stop being the system of record before each committee.
Frequently asked questions
What we are asked about Trello.
Can pylotik replace Trello?
Yes, when Trello is used to track client projects or teams: work packages, tasks, milestones, contract, committees, validations, staffing and time all live in pylotik. No, when it serves as a personal task board or for very varied uses outside projects.
Can you keep your ERP when leaving Trello?
Yes. pylotik does not issue invoices: it connects to the ERP, through a connector built to your needs, to send it the billing orders.
Does the client pay to access pylotik?
No. Client access is free on all tiers for external client organizations. The detail of the Pilot and Contributor seats is on the pricing page.
Where is the data hosted?
pylotik is designed and hosted in France, with a host under French law and no American parent company. Trello is published by Atlassian, a company under American law; Atlassian does not list Trello among the products covered by its data residency.
Next
Going further.
- pylotik vs monday.com: another work management tool, against commitment steering.
- pylotik vs Jira: the other Atlassian tool, to which pylotik connects.
- Steering for integrators: from the fixed-price project to the maintenance contract.
- French project management software: vendor, hosting and applicable law.
- All steering software comparisons: PSA, PPM, work management.