Smartsheet

Smartsheet is a project management platform for people, teams, and organizations coordinating work across projects and portfolios. It suits teams that need multiple ways to view work, automated workflows, and broader project controls; buyers should weigh its plan limits and the announced retirement of its desktop app.

Overview

Smartsheet combines project tracking with tools for building team workflows of varying complexity. Grid, table, board, calendar, and Gantt views cover common planning needs, while dashboards, reports, forms, formulas, workload tracking, and portfolios extend it beyond a task list. Timeline view is available on Business and higher plans, and some other capabilities also depend on tier.

Sheet size has firm ceilings: standard sheets allow up to 20,000 rows and 400 columns, with a 500,000-cell limit; imported files can be no larger than 50 MB. Those limits are manageable for many project plans, but teams working with large datasets or bulky imports should account for them.

Key features

Views and project oversight

The range of views lets teams organize work in a format suited to the project, and dashboards, reports, workload tracking, and portfolios support oversight beyond individual assignments. That breadth makes Smartsheet relevant to larger coordination needs, though buyers should confirm that the controls they require are included in their plan.

Automation and AI

No-code workflows can handle recurring coordination. Pro caps automations at 250 per month, while Business and higher plans include unlimited automations; teams with frequent triggers may find that Pro ceiling restrictive. Built-in AI can generate formulas, analyze data, summarize content, and help build dashboards, while connections to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot are described through the Smartsheet MCP Server.

Integrations, security, and support

Smartsheet lists connections to Jira, Power BI, Salesforce, SAP, ServiceNow, Tableau, Workday, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Adobe Creative Cloud, giving teams options to connect project work with business tools. Its security controls include role-based access, SSO, MFA, external collaboration controls, event reporting, and round-the-clock incident monitoring. Compliance coverage includes SOC 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, FedRAMP, and HIPAA (BAA); ISO 42001 is in progress. Smartsheet Regions offers US, EU, or Australia data storage options. All plans include Help & Learning, the community, and web ticketing; premium support is included with Advanced Work Management.

Pricing

Smartsheet is paid software with a 30-day trial and no free plan. Pro costs $9 a month when billed yearly ($9 per Member/month) or $12 per Member/month billed monthly. It supports 1–10 Members, unlimited Contributors, 250 automations per month, and 20 GB of attachment storage. This is the entry point for smaller teams that can work within the member and automation caps.

Business costs $19 a month when billed yearly ($19 per Member/month) or $24 per Member/month billed monthly. It requires at least 3 Members and includes unlimited Guests and Contributors, unlimited automations, and 1 TB of attachment storage. Timeline view is also included at this tier. It fits teams that need room for more collaborators, storage, or workflow activity; the higher per-member price and three-member minimum make it a less economical starting point for a small team.

Enterprise has custom pricing, requires 10 or more Members, and includes unlimited attachment storage. Advanced Work Management also has custom pricing and adds Control Center, Dynamic View, Data Shuttle, Connectors, DataMesh, and premium support. These tiers are aimed at organizations needing their named capabilities, but the price requires a sales conversation. The trial lasts 30 days; no free plan is offered.

Platforms

Smartsheet supports Android, iOS, web, Windows, macOS, Linux, APIs, and an extension. Its Windows and Mac desktop app is deprecated and scheduled for retirement on or after January 6, 2027, so teams planning long-term desktop workflows should factor in that change.

Who it's for

Smartsheet can suit individuals and teams tracking projects as well as organizations managing complex solutions and large portfolios. It is strongest for teams that will use its multiple views, workflow automation, reporting, and portfolio tools together. A small group seeking an ongoing free tier, or one that needs to exceed sheet limits, should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Grid, Gantt, calendar, table, board, and timeline views accommodate different planning styles, with timeline available from Business.
• Pros: Dashboards, reports, forms, formulas, workload tracking, and portfolios support oversight beyond task lists.
• Pros: Automation scales from 250 monthly runs on Pro to unlimited on Business and higher.
• Cons: Pro limits membership to 10 and storage to 20 GB; moving to Business raises the price and requires at least three Members.
• Cons: Standard sheet dimensions, total cells, and imported-file size have explicit caps that can constrain data-heavy workflows.
• Cons: The desktop app is deprecated and scheduled to retire on or after January 6, 2027.
• Cons: Enterprise and Advanced Work Management require custom pricing, making their costs harder to compare upfront.

Alternatives

Consider frePPLe if a free, open-source edition or self-hosted deployment is a better fit; it also has cloud plans, including one capped at six scenarios. SAVIOM is another paid option, with Power and Lite license tiers. Workday Adaptive Planning offers a 30-day trial and cross-device support, with pricing by request. NETVIBES has a free plan alongside its paid offering. Deltek Maconomy is an enterprise ERP for professional services firms, with pricing by demo request. Hubstaff is worth considering when its paid plans and listed tracking quotas better fit the job. Scoro offers paid time-billing and project plans. Turnella provides a free Core plan with no trial period or expiry.

For more options by specialty, browse Capacity Planning Software, Resource Management Software, IT Project Management Software, Deal Desk Software, AI Project Management Software, and Game Project Management Software.

Verdict

Choose Smartsheet if your team needs flexible project views, automation, and reporting that can extend to workload and portfolio management. Its range and integrations make it a strong fit for coordinated team work, but the Pro caps, sheet limits, higher Business entry cost, and desktop retirement may make another tool a better choice for small teams or workflows tied to the desktop app.