Top 10 Smartsheet Competitors – Alternatives for 2026

The modern business landscape is hectic and presents a competitive aspect where the appropriate project management software could either or could break the productivity of your staff. Although Smartsheet has become a widely used collaboration platform based on spreadsheets, it is not the only player in the market. Several organizations are currently demanding smarter competitors of smartsheet that will suit their particular workflow requirements, fund limitations, or additional features.

Need more user-friendly interfaces, high-level automation, improved pricing models, or industry-specific features? The market is full of potent competitors. This definitive list of the best 10 smartsheet competitors including their respective strengths, pricing frameworks and the best applications.

What is a Smartsheet?

Smartsheet is an online work execution system or project management system that provides the user with the interactive spreadsheet system and functionalities of project management, collaboration, and automation. It was established in the year 2005 and it allows teams to plan, track, automate and report on work anywhere.

Smartsheet serves many industries such as construction, healthcare, education and technology so it can easily be used to manage the smallest of lists of tasks as well as far more complicated enterprise projects. On the one hand, it has powerful functionalities, including its spreadsheet-like interface; however, it is overwhelming because of its complexity to many users or they look at the smartsheet competitors that present alternative approaches toward project management e.g. more visual boards, simpler interfaces or better value-to-money.

Why Do Companies Look for Alternatives?

Long learning curve: The Smartsheet spreadsheet interface may be confusing and daunting to users.
High price: Prices increase swiftly with the size of the team as well as complex features and integrations.
Few spreadsheet options: The lack of spreadsheet options might be a limiting factor to teams that would prefer Kanban boards or other visual tools.
Limitations on integration: There are certain tools that do not integrate smoothly with other businesses that a business requires.
Too many features: Smaller teams might not require enterprise complexity.
Resource management add-ons: Resources such as resource planning are critical features that cost a considerable amount of money to acquire.
Limitations to customization: There are workflows that are more flexible than what Smartsheet offers.

Quick Comparison Table

Name	Best For	Vs Smartsheet	Pricing
Airtable	Database-driven workflows	More flexible, better for custom databases	$20-$45/user/month
Asana	Task-focused teams	More intuitive, better for simple projects	$10.99-$24.99/user/month
Wrike	Scalable teams	Better free plan, stronger customization	$9.80-$24.80/user/month
Monday.com	Visual project management	More colorful interface, easier to use	$9-$19/user/month
ClickUp	All-in-one solution	More features, better value	$7-$19/user/month
Jira	Software development teams	Better for agile/dev teams	$7-$12/user/month
Microsoft Project	Enterprise planning	More advanced scheduling	$10-$55/user/month
Trello	Simple task tracking	Simpler, more visual	$5-$17.50/user/month
Notion	Knowledge management	Better documentation, all-in-one workspace	$8-$15/useSmartshe

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10 Best Smartsheet Competitors for 2026

1. Airtable

Airtable is a spreadsheet-database platform that is less complex than a standard spreadsheet but has the strength of databases. It has very customizable views such as grid, calendar, Kanban, and the gallery and hence is suitable to popularize teams dealing with various applications of content.

Being one of the strongest smartsheet competitors, Airtable offers solid API access and highly detailed integration options, which is why it is more popular with teams known as very creative, marketing, or product managers, who have to work with their data as flexible as possible.

Key Features:

There are also several customizable views.
Database facilities Relational database features.
Rich field types
Extensive API access
Pre-built templates library

Pros:

Highly intuitive interface
Intense database capability.
Excellent mobile apps
Good integration ecosystem.

Cons:

Can become expensive
Limited native reporting
Complex pricing structure
Problems with high-volume performance.

Pricing:

Free Plan: Up to 1,000 records per base, 1 GB attachment space, 100 automation runs
Team Plan: $20/user/month (annual) – 50,000 records, 25,000 automations, sync integrations
Business Plan: $45/user/month (annual) – 125,000 records, 100,000 automations, admin panel
Enterprise Scale: Custom pricing – 500,000+ records, enterprise features, dedicated support

Best For: Teams that should use flexible database designs that are spreadsheet simple.

Website Link: https://www.airtable.com

2. Asana

Asana is a work management software that assists groups in managing, staying on track of, as well as organizing their tasks effectively. Asana has a reputation of having a clean interface, and an easy to use design that allows teams to divide complex projects into small tasks with a clear ownership and deadlines. Asana is a prominent competitor of smartsheets due to its priorities on dependencies among tasks, tracking of goals, and cross-functional teamwork.

It is especially useful with teams that value clarity and simplicity in the project management process, as it will be easier to have the team members know what is expected of them and when they should be ready by that time.

Key Features:

Multiple project views
Management of task dependencies.
Goal tracking features
Automation builder of workflow.
Custom Fields Custom Fields allows you to add any kind of data to a post.

Pros:

Intuitive user interface
Excellent free plan
Strong mobile experience
Enormous cooperation characteristics.

Cons:

Poor reporting capabilities.
Can feel overwhelming
It is necessary to integrate time tracking.
Premium features costly

Pricing:

Personal: Free for up to 10 users – unlimited projects, tasks, and activity logs
Starter: $10.99/user/month (annual) – Timeline, workflow builder, custom fields
Advanced: $24.99/user/month (annual) – Portfolios, workload management, advanced reporting
Enterprise: Custom pricing – Admin console, data export, enhanced security

Best For: The projects handled by the teams are complex with various dependencies.

Website Link: https://www.asana.com

3. Wrike

Wrike is an all-purpose project management and collaboration software that is able to offer small teams and other large organizations. It is an all-encompassing project planning software that offers Gantt charting, workload view and workflows of their own.

Being among the most versatile competitors of smartsheet, Wrike is very efficient in managing its resources since such advanced capabilities as time management, budget control, and capacity planning are part and parcel of its ecosystem. The advantage of Wrike is based on the fact that it would fit into different methodologies, regardless of whether the teams are using Agile, the Waterfall or hybrid approach.

Key Features:

Gantt charts included
Resource management tools
Custom workflows creation
Developed reporting dashboards.
Additional request forms functionality.

Pros:

Customizable platform to a high degree.
Strong free plan
Good reporting features.
Good integration options

Cons:

Steep learning curve
Complex initial setup
Expensive for small teams
Limited task views

Pricing:

Free: For small teams – unlimited users, 2 GB storage, task management
Team: $9.80/user/month – 2 GB per user, Gantt charts, custom workflows
Business: $24.80/user/month – 5 GB per user, custom item types, advanced reports
Enterprise: Custom pricing – Advanced security, admin controls, dedicated support
Pinnacle: Custom pricing – Advanced resource planning, analytics tools

Best For: The teams that need the best project planning and resource management.

Website Link: https://www.wrike.com

4. Monday.com

Monday.com is a very graphic Operating System Work that focuses on the colorful and intuitive boards and workflows. Its drag-and-drop interface and widespread customization feature makes it the most competitive product among smartsheet competitors since a team can build the workflow that best fits their processes.

It has more than 200 standard templates and other project views such as Kanban, timeline, calendar, and map views. Its advantage is that it unites the project management, CRM, and development workflow on one platform that is very popular with marketing, operations, and creative departments.

Key Features:

Colorful visual boards
Large scale automation possibilities.
Multiple board views
Time tracking capabilities
Custom dashboard creation

Pros:

Very intuitive interface
Strong visual appeal
Great automation functions.
Great template library

Cons:

Can become expensive
Limited free plan
Steep pricing increments
Feature limits frustrating

Pricing:

Free: Up to 2 users – 3 boards, basic features, mobile apps
Basic: $9/user/month – Unlimited items, 5 GB storage, iOS and Android apps
Standard: $12/user/month – Timeline view, calendar view, 250 automations, 20 GB storage
Pro: $19/user/month – Private boards, time tracking, 25,000 automations, 100 GB storage
Enterprise: Custom pricing – Enterprise security, dedicated support, advanced analytics

Best For: Teams prioritizing visual project management and ease of use

Website Link: https://www.monday.com

5. ClickUp

ClickUp markets itself as the single application that can replace all others with an exceptionally wide range of features that competes against several point-solution apps. Being one of the most loaded smartsheet-competitors, ClickUp serves task management and docs through to goals, time management, and even email management in one platform.

The software allows more than 15 project views such as list, board, calendar, Gantt, timeline, and mind maps which offer the team unprecedented flexibility. Free and affordable pricing tiers make clickup an appealing choice in low-budget groups, and the sheer level of customization of the platform appeals to its power users who need fine-tuning their workflows to a degree.

Key Features:

15+ customizable views
Built-in time tracking
Goal management system
Native document editor
Mind mapping capabilities

Pros:

Splendid value proposition.
Generous free plan
Highly personalizable interface.
Comprehensive feature set

Cons:

Can feel overwhelming
Problems with performance reported.
Steep learning curve
Mastery of complicated steering at first.

Pricing:

Free Forever: Unlimited tasks, 100 MB storage, collaborative docs
Unlimited: $7/user/month (annual) – Unlimited storage, integrations, Gantt charts, guests
Business: $12/user/month (annual) – Advanced dashboards, time tracking, automations
Enterprise: Custom pricing – White labeling, advanced permissions, dedicated support

Best For: Teams wanting maximum features at competitive pricing

Website Link: https://www.clickup.com

6. Jira

Jira is the most popular project management tool exclusively created to use in software development teams and Agile practices. It is also absent from the engineering departments, as it is developed by Atlassian, and it is good to track issues, plan sprints and manage releases.

Although it is vastly different than the spreadsheet-based smartsheet competitors, Jira has incomparable features and functions in managing software development lifecycle with support of Scrum, Kanban and hybrid solutions. It has a robust customization ability with workflows, custom fields, and has a wide range of integration with development tools such as GitHub, Bitbucket, and CI/Circle pipelines.

Key Features:

Scrum and Kanban boards
Sprint planning tools
Advanced issue tracking
Custom workflow engine
Devops integration capability.

Pros:

Development standard in the industry.
Highly customizable features.
Identified a good integration ecosystem.
Excellent for Agile

Cons:

Complex for non-developers
Overwhelming for beginners
Can be expensive
Sometimes dimaguntate interface is ambiguous.

Pricing:

Free: Up to 10 users – unlimited projects, 2 GB storage, community support
Standard: $8.15/user/month – 250 GB storage, automation, advanced permissions
Premium: $16/user/month – Unlimited storage, advanced roadmaps, 24/7 support
Enterprise: Custom pricing – Unlimited automation, enterprise security, analytics

Best For: Agile software development and engineering teams.

Website Link: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira

7. Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project is the old school enterprise level project management application that is more than five decades old in the business of project planning. It is not a project but it is a traditional project management approach with a very robust scheduling, resource assignments and portfolio management capacity as compared to most of the smartsheet alternatives in the market today.

Microsoft Project is well integrated with the Microsoft 365 environment, which is why it fits well with organizations that are already purchased with Microsoft technologies.

Key Features:

High-tech scheduling features.
Resource allocation tools
Portfolio management characteristics.
Microsoft 365 integration
Professional Gantt charts

Pros:

Industry-standard tool
Powerful scheduling engine
Superior Microsoft integration.
Professional-grade features

Cons:

Steep learning curve
Sensitive in price relative to others.
Outdated interface design
Making complicated projects simple.

Pricing:

Project Plan 1: $10/user/month – Task management, grid and board views, Microsoft Teams integration
Project Plan 3: $30/user/month – Resource management, custom reports, advanced scheduling
Project Plan 5: $55/user/month – Portfolio management, resource planning, demand management

Best For: Enterprise companies that are in need of conventional project management practices.

Website Link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/project/project-management-software

8. Trello

Trello has transformed the traditional project management process by popularizing the easy to use and easy to see Kanban board approach that has made the management of the tasks easy and simple. Trello is one of the best Smartsheet Competitors, as the smartsheet is complex, Trello is a perfect choice with cards, lists, and boards and enables teams to have the best start without the necessity of long-term training.

Although simple in its fundamental functionality, Trello enables users to add strengths to it with power-ups – add-ons and functionality extensions tailored to certain requirements.

Key Features:

Kanban board interface
Card-based task management
Power-Ups for extensions
Butler automation tool
Multiple project views

Pros:

Extremely easy to use
Affordable pricing tiers
Excellent visual interface
Great for simple projects

Cons:

Limited advanced features
Power-Ups add costs
Unsuitable with complicated projects.
Lacks native reporting

Pricing:

Free: Unlimited cards, up to 10 boards per workspace, basic features
Standard: $5/user/month – Unlimited boards, advanced checklists, custom fields
Premium: $10/user/month – Multiple views, admin controls, simple data export
Enterprise: $7.38-$17.50/user/month – Organization-wide permissions, attachment permissions, multi-board guests

Best For: Small teams needing simple, visual task management

Website Link: https://www.trello.com

9. Notion

Notion is a multi-purpose tool that integrates notes, knowledge management, and project management on one platform that is beautifully designed and free of charge. In comparison to the existing smartsheet platforms that were a project management platform only, Notion is a capable collaborative point where teams can build wikis, databases, and project boards that are tightly connected to each other.

Notion has already become extremely popular among startups, creative teams, and other workers who prefer to work remotely and need a space where they could store information and work on projects without many applications open at the same time.

Key Features:

Block-based content editor
Relational database functionality.
Knowledge base creation
Project templates library
Conference tools Real-time.

Pros:

Highly flexible platform
Beautiful, clean interface
Good record keeping skills.
Great free plan

Cons:

Advanced features learning curve.
Weak project management technology.
Offline functionality weak
Can become disorganized

Pricing:

Free: For individuals – unlimited pages and blocks, 7-day page history
Plus: $8/user/month – Unlimited file uploads, 30-day page history, unlimited guests
Business: $15/user/month – Private teamspaces, advanced permissions, SAML SSO
Enterprise: Custom pricing – Advanced security, audit logs, dedicated support

Best For: Teams needing combined documentation and lightweight project management

Website Link: https://www.notion.so

10. Workspace

In some cases, the rival to Smartsheet is the already existing tool. With Gmail, there is access to Google Sheets, Google Tasks and Google Chat. Google Sheets is a basic spreadsheet in comparison with Smartsheet (there are no in-built Gantt charts or alerts), yet you can combine it with Google Tasks and Calendar to make a free, self-made project system. Some small business might not need to purchase Smartsheet as a weekly meeting and a shared Google Sheet would suffice.

Key Features:

Co-authoring (spreadsheet, best in class).
On the sidebar, there is Google Tasks integration.
Smart Canvas (mention people or dates by dropping).
AppSheet (create simple apps using Sheets).

Pros:

You likely already pay for it.
Everyone knows how to use it.
Infinite flexibility in case you study formulas.

Cons:

No built-in Gantts, dependencies, etc. you need to hack into it.
No robotized workflow and task reminders within the Sheet without coding.

Pricing: Typically begins at $6/user/month of the entire suite.

Best For: Small businesses on a budget and spreadsheet purists.

Website: workspace.google.com

Google Workspace Hybrid Use-Case (Sheets + Add-ons)

In the case of those companies already invested in Google Workspace, a combination of Google Sheets and project management add-ons can provide a cost-effective solution in comparison to single smartsheet vendors. This hybrid can use a common spreadsheet organization but overcome the limitations of spreadsheet programs by plumbing in project management features using extensions such as:

Add-ons to project management Project management add-ons Web apps, such as Smartsheet (Google Sheets) or ProjectSheet Planning, or Gantter, can display Gantt charts and timeline reflectively in Google Sheets.
In-house cooperation – instant editing, comments, and sharing options, which are included with Google Workspace.
Cost-effectiveness – The already obtained Google Workspace subscriptions do not result in the extra cost of individual basic project tracking.
Benefits of integration – Integration with Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, and other Google applications.
Limitations – Add-ons typically do not have advanced automation, reporting and security as dedicated project management platforms.

The method is effective when dealing with small teams and simple project management requirements and seeks to utilize the current investment in Google Workspace to its maximum potential.

How to Choose the Best smartsheet competitors

Assess team size – There are platforms that are better at larger teams and others at smaller teams.
Take into account your budget – Account not only base price but also what it will cost you to expand and add functionality.
Determine feature needs – Find the capabilities they must have such as time tracking, automation or certain integrations.
Match work methodology – Select the tools that will be used to match your method (Agile, Waterfall, Kanban, etc).
User experience in the test – Use the free trials to secure the adoption and ease of use in the team.
Integration requirements – be compatible with existing tools in your technology stack.
Scalability – Use the platforms that can handle the evolving requirements of your organization.
Check support opportunities – examine customer support, training expansion, and documentation.

Conclusion

Once the best project management solution is found among the Smartsheet Competitors, it simply comes to the question of finding the man that fits the purpose of your team in terms of features, usability, and price. Although Smartsheet is an effective service, our discussed alternatives all have their own strengths – it could be the flexibility of Airtable as a database, the convenience of a task management tool presented by Asana, the multiversatility shown by ClickUp, or the all-encompassing nature of a workspace offered by Notion.

Keep in mind that the most featured all-encompassing tool may not be the most important tool, whereas the one that your staff will use frequently and eagerly may be the most important one.

FAQs

Which is the most affordable substitute to Smartsheet?

The paid options of ClickUp are the best, with the free plan being of great value and paid starting at 7/user/month, whereas the cheapest plan offered by Trello is the Standard plan that costs 5/user/month when it comes to simple needs.

What Smartsheet competitor provides the best fit among software development teams?

Jira is the software development industry standard, providing custom feature integration with Agile methodologies, sprints, and integration with development tools, such as GitHub and Bitbucket.

Could I transfer my data out of Smartsheet to the following?

The majority of Smartsheet competitors have CSV import options and certain services such as Monday.com and Asana as well provide direct CSV importation options or Smartsheet tool migration help.

What is the easiest alternative to learn with teams that are new to project management?

All of the mentioned products have the easiest interfaces though Trello has the simplest interface through the visual Kanban boards and Monday.com has the easiest to use interface through an intuitive colorful interface that requires very little training to use.

Are there mobile applications in these options?

Yes, Airtable, Asana, Wrike, Monday.com, ClickUp, Jira, Trello, and Notion are all large competitors of smartsheets that have app-specific applications on both iOS and Android frameworks.