Smartsheet Alternatives: A Review of the Best Competing Software

Managing several projects and multiple workflows at one time can be challenging. A software tool can ease the burden and give you the transparency and insights you need to make informed decisions. 

Smartsheet helps you manage projects and automate processes. The platform has established a solid reputation as a project management solution, and they pride themselves on having large enterprises such as Roche and American Airlines as clients.

If you are a Smartsheet user and not completely satisfied with the software, or if you want to learn more before starting a paid plan, we’ve collected the 18 best Smartsheet alternatives on the market to check out in 2023. Let’s dive in.

Why look for Smartsheet alternatives?

Smartsheet offers many functionalities such as workflow automation, resource management, and team collaboration in a spreadsheet format.  

The platform contains collaboration tools to help project managers and teams work efficiently.

However, you'd need a costly custom enterprise plan to make the most of the tool. Not worth the hassle if you work with a small team and are looking for a scalable solution if you ask us.

Additionally, users found some other challenges while testing out the platform.

#1 Steep learning curve

Smartsheet can feel so overwhelming that some users want to revert to a basic solution. If the user interface is not intuitive, you might experience difficulties onboarding new team members. As a project manager, you might want to look into a solution to get your team up and running in no time. 

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#2 Too complex

Some reviews on software comparison websites mention the complexity of Smartsheet. Having to save every entry and many double-clicks can make the tool very cumbersome. 

The manual is extensive, but who has time for studying?
 

^{Source: Capterra}

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#3 Missing essential features

While Smartsheet claims to be the perfect tool for project managers, users have a different opinion. Some essential features are missing, and integrations are not up to par. Time tracking and other data can’t be accessed in a visual format.

^{Source: Capterra}

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The top 18 Best Smartsheet Alternatives in 2023 [Free & Paid]

We've covered some reasons you might want to consider a Smartsheet alternative.

Let’s check out our top contenders, pricing, features, and any other information you may need to decide.

1. Rodeo Drive

We are proud of our tried and tested product, so we’d like to introduce you to Rodeo Drive’s features first. Since our launch, we are happy to have supported numerous businesses – especially creatives – by optimizing their workflows through harmonizing planning, financial management, and reporting.

Compared to Smartsheet, here’s what Rodeo Drive has to offer:

Easy to scale thanks to its UI

Rodeo Drive’s user interface is designed to streamline processes and make your work life easier. Forget about a steep learning curve; the platform feels very straightforward, so you only have to teach your team once.

It only takes a few clicks to start a new project. Go to the Projects menu, click the + sign, and fill out the details. Have you worked on similar projects? Use the "copy from a project" option and choose what you need. 

We're confident you'll get the hang of it on your own, but if not, Rodeo Drive’s experts offer free automatic initial onboarding and are available via live chat if you have any questions.

Curated features for creative project managers 

Visual effects company BAIT Studio came across Rodeo while searching for a suitable project management tool.

Fast forward to now, the team uses all Rodeo’s features, from budgets and planning to invoicing and reports.

Managing Director Peter Rogers adds: "Obviously, the planner is really handy for keeping track of when jobs come in, where we stand in the process, and who’s working on what. Even things like time tracking feel very unintrusive, so all the artists have no problem sticking to doing it. When they discover they forgot to set the timer, they can just add the time later.”

Time tracking

Time equals money. Plus, wasting time on tedious tasks could lead to burnout within the team.

Rodeo Drive offers an integrated time-tracking system. The timesheets are so easy to use that it’s not difficult to encourage your team members to keep on track.

Ready to start? Hit the timer or use the straightforward time cards. Time for a break? Simply end the timer. You can also fill in the pre-populated timecards at your convenience. 

Budget

You will get nowhere without a solid project budget. When executives ask you for an update on the profitability of your current project, you will have an answer immediately by checking Rodeo Drive's "Projects" tab.

Rodeo Drive's budgeting feature is structured to help project managers calculate costs, help plan time activities, and allocate resources before kicking off.

Task management

YES! The scope and brief are signed off. So, now what?

With Rodeo Drive’s planning feature, you can break down your project into phases and tasks. Assign tasks based on availability to optimize team performance and ensure no one is overworked. Need to reschedule a task? Simply drag and drop. 

Reporting

Leverage real-time data. There’s always room to learn and grow, right?

Rodeo Drive’s reporting feature gives you a quick view of your current project metrics, so you can analyze, learn, and adapt. This includes insights into your team's time registration, employee productivity, and project financials. 

Additional features

• Estimates: Send a quote estimate to a client straight from your project budget in just a few clicks.
• Expenses & POs: Track project expenses and add purchase orders according to your company’s policy.
• Integration of Quickbooks (US) with Xero (UK): To assist with your billing and bookkeeping.

What others say about Rodeo Drive

Digital Agency JaxX significantly changed its strategy after reviewing data with Rodeo’s platform. One of the agency's main goals was to discover whether their invoices matched the amount of time spent on projects. 

According to their brand director, Axell Avalon-van Staveren: “Using Rodeo has made our projects about 30% more profitable.”

Pricing

There are two pricing plans available in Rodeo Drive — the Free plan, which includes a limited feature set, and the Achiever plan, which gives you access to all features for $14.99 per user/month.  

Companies on the Free plan will have a limited number of seats, 3 active projects, no guest users, and no reports. You’ll need to upgrade should you need more than that. 

Come try our tool for yourself and get started for free today.

2. Airtable

^{Source: Airtable}

Airtable focuses on organizing and collaborating. The software offers integrations with plenty of other tools. Their community program contributes to other users by adding templates to their extensive database.

Compared to Smartsheet, Airtable excels at customization. If you want to get going fast, the community offers many templates. Smartsheet, however, doesn't have as steep of a learning curve.

Also read: 15 Airtable Alternatives to Consider

Favored features

• Task management
• Powerful customization options
• Templates
• Reporting

Pricing

• Airtable has a free forever plan. However, the features are limited, and you can use them for your team of up to five users.
• The Plus plan offers integrations, and users get more extensive features for $12 per user/month.
• Get timelines, Gantt charts, and custom workflows with the Pro plan for $24 per user/month.
• Get a custom quote if you require an Enterprise plan.

3. Scoro

^{Source: Scoro}

Scoro is an end-to-end solution to manage sales, customer relations, project management, planning, and time tracking. 

The tool promises to have over a hundred modules ready for use, and integrations connect the platform to tools such as Google Calendar and Xero.

However, do you need that many features for your creative project management? The CRM options might not be relevant to your team. Smartsheet focuses more on workflows and automating recurring tasks.

Scoro has many features that might go unused in smaller organizations or teams. Besides, users find Smartsheet easier to set up and start using.

Also read: 15 Best Scoro Alternatives to Consider in 2023

Favored features

• Time & project management
• Sales & CRM
• Reports
• Planner

Pricing

• The Essential Plan costs $28 per user and is suited for a small team and includes the essential features for basic project management. 
• The Standard Plan adds purchase orders and other financial features for $42 per user/month.
• The Pro Plan will give you all the features, including time tracking and detailed task management, for $71 per user/month.
• Custom plans are available upon request, and all paid plans require a minimum of 5 users.

4. Wrike

^{Source: Wrike}

Wrike is designed and developed to help organizations maximize their efficiency through Gantt charts, real-time updates, and time tracking. The company strives to automate routine tasks so teams can focus on strategic and creative work. 

When compared to Smartsheet, their features might look similar. But Wrike offers more straightforward, affordable options for small teams. The platform is very scalable, while Smartsheet is robust and best suited for enterprise-level work.

Also read: The 15 Best Wrike Alternatives for Project Management

Favored features

• Reporting and advanced analytics
• Gantt charts and activity tracking
• Project and portfolio management
• Time tracking

Pricing

• Give it a try for free. Test if the task management is up your team’s alley (up to five users). 
• The Professional plan includes project planning for $9.80 per user/month.
• Their Business plan offers time tracking and custom fields features for $24.80 per user/month.
• Enterprise plans are also available.

5. Monday.com

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Here’s a fan favorite and a big name in the software industry. If the colorful interface already sparks joy for you, the project management features will enhance collaboration with people inside and outside your organization. 

Monday.com would be a good fit for freelancers and startups aiming to improve productivity without breaking the piggy bank. Smartsheet, on the other hand, services enterprises best because of the flexible options and customization.

Also read: Top 25 Monday Alternatives to Try

Favored features

• Task Management
• Time Tracking
• Automated Workflows
• Guest Access

Pricing

• Monday's individual plan is free for 2 users with up to 3 dashboards. 
• The Basic plan is available for $10 per user/month with unlimited viewers and items. 
• The Standard plan gets you Timeline & Gantt options for $12/month per user.
• The Pro plan costs $20/month and gives you extra time tracking features as well as private boards.
• The custom Enterprise plan can be requested on their website and offers advanced reporting and analysis. Note that all paid plans require a minimum of 3 seats. 

6. Hive

^{Source: Hive} 

Hive offers task management, time tracking, and team collaboration features. 

You can view several projects and get the big picture and the details. With Hive, it is easy to track progress and team performance. Assigning tasks and creating actions is very intuitive since the feature are simplified and easy to understand.

The biggest plus compared to Smartsheet is the different layouts for your project. Hive has powerful tools that optimize workflows, such as productivity analytics and feedback. 

Also read: Top 13 Hive Alternatives in 2023

Favored features

• Messenger
• Workflow automation
• Time tracking
• Reporting

Pricing

• Hive Solo is free. You can collaborate with up to two users on your projects. 
• With the Hive Teams plan, you get time tracking and support for $16 per user/month. 
• Hive offers an Enterprise plan upon request.

7. Teamwork

^{Source: Teamwork}

Teamwork is built to improve collaboration and automate processes for remote teams. Many users love the intuitive interface and integrations with tools like Slack.

The customized navigation and workflow visualizations make the tool flexible and easy to use. 

The reporting feature, however, can be a bit tricky to set up in the beginning. Smartsheet offers more simplicity in its reporting tool.

Also read: Best Teamwork Alternatives [In Depth Review]

Favored features

• Project templates
• Custom fields
• Milestones
• File sharing

Pricing

• The Free Forever plan has limited features and can be accessed by up to five users.  
• The Deliver plan includes the invoicing feature, costs $13.99 per user/month. 
• The Grow plan has custom project tags and comes in at $24.99 per user/month. 
• The Scale plan includes all features, but pricing must be requested. Teamwork requires you to purchase a minimum of 5 seats for all plans. 

8. Proofhub

^{Source: Proofhub}

ProofHub helps teams efficiently collaborate on projects. The features will help project managers define workflows while communicating with their team members. 

Clients can provide feedback and approval and receive notifications of updates.

Proofhub has fewer integration options compared to other project management software. It also doesn’t have per-user fees, which makes the platform expensive if you work with a small team.

Related: 15 Best ProofHub Alternatives to Consider [Free & Paid]

Favored features

• Content management
• File sharing
• Document management
• Customizable templates

Pricing

• The Essential Plan offers unlimited users and 40 projects for $50 a month.
• The Ultimate Control Plan will get you custom roles, IP restrictions, and more for a flat fee of $99 a month.

9. Basecamp

^{Source: Basecamp}

You’ve probably heard of this one. Basecamp is a simplified project management software solution. It offers to-do lists, a chatbox for internal communication, and message boards. 

The tool works well for remote teams or non-office-based companies.

If you want to cover your basic project management needs, Basecamp is your champion. If your business expands, you might want to look into Smartsheet’s scalable applications. 

Also read: 19 Best Basecamp Alternatives in 2023 [Free & Paid]

Favored features

• To-do lists
• File-sharing
• Chat
• Collaborative boards

Pricing

• Straightforward tool, straightforward pricing. $11 per user/month, which includes unlimited projects and 500GB of storage space

10. nTask

^{Source: nTask}
 

nTask is here to optimize your workflow. The features range from a checklist, project management, scheduling meetings, and collaboration to time management, so the solution helps you plan the workweek.

Gantt charts and Kanban boards are frequently used in project management, and nTask allows you to export your information in PDF and CSV formats according to your needs.

When compared to Smartsheet, nTask comes out on top when it comes to fancy features. However, users rate the customer service and set up so-so. 

Also read: 15 Best nTask Alternatives in 2023 [Paid & Free]

Favored features

• Issue tracker
• Time tracker & timesheet
• Gannt charts
• Kanban boards

Pricing

• A Premium plan covers basic project management needs and rates are $4 per user/month when billed monthly.
• nTask's Business plan comes with advanced reporting and risk tracking and will cost you $12 per user/month. 
• Enterprise plans are also available for teams looking for custom onboarding and a large amount of file storage.

11. Asana

^{Source: Asana}

Asana is another big name in the game. The platform organizes and tracks day-to-day work and projects with features such as task planning, milestones, and dashboards.

The pricing models of both Asana and Smartsheet are pretty similar. The more you pay, the more features you get. However, Smartsheet offers more templates that might get you going faster.

Also, be warned that Asana isn't designed to serve as a full-scale project management solution.

Also read: Top 20 Asana Alternatives to Consider in 2023

Favored features

• Workflow automation
• Reporting
• Chat
• Templates

Pricing 

• If you are just starting with project management, Asana's Basic plan is free for teams with up to 15 members. 
• The Premium plan will get you automated workflow options for $13.49 per user/month when billed monthly. 
• Business plans cost $30.49 per user/month for advanced workflows and personalized support. 

12. Paymo

^{Source: Paymo}

Despite what you may think based on its financial-sounding name, Paymo helps you to break big tasks into manageable pieces. 

The app has a user-friendly interface and structure and gives teams collaboration options. Time management and scheduling help projects get from A to Z. 

Paymo's customer support team is accommodating according to users, but the app lacks customization.

Also read: 15 Paymo Alternatives to Try [Free & Paid]

Favored features

• Task management
• Team scheduling
• Time tracking
• Leave planner

Pricing

• Paymo offers a free plan for solo teams that's limited to 50 tasks and 3 clients. 
• The Starter plan is also limited to single users and includes unlimited clients, 100 tasks, and project templates for $5.95 per user/month.
• The Small Office plan at $11.95 per user/month offers unlimited tasks and time entries as well as proofing.
• Get priority support and free onboarding with the Business plan at $24.95 per user/month.

13. Trello

^{Source: Trello}

Trello would make a great fit for small teams. The tool helps you visualize and manage to-dos in a simplified manner. No need for onboarding sessions as Trello is very intuitive. However, it doesn’t cover your full project lifecycle. 

The downside of Trello is the lack of scalability and limited options compared to Smartsheet.

Related: Top 22 Trello Alternatives for Project Management [Free & Paid]

Favored features

• Task management
• Kanban boards
• Resource tracking
• Project-based Templates

Pricing

• The Standard plan includes custom fields for $6 per user/month when you pay monthly.
• The Premium plan offers multiple views and templates for $12.50 per user/month.
• The Enterprise plan comes out to $17.50 per user/month with unlimited workspaces and permissions, but the price may fluctuate depending on your required number of users. 

14. Redbooth

^{Source: Redbooth}

Redbooth allows teams to organize tasks in collaborative workspaces. The solution aims to make people more productive by combining tasks, files, and feedback in a centralized platform.

The video meeting capability makes it a good fit for remote teams. Most functionalities in Smartsheet will be familiar to people who already work with spreadsheet data.

Favored features

• Task management
• File sharing
• Reporting
• Feedback 

Pricing

• Redbooth's Pro plan will get you video calls, time tracking, and unlimited workspaces for $12 per user/month.
• The Business plan has advanced reporting capabilities for $18.75 per seat/month.
• Contact Redbooth for a custom Enterprise plan.

15. Harvest

^{Source: Harvest}

Harvest requires integrations to form a complete project management solution but functions on its own as a time and budget tracker. 

Task management isn’t supported by the platform, which is a challenge if you want to get the complete picture of the productivity and profitability of the project.

If you want to solely keep track of billable hours, Harvest will be sufficient. If you are looking for a complete solution, then Smartsheet is a better fit — but be aware of the pricey monthly subscription.

Also read: 10 Harvest Alternatives for Project Management in 2023

Favored features

• Time tracking
• Invoicing
• Reporting
• Integrations

Pricing

• Harvest's free plan offers 1 seat and 2 projects.
• The Pro plan is $12 per user/month and comes with unlimited projects. The platform also offers a free trial period.

16. Citrix Podio

^{Source: Podio}

No need to worry if Citrix freaks you out because of its highly technical and complex products. You don’t have to be super tech-savvy to get started with Podio. The platform allows teams to create custom applications for their project management and collaboration environments.

Users rave about integrations and setting up customized workspaces, but the downside is that there’s no time tracking or other feature that measures productivity. 

Favored features

• Task management
• File sharing
• Mobile apps
• Lots of integrations

Pricing

• You can get started for free with up to five team members and get limited access to features.
• The Plus plan offers unlimited items and guest users for $14 per user/month.
• Go all out with the Premium plan and pay $24 per user monthly for the full suite of advanced features. 

17. Mavenlink

^{Source: Mavenlink}

Mavenlink is both a project and resource management tool. Team collaboration and task management features help users guide the project to completion. Kanban boards and Gantt charts visualize the progress. 

Smartsheet and Mavenlink promote team collaboration with customizable workspaces and chat options. However, if you’d like to use Mavenlink’s custom programs, you’d need to figure out how APIs work, while Smartsheet has its community resources and templates.

Favored features

• Task management
• Team collaboration
• File sharing
• Timeline view and Gannt charts

Pricing

• Mavenlink offers custom pricing upon request. You can try out the features by starting a free 14-day trial.

18. Adobe Workfront

^{Source: Adobe Workfront}

Adobe rings a bell, right? Adobe Workfront centralizes all stages of creative projects. You might want to invest some time to understand all the features if you’re not familiar with setting up workflows or if you are in the process of creating one for your team. 

If you’re craving solid features and the flexibility to customize your workflow, Adobe Workfront is for you. 

Also read: 15 Best Adobe Workfront Alternatives in 2023

Favored features

• Document sharing
• Task management
• Resource management
• Reporting

Pricing

• Adobe Workfront’s pricing must be requested through their website.

Takeaway

That’s it. We’ve covered 18 Smartsheet alternatives for you to check out in 2023. 

However, finding the right solution depends on multiple factors. If you work with a small team, you might want to look into a simple, straightforward tool that doesn’t require much time to implement, think Trello or Asana.

If a powerful all-in-one solution that’s easy to scale is more aligned with what you need, then Rodeo Drive will be your best bet. That's because Rodeo Drive’s features help streamline processes and accurately track budgets and tasks at every stage of your project's lifecycle.

Try Rodeo for free today, or schedule a demo tailored to your needs and see how Rodeo Drive can help improve your creative project management. 

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Originally published on July 20, 2022, updated on Dec 29, 2022.}