The Best Alternatives To Smartsheet
We take an in-depth look at the pros & cons of the following tools in this review:
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monday.comBest Smartsheet alternative for a cheaper cost
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WrikeBest Smartsheet alternative for teams for a free plan
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ClickUpBest Smartsheet alternative for intuitive UI
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MavenlinkBest Smartsheet alternative for invoicing functionality
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HiveBest Smartsheet alternative for collaboration with external users
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- Ad Group: Smartsheet Alternatives
- Number of Ads: 5
Below you’ll find an overview of the top smartsheet alternatives on this list, with screenshots, feature overview, and pricing.
Smartsheet
- 30 days free trial
- From $7/user/month
Enterprise-scale businesses, portfolio and project managers, spreadsheet and Excel lovers—these are ideal Smartsheet users. Smartsheet is the perfect solution to manage large teams and workloads. Smaller teams, on the other hand, will have a harder time getting used to the complicated organization of this project management app.
In this article, I’ll go over 5 of the best Smartsheet competitors to help you choose a more suitable design at a reasonable price.
Why Might You Need A Smartsheet Alternative?
Your team’s not enjoying the interface of your current project management solution
Team members who are used to working with spreadsheets and database-like tools won’t have an issue with Smartsheet’s design but others will find the UI clunky. For a more enjoyable daily experience, you’ll want to look for customizable and colorful project management tools that meet today’s standards for what modern software should look and feel like.
You need to invoice clients
Smartsheet has a budgeting option so you can track time, budgets, and expenses using their 10,000ft panel but there’s still no way to send invoices directly from the app. 10,000ft is also sold separately from Smartsheet as a premium add-on product.
You’re finding it too expensive
Smartsheet is indeed one of the most expensive project management solutions on the market. This is in part due to its extensive project management features and enterprise-level target market, but you can find similar functionalities at a much lower cost.
Key Features For A Viable Smartsheet Alternative
Time tracking
Basic time tracking options are available through their 10,000ft integration, which costs extra, so you might want a tool with native time tracking capabilities that include timesheets and time reporting.
Task and workflow management
In spite of Smartsheet looking like just another database, the tool does come with advanced task management and view options like Gantt charts and Kanban boards. When picking an alternative, you’ll want to consider solutions that let you add subtasks, task priorities, and dependencies without overcrowding a spreadsheet.
A friendlier interface
Talk to your team to see what kind of UI they would prefer to replace the traditional spreadsheet-style appearance. Specifically, you’ll want advanced features like custom fields, a design any user can personalize, and a variety of add-ons to make use of on top of your team’s workspace.
Custom reporting
Smartsheet boasts a strong real-time report builder feature. For teams working with lots of data or needing to provide proof of their work to clients, you’ll want an alternative that nails reporting too.
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5 Best Smartsheet Alternatives Compared
Next, we’re jumping over to the advantages and disadvantages, free trial information, cost, and expert opinion for 5 Smartsheet alternatives. We’re comparing each one of these primarily based on look and feel, pricing, and extra functionalities.
Best Smartsheet Alternatives
monday.com
Best Smartsheet alternative for a cheaper cost
Why monday.com is a great Smartsheet alternative
monday.com is the task management solution you need to make your agile team’s work a bit less burdensome. The interface is nothing like Smartsheet; it’s easy to use for anyone and requires minimal training. This makes it ideal if you’re considering switching and don’t have too much time to get used to a new platform. And it all comes at a considerably lower cost than Smartsheet, complete with a free plan if you want to give the tool an extended test run.
Wrike
Best Smartsheet alternative for teams for a free plan
Why Wrike is a great Smartsheet alternative
Smartsheet doesn’t come with a free subscription option. Wrike not only has a free plan available, but also provides more-than-decent features within it, such as unlimited user numbers, task and subtask management, desktop and mobile app availability, and even a spreadsheet view so you won’t miss what you get from Smartsheet.
ClickUp
Best Smartsheet alternative for intuitive UI
Why ClickUp is a great Smartsheet alternative
Want similar project management features to Smartsheet under a colorful interface? Your team will definitely enjoy using ClickUp thanks to its customization options and fun emojis to brighten their day. Plus, ClickUp is one of the cheapest project management apps on the market with a free plan packed with features for small teams and startups.
Mavenlink
Best Smartsheet alternative for invoicing functionality
Why Mavenlink is a great Smartsheet alternative
While both Smartsheet and Mavenlink target fairly large companies, the latter also bring the financial management features to the mix: sending invoices, tracking expenses, and creating dedicated reports for accounts receivable. Plus, Mavenlink has the integrated time tracking options you’ll miss with Smartsheet to seamlessly handle work, budgets, and time allocation.
Hive
Best Smartsheet alternative for collaboration with external users
Why Hive is a great Smartsheet alternative
Hive is more suitable for all kinds of team members and external collaborators thanks to its easy-to-understand messaging interface that resembles that of Slack. While both Hive and Smartsheet offer similar team collaboration features, Hive does everything natively while Smartsheet relies on integrations for chat and emails.
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- Ad Group: Smartsheet Alternatives
- Number of Ads: 5
5 Best Smartsheet Alternatives Summary
| Tool | Free Option | Price | ||
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1
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monday.com
Best Smartsheet alternative for a cheaper cost |
14 days free trial |
From $8/user/month | Check out monday.com |
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2
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Wrike
Best Smartsheet alternative for teams for a free plan |
14 days free trial |
From $9.80/user/month | Check out Wrike |
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3
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ClickUp
Best Smartsheet alternative for intuitive UI |
Not available |
From $5/user/month | Check out ClickUp |
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4
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Mavenlink
Best Smartsheet alternative for invoicing functionality |
10 days free trial and a free demo |
From $19/user/month | Check out Mavenlink |
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5
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Hive
Best Smartsheet alternative for collaboration with external users |
14 days free trial |
From $12/user/month | Check out Hive |
Summary Table Block Settings:
- Ad Group: Smartsheet Alternatives
- Number of Ads: 5
About Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a project management solution—with a twist.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a spreadsheet-like project management tool. It has won a few awards for quickly becoming a favorite business app. It’s a nice project management software if you’re comfortable working in Excel but wants a break from complicated formulas—Smartsheet performs all the calculations for you across multiple sheets. You can also add customized brand logos and set color themes for individual projects.
Smartsheet has useful project management features such as workflow automation and visualization of tasks in Gantt, calendar and card views. Team members get notified of critical changes in real-time, and the tool provides shared views, detail history, activity logs, automated alerts, reminders, and status reports to keep everyone aligned and informed. The Critical Path feature highlights all the tasks which directly impact your project completion date to keep an eye on important milestones. Reporting is a strong feature of this tool, with editable summary reports that you can easily export to Excel.
Smartsheet integrations include Microsoft and Google apps, as well as development essentials like Jira, and useful business apps like Salesforce, ServiceNow, Slack, Box, and Tableau. The platform is extensible through a REST API and webhooks.
Smartsheet costs from $7/user/month, with a minimum of 3 users and a maximum of 25 users. They also offer a 30-day free trial.
