Best Smartsheet Alternatives 2023 (13 Similar Competitors)

There's no doubt that Smartsheet is a scalable, secure, and flexible enterprise collaboration platform. 

But it's not everyone's cup of tea. The good news is there are many Smartsheet competitors on the market that might be a more suitable option.  

In this post, we'll look at the best Smartsheet alternatives that we specifically chose for their excellent features, generous free plans, and ease of use.

Let’s dive in!

Top 10 Smartsheet competitors with similar products

Here is the software like Smartsheet that we think are the best Smartsheet alternatives. Although they are all fairly similar, some Smartsheet competitors will be better suited to your circumstances than others, so read more about the Smartsheet competition below.

So, are you ready to find the best spreadsheet software for your needs? Keep reading!

Here’s our full list of the best Smartsheet alternatives 2023:

In the following section, we’ll go over the 13 best Smartsheet alternatives that include software platforms like Asana, Wrike, and Trello. Some of the platforms on the list will be more suited for freelancers and small businesses, and others for tech teams and large enterprises. 

In this article, you’ll discover which one of the alternatives is most similar to Smartsheet and which is the best alternative overall. We also have a detailed Smartsheet review, if you want to explore the software’s pros and cons more closely.  

Here are 13 good alternatives to Smartsheet: 
 

1. Asana (best Smartsheet alternative overall)

Asana is a cloud-based collaboration and work management app. We voted it as the best alternative to Smartsheet as it comes with all the key features teams of all sizes need to stay in sync, meet deadlines, and reach their goals. 

What makes it better than Smartsheet is its free plan. You can use the free plan with up to 15 users, which is ideal if you’re a smaller team with basic needs. You’ll get features like Kanban boards, basic workflows, unlimited projects and tasks, 100+ integrations, and basic reporting.

Teams with more advanced needs will find project management features like automation, task dependencies, workflow builder, forms and portfolios, and more. 

In terms of Kanban boards, Asana has some of the best. You can use the Kanban boards to plan out any type of project, from product roadmaps and work requests to product sprints and content calendars. There are other views in addition to Kanban boards, including list, timeline, and calendar. 

If you care about integrations, you’ll be happy to hear Asana integrates seamlessly with 200+ apps. Customer support is also excellent. 

Asana is best for:

• Startups 

• Small businesses

• Medium-size companies 

Features

• Timeline 

• Boards

• Calendar 

• Integrations 

• Reporting

• Goals

• Forms

• Automation

• Portfolios

• Workload

Pricing

• Free plan for up to 15 users

• Premium plan, starting at $10.99/user/month, billed annually

• Business plan, starting at $24.99/user/month, billed annually

• Enterprise plan, request a custom quote 

Asana review

Visit Asana
 

2. Monday.com (best free Smartsheet alternative)

Monday is a robust project management solution that comes with advanced project management tools like automated workflows and project views. 

The app comes with a generous free plan that makes it one of the best free Smartsheet alternatives. You’ll get two users, unlimited boards and docs, 200+ project templates, Kanban view, 500 MB of storage, unlimited free viewers, whiteboard collaboration, and more. 

If you want to upgrade to a paid plan, there are three subscription levels that range from $8 to $16+ per user per month. 

In addition to Kanban boards, Monday lets you view your tasks in Timeline, Calendar, Chart, and Map view. 

See a more in-depth comparison in our Smartsheet vs Monday comparison.

Monday.com is best for:

• Startups 

• Small businesses

• Medium-sized businesses

Features

• Whiteboard collaboration

• Zoom integration

• Automations

• Time tracking

• Views

• Built-in templates 

• Task scheduling and prioritization

• Document storage and collaboration

Pricing

• Free plan for up to two users

• Basic plan, $8/seat per month, billed annually

• Standard plan, $10/seat per month, billed annually

• Pro plan, $16/seat per month billed, annually

• Enterprise plan, request a custom quote 

• 14-day free trial

Visit Monday.com
 

3. Google Sheets (most similar to Smartsheet)

Google Sheets is a cloud-based spreadsheet application that's very similar to Smartsheet. Just like Smartsheet, the major strength of the tool is its spreadsheet view, which lets you manage loads of data and add up to 5 million cells per spreadsheet. You'll find all the features you'd need from such an app, like functions, data visualizations, integrations, add-ons, and more. 

The software has excellent collaboration features that let multiple users work on the same file at the same time on multiple devices. If a user makes changes to the sheet, those changes will be visible to all collaborators in real-time. 

Not to mention the great ease of use of the system, which makes it a top pick for beginners. The user interface is intuitive, and the onboarding process is quick and painless. 

The app is free to use but is also available as a paid option in the Google Workspace suite for business use. The difference between the free and paid plans is that the paid plans introduce more storage space, custom business emails, video meetings, and priority support. 

Google Sheets is best for:

• Startups 

• SMBs

• Large companies 

See a more in-depth comparison in our Smartsheet vs Google Sheets article.

Features

• Data analysis and visualization 

• Functions

• Integrations and add-ons

• Templates

• Automation

• File sharing

• Collaboration

• Explore 

Pricing

• Free, $0/user/month

• Business Starter, $6/user/month

• Business Standard, $12/user/month

• Business Plus, $18/user/month

• Enterprise, contact sales for pricing

Google Sheets review 

Visit Google Sheets
 

4. Trello (good Smartsheet alternative if you like Kanban boards)

Trello is one of the best tools for managing simpler projects. If you prefer working in Kanban boards, this is the tool you need. This good Smartsheet alternative has some of the most intuitive Kanban boards. Even if your team has never worked with Kanban boards before, they can learn to navigate the system in a matter of a few hours. 

The best thing about Trello is that it doesn’t overwhelm you with unnecessary features. You’ll only find the features you need to manage smaller projects, which makes it a top-notch choice for startups and solo entrepreneurs. 

You can always upgrade your Kanban boards and add functionality with a feature called Power-Ups. In essence, Power-Ups are like add-ons that add an extra feature to your board. There are 200+ public Power-Ups, but you can also build your own Power-Ups with Trello's own API.

Trello has recently introduced different views so you can look at your tasks from different perspectives. There’s also Calendar, Table, Dashboard, Timeline, Map, and Workspace view. 

The free plan supports ten boards per Workspace, 250 automations per month and unlimited cards, Power-Ups per board, and storage. 

See a more in-depth comparison in our Smartsheet vs Trello comparison. 

Trello is best for:

• Startups 

• Small businesses 

• Solopreneurs

• Freelancers

• Independent contractors 

Features

• Kanban board

• Automations

• Power-Ups

• iOS and Android apps

• Templates

• Advanced checklists

• Views

Pricing

• Free plan

• Standard plan, $5/user/month billed annually

• Premium plan, $10/user/month billed annually

• Enterprise plan

Trello review

Visit Trello
 

5. ClickUp (cheaper alternative to Smartsheet if you’re on a budget)

ClickUp is another amazing project management tool and a cheap alternative to Smartsheet. There's a free plan that can be ideal for personal use and managing simple projects. You'll get unlimited users and tasks, 100 MB of storage, collaborative docs, whiteboards, real-time chat, native time tracking, and in-app video recording. 

The cheapest paid plan is only $5 per user per month and opens the door to more features like unlimited Integrations, dashboards, Gantt charts, and custom fields. There's also agile reporting, resource management, and Goals and Portfolios. 

ClickUp lets you see your work in 15+ views so you can tackle work from any angle. What's more, there are 50+ native integrations and a good deal of automation features to automate repetitive actions and ensure that nothing falls through the gaps.

See a more in-depth comparison in our Smartsheet vs ClickUp comparison.

ClickUp is best for:

• Freelancers

• Startups

• Small and midsize businesses

Features

• Task management

• Views

• Integrations

• Time management

• Automation

• Templates

• Document management

• Team collaboration

• Reports and analytics

Pricing

• Free plan

• Unlimited plan, $5/person/month billed annually

• Business plan, $12/user/month billed annually

• Business Plus, $19/user/month

• Enterprise plan, custom quote

ClickUp review

Visit ClickUp
 

6. Wrike (top option for marketing teams)

Wrike is a cloud-based project management tool geared toward creative and marketing teams, professional service providers, and agencies.

But the beauty of Wrike is that it’s highly flexible and customizable, which means it can be used in any industry. It’s also packed with both basic and advanced features, making it a top-notch system for both small and large companies. 

The other good news is that there’s a free plan that supports small teams of 1-5 users. You’ll find a number of features for basic project management like task and subtask management, custom work views (e.g., Table view, Kanban), and folder hierarchy.

Wrike is best for:

• Startups 

• SMEs

• Enterprises

• Creative agencies

• Marketing teams

Features

• Dashboards

• Task and subtask management

• Gantt chart

• Custom and automated workflows

• Time tracking

• Reports

• Request forms

• Integrations 

• Work schedules

Pricing

• Free plan, unlimited users

• Team, $9.80/user/month billed annually

• Business, $24.80 user/month billed annually

• Enterprise for large teams

• Pinnacle, for teams with complex work needs

Wrike review

Visit Wrike
 

7. Microsoft Excel (good Smartsheet replacement for data storage)

Microsoft Excel is the most popular spreadsheet management tool that, with the right customization, can work like a project management software as well. 

In terms of spreadsheets, Excel is more advanced than Smartsheet. It supports thousands of times more cells, and it’s more powerful in terms of how much data it can handle, its range of functions, conditional formatting, and graphical presentation. Excel's powerful data processing and advanced calculations make it a more feature-rich software than Smartsheets.

If you’re looking for a more traditional spreadsheet management tool, this is the one you need. Excel is limited to the traditional grid view, and doesn’t offer additional views like Gantt charts and Kanban boards. But it’s the best platform for storing lots of data without running out of space. 

The downside is that there’s no free plan. You can purchase Excel either as a standalone app or as part of Microsoft 365. 

See a more in-depth comparison in our Smartsheet vs Excel comparison.

Excel is best for:

• Startups 

• SMBs

• Large companies 

Features

• Layout

• Conditional formatting

• Functions

• Graphs and charts

• Reformat and rearrange data

• Sharing and connectivity 

Pricing

• Standalone Microsoft Excel, $159.99 per PC or Mac

• Microsoft Excel as part of Microsoft 365, $6.99/month/user

Visit Excel 
 

8. Airtable (great platform if you need a database tool)

Airtable is a powerful spreadsheet-database hybrid tool that can be a fantastic Smartsheet replacement. It's a great platform for managing rich databases but also for project management, content management, event planning, and inventory management.

Blocks are a feature that’s used to describe workflow processes. With Airtable Blocks, you create and save your workflows using a visual editor. You can view databases in different views, including grid, form, calendar, gallery, Kanban, timeline, and Gantt.

The free plan supports up to five creators or editors, unlimited bases, 1,200 records per base, five views, 2 GB of attachment space per base, and 100 automations per month. Paid plans range from $10-$20+ per user per month. 

The software integrates with platforms like Miro, Google Workspace, and Jira. Via Zapier, you can connect the system with thousands of more third-party applications. Airtable also has various extensions that help extend the functionality of a base. You can find all kinds of extensions, including charts, tables, maps, visualizations, and more. 

Airtable is best for:

• Individuals

• Startups

• Small businesses

Features

• Real-time collaboration and commenting

• Bases

• Views

• Interface designer

• Extensions

• Automations

• Integrations

• Customization

• Editing and permissions 

Pricing

• Free plan 

• Plus plan, $10/user/month, billed annually

• Pro plan, $20/user/month, billed annually

• Enterprise plan, request a custom quote

Visit Airtable
 

9. Jira: great Smartsheet alternative for tech teams

Jira is a project management tool geared toward agile teams with advanced needs. The software comes with native features that support software development teams, like issue tracking, sprint planning, and bug tracking.

Jira offers Kanban, scrum, and sprint boards that let you see work from different angles. 

You can purchase Jira as on-premise software or subscribe to a monthly plan for its cloud version. 

You can check out the free plan if you have fewer than ten users. You'll get basic features like unlimited project boards, backlog and basic roadmaps, reporting features, and 2 GB of storage. 

And if you want to connect Jira to other tools that are essential for work, you certainly can. Jira integrations work through the Atlassian Marketplace, which has 3,000+ integrations, apps, add-ons, and plugins.

See a more in-depth comparison in our Smartsheet vs Jira comparison.

Jira is best for:

• Developers

• Agile teams

• Software teams

Features

• Scrum boards

• Kanban boards

• Roadmaps

• Agile reporting

• Version control

• Workflow automation

Pricing

• Free plan for up to 10 users

• Standard plan, starting at $6.50/user/month, billed annually 

• Premium plan, starting at $12.50/user/month, billed annually 

• Enterprise plan, request a custom quote 

Jira review

Visit Jira 
 

10. Zoho Projects (top Smartsheet substitute for SMBs)

Zoho Projects is a good Smartsheet substitute, especially for startups and small businesses. The software ranks high in user reviews in terms of ease of use, affordability, and variety of tools and features. 

There's a free plan that's good for up to three users and lets you run two projects. You'll get task management, 10 MB of storage space, document sharing, and basic task and issue reports. If you need more advanced features, you can upgrade to one of the two paid plans that range between $4-$9 per user per month. 

Zoho Projects can be a good option for tech teams as it comes with an issue tracker and bug-tracking functionality. You can reduce manual work by setting up automated workflows using the drag-and-drop editor. Zoho Projects has a neat time-tracking functionality that lets you track projects and analyze your tasks and work hours in real time.

And if you need collaboration features, Zoho Projects has a few. There are personal messaging and group chat rooms, as well as a "Discuss" mode that's designed for things like brainstorming. 

Zoho integrates well with other Zoho apps like Zoho CRM, Zoho Invoice, and Zoho Books.

Zoho Projects is best for:

• Startups 

• Small businesses

• Medium-sized businesses 

Features

• Task management

• Task dependencies

• Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and views

• Issue tracking and bug tracking

• Time management

• Collaboration tools

• Automations and workflows

• Human resource management

• Roles and permissions

• Analytics and reporting

• Integrations and add-ons

Pricing

• Free plan

• Premium plan, $4/user/month billed annually

• Enterprise, $9/user/month billed annually

Zoho Projects review

Visit Zoho Projects 
 

11. Microsoft Project (great Smartsheet competitor for large companies)

Microsoft Project is an enterprise project management software for medium to large-sized organizations. The software supports multiple project management methodologies, lets you view your projects in various views (Grid, Kanban, and Gantt), and offers advanced features like Project portfolio management, Demand management, and Enterprise resource planning and management.

MS Project can be a fantastic tool for planning projects, creating project schedules, managing budgets, analyzing workloads, and tracking performance. 

You can choose between three monthly plans for the cloud-based software and three one-time plans for the on-premise solutions.

As part of the Office 365 Suite, it integrates well with other Microsoft apps, like Teams, Power BI, and OneNote. There's no built-in chat, but you can always integrate the software with Microsoft Teams.

See a more in-depth comparison in our Smartsheet vs Microsoft Project comparison.

Microsoft Project is best for:

• Medium-sized businesses

• Large organizations

• Enterprise-level companies

Features

• Views

• Collaboration and communication

• Co-authoring

• Project planning and scheduling

• Reporting

• Roadmap

• Timesheet submission

• Resource management

• Portfolio selection and optimization

• Demand management

• Enterprise resource planning and management

Pricing

• Project Plan 1 costs $10 per user per month

• Project Plan 3 costs $30 per user per month

• Project Plan 5 costs $55 per user per month

• Project Standard 2021 on-premise costs $679.99

• Project Professional 2021 on-premise costs $1,129.99

Visit Microsoft Project
 

12. Basecamp (great tool for small remote teams)

If we compare Basecamp with other project management tools on this list, it looks very different. It doesn’t have Kanban boards or Gantt charts. But what it lacks in views and automation, it makes up for in communication and collaboration features. 

For example, there's a Message Board where you can make announcements, pitch ideas, and ask questions. There’s also a chat feature called Campfire for communicating with team members in real time. 

Overall, it's a more lightweight tool, ideal for small to medium-sized companies. If you're looking for an app that's easy to use, this is one. It has a user-friendly interface that's quite straightforward, intuitive, and friendly enough for complete beginners.

Basecamp seems to have discontinued its free plan. Currently, you can get the full version of Basecamp with three users for free (valid for a year) if you sign up before December 31, 2022. There’s only one paid plan that includes all the features and costs $11/month/user.

Basecamp is best for:

• Students

• Freelancers

• Small remote teams

Features

• Messages

• Realtime chat

• To-do lists

• Schedules

• File storage

• Documents

• Check-ins

• Mobile apps

Pricing

• Free limited plan for up to three users, valid for one year

• The paid plan that includes all the features costs $11/user/month

Basecamp review

Visit Basecamp
 

13. Teamwork: good pick for creative agencies 

Teamwork is a great platform for task management, project management, and team management. It can be made to work for businesses in any industry, especially small creative agencies planning creative campaigns for various clients. Freelancers, independent contractors, and software startup companies may also find the app a good option for their needs.

There's a free forever plan that supports up to five users, time tracking, creating teams and subteams, 100 automations per month, a Gantt chart, Kanban boards, and more. If you're a smaller team with humble needs, you may never need to upgrade to a paid plan. 

The main functionality of the software is the option to create teams and sub-teams. Teams can be based on a department, like HR or creative, or based on a project or client. Once you create a team, you'll get amazing communication tools inside that space so that you and your team can communicate freely. Separate teams will also be able to communicate with each other.

Teamwork is best for:

• Freelancers

• Independent contractors

• Solopreneurs

• Small businesses 

• Creative agencies 

Features

• Task and project management

• Teams

• Milestones

• Messages

• Project risk management

• Templates

• Time tracking

• Invoicing

• Resource management

• Document editor

• Board views

• Tags

• Workflow automations

• Integrations

Pricing

• Free Forever

• Deliver, $9.99/user/month, billed annually

• Grow, $17.99/user/month, billed annually

• Scale, custom quote

Teamwork review

Visit Teamwork 

Which of the alternatives to Smartsheet is a good choice for you?

We voted Asana as the best Smartsheet alternative overall as it comes with all the features teams of all sizes need to stay in sync, meet deadlines, and reach their goals. It has a generous free plan, great Kanban boards, and on the plus side, it's very intuitive. 

However, just like Smartsheet isn't everyone's favorite tool, Asana won't be a great option for each one of you reading this post. Depending on your budget, team experience, company size, and personal preferences, other software solutions like Wrike or Monday might fit the bill better.

For example, Airtable can be what you need if you need a platform for managing rich databases. Trello has some of the easiest-to-use Kanban boards, while Jira has the best scrum boards. Basecamp excels at communication tools, and ClickUp at being an all-in-one work platform.

Take advantage of the free plans almost each one of these tools offers so that you choose the most optimal solution for you and your team. 

We also have separate posts that discuss the best Asana alternatives and the most popular Basecamp alternatives. Make sure you check them out if you still haven’t made up your mind.