Smartsheet vs Jira Compared: Is Jira Better Than Smartsheet?

Smartsheet is a popular project management platform that's interestingly known as the "Excel on steroids" app. 

Jira is the go-to project management software for agile tech teams. 

Although, upon first look, these two SaaS apps look very different, they also have their similarities. 

In this Smartsheet vs Jira comparison post, we'll pit the two platforms against each other and see which one goes home a winner.

What is the difference between Smartsheet and Jira?

The main difference between Jira and Smartsheet is that Jira is a bug and issues tracking tool that focuses on agile project management. At the same time, Smartsheet is a spreadsheet-style project management software solution for businesses working with numbers and data regularly. 

Jira by Atlassian is the most commonly used project management software by tech teams, as it comes with Scrum and Kanban boards, roadmaps, issue tracking, and customizable workflows. It integrates well with other Atlassian products like Confluence, Bitbucket, and Trello. 

Smartsheet is often called "Microsoft Excel on steroids" as it's an excellent option for project tracking, logging data, and building reports, and on the plus side, it comes with a good deal of collaboration tools.

All in all, Jira can be used for everything from help desk management and product management to agile project management software for teams that want quick results. Smartsheet can be a top-notch solution for task management, inventory management, budget tracking, expense categorization, campaign tracking, and more.

We have a detailed Jira review that unpacks its key features and most noteworthy pros and cons. If you’re more interested in Smartsheet, we also have a comprehensive Smartsheet review that can help you decide whether this tool is the right one for your business. 

Smartsheet vs Jira comparison chart

Here’s a quick overview of how Smartsheets vs Jira compare in terms of features and functionality before we dive into a more detailed head-to-head comparison. 

Smartsheet vs Jira pricing

Smartsheets and Jira each have three monthly paid plans. Smartsheet's plans start at $9 per user per month, and Jira's at $7.75 per user per month, billed monthly for ten users. 

They both have a mid-range plan that includes all the software's main features. Smartsheet's Business plan costs $32 per user per month or $25 if billed annually. Jira's Premium plan starts at $15.25 per user, billed monthly. 

Both platforms have an Enterprise plan. Jira also has an on-premise version, but the company will be ending these services in 2024.

Winner: 

Jira has a slight lead here as its paid plans are more affordable than Smartsheet. Jira's plans start at $7.75, and Smartsheet's at $9. 

But the most significant difference is in their mid-range plan, where Jira's Premium plan is almost 50% cheaper than Smartsheet's Business plan. At the end of the day, the best tool for you will depend on the specific features you need from a project management platform. 

Jira vs Smartsheet free versions

Jira's the only one of the two with a free plan. 

The freemium version is a good option for smaller teams or startups with basic needs. It's free for up to 10 users and includes features like unlimited project boards, backlog and basic roadmaps, two gig storage, and single project automation. 

Winner: 

Jira wins this round as it has a solid free plan for teams with basic needs. 

Customer support

Jira’s customer support depends on your plan. Users of the free plan have access to community support, while Standard plan users get customer support from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays. Premium and Enterprise plan users get 24/7 customer support.

Smartsheet’s customer support works similarly. All users can get in touch with customer support via chat for any questions related to plans and pricing. Professional support is available as a paid add-on you can include in your monthly plan. Enterprise plan users also get phone support. 

Winner:

We have to yield this round to Jira again, as its customer support service is slightly better and more affordable than Smartsheet. 

Knowledgebase & learning

Both Smartsheet and Jira have a rich knowledge base that contains self-help materials. You'll find learning materials like help articles, guides, tutorials, webinars, and reports. 

Both platforms have an active community forum where you can connect with fellow users and help each other with issues. Smartsheet also has Smartsheet University, which is a platform that supports self-paced e-learning and live instruction.

Winner: 

Smartsheet wins in this category by a hair, thanks to its Smartsheet University feature. 

Jira vs Smartsheet features & functionality

In the previous section, we compared Jira vs Smartsheet in several categories. We saw how the two platforms stack against each other in paid plans, freemium versions, and customer support. Now it's time to put their best features and functionality head-to-head. 

Smartsheet or Jira for ease of use?

Both tools are not easy to use and come with a slight learning curve. Hiring a professional who will fine-tune your processes and make the system work for you can always be a good idea.

In Jira, most of the work happens in Kanban and Scrum boards. Once you learn how to manage your work inside these boards, you'll quickly find that the Jira software is very user-friendly. Smartsheet is also packed with features, so it might take some time to become familiar with all its options. 

The good thing is there’s a good deal of learning materials on configuring and managing the software.

Winner: 

This round is a tie, as both platforms have a learning curve. 

Jira vs Smartsheet online versions

Both Jira and Smartsheet have an online version that’s functional on all modern browsers, including Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. They both have mobile apps for Android and iOS.

Winner: 

This round is a tie. 

Smartsheet vs Jira desktop versions

Neither Smartsheet nor Jira have a desktop app, only a cloud-based version. 

Winner: 

This round is another tie. 

Automation 

Smartsheet has good automation features for automating various repetitive tasks. You can use a pre-made template or create a custom workflow that’ll be based on a "trigger" or change to your sheet. You can easily automate everything from requesting approvals and locking rows to recording a date and assigning a task.  

Jira's powerful automation builder operates on a drag-and-drop functionality and uses the when/if-then logic. If you're a Premium or Enterprise plan user, you'll have access to global automation that lets you create one rule that can automate across many or all projects.

Winner: 

Jira has a slight edge as its automation builder is more powerful and easier to use. 

Views 

Smartsheet lets you view your tasks in four different ways. There’s the standard grid view, Gantt charts, Calendar view, and Card view. Dashboards are another great functionality that visually represents your data so that you understand the overall health of your business. 

Jira has several ways of viewing your projects. There are Kanban boards for viewing your tasks as cards and dragging them across different stages. Scrum boards are also great for managing overflowing backlogs or planning roadmaps.

Winner: 

In terms of the number of views, Smartsheet has the lead. However, the best tool for you will depend on your needs. 

If you're working with large amounts of data and prefer working in grid view, then Smartsheet is the better choice. 

However, if you're a software development team that cares about Scrum boards, then Jira would be a better choice. 

Integrations

Smartsheet has native integration with more than 100 third-party apps and add-ons; it connects to thousands more apps via Zapier and Automate.io. 

The number and type of integrations depend on your subscription plan. For example, you can only integrate the software with platforms like Adobe Creative Cloud, Brandfolder, and PowerBI if you’re subscribed to the Business plan. The DocuSign integration is only available with the Enterprise plan.

Jira integrates with 3,000+ third-party apps, add-ons, and plugins via the Atlassian Marketplace. You'll find integrations with all kinds of tools, ranging from AdobeXD, Jenkins, and GitHub to Figma, Slack, and Google Workspace. 

There’s also a Smartsheet and Jira integration that works via Automate.io and Smartsheet's Jira Connector.

Winner: 

Jira has the lead because it integrates with thousands of apps via the Atlassian Marketplace. 

A note on Smartsheet Jira integration

The Jira Smartsheet integration works via Automate.io and Smartsheet's Jira Connector.

Connectors is a paid software product that requires a Smartsheet license. By making the connection, you'll be able to share issues between the two platforms, create intake forms in Smartsheet, and automatically synchronize data back to Jira.

How much does the Smartsheet Jira connector cost?

The Jira Smartsheet connector costs depend on your Smartsheet subscription level. The Connectors feature is a paid add-on that you can purchase via Smartsheet and add to your monthly plan. You must be subscribed to the Business or Enterprise plan to access the Connectors add-on.

Jira or Smartsheet for task management 

Tasks in Jira are called issues. You can create tasks, assign them to team members, move tasks from one column to another, break tasks into subtasks, and more. You can also add multiple dependencies to an issue.

Smartsheet has similar task management features. You can create tasks and subtasks, associate tasks with a department, assign them to people, add due dates and categories, add completion status, and more.

Winner: 

This round is a tie. 

Team collaboration 

Jira doesn’t have a built-in chat option for real-time communication, but you can communicate with other team members via comments. The software has advanced permission features that allow you to give users access to create or edit specific projects and invite external clients to view specific projects. 

Smartsheet has a solid Conversations feature that allows users to leave comments in a sheet, in a particular row of a sheet, and in a workspace. Similar to Jira, you can set different permission levels to control which users have access to what data. You can always integrate Smartsheet with Google Hangouts and start a Google Hangout directly from your sheets.

Winner: 

Smartsheet takes this round with its Conversations feature. 

Reporting and analytics

Jira is very capable when it comes to reports and analytics. For example, there’s the Sprint report that analyzes each sprint on your Scrum board. The Burndown chart tracks progress within your sprints. The Velocity chart measures the time it takes to move from one sprint to another and estimates how long the future sprints will take. There are also time tracking reports, user workload reports, resolution time reports, and more. 

In Smartsheet, you can compile data from multiple sheets and display it in reports. There are two types of reports - Row Reports and Sheet Summary Reports. Row Reports collect row information from multiple sheets, while Sheet Summary Reports display the overview data from multiple sheets.

Winner: 

Jira has a slight lead in this category as it has the most in-depth reports features among project management software.

Roadmaps 

Jira has basic and advanced roadmaps. The advanced roadmap feature is available to users of the Premium and Enterprise plans. You can use this feature for project planning across multiple teams. You can integrate the roadmaps with your Scrum board and move your sprints and backlogs over to your roadmaps. Integrating your board and roadmaps together makes it easier to track dependencies and visualize them on the roadmap. 

Smartsheet doesn’t have a built-in roadmaps feature. You can choose a roadmap template from the templates gallery and populate it with data. 

Winner: 

Jira wins this round as it has native roadmaps functionality. 

Product limitations

Smartsheet can be a great solution if you're working with large amounts of data and numbers. It can also be a good choice if your team is used to working in spreadsheets, as this is Smartsheet's best feature. However, if you prefer working with an agile methodology like Kanban boards, you'd be better off with a tool like Trello or Asana. 

Smartsheet also reserves its best features for the most expensive plan. Other powerful features like Resource Management are only available as paid add-ons. 

Jira's downside is that it's geared toward software development teams. This solution's features are carefully designed to help agile teams track issues. Any feature that isn't useful to tech teams has been removed from the platform. 

If you're a small business with a few people that don't have to track issues or bugs, Jira might be an overkill.

Winner: 

This round is a tie, as both project management solutions have their limitations.

Is Smartsheet better than Jira? Our conclusion

Yes, Smartsheet is better than Jira when it comes to spreadsheet-style project management. If you and your team spend a lot of time working with spreadsheets, Smartsheet is the right option.

Jira is better than Smartsheet for Kanban and Scrum software development. If you’re a tech team that’s working with an agile methodology, Jira is a no-brainer. 

In a nutshell, the best platform for you will depend on your specific needs and the type of your business. 

If you feel neither Smartsheet nor Jira fit the bill, we have a comprehensive project management tool comparison post. Here, you’ll find 71 of the best platforms for 2023.