10 Amazing Smartsheet alternatives & competitors in 2024

Introduction

If you are currently using Smartsheet as the PM tool in your team and are tired of navigating complex formulas, managing deadlines, and dealing with inefficient collaboration on Smartsheet? Feeling overwhelmed by the limitations of Smartsheet and craving a better solution, such as carving for better Smartsheet alternatives? You are at the right place.

Smartsheet, resembling spreadsheets, is an online project management tool designed to streamline tasks and simplify project tracking and collaboration. This service application provides an innovative solution for businesses, combining spreadsheet ease with visual timeline management, collaborative file sharing, discussions, and automated workflow capabilities. However, it’s important to note that Smartsheet does have its limitations.

Well, the good news is that there are Smartsheet alternatives that will revolutionize the way you work.

Challenges with Smartsheet

1. Overwhelming features – With too many features, users are bound to get confused, especially the first-timers.

The learning curve for more advanced features can be steep. – Stephanie J.

2. Confusing user interface – You want a user-friendly interface for comfort while using the app. However, users have complained about Smartsheet having a complex user interface that creates confusion.

I don’t like the confused jumbled look of things. There’s a lot going on and it’s difficult to navigate thru things sometimes. – Jessica A.

3. Lack of automation – Project management tools should minimize repetitive tasks in order to save time. However, Smartsheet makes it a hassle for users by forcing them to invite the same people again and again!

When we create a new workbook we constantly have to invite the same people over and over again to view this new sheet. It would be nice if you could just add in the users you want to view the entire account as an option instead of having to invite them to every sheet individually.  – Aaron M

4. Steep learning curve – There is a very steep learning curve, especially for 1st-time users. With overwhelming features, it is literally difficult for users to get used to the software quickly.

Sometimes I don’t think Smartsheet is the easiest. It can be a little hard to gain a quick overview, especially with no experience. – Anne-Louise P.

5. Poor customer support – With a confusing interface Smartsheet should have had a strong and quick customer support team.

Sometimes, Smartsheet is Dumbsheet. I get a bit annoyed with our Smartsheet support team. – Savannah S.

It becomes imperative here, for obvious reasons to look for Smartsheet alternatives. But where do you start?

Whether you’re using Smartsheet or not, this article offers project management options for you to explore.

10 Best Smartsheet alternatives and its competitors

1. ProofHub

ProofHub is an easy-to-use, all-in-one project management and team collaboration tool that helps you to plan, communicate, execute, and monitor projects efficiently – all in one place.

It is a great option for those considering Smartsheet alternatives mainly because ProofHub covers all the biggest cons of Smartsheet. Unlike Smartsheet, ProofHub boasts a comprehensive project management solution with essential features for task management, time tracking, proofing, reporting, and more.

Make a quick comparison, and you will find, that the user interface is friendly with a simple learning curve, and effective customer support.

Key features

1. Eliminate the need for multiple tools

ProofHub is an all-in-one project management and team collaboration tool. Unlike Smartsheet which focuses primarily on data organization and spreadsheets, ProofHub offers features ranging from task management and instant communication to time tracking.

With ProofHub you can simply eliminate the need to switch between multiple apps and complete all your management activities on a single platform.

2. Centralized platform for collaboration and communication 

ProofHub becomes your centralized platform for all your discussions, documents, feedback, etc. Online proofing eliminates the need to switch between different apps.

Powerful collaboration and quick communication bring your team on the same page, so you can rest assured that the project will be completed on time.

You can boost the productivity of your team by effectively sharing ideas, communicating, and collaborating on the centralized platform.

3. Organize your work

Task management becomes easier with ProofHub. You can create tasks, delegate tasks effectively, manage deadlines, and monitor progress. You can visualize workflows, manage workloads effectively, and ensure the timely completion of tasks. However, Smartsheet has limited features and does not provide much flexibility when it comes to task management.

Further, ProofHub provides you with multiple task list views. This allows you to get the overall idea of project progression in a view that is convenient to you.

4. Customizable workflow

With custom fields, you can modify your workflow as per the specific needs of your project. This helps your team to effectively plan tasks and execute them.

Creating custom workflows, setting templates, and personalizing the platform to match your team members’ preferences sets ProofHub apart. You will see a huge boost in the efficiency of your team which will help you in finishing projects successfully.

When it comes to recurring tasks, ProofHub lets you create repetitive tasks that have a fixed interval. You can set automatic reminders, notifications, and even deadlines for these recurring tasks. This eliminates the hassles surrounding task repetition.

5. Transparent & access control

Transparency is an integral part of building a successful team. ProofHub provides built-in chats, ensuring your team members can coordinate effectively. Discussions, comments, @mentions, and sharing files are all possible on the same platform.

You have complete control to modify the permissions/roles of any user. This comes in handy to ensure that different users get to view only the important things that are directly related to them.

Also, you can assign tasks to multiple team members. This helps your team to effectively manage workload, minimize chances of the blame game, and eliminate any chances of delay.

6. Reporting at its best

While Smartsheet offers an activity log and customizable dashboards with dynamic data and metrics, ProofHub takes reporting to the next level. With ProofHub, you can create a wide range of customizable reports effortlessly.

From burn-up charts for tracking task progress to detailed lists of open and overdue tasks, ProofHub provides visual reports based on labels and assignees.

With additional workflow task reports, time reports, workload reports, roadmap timeline reports, and project progress reports, ProofHub empowers teams to easily track progress, identify areas for improvement, and stay on top of projects with unparalleled clarity and efficiency.

7. Value for money

Of course, the primary point of discussion is always based on money! You do not want to invest resources in a tool that does not solve the primary purpose of simplifying project management.

Smartsheet is outright costly in comparison to ProofHub. This is because ProofHub offers you flat pricing. This comes in handy when you are scaling your business. You can add as many users as you want without any additional charges. Hence, ProofHub is best suited for businesses of all sizes, making it one of the best Smartsheet alternatives.

Pros

• Intuitive and user-friendly interface.
• Complete control over tasks and team.
• Simple learning curve.
• Online proofing.
• The announcement feature can be used for recognition and appreciation.
• Quick response from customer support.
• Flat rate pricing.

Cons

• Notifications are sometimes overwhelming.
• Built-in client invoicing is not available.

Pricing

With flat pricing, you can effectively have infinite team members! Your entire organization can use this tool without any significant impact on the budget.

The essential plan is priced at $45 per month (billed annually) while the ultimate control plan is priced at $89 per month (billed annually).

Rating

• Capterra rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
• G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

2. Workzone

Workzone is almost similar to Smartsheet, but you do not get the “Excel sheet” feeling too much. It is best suited for basic project management for small teams.

This tool perfectly fits a diverse team with varying experiences.

Key features:

• Powerful collaboration features for ensuring your team members are all on the same page.
• Effective analysis using automated reports helps in identifying the area that requires improvement.
• Transparent workflow with dependencies for quickly identifying bottlenecks and eliminating delays.

Pros

• Quick response from the support team.
• Customization options are available.
• A vast number of project templates.

Cons

• Comments are not available.
• The mobile application is not up to the mark.
• Hourly tracker not streamlined.

Pricing 

The basic plan costs $24 per user per month, while the enterprise plan costs $34 per user per month. For a tool that offers only simple and basic project management features, the prices are too high.

Rating

• Capterra rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars
• G2 rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars

 3. Google sheets

With Google Sheets, you can create, edit, and collaborate wherever you are. Google Sheets has a suite of productivity apps that let you create documents and keep them in Google Drive.

However, Google Sheets are basically for simple planning. If you are using Excel at the moment, then Google Sheets is just a necessary upgrade!

Key features

• Multiple users can work on the same spreadsheet, further using a single login on multiple devices simultaneously is also possible.
• Real-time sync and data updates ensure files are always up-to-date, immaterial of the device you are accessing.
• Audit logs and reports enable you to quickly revert to the previous version and review individual changes made by your team members.

Pros

• Automatic saving ensures no data is lost. 
• Unmatched security for safe storage and sharing of confidential data. 
• Accessible across devices of all sizes.  

Cons

• This is spreadsheet software and is not designed specifically for project management.
• Cannot integrate two different domains, and requires a separate login. 
• Built-in chat is not available.

Pricing

The prices are for Google Workspace, which includes Google Sheets as well as a host of other apps.

The Flexible pack starts from $7.20 per user per month.

Rating

• Capterra rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

4. Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project is highly useful for scheduling and portfolio management. It has been in use for project management for decades now. So you can rest assured that this tool has weathered the storms. 

However, the tool offers limited collaboration features in comparison to other project management tools. 

Key features

• You can collaborate efficiently with team members using the web-based platform. 
• Easily understandable Gantt chart for quickly communicating project details to team members.
• Multiple view options help in quickly identifying bottlenecks and rectifying them early.

Pros

• Built-in customizable templates.
• Quick response from the customer support team. 
• The drag-and-drop feature makes it very easy to create and assign new tasks.

Cons

• The learning curve is steep.
• Overwhelming features may confuse first-time users.
• Limited collaboration features.

Pricing 

The basic plan starts from $10 per user per month, while the premium plan costs around $55 per user per month.

This tool is highly priced for a small business, moreover, for the features offered by this tool, the prices are not justified.

Rating

• Capterra rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
• G2 rating: 4 out of 5 stars

5. Taiga.io

Taiga is best suited for Agile project management tools. Agile developers, designers, and project managers use Taiga to monitor and fix issues by assigning a person to them.

However, the pricing is on the higher side, considering the cost that hosting is on the Taiga cloud.

Key features

• Effectively keep track of your test cases, bugs, and cloud data without hassles.
• Integrated bug/issue tracking with customization options on the basis of severity, types, and priority.
• Quick and effective onboarding for a head start into agile project management!

Pros

• Import current projects from other tools.
• Simple and user-friendly interface.
• Built-in billing feature.

Cons

• No mobile app.
• The process of generating reports is a bit complex.
• The tool is slow when it comes to processing oversized cases.

Pricing

The plan costs around $70 per month. You can add unlimited users. Also, there is a plan starting from $10 for teams working on Linux or Docker.

Rating

• Capterra rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
• G2 rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars

6. Planview AgilePlace

Planview AgilePlace (Formely LeanKit) is a cloud-based visual management tool based on the Kanban-style platform. Like Smartsheet it has features that include a discussion board, project management, and collaboration tools.

What sets Planview AgilePlace apart is the private cloud feature and enhanced security administration.

Key features

• Create a strategy, and organize delivery plans using simple and intuitive Kanban boards.
• The tool not only provides you with Agile project management, but you can also effectively schedule tasks based on the waterfall methodology.
• Schedule and allocate your resources effectively by effectively comparing the demand to the capacity of your team.

Pros

• Individual users have to-do lists. So they can view their tasks with ease.
• Set dependencies between tasks to ensure steady project progression.
• Customizable templates as per individual project requirements.

Cons

• Report generation is not up to the mark.
• The dashboard is not optimized for a user-friendly experience.
• Occasional issues with budget management, as the currency transfer rates are not updated, and require manual updation.

Pricing

Pricing details are not mentioned on their website. You can contact their sales team for detailed pricing and quotation. 

Rating

• Capterra rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
• G2 rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars

7. Scoro

Scoro helps you to manage a business effectively. The best part for me was the ability to send bills and quotes right from the app. This helps in saving a lot of time and the hassles of changing apps multiple times. 

However, Scoro is not highly dynamic with very limited options for automation. 

Key features

• Seamless workflow ensures steady project flow without any hindrance. 
• Integration with other tools like Dropbox, Outlook, Mailchimp, etc. saves time and increases productivity. 
• Get detailed insights about your team’s performance and therefore, make decisions with confidence. 

Pros

• Flexible and quick set-up ensuring seamless project continuity.
• Best suited for tracking orders or quotes.
• Real-time overview and automated reports.

Cons

• Slightly long learning curve.
• Limited customization capabilities.
• Exporting Gantt charts is not possible.

Pricing

The Essential plan starts from $26 per user per month. The Pro plan costs $63 per user per month.

Rating

• Capterra rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
• G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

8. MindManager

With MindManager, you can become more adept at brainstorming, managing, and planning projects with ease and speed. It keeps your team members aligned on the decisions that determine if a project will meet goals and deadlines. MindManager is a powerful mind-mapping software to grow your business.

Key features

• Best suited for task managers for analyzing and delegating tasks effectively using the ideation sessions.
• Effective methodology for brainstorming to avoid overwhelming thought processes.
• Easily convert your maps into slides, so that you can effectively communicate with your team members with ease.

Pros

• Quick export option in a number of different formats.
• Simple integration with other essential apps like Drive, etc.
• Customizable options for different project ideas. 

Cons

• The invoicing feature does not perform well.
• The learning curve is quite steep.
• Lags between syncing multiple devices.

Pricing

The essential plan for an individual user costs $99 per year.

For teams, the plans start from $179 per year.

Rating

• Capterra rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars
• G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

9. Nutcache

Nutcache brings the best of Agile to your business workflow, making it a strong option among Smartsheet alternatives. It provides your team with a solution for managing the entire project delivery. It has all the Agile features to manage your project seamlessly.

However, this tool is best suited for small businesses or individual users only.

Key features

• Timesheets for efficient time tracking that provides you with an overall understanding of the project advancement.
• Customizable dashboards quickly help users to adapt to the tool with ease.
• You have complete control over the flow of the project, and you can analyze multiple options before finalizing a particular idea.

Pros

• Quick set-up and initial configuration.
• Track multiple projects with ease.
• Share and collaborate effectively with clients.

Cons

• The customer support team is sometimes not quick and responsive.
• The mobile application is not up to the mark and is slow to respond.
• Reporting and summaries require intuitive and simple-to-use features.

Pricing 

The Pro plan starts from $12.49 per user per month. The Enterprise plan starts from $21.49 per user per month.

However, you can additional users only in blocks of 5. This may impact your budget when you are planning to scale your business.

Rating

• Capterra rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
• G2 rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars

10. Celoxis

Celoxis is a powerful task-scheduling and portfolio management tool. For businesses, this tool helps you to manage complex projects by breaking them into smaller chunks.  

However, the custom roles and access are not defined clearly. This leads to confusion resulting in a loss of productivity. 

Key features

• Powerful dashboards and reports provide you with an all-around view of the project progression.
• Allocate resources based on the existing workload of your team members, thereby ensuring even distribution of workload.
• Customizable fields – currency, time, and even formulas, for effective working.

Pros

• Birds’ eye view of the overall workload of your team.
• Time tracking for quick invoicing and billing.
• Highly customizable and initiative dashboard.

Cons

• Reports are inflexible, and custom fields are not available during generating reports.
• Inability to limit resources that you do not want to use.
• Small bugs in scheduling tasks happen occasionally.

Pricing 

The Team member plan starts from $15 per user per month and $25 per user per month for the manager plan. This is a bit pricing, for a tool that is cloud-based.

Rating

• Capterra rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars
• G2 rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Tips for choosing the right Smartsheet alternatives

Now that you have come this far, let us conclude our exploring journey with some tips that will help you select the tool that you specifically want.

These are the tips you can focus on when researching and reviewing other tools, especially if you’re exploring Smartsheet alternatives. Having a standard helps in simplifying the selection process and helps you in selecting the right tool.

👉 Identify your specific needs

Every team has a specific requirement. Just like all our fingers are not the same size, similarly, different teams have different requirements. Therefore, when exploring Smartsheet alternatives, choose a tool that provides the features that you need the most. It is not necessary to own a tool that will provide you with many features, but you need to have that particular tool that fulfills your basic requirements.

👉 Assess scalability and flexibility

Your team is bound to grow, and the size of projects is also going to get more complex. Analyse if the tool will be able to grow along with your team. It is not wise to change your PM tool, as there are chances of loss in your team’s productivity. Check if the tool is customizable and adapts to your team. Consider exploring Smartsheet alternatives if your current project management tool might not be the right fit in the future.

👉 User-friendliness and ease of adoption

The tool that you choose should not have a steep learning curve. You do not want your team members to spend productive hours learning how to use the tool. Select a tool that can be easily adopted by your entire team.

👉 User reviews and recommendations

To understand the real experience of managers using a particular tool, you can read reviews on trusted websites like G2, Capterra, and Software Advice.

👉 Free trials and demos

This is a primary requirement – “First try, then pay”. Unless and until you are not completely satisfied with the functioning of the PM tool, do not make the next move. This may end up as a huge disaster down the road.

👉 Pricing

First of all, decide your budget, and evaluate the needs that you want the PM tool to meet. Depending on the features that you specifically want, you can start looking for Smartsheet alternatives. We recommend you not compare different tools on the basis of pricing alone. The features provided by different tools vary. Based on your team, look for a tool that fulfills the typical project management requirements.

Conclusion

To wrap things up, ProofHub offers features that can be a good fit for those looking for alternatives to Smartsheet. From simplified task management and real-time collaboration to efficient communication channels and comprehensive reporting, ProofHub has it all.

ProofHub empowers you to keep everyone on the same page, ensuring seamless collaboration and boosting team productivity. No longer will you struggle with scattered information and disjointed communication. Instead, you’ll have a centralized hub where you can effortlessly manage tasks, share updates, and provide feedback. Whether you’re exploring Smartsheet alternatives or seeking a robust project management solution, ProofHub stands out as a comprehensive and user-friendly option.

FAQs