Smartsheet

Smartsheet

Enterprise work management with AI, automation, and portfolio visibility

95/100Safe BetFrom $12/member/month (monthly) or $9/member/month (annual)Paid

Smartsheet remains the enterprise work management leader for regulated industries and complex portfolios. The new MCP connectors extend its AI reach, but the price and learning curve still favor larger teams. If you're a small team or freelancer, consider Asana or Monday.com instead.

Verified 17d ago · liveness 95/100 · cite: rightaichoice.com/tools/smartsheet

Best for
  • Enterprise PMOs managing hundreds of projects with complex dependencies
  • IT portfolio managers needing real-time visibility into resources and budgets
  • Operations teams automating workflows and scaling processes
  • Client delivery teams using collaboration portals and utilization tracking
Not ideal for
  • Small teams looking for a simple task list or basic project tracking
  • Freelancers or solopreneurs on a tight budget
  • Teams that prefer a highly intuitive, consumer-grade UI out of the box
Visit Website

IntermediateFor a Pro plan user, you can be productive within an hour by importing a spreadsheet or using a template from the gallery. For Business/Enterprise with portfolio views and custom integrations, plan on 1-2 weeks for full configuration. Smartsheet University and knowledge base provide self-paced learning.Web · Mobile · DesktopAPI available4.2k viewsVerified 17d ago
Pricing
From $12/member/month (monthly) or $9/member/month (annual)
Paid4 plans6 hidden costs
Learning curve
Intermediate
For a Pro plan user, you can be productive within an hour by importing a spreadsheet or using a template from the gallery. For Business/Enterprise with portfolio views and custom integrations, plan on 1-2 weeks for full configuration. Smartsheet University and knowledge base provide self-paced learning.
Runs on
WebMobileDesktop
API available · 15 integrations
Who it's for
Enterprise PMO ManagerMarketing Operations LeadIT Portfolio Director
Live sentiment
Is Smartsheet actually worth it?

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Skip it if

Skip Smartsheet if you are a small team of fewer than 10 people looking for a simple, low-cost project tracker without the need for enterprise-level security or portfolio management.

The 30-second take
Biggest gripe

Pro plan caps automations at 250 per month; exceeding that requires upgrading to Business at $19/member/month.

Price reality

For teams of 10+ in regulated industries, Smartsheet's Business plan ($19/member/yr) is competitive against Microsoft Project Plan 3 ($30/user/mo) and Planview ($40+/user/mo). However, for small teams of 1-10, Monday.com's Pro ($12/seat/mo) offers similar features at a lower entry point with a more intuitive UI. Smartsheet's Pro at $9/member/yr is only cheap for the first 10 members, then you must jump to Business.

In short

Smartsheet — Enterprise work management with AI, automation, and portfolio visibility. Best for Enterprise PMOs managing hundreds of projects with complex dependencies, IT portfolio managers needing real-time visibility into resources and budgets, Operations teams automating workflows and scaling processes. Plans from $10/mo.

What's new in Smartsheet

Checked 17 days ago

Across the latest 5 updates: 5 changelog entries.

Viability Score

95/100
Safe Bet

How likely is Smartsheet to still be operational in 12 months? Based on 4 signals — momentum (how recently it shipped), wrapper dependency, revenue model, and web presence.

momentum
100
funding runway
80
website health
90
wrapper dependency
100

Last calculated: July 2026

How we score →

Key Features

  • AI-powered insights (Smart Assist, Smart Columns, AI dashboards)
  • Grid, Gantt, Kanban, Calendar, Timeline, Board views
  • Automated workflows and no-code work apps
  • Resource planning and workload balancing
  • Portfolio management with dashboards and scenario planning
  • Milestone and dependency tracking
  • Centralized intake and approval workflows
  • Secure request management with forms
  • Branded client collaboration portals (Dynamic View)
  • Digital asset management (Brandfolder integration)
  • Real-time project and portfolio dashboards
  • Reporting and analytics with Power BI, Tableau integration
  • MCP-enabled connectors for ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Amazon Quick
  • Enterprise-grade security: SAML SSO, admin controls, audit logs
  • Mobile app (iOS/Android) and desktop app (Windows/Mac)

About Smartsheet

PaidIntermediateAPI availableWeb · Mobile · Desktop

Smartsheet is an intelligent work management platform designed for enterprise teams to plan, track, automate, and scale work across projects, portfolios, and resources. It combines project management, automation, and AI to provide real-time visibility and control. Key features include AI-powered insights (Smart Assist, Smart Columns, AI dashboards), role-based views (Gantt, Kanban, Grid, Calendar, Timeline, Board), automated workflows, no-code work apps, and portfolio management. Smartsheet integrates deeply with tools like Jira, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, and now offers MCP-enabled connectors for ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Amazon Quick. Recognized as a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Collaborative Work Management for the third year, Smartsheet is trusted by over 85% of Fortune 500 companies. It's built for PMOs, IT portfolio managers, and operations teams in regulated industries like government, financial services, and construction. While powerful, its per-member pricing and steeper learning curve make it less suitable for small teams compared to alternatives like Asana or Monday.com.

Behind the Verdict

Smartsheet is the go-to platform when you need to manage hundreds of interdependent projects with rigorous security requirements. Its portfolio dashboards, resource planning, and scenario planning are unmatched for enterprise PMOs, especially in government, financial services, and construction. The recent addition of MCP-enabled connectors for ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Amazon Quick means you can query project data from your AI tools and generate dashboards on the fly. We'd reach for this when compliance and visibility are non-negotiable. But if you're a small team on a tight budget, Smartsheet's per-member pricing adds up fast—Pro at $9/member/month annual is reasonable for 10 members, but for a team of 3, even $27/month might feel steep compared to Asana's $10.99/month unlimited. The learning curve is also real: expect to invest time in setting up sheets, formulas, and automations. In practice, Smartsheet works best when you have a dedicated PMO or admin to configure it. Compared to Monday.com, Smartsheet offers deeper portfolio management and security controls, but Monday.com's UI is more intuitive out of the box. If you need simple task tracking or a kanban board, Smartsheet is overkill. Where it bites: the 250 automation limit on Pro may force an upgrade to Business sooner than you'd like. Overall, Smartsheet is a serious tool for serious organizations—not for casual project tracking.

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Real-world workflow fit

Concrete scenarios for the personas Smartsheet actually fits — and what changes day-one when you adopt it.

Enterprise PMO Manager

You need to report on 50 active IT projects with dependencies, risks, and resource allocation across teams.

Outcome: Create a portfolio dashboard with scenario planning to compare budget vs. actual, then share a Gantt view with stakeholders via Dynamic View—no login required for external viewers.

Marketing Operations Lead

Your team runs 30 campaigns per quarter with multiple agencies, and you need to automate approval workflows and track creative assets.

Outcome: Build a no-code work app with intake forms, automated approval routing, and a Brandfolder integration for asset management, reducing campaign setup time by 30%.

IT Portfolio Director

You manage a portfolio of 200+ initiatives and need real-time visibility into resource capacity and budget risks.

Outcome: Use Smartsheet Portfolios and resource planning views to balance workloads, and connect to Jira and ServiceNow for a single source of truth, with AI dashboards surfacing at-risk projects.

Use Cases

Models Under the Hood

Smart Assist (Smartsheet AI)Smart Columns (Smartsheet AI)AI-powered dashboards

as of 2026-07-06

Limitations

  • Smartsheet has a steeper learning curve compared to linear project management tools.
  • Pricing is per-member and can become expensive for large teams, with limited functionality on the lowest paid tier (Pro) which caps automations at 250 per month and lacks workload tracking, timeline view, and guest accounts.
  • Some advanced features like resource management, portfolio dashboards, and AI features are restricted to higher-tier plans (Business and Enterprise).
  • The Pro plan also limits members to 10, which may be restrictive for growing teams.

as of 2026-06-30

12-month cost

Project the real annual outlay, including the implied monthly cost when only an annual tier is published.

Annual total
$144 / member
Over 12 months, per member
Effective monthly
$12 / member
Billed monthly

Vendor list price only. Add-on usage, seat overages, and contract minimums are surfaced under Hidden costs & gotchas.

Plans compared

For each published Smartsheet tier: who it actually fits, and what it adds vs. the previous tier. Cross-reference the cost calculator above for projected annual outlay.

Pro

$12/member/month (monthly) or $9/member/month (annual)

Ideal for

Small teams of 1-10 members who need basic project tracking, forms, and automations without guest accounts.

What this tier adds

Starting tier with 250 automations/month, no timeline view, no workload tracking, and no guest accounts.

Business

$24/member/month (monthly) or $19/member/month (annual)

Ideal for

Growing teams of 3+ members needing timeline view, workload balancing, unlimited automations, and MCP-enabled AI tool connectors.

What this tier adds

Adds timeline view, workload tracking, admin controls, unlimited automations, and 1 TB storage vs. Pro.

Enterprise

Custom pricing (10+ members)

Ideal for

Organizations with 10+ members requiring SAML SSO, portfolio management, scenario planning, and compliance controls.

What this tier adds

Adds SAML SSO, Portfolios, Scenario Planning, Enterprise Plan Manager, and unlimited attachment storage vs. Business.

Advanced Work Management

Custom pricing

Ideal for

Large enterprises needing consulting, training, and tailored support for complex deployments.

What this tier adds

Includes all Enterprise features plus dedicated consulting, training, and customized support.

Hidden costs & gotchas

What the public pricing page doesn't put in bold. Captured from pricing-page footnotes, contract terms, and recurring complaints.

  • Pro plan caps automations at 250 per month; exceeding that requires upgrading to Business at $19/member/month.
  • Going beyond 10 members forces you off Pro into Business, doubling the per-member cost.
  • Guest accounts are free only on Business plan; Pro limits you to contributors (free) but no guests.
  • Attachments on Pro are limited to file size only; Business adds 1 TB storage, which may fill up for media-heavy teams.
  • AI features like Smart Assist and AI dashboards are included in Pro but admin toggles for AI are Enterprise-only.
  • Annual contract required for the lower per-member price; monthly billing adds ~30% to the Pro and Business tiers.

Where the pricing makes sense

The company stage and team size where Smartsheet's pricing actually pencils out — and where peers do it cheaper.

For teams of 10+ in regulated industries, Smartsheet's Business plan ($19/member/yr) is competitive against Microsoft Project Plan 3 ($30/user/mo) and Planview ($40+/user/mo). However, for small teams of 1-10, Monday.com's Pro ($12/seat/mo) offers similar features at a lower entry point with a more intuitive UI. Smartsheet's Pro at $9/member/yr is only cheap for the first 10 members, then you must jump to Business.

Setup time & first value

How long it actually takes to get something useful out of Smartsheet — broken out by persona, not the marketing-page minute.

For a Pro plan user, you can be productive within an hour by importing a spreadsheet or using a template from the gallery. For Business/Enterprise with portfolio views and custom integrations, plan on 1-2 weeks for full configuration. Smartsheet University and knowledge base provide self-paced learning.

Switching to or from Smartsheet

How to bring data in from common predecessors and how to get it back out — written for the switcher, not the buyer.

Migrating in
  • From Excel: Export your sheet and import directly into Smartsheet's grid view, preserving formulas.
  • From Microsoft Project: Use Smartsheet's import wizard to bring in MPP files, mapping fields to Gantt view.
  • From Asana or Monday.com: Export to CSV and import into Smartsheet; manual re-linking of dependencies may be needed.
Migrating out
  • To Asana: Export Smartsheet sheets as CSV and import into Asana; note that formulas and automations won't transfer.
  • To Monday.com: Use Monday's CSV import to bring in projects, but complex workflows require manual re-creation.
  • To Microsoft Project: Export Smartsheet to Excel, then open in Project; Gantt and dependencies map well.

Integrations

Microsoft TeamsSlackJiraSalesforcePower BITableauGoogle WorkspaceMicrosoft 365ServiceNowWorkdaySAP ERPSAP BusinessObjectsDropboxOneDriveBox

Resources & Guides

Tools that pair well with Smartsheet

Common stack mates teams adopt alongside Smartsheet, with the specific reason each pairing earns its keep.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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