Best Smartsheet Alternatives & Competitors 2024 (2024)

Are you on the lookout for the right and top-rated alternatives for Smartsheet? Smartsheet is an online project management app that is quite similar to spreadsheets and is designed to simplify tasks, project status tracking, execution, and collaboration. This tool offers an innovative solution for various businesses of different sizes, blending the ease of spreadsheets with visual timeline management, offering a discussion forum, collaborative file sharing and reviewing, and automated workflow abilities. Having said that, it’s imperative to note that Smartsheet comes with some limitations. But hey, the sigh of relief is that there are many Smartsheet alternatives available in the market that assure to transform how you operate. But before delving into Smartsheet competitors, let’s see what those constraints or shortcomings are that push people to look for other similar tools.

Why are Smartsheet Alternatives Needed?

There are several resource and project management software available in the market that offer competitive features. But if you want to find a Smartsheet alternative, we’ve collated a list of some of the top-rated and best Smartsheet alternatives that you can consider. But before we do that, let’s first review the reasons why people are looking for Smartsheet alternatives. Though this app is built on the capabilities of Excel, managing a project with its sheet view has a number of challenges. Though Smartsheet enables the team members to use and collaborate to assign tasks, share content, view timelines, and so on, its execution has some flaws, which are as follows.

Any venture that requires coordination and management of projects needs a project lead – their role is vital. Every business, be it information technology, design, telecommunications or any other, has a series of projects. And the goal is always to complete these projects on time. It is the business manager’s responsibility to ensure that it happens.

1. Missing features to manage portfolios effectively

Though Smartsheet provides some portfolio features, it doesn’t manage their programs or end-to-end portfolios of various projects. The tool also doesn’t have any time-tracking capabilities to manage resources, which is a crucial feature that enables project managers to monitor productivity and resource utilization and check what is planned vis-à-vis actual effort. However, Smartsheet doesn’t offer these advanced time-tracking capabilities and thus, it isn’t possible to track and gauge the time that resources are spent on various tasks.

2. Deficient scheduling and project management features

Though the tool has a few scheduling and task or project management features, the capabilities are unfortunately not as robust and extensive as many Smartsheet alternatives. Having said that, Smartsheet is an expensive project management software, but its features and interface is confusing for new users. The interface is quite complex for people using it and makes it tough for users trying to navigate the tool.

3. No central hub for communication

Smartsheet’s communication feature resembles that of Excel, and you can leave comments, respond to any previous comments directly or via an email, and even tag team members or assign them tasks, but it still lacks a streamlined channel that can be used just for communication. Because of that, people may miss the messages as they cannot follow a single thread and the communication could be scattered.

4. Lack of automation

One of the key objectives of project and resource management tools is that they should reduce or eliminate any mundane or repetitive tasks to save time. But on the contrary, Smartsheet makes it tough for its users as they need to invite the same team members repeatedly.

There are some other challenges with this tool, but let’s now consider the best Smartsheet alternatives you can consider in 2024.

Best Smartsheet Alternatives You Have to Try

Let’s now review the top Smartsheet alternatives and their features, pros, and cons, along with their pricing. You can check out which ones suit you the most and then invest accordingly.

1. eResource Scheduler

If you are aiming to streamline your project management delivery and resource management, opt for the top-rated resource planning and management tool, eResource Scheduler. With a feature-rich interface, eResource Scheduler comes at a competitive price and eases project planning and execution for multiple projects. It also aids in creating feasible schedules while improving team collaboration especially in the case of remote or distributed teams. This best-in-class tool becomes your ally in resource management, project management, capacity planning, tracking utilization, workflow scheduling, and a lot more. Its brilliant features such as high configurability, drag and drop scheduling, scalability, graphical and detailed reports, time-tracking and email notifications make it a preferred choice for businesses in various industries. Multiple calendars offer easy monitoring, precise resource utilization reports, detailed resource, project, and job profiling, time-tracking, and recurrence or split booking to make complex project management simple for you. This award-winning resource management and time-tracking tool helps you to plan and manage your projects and resources seamlessly, design comprehensive and visual dashboards, track team utilization, and track profitability. Take a free trial to try out its features and robust architecture and improve your team’s utilization from 18 to 30%.

eResource Scheduler: Key Features

Custom fields help to capture data in easy steps
Drag and drop resource scheduling
Scalability
Simplified resource planning process
Time-tracking and management
Easy approval process of time entries
Capacity reporting
Access to financial dat
Configurable calendars
Role-based access

eResource Scheduler: Pros

Enterprise-wide and real-time visibility
Simple and multi-user interface
Easy to track individual and team’s utilization and productivity
Management reports and visual dashboards
Offers multiple calendars
Automated alerts and notifications
Gantt charts enable efficient scheduling
Financial reporting module
Free 14-day trial

eResource Scheduler: Cons

Does not have mobile application
Limited customization options on Dashboard.

eResource Scheduler: Pricing:

Scheduling Module (Core): is available at $5 per month per resource, along with individualized support
Timesheet Module (Optional): $5 per month for each resource
Financial Module (Optional): $4 per month for each resource.
Free trial: 14-day free trial

2. Microsoft Project

One of the most popular and well-known project management software, Microsoft Project is a cloud-based software that is part of the MS Office suite. This means that it operates flawlessly with any Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Planner, and so on. Navigating MS Project may seem familiar to most users, and that’s one of the reasons that make it a top Smartsheet alternative. The tool’s project planning capabilities are worth mentioning however, the software doesn’t provide many solutions that are industry-specific. For example, the tool may not be suitable for the construction business which may want certain specific planning, management, and reporting features.

Though a top-rated productivity tool, MS Project offers limited integration capabilities with any third-party applications your organization may be using and isn’t Mac. So, in a nutshell, the tool could be very useful for seasoned project managers, but it may cause some frustration to the new one as they may take time to understand it.

MS Project: Pros and Key Features

Offers several project management views to enable planning, scheduling, allocating, and monitoring projects
Robust features for managing your projects, end-to-end programs, and portfolios
Integrated project management reports
Offers a free one-month trial

MS Project: Cons or Limitations

The tool is expensive (Desktop and online version), but is good, particularly for larger teams
Has a steep learning curve and a difficult-to-learn interface that may overwhelm beginners
It is difficult to share and use files as MS Project files have a very unique format
Does not have mobile app

MS Project: Pricing

Project Plan 1: $10 user per month
Project Plan 3: $30 user per month
Project Plan 5: $55 user per month

3. ClickUp

One of the leading and popular end-to-end productivity platforms, ClickUp is a top-rated software and boasts of its robust reporting, collaboration, and time-tracking features. A comprehensive solution, ClickUp is one of the leading Smartsheet alternatives and has a free version to offer too.

ClickUp: What’s Unique

ClickUp’s over 15 customized views enable to visualize the project workspace as it suits you. Not only does it enable you to view a List, access Box, view and leverage Gantt charts and Kanban board, or utilize the Calendar, this tool is highly customizable which makes it easy to use for various teams. Different departments can operate from a view that is helpful to them. For instance, the sales team progress can be reflected in the CRM, but Kanban displays the content team. However, the IT team can be viewed in the list view, and the product team is reflected in the calendar view—but every team is able to collaborate on a single platform! Also, ClickUp’s in-built time-management and tracking feature tracks your resource utilization and productivity, keeps a tab on billable hours, or collects the consolidated time spent on various projects. What’s more? It also easily integrates with any third-party tool, such as Time Doctor, Everhour, or Timely.

ClickUp: Key Features

Over 100 ready-to-use templates for workflow automation
Drag and drop feature to assign tasks easily
Mind maps to effectively plan and structure new or existing tasks and projects
Task checklists to provide more details and accountability for projects
ClickUp docs help create, assign, or tag docs into categories like tasks and subtasks
See Also
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Custom statuses and tags to tailor workflows to individual requirements

ClickUp: Pros

Free Forever Plan with various advanced features
Suitable for Kanban, Scrum, and other Agile development projects
Track your team’s productivity with detailed reports
Highly user-friendly interface that helps in project management
Custom permissions to inform all the project stakeholders
Visual and dashboards for seamless work management
Easy to develop a project plan with ClickUp Docs
Works with several third-party integrations such as Zoom, Slack, Microsoft Office 365, etc.
Dependencies help structure tasks in the right manner
Easy-to-use task templates and robust automation features

ClickUp: Cons

Dashboards cannot be exported
Tags are not available for Docs

ClickUp: Pricing

A free forever plan that comes with four more pricing options to select from:

Free Forever: Free Forever members and Unlimited tasks along with 100MB of storage
Unlimited: $7 per user/month with unlimited dashboards, members, integrations, Gantt Charts, and storage
Business: $12 per user/month for Mind Maps, unlimited teams, time-tracking, workflow management, and advanced automation features
Enterprise: Custom pricing for white labeling, advanced permissions, and enterprise API

4. ProjectManager

This tool puts all the solutions you may require for planning and executing your project, from start to completion in just one online platform. ProjectManager is one of the top Smartsheet alternatives and it makes it easy to plan and manage tasks, track progress and time, design reports, and a lot more. Besides that, this award-winning tool facilitates team collaboration throughout each milestone, and unlike many resource and project management tools, this software is specially crafted for ace project managers and amateurs alike, which means all types of users can gain the most out of it. In simple words, one may be working remotely, or in their office, or on-site, and irrespective of their level of competencies, this tool’s multiple project views enable you to work the way that suits you. That’s not all! You get a 30-day free trial to gauge if this Smartsheet alternative works for you. Project Manager even offers beginners to use Kanban boards and various task lists, and work seamlessly with the online Gantt chart tool. So, if you wish to leverage the Gantt chart view or the sheet view or maybe both together, you can easily do so with this tool.

ProjectManager: Pros and Key Features

Gantt chart view and sheet view available
Cost and time tracking in real-time
Several project management views and tools
Mobile app available for Android and iOS
Free 30-day trial

ProjectManager: Cons

Limited customization options
Limited native integrations

ProjectManager: Pricing options

Team: $13 user per month
Business: $24 user per month
Enterprise: Get in touch with sales to find more

5. Asana

A tool known for being easy-to-use, and a popular choice with project managers because of its brilliant features. Asana comes with an easy-to-understand interface, possibility of countless integrations, and a lot more, Asana is a great Smartsheet alternative. However, please note that Asana is more suitable if you’re executing smaller and simpler projects.

Asana: Key Features

Kanban board helps in workflow management
File sharing and reviews enable enhanced team collaboration
Advanced and robust task management features offer checklists and subtasks
Project overviews allow seamless resource management

Asana: Pros

Enables collaboration with distributed team members in real-time
Helps to delegate tasks with ease and sends automatic notifications and alerts
Dedicated functions crafted for Agile teams, including backlog management and automation of workflows
Best-suited for handling multiple projects and larger teams

Asana: Cons

No native features for time tracking
Not possible to tag or assign a comment to a specific team member
Free plan offers limited functionality
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Tasks cannot have several assignees

Asana: Pricing

Offers four options:

Basic Free option
Premium: $10.99 per user/month
Business: $24.99 per user/month
Enterprise: Offers custom pricing

6. Monday.com

A top project management solution, which is also known as a visual manager, Monday.com particularly focuses on connecting its users and enabling smooth collaboration. The user interface design of this tool is very visual and all its features link to a central view where your resources can get an overview of all the key information and easily collaborate. This visual representation and structured manner of organizing information is one of the key reasons for this tool to get many positive reviews as a top Smartsheet alternative. You can view all the data and determine how to analyze or manage it with the task lists, Kanban boards, timelines, and so on. Though the tool’s visuals are its differentiator, a lot of feedback also feels that such visuals could be distracting and overwhelming at times, which may not help in important processes that rely on data such as time tracking, resource management, or scheduling.

Monday.com: Key Features and Pros

Minimalistic and easy-to-understand UI
Visual portfolio reports and comprehensive dashboards to monitor project progress, resources, and overall costs
Free trial for 14 days
Offers a mobile app for Android and iOS

Monday.com: Cons

Gantt charts are too simplistic and some key features like cost tracking are lacking
Inadequate project reporting capabilities
Customizable views need a manual setup

Monday.com Pricing

Basic: $8 user per month
Standard: $10 user per month
Pro: $16 user per month

7. Trello

A popular Kanban-based project management software, Trello is great for simple projects as it enables automations and integrations. This SaaS tool solution is one of the best Smartsheet competitors because of its best-in-class features. Read on to find out more about it.

Trello: Key Features

Customizable and interactive and cards
Power-ups help provide extra functionality to Trello boards
Checklists enable better task structuring
High-level views for enhanced team collaboration
Color-coded labels to systematize tasks with ease

Trello: Pros

Easy learning curve due to the friendly UI
Easy task scheduling with the drag and drop feature
Keyboard shortcuts add convenience
Mobile app especially for iOS and Android

Trello: Cons

Native reporting features not there
Not best-suited for complex project management
Only Kanban board view available and a table view offered in beta

Trello: Pricing

Trello platform offers three pricing options:

Free option
Business: $9.99 per user for each month
Enterprise: $17.50 per user for each month

8. Wrike

Wrike is another top Smartsheet competitor that is known as a high-quality project management tool. It’s easy-to-understand UI helps project managers gain quick insights and clarity into the project status and workload distribution. The tool offers customizable templates that enable you to kick-start and multiple integrations, several project views, such as Gantt charts, which enable smooth project and task management. However, the most unique feature of this Smartsheet alternative is its swift adoption of AI tools to aid users in populating task details much faster.

Wrike: Key Features and Pros

AI functionality to accelerate the admin tasks
Various project management tools
Reporting features
Free trial offered for 14 days
Mobile app for Android and iOS

Wrike: Cons

Outdated Gantt chart UI
Inadequate project reporting functionality
Non-friendly UI makes navigation tougher
User minimums increase the price

Wrike Pricing

Professional plan: $9.80 user for each month
Business plan: $24.80 user for each month

9. Jira

A holistic project management and bug tracking software which is primarily suited for Agile and Scrum teams, Jira is another top Smartsheet competitor. Unlike some other software, users can also leverage its open-source version for additional customizability. Read on to find out why this tool is on the list of the top Smartsheet competitors.

Jira: Key Features

Powerful Agile views along with Kanban and Scrum board
Custom workflow templates
Automated workflow function
Roadmaps to design a structure for projects
Powerful reporting tools such as Gantt chart and the velocity chart
Issue and bug tracking functionality

Jira: Pros

Advanced project management tool especially for Agile and Scrum management
Enables third-party integration
Offers highly customizable dashboards
Powerful mobile app
Suitable for managing larger and more complex enterprise projects

Jira: Cons

Tough setup and configuration process
Steep learning curve because of a complex UI
Expensive paid plan
Team collaboration features missing

Jira: Pricing

Free: For about 10 team member
Standard: $7 per user for each month with 250GB storage and up to 5,000 users
Premium: $14 per user for each month with unlimited storage and up to 5,000 users

10. nTask

This tool caters to businesses of all industries and sizes and is primarily focused on project and task management. Though nTask also brings meeting management and many other features with it, this Smartsheet competitor only enables you to create one task at a time and also has a recurring task option. What’s more? nTask offers a free option though it doesn’t have all the features in this version. The tool boasts easy-to-understand and helpful Gantt charts, comprehensive dashboard views and a calendar that enables resources to view their allocations, workflows, and schedules.

nTask: Key Features and Pros

Support is available in multiple languages
High-level and comprehensive dashboard
Offers a project management app for mobile users especially Android and iOS
Comes with a free trial of 14 days

nTask: Cons

Subpar user interface and overall functionality
Doesn’t offer project dashboards like Smartsheet
Not suitable for larger projects

nTask Pricing

Premium: $3 user per month
Business: $8 user per month

Though Smartsheet is a good solution for project management, if you want a tool that can also help you ace resource management, time-tracking, resource utilization, and a lot more, go for the top-rated Smartsheet competitor, eResource Scheduler. Not only does it streamline your project and resource management processes, but it also enables you to manage staffing, work allocation, utilization tracking, skill mapping, and finding the best-fit people for each project. That’s not all! eResource Scheduler also gives you a lot of clarity with the real-time visibility of all the team members and projects in the business. It also assures to uplift your resource utilization anywhere between 18 to 30%. Think of load leveling across several resources, perfect scheduling estimates based on earlier actuals, or accurate hiring plans – this cloud-based tool does it all for you! Still thinking? Nail a perfect resource and project plan with this top-rated tool. But before that – get a free trial to check out the benefits and features.