Smartsheet bridges the gap between spreadsheets and project management. For teams that live in Excel and Google Sheets but need Gantt charts, automations, and collaboration features, Smartsheet provides a familiar interface with project management capabilities layered on top. With over 14 million users and major enterprise customers, Smartsheet occupies a unique position in the market — more structured than spreadsheets, more flexible than traditional PM tools.

Smartsheet Review: Spreadsheet-Powered Project Management

What Smartsheet Does Well

Familiar Interface

Smartsheet looks and feels like a spreadsheet. Rows are tasks, columns are fields, and formulas calculate values across cells. Users who are proficient in Excel can be productive in Smartsheet within hours. This familiarity dramatically reduces adoption friction compared to purpose-built PM tools like Jira or Asana.

Multiple Views

Each sheet can be viewed as a grid (spreadsheet), Gantt chart, card view (Kanban-style), or calendar. The Gantt view is particularly strong — tasks display on a timeline with dependency lines, critical path highlighting, and baseline comparison. For teams that need project scheduling without the complexity of Microsoft Project, Smartsheet’s Gantt view is a compelling alternative.

Cross-Sheet References

Smartsheet’s ability to reference data across sheets is powerful for portfolio management. A summary sheet can pull status, dates, and metrics from individual project sheets using cross-sheet formulas. This creates a live portfolio dashboard without manual data entry.

Automations and Workflows

Smartsheet’s automation engine supports condition-based triggers, approval workflows, and integration actions. Common automations include sending reminders before due dates, requesting approvals when tasks reach a specific status, and updating related sheets when a task is completed.

Forms and Intake

Smartsheet’s form builder creates intake forms that populate rows in a sheet. This is useful for request management, bug reporting, and project intake processes. Forms can be shared externally without giving respondents access to the underlying sheet.

Where Smartsheet Falls Short

Limited Agile Support

Smartsheet is not designed for agile workflows. There is no sprint planning, no velocity tracking, no burndown charts, and no backlog management. The card view provides basic Kanban functionality, but it lacks WIP limits and flow metrics. Software development teams should look elsewhere.

Row-Based Structure

Everything in Smartsheet is a row in a sheet. This works well for task lists but becomes awkward for complex project management where tasks have rich metadata, multiple relationships, and nested structures. Subtasks exist (as indented rows) but do not behave as true parent-child relationships with dependency inheritance.

Pricing

Smartsheet’s pricing is among the highest in the market. The Pro plan starts at $9/user/month with a minimum of 3 users, but the Business plan at $32/user/month is where the most useful features live (unlimited automations, document builder, proofing). For a team of 20 on the Business plan, that is $640/month.

Not for Developers

Smartsheet has no integration with Git repositories, no CI/CD pipeline connections, and no developer-centric features. Software teams will find the experience disconnected from their development workflow.

Smartsheet Pricing (2025)

Plan	Price/User/Month	Key Features
Pro	$9	Gantt, card, calendar views, basic automations
Business	$32	Unlimited automations, proofing, document builder
Enterprise	Custom	Advanced admin, governance, Brandfolder integration

Who Should Use Smartsheet

Best for: Teams transitioning from spreadsheets to project management. Organizations that need Gantt charts and scheduling without MS Project’s complexity. PMOs that manage portfolios of waterfall or hybrid projects. Teams that rely heavily on forms and automated workflows for request management.

Not ideal for: Software development teams. Teams practicing agile methodologies. Budget-conscious small teams. Organizations that need real-time collaboration on par with Notion or Google Docs.

Smartsheet vs. Alternatives

Compared to Monday.com, Smartsheet is more structured and better for scheduling, but Monday is more visual and easier to use. Compared to Asana, Smartsheet is better for teams that think in spreadsheets, while Asana provides a more purpose-built project management experience. Compared to Microsoft Project, Smartsheet is easier to use and more collaborative, but lacks MS Project’s advanced scheduling and resource management.

For teams that need spreadsheet familiarity with project management features, Smartsheet is the best option available. For teams that do not need the spreadsheet interface, a purpose-built PM tool will provide a better experience at a lower cost.