7 Best Smartsheet Alternatives in 2026 (Free and Paid)
Smartsheet is a capable tool, but it’s not the right fit for every team. Per-user pricing that scales fast, a learning curve that catches non-technical users off guard, and gaps in visual project management push a lot of teams to look for a Smartsheet alternative before long.
The Teamhood team works with project managers across engineering, operations, and professional services every day. This guide covers 7 honest picks, including free Smartsheet alternatives, so you can find the right Smartsheet replacement based on what your team actually needs.
This comparison is published by Teamhood. All tools are reviewed on the same criteria, including our own.
Why Teams Look For a Smartsheet Alternative
- No free plan, and key features cost extra. Smartsheet offers a 30-day trial but no free plan. Resource Management, Control Center and Dynamic View are paid add-ons for Business and Enterprise, on top of the per-member price.
- Steep learning curve. Grid-based logic works for Excel users. Everyone else on the team tends to struggle, which keeps adoption low outside the PM function.
- Key features sit in higher tiers. Pro includes 250 automations a month. Workload tracking and unlimited automations start in Business at $19 per member. Portfolios need Enterprise.
- Feature gaps for specific use cases. For Kanban-first teams, Gantt and Kanban hybrid workflows or portfolio management without add-ons, several alternatives do the job better.
What to Look For in a Smartsheet Alternative
- Multiple views. Gantt, Kanban, list, calendar, and timeline, ideally on the same data so you’re not maintaining separate sources of truth.
- Collaboration and real-time editing. Comments, mentions, file attachments, and live updates across teams working on the same project simultaneously.
- Automation and integrations. Check what’s available on the plan you will buy. Some features sit only in the Enterprise tier.
- Reporting, dashboards, and portfolio views. Confirm whether these are core features or paid add-ons before shortlisting.
- Pricing and free plan availability. Several strong alternatives offer permanent free plans worth evaluating before committing to per-user costs.
- Ease of use and onboarding speed. A tool that takes months to roll out carries a different risk than one your team adopts in the first week.
How We Made This List
Because Teamhood publishes this guide, we’ve been deliberate about including specific cons for our own product and pointing readers to competitors where they’re the better fit. Where we say a competitor wins on a criterion, we mean it. This list is based on hands-on experience working with project management teams, combined with review data from G2 and Gartner Peer Insights. Each tool was evaluated on feature depth, pricing transparency, ease of adoption, and how well it serves teams actively replacing Smartsheet. Tools with strong search volume as Smartsheet replacements but limited practical fit were excluded; a note on those appears at the end.
Smartsheet Alternatives at a Glance
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Standout feature |
| Teamhood | Many projects with the same people | First month free | $6/seat/month (€5) | Capacity planning in the base plan |
| Monday.com | Mainstream all-around alternative | Yes (up to 2 seats) | $9/seat/month | Interface quality and dashboards |
| ClickUp | Feature-rich teams on a budget | Yes (unlimited users) | $7/user/month | Feature breadth on free plan |
| Notion | Flexible docs and database-style work | Yes (for individuals) | $10/member/month | Docs, databases, and projects in one |
| Wrike | Enterprise project management | Yes (unlimited users) | $10/user/month | Approval workflows and governance |
| Asana | Task-focused collaboration | Yes (up to 2 users) | $10.99/user/month | Task clarity and adoption rates |
| Jira | Engineering and dev-adjacent teams | Yes (up to 10 users) | $7.50/user/month | Sprint workflows and dev integrations |
7 Best Smartsheet Alternatives
1. Teamhood
Best for teams that run many projects with the same people.
Free trial: first month free, no credit card
Paid: $6/seat/month (€5), one plan
Pros:
- Capacity planning is in the one plan: contracted hours, part-time, time off and each person’s load across all projects
- Gantt with dependencies that reschedule, board, list, schedule and timesheets on the same items
- Hours and budget roll up from tasks to the project
- Full REST API with a published OpenAPI document, webhooks, and hosting in the EU
Cons:
- No native mobile app. It works in the mobile browser.
- No Smartsheet importer. You move data with CSV import or the API.
- Fewer native integrations than ClickUp or monday.com. Other tools connect through the API and webhooks.
Overview:
Smartsheet gives you a grid that can act as a project plan. Teamhood gives you work items that you see as a list, a board, a Gantt chart, a cross-project schedule or a timesheet. Change an item once and every view shows the change.
Capacity planning is part of the one plan. Open a colleague’s page and you see every open item they hold, the project it came from, their contracted week, their time off, and 4 weeks of booked hours against capacity. Move or reassign a task and the allocation moves with it. See how resource planning works.
Teamhood is built by UAB Eylean in Vilnius, Lithuania. Data is hosted in the EU, and you talk to the people who build the product.
Best fit: Engineering, architecture and consulting teams that run several projects with the same people and need to see who has time. Not the right pick for software teams that are happy in Jira, or for teams that want to keep a spreadsheet interface.
Teamhood: plan, board and capacity on the same items
Gantt, board, timesheets and per-person capacity on the same live items, with no formulas to maintain. First month free, no credit card.
- Capacity across every project
- Gantt and board on the same data
- Timesheets included
- Hosted in the EU, full REST API
2. Monday.com
Best overall mainstream alternative.
Free plan: yes, up to 2 users
Paid: from $9/seat/month
Pros:
- Best interface quality on this list
- Strong dashboards and reporting that stakeholders actually use
- Broad integration ecosystem covering most SaaS tools
- Fast onboarding across mixed teams
Cons:
- Free plan is limited to 2 seats, which is too small for most teams
- Minimum seat count on paid plans pushes costs up quickly
- Portfolio management requires workarounds at scale
Overview:
Monday.com is the most polished all-around Smartsheet alternative for teams that prioritize interface quality and broad adoption. G2 reviewers consistently rate it among the highest for ease of use, and teams switching from Smartsheet often report faster onboarding across non-technical users. Dashboards and reporting are genuinely strong for project-level visibility and executive updates.
The platform offers a free plan, though it covers only 2 seats. That is enough to evaluate the tool, but too small to run a team on it. For most buyers, a paid plan is the practical starting point, and plans start from 3 users, so costs scale faster than the per-seat price suggests. For teams with budget and a need for fast, wide adoption, it remains one of the stronger picks here.
Best fit: Operational, marketing, and mixed teams where interface quality and adoption speed take priority. Less suited to teams on a tight budget or organizations that need deep resource management and portfolio planning.
3. ClickUp
Best free alternative to Smartsheet for feature-rich teams.
Free plan: yes, unlimited users
Paid: from $7/user/month
Pros:
- Most generous free plan on this list, unlimited users
- Multiple views: list, board, calendar, spreadsheets
- Docs and task management in one workspace
- Broad integrations and strong automation on paid plans
Cons:
- Feature depth can become overwhelming. Most teams use a fraction of what’s available
- Performance slows in large workspaces with significant data volume
- Setup time is longer than simpler alternatives
Overview:
As a free alternative to Smartsheet, ClickUp offers the widest feature set at no cost. The free plan covers unlimited users with multiple views, task management, and basic reporting, which is genuinely unusual at this price point. For teams that need to move off Smartsheet without committing to per-user costs right away, this is the most accessible entry point on the list.
The honest trade-off is complexity. ClickUp can do a great deal, and navigating all of it takes time. Teams that invest in configuration tend to get strong value. Teams that don’t often end up using a small fraction of what they have.
Best fit: Feature-driven teams willing to invest time in setup in exchange for maximum capability at low or no cost. Less suited to teams that need fast onboarding or a focused, opinionated tool.
4. Notion
Best for flexible docs and database-style work.
Free plan: yes, built for individuals
Paid: from $10/member/month
Pros:
- Docs, databases, and project views in one workspace
- Highly flexible. It can be shaped around almost any workflow
- Strong knowledge management alongside project tracking
- Large template library speeds up initial setup
Cons:
- Not a dedicated project management tool. Gantt and resource management are limited
- Free plan is built for individuals. Teams of 2 or more hit a block limit
- Can become difficult to maintain consistency as workspaces grow
Overview:
Notion is the right Smartsheet alternative for teams whose work is split between structured documentation and project tracking, and who want one workspace for both rather than two separate tools. The database views, connected pages, and flexible block structure offer a level of adaptability that neither Smartsheet nor most PM tools provide.
Where it falls short as a direct Smartsheet replacement is in project management depth. Gantt views exist but are limited compared to dedicated PM platforms, and there is no meaningful resource management or capacity planning. Teams that need both documentation and project tracking in one place find strong value here. Teams that need detailed scheduling or portfolio management will reach the ceiling quickly.
Best fit: Knowledge-work teams, content operations, and organizations that prioritize documentation and flexible data management alongside basic project tracking. Not a strong fit for teams that need Gantt scheduling, resource management, or portfolio visibility as primary features.
5. Wrike
Best for enterprise project management.
Free plan: yes, unlimited users
Paid: from $10/user/month
Pros:
- Strong approval workflow and intake form capabilities
- Cross-project reporting and portfolio dashboards
- SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and HIPAA attested
- Broad integrations, including Salesforce and others
Cons:
- Free plan is limited. Enterprise-relevant features require paid tiers
- Configuration complexity is high without dedicated admin support
- Cloud only, hosted in the US or the EU
Overview:
Wrike is the Smartsheet alternative built for large organizations that need structured governance, approval workflows, and enterprise-grade reporting. For cross-functional teams in marketing, operations, and professional services running complex intake and approval processes, it provides depth that Smartsheet’s lower tiers don’t reach. According to G2 reviews, dynamic request forms and intake workflow are the capabilities enterprise reviewers cite most consistently as differentiating.
The trade-off is cost and configuration complexity. Most of the features that justify Wrike at the enterprise level sit behind Business and Enterprise pricing, and teams without a dedicated admin function often find the setup overhead demanding.
Best fit: Enterprise teams running complex approval workflows where governance and compliance are primary requirements. Not well-suited to small teams, budget-constrained buyers, or organizations looking for fast, low-configuration onboarding.
6. Asana
Best for task-focused collaboration.
Free plan: yes, up to 2 users
Paid: from $10.99/user/month
Pros:
- Cleanest task management experience on this list
- Strong adoption rates across non-technical users
- Timeline, board, and list views on paid plans
- Straightforward onboarding with no steep learning curve
Cons:
- Resource management limited below Enterprise tier
- Portfolio and Goals features require Advanced or higher plans
- Time tracking available but basic compared to dedicated tools
Overview:
Asana is the most accessible Smartsheet alternative for teams whose primary need is task clarity and collaboration rather than spreadsheet-style project planning. The free plan for up to 2 users covers core task tracking well, and G2 review data consistently shows higher ease-of-use scores than Smartsheet among non-technical users.
The ceiling shows up when organizations need resource management across shared team members or financial roll-ups at portfolio level. Both exist in Asana but require higher tiers and don’t match the depth of dedicated portfolio tools.
Best fit: Product, operations, and marketing teams prioritizing task clarity and broad adoption. Less suited to engineering-heavy organizations, teams that need Gantt-based planning as a primary workflow, or buyers who need time tracking built in.
7. Jira
Best for engineering and dev-adjacent teams.
Free plan: yes, up to 10 users
Paid: from $7.50/user/month billed annually for 10 users ($9.05 monthly)
Pros:
- Industry standard for software development and sprint-based workflows
- Free plan covers up to 10 users with core agile features
- Extensive Atlassian Marketplace ecosystem
- Strong integration with GitHub, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps
Cons:
- Non-technical teams find it difficult to adopt and rarely use it well
- Meaningful portfolio management requires either Jira Premium or Jira Align, a separate and significantly more expensive product
- Heavily geared toward agile software workflows. Hardware and R&D teams typically need significant customization to make it fit
Overview:
Jira earns its place on this list specifically for engineering and dev-adjacent teams that find Smartsheet too rigid and plan-heavy for how they actually work. Where Smartsheet is built around grid-based project plans, Jira is built around sprint mechanics, issue tracking, and development workflows. For software teams, that’s a meaningful step forward.
The limitations are well documented. Non-technical teams find it difficult to navigate, and meaningful portfolio management at scale requires Jira Align as a separate product. For organizations that include both engineering and non-engineering teams, Jira alone rarely covers the full picture.
Best fit: Engineering and dev-led teams that need sprint workflows, issue tracking, and strong development tool integrations. Not the right pick for mixed technical and business teams needing a single shared platform, or organizations outside software delivery workflows.
How to Choose the Right Smartsheet Alternative
- Need to see who has capacity across all your projects, in the base plan → Teamhood
- Need flexible docs and database-style work in one workspace → Notion
- Want the most generous free plan → ClickUp (unlimited members)
- Need enterprise-grade governance and compliance → Wrike
- Engineering or dev-led team → Jira
- Prioritizing broad adoption and task clarity → Asana or Monday.com
When Teamhood is the Right Smartsheet Switch
A typical profile: 30 to 50 people, 10 to 15 projects in parallel, and the same specialists booked across them. Smartsheet holds the project plans, and the resource plan lives in a separate sheet. Each plan looks fine on its own. Nobody sees one person’s total.
What changes after the switch:
- Capacity in the base plan. Contracted hours, part-time, time off and each person’s total load across projects are part of the one plan.
- Plans that keep their shape. Move, extend or reassign a task, and the allocation moves with it and reflows around time off.
- One plan with everything in it. Gantt, board, timesheets, capacity planning, automation rules and the API are all included. Nothing is sold as an add-on.
Tools We Considered but Didn’t Include
Several tools come up frequently in “Smartsheet alternative” searches but were left off this list for specific reasons:
- Trello is a capable Kanban tool but lacks the Gantt scheduling, portfolio views, and reporting depth that most teams leaving Smartsheet are looking for. It’s a step sideways rather than forward for this use case.
- Basecamp takes a deliberately minimal approach to project management. For teams leaving Smartsheet because it’s too complex, Basecamp can be a reasonable fit. For teams leaving because they need more capability, it won’t cover the gap.
- Airtable is a strong tool for relational database and data management use cases. Teams that need spreadsheet-style data structures with project-adjacent views should evaluate it. It was replaced on this list by Notion, which covers similar territory with stronger documentation and workspace capabilities that appear more frequently in Smartsheet replacement searches.
- Microsoft Project / Planner suits Microsoft 365 organizations well but has limited relevance for teams looking for a modern, standalone Smartsheet replacement. It was replaced by Jira, which is more commonly searched as a Smartsheet alternative among engineering teams.
The Bottom Line
Every tool on this list solves a different version of the Smartsheet problem. ClickUp has the most generous free plan. Monday.com wins on interface and adoption speed. Notion suits teams that need docs and project tracking in one place. Wrike is built for enterprise governance. Asana suits task-focused collaboration. Jira belongs to engineering and dev teams.
If your Smartsheet problem is seeing who has time across projects, Teamhood is built around that question. Start your free month and run one real project through it before you decide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best alternative to Smartsheet?
It depends on your use case. Teamhood fits teams that run many projects with the same people and need capacity planning in the base plan. Monday.com leads for interface and broad adoption. ClickUp offers the most on a free plan. Wrike fits enterprise governance requirements.
What's the cheapest Smartsheet alternative?
Teamhood has one plan at $6 per seat per month (€5), billed yearly. ClickUp starts at $7 per user per month and Jira at $7.50 per user per month for 10 users, both billed annually. For free plans, ClickUp covers unlimited members and Jira covers up to 10 users.
Check what the base tier includes before you choose on price. Several tools put Gantt views, resource management or portfolio dashboards in higher plans. If those features are why you are leaving Smartsheet, the cheapest plan may not solve the problem.
Is there a free alternative to Smartsheet?
Yes. ClickUp has a free plan for unlimited members. Jira is free for up to 10 users. Asana is free for 2 users, and monday.com for 2 seats. Teamhood gives you the first month free, with no credit card.
What is better than Smartsheet for project management?
For capacity planning across many projects, Teamhood. For interface quality and broad team adoption, Monday.com. For task-focused collaboration, Asana. For engineering teams, Jira. The right answer depends on whether you need a spreadsheet replacement, a visual PM platform or a portfolio management tool.
Is Teamhood a good Smartsheet alternative?
Yes, for teams that run many projects with the same people. Gantt, board, timesheets and capacity planning work on the same items, all in one plan. It is not the right fit for software teams already happy in Jira, or for marketing teams that want a light task tracker.
Can I use Excel or Google Sheets instead of Smartsheet?
For basic task lists and simple project plans, both work. Where they fall short is real-time collaboration at scale, Gantt scheduling, Kanban boards, and cross-project visibility. If spreadsheet-based tracking is already covering your needs, a dedicated PM tool may not be necessary. If those limitations drove you to look at Smartsheet in the first place, switching between spreadsheet tools won’t solve the underlying problem.