Find the Top Smartsheet Alternatives for Project Management This Year

Are you one of Smartsheet’s users who finds the project management platform helpful but is looking for something a little bit more?

Smartsheet is a project management software to help users and organizations with project and task management. But it has its limitations.

Some of these include:

• Learning curve due to customization features
• Time tracking and resource management tools require purchase
• No free plan

Eventually, you will need a better application. We've curated a list of the best Smartsheet alternatives to help you on your journey. Let's dive in!

1. ClickUp

ClickUp is an all-in-one project management tool and productivity app designed for all users. This software offers over a hundred customizable features to help you manage projects and delegate tasks, making it a great alternative to Smartsheet. ClickUp's powerful features allow teams to collaborate and work together all in one place to achieve project completion and success.

Best Features

• Various views including List view, Board view, Box view, Gantt Chart view, Calendar view, and more 
• Simplified task hierarchy to give you more flexibility and control 
• Integrate and connect more than 1,000 tools for free

Limitations

• Learning curve due to amount of available features 
• No Table view in the mobile app, yet

Pricing

• Free: Free forever
• Unlimited: $5 per user per month
• Business: $12 per user per month
• Business Plus: $19 per user per month
• Enterprise: Contact sales

User Ratings

G2: 4.7/5 (4800+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.7/5 (3100+ reviews)

Get started with ClickUp free, no credit card required

Smartsheet vs ClickUp: Which Tool is Better for Project Management?

2. Airtable

Airtable is a relationship database and project management tool that focuses on data organization and collaboration. This comprehensive project management tool is one of the Smartsheet alternatives that uses a spreadsheet format to organize and structure data, allows teams to track workflow and automate processes, has the ability to create relationships and link records from one table to another.

Best Features

• Actionable views such as Timeline, Kanban, Gantt, Calendar, and Grid View
• Single to multi-sequence workflow automation
• Robust API and has built-in support for popular apps

Limitations

• Paid plans are costly
• User interface can be improved
• Filtering system can be difficult in complex situations

Pricing

• Airtable offers a Free plan
• Plus: $10 per seat/month; billed annually
• Pro: $20 per seat/month; billed annually
• Enterprise: contact for pricing

User Ratings

G2: 4.6/5 (2000+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.7/5 (1500+ reviews)

Looking for something different than Airtable? We compiled a list of the best alternatives for Airtable here!

3. Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project is a popular project management platform that offers online Gantt chart software and the ability to add your charts to a Microsoft PowerPoint. It's a great alternative to Smartsheet if you extensively use the Microsoft ecosystem. Microsoft project offers simple and basic project management features such to help teams with managing projects and document management.

Best Features

• Powerful features and detailed options
• Gantt charts show all timeline info in one view with a split screen
• Access many templates

Limitations

• Steep learning curve and an overwhelming amount of data for individuals or small teams
• Expensive pricing plans
• You need to purchase all the software in the Microsoft Suite and cannot use MS Project separately

Pricing

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

User Ratings

G2: 4.0/5 (1500+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.4/5 (1200+ reviews)

4. Trello

Trello is a productivity and project management platform that prides itself on being an intuitive tool for tracking anything, from large-scale corporate projects to household chores. It's a great example of the kanban method in action – with cards for each task and boards for different project stages. Trello makes it easy to label tasks and set deadlines, move items around between boards, comment and collaborate with other users, as well as visualize progress updates. And when things get hectic and multiple projects need to be juggled at once, Trello's simple drag-and-drop capabilities allow you to quickly reorder all your tasks. With its real-time organization system, Trello combines all the best features of Kanban methodology into one powerful yet straightforward platform – helping streamline every stage of your project without overwhelming you – or your team!

Best Features

• Organize projects and tasks with a board system
• Integrations with productivity tools such as Google Drive and Slack
• Mobile app allows users to access board and lists on the go

Limitations

• Not suitable for complex projects
• Only one board can be opened at a time
• Can't assign tasks to multiple people

Pricing

• Free Plan
• Standard ($5 per user/month; billed annually)
• Premium ($10 per user/month; billed annually)
• Enterprise (contact for pricing)

User Ratings

G2: 4.4/5 (13000+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.5/5 (22000+ reviews)

5. Asana

Asana is a dynamic project management tool used by companies all over the globe. You get tons of flexibility over how it looks and can move your task list around very easily. You also have access to an activity feed on your dashboard to keep up with what your team members are up to. 

Best Features

• View your task in a list, Kanban board, or timeline view
• 50+ project templates to help you get started
• Gantt charts with timelines
• Create custom rules in seconds to automate common tasks and reduce errors

Limitations

• Limited free features
• Slight navigation bugs

Pricing

• Basic plan: Free
• Premium plan: $12 per month per member
• Business plan: $24.99 per month per member
• Enterprise plan: Contact for details

User Ratings

G2: 4.3/5 (9100+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.5/5 (11800+ reviews)

Manage your workflow with our list of the top 10 best Asana alternatives

6. Wrike

Wrike is a cloud-based collaboration software for teams following project management models such as agile, waterfall, and more. Among other project management tools, Wrike offers support for marketing teams, project management, IT, and organizations offering professional services. The work management platform also supports customer management with extensive growth key features.

Best Features

• A built-in chat function that allows you to keep tabs with your teams
• Efficient time logging and time tracking capabilities
• KPI monitoring and reporting to track deliverables

Limitations

• Learning curve due to customization features
• Paid plans can be pricey

Pricing

• Free
• Professional: $9.80 per user/month
• Business: $24.80 per user/month

User Ratings

G2: 4.2/5 (1200+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.2/5 (1600+ reviews)

7. Todoist

Todoist is a productivity application that helps users organize and manage tasks and deadlines. It gives users an easy overview of tasks, subtasks, due dates, priority levels, and more. Todoist is a project management tool that help users manage schedules and workflows to help keep them organized while staying productive. It has a great user interface that makes it easy for users to make their way around the tool for collaboration and task management.

Best Features

• Quick add lets users capture and organize tasks quickly
• Build great work ethic with recurring due dates 
• Engage team members to collaborate with task delegation for shared projects

Limitations

• Free version does not offer automatic backups and reminders
• Recurring updates can be disturbing for others

Pricing

• Free to use for starters
• Pro plan starts at $4 per month
• Business plan for teams start at $6 per user / month

User Ratings

G2: 4.4/5 (740+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.6/5 (1900+ reviews)

8. Nifty

Nifty is a task management tool and a popular Smartsheet alternative due to its breadth of features, ease of use, and affordability. It offers features to improve team collaboration, task management, reporting, and more to help teams streamline their workflow.

Best Features

• Automated status and progress reporting with Milestones
• Visualize milestones in a gantt chart to align teams around project goals
• Swimlane view helps users pilot objectives efficient by intersecting project milestones and tasks

Limitations

• No public API yet
• Metrics Dashboards, a commonly requested feature, are currently missing
• No custom automation

Pricing

• Nifty offers a free plan
• Starter: $39 per month
• Pro: $79 per month
• Business $124 per month

User Ratings

G2: 4.7/5 (400+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.7/5 (140+ reviews)

9. Shortcut

Integrate various tools and plan projects under one tool with Shortcut. Easily switch between task boards, sprints, and planning in one easy to use solution. Shortcut is a fully cloud-based tool that provides users the ability to manage team projects in various views including a Kanban, calendar, roadmap view, and so much more. Take a look at company goals and KPIs and share it with other individuals in your organization. Through these tools, you are able to align and keep your team or colleagues engaged with your goals for every project.

Best Features

• Share, edit, and view plans in between Milestones, Docs, and Stories to identify issues and bottlenecks
• Plan tasks and projects in a Kanban-style view
• Editable and customizable workflows

Limitations

• Learning curve for individuals without a technology background
• Issue tracking and process management features can be improved

Pricing

• Shortcut offers a free version
• Team: $8.50 per user per month
• Business: $12 per user per month
• Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing

User Ratings

G2: 4.3/5 (100+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.6/5 (300+ reviews)

Check out our list of the top Shortcut alternatives for project management!

10. Toggl

Toggl Plan is a project management tool that helps project managers keep track of project tasks and prioritize their workload. It comes with powerful project, task, and time management features that make project tracking and collaboration straightforward. Free users will have to upgrade to a paid plan to integrate Toggl Track, a time tracking tool.

Best Features

• Simple drag-and-drop interface for unlimited project plan timelines
• Backlog to save unscheduled tasks
• Color-coded milestones
• Highly visual

Limitations

• The free plan is limited to solo users
• Workspace guest users (external stakeholders or teammates) are paid premium features
• Project data exporting to use with other tools is a paid premium feature (find exporting solutions with Toggl alternatives)

Pricing

• Free plan
• Team plan: $9/user per month
• Business plan: $15/user per month
• Enterprise plan: Contact Toggl for details

User Ratings

G2: 4.3/5 (30+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.5/5 (100+ reviews)

11. nTask

nTask is a simple but powerful project management solution that makes it easy to manage complex workflows. It's made to bring project teams on one place, and collaborate to achieve business goals. The platform’s simple structure gives a bird’s eye view for project progress to help managers make effective decisions.

Best Features

• Efficient tracking
• Optimizes tasks and planning with kanban board views
• Custom statuses for a personalized workflow

Limitations

• Not suitable for larger teams of 50 or more
• Kanban boards are a paid feature

Pricing

• Free plan
• Premium: $3/month per user
• Business: $8/month per user
• Enterprise: Contact nTask for details

User Ratings

G2: 4.4/5 (10+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.1/5 (10+ reviews)

12. Basecamp

Basecamp is one of the best project management apps where project managers can easily assign tasks and prioritize work. It improves inter-departmental and remote work communication by keeping all relevant files, documents, briefs, etc. in one project management solution. No more short status project management meetings!

Best Features

• To-dos help track work, deadlines, responsibilities, progress, and details
• Collaborate by sharing docs and other files through the organized space
• The Lineup gives users an overview of projects from start to end date

Limitations

• Limited number of integrations with other platforms
• Navigation in between projects can be improved

Pricing

• Basecamp offers a 30-day free trial for each plan
• Basecamp: $15 per user/month
• Pro Unlimited: $299/month

User Ratings

G2: 4.1/5 (5000+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.3/5 (13000+ reviews)

13. Paymo

Manage everything from tasks to tracking work time, and sending invoices with Paymo. This project management and invoicing tool help keep teams organized and accountable. Paymo offers collaboration tools, workflows, time tracking, and file proofing. These tools provide teams with additional support when it comes to finishing projects to help you stay on track, on schedule, and within budget.

Best Features

• Switch any time between various views which includes Kanban boards, To-do list, Spreadsheet, and a Task calendar view
• Manage and prioritize tasks into manageable sub-tasks
• Collaborate and communicate with task comments

Limitations

• Application can be laggy and slow
• Learning curve for the application’s complete functions

Pricing

• Free
• Starter: $4.95/user per month
• Small Office: $9.95/user per month
• Business: $20.79/user per month

User Ratings

G2: 4.5/5 (400+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.7/5 (400+ reviews)

We listed the best Paymo alternatives for project management. Read the list here.

14. Monday.com

Monday.com is a powerful project management software that offers intuitive dashboards to view work status across multiple projects. You can easily set goals, establish task dependencies, and prioritize tasks, so your team is aware of the action plan at all times. This way, you won’t receive unwelcomed work surprises on Mondays!

Best Features

• Unlimited boards and docs in the free plan
• Customizable workflows to easily track projects
• Use Gantt charts to plan, track and manage tasks

Limitations

• Dashboards are a paid premium feature
• Limited customer support - lacks phone and chat service

Pricing

• Individual
• Basic: $10 per user/ month
• Standard: $12 per user/ month
• Pro: $20 per user/ month
• Enterprise: Tailored to your needs

User Ratings

G2: 4.7/5 (6600+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.6/5 (3200+ reviews)

15. ProProfs

Proprofs Project is an online application with a project management tool that helps users plan work and collaborate to finish projects and tasks on time. It has a simple and easy to understand interface to help manage and organize projects in a single dashboard. The tool offers various collaboration and task tracking functions. Proprofs Project also helps provide useful insights and reports to how future project completions can be improved.

Best Features

• Plan and allocate tasks with the shared calendar tool featuring an intuitive dashboard
• Visualize milestones with Gantt charts
• Dashboard and timely notifications help users better collaborate and communicate

Limitations

• Does not come with automation features
• Responsiveness and interface can be improved

Pricing

• Annual plan starts at $39.67 per month(billed annually)
• Monthly plan starts at $49.97 per month

User Ratings

G2: 4.4/5 (30+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.7/5 (70+ reviews)

Looking for other options? We listed down the top alternatives to ProProfs Project here!

16. Hive

Hive is another notable task management tool that offers many of the same project management capabilities as Smartsheet, but with a more user-friendly interface. It values its customers and builds new features based on user feedback and votes. This means Hive offers features that real people actually want and need to work faster every day.

Best Features

• Full task management capabilities and multiple project views
• Native note-taking app and chat capabilities
• Email integration which sends messages directly from Gmail and Outlook to Hive

Limitations

• Mobile app could be improved
• Issues with notifications 
• Steep learning curve particularly with assigning tasks and projects

Pricing

• Solo plan for individuals is free
• Teams: $12 per user per month
• Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing

User Ratings

G2: 4.6/5 (400+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.5/5 (160+ reviews)

17. Zoho

Support and manage complex business processes and projects with the help of Zoho. This fully customizable platform offers a CRM, project management, customer service solution, and a financial platform for growing businesses. If you’re handling a growing team or business with multiple processes and projects, Zoho is a unified solution that comes with more than just project management features for you. Zoho offers various tools for sales and marketing, customer service, finance, human resources, sales, and so much more.

Best Features

• Streamline tasks with workflow automation
• Automate sales, marketing, and support functions to save time spent on manual processes
• Integration with Zoho apps and hundreds of third party apps

Limitations

• Learning curve due to number of features, integrations, and Zoho apps
• Limited customer support

Pricing

• Zoho is available for free for one user
• Basic: $49 per organization per month
• Standard: $99 per organization per month
• Professional $249 per organization per month
• Enterprise: Contact for pricing

User Ratings

G2: 4.3/5 (300+ reviews)

Capterra: 4.2/5 (270+ reviews)

18. Teamwork

Teamwork is a project collaboration software ideal for small businesses looking to organize tasks for simple navigation. With Teamwork’s calendars, project milestones, and status update features, users can comfortably support both internal teams and clients.

Best Features

• Multiple add-ons to extend its functionality
• Resource management to stay on top of your team’s day-to-day capacities
• Tons of features for managers to see into their team’s tasks
  
  Limitations
• Limited template designs
• Adjustment period for new users learning so many new features

Pricing

• Free Forever
• Deliver: $9.99/user per month
• Grow: $17.99/user per month
• Scale: Contact Teamwork for details

User Ratings

• G2: 4.4/5 (1000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (600+ reviews)

Manage Projects Successfully with Smartsheet Alternatives

While Smartsheet is a good task and project management software, there's a list of the best project management application with advanced features that can better help you plan and manage projects as well as achieve goals. 

If you’re looking for a great Smartsheet alternative that can offer so much more, your search ends now!

ClickUp is an all in one project management application with hundreds of powerful tools that you can access all under one platform. 

These features can be customized to work according to any project goals and requirements. Create the perfect workspace to break out your projects and tasks and choose from over 35 ClickApps to customize your task management. 

Keep everything organized all in one place with ClickUp. Try ClickUp for free today and discover how you can tackle any type of work with increased productivity and efficiency.

Did we miss your favorite tool in this article? Suggest it here!