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What is Smartsheet?

Industry Specialties: Serves all industries

Smartsheet is an enterprise-level SaaS management application that helps teams streamline processes through collaboration, project planning and task management. Users can set up tasks using a grid view, similar to a spreadsheet with automations, formulas, comments and mentions. 

It provides templates for projects and automations that can be modified and saved as a template to save time. Project views include a Kanban board, Gantt chart, timeline, calendar view, card view and a custom dashboard.

Its file and sheet sharing capabilities, comment feature and conversations remove team and data silos and give stakeholders insight into project details. A user-friendly interface helps managers and team members boost adoption rates, maintain consistency and increase efficiency. 

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Smartsheet Pricing

Based on our most recent analysis, Smartsheet pricing starts at $9 (Per User, Monthly).

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Price
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Starting From
$9
Pricing Model
Per User, Monthly
Free Trial
Yes, Request for Free

Training Resources

Smartsheet is supported with the following types of training:

Documentation
In Person
Live Online
Videos
Webinars

Support

The following support services are available for Smartsheet:

Email
Phone
Chat
FAQ
Forum
Help Desk
Knowledge Base
Tickets
Training
24/7 Live Support

Smartsheet Benefits and Insights

Why use Smartsheet?

Key differentiators & advantages of Smartsheet

  • Use Familiar Spreadsheet Formatting: Move from regular spreadsheets to spreadsheets with versatile views and much less formula knowledge required for formatting. Make adoption and training smoother because you’re not starting from scratch with processes. We especially liked the ability to enter data using a familiar cell view and then convert it to, say, a Kanban board.
  • Create No-Code Automations: Use templates or build from scratch with a trigger, condition and action automation format. Save time on admin tasks with automations for alerts, approvals, document creation and sheet changes. Choose from four starting cell-related triggers and build from there. We thought the automation building was intuitive and straightforward. Check out our test in the “See It In Action” section below.
  • Access Multiple Views: Add dynamic views to your projects and filter and customize views to meet task requirements. For example, we added a card view organized by status and a Kanban Board sorted by task assignee. Create a customizable dashboard to pull data like task progress, workload and duration using widgets.
  • Share Proofs and Additional Information: Collaborate on team documents, provide context and add proofs and files to individual tasks or the entire sheet. We set a piece of content as a task and added extra files like logos and docs along with comments for specific client requests.
  • Train As You Go: Kick your project off with a checklist outlining best practices and research material. Use pop-ups and explainer icons with video links as you work to get a better understanding of features and capabilities. We popped over to the help center to learn how to set up baselines for our Gantt chart (you need to edit the start date and end date columns).

Industry Expertise

Used in every major industry, Smartsheet serves over 78,000 organizations in 160 countries. Its client base includes more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies and over 90% of Fortune 100 companies. Suitable for organizations of any size.

Smartsheet Reviews

Based on our most recent analysis, Smartsheet reviews indicate a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 88% based on 22301 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

User satisfaction level icon: great

22301 reviews

88%

of users would recommend this product

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Based on an aggregate of Smartsheet reviews taken from the sources above, the following pros & cons have been curated by a SelectHub Market Analyst.

Pros

  • Automation: Reviewers appreciated the no-code automation and said that it helps to eliminate productivity killers and saves time.
  • Collaboration: Users liked the sharing option with level-based permissions that allow collaboration with non-users and help coworkers and external stakeholders stay up-to-date on projects and processes.
  • Ease of Use: A user-friendly interface and templates make it easy to set up, customize and access multiple views, according to reviewers.

What Users Like

  • Customization: “We can customize it to fit various projects, whether we’re tracking client cases, managing document revisions, or planning team tasks. For instance, I created a project tracker for a major client contract negotiation. The ability to set deadlines, assign tasks, and update statuses in real time has streamlined our communication and kept everyone on the same page.” - Russ Johnson, Founder of Linx Legal
  • Collaboration: “We had this one job in a high-rise condo that put Smartsheet to the test. The sliding door system was an older model with custom-sized panels that aren’t easy to source, and it needed specific adjustments due to the unique structure of the frame. Typically, coordinating the right parts, tools, and technician experience for something like this would require several phone calls and a lot of back-and-forth. With Smartsheet, we were able to set up the job details to track not only the special parts needed but also assign a technician who was experienced with that model. When the parts came in, the technician was notified directly through Smartsheet, so he knew the moment everything was ready. It saved us from potential delays and kept the customer fully updated on when the work could be done.” - Gal Cohen, Business Development Leader and Field Area Manager JDM Sliding Doors

Cons

  • System Integration: Limited integrations and complex configurations were an issue for reviewers.
  • Premium Add-Ons: Reviewers noted that advanced features come with a price tag that can be prohibitive for some businesses.
  • Slow Loading Time: Users reported it takes time to display screens export formats occasionally.

What Users Dislike

  • Integration: “Despite its many benefits, integrating Smartsheet with other systems posed some challenges. Initially, we experienced issues with data syncing between Smartsheet and our CRM software, leading to discrepancies in our financial reporting. Recognizing this, I allocated specific time for thorough testing before our full implementation, allowing us to identify and resolve any integration issues early on.” - Austin Rulfs, Founder of Zanda Wealth Mortgage Brokers
  • Learning Curve: “While Smartsheet is powerful, it can feel a bit overwhelming at first. I found that investing time in training sessions helped bridge that gap, making it easier for everyone to adapt and use the tool effectively.” - Russ Johnson, Founder of Linx Legal

Researcher's Summary:

Smartsheet is a cloud-based work management platform that helps users streamline and organize processes with a spreadsheet-esque interface, flexible templates, multiple views and team collaboration. Apart from the grid view, you can visualize projects using a Gantt chart, Kanban board, calendar view, card view or timeline view. No-code automations are another note-worthy feature, where you can build from templates or scratch.

It streamlines project creation with templates suited to different industries and end goals, so you have a jumping-off point instead of going in blind. Team collaboration is another area where Smartsheet shines, with comments, conversations and file and sheet sharing (even with people outside your organization). It also offers a customizable dashboard view, although I did find some of the chart widgets a little tricky to work, without training.

Highlights for me were definitely the familiarity of spreadsheet formatting (but with more views and automations), robust collaboration capabilities and guided explainers throughout the setup. However, user reviews noted limited filters and integrations, lags and expensive add-ons as downsides.

Overall, Smartsheet is a great option for teams familiar with spreadsheets but are on the lookout for more visualization and collaboration, along with the budget to spend on advanced features.

Key Features

  • Dashboards and Reports: Customize your dashboard by adding widgets like reports, project-specific charts, shortcuts, images and text. Consolidate data from multiple sheets into a summary view using system reports. Track sheet changes using bi-directional functionality. Send reports via collaborative tools and change statuses to recur.
  • Multiple Views: View your tasks using the grid view, akin to a spreadsheet, a Gantt view as an add-on to your grid view, a Kanban board where you can drag and drop tasks and group them by assignee or status, a timeline view, a card view with customizable lanes and a calendar view that displays your tasks across its duration or by start dates only.
  • Task Management: Add your tasks and subtasks into each cell and use the indent and outdent buttons to divide tasks into groups that can be minimized to provide a project overview. Create or modify custom fields with your own text, dropdown lists and symbols to show status, assignees, priority, dates and latest comment. Attach files and proofs, write comments and mention users and set reminders for tasks.
  • Automations and Workflows: Save time with custom processes and workflows you can build by modifying templates for reminders and alerts, document generation, row changes, sheet changes and updates, and approval requests. Build your own workflow automations from scratch by choosing your trigger, setting conditions and adding actions. Manage automations by deactivating, deleting, duplicating or unsubscribing.
  • Templates: Use pre-built templates ranging from event management to HR workflows and marketing to streamline project creation. View complexity, task management and process before you apply a template. Build and save your own templates by customizing pre-built templates or creating them from scratch.
  • Integrations: Drive productivity with integrations like Office 365, Dropbox, DocuSign and Google Workspace and use iCal or Google Calendar to track project statuses.
  • Team Collaboration: Communicate with team members by commenting and mentioning users in individual tasks, adding files for additional information and chatting via the conversations tool where everyone with access to the sheet can see your comments. Integrate with Slack or Microsoft Teams to receive updates about your sheet and send messages to channels.

See It In Action: Automations

There’s no country for project management software without automations. To see how devs put the “smart” in “Smartsheet,” I tested their automations feature using their built-in template and “create from scratch” option. Here’s how I did it.

I started with a visit to the template library for some inspiration. Since status changes are a part of most workflows we settled on a template in the notifications and reminders section.


Next, I changed the automation name and got to work customizing the fields. There were multiple fields to choose from, but for our intents and purposes we selected status.


I chose the user name, wrote the email and specified the contents of the email. To see how the links would show up, I included links to sheet and all fields.


After moving the status from “In Progress” to “Blocked,” I got an alert in the notifications tab quite instantly and a few minutes later I received the email below. First automation done and dusted!


For the second automation I dove right into the “Create from scratch” option. I wanted a date-based automation to alert assignees that a task is due so they can adjust timelines and speak to their manager.


I wrote the email with clear next steps and a custom field for the assignee’s name. All that was left was to take it live.


I changed the date for one of the tasks assigned to me and waited for the appointed hour to trigger a notification.

All-in-all, it was an intuitive experience I could manage without too much technical expertise. I liked the drop-down options for triggers and conditions and appreciated the test run option.

Cost of Ownership

Frequently asked questions regarding Smartsheet pricing include:

Q: What pricing model does Smartsheet follow?
A: Smartsheet uses a per member, per month subscription model. They have four different pricing plans: Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Advanced. They also offer subsidized prices if you choose to be billed annually.

  • Pro: Starts at $9 per user, monthly
  • Business: Starts at $19 per user, monthly
  • Enterprise: Price on request
  • Advanced Work Management: Price on request

Q: Is there a free trial of Smartsheet?
A: Yes, Smartsheet offers a free 30-day trial with 50 sheets, automations and most features, excluding workflows. You don’t need to add any payment information, all you need is a work email and you’re set.


Limitations

At the time of this review, these are the limitations according to user feedback:

  • Slow loading times and lags on occasion.
  • Limited reporting criteria and filters.
  • Cost prohibitive for smaller firms or individual users.

Demo Resources

  • Knowledge Base: Search through articles and videos for best tips, fixes and explainers when you experience a hiccup.
  • Community: Connect with fellow users to share and receive helpful tips, get on the overachiever leaderboard and participate in discussions.
  • Smartsheet University: Opt for on-demand, self-paced or instructor-based training and access certification courses.
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