In today’s fast-paced world, businesses are constantly looking for ways to increase productivity, streamline processes, and improve collaboration. With so many project management tools available, it can be difficult to choose the right one for your team. One tool that has been gaining traction in recent years is Smartsheet. While Excel has been the go-to tool for many, Smartsheet promises to offer more advanced project management capabilities, especially for larger teams and more complex projects.
So, how does Smartsheet stack up against Excel in 2025? Is it worth switching? In this review, we’ll dive deep into the features, ease of use, collaboration tools, support, pricing, and overall value to help you decide if Smartsheet is better than Excel for your specific needs.
Overview
Smartsheet is a cloud-based platform designed to manage work, automate workflows, and collaborate with teams, all while offering the familiarity of a spreadsheet interface. Think of it as Excel’s more sophisticated cousin—it still works with rows and columns, but it’s packed with project management tools to handle tasks like Gantt charts, task dependencies, and workflows. Smartsheet is an ideal choice for teams that need to keep track of multiple projects at once, collaborate across departments, or automate routine processes.
But is Smartsheet better than Excel? Well, that depends on how you use it. While Excel is fantastic for handling numbers, formulas, and simple data, Smartsheet takes things a step further by enabling real-time collaboration, visual project management, and custom workflows, which can be especially useful for more complex tasks.
Smartsheet’s Purpose
Smartsheet’s main goal is to bring simplicity and flexibility to the world of project management. It combines the best parts of spreadsheets with additional functionalities that are ideal for managing projects, collaborating with teams, and tracking progress. This includes tools for visualizing projects through Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and calendars, as well as automating tasks and integrating with other popular platforms.
Features
Powerful Tools for Big Projects (and Fun Little Games)
Smartsheet is often favored for its robust set of tools that help you handle even the most complex of projects. The key selling points include:
- Grid View: Much like Excel, Smartsheet offers a grid-style view for entering and managing data. However, Smartsheet goes a step further with additional features like adding checkboxes, drop-down lists, and even attachments.
- Gantt Charts: Smartsheet is known for its excellent Gantt chart feature, which is especially useful for tracking project timelines, dependencies, and milestones. Unlike Excel, which requires a lot of manual effort to create Gantt charts, Smartsheet automates this process and makes it easy to visualize project timelines.
- Kanban Boards: If you prefer a more visual approach to task management, Smartsheet’s Kanban board layout gives you the flexibility to move tasks through stages, just like in Trello. You can create custom columns and cards, drag and drop tasks, and track progress in a more intuitive way than Excel allows.
- Calendar View: Smartsheet integrates a calendar view that gives you an overview of important deadlines and milestones. This feature is particularly helpful for teams working on projects with tight timelines and multiple deliverables.
- Card View: If you prefer managing your tasks in a list view, Smartsheet’s card view allows you to organize your tasks into virtual cards. This feature is great for teams that like to see tasks grouped by categories or priority.
These powerful tools are not only useful for managing large-scale projects, but also fun and easy to use for smaller tasks, making Smartsheet suitable for both complex and simple workflows.
Visualize Your Project (in Every Way Imaginable)
One of Smartsheet’s biggest advantages over Excel is its ability to visualize project data in various formats. Not only can you work in a spreadsheet grid, but you can also use:
- Dashboards: Smartsheet lets you create custom dashboards that can be shared with team members or stakeholders. These dashboards allow you to visualize key metrics, progress, and status updates in real time. Whether you want to show a high-level overview or a detailed breakdown, dashboards provide clear insights into the project’s health.
- Reports: Smartsheet’s reporting feature allows you to create real-time, dynamic reports to track specific tasks, deadlines, or milestones. These reports can be customized based on specific criteria, such as task status, assignee, or priority, making it easy to stay on top of progress.
- Forms: Smartsheet provides an easy way to collect data through customizable forms. Whether you need feedback from your team or input from external stakeholders, forms allow you to gather information seamlessly, and automatically populate that data into your sheets.
- Visual Workflows: Smartsheet allows you to create visual workflows that show how tasks and information are progressing. This can help you identify bottlenecks, see dependencies between tasks, and keep track of overall progress.
While Excel offers basic charting capabilities, Smartsheet’s built-in tools provide much more flexibility and detail, making it an ideal choice for those who need to see their projects from different perspectives.
Collect Data Using Forms
Smartsheet’s form feature is one of its standout capabilities. Forms allow you to collect data quickly and efficiently from anyone—whether that’s team members, stakeholders, or external clients.
For example, you could use forms to:
- Collect project updates from team members.
- Request approvals for specific tasks.
- Gather information from clients for reports or deliverables.
The best part is that all the form responses are automatically entered into your Smartsheet grid, saving you time and reducing human error in data entry.
Let Workflows Do the Hard Work for You
Smartsheet’s automation features are perfect for handling repetitive tasks, freeing up time for more important activities. With Smartsheet, you can automate:
- Task assignments: Automatically assign tasks to team members based on specific conditions, such as the completion of a prior task.
- Notifications: Set up automatic notifications for when tasks are due, completed, or need attention. These notifications can be sent via email or text message, ensuring team members stay in the loop.
- Approval Requests: Automate the approval process, so when a task or document is ready for review, Smartsheet can send an automated request to the appropriate person.
These automation features save time and improve workflow efficiency, making Smartsheet a great tool for managing complex projects with multiple team members and stakeholders.
Organize Your Data However You Want with Reports
Smartsheet provides a powerful reporting feature that allows you to filter and organize your data however you see fit. Whether you want to see which tasks are behind schedule, which team members are overloaded, or which deliverables are at risk, custom reports can help you extract the most relevant information from your project data.
Reports can be grouped, sorted, and filtered based on different criteria. You can even schedule reports to be sent automatically at specific intervals, ensuring that your team and stakeholders are always in the loop.
Showcase Your Information Using Dashboards
Smartsheet’s dashboards are another excellent feature. They provide a visual way to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), project status, and team performance in real-time. Dashboards allow you to create custom views with charts, graphs, and other widgets to give stakeholders a clear overview of the project’s progress without having to dive into the raw data.
Dashboards are highly customizable, which means you can focus on the data that’s most important to you. If you’re managing a project with multiple phases, for example, you could create separate dashboards for each phase, each with its own set of KPIs and progress indicators.
Ease of Use
Smartsheet might seem intimidating at first, especially for those accustomed to traditional spreadsheets like Excel. However, once you get the hang of it, the platform becomes incredibly user-friendly. It offers a familiar interface, combined with powerful features, making it easy to navigate and manage complex projects.
Smartsheet Is Hard to Learn, But Easy to Use
One of the main drawbacks of Smartsheet is the learning curve. While it’s not as complex as some other project management tools, getting the hang of Smartsheet’s features can take some time, especially if you’re not familiar with project management terminology or techniques. The interface can be overwhelming at first, with so many options and tools available.
However, once you understand the basic features, Smartsheet becomes much easier to use. The spreadsheet format is intuitive for anyone familiar with Excel, and the platform’s powerful features are simple to navigate once you get the hang of them.
Getting Started with Smartsheet
Smartsheet offers a 30-day free trial, so you can dive in and start experimenting without committing to a subscription. The onboarding process is relatively smooth, with a series of tutorials and videos to guide you through the basics. You can also find a wealth of documentation and guides on Smartsheet’s website, which can help you get up to speed quickly.
An Entire Smartsheet School Just for You
Smartsheet provides a comprehensive learning center, complete with video tutorials, webinars, and a community forum where users can ask questions and share best practices. If you ever get stuck, this is a great resource to help you learn the ins and outs of the platform.
Great Templates, Good to Go
Smartsheet offers a large collection of templates for common project management tasks, such as marketing campaigns, product launches, and event planning. These templates can be easily customized to suit your needs, saving you time in the setup process. Instead of starting from scratch, you can simply use one of Smartsheet’s pre-made templates and make it your own.
A Column for Everything
One of the great things about Smartsheet is its flexibility. Just like Excel, you can add columns for everything you need to track. Whether it’s task status, assignee, priority, due date, or budget, you can customize your sheets to suit your project’s specific needs.
Collaboration Tools
Clear Goals for Everyone on the Team
Smartsheet allows you to set clear goals and assign them to specific team members. This helps to ensure that everyone knows their responsibilities and can stay on track. The platform also offers tools for tracking progress toward those goals, so you can see who’s on track and who needs help.
Team Dashboard & Communication
The Team Dashboard in Smartsheet provides a shared view of the project, where everyone can see the same updates and information. This shared view helps keep everyone on the same page and reduces confusion. The communication tools within Smartsheet—such as comments and notifications—ensure that team members can easily collaborate and share updates.
File Sharing
Smartsheet makes file sharing easy. You can attach files directly to tasks, rows, or projects, ensuring that all the relevant documents are stored in one place. Whether it’s a design mockup, budget spreadsheet, or project plan, file sharing is streamlined within Smartsheet.
Mobile App
Smartsheet also offers a mobile app, so you can manage your projects and collaborate with your team on the go. The app lets you view and edit data, track tasks, and communicate with your team members, making it a great option for teams working in different locations or remotely.
Support
When it comes to customer support, Smartsheet offers a range of options to help users with any issues they may encounter. From live chat to email support, the platform ensures you’re not left alone when troubleshooting. However, some users have found that response times can be slow at times.
Support Broke My Heart, Then Helped Me Heal It
Smartsheet offers various support options, including email, live chat, and an extensive help center. While some users have reported slower-than-expected response times from customer support, the overall quality of the assistance is generally positive. Many users find the team to be knowledgeable and helpful once they get in touch.
Pricing
Smartsheet offers a variety of pricing plans to cater to different team sizes and business needs. Whether you’re a small team looking for basic project management features or a large enterprise requiring advanced security and integrations, Smartsheet has a plan that fits. Let’s take a closer look at the available options.
Fair Prices for a Great Service
Smartsheet offers a range of pricing plans to suit different team sizes and project management needs:
- Pro Plan: $9 per user/month (billed annually). This plan includes unlimited sheets, reports, dashboards, and forms, along with 250 automation actions per month.
- Business Plan: $19 per user/month (billed annually). Includes everything in the Pro plan, plus advanced reporting, unlimited collaborators, and 1 TB of storage.
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing. Includes all features from the Business plan, plus enterprise-level security, integrations, and administrative controls.
Smartsheet also offers a 30-day free trial for new users, so you can test out the features before committing to a subscription.
Conclusion
Smartsheet is a powerful project management tool that combines the best elements of spreadsheets with advanced features like Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and workflow automation. While it may take some time to learn, the platform’s flexibility and rich set of features make it a great choice for teams managing complex projects.
If you’re looking for a tool that goes beyond basic data entry and offers a comprehensive project management solution, Smartsheet may be exactly what you need.
FAQs
Is Smartsheet better than Excel?
Smartsheet is better suited for managing projects with teams, tracking tasks, and automating workflows. While Excel is great for numbers and formulas, Smartsheet offers more advanced project management tools.
Does Smartsheet have a free version?
Smartsheet does not have a free version, but it does offer a 30-day free trial.
Can Smartsheet be used for personal projects?
Yes, Smartsheet can be used for personal projects, especially if you like to track tasks, deadlines, and progress visually.
Can Smartsheet be used for marketing projects?
Absolutely. Smartsheet offers templates and tools that are perfect for marketing campaign management.
How secure is Smartsheet?
Smartsheet offers enterprise-grade security features, including two-factor authentication, encryption, and permission controls.