The best Smartsheet alternative for most teams is ClickUp, the only tool here whose free plan combines unlimited members, Gantt charts, a table view and automations, with a $9 Core plan that has no 10-member cap. monday.com is the easiest Smartsheet replacement to learn, Airtable is the closest match for database-style sheets, and Grist is a free, open-source spreadsheet-database.
The 10 Best Smartsheet Alternatives
- ClickUp: best all-round Smartsheet replacement
- monday.com: easiest to learn
- Airtable: best for spreadsheet-database work
- Wrike: best for resource planning and growing teams
- Microsoft Planner and Project: best for Microsoft 365 users
- Asana: best for structured team projects
- Zoho Projects: cheapest per user
- GanttPRO: cheapest dedicated Gantt chart tool
- TeamGantt: best flat-price Gantt tool for small teams
- Grist: best free and open-source spreadsheet-database
How we compared them: This is a research comparison based on pricing pages, help documentation and plan limits, not a hands-on test, so our picks are “best fit” calls. We ranked each tool on five things, in this order: its monthly cost for a team of 5 to 15, a Gantt or timeline view, a spreadsheet-style grid, automations on the cheapest paid plan, and a free plan for new users. On November 5, 2026, we checked the pricing pages of Smartsheet, ClickUp, monday.com, Airtable, Wrike, Microsoft Planner, Asana, GanttPRO, TeamGantt, Grist and SmartSuite, plus Smartsheet’s free plan, export, backup and FedRAMP pages, ClickUp’s view limits, Wrike’s plan comparison, Zoho Projects’ plan limits and monday.com’s Excel import guide. monday.com’s monthly prices and Zoho Projects’ dollar prices come from independent price trackers, because the official pages showed only yearly figures or none. All prices are in US dollars and come from these checks unless another date is given. SmartWorkflowLab has no sponsorship or affiliate deal with any tool in this list.
Smartsheet Pricing in 2026: The Baseline
According to Smartsheet’s pricing page, this is what Smartsheet costs per member:
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Members | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro | $9 per member a month | $12 per member a month | 1 to 10 | Unlimited contributors, no guests, 250 automations a month, 20 GB storage |
| Business | $19 per member a month | $24 per member a month | 3 or more | Unlimited guests, unlimited automations, 1 TB storage, workload tracking |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | 10 or more | SAML SSO, portfolios, scenario planning |
| Advanced Work Management | Custom | Custom | Not stated | Dynamic View, Data Shuttle, connectors, premium support |
Smartsheet is a work management platform that looks and works like a spreadsheet, with Gantt charts, card views, forms, reports and dashboards built on top of its sheets. Under its user model, only paid Members can create sheets, reports and dashboards, use automated workflows and use AI formulas, according to Smartsheet’s user model guide. On Pro, contributors are people who work in sheets that members share with them without creating their own, and guests are people from outside your company, whom Pro doesn’t allow.
Four things push teams toward Smartsheet competitors:
- No free plan for new users. The Free plan has been closed to new signups since August 28, 2024, according to Smartsheet’s free plan page. New users get a 30-day trial only. Existing Free users keep two sheets, up to three people in total and 100 automations a month.
- Pro stops at 10 members. An 11th person moves the whole team to Business, so a $90 monthly bill becomes $209.
- No guests on Pro. Inviting clients or outside partners needs Business.
- Exports lose formulas. Formulas and attachments don’t come with an Excel or Google Sheets export, which makes leaving harder the longer you stay.
Verdict: Smartsheet Pro is fair value for a team of up to 10 that lives in spreadsheets. Larger teams, anyone who needs guests, and new users who want a free plan will do better with the tools below.
Smartsheet Alternatives at a Glance
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Entry paid plan (billed yearly) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ClickUp | All-round replacement | Unlimited members, Gantt view for 60 uses | Core: $9 a user |
| monday.com | Easiest to learn | Up to 2 seats, 3 boards | Basic: $9 a seat, min 3 |
| Airtable | Spreadsheet-database work | Up to 5 editors, 1,000 records per base | Team: $20 a user |
| Wrike | Resource planning, growth | Unlimited users, 2 GB storage | Team: $10 a user, 2 to 15 users |
| Microsoft Planner | Microsoft 365 users | None; basic Planner needs paid Microsoft 365 | Plan 1: $10 a user |
| Asana | Structured team projects | Up to 2 users | Starter: $10.99 a user |
| Zoho Projects | Lowest price per user | Up to 5 users, 3 projects | Premium: about $4 a user |
| GanttPRO | Cheapest dedicated Gantt tool | None (14-day trial) | Core: $7 a user |
| TeamGantt | Flat-price Gantt for small teams | 1 user, 1 project, 40 tasks | Base: $59 a month billed monthly, 20% less yearly |
| Grist | Free, open-source spreadsheets | 10 members, 5,000 rows per document | Pro: $8 a user |
What Each Tool Costs by Team Size
This is the monthly cost, billed yearly, on each tool’s cheapest plan with a Gantt or timeline view. Grist has no Gantt view and TeamGantt charges a flat fee, so both sit at the bottom:
| Tool and plan | 3 users | 5 users | 10 users | 12 users | 15 users |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smartsheet Pro ($9) or Business ($19) | $27 | $45 | $90 | $228 | $285 |
| ClickUp Core ($9) | $27 | $45 | $90 | $108 | $135 |
| monday.com Standard ($12) | $36 | $60 | $120 | $180 | $180 |
| Airtable Team ($20) | $60 | $100 | $200 | $240 | $300 |
| Wrike Team ($10) | $50 | $50 | $100 | $150 | $150 |
| Microsoft Planner Plan 1 ($10) | $30 | $50 | $100 | $120 | $150 |
| Asana Starter ($10.99) | $33 | $55 | $110 | $132 | $165 |
| Zoho Projects Premium (about $4) | $12 | $20 | $40 | $48 | $60 |
| GanttPRO Core ($7) | $21 | $35 | $70 | $84 | $105 |
| Grist Pro ($8, no Gantt view) | $24 | $40 | $80 | $96 | $120 |
| TeamGantt Business (flat fee, about $96) | $96 | $96 | $96 | $96 | $96 |
TeamGantt lists Business from $120 a month billed monthly and says yearly billing saves 20%, so the yearly figure is our calculation. Asana costs are rounded to the dollar and assume one seat per user; users on Asana’s community forum report being billed in seat blocks, so check the seat count at checkout.
What the table shows:
- Smartsheet’s jump comes at 11 people. Up to 10 members it matches ClickUp, but at 12 members it costs more than double ClickUp because the whole team moves to Business.
- monday.com bills in seat buckets. It sells seats in buckets of 3, 5, 10, 15 and up, so 12 people pay for 15, according to Tinycommand.
- Wrike sells seats in groups of five for accounts up to 30 users, so 3 people pay for 5 and 12 pay for 15.
- TeamGantt’s flat price gets cheaper per person as you grow, but Business includes only 5 projects, and each extra project costs $24 a month.
Feature Check: What You Keep and What You Lose
| Tool | Gantt or timeline view | Spreadsheet-style grid | Automations on the cheapest paid plan | Free plan for new users |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smartsheet | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ (250 a month on Pro) | ✗ |
| ClickUp | ✓ (60 uses on Free) | ✓ (Table view) | ✓ (1,000 actions a month) | ✓ |
| monday.com | Standard and up | ✓ (board table) | ✗ (they start on Standard) | ✓ (2 seats) |
| Airtable | Team and up | ✓ | ✓ (25,000 runs a month) | ✓ |
| Wrike | Team and up | ✓ (Table view) | ✓ | ✓ (no automations) |
| Microsoft Planner | Plan 1 and up | Grid view | ✗ | ✗ (needs Microsoft 365) |
| Asana | Starter and up | ✓ (List view) | ✓ (unlimited) | ✓ (2 users) |
| Zoho Projects | ✓ | ✓ (List view) | ✓ | ✓ |
| GanttPRO | ✓ | Task grid | Not listed | ✗ (14-day trial) |
| TeamGantt | ✓ | Task grid | Not listed | ✓ (1 user) |
| Grist | ✗ | ✓ (with formulas) | Webhooks | ✓ |
A ✓ means the feature is on at least one plan unless a plan is named. The biggest loss for heavy Smartsheet users is cross-sheet formulas and reporting. Airtable and Grist come closest, with linked tables and formulas, while monday.com, ClickUp and Wrike rely more on views and dashboards.
Rebuilding Smartsheet Formulas and Cross-Sheet Links
Formulas are the biggest switching cost, because no tool here reads Smartsheet’s formula syntax, so you rebuild them by hand. This is where each common Smartsheet pattern goes:
| Smartsheet | Airtable | Grist | monday.com | ClickUp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross-sheet reference, such as {Budget Range} | Linked record plus a lookup field | Reference column, then $Ref.Column | Connect boards plus a mirror column | Relationship plus a rollup field |
| VLOOKUP or INDEX(MATCH()) | Lookup field through a linked record | lookupOne() in a formula | Mirror column | Rollup field |
| SUMIFS or COUNTIFS across sheets | Rollup field with conditions | SUM() over lookupRecords() | Mirror column showing a sum | Rollup field with a calculation |
| Cell linking between sheets | Linked records | Reference columns | Mirror columns | Relationships |
| IF, SUM, COUNT inside one sheet | Formula field | Python or spreadsheet-style formula | Formula column | Formula field |
Airtable and Grist handle linked data most like Smartsheet, because both are built on related tables. In monday.com and ClickUp, plan the links between boards or lists before you import, or the lookups won’t have anything to point to.
AI, Integrations and Security
AI: every major tool here now bundles AI. Smartsheet gives Members AI formulas, text and charts. monday.com includes 1,000 AI credits a month from Basic, ClickUp gives every plan a pool of AI credits, Airtable includes 500 AI credits per editor on Free and 15,000 per paid user on Team, Asana includes AI Studio credits from Starter, Wrike adds AI Essentials on Team, and Zoho Projects has its Zia assistant. Our guide to AI task management tools compares these features in more depth.
Integrations: ClickUp, monday.com, Airtable, Wrike, Asana, Zoho Projects and Grist all connect to Zapier, so automations that link Smartsheet to your forms, email or CRM can be rebuilt.
Security and compliance: this is where Smartsheet is hardest to replace. Smartsheet Gov holds a FedRAMP Moderate authorization and a DISA Impact Level 4 provisional authorization, according to Smartsheet’s FedRAMP page. Among the alternatives, ClickUp Enterprise includes SSO, SCIM and HIPAA support with a BAA, Asana Enterprise adds SAML and SCIM, and monday.com keeps enterprise security for its Enterprise plan. Government and regulated teams should check each vendor’s compliance page before switching.
1. ClickUp: Best All-Round Smartsheet Replacement
What is ClickUp? ClickUp is an all-in-one work management app with tasks, lists, tables, boards, Gantt charts, docs, whiteboards and automations in one workspace.
ClickUp is our top pick because it covers the three things most teams use Smartsheet for, a grid, a Gantt chart and automations, at Smartsheet Pro’s $9 price without the 10-member cap. Its free plan is the only one here that combines unlimited members with Gantt charts and automations, and it adds docs and whiteboards that Smartsheet doesn’t have.
According to ClickUp’s pricing page:
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Automation actions a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Forever | $0 | $0 | 100 per workspace |
| Core | $9 per user a month | $12 per user a month | 1,000 |
| Business | $17 per user a month | $25 per user a month | 10,000 |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | 1,000,000 |
| Max | $100 per user a month | $120 per user a month | 1,000,000 |
The monthly figures are the regular prices ClickUp’s page shows next to the yearly ones. ClickUp added Core and Max and replaced its older Unlimited plan in late October 2026, according to PricingSaaS, so older workspaces may still see Unlimited pricing. On the free plan, the Gantt, Timeline and Workload views are limited to 60 uses each, according to ClickUp’s view limits; paid plans have unlimited Gantt use. ClickUp can import spreadsheets through its Spreadsheets Importer.
What you give up vs Smartsheet
- A clean, spreadsheet-first interface; ClickUp has many more features to learn.
- Smartsheet’s cross-sheet formulas, cell linking and baselines.
- Unlimited Gantt use and storage on the free plan, which allows 60 Gantt uses and 60 MB.
Verdict: ClickUp is the best all-round Smartsheet replacement for teams that want one tool for grids, Gantt charts, automations and docs, and plan to grow past 10 people.
2. monday.com: Easiest Smartsheet Replacement to Learn
What is monday.com? monday.com is a work management platform built around colorful boards, where each row is an item and each column tracks a status, owner, date or number.
monday.com is the friendliest Smartsheet replacement. Its boards look like a spreadsheet, but with drag-and-drop statuses, Kanban, Gantt and dashboards on top, so non-technical colleagues pick it up quickly. The trade-off is price: Gantt views and automations start on Standard at $12 a seat.
According to monday.com’s pricing page, with monthly prices from Costbench (checked October 29, 2026):
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Up to 2 seats, 3 boards and 3 Docs |
| Basic | $9 per seat a month | About $12 per seat | Unlimited items and free viewers |
| Standard | $12 per seat a month | About $14 per seat | Timeline and Gantt views, guests, 250 automation actions |
| Pro | $19 per seat a month | About $24 per seat | Private boards, time tracking, 25,000 automation actions |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Enterprise security, portfolio and resource management |
Paid plans start at 3 seats. monday.com can turn an Excel or CSV file into a new board, up to 8,000 rows and the first 50 columns of the first tab, according to its Excel import guide.
What you give up vs Smartsheet
- Cross-sheet formulas and complex reporting.
- Gantt charts on the cheaper plans; they start on Standard.
- Per-seat flexibility, because seats come in buckets. See our monday.com alternatives guide for what that costs by team size.
Verdict: Pick monday.com if ease of use matters more than price, and your team wants Smartsheet’s structure in a tool that’s easier to learn and nicer to look at.
3. Airtable: Best for Spreadsheet-Database Work
What is Airtable? Airtable is a spreadsheet-database hybrid, where each table holds records with typed fields, linked records and views such as grid, kanban, calendar, timeline and Gantt.
If your Smartsheet sheets are really databases, such as inventory, content calendars, client lists or applicant tracking, Airtable handles them better. Linked records replace cross-sheet references, and the grid view will feel familiar.
According to Airtable’s plans overview:
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Records per base | Automation runs a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 1,000 | 100 |
| Team | $20 per user a month | $24 per user a month | 50,000 | 25,000 |
| Business | $45 per user a month | $54 per user a month | 125,000 | 100,000 |
The free plan allows up to 5 editors, and Airtable charges only for people who can edit. Read-only collaborators and form submitters are free. For a side-by-side look at spreadsheets and Airtable, see our Airtable vs Google Sheets comparison.
What you give up vs Smartsheet
- A lower price: Team costs $20 a user against Smartsheet Pro’s $9.
- Project features such as workload tracking and baselines.
- Room on the free plan, at 1,000 records per base.
Verdict: Airtable is the upgrade pick for data-heavy teams, not the cheap one. If its price is the problem, our Airtable alternatives guide lists cheaper database tools.
4. Wrike: Best for Resource Planning and Growing Teams
What is Wrike? Wrike is a work management platform with interactive Gantt charts, dashboards, request forms, resource planning and AI features.
Wrike is the closest match to Smartsheet’s enterprise side. Its higher plans add resource planning, budgeting and advanced reporting, so teams can grow into it without switching again.
According to Wrike’s pricing page, which applies to new purchases from January 21, 2026:
| Plan | Price, billed yearly | Users | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Unlimited | Projects, tasks, board and table views, 2 GB storage |
| Team | $10 per user a month | 2 to 15 | AI Essentials, interactive Gantt charts, dashboards |
| Business | $25 per user a month | 5 to 200 | AI Elite starter pack, templated work, integrations |
| Pinnacle | Quote | Not stated | Advanced resource planning, budgeting, reporting |
| Apex | Quote | Not stated | More AI actions, Wrike Integrate and Wrike Sync |
The Free plan has no automations, according to Wrike’s plan comparison. Business and above are yearly only, and accounts up to 30 users buy seats in groups of five.
What you give up vs Smartsheet
- Monthly billing on Business and above.
- A simple setup; Wrike is dense and takes time to configure.
- One-seat flexibility, because seats come in groups of five.
Verdict: Choose Wrike if you use Smartsheet for resource-heavy project portfolios and want a platform that scales the same way.
5. Microsoft Planner and Project: Best for Microsoft 365 Users
What is Microsoft Planner? Microsoft Planner is Microsoft’s task and project tool, which now includes the features of Microsoft Project for the web in its premium plans.
If your company runs on Microsoft 365, basic Planner is already included in its business plans, and it works inside Teams. Premium plans add the Microsoft Project scheduling features that Smartsheet users rely on, which also makes Planner the natural answer to “Smartsheet vs Microsoft Project”.
According to Microsoft’s Planner pricing and its Planner Plan 1 page:
| Plan | Price, billed yearly | Adds |
|---|---|---|
| Planner | Included in Microsoft 365 business plans | Boards and basic task tracking |
| Planner Plan 1 | $10 per user a month | Timeline views, task dependencies, project goals |
| Planner and Project Plan 3 | $30 per user a month | Advanced project scheduling |
Smartsheet can export a Gantt view to Microsoft Project XML, which helps if you move to the Project side of Microsoft’s plans.
What you give up vs Smartsheet
- Automations, which need Power Automate.
- A spreadsheet-style grid with formulas.
- A tool that works well outside Microsoft 365.
Verdict: For Microsoft 365 companies, Planner Plan 1 covers Smartsheet’s Gantt-style planning inside the apps your team already uses.
6. Asana: Best for Structured Team Projects
What is Asana? Asana is a project and task management tool for teams, with lists, boards, timelines, goals, portfolios and AI features for planning and status updates.
Asana suits teams that use Smartsheet mainly to track who does what by when. Starter already includes timeline and Gantt views, unlimited automations and unlimited free guests.
According to Asana’s pricing page:
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | $0 | $0 | Up to 2 users, unlimited tasks and projects |
| Starter | $10.99 per user a month | $13.49 per user a month | Timeline and Gantt, dashboards, unlimited automations |
| Advanced | $24.99 per user a month | $30.49 per user a month | Portfolios, goals, resource management, approvals, AI Meetings |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | SAML, SCIM, capacity planning |
Asana’s pricing page doesn’t explain how seats are counted, so confirm the seat count before you pay.
What you give up vs Smartsheet
- A spreadsheet grid with formulas.
- A free plan for teams, since Personal stops at 2 users.
- Smartsheet Pro’s lower $9 price.
Verdict: Asana is the right switch for teams that want clean projects, owners and deadlines more than a spreadsheet.
7. Zoho Projects: Cheapest Per User
What is Zoho Projects? Zoho Projects is a project management tool from Zoho with tasks, Gantt charts, time tracking, issue tracking and Zia, Zoho’s built-in AI assistant.
Zoho Projects gives you Gantt charts and time tracking for less than half of Smartsheet Pro’s price per user, and it fits neatly if you already use Zoho CRM or Zoho Books.
Plan limits come from Zoho Projects’ pricing page, which showed no dollar prices for us. Prices come from Costbench, verified October 31, 2026:
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Projects | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 3 | 5 GB |
| Premium | About $4 per user a month | About $5 per user a month | Unlimited | 100 GB |
| Enterprise | About $9 per user a month | About $10 per user a month | Unlimited | 120 GB |
The free plan allows up to 5 users. Zoho’s own FAQ mentions 2 free projects while its comparison table says 3, so check before you plan around it.
What you give up vs Smartsheet
- A spreadsheet-first grid and formulas.
- A large third-party integration catalog outside Zoho’s apps.
- Clear prices on Zoho’s own page, which didn’t display them for us.
Verdict: For small teams that want Gantt charts at the lowest price per person, Zoho Projects is hard to beat.
8. GanttPRO: Cheapest Dedicated Gantt Chart Tool
What is GanttPRO? GanttPRO is online Gantt chart software for planning projects on a timeline, with dependencies, resource workload, baselines and task management.
If Gantt charts are the reason you use Smartsheet, GanttPRO does that one job for less, starting at $7 a user.
According to GanttPRO’s pricing page, billed yearly:
| Plan | Price per user a month | Minimum users and billing |
|---|---|---|
| Core | $7 | Not stated |
| Advanced | $10 | Not stated |
| Business | $17 | Not stated |
| Enterprise | $25 as a limited offer (usually $35) | 5 users, yearly only |
Each higher plan adds more planning, team and reporting features. Yearly billing saves 20% against monthly, and there’s a 14-day free trial with no credit card, but no free plan.
What you give up vs Smartsheet
- A free plan.
- Spreadsheet-style data work beyond the task grid.
- Forms, dashboards and reports across many projects.
Verdict: GanttPRO suits project managers who mostly need clear Gantt schedules and want to pay less than Smartsheet for them.
9. TeamGantt: Best Flat-Price Gantt Tool for Small Teams
What is TeamGantt? TeamGantt is drag-and-drop Gantt chart software for planning projects with clients and teams, with a construction edition for builders.
TeamGantt charges a flat monthly price instead of per seat, so a larger team can share one plan, as long as it stays within the project limits.
According to TeamGantt’s pricing page:
| Plan | Price, billed monthly | Projects | People |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | Free | 1, with 40 tasks | 1 user |
| Base | $59 a month | 5, with 150 tasks each | 1 manager, 10 collaborators |
| Business | From $120 a month | 5 included, up to 20 | Unlimited managers and collaborators |
| Builder Edition | From $199 a month | 10, unlimited tasks | Unlimited managers and collaborators |
Extra Business projects cost $24 a month each. Yearly billing saves 20%, and paid plans start with a 14-day trial that needs a credit card.
What you give up vs Smartsheet
- A spreadsheet grid, formulas and automations.
- Many projects at the base price.
- A useful free plan for teams.
Verdict: TeamGantt is a strong pick for agencies and builders running a handful of client projects with many people, where per-seat tools get expensive.
10. Grist: Best Free and Open-Source Spreadsheet-Database
What is Grist? Grist is a spreadsheet-database tool with Python and Excel-style formulas, linked tables and custom layouts, available in the cloud or as free open-source software.
Grist is the alternative for teams that use Smartsheet mainly for its grid and formulas. It has no Gantt view, but its free plan is generous and you can host it yourself.
According to Grist’s pricing page and its limits page:
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Rows per document | Members |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 5,000 | 10 |
| Pro | $8 per user a month | $10 per user a month | 100,000 | No limit |
| Business | $24 per user a month | $30 per user a month | 150,000 | No limit |
| Community edition | Free, self-hosted | Free | Not listed | Not listed |
Each document can have 2 guests on every plan. Individuals and organizations with under $1 million in yearly income can request a free key for the self-hosted Enterprise edition.
What you give up vs Smartsheet
- Gantt and timeline views.
- Project features such as dependencies and workload.
- Polished project templates.
Verdict: Grist is the best free choice for spreadsheet-heavy teams that care about formulas and data control more than Gantt charts.
Also Considered
These apps like Smartsheet came up in our research but didn’t make the top 10:
- SmartSuite is a grid-first work management platform positioned as a direct Smartsheet competitor. Team costs $15 a user per month billed yearly with a 3-user minimum, and Professional $32 with a 5-user minimum, according to SmartSuite’s pricing page. It has a 14-day trial but no free plan, and it costs more than ClickUp or monday.com for the same team.
- OpenProject is open-source project management software with Gantt charts. Its Community edition is free under the GPLv3 license and runs on your own Linux server, according to OpenProject’s FAQ. It needs someone to run the server.
- Baserow and NocoDB are open-source, Airtable-style databases you can host yourself. They suit spreadsheet-database work but have fewer project features. See our Baserow vs Airtable comparison.
- Trello is the simplest option, with a free plan for up to 10 collaborators. Timeline views start on Premium at $10 a user, and it has no spreadsheet grid on the cheaper plans.
- Jira is free for up to 10 users and built for software teams, so it fits engineering work better than general projects.
- Google Sheets and Excel are where many Smartsheet teams started. They handle shared grids and formulas well but lack task dependencies, workload views and project automations without add-ons or scripts.
- Notion combines docs with database views, including a timeline, from $10 a member a month billed yearly. See our Notion alternatives guide.
Free Tools Like Smartsheet
Smartsheet has no free plan for new users. These four go furthest for free:
- ClickUp Free Forever: the only free plan here with unlimited members, Gantt charts (60 uses) and automations.
- Zoho Projects Free: up to 5 users with Gantt charts, the best fit for a small team’s schedules.
- Wrike Free: unlimited users and 2 GB of storage, but no Gantt charts or automations.
- Grist Free or Community edition: 10 members and 5,000 rows per document, or free self-hosting for spreadsheet work.
Airtable, monday.com and TeamGantt also have small free plans, covered in the table above.
Best Smartsheet Replacement by Use Case
- Teams of more than 10 on a budget: ClickUp Core or Zoho Projects Premium.
- Spreadsheet and database work: Airtable, or Grist for a free option.
- Microsoft 365 companies: Microsoft Planner Plan 1, or Plan 3 for Microsoft Project scheduling.
- Gantt-first project managers: GanttPRO or TeamGantt.
- Resource planning across many projects: Wrike.
- Teams that want the easiest switch: monday.com.
When to Stay on Smartsheet
Smartsheet still earns its price in a few cases. Stay if you rely on cross-sheet formulas, cell linking, baselines, the critical path or proofing, if your company uses enterprise features such as Control Center, Dynamic View, Data Shuttle, WorkApps or Bridge, if you need Smartsheet Gov’s FedRAMP authorization, or if you’re a team of up to 10 on Pro who likes working in a grid. At $9 a member billed yearly, Pro is fair value for that.
Switch if you’re about to pass 10 members, if you need guests without paying for Business, or if you’re a new user who wants a free plan.
How to Switch From Smartsheet
- Export your sheets. Smartsheet exports to Excel, Google Sheets and PDF, and a Gantt view to Microsoft Project XML, according to its export guide. Formulas don’t carry over, and dropdown and checkbox columns export as text.
- Save your attachments and comments. Exports leave out attachments, so on Business and Enterprise, request a one-time backup, which includes sheet data, comments and attachments. Reports, dashboards, formulas and workflows aren’t included.
- Note your formulas and automations before you leave, so you can rebuild them in the new tool.
- Import the Excel files. monday.com, Airtable, ClickUp and Zoho Projects all accept spreadsheet imports.
- Reconnect your other apps, such as forms, email and your CRM. Our Make.com alternatives guide compares tools that link a project app to the rest of your stack.
- Run both tools for a few weeks, then cancel Smartsheet.
For more ways to save on software, see our list of free AI tools for small business, or compare the AI features in these apps in our guide to AI task management tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best alternative to Smartsheet?
ClickUp is the best alternative for most teams, because its free plan combines unlimited members, Gantt charts, a table view and automations, and its $9 Core plan has no 10-member cap. monday.com is the easiest to learn, Airtable is the better pick if you use Smartsheet as a database, and Wrike suits Smartsheet-style resource planning.
What is the best free alternative to Smartsheet?
ClickUp’s Free Forever plan is the strongest free option, with unlimited members, 60 uses of the Gantt view and 100 automation actions a month. Airtable’s free plan allows 5 editors and 1,000 records per base, Zoho Projects is free for up to 5 users, and Grist’s free plan allows 10 members and 5,000 rows per document. Grist’s Community edition is also free to self-host.
Does Smartsheet still have a free plan?
No, not for new users. Smartsheet’s Free plan has been closed to new signups since August 28, 2024, according to its help center. Existing Free plan users keep two sheets and up to three people in total. New users get a 30-day free trial and then need a paid plan.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Smartsheet?
Yes. Zoho Projects Premium costs about $4 a user per month billed yearly and GanttPRO Core $7, both below Smartsheet Pro’s $9. ClickUp Core costs the same $9 but has no 10-member cap. The bigger saving comes at 11 or more people, when Smartsheet moves the whole team to Business at $19 a member.
How much does Smartsheet cost in 2026?
As of November 2026, Smartsheet Pro costs $9 a member per month billed yearly or $12 billed monthly, for 1 to 10 members. Business costs $19 billed yearly or $24 billed monthly, with a 3-member minimum. Enterprise and Advanced Work Management are priced by quote, and there is no free plan for new users.
Is monday.com better than Smartsheet?
monday.com is better for teams that want a more visual, easier tool, with colorful boards, a free plan for 2 seats and Gantt views from $12 a seat on Standard. Smartsheet is better for teams that think in rows and formulas, need complex cross-sheet reporting, or already rely on its enterprise features such as Control Center.
How do I move my data out of Smartsheet?
Export each sheet to Excel, Google Sheets or PDF, or export a Gantt view to Microsoft Project XML. Formulas don’t carry over and attachments aren’t included in exports, so on Business and Enterprise plans request a backup, which keeps sheet data, comments and attachments. Then import the Excel file into your new tool.
Sources
- Smartsheet: pricing page, free plan details, FedRAMP page, user model guide, export guide and one-time backup guide, checked November 5, 2026
- monday.com: pricing page and Excel import guide, checked November 5, 2026; Costbench, October 29, 2026, and Tinycommand, September 15, 2026 (independent sources)
- Airtable: plans overview, checked November 5, 2026
- ClickUp: pricing page, view limits and Spreadsheets Importer guide, checked November 5, 2026; PricingSaaS, captures October 26 to November 2, 2026 (independent source)
- Wrike: pricing page and plan comparison, checked November 5, 2026
- Microsoft Planner: Planner pricing and Planner Plan 1, checked November 5, 2026
- Asana: pricing page, checked November 5, 2026; Asana community forum, June 9, 2026
- Zoho Projects: pricing page, checked November 5, 2026; Costbench, October 31, 2026 (independent source)
- GanttPRO: pricing page, checked November 5, 2026
- TeamGantt: pricing page, checked November 5, 2026
- Grist: pricing page and limits page, checked November 5, 2026
- Also considered: SmartSuite pricing, OpenProject FAQ and Jira Free, checked November 5, 2026
