Teams look past Smartsheet when the grid feels stiff, when portfolio features sit behind premium add-ons, or when per-member pricing grows faster than adoption. Most go to monday.com or Asana for a board or task view, or to ClickUp and Wrike for configurable workspaces.
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What each alternative does differently
1. monday.com
Board-based work platform with visual automation · Israel
Board-first where Smartsheet is grid-first. The paid tiers add Timeline and Gantt views from Standard, and portfolio and resource management only on the quoted Enterprise tier. Free plan covers two seats and three boards, so it suits small trials more than a full PMO.
Switch from Smartsheet if your team resents the spreadsheet grid and wants boards with visual automation.
Pricing: Free plan for up to two seats, then per-seat tiers sold in bundles with a three-seat minimum; automation and integration actions are capped per month by tier. (free plan)
Full review: #6 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit monday.com →
2. Asana
Task-first work management with portfolios and goals · United States
Task-first rather than sheet-first. Timeline and dependencies sit on Starter, while portfolios, goals and workload move to Advanced, so the PMO layer costs more than the basics. A free Personal plan exists but stops at two users and has no timeline.
Switch from Smartsheet if you want task-led work management with portfolios, without formulas and cell links.
Pricing: Free Personal plan limited to 2 users, then per-user Starter and Advanced tiers sold in seat bundles; timeline and dependencies start on Starter, while portfolios, goals and workload sit on Advanced. (free plan)
Full review: #5 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Asana →
3. ClickUp
Configurable workspace for tasks, docs, goals and chat · United States
One configurable workspace where Smartsheet is a sheet. The Free Forever plan has unlimited members and 60 MB of storage, and Gantt charts arrive on the Unlimited tier. The AI features are billed as separate per-user add-ons, not folded into the seat price.
Switch from Smartsheet if you want a cheap, heavily configurable workspace and can accept a lot of setup.
Pricing: Free Forever plan, then per-user tiers; the Brain AI features are sold as a separate add-on. (free plan)
Full review: #1 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit ClickUp →
4. Wrike
Work management built around intake, approvals and proofing · United States
The closest enterprise-style rival for intake and governance. Seats are sold in groups and Business and above are annual only. Pinnacle adds resource planning and budgeting on quoted terms. A free plan covers basic tasks, but Gantt charts begin on Team.
Switch from Smartsheet if you run request intake, approvals and proofing for marketing or creative teams.
Pricing: Free plan for basic task management, then per-user Team and Business tiers billed annually; request forms, proofing and approvals start on Business, enterprise tiers are quoted and several add-ons cost extra. (free plan)
Full review: #2 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Wrike →
5. Teamwork.com
Project delivery and profitability for client-services firms · Ireland
Built for client-services firms rather than PMOs. Paid tiers carry seat minimums and project caps, and time budgets and invoicing from tracked time start on Accelerate. Financial budgeting and profitability insights need Optimize. A free plan allows five users and five projects.
Switch from Smartsheet if you bill clients for project hours and need budgets and invoicing beside the plan.
Pricing: Free plan for up to 5 users and 5 projects, then per-user Basics and Accelerate tiers with 3- and 5-seat minimums and quoted Optimize and Enterprise tiers; budgets and client invoicing start on Accelerate, profitability reporting on Optimize, and client users are free. (free plan)
Full review: #4 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Teamwork.com →
6. Zoho Projects
Budget-friendly project tracking with Gantt and timesheets · India
The low-cost option for classic Gantt planning. Critical path and the portfolio dashboard begin on Enterprise, and baselines on Ultimate, which mirrors what Smartsheet gates behind higher tiers. The free plan allows five users, three projects and 5 GB of storage.
Switch from Smartsheet if you want Gantt, critical path and portfolio views at a lower per-user cost.
Pricing: Free plan for up to 5 users and 3 projects, then low-priced per-user Premium, Enterprise and Ultimate tiers; baselines, critical path and the portfolio dashboard start on Enterprise. (free plan)
Full review: #12 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Zoho Projects →
7. Jira
Configurable issue and project tracking at scale · United States
Issue tracking first, with Atlassian positioning it for marketing, HR and operations as well as engineering. A free plan exists. It fits teams that already work in Atlassian products, and suits business planning less naturally than a sheet does.
Switch from Smartsheet if your projects are mostly engineering or IT work and you already use Atlassian tools.
Pricing: Free for up to ten users, then per-user Standard, Premium and Enterprise tiers; marketplace apps add their own per-user fees. (free plan)
Full review: #10 of 12 in our ranking ·
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8. Notion
Docs and databases doubling as a project tracker · United States
Docs and databases that double as a tracker. Free for individuals, with page history of 7 days on Free and up to 90 days on Business. It has no PMO rollout layer comparable to Control Center, so large portfolios outgrow it.
Switch from Smartsheet if your projects are small, document-heavy and you want one workspace for notes and tasks.
Pricing: Free plan for individuals and light team use, then per-member Plus, Business and Enterprise tiers; the fullest AI features come with Business. (free plan)
Full review: #11 of 12 in our ranking ·
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9. Productive
Agency operations: projects, budgets, billing, resourcing · Croatia
Agency operations in one product, with budgeting and resource planning from the Essential tier. Plans start at ten seats on its pricing page and a 14-day trial needs no card. It targets professional-services margins, not general enterprise PMOs.
Switch from Smartsheet if you run an agency and want budgets, billing and resourcing tied to the schedule.
Pricing: Per-user Essential, Professional and Ultimate tiers with a 3-seat minimum and a 14-day free trial; budgeting and resource planning start on Essential, rate cards and recurring budgets on Professional, revenue forecasting on Ultimate. Clients join free. (free trial)
Full review: #3 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Productive →
10. Basecamp
Flat-priced project space built for async communication · United States
Flat pricing with no per-user fees, owned by 37signals LLC. Plans cap active projects, not people: Studio allows 10 projects with unlimited users. It offers to-dos, message boards and chat, but not sheet formulas or cross-project rollups.
Switch from Smartsheet if you pay per member today and want a fixed price for a team with many casual participants.
Pricing: Free for one project and up to 5 users; paid plans are flat monthly prices with no per-user fees, from Freelancer at $25 a month for 3 active projects to the Unlimited Edition at $299 a month billed annually. (free plan)
Full review: #8 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Basecamp →
11. Linear
Keyboard-first issue tracking for software teams · United States
A tracker for software teams only. The free plan allows unlimited members, two teams and 250 issues, and paid tiers are billed per user per year. It has no sheets, forms or PMO reporting, so only engineering work moves over.
Switch from Smartsheet if the work you run in Smartsheet is software delivery and speed matters more than reporting.
Pricing: Free plan capped at 250 issues and 2 teams with unlimited members, then per-user Basic and Business tiers billed yearly and a quoted Enterprise tier. (free plan)
Full review: #9 of 12 in our ranking ·
Visit Linear →
Questions and answers
Does Smartsheet have a free plan?
No free plan is listed on its pricing page, which offers a 30-day free trial without a credit card. Business and Enterprise include unlimited free guests and contributors, so viewers need no seat.
Which alternatives have a free plan?
Several do. monday.com is free for two seats, Asana Personal for two users, Zoho Projects for five users and three projects, Teamwork for five users and five projects, and Linear for unlimited members within issue limits.
Which alternative has no per-user fees?
Basecamp. Its pricing page lists flat monthly plans with no per-user fees, capped by active projects, from Freelancer at $25 a month to Unlimited at $299 a month billed annually.
Do Smartsheet formulas move to another tool?
Do not assume it. Cross-sheet formulas are a Smartsheet grid feature, and none of the alternatives we checked is a spreadsheet, so plan to rebuild calculations as fields, rollups or reports.
Can I replace Control Center or Dynamic View?
Partly. Asana Advanced offers portfolios, goals and workload, Wrike Pinnacle offers resource planning and budgeting, and monday.com Enterprise lists portfolio and resource management. None is a drop-in copy, so test your template.
Is Smartsheet still an independent company?
We could not confirm ownership from Smartsheet's own site. Its contact page lists a Bellevue, Washington office and states no ownership structure, so check current terms with the vendor before you sign a renewal.
