Monday.com vs Smartsheet
Monday.com is work management platform with colorful boards, automations, and dashboards for any team type, while Smartsheet is enterprise work management platform with spreadsheet interface, automations, and dashboards. Smartsheet comes in cheaper, but price alone does not tell the full story. Monday.com is built for non-technical teams wanting visual work management, whereas Smartsheet targets enterprise teams wanting spreadsheet-style project management.
At a glance
|
Monday.com
|
Smartsheet
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Non-technical teams wanting visual work management | Enterprise teams wanting spreadsheet-style project management |
| Starting price | $8/seat/mo | $7/user/mo |
| Free tier | ✓ | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Free tier available | ✓ | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Automations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Boards | ✓ | — |
| Dashboards | ✓ | ✓ |
| Integrations | ✓ | — |
| Resource Mgmt | — | ✓ |
| Spreadsheet UI | — | ✓ |
Monday.com
Strengths
- Includes Boards as a core feature, purpose-built for project management workflows
- Built-in automations handle repetitive tasks like status changes and assignments
- Free for up to 2 seats — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
- Established product with 14+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem
Weaknesses
- Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
- Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
- Migrating existing projects from another tool can be time-consuming
- Mobile experience lags behind the desktop version in features and polish
Smartsheet
Strengths
- Spreadsheet-style interface is familiar to anyone who has used Excel
- Built-in automations handle repetitive tasks like status changes and assignments
- Affordable at $7/user/mo — one of the lower-priced options in the project management category
- Established product with 20+ years on the market and a mature ecosystem
Weaknesses
- No free plan — you need to pay $7/user/mo from day one to use it
- Enterprise-focused design means the interface can feel heavy for smaller teams
- Migrating existing projects from another tool can be time-consuming
- Overkill for freelancers or small teams who need something lightweight
The bottom line
Pricing: Monday.com starts at $8/seat/mo. Smartsheet starts at $7/user/mo. Smartsheet is the more affordable option.
Feature gaps: Monday.com offers Boards and Integrations that Smartsheet lacks. Smartsheet brings Resource Mgmt and Spreadsheet UI that Monday.com does not have. Both share Automations and Dashboards.
Team fit: Monday.com is geared toward mid-size teams teams, while Smartsheet is aimed at enterprise teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.
Where each tool shines: Monday.com's biggest strengths are: includes boards as a core feature, purpose-built for project management workflows. built-in automations handle repetitive tasks like status changes and assignments. Smartsheet's biggest strengths are: spreadsheet-style interface is familiar to anyone who has used excel. built-in automations handle repetitive tasks like status changes and assignments.
Watch out for: With Monday.com, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With Smartsheet, the main complaint is that no free plan — you need to pay $7/user/mo from day one to use it.
Choose Monday.com if...
- You need a tool built for non-technical teams wanting visual work management
- You specifically need Boards and Integrations
- You care about built-in automations handle repetitive tasks like status changes and assignments
- Your team size fits the mid-size teams profile Monday.com is designed for
- The free tier works for you: free for up to 2 seats
Choose Smartsheet if...
- You need a tool built for enterprise teams wanting spreadsheet-style project management
- You want to save on per-user costs — Smartsheet is $1.00/user/mo cheaper
- You specifically need Resource Mgmt and Spreadsheet UI
- You care about built-in automations handle repetitive tasks like status changes and assignments
- Your team size fits the enterprise profile Smartsheet is designed for
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