Smartsheet vs Monday: Is monday.com Better Than Smartsheet?

Smartsheet vs monday pricing

Smartsheet and monday have the same number of monthly plans, each offering four subscription levels. Smartsheet pricing plans range from $7 to $25+ per user per month. There’s also an Enterprise plan, but you must request custom pricing. The highest-tier plan is the Advance plan, which extends the platform's full potential with premium capabilities.

monday.com pricing plans range from $9 to $19+ per user per month. There’s an Enterprise plan for businesses with more advanced needs. 

Winner: 

Although both platforms offer the same number of monthly plans, monday's plans are more affordable than Smartsheet's. For instance, Smartsheet's cheapest plan costs $7 per month, and the next monthly plan jumps to $25 per user per month. 

monday has an additional mid-range plan called the Standard plan that will cost you $10 per user per month. This can be an ideal option for businesses that find the cheapest plan too basic and the Pro plan too extensive for their needs. monday's Standard plan is the golden mean, making it one of the best project management software when it comes to features and price balance. 

monday vs Smartsheet free versions

Unfortunately, Smartsheet doesn’t have a freemium version, only a 30-day free trial. 

monday, on the other hand, has a free forever plan that supports two users. You’ll also get up to three boards, unlimited docs, 200+ templates, whiteboard collaboration, Kanban view, and more. This plan might be everything you need for basic project management if you're a small business.  

Winner: 

monday wins this round as it’s the only one of the two that has a free plan. 

Customer support

Smartsheet has phone support but only for users of the Enterprise plan. You can always purchase Professional Support as a paid add-on if your budget allows it. All users can get in touch with support for questions related to plans and pricing.

monday offers 24/7 customer support to users of all plans, even those on the free plan. Enterprise plan users also get a Dedicated customer success manager.

Winner:

monday wins again as it offers 24/7 customer support to users of all plans, including those using the software for free. 

Knowledgebase & learning

Smartsheet and monday both have extensive knowledge bases that contain hundreds of self-help materials, including how-to articles, FAQs, webinars, and guides. Both platforms also have community forums where users can ask questions and help fellow users.

Smartsheet also has Smartsheet University, a platform that supports self-paced e-learning and live instructions. The e-learning functionality is included in the Enterprise plan. All other users can purchase it as an add-on. 

Winner: 

Smartsheet has a slight lead here due to its Smartsheet University feature. 

monday vs Smartsheet features & functionality

In the previous section, we compared monday vs Smartsheet in several categories. We saw how the two platforms stack against each other in paid plans, freemium versions, and customer support. Now it’s time to put their best features and functionality head-to-head. 

Smartsheet or monday for ease of use?

Comparing Smartsheets vs monday in terms of ease of use, monday is slightly easier to use. The interface is very intuitive and features colorful designs and large buttons so that you have an easier time navigating the system. All the main features are located on the panel on the left-hand side of the interface for easier accessibility. 

Smartsheet is a more robust system than monday, and as such, it has a steeper learning curve. Some of its more advanced features, like Resource management and Digital asset management, might require some training so that you can use them properly. Expect to invest a few days into onboarding your team on the platform. 

Winner: 

We give this round to monday as it is easier to use than Smartsheet. Smartsheet has a steeper learning curve. However, this might also depend on your team’s experience working with such systems. For beginners, monday might be the best option. 

monday.com vs Smartsheet online versions

Both monday and Smartsheet are available as web applications that work on all modern browsers, including Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. They also have mobile apps for Android and iOS.

Winner: 

This round is a tie. 

Smartsheet vs monday.com desktop versions

Smartsheet is not available as a desktop app, only as a cloud-based app.

monday has a desktop app for both macOS and Windows. The desktop version comes with all the features you would find with the web application. 

Winner: 

monday wins this round as it’s the only platform of the two that has a desktop version. 

Views 

Smartsheet's main view is its grid view. This is where this tool shines. However, you'll be able to view your work from different angles, including a Kanban view, Gantt view, and Calendar view. 

monday also lets you see your work in various ways. There are several views, including Kanban, Gantt, Calendar, Map, and Chart view. There's also a Workload view that lets you see which user is overworked so that you can allocate tasks more appropriately.

Winner: 

Both platforms offer a few ways of viewing your tasks. The downside of monday is that many of the Views are available with the higher-tier plans. Only the Kanban view is available to users of the free and Basic plans. For example, the Chart and Workload views are only available to users of the Pro plan and higher. 

Each of Smartsheet's views is included in the low-cost tier, making the tool an obvious winner for this category. 

Automation 

Both platforms have native automation features with which you can automate repetitive tasks that take up a large amount of your time. 

Smartsheet lets you automate everything from requesting approvals to assigning tasks. Monday’s automations work similarly, letting you automate recurring tasks, notifications, status changes, moving a task from one board to another, and more.

Both tools have an easy-to-use automation builder. You can set up a custom workflow or start from a pre-made template.

Smartsheet has a limit of 250 automations per month on its lowest tier. The other two plans come with unlimited automations. When it comes to monday, users of the free and Basic plans don't have access to the automations feature. The Standard plan is limited to 250 actions per month, and the Pro plan to 25,000 per month. 

Winner: 

Smartsheet has a slight lead in this category as it offers unlimited automations to users of the higher plans. monday has limited automation actions on each plan that includes this feature. 

Integrations

Smartsheet and monday both integrate with a wide range of third-party apps. 

Smartsheet integrates seamlessly with 100+ apps and thousands more via Zapier and Automate.io. 

monday.com also offers a good deal of integration options with hundreds of third-party tools like Dropbox, Slack, Google Calendar, Gmail, and Zoom. 

Winner: 

The downside of Smartsheet is that it reserves the more powerful integrations for users of the higher plans. For example, if you need an integration with tools like Adobe Creative Cloud and PowerBI, you must subscribe to the Business plan ($25/user/month). The integration with DocuSign is only available with an Enterprise subscription. 

monday has its downsides, too. Users of the free and Basic plans don't have access to integrations. Integrations are also limited, depending on your plan. Standard plan users only get 250 actions per month. 

We'll give this round to Smartsheet as it offers some integration options even to the users of the lowest plan. 

Note on Smartsheet monday integration

The monday Smartsheet integration is a great way to send data from one platform to the other. Although there’s no native monday.com Smartsheet integration, you can easily connect the two apps via Zapier. You have to pick one of the apps as a trigger, which will kick off your automation.

monday or Smartsheet for task management

In terms of monday.com vs Smartsheets for task management, it'll be a close battle because both tools come with solid task management features. 

Smartsheet lets you view your tasks in different ways, including grid view, Kanban view, Gantt chart, and Calendar view. You can create projects and break them into tasks, assign tasks to team members, create task dependencies, set up recurring tasks, and more. Tasks can have a due date, completion status, categories, etc. 

With Smartsheet, you can eliminate repetitive, manual processes with automation and improve how teams collaborate with features like real-time collaboration. There's a generous template gallery that lets you choose a project template for different use cases, such as individual task management, resource management, email campaign, marketing campaign, and more. Smartsheet has time-tracking functionality included in its paid Resource Management add-on.

Just like Smartsheet, monday lets you view your tasks from different angles. You can easily create tasks, subtasks, and dependencies, assign tasks to team members, add custom fields to tasks, automate repetitive tasks, and more. 

monday is also one of the few project management tools with native time-tracking functionality. You'll find a wide range of customizable templates for all kinds of projects, including campaign planning, customer onboarding, event planning, product roadmaps, and more.

Winner: 

monday has a slight lead in this category as it has a time-tracking functionality that’s already included in its higher-end subscription plans. Smartsheet’s time-tracking feature is only available as an add-on. 

Team collaboration and communication

Smartsheet has a great feature called Conversations that lets you leave comments within a sheet, in a specific row, or workspace. You can set different permission levels to control who has access to what information. Smartsheet has seamless integration with Google Hangouts, with which you can start a Google Hangout directly from your sheet. 

monday's team collaboration and communication features are also generous. There's a shared whiteboard where you and the team can brainstorm ideas together. You can even invite external users to view your projects and tasks. The software lacks a built-in chat, but you can always communicate via comments. 

monday has recently introduced a feature called Workdocs that functions like a document management system. The feature lets you create documents and collaborate with others inside the docs without leaving the system.

Winner: 

This round goes to monday. It was a close call, but monday has a slight lead with its Whiteboard and Workdocs features. 

Product limitations

Although Smartsheet lets you view your projects from different angles, its main function is spreadsheets. If you prefer working with an agile methodology, then you might opt for a tool that does Kanban or Scrum boards better, like Asana or Jira. 

Another downside is that Smartsheet reserves some of its key features for the most expensive plans, like many of its best security features. Other powerful features are only available as paid add-ons, like the Resource Management functionality. 

monday is not without its flaws. Some of its features, like automation and integrations, are locked behind the higher-end plans. The time tracking feature is only available with a Pro and Enterprise plan subscription. If you’re a large enterprise with advanced needs, monday might be too lightweight for you. Consider going with a platform that’s more robust, like Wrike. 

Winner: 

This round is a tie as both systems have their own limitations. 

Is Smartsheet better than monday? Key takeaways

Smartsheet and monday are both fantastic SaaS project management platforms that help streamline work and support teamwork. The wide range of features they come packed with, like automation, integrations, and views, make them an excellent choice for project planning and managing all kinds of projects, from event management and product roadmaps to content calendars and release planning. 

We’ll make the choice easier for you by saying this:

Go with monday.com if you need a more general project management solution that's similar to platforms like Airtable and Asana. The platform is easy to use, highly customizable, and affordable, and it has a freemium version that is great for basic project management. 

Smartsheet is best for data-based project management. If you're used to using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to manage work but need a platform with better collaboration functionality, you can't go wrong with Smartsheet. 

If you feel neither Smartsheet nor monday have what you're looking for in a solution, we have a detailed project management tool comparison post. Here, you’ll find 71 of the best platforms for 2024.