13 Best Smartsheet Alternatives Built for True Portfolio Scale

Portfolio and project management tools have similar features, but ultimately, some might be more suitable than the others for specific use cases. For many Smartsheet users, their current tool of choice is limiting, either in terms of pricing or in terms of depth of its analytical features.

For those who are looking for Smartsheet alternatives, we have compiled a list of 13 tools that might be a better choice for different use cases.

Key takeaways:

• For portfolio management, choose Epicflow.
• For PSA management, choose Kantata or Productive.
• For team collaboration and workflow automation, choose Monday.com, Asana, Hive, or ClickUp.
• For portfolio analytics & asset governance, choose Wrike or Celoxis.
• For strategic alignment, choose AchieveIt.
• For a budget-conscious option, choose Zoho Project.

What is Smartsheet?

Smartsheet is a work management platform that combines the familiar spreadsheet structure with a set of features aimed at project, resource, and work management. It offers:

• Project grid view.
• Gantt chart view.
• Portfolio management features.
• Centralized real-time insights.
• AI-assisted workflow automation.
• Integration with collaboration tools and other third-party apps.

Overall, it’s a good spreadsheet-based project management tool.

Why Are Portfolio Managers Looking for Smartsheet Alternatives?

Smartsheet is a decent tool, but as with many other tools, some users do not find it right for them and are looking for Smartsheet alternatives. Here are a few reasons why.

• Pricing issues. Smartsheet has changed its licensing model, which is reported to have caused overcharges and administrative difficulties.
• Outdated UX. The spreadsheet-first structure of Smartsheet doesn’t fit all users.
• Limited customization capabilities. Smartsheet’s dashboards and widgets have less customization capabilities than alternatives.
• Limited automation capabilities. While Smartsheet does offer a fair amount of automation tools, it is still less capable than a dedicated automation tool.

What Features a Good Smartsheet Alternative Should Have?

What makes a good Smartsheet alternative depends mostly on what pain points Smartsheet doesn’t solve in your company right now. Here are a few suggestions that most companies would need.

• Portfolio-level view. Multiple ready-made but customizable dashboards that allow visualization and analytics of company processes and resources across projects and teams.
• Resource and capacity planning. Analytical tools that allow companies to understand current resource capacity and plan future projects based on objective data.
• Predictive analytics. Analytical tools that allow future capacity planning and scenario simulation tools for improved decision making.
• Integration. Integration with the existing stack of project management and collaboration tools allows for seamless workflows across the board.
• Ease of onboarding. Most tools of this caliber will have a steep learning curve, so it’s important to ensure your choice of the Smartsheet alternative has enough onboarding materials or a dedicated onboarding team.
• Pricing. As pricing has become a major component of why companies are seeking alternatives to Smartsheet, the final choice should have an adequate and transparent pricing model.

How did we select the platforms?

We have compiled a list of Smartsheet alternatives and overviewed them based on the following criteria:

• Functionality.
• Best use case.
• Comparison with Smartsheet.
• Pricing.
• Customer reviews on G2.

Below, you’ll find both a quick comparison table and a deeper dive into each platform.

Quick comparison of the best Smartsheet alternatives

This table provides a quick comparison of all 13 tools on the list in pricing and best use case scenario.

Software	Free Plan	Starting Price	Best Use Case
Epicflow	No	25€ / user / month	Multi-project and resource management for heavy manufacturing, engineering, and enterprise consulting where scheduling conflicts are common.
Wrike	Yes	$10 / user / month	Advanced, enterprise-grade project and portfolio management with high-security needs and heavy proofing/approvals.
Celoxis	No	$10 / user / month	Medium-to-large enterprises seeking advanced portfolio tracking, resource leveling, and project cost/performance analysis.
AchieveIt	No	Quote-based	Multi-department corporate strategic execution, board-level goal tracking, and organizational performance management.
Productive	No	$12 / user / month	All-in-one agency management platform to track leads, schedule resources, track time, and handle billing.
Kantata	No	Quote-based	Mid-to-enterprise Professional Services Automation (PSA); linking resource planning, tracking project accounting, and business intelligence in one dashboard.
monday.com	Yes	€12 / user / month	Visually structured, highly customizable team work management across departments in professional services.
ClickUp	Yes	$10 / user / month	All-in-one work hub targeting teams that want docs, whiteboards, goals, chat, and tasks in a single platform.
Asana	Yes	$13.49 / user / month	Cross-functional task execution, project portfolio monitoring, and aligning daily work directly to company goals.
Float	No	$8.50 / user / month	Pure-play resource scheduling, team capacity planning, and holiday management.
Runn.io	No	$9 / resource seat / month	High-level resource forecasting, capacity planning, and financial modeling for professional services and IT firms.
Zoho Projects	Yes (up to 5 users)	€5 / user / month	Affordable, feature-rich project management heavily integrated into the broader Zoho software ecosystem.
Hive	Yes (up to 10 members)	$7 / month	Fast-moving marketing agencies, campaign planning, and creative teams looking for real-time chat and multi-view project layouts.

What business problems do the Smartsheet alternatives solve?

Adopting new tech is always preceded by investment and onboarding, so there should be a valid reason to spend all of that effort on it. Here are a few business problems solved by investing in a Smartsheet alternative that provides a reason for the investment.

• Cross-project resource visibility. A unified view of resource demands and capacity between projects and departments helps reduce overbooking and increase resource efficiency.
• Tracking and forecasting. Tracking project progress and resource utilization allows for more accurate forecasting and planning.
• Business-value delivery. Prioritization of work based on business value allows organizations to invest resources in the activities that produce the most effective results.
• Throughput inefficiency. Optimizing the portfolio and scheduling resources in the most efficient way allows for increased productivity and throughput.
• Analytical skill shortage. AI-based forecasting and decision making helps reduce the need for analytical talent on the team.

13 best Smartsheet alternatives for portfolio leaders

If the quick comparison table wasn’t enough to find a few Smartsheet alternatives to investigate further, here is a more complete exploration of each alternative.

Epicflow

Epicflow is an enterprise-grade portfolio management tool that focuses closely on resource management and optimizing value per constrained hour.

Best use case

Multi-project and resource management for heavy manufacturing, engineering, and enterprise consulting where scheduling conflicts are common.

Pricing

Epicflow offers a Growth plan that costs 25€ per person per month and an enterprise quote-based plan.

Pros

• AI-based portfolio optimization to reduce skill requirements from the team.
• Scenario planning to find the optimal resource and project schedule.
• Capacity planning features to predict future resource capacity and provide bottleneck relief before the bottlenecks have a chance to reduce efficiency of operations.
• Integrations with work management systems so that project managers can continue working in familiar environments while higher management gets a portfolio-level view.
• Highlighting drag cost through DIPP metric that shows the monetary cost of prolonging a project or continuing it.
• Value per constrained hour optimization to shift focus from finishing projects on time to delivering value from the portfolio as a whole.

Cons

• Not the best pick for simple task management.
• The learning curve might be steep.

Reviews

4.4/5 on G2.

Verdict

Choose Epicflow if you are struggling with severe resource scheduling conflicts across hundreds of developers or engineers. Choose Smartsheet if you want to track general project details without heavy-duty resource-leveling algorithms.

See how Epicflow optimizes portfolios with AI.

Wrike

Wrike is an enterprise work and project management software designed to help teams keep track of performance and collaborate in multi-project environments. It helps teams map out workflows, track progress on projects and tasks, and automate some of them with AI-based tools.

Best use case

Advanced, enterprise-grade project and portfolio management with high-security needs and heavy proofing/approvals.

Pricing

A free forever plan is available with limited features. Public pricing is divided into three plans costing $10 and $25 per user per month. Two separate plans are available at quote-based pricing.

Pros

• Good folder hierarchy logic.
• Secure external proofing/approvals for creative assets.
• Robust built-in time-tracking.
• AI-based automation tools.

Cons

• Rigid folder structure is difficult to navigate.
• Steep learning curve.
• Lack of portfolio-level analytics.

Reviews

4.2/5 on G2.

Verdict

Choose Wrike if your teams need to pass digital files through strict review loops. Choose Smartsheet if you require formula calculations across multiple tables.

Celoxis

Celoxis is an AI-powered project portfolio management tool that helps companies plan projects and resource use, keep track of projects in execution and view portfolio-level performance statistics in a single dashboard.

Best use case

Medium-to-large enterprises seeking advanced portfolio tracking, resource leveling, and project cost/performance analysis.

Pricing

Celoxis doesn’t have a free plan. Its four plans are priced at $10, $25, $35, and $45 per user per month. It has several categories of users, and some come at a cheaper price than the ones above. An enterprise package is available at custom pricing.

Pros

• Good value for high-end enterprise PMO features.
• Built-in Earned Value Management (EVM) for complex budget tracking.
• Portfolio-level performance statistics.

Cons

• Utilitarian, less modern UI.
• Can feel overly complex for standard creative teams.
• Lack of advanced analytics.

Reviews

4.6/5 on G2.

Verdict

Choose Celoxis if you need automated resource allocation leveling across a complex enterprise PMO. Choose Smartsheet if you prefer managing files in a highly flexible sheet layout.

AchieveIt

AchieveIt is a strategy and execution management tool that helps organizations connect long-term goals with short-term operational plans, track initiatives, and eliminate the need for manual reporting.

Best use case

Multi-department corporate strategic execution, board-level goal tracking, and organizational performance management.

Pricing

AchieveIt has three plans, each of them quote-based.

Pros

• Automates follow-ups.
• Translates complex plans into clean executive dashboards.
• Provides big-picture visibility.

Cons

• Not built for granular daily tasks, sprint boards, or document sharing.
• High starting price tag.

Reviews

4.4/5 on G2.

Verdict

Choose AchieveIt if you are a corporate executive trying to track whether the 5-year strategic plan is actually on schedule across 10 departments. Choose Smartsheet if you need to manage active, bottom-up project workflows.

Productive

Productive is a purpose-build agency management software that combines sales tools, project and resource management, and financial tracking in one platform.

Best use case

All-in-one agency management platform to track leads, schedule resources, track time, and handle billing.

Pricing

Productive has two plans priced at $12 and $29 per user per month. A quote-based enterprise plan is available.

Pros

• Combines all tools an agency might need in one platform.
• Saves costs and logistics of integrating multiple tools.

Cons

• Less flexible than Smartsheet for generic, non-agency data tracking
• A high feature set requires structured adoption.
• Not suitable for many non-agency organizations.

Reviews

4.6/5 on G2.

Verdict

Choose Productive if you run an agency or professional service team looking to replace scattered invoices, timesheets, and trackers with a unified tool. Choose Smartsheet for general spreadsheet operations.

Kantata

Kantata is a professional services automation software. It helps agencies and organizations providing professional services like consultancies and IT firms keep track of projects and automate work, track project performance and finances.

Best use case

Mid-to-enterprise Professional Services Automation (PSA).Linking resource planning, tracking project accounting, and business intelligence in one dashboard.

Pricing

Kantata pricing is quote-based.

Pros

• Project accounting.
• Margin forecasting.
• Deep utilization tracking.
• Multiple integrations with work management tools.

Cons

• Prohibitively expensive for smaller teams.
• Requires significant training and configuration to set up.

Reviews

4.2/5 on G2.

Verdict

Choose Kantata if you are running a consulting firm where every minute must map to a billable budget. Choose Smartsheet if you just need to manage general schedules and operations.

monday.com

Monday is an AI-based work management system that helps teams plan and track work across multiple projects. It also has introduced agentic workflow for work automation.

Best use case

Visually structured, highly customizable team work management across departments in professional services.

Pricing

There’s a free forever plan with limited capabilities. Paid plans range from €12 to €24 per user per month. An enterprise plan with quote based pricing is available.

Pros

• Comfortable AI.
• Complex work management system.
• Robust and easily built no-code automations.
• Suite of adjacent tools.

Cons

• Multi-project rollups and complex cross-sheet calculations are much weaker than Smartsheet’s formulas.
• Lack of advanced resource analytics.

Reviews

4.7/5 on G2.

Verdict

Choose monday.com for team adoption, easy automation, and colorful progress tracking. Choose Smartsheet if you need heavy-duty cell-linking, math formulas, and financial calculations.

ClickUp

ClickUp is a project and work management system that allows time tracking and progress tracking, receiving insights from analytics, and AI-based automation of some workflows.

Best use case

All-in-one work hub targeting teams that want docs, whiteboards, goals, chat, and tasks in a single platform.

Pricing

A free forever plan is available. The two paid plans cost $10 and $19 per user per month. There’s also an enterprise plan with quote-based pricing.

Pros

• Highly feature-dense
• A lower starting price point
• Features like built-in time tracking are included on basic paid tiers.
• Automation through AI agents available.

Cons

• Can feel overwhelming.
• UI can be cluttered.
• Occasionally suffers from performance bloat due to trying to "do everything."
• Lack of advanced analytics.

Reviews

4.6/5 on G2.

Verdict

Choose ClickUp if you want a massive toolkit on a budget and don't mind a steep initial feature learning curve. Choose Smartsheet for a stable, clean, enterprise-focused spreadsheet layout.

Asana

Asana is a work management platform that facilitates project management, workflow management and automation, and some degree of resource management.

Best use case

Cross-functional task execution, project portfolio monitoring, and aligning daily work directly to company goals.

Pricing

A free forever plan is available. The two publicly available plans are priced at $13.49 and $30.49. An enterprise plan with quote-based pricing is available.

Pros

• Clean UX
• Task dependency visualisations.
• Support for multiple workflow management methodologies.

Cons

• Lacks a native spreadsheet-like database feel.
• Advanced portfolio views and custom reporting are locked behind the expensive Advanced tier.
• Lack of advanced resource analytics.

Reviews

4.4/5 on G2.

Verdict

Choose Asana for highly collaborative, list/timeline-based task management with zero friction. Choose Smartsheet if you want to build heavy, multi-column databases.

Float

Float offers resource management and project scheduling software that helps organizations allocate tasks, track project progress, and manage workloads.

Best use case

Pure-play resource scheduling, team capacity planning, and holiday management.

Pricing

The two plans Float provides are priced at $8.50 and $14 per user per month. An enterprise plan is available.

Pros

• Drag-and-drop scheduling calendars.
• Easy to navigate UI.
• Scheduling of users outside of the system.

Cons

• Extremely basic task/sub-task management.
• Float is primarily a scheduling tool.

Reviews

4.3/5 on G2.

Verdict

Choose Float if your only bottleneck is planning who is working on what day. Choose Smartsheet if you need to track extensive project deliverables, attachments, and automation flows.

Runn.io

Runn.io is a platform that primarily focuses on resource management and allocation and provides resource demand analytics capabilities.

Best use case

High-level resource forecasting, capacity planning, and financial modeling for professional services and IT firms.

Pricing

The two plans Runn.io provides are priced at $9 and $13 per resource seat per month. An enterprise plan is available.

Pros

• Resource management suite.
• Demand and resource capacity analytics.
• Scenario planning.

Cons

• Weak on day-to-day granular task lists and checklists.
• Acts primarily at the planning layer.

Reviews

4.5/5 on G2.

Verdict

Choose Runn.io if you need to see long-term hiring demands and revenue projections based on resource allocations. Choose Smartsheet to build structured project tracking sheets.

Zoho Projects

Zoho is a project management software built to plan and track projects and collaborate with distributed teams. It also now provides AI-based enhancements to regular workflows.

Best use case

Affordable, feature-rich project management heavily integrated into the broader Zoho software ecosystem.

Pricing

A free forever plan is available for up to five users. The paid plans are priced at €5, €10, and €15 per user per month. An enterprise plan is available.

Pros

• Good value for money.
• Native integration with the Zoho suite.
• AI-based insights.

Cons

• Interface can feel dated and utilitarian.
• Setup and customization are clunky.

Reviews

4.3/5 on G2.

Verdict

Choose Zoho Projects if you are already in the Zoho suite and want a highly budget-friendly tool. Choose Smartsheet for a much sleeker spreadsheet-focused environment.

Hive

Hive is a project management software focused on task tracking, team collaboration, and workflow automation.

Best use case

Fast-moving marketing agencies, campaign planning, and creative teams looking for real-time chat and multi-view project layouts.

Pricing

A free forever plan is available for up to 10 members. The paid plans are priced at $7 and $18 per month. An enterprise solution comes at quote-based pricing.

Pros

• Project dependency tracking.
• Work progress visualization.
• Collaboration tools integration.

Cons

• Customization options are limited.
• Some essential features are only available as add-ons.
• Lack of resource management features.

Reviews

4.6/5 on G2.

Verdict

Choose Hive for fast, communication-heavy agency work. Choose Smartsheet for data-heavy portfolio management.

How to choose the Smartsheet alternative?

The best alternative to Smartsheet is the tool that covers the areas where Smartsheet is underperforming in your particular case. To choose the one that’s right for you, do the following:

• Analyze current Smartsheet performance. Focus on finding out what areas are underperforming for you, what features are either lacking or subpar for the tasks at hand.
• Compile a list of features that your ideal Smartsheet alternative would have.
• Go through the list of Smartsheet alternatives to find a few options that fit your use case and desired feature list.
• Narrow it down by price to value ratio.
• Reach out to the final picks to arrange a demo or start a free trial.

Here is a list of suitable tools for several common use cases to aid you in the choice.

Use case	Software
Portfolio management, resource management.	Epicflow.
Professional services and agency management.	Kantata, Productive.
Collaboration and workflow automation.	Monday.com, Asana, Hive, ClickUp
Portfolio analytics & asset governance	Wrike, Celoxis, Epicflow.
Strategic alignment.	AchieveIt, Epicflow.
Budget all-in-one option.	Zoho Project

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