The Best Free Smartsheet Alternative

What Is Smartsheet?

Smartsheet is a project management and spreadsheet tool that was founded by Brent Frei. Smartsheet’s launch in 2006 wasn’t as successful as Frei had intended it to be as users were finding the feature-heavy product to be difficult to use. After a product overhaul and relaunch, Smartsheet had gained over 1 million users by 2012. In 2019, Smartsheet reported that it had over 4 million users.

Smartsheet’s layout is similar to Airtable, Coda.io, and Basecamp. It can be used as a task and project management tool. On Smartsheet, projects and work are done via sheets. What this means is that you’re able to both manage your work and use spreadsheet functionalities to manage your data.

One of the features that make Smartsheet popular within teams is its collaboration feature. Smartsheet allows users to share their sheets and invite collaborators to get work done together. Additionally, you can also control access levels within Smartsheet so that control edit rights to your project.

Being a cloud-based software also means that you can edit your data on the go across devices via the Smartsheet app.

Features of Smartsheet

The default view on Smartsheet is the grid view which is fully customizable and closely resembles the usual spreadsheet that we’re used to in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. On Smartsheet, each project begins as an empty sheet. You can attach files to each cell within your project and store your emails within each row. This helps you keep track of tasks and actionable items that were sent via email.

Additionally, your projects can be linked to each other on Smartsheet. What this means is that updating a piece of data that is tracked across other Spreadsheets will automatically update all of your sheets in real-time. Should your project get too big, you can expand and collapse rows to zoom in on specific tasks or gain a bird’s eye view of the whole project.

Smartsheet also has templates available to give you a headstart on your projects and tasks. Despite it being a spreadsheet application, Smartsheet allows you to change views so that you can visualize your projects easily. Some of Smartsheet’s views include the Grid view, Gantt chart view, and Kanban card view. 

Collaboration is also one of Smartsheet’s strong features. The spreadsheet tool allows you to share your project with other collaborators and even with your clients who may not be on Smartsheet. You’re able to share your workspace or choose from selected projects from within your workspace. To make collaboration easier, Smartsheet has a chat function that allows you to chat with members within the same project to get work done together.

Smartsheet supports integrations with other applications. Integrating with Zapier means that you can choose from hundreds of other applications to help you make Smartsheet your main hub for project management (provided you know which apps to use!). 

What Is Smartsheet Good For?

When used properly, Smartsheet has the potential to be a powerful tool for spreadsheet data management. Here are some positive use-cases for Smartsheet:

• Data management
• Collaboration
• Simple project management
• Spreadsheet database management
• Creating reports
• Automating processes

However, being loaded with features also means that Smartsheet can be a very difficult tool to learn. Check out some of the limitations of Smartsheet in the following section.

What Are Some Limitations of Smartsheet?

Even though Smartsheet was intended to be a simpler alternative to spreadsheets, it simply isn’t the case. Smartsheet is not as intuitive as it should be. It has advanced features that make it a difficult tool to master. Sure, learning to use it can help you get more work done, but it simply isn’t necessary if you’re just looking for a tool to manage your projects. 

Project management can be a complicated process, why make things harder by using an application that’s hard to use?

Smartsheet is also expensive if you’re intending to use it as a project management tool. Check out this list of the best project management tools available at a competitive price so that you can get more work done without having to spend unnecessarily.

Smartsheet Pricing

Smartsheet has three different price points for its product bring the Pro plan, Business plan, and Enterprise plan. Although Smartsheet does not have a free plan, they do offer a 30-day free trial for you to test out the software.

Smartsheet Pro ($7/user per month)

Smartsheet’s Pro plan is perfect for small teams of up to 10 people. Some of its features include:

• Unlimited sheets and reports
• Only 1 sheet per report
• Up to 10 viewers per project
• 250 automations per month

Smartsheet Business ($25/user per month)

This plan is meant for bigger companies. The only prerequisite is to have at least 3 users on this plan for your company.

• Unlimited collaborators
• Unlimited sheets per report
• Unlimited automations

Smartsheet Enterprise (Custom pricing)

If you require enterprise-level features, Smartsheet offers an Enterprise plan to help you collaborate with people within your organization.

• SSO/SAML
• No attachment size limit
• DocuSign integration
• Curated experience based on user role
• Enhanced support

However, if you’re looking for a free tool that can help you manage projects regardless of size, Taskade would be a better alternative for you.

What Is Taskade?

Taskade is a flexible productivity and project management tool that was founded by John Xie, Dionis Loire, and Stan Chang in 2017. The Y Combinator-backed startup aims to help remote teams and individuals get work done faster and smarter.

Taskade is where remote teams get work done. With Taskade, you can organize entire projects and easily break them down into tasks, change between multiple project views, automate repetitive workflows, collaborate via built-in video chat with your team, and more, via an all-in-one unified workspace. 

Get a headstart on your projects and find a suitable structure for your notes via Taskade’s versatile collection of templates. Simply choose from a wide variety of templates and add them to your projects to get started instantly!

Taskade is a supercharged productivity app that both individuals and teams can use to collaborate on projects in real-time.

Taskade is the best free Smartsheet alternative because Taskade was designed with a remote-first approach, allowing teams to collaborate and get work done together virtually. You can create unlimited tasks and projects even on the free plan, giving you the ability to plan heavier projects as soon as you get started.

With Taskade, you can create tasks and visualize them via multiple project views. You can also add collaborators to your Taskade project to collaborate with people within or even outside of your organization.

Get started instantly for free today.

Key Features of Taskade

• Project Views. Visualize your projects in several different ways. Cycle between the List, Mind Map, Org Chart, and Board views to work the way you want. 

  • List View. This is the default view on Taskade. Create new lists here.
  • Board View. This view lets you work horizontally like a Kanban board. Visualize your workflow and tasks in this full-width view.
  • Mind Map View. This view lets you work in a horizontal tree-structured manner and map out what you have in mind.
  • Action View. Work in table view and stay organized with your task due dates, and more.
  • Org Chart View. Break down larger tasks into smaller ones to help you get things done.

• Zoom In, Zoom Out. Get a bird’s-eye view of the workflow by zooming out on all project views, or zoom in to focus on a specific area.
• Fold/Unfold. Fold (collapse) a parent task/bullet element to hide its subtasks. Indent outline elements with ⌨️ Tab and unfold lists with ⌨️ Shift+Tab.
• Real-time Communication. Chat and video conference with your team while collaborating in real-time on the same page. 
• 500+ Templates. Choose from 500+ templates across 26 categories to improve your productivity and workflows. Customize existing templates or create new ones across your workspaces.
• Multi-Select. Select and format multiple blocks or bulk assign them as tasks to other team members. You can also copy, paste, or indent selected blocks.
• Customize Sub-Tasks. Customize the format of your sub-tasks at individual levels. Choose from headings, numbered lists, shapes, and more.
• Recurring Tasks. Add due dates with start and end times to tasks within your project and set them to repeat daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly.

• Move Tasks. Move and copy selected tasks to other projects across any workspace. You’ll receive a pop-up notification on completion.
• User Roles & Permissions. Manage collaborators and assign user roles/editing privileges (Owner, Admin, Editor, Checker, Viewer).
• Sort Tasks. Sort sub-tasks/children elements by completed/uncompleted stats or the due date. Task sorting can be accessed from a convenient pop-up menu.
• Search. Search within projects or globally across workspaces and subspaces. Instantly browse and jump between projects anywhere in the Taskade.
• Keyboard Shortcuts. Navigate projects, create content blocks, reorder elements, and complete tasks using a set of handy keyboard shortcuts.

• Team Calendar. Aggregate all tasks and projects in a shared calendar. The Taskade calendar integrates with Google (two-way), Apple, and Outlook. 
• Reorder Tasks. Lists in Taskade aren’t set in stone. Reorder tasks and find them a new home with intuitive drag-and-drop mechanics.
• Project History. See all the changes made by you and other collaborators. Click on the entries to navigate to the edited items within the project.
• Version History. Taskade saves snapshots of your project so that you can restore a previous version of your project with a single click.

• Export and Print. You can export your projects as plain text or markdown files. Attach them to emails, presentations, or for print.

• Cloud File Upload. Share files directly from Google Drive, Dropbox, Instagram, and Box in your projects with our integrations.
• Breakdown Larger Tasks. Organize your thoughts with Taskade’s unlimited hierarchy to break down large projects into tasks.
• Quick Search. Use CMD / CTRL + K to jump between any projects within Taskade web and apps.

For an exhaustive list of Taskade’s features, click here.

Taskade Pros

• Free-forever plan is loaded with features
• Unlimited tasks and projects even on the free plan
• Real-time collaboration within the same project 
• Free built-in video call and chat function in each project
• Customizable templates to give you a headstart
• Work and chat in the same window, in the same app
• Frequent updates based on user/your feedback and suggestions
• Tabbed workflow for working with multiple Projects

Taskade Cons

• No custom APIs (yet)

Taskade Pricing

Taskade Free Plan

• Unlimited Tasks & Projects
• Unlimited Members & Guests
• Unlimited Folders & Teams
• Templates, Calendar, Repeat Tasks
• Real-time Collaboration
• Built-in Free Chat and Video Call

Taskade Unlimited Plan - Starts from $5/month

• Everything in Free, plus:
• Version History
• Advanced Permission
• Cloud Upload Integration
• 2-Way Calendar Integration

Taskade is a better alternative to Smartsheet because we offer a more robust solution for your productivity needs at a competitive price. Taskade offers unlimited tasks and projects even with our free plan to help you organize your projects and to-do lists.

Click here for more information.

Is Taskade Right for You?

Taskade can be used by individuals and teams working from anywhere. Use Taskade individually or collaborate with your team on shared to-do lists, weekly agendas, team meetings, note-taking, project management, product roadmaps, and more. 

Make use of customizable board views to visualize your projects into digestible smaller tasks. Multiple board views are available even on Taskade’s free plan at a single click of a button, allowing you to get more work done the smarter way. 

Collaborate with your team in real-time with free and unlimited chat and video conferencing that’s available on every project. Automatic syncing ensures that your data is always up to date across devices.

Our customizable templates are available even with our free plan. Find the perfect template to help you get started with your project, and customize it to fit your needs!

Taskade is the simplest way to create task lists, checklists, and workflows. Manage projects and get more work done the simple way with Taskade.

Taskade is the best free Smartsheet alternative. Try Taskade for free today.