Smartsheet vs Pentaho

Clockify

Jira

Asana

Clockify is a time tracking app that helps teams track work hours across projects. Managers can measure employee productivity, track the progress of every project and do all necessary reporting and administration work in one place.

Jira is project tracking software that helps every team collaborate to plan, track, and release work by breaking down big ideas into achievable steps. Jira offers features like task organization, work alignment to goals, customizable workflows, and real-time data insights to optimize outcomes.

Asana Starter Plan provides growing teams with project management tools to track progress and meet deadlines. The plan includes workflow automation features, custom project templates, forms for standardized work requests, and rules for routine task management. It also offers visualization tools like Gantt and timeline views, plus AI-powered features for status updates and project organization.

Research

Sometimes their customer service is a bit slow in their response

Smartsheet, an online work execution platform, empowers organizations to plan, track, automate, and report on work. Over 80,000 brands rely on Smartsheet for project and work management because of its easy-to-use interface, real-time gantt charts and dashboards, and work automation features.

Access Controls/Permissions

Accounting

Activity Dashboard

Activity Planning

Activity Tracking

Ad hoc Reporting

Agile Methodologies

Alerts/Notifications

Analytics

Approval Process Control

Approval Workflow

Asset Tracking

Assignment Management

Audit Trail

Availability Management

Backlog Management

Bar Chart

Bid Management

Billing & Invoicing

Brainstorming

Brand Management

Budgeting/Forecasting

Budget Management

Budget Tracking

Bug Tracking

Business Process Automation

Calendar Management

Calibration Management

Campaign Analytics

Campaign Management

Campaign Planning

Capacity Management

Change Management

Change Order Management

Channel Management

Charting

Client Management

Client Portal

Collaboration Tools

Color Codes/Icons

Commenting/Notes

Commercial

Communication Management

Compliance Tracking

Contact Database

Content Management

Contract/License Management

Contractor Management

Cost Estimating

Cost-to-Completion Tracking

Customizable Dashboard

Customizable Fields

Customizable Reports

Customizable Templates

Dashboard

Dashboard Creation

Data Connectors

Data Import/Export

Data Synchronization

Data Tabulation

Data Visualization

Deadline Management

Dependency Tracking

Digital Asset Management

Discussions/Forums

Display Ad Management

Document Management

Document Review

Document Storage

Drag & Drop

Due Date Tracking

Electronic Data Capture

Email Management

Email Reminders

Employee Management

EMR/EHR

Equipment Tracking

Event Calendar

Event Management

Expense Management

Expense Tracking

Feedback Management

File Management

File Sharing

File Transfer

Financial Management

Financial Reporting

For AEC Industry

For IT Project Management

Forms Automation

Forms Creation & Design

Forms Management

For Residential

Functions/Calculations

Gantt/Timeline View

Goal Setting/Tracking

HIPAA Compliant

HR Management

Reviews for Smartsheet come from a wide variety of industries, including information technology and services (8% of reviewers), computer software (6%), and construction (6%). The most frequent use case for Smartsheet cited by reviewers is project management (60% of reviewers).

Users and use cases

Some users say Smartsheet offers good value for money for small teams, and reviewers appreciate free collaborators and generous trials. However, some users report high costs for larger teams, and reviewers mention limited free options and expensive advanced features.

Value for money

The Smartsheet integrations most frequently cited by reviewers are: Microsoft Excel (a spreadsheet product rated 4.8 out of 5 for its integration with Smartsheet), Microsoft Outlook (an email management product, 4.7), and Tableau (a data visualization product, 4.7).

Integrations

Smartsheet is a project management solution with key features that include project planning and scheduling, task management, support for multiple projects, reporting and project tracking, collaboration tools, and more.

Open Source

Smartsheet

Web-based

Android

iPad

iPhone

monday.com

Trello

Google Sheets

Basecamp

Wrike

Airtable

Procore

Microsoft Teams

ClickUp

Quickbase

Microsoft SharePoint

Buildertrend

Zoho Projects

Zoho CRM

Business

Enterprise

Advanced Work Management

Limited and complex formula support

product manager

Calculations and logic equations found in MS Excel are not all available and work arounds are not easily found.

59% of reviewers feel negative about Smartsheet’s formula functionality. Users indicate that complex formulas are difficult to create and often require workarounds or multiple columns. They say not all Excel formulas are supported, and some formulas break when sheets are modified. Reviewers find that large sheets with many formulas can become slow, and the lack of advanced calculation options limits their ability to perform intricate data analysis or automate calculations as easily as in Excel.

Performance and reliability concerns

Project Manager

The smartsheet application for desktop is slow and unreliable, so I only user it in the browser.

61% of reviewers feel negative about Smartsheet’s bugs and reliability. Users report experiencing slow load times, occasional crashes, and glitches, especially with large sheets or during peak usage. They mention frustration with lag, server errors, and the need for stable internet connections. Reviewers also note issues with the desktop and mobile apps, delays in updates, and error messages that are hard to interpret, making troubleshooting and quick fixes challenging.

Manual saving and update frustrations

The version history is hard / nonexistent, it doesn't auto save, you can't collaborate with someone in the document -- you have to save and refresh.

Performance Marketing Manager

Auto-saving doesn't always capture changes made, particularly if multiple people are editing the document at once and with poor connection.

38% of reviewers feel negative about Smartsheet’s update process. Users express frustration with the lack of reliable autosave, requiring manual saving after every change. They report lost work when forgetting to save or during crashes, and difficulties with real-time collaboration as updates are not always reflected instantly for all users. Reviewers also mention that multi-user editing can lead to conflicts or unsaved changes, and the need to refresh pages frequently disrupts workflow.

Sheet size and management limitations

42% of reviewers feel negative about Smartsheet’s sheet management. Users report issues with row and sheet limits, slow performance on large sheets, and difficulties with copying, pasting, or transferring data between sheets. They mention challenges with saving, permissions, and managing multiple users editing simultaneously. Reviewers also note that some features are less intuitive than in other spreadsheet tools, and the lack of tabs or easy navigation can make managing complex projects cumbersome.

High and restrictive pricing structure

Research Scientist

Essentially they inferred that a lack of action by the user infers consent, and used this to try to force my company into an additional contract year, in addition to trying to increase the paid members count and "upgrading" our package, resulting in an extra 4K of costs.

Director, Interactive Media

The per user cost is high so where we would like to have additional users who are more "part time" users but the cost is prohibitive for a company our size.

46% of reviewers feel negative about Smartsheet’s pricing. Users say the cost per user is high, especially for small businesses or teams needing many licenses. They mention frustration with minimum license requirements, expensive premium features, and frequent upselling. Reviewers report that the lack of a free plan and high renewal costs make it difficult to justify the expense, particularly when only a subset of features is used or when temporary users need access.

Versatile task and data tracking

Commercial Manager

It facilitates tracking progress and serves as a platform for disseminating information to multiple departments within our organization.

Contract Administrator

Smartsheet allows us to track, monitor and share real time data regarding projects

94% of reviewers feel positive about Smartsheet’s tracking abilities. Users say they can easily monitor tasks, deadlines, and progress across various projects. They highlight the benefit of customizable forms, real-time updates, and the ability to assign and track responsibilities. Reviewers find the tracking features useful for managing workflows, visualizing metrics, and automating repetitive processes, which helps them stay organized and improve productivity across teams.

Flexible and secure file sharing

94% of reviewers feel positive about Smartsheet’s file sharing options. Users appreciate being able to share documents with internal and external collaborators, set permission levels, and work on files in real time. They mention the convenience of cloud-based access, integration with tools like Google Drive and OneDrive, and the ability to share links without requiring recipients to have an account. Reviewers value the platform’s security features and the ease of managing shared information across teams and clients.

Comprehensive project oversight

Sr. Project Manager

The ability to track a project, update timelimes based on missed deadlines, share with a customer and have a live document is so important for a successful project.

Brand and Planning Manager

The use of automation rules and workflows makes this software excellent to keep large plans up to date with multiple stakeholders and in my opinion it is the perfect blend of excel and project make this a great solution for tracking project progress.

96% of reviewers feel positive about Smartsheet’s project tracking capabilities. Users report that they can monitor project progress, assign tasks, and manage timelines efficiently. They mention the value of customizable dashboards, automated workflows, and multiple views (like Gantt charts) for tracking milestones and resource allocation. Reviewers find it helpful for keeping teams aligned, extracting status reports, and managing multiple projects simultaneously, all in a centralized and accessible platform.

Sales Representative

With the help of this software, it is possible to track the process of production of new miniatures and to easily collaborate on projects with freelance sculptors and casting contractors.

Using Smartsheet, I am tracking all of my sales pipeline and custom commissions, which is made possible thanks to the flexible and spreadsheet-oriented interface provided by it.

Office Manager Project Assistant

With other construction project management software, what you pay for one year of Smartsheet will get you maybe a week for those other platforms. If you wanted to use just the basic sheets or take advantage of their feature rich workspaces and templates, you can use Smartsheet to track projects, office operations and costs, and as a document center (we use it to track our subcontractors certificates of insurance expirations dates), Smartsheet is definitely invaluable to us as a central project and operations management system that we can all access anywhere.

Estimating and Project Manager

We use it across the company for a wide range of functions, from receipt tracking and estimating pipelines to project management and scheduling, which makes it a valuable all-around platform.

IT Project Manager

About 6 months later things started to break, we assumed it was due to user error but ran traces and cell change histories but could find no end user or admin activity that would explain the corruption in the financial data, project status and time in status data, portfolio reporting, and filters that were built for us.

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

I use smartsheet every day to keep track of our progress on my project, assign tasks and put my finger on what’s going right and where we’ve got some drag, more than I have to sort through a big pile of email.

We use it to manage construction jobs and track job costs and documents all in one place.   And the platform could not be more affordable!  

Compliance

What I liked most about Smartsheet is its flexibility - it combines the familiarity of spreadsheets with powerful project management features, making it easy to organize, track, and automate workflows.

Academic Programs Coordinator

Being an Academic Programs Coordinator, I rely on Smartsheet to organize time, follow program progress, and coordinate the activities of instructors and administrative personnel.

Marketing Coordinator

Template customization helps me standardize various processes, including event coordination, workflows, client appointments, and campaign performance.

Land Acquisition Admin

I have found a way to do almost everything I want with the program, even if it takes a few helper columns and a couple reports to get everything just right on the final dashboard. But having forms and summary reports available for everyone at one click is an absolute gamechanger!

HR Director

The ability to list your task with due dates and be able to check them off as you have completed the task

I enjoy the way it provides a structure and visibility to the complex workflows and at the same time seems to be flexible enough to make adjustments every day.

SR SYS Admin

I like the fact that I can easily create and design giant mockups of anything that I wish, then share them securely and quickly with coworkers.

Senior Claims adjuster

I mainly use it to track work and manage tasks, and it has made things more organized compared to before. Once you get used to it, it becomes easier to work with and saves time.

Country HSE manager

When using tool in different geographies entries could come within some time, it is important to save your entries in first place, or it is better to use it in timely manner.

Smartsheet vs Pentaho Comparison (2026)

Smartsheet

Pentaho

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives