Smartsheet vs RealTime-CTMS

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 helps to manage all areas of project work, from team collaboration and file sharing, to resource management and calendar tools, to Gantt charts.

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

ClickUp

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft SharePoint

Buildertrend

Google Workspace

Zoho Projects

Zoho CRM

Adobe Workfront

Business

Enterprise

Advanced Work Management

Limited advanced formula support

Software developer

Smartsheet include its limited formatting options and difficulty in creating complex formulas.

59% of reviewers feel negative about Smartsheet’s formula functionality. Users say the platform lacks some advanced formula options found in Excel, making complex calculations and conditional formatting challenging. Reviewers report that formulas can be tedious to create, break when linking sheets or renaming columns, and may not always update automatically. They find the learning curve steep for advanced logic and note that performance can lag with large datasets or many formulas. Some users express frustration with inconsistent formula behavior and limited documentation.

Performance and reliability concerns

Project Manager

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

Office Manager

System typically freezes, have to reach out to my tech team to get it fixed and reset

61% of reviewers feel negative about Smartsheet’s bugs and issues. Users report experiencing lag, slow load times, and occasional crashes, especially with large sheets or unstable internet connections. Reviewers say that glitches, errors, and system freezes can disrupt workflows and require technical support. Some users mention that error messages are unclear and troubleshooting can be frustrating. They indicate that mobile and desktop apps may be less reliable, and that server outages or compatibility problems with browsers and plug-ins can cause additional headaches.

Manual saving and update delays

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.

38% of reviewers feel negative about Smartsheet’s update process. Users say the lack of auto-save leads to lost work if changes aren’t manually saved, especially with multiple editors. Reviewers report that updates are not always reflected in real time, requiring frequent refreshing to see others’ changes. They find the process of saving and updating cumbersome and outdated for a cloud-based tool. Some users indicate that update delays and lack of version history can disrupt collaboration and cause confusion.

Sheet limits and navigation challenges

42% of reviewers feel negative about Smartsheet’s sheet management. Users report frustration with row and sheet limits, making it difficult to manage large projects. Reviewers say that navigation can be cumbersome, especially with many columns or sheets, and that features like auto-saving, cross-sheet linking, and customization are lacking compared to Excel. They mention difficulties with importing, exporting, and editing sheets, as well as challenges in managing permissions and keeping track of changes when multiple users are involved.

High and restrictive pricing

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 report that the cost per user is high, making it difficult for small businesses or teams with fluctuating members to justify. Reviewers say that minimum license requirements and expensive premium features can be prohibitive, especially for organizations with tight budgets. They indicate that recent changes to licensing and feature access have forced some to purchase more licenses than needed. Some users find the lack of a free plan and the cost of onboarding additional users to be significant drawbacks.

Comprehensive task tracking

Commercial Manager

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

Operational Excellence and PMO Senior  Manager  

The system have transform our organization in a good way since it is easier for metrics visualization, communication and track action items.

95% of reviewers feel positive about Smartsheet’s tracking capabilities. Users report that the platform helps them monitor progress, assign tasks, and visualize project status in real time. Reviewers appreciate being able to track changes, automate updates, and customize notifications for various workflows. They say the ability to manage documents, deadlines, and responsibilities in one place improves organization and accountability. Some users find that tracking tools are accessible for all skill levels, making it easier for teams to stay on top of deliverables and metrics.

Flexible file sharing controls

94% of reviewers feel positive about Smartsheet’s file sharing. Users say they can easily share documents and spreadsheets with both internal and external stakeholders, assigning different permission levels as needed. Reviewers appreciate the cloud-based access, which allows for real-time updates and collaboration without version conflicts. They indicate that features like column locking, integration with platforms like Google Drive and Box, and the ability to share links with non-licensed users are especially helpful for streamlining communication and keeping everyone informed.

Versatile 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.

Manager 

It has allowed us to streamline our project management process, enabling us to better track progress, assign tasks, and manage resources.

96% of reviewers feel positive about Smartsheet’s project tracking. Users think the platform enables them to monitor project milestones, assign tasks, and manage resources efficiently. Reviewers appreciate having multiple views, such as Gantt charts and dashboards, to visualize progress and responsibilities. They say automation rules and templates simplify project management, while centralized tracking helps teams stay organized. Some users find that real-time updates and collaboration tools make it easier to keep stakeholders informed and ensure projects stay on schedule.

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.

Owner

Highly Versatile and Flexible: It is not limited to just grid views; it allows users to switch between Gantt charts, Kanban boards, cards, and calendars to visualize data in different ways.

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.

Steep Learning Curve for Advanced Features: While the basic spreadsheet look is easy, mastering advanced features like complex formulas, automated workflows, and dashboards can take time.

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.

Smartsheet vs RealTime-CTMS Comparison (2026)

Smartsheet

RealTime-CTMS

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives