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Rally Software vs Smartsheet comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.5
Users find Rally Software essential for cost-effectiveness, time-saving, 15X ROI, despite access challenges and customer journey imperfections.
Sentiment score
6.9
Smartsheet enhances productivity and collaboration, automates processes, manages timelines, and is cost-effective compared to Microsoft Project alternatives.
The ROI is visible, as that's why we are investing in these tools and running our projects successfully through them, despite a few challenges such as role-based access being somewhat difficult.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
Compared to Microsoft Project, which is more expensive, we save costs using Smartsheet.
Project Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
Users appreciate Rally Software's responsive customer service and effective technical support, despite some slow or non-intuitive processes.
Sentiment score
6.8
Smartsheet's customer service feedback is mixed, with praise for responsiveness and resources but concerns over response delays and ticket management.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Rally Software is scalable and adaptable, supporting diverse organizations globally, though reporting and peak performance could be improved.
Sentiment score
7.4
Smartsheet is praised for scalability, integration features, and cost-effectiveness, with some concerns over task tracking in larger projects.
If you have a huge database, it becomes difficult to process the data.
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
Smartsheet is pretty flexible and scalable.
Project Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Rally Software is stable but occasionally slow, with intermittent outages; users note improvements and call for enhanced performance.
Sentiment score
7.9
Users find Smartsheet stable, with minor issues, high reliability ratings, and minimal disruptions enhancing overall satisfaction.
 

Room For Improvement

Rally Software needs improved customization, performance, reporting, integration, Kanban features, UI, mobile friendliness, dependency management, and analytics.
Users want better data management, UI, integration, security, support, and Excel-like features in Smartsheet.
At the time of my use, there was not an inbuilt capability to migrate applications from other third-party solutions to Rally Software.
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
One area for improvement might be the rigidity in role and access configurations, which require many process changes to fit the tool.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
I have a novice understanding of Smartsheet, so I sought a solution more suited to repeatable projects and process-oriented governance.
Strategic Programs Vice President, Project Management Office at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

Rally Software offers valuable features for scaling agile, but its pricing is high compared to alternatives like JIRA.
Smartsheet pricing is user-based, varies by plan, and advanced features can increase costs compared to competitors like Microsoft Project.
The setup cost is expensive.
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
Rally Software is affordable because our customers also prefer it.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
Licensing might be cheaper per user.
Project Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Rally Software streamlines project management with features like resource scheduling, user stories, dashboards, and third-party integration for agile teams.
Smartsheet offers real-time collaboration, customizable dashboards, automation, and integration, making it ideal for efficient project management.
Rally Software provides real-time dashboards for different kinds of stakeholders and governance, giving clear insights into project progress, team velocity, and potential risks.
Sr. Information Architect and Principal Consultant UX at Tech Mahindra Limited
I can view configuration item details, such as what is being changed, and I can see any change requests attached to items or configuration items being moved to other locations.
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
Automation helps by simplifying some manual work, saving time and facilitating communication.
Project Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
We were looking for a tool that allowed for repeatable projects and process-oriented governance.
Strategic Programs Vice President, Project Management Office at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
What I appreciate best about Smartsheet is the straight Gantt chart and its flexibility.
Solution Architect at Think People
 

Categories and Ranking

Rally Software
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
121
Ranking in other categories
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites (5th), Enterprise Agile Planning Tools (4th)
Smartsheet
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Project Portfolio Management (7th), Project Management Software (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Rally Software and Smartsheet aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Rally Software is designed for Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites and holds a mindshare of 5.2%, down 6.6% compared to last year.
Smartsheet, on the other hand, focuses on Project Portfolio Management, holds 4.8% mindshare, down 8.5% since last year.
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Rally Software5.2%
Jira11.0%
Microsoft Azure DevOps9.5%
Other74.3%
Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) Suites
Project Portfolio Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Smartsheet4.8%
Broadcom Clarity9.3%
Planview Portfolios6.3%
Other79.6%
Project Portfolio Management
 

Featured Reviews

Amit Anand - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Technical Architect at HCLSoftware
Drilling into change lifecycles has given me clear end to end traceability for every item
Reporting is my main area of concern. Additionally, the migration activity and portability are important areas for improvement. If I needed to move from Jira to Rally Software, having built-in portability or migration utilities would be beneficial. At the time of my use, there was not an inbuilt capability to migrate applications from other third-party solutions to Rally Software. Currently, I am not using Rally Software.
DS
Project Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Automation simplifies manual tasks and facilitates team communication
There are many useful features in Smartsheet. One can easily share plans with the entire team, and it functions similarly to Microsoft Project. Creating dependencies across all tasks is smooth, and team members can make adjustments if necessary. Automation helps by simplifying some manual work, saving time and facilitating communication.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
8%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise113
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise22
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Rally Software?
Rally offers many features that help the management of activities, coordination, alignment and reports, which applies agility across the organization. If I were to highlight a particular feature, i...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rally Software?
The setup cost is expensive. I was not responsible for the license part, but it was on a yearly basis.
What needs improvement with Rally Software?
Reporting is my main area of concern. Additionally, the migration activity and portability are important areas for improvement. If I needed to move from Jira to Rally Software, having built-in port...
Has anyone moved from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet? How has your experience been with Smartsheet?
Hi @Eire Zimmermann, I helped an organization evaluate both MS-Project and Smartsheet when they were conducting their PM tool RFP. The short of it is this, MS Project is not caught up with the mo...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Smartsheet?
Licensing might be cheaper per user. I rate it as seven or eight due to its demanding nature. For personal use, I have a monthly subscription, while the company uses an annual basis.
What needs improvement with Smartsheet?
Currently, I feel that Smartsheet fulfills all my needs. However, I need to investigate more about the product to identify specific areas for improvement.
 

Also Known As

CA Agile Central, Rally Enterprise, CA Agile Training, CA Agile Coaching, CA Agile Academy, CA Agile Management , CA ALM
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Physicians Mutual, Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare, Editora Abril, Tata Communications, Level 3 Communications, Seagate, TomTom, Philips, Hiscox, Physicians Mutual, MYOB
Sony Music, ESPN, Hilton, Unisource, Colliers, Extreme Networks, Groupon, Netflix
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902,417 professionals have used our research since 2012.