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Microsoft Project Server vs Smartsheet comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.3
Microsoft Project Server support is appreciated for competence but criticized for delays, repetitive inquiries, and varied service quality.
No sentiment score available
Smartsheet offers praised email support and resources, yet has mixed reviews on ticket handling and customer service efficiency.
It's challenging to navigate, often making it necessary to search for solutions externally.
Communication with two people, one was knowledgeable while the other was learning.
 

Room For Improvement

Sentiment score
4.3
Microsoft Project Server needs improvements in interface, integration, performance, collaboration, customization, support, cost, and multilingual design.
Sentiment score
5.4
Smartsheet needs an intuitive UI, better integration, real-time collaboration, enhanced project management, and improved customer service responsiveness.
Exporting data from Microsoft Project, especially Gantt charts, is overly complex and not user-friendly.
The lack of collaboration capabilities on the desktop version, unlike the cloud version, is a limitation.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Project Server is rated highly for scalability but older versions may face limitations, prompting some to seek cloud alternatives.
Sentiment score
8.1
Smartsheet is highly scalable, integrates with Microsoft Teams and Jira, supports collaboration, but may require licensing for advanced features.
The desktop version does not have scalability.
 

Setup Cost

Sentiment score
8.0
Microsoft Project Server pricing varies by hosting and licensing, offering competitive rates compared to alternatives, starting at $350 monthly.
No sentiment score available
Smartsheet provides flexible enterprise pricing, with per-user costs, free options, and competitive advantages over Microsoft Project.
Microsoft's products are expensive for individuals.
The pricing for Microsoft Project is fair, considering it is ahead of competitors and offers a comprehensive suite of features.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Microsoft Project Server is stable, though performance issues arise with large projects, integrations, and older versions; newer versions improve stability.
Sentiment score
8.1
Users praise Smartsheet's reliable stability, minor lags, and cloud accessibility, scoring it 8-10 for performance despite initial setup challenges.
I have never had to reach out to their support because the product works as expected.
 

Valuable Features

Sentiment score
8.2
Microsoft Project Server is preferred for its integration, user-friendly interface, adaptability, scalability, and powerful project management features.
Sentiment score
8.0
Smartsheet's intuitive interface, real-time collaboration, and extensive features enhance project management efficiency and appeal to diverse users.
The Gantt chart is also a very powerful tool for a visual presentation of sequences, critical paths, and execution processes, which simplifies comprehension for users.
The level of customization is significant, and there are ample resources available online about how to use it.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Project Server
Ranking in Project Portfolio Management
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
59
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Smartsheet
Ranking in Project Portfolio Management
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Project Management Software (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Project Portfolio Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Project Server is 8.3%, down from 8.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Smartsheet is 7.8%, up from 7.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Portfolio Management
 

Featured Reviews

Hariharan Mahadevan - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective resource allocation and collaboration tools with good flexibility
My clients use Microsoft Project Server since it is very useful and helpful, making their jobs and lives easier. It is particularly effective for program managers and is currently being used in my project Microsoft Project Server makes everything easier by providing a helpful and useful tool that…
Asma Ali - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to use, simple to set up, and great for non co-located environments
At one point we were trying to use it to organize a curriculum for students to just have the weekly stuff. We kind of ran into trouble doing this. It's not really designed for that. What we were trying to do is give them a real-time syllabus with pre-readings and activities and stuff embedded. It ended up getting really complicated. They also had access, and while there’s probably a way to not give them access, I didn’t know how to set that. I just wanted to let them download. It got complex. It wasn’t just people updating what they were working on. It was something else and it didn’t work. If there was some way to store more complex files in the system, or if there was a back-end structure where you could store files, that would be ideal. We use Box to store recordings, for example, of sessions and stuff. We’d like to store it in this solution. We already integrate Smartsheet into Teams for updates and stuff. That works well.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
41%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Government
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Project Server?
The ability to track a project's progress using Microsoft Project Server is the most valuable aspect. It depends, especially when managing multiple projects.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project Server?
The price paid for Microsoft Project Server is a bit more than the value received. Ideally, only 10% of the cost of the entire exercise should be spent on project management tools. Due to the high ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Project Server?
Microsoft Project Server needs improvement in the integration of more tools and syncing of Blockly tools on time. The portfolio management area also has room for improvement in terms of supporting ...
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 do you like most about Smartsheet?
The tool creates shareable dashboards. These dashboards allow us to display project deliverables' status, their position in the queue, expected delivery timelines, and more. The best part is that t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Smartsheet?
The pricing is great and reasonable enough that I maintained my copy and bought it for my team independently.
 

Also Known As

MS Project Server
No data available
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Magnachip, Gwinnett County Schools, CLEAResult, Medbit Oy, Intelbras S.A., ETS, CORE Construction, Keller Foundations
Sony Music, ESPN, Hilton, Unisource, Colliers, Extreme Networks, Groupon, Netflix
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Project Server vs. Smartsheet and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,562 professionals have used our research since 2012.