Smartsheet vs Trello comparison

Smartsheet and Atlassian are both solutions in the Project Management Software category. Smartsheet is ranked #5 with an average rating of 7.8, while Atlassian is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.4. Smartsheet holds a 4.6% mindshare in PMS, compared to Atlassian’s 3.1% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Smartsheet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Atlassian users who would recommend it.

Smartsheet

Read 40 Smartsheet reviews

4,245 Views
1,442 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Trello

Read 41 Trello reviews

1,512 Views
721 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Smartsheet

Trello

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Smartsheet and Trello compete in the project management category, offering distinct strengths tailored to various user needs. Smartsheet holds an advantage for complex project management tasks due to its robust features and integrations, while Trello's intuitive Kanban boards are preferred for straightforward task management, appealing to non-technical users.

Features: Smartsheet includes Gantt charts, workflows, and automation capabilities, along with extensive integrations with Jira and Microsoft Teams. Its cloud-based nature enhances data sharing and customization. Trello features intuitive Kanban boards that provide a visual task management approach, easy drag-and-drop functionality, and a user-friendly interface conducive to non-technical users.

Room for Improvement: Smartsheet could benefit from enhancements in real-time collaboration, a more intuitive interface, and better security settings. Users also seek improved Excel integration and expanded formula capabilities. Trello could improve its automation features, integration with other tools, task linking capabilities, and notification handling, alongside updates to its mobile app and export options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Smartsheet provides public and hybrid cloud deployment options and offers essential resources, though customer service quality varies. Trello’s straightforward public cloud deployment is complemented by generally helpful customer support, despite limited on-site options. Trello is perceived as slightly more user-friendly in terms of deployment and support.

Pricing and ROI: Smartsheet's pricing includes varied licensing options and can become expensive as it scales, especially for the enterprise version. Trello, with a strong free tier, is budget-friendly and attractive to small teams or individual users. While both have capable free versions, Trello stands out in accessibility, whereas Smartsheet provides greater ROI through advanced project management capabilities at a higher cost.

To learn more, read our detailed Smartsheet vs. Trello Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Smartsheet vs. Trello

January 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Smartsheet

Ranking in Project Management Software

5th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Project Portfolio Management (5th)

Trello

Ranking in Project Management Software

8th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Smartsheet is 4.6%, down from 6.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Trello is 3.1%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Project Management Software

Featured Reviews

PaulDiaz

Project Manager at Amgen

Needs to improve baselines and changing dates can be frustrating

I like the dashboarding feature best, as it lets me assemble a workspace with source sheets, dashboards, and reports simultaneously. The standard reports and worksheets are most useful for team collaboration. People look at dashboards during presentations, but they go to the sheets to update projects, add comments, or make notifications. It's automated, so changes come to me or whoever needs to see them. I can send notifications from specific line items. The worksheet is key for tracking project progress, though we track it at a higher level rather than detailed work breakdown structures. Subject matter experts say when they'll deliver things, and that's what we track.

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Akshat Prakash

Consultant at BP

Offers not just a free version but also a mobile version that is easy to use

The product has features to support project management workflows and team collaborations. I was using a free version for my personal use and for managing my private activities, and both times, I saw that the tool did the job. I used Trello's board and card system of training with Kanban task management format to handle work in progress and to see whether it has already been completed. I would say that the tool was decent in the aforementioned area. I used the product's mobile version and the handheld device version, and I can say that it was easy to use. In general, the tool's app was quite easy to use. It is definitely a product which is quite highly rated by others. The mobile application functionality affected my productivity in a good way. It is quite good because, if I remember correctly, I could set some reminders for pending tasks. The tool did improve my productivity. The tool did help me deal with my personal backlog and to-do activities. As a beginner-level user, I found the tool very helpful and intuitive. From my friends, I came to know that it is an application that can be used in a wide enterprise setup. If you have an option, you can try it. I rate the overall tool a nine to ten out of ten.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's stable and simple to use."

"The most valuable feature of Smartsheet is it can be highly customized."

"Smartsheet is a really good tool for collaboration."

"The solution is straightforward. Whenever a requirement arises, we create three things in Smartsheet: a project plan, a dashboard, and internal documents. It is done through the form and Smartsheet's automation services. This process shortens the time to market from seven days to less than 12 hours."

"The solution is scalable."

"The product is easy to use."

"We like Smartsheet's workflows, automation, and low-code capabilities. I don't know of any other project management tool with low-code functionality designed for project managers."

"I prefer Smartsheet for its flexibility."

More Smartsheet pros

"I appreciate the ease of creating boards and the flexibility it offers."

"Kanban is the best feature of the tool."

"The Trello board is very intuitive and simple to comprehend."

"All the features are valuable but the data extraction is extremely helpful for automation."

"I like Trello's speed. It is more user-friendly compared to Jira. Jira is technical, whereas the management can use Trello."

"The most valuable features of the solution revolve around the mobile version of the product that was easy to use."

"It offers a very solid service alongside its innovative features and capabilities."

"I think task management, prioritization, rankings, and collaboration features are useful."

More Trello pros

Cons

"You were forced to create a new tab rather than add another sheet."

"Smartsheet should continue to expand the spreadsheet-type functionality because it's limited currently. Most business users are familiar with Excel and Office, so Smartsheet should adopt a similar way of navigating the program."

"The integration with Microsoft products should be improved."

"A room for improvement I found in Smartsheet is the view, as it's currently row-wise. I should have the opportunity to view a full scale, top down list instead of just a column driven list. I shouldn't have to go just left or right. I should be able to view it top down."

"With a large quantity of data, the solution lags a bit."

"I would like if Smartsheet allowed more formulas in its sheets. I don't think working with formulas is as intuitive as it is in Excel. I use Vlookups and index matches in some of my sheets, and I had to find an outside consultant to help me build out those formulas."

"The solution should include integrations with other platforms or software."

"The system can become more challenging to use in more complex scenarios, requiring additional add-ons that can be quite costly."

More Smartsheet cons

"It is not a scalable product."

"Trello was available as a standalone version that does not allow you to collaborate with other people."

"Trello wasn't a tool that offered lightning-fast speed like users wanted it to be for them."

"The mobile version of Trello can be improved upon."

"The dashboards and flexibility to adjust the timeline view for each task are areas with shortcomings in the solution that need improvement."

"I would like to see improvement in onboarding back-office team members."

"There aren't as many tracking tools."

"It would be great if there was a tour for new users to explain how this solution works. Using this solution for the first time can feel complicated."

More Trello cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There's a license for Smartsheet, and the enterprise plan comes down to about $750. My company also pays an extra $60 monthly apart from the standard licensing fee."

"Smartsheet can be low-priced, with personal subscriptions around eight dollars a month, but I imagine it gets pricier for enterprise systems. Microsoft Project can be more expensive."

"I pay $ 120 or $ 128 a month for two to three users."

"There would be more extensive usage if the solution were cheaper. It's really expensive right now, and that's why we provide a few licenses for admins. The rest of them are just users without admin privileges."

"It is less expensive than Microsoft Project for enterprise or Oracle Primavera by an order of magnitude. If you buy a Microsoft Project license, it's probably $300 or so by itself, whereas Smartsheet is probably less than $50 per head."

"The solution is expensive."

"Its licensing is on a yearly basis. I was responsible for negotiating the price with the Smartsheet team, but I don't remember what the price was. Its standard license probably was around 5,000 to 6,000 a year. The enterprise version is significantly more expensive."

"I would assume there is a licensing fee. I don't think that it is free."

More Smartsheet pricing and cost advice

"Trello was free when we used it, but if we wanted many people looped in, we did need to pay a fee."

"UiPath is cost-efficient."

"The free version of Trello covers all of the bases and all of our needs, so there's no cost involved for us. This is surprising for such a quality platform with no limitations on the key functionalities, though it also has a paid version."

"We pay $10 per user per month for the product."

"Its pricing is good. It is about $6 per license for what we use, but then there are other plans as well, such as $12 a month. I would rate it a nine out of ten in terms of pricing."

"Paying for the solution's license is worth it only if our enterprise or organization can use Trello, integrated with some other solution, and we can have good reports."

"We are currently using the open-source option."

"The solution pricing is okay. The pricing is subscription-based and depends on the features that you need. If you need more features then you will need to pay more. You can use the basic features to lead your project management."

More Trello pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

44%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Government

Educational Organization

84%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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...

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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...

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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.

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What do you like most about Trello?

The solution is very user-friendly, where you have everything you need.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Trello?

I did not evaluate Trello's pricing model since it was provided by my organization.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Trello?

Trello could improve from a UI and UX standpoint and should consider adding enhanced functionality from a release management standpoint. Additional features for release management in the style of J...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 17% of the time

ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management vs Smartsheet

Compared 15% of the time

Broadcom Clarity vs Smartsheet

Compared 13% of the time

Adobe Workfront vs Smartsheet

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Project vs Smartsheet

Compared 10% of the time

More Smartsheet Competitors

Asana vs Trello

Compared 35% of the time

Jira vs Trello

Compared 22% of the time

Wrike vs Trello

Compared 22% of the time

monday.com vs Trello

Compared 12% of the time

Zoho Sprints vs Trello

Compared 10% of the time

More Trello Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Smartsheet

January 2025

Download Smartsheet product report

Buyer's Guide

Trello

January 2025

Download Trello product report

Overview

Smartsheet is a dynamic platform with features like real-time data sharing, Gantt charts, and integration with Jira and Microsoft Teams, offering valuable tools for efficient task management.

Smartsheet combines Excel-like functionality with cloud accessibility, making it efficient for tracking, reporting, and workflow management. Users benefit from its scalability and robust security, making it ideal for enterprise-level projects. However, improvements in data visibility, real-time collaboration, and user-friendliness can enhance its utility. Customizable dashboards, project management features, and seamless integrations offer great flexibility, though there is a demand for better automation, API enhancements, and new templates.

What are Smartsheet's most important features?

Real-time Data Sharing: Facilitates seamless collaboration between users.
Project Management Tools: Includes Gantt charts and task prioritization for efficient project tracking.
Integration: Works with major platforms like Jira and Microsoft Teams for comprehensive data flow.
Automation Capabilities: Reduces manual work with robust automation functionalities.
Customizable Dashboards: Allows users to tailor dashboards to meet specific needs.

What benefits or ROI should users look for in reviews?

Efficiency: Streamlines workflows with tools that enhance project tracking and collaboration.
Scalability: Supports growing enterprise demands with its scalable architecture.
Security: Provides robust, secure environments for data management.
Adaptability: Offers flexibility to customize workflows for improved resource management.

Smartsheet is utilized by organizations in industries like engineering, education, and IT for project management, task tracking, and data integration. It enables planning, scheduling, and team collaboration, facilitating dashboard creation and automation of processes. Its flexibility in customizing workflows is appealing to those managing projects and programs.

Smartsheet

Trello is the visual collaboration tool that creates a shared perspective on any project. Trello’s boards, lists and cards enable you to organize and prioritize your personal and work life in a fun, flexible and rewarding way.

Atlassian

Sample Customers

Sony Music, ESPN, Hilton, Unisource, Colliers, Extreme Networks, Groupon, Netflix

Pixar, Google, PayPal, Kickstarter, National Geographic, Viewbox Holdings

Buyer's Guide

Smartsheet vs. Trello

January 2025

Free Report: Smartsheet vs. Trello

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