Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Smartsheet vs Zoho Projects comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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
7.3
Users find Smartsheet crucial for efficient operations, praising its automation, collaboration, simplicity, and noting productivity and time savings.
Sentiment score
7.7
Zoho Projects enhanced project visibility and productivity, improving project delivery and time efficiency, despite modest monetary savings.
It has helped me streamline processes by using my SOPs and Zoho for improvement.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Smartsheet's responsive email support and knowledge library are praised, though improvements in ticket management and additional support channels are suggested.
Sentiment score
6.7
Zoho Projects support has mixed reviews, with email and chat praised, but phone support needs improvement.
They are just a chat away, and there is typically a dedicated person or two handling my account.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Smartsheet excels in scalability, integration, flexibility, and licensing, garnering high user satisfaction, especially in growing organizations.
Sentiment score
8.3
Zoho Projects is highly scalable, adaptable for various team sizes, but may need improvements for larger projects.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Smartsheet is highly stable with rare minor issues, appreciated for reliability, cloud accessibility, and consistent high-performance ratings.
Sentiment score
7.9
Zoho Projects is reliable and stable, rated highly by users, though occasional glitches and desired enhancements are noted.
 

Room For Improvement

Smartsheet needs UI improvements, faster internet speed, better integrations, enhanced features, automation, and improved training for usability.
Zoho Projects needs UI simplicity, enhanced integrations, better support, improved mobile features, custom reporting, and more robust onboarding.
I have a novice understanding of Smartsheet, so I sought a solution more suited to repeatable projects and process-oriented governance.
Providing small bite-sized instructional videos, like how to create a bug, and customizable help icons would be beneficial.
Managing multiple projects in the project presents challenges.
 

Setup Cost

Smartsheet offers scalable pricing with essential and full features, appealing to various needs, starting from free to enterprise plans.
Zoho Projects is a cost-effective project management tool with competitive pricing, offering great value and integration under Zoho One.
Initially, it was an affordable option for early adopters, but the price has risen four to five times.
Zoho Projects is considered cheap compared to Google and Microsoft services.
 

Valuable Features

Smartsheet offers real-time sharing, easy collaboration, customizable interface, automation, Gantt charts, dashboards, and tool integration for efficient project management.
Zoho Projects offers a scalable, cost-effective platform with seamless CRM integration, customization, and robust time-tracking and reporting features.
We were looking for a tool that allowed for repeatable projects and process-oriented governance.
Its integration with Zoho Docs and features like creating a Wiki and the ability to co-author documents without performance constraints are valuable.
The collaboration tools within Zoho Projects are good.
 

Categories and Ranking

Smartsheet
Ranking in Project Management Software
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Project Portfolio Management (3rd)
Zoho Projects
Ranking in Project Management Software
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Smartsheet is 4.6%, down from 6.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoho Projects is 1.3%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Management Software
 

Featured Reviews

PaulDiaz - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Sainath Racherla - PeerSpot reviewer
Project coordination has improved with excellent integration and support, though more comprehensive training and version control are needed
The adaptation process can be enhanced with training sessions and templates. There is potential for improvement in version control, particularly in integration with Zoho Docs. Providing small bite-sized instructional videos, like how to create a bug, and customizable help icons would be beneficial. Additionally, I should be able to cross-link bugs between projects.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Project Management Software solutions are best for your needs.
846,617 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
42%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
Healthcare Company
6%
Educational Organization
83%
Manufacturing Company
3%
Financial Services Firm
2%
Comms Service Provider
1%
 

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...
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.
What do you like most about Zoho Projects?
While integrating a voice solution with Zoho Projects, the focus was on creating a unified interface for voice and customer engagement across various platforms like Facebook, social media, and emai...
What needs improvement with Zoho Projects?
The adaptation process can be enhanced with training sessions and templates. There is potential for improvement in version control, particularly in integration with Zoho Docs. Providing small bite-...
What is your primary use case for Zoho Projects?
The main purpose of using Zoho Projects is for coordinating projects, with a primary focus on bug and defect management.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Sony Music, ESPN, Hilton, Unisource, Colliers, Extreme Networks, Groupon, Netflix
Intel, Jaguar, PWC, Yatra, Yale, Timex
Find out what your peers are saying about Smartsheet vs. Zoho Projects and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
846,617 professionals have used our research since 2012.