Smartsheet vs monday.com: Which is better in 2026?
A side-by-side comparison of pricing, features, and use cases to help you decide between Smartsheet and monday.com.
Enterprise work management platform built on a spreadsheet
Work OS that powers teams to run processes and workflows
Head-to-head comparison
| Feature | Smartsheet | monday.com |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $9/mo | $9/mo |
| Free plan | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
| Pricing model | paid | freemium |
| G2 rating | 4.4/5 | 4.7/5 ↑ |
| Capterra rating | 4.5/5 | 4.6/5 |
| Founded | 2005 | 2012 |
Smartsheet: pros & cons
- ✓Familiar spreadsheet interface
- ✓Powerful Gantt views
- ✓Strong enterprise features
- ✓Good for operations teams
- ✗Looks and feels dated
- ✗No free plan
- ✗Less intuitive than monday.com
- ✗Expensive at scale
monday.com: pros & cons
- ✓Very visual and intuitive
- ✓Highly customisable
- ✓Strong automation
- ✓Great dashboards
- ✗Minimum 3 seats on paid plans
- ✗Automations limited on lower tiers
- ✗Can get expensive for large teams
Choose Smartsheet if...
- →Your operations or PMO team lives in spreadsheets and needs Gantt charts and automations without retraining staff on a new interface
- →You're running construction, manufacturing, or event projects that require resource management and portfolio-level Gantt views
- →Your team needs to collect structured data via forms that feed directly into project sheets with automated approval workflows
Choose monday.com if...
- →Your ops, marketing, or HR team wants to build custom workflows with no-code automations and visual dashboards
- →You need a work management tool that non-technical teams will actually enjoy using day-to-day
- →Your team runs recurring processes — client onboarding, campaign launches, hiring pipelines — that need repeatable board templates
Our verdict
monday.com scores higher on G2 (4.7/5 vs 4.4/5), suggesting stronger overall user satisfaction. monday.com offers a free plan — a lower-risk way to test before committing. The right pick depends on your team size and workflow.
Smartsheet vs monday.com: frequently asked questions
Is Smartsheet better than monday.com?
monday.com has a higher G2 score (4.7/5 vs 4.4/5). The best tool depends on your specific use case and budget.
Which is cheaper, Smartsheet or monday.com?
Both start at $9/mo.
What is the main difference between Smartsheet and monday.com?
Smartsheet focuses on spreadsheet-style grid, gantt chart, automations. monday.com focuses on custom workflows, automations, integrations. Both serve similar use cases but differ in approach and pricing model.
Can I migrate from Smartsheet to monday.com?
Most teams migrate between Smartsheet and monday.com within a day or two. Export your data from Smartsheet (typically as CSV or via API), then use monday.com's import wizard to bring it across. Check each tool's help centre for a step-by-step migration guide before switching.