Microsoft Project vs. Smartsheet

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Project
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Project is a project management software. It provides core PM functionality, including agile workflow support and resource management. Project can be deployed in the cloud or on-premise.
$0
Smartsheet
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Smartsheet is an online project management and collaboration tool. It includes automated alerts, instantaneous updating and sharing across team members, resource management, nested tasks organized in a hierarchy, a Gantt chart view, exportable and automated reports, and integration with email.
$12
per month per user (up to 10 users)
Pricing
Microsoft ProjectSmartsheet
Editions & Modules
Project Server
$0
Planner Plan 1
$10
per month per user
Planner and Project Plan 3
$30
per month per user
Planner and Project Plan 5
$55
per month per user
Project Standard 2024
$679.99
one-time fee per installation
Project Professional 2024
$1,129.99
one-time fee per installation
Pro
$12
per month per user (up to 10 users)
Business
$24
per month per user (3 user minimum)
Enterprise
Contact Sales
Advanced Work Management
Contact Sales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft ProjectSmartsheet
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPlans are billed annually.A discount is offered for annual billing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft ProjectSmartsheet
Features
Microsoft ProjectSmartsheet
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Project
9.1
Ratings
17% above category average
Smartsheet
9.0
Ratings
16% above category average
Task Management10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Resource Management10.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Gantt Charts10.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Scheduling10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Workflow Automation10.00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Team Collaboration8.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology6.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology10.00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Document Management9.00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Email integration5.00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Mobile Access10.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking10.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Change request and Case Management10.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management10.00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Project
10.0
Ratings
28% above category average
Smartsheet
9.1
Ratings
19% above category average
Quotes/estimates10.00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Invoicing10.00 Ratings9.70 Ratings
Project & financial reporting10.00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Integration with accounting software10.00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Microsoft ProjectSmartsheet
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft ProjectSmartsheet
Likelihood to Recommend
9.6
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.2
(0 ratings)
8.1
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft ProjectSmartsheet
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft Project is the perfect platform for medium and large companies. I do not recommend this software for small businesses, because all its functions in the work plans are high cost and this would cause the small business to not perform well in the use of MS Project in the long term. It is very easy to use software, it allows adding, modifying and eliminating all kinds of assignments and tasks for all employees, it allows monitoring the progress of all projects in real time and it also shows the gaps in the planned project. It has a very good performance, it does not take up many computer resources and all the information is stored in sync with the Office 365 service. It occasionally has crashing problems, but this is something that does not affect users as much.
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The Smartsheet platform is extremely similar to Microsoft Excel, so if you are familiar with Excel, you will pick Smartsheet up quickly. Even if you aren't Smartsheet has a relatively simple user interface, meaning just about anyone can learn it. One thing to note is that the interface is that some may consider the interface so simple that they feel the need to look for more robust platforms. If you have a small to medium project that needs to be manages in a central hub, Smartsheet would be a great fit. If you have a very large project, I might consider looking into more advanced platforms.
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Pros
  • It is part of Office365 subscription. The look and feel is similar to other tools like excel. Helps in creating project plans, Gantt charts, work break down structures etc.
  • Helps in resource allocation and tracking the projects. There is an option to use it to capture timesheets too.
  • Helps project managers in producing weekly status reports and integrates well with other collaboration tools like Skype, sharepoint etc.
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  • The easy to use dashboard has enabled us get comprehensive view of projects across the entire business.
  • It has streamlined internal communication with ease of sharing information across different teams.
  • Smartsheet automates our workflows, enhances collaboration and ensures there are no data silos.
  • I like that it saves time for us and ensures we spend less time switching between apps.
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Cons
  • Remote work can be challenging - as Project must be downloaded to a specific computer.
  • Upgrading to the top of the line version can feel like a requirement. There is a lot of functionality that is not available unless in the most expensive pay-tiers.
  • Microsoft Project can be extremely expensive on a per user basis. Other tools can be much more cost-effective - especially for more basic project management needs.
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  • Smartsheet set up is similar to Excel, yet when you upload an Excel file, things like conditional formatting are lost. Smartsheet has its own conditional formatting, and you have to reinstate the rules. It would be great if those would apply automatically once a file is uploaded
  • Some Smartsheet management and access rules can take some tweaking to work properly. This may be a case of offering more info to admins so they can apply these better and with more efficiency
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Likelihood to Renew
I like using Microsoft Project. It simplifies building a schedule
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Smartsheet has made my work life easier. Reduced my email significantly. Smartsheet and SaneBox have got me leaving the office with 0... Yes 0 emails in my inbox. My inbox would reach 150-250 email per day. Smartsheet brought that number down significantly and SaneBox took it the rest of the way. Do yourself a favor and check out SaneBox, too.
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Usability
Microsoft
Project is easy to operate because data could be inserted, changed and
deleted like you are in an Excel timesheet. Besides, it provides a great
level of automation beween his fields allowing few data changes. Also, its
funcionalities are well defined and grouped in upper menus, so you can find a
funcionality quickly
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Smartsheet is very easy to learn. However, while I have been able to pick it easily, Microsoft Excel and Project super users that I have trained on Smartsheet get bogged down in the differences and can find it frustrating. Explaining the differences ahead of time and why Smartsheet is being chosen instead of a different software seems to counteract those reactions
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Support Rating
I’m giving MS Project an 8 because in general this is a solid scheduling program. It’s definitely designed with the professional in mind, and they have done well preparing the program to integrate with their other Microsoft products. The program is a workhorse so if you have serious scheduling needs then I would highly recommend MS Project.
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They're a smaller company but they've always given great service when we rarely need to reach out. Pretty good online content but a bigger user base would help to produce more content in a self-sufficient community much as we see with Salesforce. To be fair we haven't needed their direct customer support very often. The sales guys are nice and not too pushy!
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Implementation Rating
I wasn't part of it so I don't know
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Work with the Smartsheet support team to get the best overall. If no one in your organization has used Smartsheet before, the support team will get things started. We had a couple of people who had used this product before and it was a great help in getting our framework together how we wanted to use it.
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft Project provided more robust, collaborative solution to Turnkey Project Management. With Excel like sheets for Project Task Schedules are used for contractors and users it was well accepted i.e good UI UX. Integration capability of Microsoft Project Online with Power App and Power Automate + Share point made collaboration most useful. Security features of Microsoft Project is managed by Azure Active Directory Settings.
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Smartsheet is a dedicated project management tool that is built on spread sheet principles. When compared to Microsoft's own offering, Smartsheet came out on top in some areas like dedicated project management features vs having to build custom features to Microsoft 365. However when you compare them on price, Microsoft 365 definitely has more value than Smartsheet.
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Return on Investment
  • Since it is reasonable priced and flexible and fits into our Microsoft products, it meets our objectives
  • It has prevented expensive scope creep, this has saved us money and had solid ROI
  • Project does require light training cost to use it effectively
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  • Our positive ROI has decreased the overall cost in project management as it reduced the amount of MS project licenses we needed.
  • We have also seen a positive ROI on using the cloud storage and it automatically supports proper version control.
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ScreenShots