project management tool · head to head
monday.com vs Smartsheet
monday.com
SituationalAhead on 2 of 6 scored axes
Read the full monday.com review →Comparison Summary
monday.com scored 6.5 and Smartsheet scored 6.0 on our project management tool test script.
monday.com: monday.com did nearly everything in our script well: a clean 200- and 500-row import, working dependencies and automations, and the most accurate AI assistant in this category so far. But almost all of it ran on the automatic Pro trial. The free plan is two seats and three boards with no automations, no calendar or Gantt and no AI, so most teams will be paying.
Smartsheet: Smartsheet is a spreadsheet that runs projects: pasting or importing our data was the easiest of any app we have tested, dependencies rescheduled tasks properly, and its AI was the only one to get everything right and create subtasks on request. But there is no free plan, recurring tasks are missing, the interface switches between a new and a classic look, and the Windows app we tested is being retired in January 2027.
Editor's Verdict
Choose monday.com if…
Best for: Teams ready to pay for a polished, flexible work-management tool with strong imports, automations and AI.
- Excellent CSV/Excel import: 200 rows in about 10 s and 500 in about 20 s, with statuses, dates and priorities
- Strict dependencies that move dependent tasks when a date changes
- Automations fired in about a second and a half
Choose Smartsheet if…
Best for: Teams who already think in spreadsheets and want Gantt charts, dependencies and automation on top, and are happy to pay and use it in the browser.
- Paste a spreadsheet and the project is built: 40 rows with phases, dates and priorities in one go
- CSV import mapped all 7 columns itself; 200 of 200 rows came back identical in the export
- Dependencies reschedule tasks automatically and skip weekends
Head to Head
Task by task
The same prompts, pasted word for word into each app on a clean Windows 11 PC. On the 8 tasks both apps were graded on, monday.com completed 3 and Smartsheet completed 4.
| Task | monday.com | Smartsheet |
|---|---|---|
| P1 · Build a project | Pass≈ 15 min | Pass≈ 5 min |
| P2 · Views | Partial≈ 4 min | Partial≈ 6 min |
| P3 · Rules | Partial≈ 7 min | Partial≈ 12 min |
| P4 · 200-row import | Pass≈ 3 min | Pass≈ 2 min |
| P5 · Scale | Pass≈ 2 min | Pass≈ 2 min |
| P6 · Permissions | Partial≈ 3 min | Partial≈ 3 min |
| P7 · AI | Partial≈ 3 min | Pass≈ 4 min |
| P8 · Leave | Partial≈ 5 min | Partial≈ 4 min |
Measured on the same PC
| Measurement | monday.com | Smartsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Installer | 97 MB | 91 MB |
| On disk | 330 MB | 379 MB |
| Starts with Windows | No | No |
| 40-task project | ≈ 15 min | ≈ 5 min |
| Cold start | ≈ 9 s | ≈ 14 s |
| Memory | 1.1 – 1.3 GB | 1.1 – 1.6 GB |
| Automation rule | ≈ 1.5 s | ≈ 5–10 s |
| Excel export | ≈ 7 s | ≈ 10 s |
| Left after uninstall | ≈ 92 MB | ≈ 87 MB |
Pros and cons
monday.com
+ What works
- Excellent CSV/Excel import: 200 rows in about 10 s and 500 in about 20 s, with statuses, dates and priorities
- Strict dependencies that move dependent tasks when a date changes
- Automations fired in about a second and a half
- Sidekick AI summarised the board, answered “what is overdue?” correctly and created real subtasks
- Instant Excel export with subitems and dependencies, plus a full account export
- Clear roles, including free view-only Viewers
− What falls short
- Free plan: 2 seats, 3 boards, no automations, no calendar or Gantt, no AI
- A new account silently starts a 14-day Pro trial
- Calendar and Gantt views showed nothing until we refreshed the app
- The import's default column types mangled our descriptions and kept tags as one label
- The installer is signed with a code-signing certificate that expired in August 2025
- Heavier than most: about 1.1–1.3 GB of memory and a 9-second cold start
Smartsheet
+ What works
- Paste a spreadsheet and the project is built: 40 rows with phases, dates and priorities in one go
- CSV import mapped all 7 columns itself; 200 of 200 rows came back identical in the export
- Dependencies reschedule tasks automatically and skip weekends
- Smart Assist got the summary and overdue answer right, and created subtasks after asking
- Per-user install with no admin rights; uninstall removes almost everything
− What falls short
- The Windows desktop app is being retired on or after January 6, 2027
- No free plan: Pro starts at $9 per member a month, billed yearly
- No recurring tasks; workflows can remind you but not create a task
- Two interfaces: Calendar, Gantt and settings open in the older classic view, which needs saving by hand
- Gantt needs a second date column, and Ctrl+V did not paste in the new table view
- No CSV export; Excel, Google Sheets or PDF, one sheet at a time
Privacy and security
What we saw on our own test PC. Each review also lists what the vendor states about data handling, training and certifications.
monday.com
Expired signing certificate
The installer is signed by monday.com Ltd with a certificate that expired in August 2025, so Windows reports the signature as not valid.
No background services
The app added no startup entry, services or listening ports.
Admin by default in sign-up
The sign-up wizard's invite step sets new members to Admin and allows automatic sign-ups from your domain unless you change it.
EU data storage
Our account's admin page showed data stored in the European Union.
Smartsheet
Signed installer
The installer is signed by Smartsheet Inc with a valid certificate.
No background services
The app added no startup entry, services or listening ports.
Clear sharing roles
Admin, two kinds of Editor, Commenter and Viewer, per sheet or per workspace.
EU data region
Sign-up offered a European Union data region (app.smartsheet.eu), which our account used.
Features & Pricing
| monday.com | Smartsheet | |
|---|---|---|
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windows | ✓ | ✓ |
| macOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Linux | — | — |
| iOS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Free plan | ✓ | — |
| Paid from | $9/mo | $9/mo |
monday.com plans
- Free€0
- Basic€9/seat/mo
- Standard€12/seat/mo
- Pro€19/seat/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
From monday.com's pricing page, checked Oct 30, 2026.
Smartsheet plans
- Pro$9/member/mo
- Business$19/member/mo
- EnterpriseContact sales
- Advanced Work ManagementContact sales
From Smartsheet's pricing page, checked Oct 30, 2026.
Cost for your team
- monday.com$540per year
- Smartsheet$540per year
Cheapest paid plan × seats × 12, at list price. Annual discounts and volume deals not included. monday.com also has a free plan.
Who makes them
- Company
- monday.com:monday.com Ltd.
- Smartsheet:Smartsheet Inc.
- Headquarters
- monday.com:Tel Aviv, Israel
- Smartsheet:Bellevue, Washington, USA
- Founded
- monday.com:2012
- Smartsheet:2005
- Funding
- monday.com:Public on Nasdaq (MNDY) since 2021.
- Smartsheet:Listed on the NYSE in 2018; taken private by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners in 2025.
Timelines, official links and sources are in each review: monday.com · Smartsheet.
Read the full reviews
This page compares the two side by side. Each full review has the complete test log, every screenshot, the scoring notes, pricing, security and company details.
monday.com reviewSituational 6.5 monday.com did nearly everything in our script well: a clean 200- and 500-row import, working dependencies and automations, and the most accurate AI assistant in this category so far. But almost all of it ran on the automatic Pro trial. The free plan is two seats and three boards with no automations, no calendar or Gantt and no AI, so most teams will be paying. Read the full review → Smartsheet reviewSituational 6.0 Smartsheet is a spreadsheet that runs projects: pasting or importing our data was the easiest of any app we have tested, dependencies rescheduled tasks properly, and its AI was the only one to get everything right and create subtasks on request. But there is no free plan, recurring tasks are missing, the interface switches between a new and a classic look, and the Windows app we tested is being retired in January 2027. Read the full review → Project Management Alternatives
ClickUp Recommended Small teams that want lists, boards, Gantt charts, automations and AI in one free workspace and do not mind a busy, heavy app 7.4 Read reviewReview 
Notion Situational Individuals and small teams who want tasks living next to their docs and wiki, and who are happy to build their own setup 6.9 Read reviewReview 
Airtable Situational Teams who want a flexible database behind their projects, with automations and reliable CSV in and out 6.8 Read reviewReview 
