Google Sheets vs. Smartsheet

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Sheets
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Google Sheets is the spreadsheet app available on Google Workspace, or standalone, with a free plan for personal use and accessible via mobile apps for iOS and Android.N/A
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
Google SheetsSmartsheet
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
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
Google SheetsSmartsheet
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsA discount is offered for annual billing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Google SheetsSmartsheet
Considered Both Products
Google Sheets
Chose Google Sheets
Google Sheets is better than smartsheets and excel when it comes to integrating into different applications for automation as well as for team collaboration. While excel is better for analysis and higher level formulas/Marcos when working in a team environment or involving …
Chose Google Sheets
I prefer the look of Google Sheets. I also love that it is easily shared.
Chose Google Sheets
My organization uses Google Sheets instead of Microsoft Excel because we are a Google shop. Sheets permissions are especially easy via existing Google Workspace groups. We're a very collaborative company that values easy browser-based simultaneous document editing and …
Chose Google Sheets
From my experience, Google sheets doesn't compare to excel. It suffices for basic spreadsheet needs but does not compare in terms of functionality. An organizational change led me to the opportunity to use Excel and I'm happy to have made the switch and have not looked back. …
Chose Google Sheets
Microsoft Excel is very similar, I don't have much to say in comparison. I have not tried using formulas in Google Sheets. OneDrive is also very similar but it autosaves so you don't have to worry about saving information or forgetting to save and losing data. It is also …
Chose Google Sheets
In my opinion, based on my own experience, I believe that Google Sheets stands in the second position in my list of spreadsheet software largely because of things such as ease to share and access data, multiple edits simultaneously and keep a track of the real-time changes, …
Chose Google Sheets
Microsoft Excel might be good for large-scale local work, but Google Sheets is so fast and clean. I have also used other systems like Air Table, and Excel online, but honestly Google Sheets is so ubiquitous and easy to use I always start there first. Other software products I …
Chose Google Sheets
Google Sheets is newest of all and is easy to understand. It has better UI or display then rest all. Minimal design helps to focus more on work. In built chat features is one that makes it stand out of league then rest of all. Unlike MS Excel and LibreOffice it is available …
Chose Google Sheets
Microsoft Excel is much more functional and has more functions/capabilities than Google Sheets. It is also faster compared to Google Sheets. On the other side, Google Sheets is better for collaboration and saves you a lot of time. As I usually do not work with big files I …
Chose Google Sheets
We selected it for it's nearly universal integration capabilities to pull data from all the programs in our tech stack for deeper analysis in Tableau. It integrates with Tableau, which is the number one reason we decided to use it. It's a lot more user friendly than Excel, even …
Chose Google Sheets
Microsoft Excel has more in-depth formulas you can use, but overall it can get quite confusing and overwhelming. Google Sheets is more approachable, and easier to learn and collaborate with.
Chose Google Sheets
clearly a win-win situation by using Google sheets, [especially] for remote work and teamwork! Microsoft Excel does not allow any of that unless you have a pay version of it.
Chose Google Sheets
I find Google Sheets much simpler and easier to use than Microsoft Excel. It is free which can make a huge difference if you are on a budget. It is also entirely web-based which makes sharing and collaborating much easier as well as ensuring that there is only one version of …
Chose Google Sheets
Google sheets has a clear advantage. It is more simple to use for daily applications, allows for easier collaboration, and has portability (offline working). It allows for easy sharing and integration with other Google online programs such as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, …
Chose Google Sheets
I enjoy the ease of access and sharing information with anyone, google sheets is great for that. You can easily send a link in an email or text message which makes it easier than other programs because you have to purchase separately if their software doesn't come included at …
Chose Google Sheets
We originally selected Google Sheets for its easy to use interface and seamless connection throughout using Google for all of our business. We love how all the different google apps connect and make it easy to share things with the team.
Chose Google Sheets
Google Sheets allows for all of the capabilities of Microsoft Excel, but with real-time edits that can create a collaborative experience across teams. By being able to access people's changes in real-time, it makes for an easier work experience, especially in the remote world …
Chose Google Sheets
Google Sheets is very good in performance and can be accessed from anywhere being a cloud application. That is the major differentiator for it. Sharing of documents is not a difficult task anymore and no need to use space from our personal devices. It is very simple to access …
Chose Google Sheets
On Microsoft, we can't edit the documents at the same time with our friends and co-workers, we need to save everything on the computer memory. I find Google Sheets to be a lot superior, by allowing us to save everything up in the cloud, to read, share and edit whatever document …
Chose Google Sheets
The biggest kicker here is that Google Sheets is free. On top of that, it is way easier to share the file with other users who are not within our company, with easy controls over how they can access and what exactly they can do with the file. Also, being able to see who all has …
Chose Google Sheets
I feel Google Sheets is better compared to the many available competitors thanks to its many features and also easy integration with Google products. It is also easy to use and is available online.
Chose Google Sheets
Microsoft Excel and Numbers on Mac. Used the first reiteration of the Windows 365 and was terrible.

It stacks up well against excel due to power of two other Google products 1) Google search and 2) YouTube. If you cannot find an article or video to help you might be …
Chose Google Sheets
The major reason I use Google Sheets over Microsoft Excel and Apple Numbers is for its ability to allow multiple users to access and work on the same spreadsheet at once. This is incredibly more efficient and effective than updating and sending copies upon copies of the same …
Smartsheet
Chose Smartsheet
I use both. Excel for more data/spreadsheet focused tasks and Smartsheet for our event planning and project management. Smartsheet allows for collaboration, has project management features like task tracking and the Gantt chart, and even has some handy automation features …
Chose Smartsheet
I tried Miro for a while and it just didn't have the features Smartsheet does. If I'm going to pay for a "supercharged Excel," I expect to really do a ton more than Excel!
Chose Smartsheet
It allows team collaboration.
Project monitoring is very easy.
Dashboards are very good for the project reporting.
Chose Smartsheet
Asana and monday.com are typical project management tools where resources can be tracked based on the tasks, etc. Smartsheet does exactly the same but additionally allows people outside of PM to automate their data collaboration with other employees. The solutions that …
Chose Smartsheet
Smartsheet is user friendly with easy to use templates as compared to Microsoft project. Other thing is collaboration which cannot be achieved in Microsoft project. Smartsheet has different types of pricing for different types of users but Microsoft project only offers …
Chose Smartsheet
Jira is better on user interface and task tracking. However the dashboard isn't as versatile as on Smartsheet. That being said, it takes maintenance to keep the Smartsheet dashboard updated regularly (not automated).
Chose Smartsheet
Definitely a lot more intuitive and a lot less clunky and confusing. When I have to introduce Smartsheet to other team members who have experience with MS project they are overwhelmed with how easy it is and feel a lot more engaged when developing their own workbooks
Chose Smartsheet
Smartsheet enable users to build the more custom solutions that can include workflows, reports, dashboards, sheet data, reminders, etc. It allows to create the most complete reports and have available thousand of already built solutions on the Solution Center. Also, has the …
Chose Smartsheet
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. …
Chose Smartsheet
Jira and Redmine are much more robust and technologically advanced project management solutions. I enjoy using either when managing a very large project. However, I prefer to use Smartsheet for my smaller to medium sized projects. As for Google Drive - I would say that Google …
Chose Smartsheet
It has been my favorite alternative; I can control Smartsheet from my mobile device since, as a manager, it allows me to visualize the files made through it, with the convenience of any time and space.
Chose Smartsheet
Price and ease of collaboration was the deciding factor and since we made this decision quite awhile ago, Microsoft Project's collaboration features were not there yet, making Smartsheet the clear winner. Many of our Project Manager were comfortable working with Microsoft …
Chose Smartsheet
Smartsheet makes it simple to plan and budget on projects, streamline business workflows and improve overall customer service. The pricing plans are affordable and businesses that implement Smartsheet enjoy tremendous long-term value. Employee work performance is boosted and …
Chose Smartsheet
I believe Smartsheet is much easier to use than Asana. There is a better way to collaborate with colleagues and track your progress on projects. There is a better structure on how to set up your system. It has better filters to see what you have accomplished vs what is open and …
Chose Smartsheet
Functionality is far superior and very easy to use.
Chose Smartsheet
Smartsheet is an exceptionally robust and ,offer unique hybrid solution to manage projects and automate workflows that is based on accurate data. It offers better time-saving functions that speeds up delivery of projects on schedule and using the allocated resources.
Chose Smartsheet
Smartsheet has been a positive success; it has been easy to use and quite intuitive. It allowed us to foster collaboration between colleagues.
Chose Smartsheet
Works more efficiently than MPP as updates can happen in real time in the cloud and be collaborated on with other team members.
Chose Smartsheet
Before utilizing Smartsheet we utilized a combination of Quip and an in-house developed task management tool. Even though we did not utilize Smartsheet for all of our project management needs it did provide a useful structure for planning a schedule for routine tasks and …
Chose Smartsheet
Other software's are more geared towards the construction process while Smartsheet is more geared to generic Project Management, no specific to the construction industry. We are using Smartsheet to communicate with our client and not to manage construction so from that …
Chose Smartsheet
I prefer the more traditional usability of Smartsheet. It's like Microsoft Project or Excel, but far easier for my organization to access. We don't currently have it set up as our resource manager or integrate it with our timesheets (our problem, not Smartsheet), and I think …
Chose Smartsheet
Smartsheet is much easier to collaborate on than Microsoft or Primavera in terms of scheduling software, but lacks the customizability of its competitors. You can also much easier link projects together when master scheduling which is a huge advantage compared to Microsoft …
Chose Smartsheet
We use Basecamp for our day-to-day in-house operations, but need a more "rigid" structure (spreadsheet) for managing projects with clients. Everything is in one place in Smartsheet and clients are able to find and use it easily.
Chose Smartsheet
All the products seemed to perform the project and task management function adequately. The following factors were the keys to our selection:
  1. Ease of use - so similar to Excel everyone can figure it out.
  2. Flexible architecture lends itself to many different use cases beyond …
Chose Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a must to companies that are in need of automating key business processes that will save them time and eliminate productivity killers. This software enables teams identify bottlenecks early on tasks and projects that are due so that they are able plan on a course …
TrustRadius Insights
Google SheetsSmartsheet
Highlights

TrustRadius
Research Team Insight
Published

Users have consistently emphasized the robust project management capabilities of Smartsheet. It is widely praised for its advanced features such as Gantt charts, extensive automation, and data visualization tools, which facilitate comprehensive project tracking and management. Smartsheet is particularly appreciated in environments that require intricate planning and collaboration amongst various stakeholders, offering both project managers and team members a platform to monitor progress efficiently.

In contrast, Google Sheets is predominantly recognized for its accessibility, ease of use, and integration with other Google Workspace tools. Users value Google Sheets for tasks that require real-time collaboration and straightforward data management. While it may lack some of the advanced project management features of Smartsheet, its simplicity and seamless integration with familiar tools make it a preferred choice for users who prioritize ease of use and quick setup over detailed project tracking.

Overall, while both platforms serve fundamental data handling and collaboration needs, Smartsheet stands out for detailed project management, whereas Google Sheets offers greater simplicity and ease of adoption for general spreadsheet tasks.

Features
Google SheetsSmartsheet
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Google Sheets
-
Ratings
Smartsheet
9.0
Ratings
16% above category average
Task Management00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Resource Management00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Gantt Charts00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Scheduling00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Workflow Automation00 Ratings8.10 Ratings
Team Collaboration00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Document Management00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Email integration00 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Mobile Access00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Change request and Case Management00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management00 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
Google Sheets
-
Ratings
Smartsheet
9.1
Ratings
19% above category average
Quotes/estimates00 Ratings8.80 Ratings
Invoicing00 Ratings9.80 Ratings
Project & financial reporting00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Integration with accounting software00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google SheetsSmartsheet
Small Businesses
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
Stackby
Stackby
Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.7 out of 10
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Excel
Score 8.7 out of 10
InEight
InEight
Score 8.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google SheetsSmartsheet
Likelihood to Recommend
8.9
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.5
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Availability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.0
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(0 ratings)
8.1
(0 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google SheetsSmartsheet
Likelihood to Recommend
Google Sheets is a great tool mostly for people in the finance department such as accountants who have to analyze hundreds of transactions. The software makes it easy to organize data and handle some analysis. Also, when it comes to data presentation, Google Sheets offers some of the best features. However, this is not to sat people outside the finance docket cannot benefit from this software. It is a great tool to have when handling data.
Read full review
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 a cloud-based platform.
  • You can work in the same file simultaneously with your colleagues.
  • It allows you to share files much faster.
  • It allows you to access your Google Sheet files whenever you like and wherever you like if you have stable internet connection.
  • It has great integration with other Google software.
  • Google Sheets is very user-friendly and very intuitive to use.
Read full review
  • 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.
Read full review
Cons
  • Shifting to Sheets after years and years of Excel is like learning to crawl after I've been running for years. Some sort of translator document. Such as if you use XYZ in Excel, the same function can be found here in Sheets
  • Functionality shuts down after 5K or so lines are used. I work in finance. We have hundreds of thousands of transactions we need to analyze.
  • If Big Query is the answer to large amounts of data, it needs to be as easy to use as Sheets is.
Read full review
  • 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 am not involved in the purchase/selection process, but my organization is a Google shop, and Sheets meets most of our spreadsheet needs and works seamlessly with our other tools. I don't anticipate our switching anytime soon.
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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
Overall the formula functions could improve but there's workarounds for them. Utilzing different formulas or approaches for building out accounting schedules. While collebrating with multiple team members and different departments being able to go in and see where others are on the sheets is helpful. Google Sheets overall is a great product
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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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Reliability and Availability
Like most Google products, Google Sheets rarely has outages or slowness, and when it does, connection is always momentarily restored. I can't recall a time when I've been unable to access Google Sheets but able to access other sites just fine. That said, errors aren't uncommon when handling large data volume. You know what they say about using spreadsheets as databases, but sometimes it's just the most convenient option, especially for smaller or one-off projects, and not being able to store large amounts of data hampers our ability to move quickly with scrappy prototypes or full solutions. It would be great if we could better integrate our data manipulation (Apps Script) with big data in the sheet.
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No answers on this topic
Performance
Again, Google Sheets is no exception to Google's general high speed and reliability, but load times can be slow for larger amounts of data. I've used Sheets with Zapier and have used the Python API, and speed has never been an issue.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
I have never contacted Google Sheets support, but Google Sheets makes it very easy to report an issue or suggest a feature from Sheets itself (Help > Help Sheets improve), and I've had mostly good experiences with support for other Google products.
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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
No answers on this topic
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 Excel and Numbers on Mac. Used the first reiteration of the Windows 365 and was terrible. It stacks up well against excel due to power of two other Google products 1) Google search and 2) YouTube. If you cannot find an article or video to help you might be disappointed but keep looking.
Read full review
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.
Read full review
Scalability
Google Sheets works very well with multiple users. It's convenient to see in real-time who is collaborating in a sheet, down to the specific cell that they're viewing/editing. Linking Sheets across departments is convenient with the IMPORTRANGE function.
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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • We've used it to prepare quick budgets, presentations for funds that have helped raise money
  • It has helped us quickly analyze raw data, collaboratively.
  • it has helped us work more efficiently by making it easier to work from one sheet and not lose track of versions by passing around attached documents
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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.
Read full review
ScreenShots