Asana vs Smartsheet
Side-by-side comparison · Updated 2026-03-30
Our Verdict
Asana and Smartsheet are too close to call — 4.4 vs 4.4 on G2. The decision hinges on your specific workflow, not the aggregate rating.
Choose Asana if…
Choose Asana if your team focuses on cross functional project management and task management and fits a startup, scaleup profile. Free tier available. Exceptionally intuitive and visually clean interface — one of the lowest onboarding friction tools for non-technical teams
Choose Smartsheet if…
Choose Smartsheet if your team focuses on project tracking and resource management and fits a scaleup, enterprise profile. Starting at $9/user/mo/user/mo with a free tier. Spreadsheet-familiar interface makes adoption easy for teams transitioning from Excel — minimal training needed for basic use
Feature Comparison
Pros & Cons
Asana
Pros
✓ Exceptionally intuitive and visually clean interface — one of the lowest onboarding friction tools for non-technical teams
✓ Multiple project views (list, board, timeline, calendar, Gantt) included from lower tiers, giving teams flexibility without add-ons
✓ Goals feature provides native OKR tracking with clear alignment from company objectives down to individual tasks
✓ Powerful Rules-based automation engine that allows no-code workflow automation across projects and teams
Cons
✗ No native idea management or customer feedback portal — product teams need separate tools like Productboard or Canny
✗ Limited sprint/agile functionality compared to Jira — Scrum teams may find sprint planning features shallow
✗ Reporting and dashboards, while improved, still lack the depth and customization of tools like Monday.com or Jira for advanced analytics
Smartsheet
Pros
✓ Spreadsheet-familiar interface makes adoption easy for teams transitioning from Excel — minimal training needed for basic use
✓ Extremely powerful Gantt chart and dependency tracking capabilities, ideal for traditional project management and waterfall methodologies
✓ Robust automation engine with conditional logic, approval workflows, and automated notifications that scale across the organization
✓ Strong portfolio-level dashboards and reporting allow PMOs to aggregate data across dozens or hundreds of projects
Cons
✗ Not designed for agile/Scrum teams — lacks native sprint planning, backlog management, and velocity tracking
✗ Pricing can escalate quickly at scale since every collaborator who edits needs a licensed seat
✗ Sheet-based architecture creates data silos — cross-sheet references and formulas become complex and brittle at scale
Frequently Asked Questions
Data verified 2026-03-30. Some links may be affiliate links — see disclosure.