ToolStack

Smartsheet vs Confluence

Side-by-side comparison · Updated 2026-03-30

Our VerdictSmartsheet wins overall

Smartsheet outranks Confluence on our weighted score — heavier on review volume, lighter on raw rating. If your team is squarely in scaleup territory, Smartsheet is likely the stronger fit.

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

Choose Confluence if…

Choose Confluence if your team focuses on product requirements documentation and team wiki and fits a startup, scaleup profile. Starting at $6.05/user/mo/user/mo with a free tier. Deep native integration with Jira makes it the de facto documentation tool for teams already using Atlassian — Jira issues embed seamlessly in pages

Smartsheet
by Smartsheet
4.4
out of 5 · 21k+ G2 reviews
Visit Smartsheet ↗
Confluence
by Atlassian
4.1
out of 5 · 4k+ G2 reviews
Visit Confluence ↗

Feature Comparison

FeatureSmartsheetConfluence
Category
work_management
documentation
G2 Score
4.4 / 5.0Better
4.1 / 5.0
G2 Reviews
21000
3600
Free Tier
Starting Price
$9/user/mo
$6.05/user/moBetter
Mobile App
AI Features
API Access
SSO / SAML
SOC 2
Learning Curve
moderate
moderate
Platforms
web, mac, windows, ios, android
web, mac, windows, ios, android

Pros & Cons

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

Confluence

Pros
✓ Deep native integration with Jira makes it the de facto documentation tool for teams already using Atlassian — Jira issues embed seamlessly in pages
✓ Extensive template library with 100+ templates for PRDs, meeting notes, retrospectives, decision logs, and more — accelerates team onboarding
✓ Real-time collaborative editing with inline comments, @mentions, and page watching enables asynchronous team communication at scale
✓ Powerful space and page tree organization allows structured knowledge bases that scale from small teams to thousands of users
Cons
✗ Search functionality is frequently criticized — finding content across large instances with thousands of pages is unreliable and slow
✗ Page editor, while improved with the new editor, still feels less fluid than Notion or modern wiki tools for rapid content creation
✗ Information architecture degrades over time — spaces and pages become disorganized without dedicated governance and regular content audits

Frequently Asked Questions

It depends on your needs. Smartsheet scores 4.4/5 on G2, while Confluence scores 4.1/5. Smartsheet is better for project_tracking and resource_management, while Confluence excels at product_requirements_documentation and team_wiki.
Smartsheet starts at $9/user/mo per user/month with a free tier. Confluence starts at $6.05/user/mo per user/month with a free tier.
Smartsheet supports 150 integrations, while Confluence supports 3,000.
Full Smartsheet Review →Full Confluence Review →
Data verified 2026-03-30. Some links may be affiliate links — see disclosure.