Smartsheet and Airtable are each cloud-based challenge administration software program that can be utilized for challenge administration and take their design cues from spreadsheets. Whereas they could look related at first look, there are elementary underlying variations that impression how every device operates.
Smartsheet is a workflow and challenge administration device that mimics the look of a spreadsheet. This cloud-based device may be accessed through your net browser, desktop apps for Home windows and Mac or cell apps for iOS and Android.
Airtable is a cloud-based collaboration device that enables groups to construct their very own customized low-code apps and to create and share relational databases. Airtable may be accessed through your net browser, desktop apps for Home windows and Mac or cell apps for iOS and Android.
On this information, I examine Smartsheet and Airtable that will help you work out if considered one of them is correct for your online business.
Smartsheet vs. Airtable: Comparability
| A number of challenge views | (kinds, grid, gantt, calendar and card views) |
(11 views together with kanban, gallery and listing views) |
| Venture templates | ||
| Venture and activity administration | ||
| Devoted PM answer | ||
| Is a relational database | ||
| AI | ||
| Without end free plan | ||
| Beginning value (per person monthly, billed yearly) | ||
| Beginning value (per person monthly, billed month-to-month) | ||
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Smartsheet vs. Airtable: Pricing
Smartsheet and Airtable provide tiered pricing constructions based mostly on the variety of customers and options wanted. They each provide a free plan — Smartsheet’s free plan is on the market to 1 person and two editors, whereas Airtable’s free plan presents limitless bases of as much as 1,000 data per base and as much as 5 editors. They each provide three paid plans, respectively.
Airtable is costlier than Smartsheet on their comparable plans. For instance, Airtable’s Crew plan is $20 per person monthly when billed month-to-month, whereas Smartsheet’s Professional plan is $9 per person monthly when billed month-to-month.
Smartsheet pricing
Along with the Without end Free plan, Smartsheet presents a 30-day free trial of the Marketing strategy, so you possibly can attempt it before you purchase.
- Free: 1 person and as much as 2 editors.
- Professional: $7 per person monthly, billed yearly, or $9 per person monthly, billed month-to-month. Max 10 customers with limitless viewers
- Enterprise: $25 per person monthly, billed yearly, or $32 per person monthly, billed month-to-month. Min one person with limitless editors.
- Enterprise: Customized pricing.
For extra particulars, learn our Smartsheet assessment.
Airtable pricing
Along with the Without end Free plan, Airtable presents a 14-day free trial of the Professional plan, so you possibly can attempt it before you purchase.
- Free: 5 editors and limitless bases.
- Crew: $20 per person monthly, billed yearly, or $24 per person monthly, billed month-to-month.
- Enterprise: $45 per person monthly, billed yearly, or $54 per person monthly, billed month-to-month.
- Enterprise Scale: Customized pricing.
For extra particulars, learn our Airtable assessment.
Smartsheet vs. Airtable: Function comparability
Venture views and templates
Smartsheet combines challenge administration instruments with a well-recognized spreadsheet-like interface, a.okay.a. the grid view. You can even swap to Gantt chart view, calendar view or card view, the latter of which is a kanban-style interface. Smartsheet presents over 350 templates to hurry up the setup course of, or you possibly can construct a challenge from scratch. Some template examples embody particular person activity monitoring, an e mail marketing campaign plan and a value monitoring template.
Determine A
Airtable presents loads of templates to shortly get you began. For instance, by deciding on the default challenge tracker template, Airtable will mechanically create a base and fill it with pattern information. Or you possibly can select from 20 further challenge administration templates if the default one doesn’t suit your wants. Free accounts include grid, calendar, kind and kanban views — however you’ll have to improve to a Professional account in order for you Gantt chart or timeline views, which is a little bit of a disadvantage.
Determine B
Process administration
Smartsheet and Airtable provide all the elemental activity administration options you’d anticipate. Nevertheless, they use barely completely different language to explain issues, which might make it complicated for potential customers who’re unfamiliar with both platform. As an example, Smartsheet calls a challenge a “sheet,” whereas Airtable calls it a “base” (brief for database). Smartsheet typically refers to a activity as a “row,” whereas Airtable sometimes calls duties “records” (nonetheless, you possibly can change this should you favor one thing else).
Each techniques can help you share a challenge with teammates, assign a activity to your self or another person, and set deadlines for duties. Each additionally provide native time monitoring talents, so that you don’t want a separate platform. Nevertheless, Airtable considers time monitoring an extension (or additional function), and lower-tier plans are restricted in what number of extensions you should use per base. For instance, the free plan solely will get one extension per base.
You possibly can add attachments and information in every device, albeit in a barely completely different method. Smartsheet allows you to add information to each the whole sheet and a particular row, relying in your wants. In Airtable, it’s essential to create an attachment subject earlier than importing the specified doc, which provides an additional step to the method.
Crew collaboration
Each Smartsheet and Airtable can help you touch upon objects, tag colleagues in messages and reply to feedback straight inside the device. Nevertheless, neither service permits you to react to feedback with an emoji, resembling a thumbs up or smiley face, which is a function that almost all different enterprise challenge administration software program gives. This implies you’ll want to depart a reply each time you need to acknowledge a coworker’s remark, which customers say may be annoying.
Determine C
Moreover, neither platform presents direct messages like Asana or a local video chat choice like Teamwork. Whereas these further options aren’t as customary as emoji reactions, they’re nonetheless useful. You’ll want to maneuver to a special software program — resembling Slack or Zoom — if you wish to have an prolonged dialogue, particularly one which isn’t tied on to a selected activity.
Determine D
Integrations
Presently, Smartsheet presents 85+ integrations, whereas Airtable presents 35. Each join with widespread e mail and calendar purchasers resembling Outlook and Gmail, doc administration providers like Field and Dropbox, and CRMs resembling HubSpot and Salesforce.
Nevertheless, their integrations don’t overlap as a lot as you may anticipate. As an example, Airtable has native integration with challenge administration apps resembling Asana and Trello, whereas Smartsheet syncs with a variety of information visualization instruments resembling Energy BI and Qlik. You can even join every software program to hundreds extra apps by means of Zapier.
Ease of use
Smartsheet is mostly considered as simpler to make use of in comparison with Airtable, particularly for customers who’re searching for a extra structured and out-of-the-box answer. Smartsheet gives a user-friendly interface that’s intuitive and acquainted to these accustomed to spreadsheets.
Whereas Airtable can also be user-friendly, its distinctive hybrid of spreadsheet and database performance might require a bit extra time for customers to totally grasp. Its extra sturdy customization choices might also require a barely steeper studying curve for customers who are usually not as acquainted with databases or those that favor a extra structured method.
Smartsheet execs and cons
Execs of Smartsheet
- Spreadsheet-based design shall be acquainted to many.
- Over 350 challenge templates can be found.
- Glorious safety protocols.
- Complete reporting and analytics.
Cons of Airtable
- Sometimes pages don’t replace in actual time and autosave can glitch.
- Some options like useful resource administration are additional paid add-ons.
- Doesn’t replicate all Excel options.
- Spreadsheet-based design feels outdated in comparison with different kanban-style apps.
Airtable execs and cons
Execs of Airtable
- Extremely customizable and versatile platform that goes past challenge administration.
- Interface design device may be very granular.
- Actual-time information updates enable for workforce collaboration.
- Integrates with many various apps.
Cons of Airtable
- Should pay for a Professional plan to get Gantt charts and timeline views.
- Has a little bit of a studying curve because of all of the options.
- Not as highly effective as devoted spreadsheet software program.
- Complicated interface could make it unnecessarily difficult so as to add info.
Ought to your group use Smartsheet or Airtable?
Smartsheet is extra of a “true” challenge administration device, with all of the options you’d anticipate for that. Then again, Airtable is extra of a database administration device with some challenge administration options. As such, every could be a good match for various use instances.
In the event you stay in Excel, you then’ll in all probability take pleasure in Smartsheet’s spreadsheet-based design. Nevertheless, it might really feel considerably outdated in comparison with different Smartsheet options, resembling monday.com, Wrike and ClickUp. Smartsheet does provide a strong choice of challenge administration options, however its conventional design is what units it aside. In the event you’re not dedicated to the spreadsheet-like interface, then it could be price wanting into another rivals that provide related (or higher) performance in a extra up to date design.
Then again, should you’re principally trying to handle information and construct low-code workforce apps on a single system, Airtable is the precise selection for you. Whereas its databases are formatted like spreadsheets, you should use the device to do rather more than run formulation or plan tasks, resembling gathering buyer suggestions and monitoring gross sales. In actual fact, some groups select to make use of Airtable for his or her information administration wants and a special app (resembling Smartsheet) for his or her challenge administration wants. You could possibly probably use each collectively and combine them utilizing Zapier.
Unsure if both Smartsheet or Airtable is correct on your wants? Take a look at our listing of the finest challenge administration software program for 2024.
Evaluation methodology
To check Smartsheet and Airtable, I consulted demo movies, product documentation, person evaluations and group useful resource boards. I thought of elements resembling pricing, interface design, ease of use and integration, in addition to options resembling challenge views, activity administration, workforce collaboration and challenge templates.
