Smartsheet vs Zoho Projects in 2024: Cost, Features, Integrations & Security Compared
Are spreadsheets still a thing? They sure are, and Smartsheet has built a project management tool around them. In this comparison, we'll see if Smartsheet, which software developers and financial firms love, can compete with Zoho Projects, a modern, do-it-all Agile tool. Find out which is right for you in our Smartsheet vs Zoho Projects comparison.
Written by Brett Day (Editor)
Reviewed by Aleksander Hougen (Managing Editor)
Facts checked by Eugenie Tiu (Editorial Assistant)
Last Updated: 2024-03-16T17:02:12+00:00
All our content is written fully by humans; we do not publish AI writing. Learn more here.
Key Takeaways: Smartsheet and Zoho Projects
- The main differences between Zoho Projects and Smartsheet are that Zoho Projects is easier to use and more affordable than Smartsheet.
- Smartsheet’s spreadsheets are the best you’ll find, and those familiar with them and their formulas will be in heaven.
- Zoho Projects is incredibly versatile, and its easy-to-use tools and features are perfect for Agile teams, large and small.
Whether you run a software development team, work in professional services, the financial sector or many other areas, you’re here because you need a project management suite. Smartsheet and Zoho Projects, both of which are mentioned in our roundup of the best project management software, have caught your eye. Find out which is best in our Smartsheet vs Zoho Projects comparison.
In this guide, we’ll show you what’s hot about these competing platforms — and what’s not, so that you can better understand what both platforms offer in key areas.
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How Did We Rate Smartsheet vs Zoho Projects?
We reviewed both Smartsheet (here’s our Smartsheet review) and Zoho Projects (here’s our Zoho Projects review), and evaluated the platforms’ tools, features and ease of use. Our ratings are based on our reviews.
Zoho Projects vs Smartsheet: Similarities & Differences
All project management suites have similarities and differences. The table below lets you quickly see what Zoho Projects and Smartsheet have in common and where they differ.
 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| $7 / month(All Plans) | $4 / month(All Plans) | |
| Review | Review | |
| Management Views | ||
| Kanban board | ||
| List | ||
| Calendar | ||
| Timeline | ||
| Spreadsheet view | ||
| Gantt charts | ||
| Workload planning | ||
| Long-term planning | ||
| Management Features | ||
| Multiple project management | ||
| Dependency management | ||
| Native scrum management | ||
| Set user permissions | ||
| File storage | ||
| Time-tracking | ||
| Built-in integrations | ||
| Reporting features | ||
| General Features | ||
| Free plan | ||
| Free Trial | 30 days | |
| Web app | ||
| Windows | ||
| MacOS | ||
| Android | ||
| iOS | ||
| Support | ||
| Ticket-based support | ||
| Tutorials | ||
| Knowledgebase | ||
| Forum | ||
| Live chat | ||
| Phone support |
Similarities
In the following sections, we’ll take a closer look at the similarities between Smartsheet and Zoho Projects. There are probably a few more than you might think.
Core Features
Smartsheet and Zoho Projects have similar core features for teams to collaborate and manage workflow capabilities. Both platforms provide mobile apps for iOS and Android mobile phones. In addition, there are multiple task views, time-tracking tools, customizable dashboards, support for integrations, automations and reporting functions.
Regarding core features, Smartsheet and Zoho Projects have most of what modern project management software needs for organizations or small teams to plan, organize, track and complete various tasks in numerous fields.
Security
Zoho and Smartsheet take security seriously. They use AES-256 and Transport Layer Security encryption methods to keep your data safe and are ISO and SOC 2 compliant. In addition, they’ve included safeguards such as two-factor authentication, SAML and single sign-on policies. Smartsheet has even rolled out a bug bounty program.
Task Management Tools
Zoho Projects is an all-in-one project management tool that supports multiple project management methodologies. Surprisingly, Smartsheets — which puts spreadsheets first — also offers views and tools that help make it flexible. You’ll find tables, lists, Gantt charts, calendars and Kanban boards in both.
Zoho Projects’ kanban boards, Gantt charts, lists and tables are all top-notch, intuitive and easy to use. Kanban boards display a lot of information, and the Gantt charts and lists are clean. Task cards can be personalized with custom fields, and adding project details such as due dates, assignees and attaching files are all straightforward.
If you work on complex tasks and projects, you’ll be pleased to know that Zoho Projects supports dependencies, subtasks and milestones and can be integrated with Zoho Sprints for those who prefer to use scrum methods over kanban.
Smartsheet’s tools are just as robust as those of Zoho Projects. The spreadsheets are extremely powerful. You can add comments to individual rows and columns, upload images, assign team members and due dates, and attach files to the tasks listed. You can also use formulas. The spreadsheets aren’t pretty, but they’re incredibly functional.
Smartsheet’s other task management tools (Gantt charts, kanban boards, calendars) are simple but have all the basic functionality you’d expect to find. You can add custom fields, create dependencies and subtasks, and track milestones. So whether you’re working on a simple or complex project, Smartsheet provides the tools needed.
If you want an idea on how to use Smartsheet, check out the guide we made.
Integrations and Automations
Like many other modern project management software suites, Zoho Projects and Smartsheet support integrations and automations. Building automations that send out automatic emails, alert team members to changes and complete recurring tasks is easy, thanks to premade templates and automation-building tools.
Regarding integrations, you’ll find that Zoho Projects and Smartsheet offer links to many third-party applications. Included are integrations for multiple Google apps, some of the best cloud storage services, communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams, Hubspot and more. Should you not find an integration you need, you can always integrate with Zapier.
In addition to third-party integrations, you can integrate Zoho Projects with multiple Zoho-branded products, too. There are integrations for Zoho Invoice, Zoho CRM, Zoho People and many other platforms under the Zoho umbrella. Of course, the Zoho products have subscription models, but they can help make Zoho Projects incredibly versatile.
If you’re like millions of others who use multiple pieces of software to run your business, you’ll find that the integrations on offer will help you turn these two pieces of project management software into powerful workplace solutions.
Differences
We’ve looked at similarities between Zoho Projects and Smartsheet. Now, we’ll examine a few key differences that will likely make you pick one of these tools over the other.
Free Plans
Both options offer tiers at various prices and provide free options, but the free versions could be better.
Zoho Projects’ free version supports three users and two projects, and it offers limited storage space. You’ll find basic task management tools, but the Gantt chart is read-only and integrations are limited. You can use the mobile apps, which is a plus. Unfortunately, advanced functions like subtasks and time-tracking are not supported.
Smartsheet’s free plan is better. There’s support for one user and two editors. You get two sheets; 500MB of storage space; 100 automations; and Gantt, grid, calendar and dashboard views. Reports are unlimited, though, and you can use formulas and functions, dependencies, and integrations. However, there aren’t any advanced admin options.
Pricing
Smartsheet and Zoho Projects couldn’t be more different in terms of pricing and plans.
Zoho Projects Pricing
Zoho provides users with two paid plans. First is the Premium plan, which costs $4 per user per month if you pay for a year up front and $5 per user if you pay monthly. The top-tier Enterprise plan is only $9 per user per month paid annually and $10 per user with monthly payments.
Smartsheet Pricing
Smartsheet’s three plans (Pro, Business and Enterprise) are not so affordable or flexible. The Pro plan, which has a maximum user count of 10, costs $7 per member per month with annual payments and $9 per user monthly.
- 1 user, up to 2 editors, Limited features, 500MB file storage,
- Prices per user, Max 10 users Basic features, 20GB file storage
- Prices per user, Three user minimum, Unlimited free users, Expanded features, 300GB file storage
- Advanced features
The Business plan, which requires a minimum of three users, skyrockets in price to $25 per member monthly if you pay annually and $32 per user if you pay monthly. You’ll need to contact Smartsheet for an Enterprise quote.
If you’re looking for the best feature-to-price proposition, Zoho Projects is the way to go, unless you need class-leading spreadsheets.
User-Friendliness and Learning
If the term user-friendly is important to you, Zoho Projects is the direction you need to go in. We have reviewed many project management platforms and can say that Zoho Projects is one of the easiest platforms to learn and use, while Smartsheet is one of the most challenging.
Zoho Projects is so well designed that finding your way around takes minutes. The menus make sense, and the tools and views are intuitive. Zoho Projects is easy on the eyes and operates smoothly. The mobile application is fantastic in this regard too.
Should you become stuck, you can dive into Zoho’s extensive knowledgebase that’s filled with informative articles and videos. In addition, you’ll find webinars that cover many topics, issue tracking, and there’s a large community forum where you can get help too. There are also phone numbers on the site if you want to talk to a live rep.
Smartsheet also has a fantastic knowledgebase of articles and videos. There’s even a Smartsheet University and a community. This is great news, because Smartsheet is not the most user-friendly platform. The menus are fine, and navigation is straightforward; however, the tools are needlessly complicated.
Let’s be clear, Smartsheet is incredibly powerful and can do everything other project management suites can do, but you’ll need to spend a great deal of time with it to learn its tricks. You will be lost for a while unless you’re a spreadsheet wizard who knows how to use formulas to get the most out of spreadsheets.
Collaboration Tools
Collaboration tools are an important part of modern project management suites, and Zoho Projects has them, but Smartsheet is lacking in that area.
Zoho Projects is a social project management platform that has a fantastic chat app that lets you send files, images, text and voice messages to individuals and teams. This feature makes communicating easy and helps keep everyone on the same page. Zoho Projects also offers project forums where ideas and issues can be discussed.
Additionally, Projects also seamlessly integrates with Zoho Meetings, which offers access to in-app video calls and collaborative whiteboards. You can also work on documents with internal and external stakeholders in real time.
Unfortunately, aside from @mentions that can be left on spreadsheet rows, columns and task cards, Smartsheet offers little else from a collaboration standpoint and relies on third-party integrations. If teamwork and team collaboration features are important, you’ll be better off with Zoho Projects.
Which Is Better: Smartsheet vs Zoho Projects?
After reviewing Zoho Projects and Smartsheet and spending significant time with each, we feel that Zoho Projects will be the better project management software for most teams. However, only you can decide which is right for you.
We Recommend Zoho Projects if You Want…
- A versatile, Agile project management tool: Zoho’s numerous, easy-to-use tools suit various working styles.
- To save money: Zoho Projects’ paid plans offer good feature progression and won’t break the bank. It also offers a free plan.
- Plenty of integrations: With nearly 50 integrations, you can connect Zoho Projects with many leading services.
We Recommend Smartsheet if You Want…
- Best-in-class spreadsheets: You won’t find more powerful spreadsheets than the ones in Smartsheet.
- A good free plan for very small teams: If you’re a startup and need a free plan that can get the ball rolling, Smartsheet has your back.
- Comprehensive training materials: If you’re dying to use spreadsheets and want to learn how to use them effectively, Smartsheet’s University and knowledgebase will be your friend.
If You Want to Consider Other Services, Check Out…
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- 3$9.80 / month(All Plans)
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The Verdict: Why We Think Zoho Projects Wins Overall
Zoho Projects is a robust platform that can help managers and teams work on tasks and projects from start to finish with ease. There are plenty of views, time-tracking features and good collaboration tools, and all of them are straightforward to use. The free plan might not amount to much, but the affordable paid plans offer plenty for teams of all sizes.
How do you feel about our conclusion? Do you think we have made the right call? If not, why not, and what makes Smartsheet the better tool for you? Let us know in the comment section and, as always, thanks for reading.
FAQ: Zoho Projects vs Smartsheet
Smartsheet doesn’t integrate with Zoho natively, but you can connect the two with Zoho Flow.
Yes. Smartsheet is a project management tool with many views and tools that will help teams organize, track and complete tasks.
Zoho Projects is versatile enough to be used by numerous teams. Human resource professionals, creators, real estate agencies, construction companies and software development teams all use the software.