Monday.com vs Smartsheet: Which Is Better in 2026?
monday.com calls itself a Work OS: colorful, table-like boards that a team shapes into whatever it needs, from project plans to content calendars to simple CRMs. Smartsheet is project management for people who think in spreadsheets. Monday.com’s strength is letting a team build its own workflow without anyone learning a project-management method first; Smartsheet’s is portfolio-level planning and reporting in a format finance and operations already understand.
01Pricing
Monday.com: the Basic plan costs $9/seat/mo, about $90 a month for a team of ten (there is a 3-seat minimum). Smartsheet: the Pro plan costs $9/member/mo, about $90 a month for a team of ten. At ten people the two cost about the same. Monday.com has a free plan (up to 2 seats and 3 boards). Smartsheet has no free plan; the trial runs 30 days.
| Team size | Monday.com | Smartsheet |
|---|---|---|
| 5 users | $45 | $45 |
| 10 users | $90 | $90 |
| 25 users | $225 | $475 (Business) |
| Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Limits | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | Up to 2 seats; Up to 3 boards; Up to 3 Docs; 8 column types | |
| Basic † | $9/seat | $12/seat | 3-seat minimum | Unlimited free viewers; Unlimited items; Basic AI; Sidekick AI assistant |
| Standard † | $12/seat | $14/seat | 3-seat minimum; 250 automation actions per month; 3 workflows | Timeline and Gantt views; Calendar view; Guest access; AI meeting notetaker |
| Pro † | $19/seat | $24/seat | 3-seat minimum; 25,000 automation actions per month; 20 workflows | Private boards and docs; Advanced board views; Time tracking; AI workflow builder |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | 250,000 automation actions per month; 250 workflows | Portfolio management; Resource management; Multi-level permissions; 99.9% uptime SLA |
| Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Limits | Adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pro | $9/member | $12/member | 1-10 Members; 250 automations per month; 20 GB attachment storage | Unlimited free Contributors; Gantt, table, board, and calendar views; Unlimited sheets, forms, and reports; Conversational AI features |
| Business | $19/member | $24/member | 3-seat minimum; 3+ Members; 1 TB attachment storage | Unlimited free Guests; Timeline view; Unlimited automations; Admin capabilities |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | 10-seat minimum; 10+ Members; Unlimited attachment storage | Scenario Planning; Portfolios; SAML-based SSO; Enterprise Plan Manager |
| Advanced Work Management | Custom | Custom | Control Center; Dynamic View; Data Shuttle; Connectors |
Prices are per month on annual billing. † marks prices taken from the vendor’s documentation or page data instead of its visible pricing page. Monday.com pricing and Smartsheet pricing have the full detail.
02The Two Tools
Monday.com
monday.com calls itself a Work OS: colorful, table-like boards that a team shapes into whatever it needs, from project plans to content calendars to simple CRMs. Automations are written as plain-language recipes, and dashboards pull numbers from several boards at once. It is one of the easiest tools here to get non-technical people to use.
- Best at
- Letting a team build its own workflow without anyone learning a project-management method first.
- Falls short
- Seats are sold in blocks with a minimum, and automation and integration allowances depend on the plan, so the real cost climbs faster than the entry price suggests.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet is project management for people who think in spreadsheets. Sheets gain Gantt charts, forms, automated workflows and dashboards, and reports roll data up across many projects. Large organizations use it for portfolio tracking where a familiar grid matters more than a modern interface.
- Best at
- Portfolio-level planning and reporting in a format finance and operations already understand.
- Falls short
- It still feels like a spreadsheet, collaboration is less fluid than in newer tools, and capabilities such as resource management cost extra.
03Which Fits Your Situation
| If you are | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Small Business | Monday.com | Non-technical staff can shape boards to their own process, though the seat minimum raises the entry cost. |
| Enterprise | Smartsheet | Portfolio roll-ups and reports in a grid that finance and operations already trust. |
| Freelancers | Neither | Neither is a natural fit for freelancers. |
| Startups | Monday.com | Easy for operations and marketing hires to adopt; watch the seat minimum. |
| Remote Teams | Monday.com | Dashboards and status columns make progress visible without a status meeting. |
04Verdict
Choose Monday.com if you want a visual, flexible workspace that non-technical teams adopt quickly. Choose Smartsheet if you run a project office that lives in spreadsheets and needs roll-up reporting.
05FAQ
Is Monday.com or Smartsheet cheaper?
For a team of ten, Monday.com comes to about $90 a month and Smartsheet to about $90. Prices are per month on annual billing.
Do Monday.com and Smartsheet have free plans?
Monday.com has a free plan (up to 2 seats and 3 boards). Smartsheet has no free plan; the trial runs 30 days.
Which is easier to learn, Monday.com or Smartsheet?
There is little between them: both are moderately involved to set up.
Which is better for small business, Monday.com or Smartsheet?
Monday.com. Non-technical staff can shape boards to their own process, though the seat minimum raises the entry cost.