Meisterplan vs Smartsheet (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Smartsheet grades higher than Meisterplan: 3.0 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 9, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Smartsheet grades higher on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Meisterplan
Portfolio and resource capacity planning for PMOs
Smartsheet
Spreadsheet-style project and work management for teams
Which one is for you
Pick Meisterplan if
- Fits if a PMO has to decide which projects to fund based on the people available
- Makes sense if you are replacing portfolio spreadsheets and have 50 or more resources to plan
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are a small team: the listed price starts at 50 resources, $700 a month on Basic
- Watch out: what-if scenarios, goals and the Jira and Smartsheet integrations are not on Basic, only Pro at $900
- Watch out: Premium is annual only and starts at 150 resources, at $3,490 a month
- Too light for day-to-day task tracking by individual teams, which the vendor does not aim it at
Pick Smartsheet if
- Fits if your team works in spreadsheets and wants project views on top of them
- Works for companies that need Gantt charts, reports and dashboards across many projects
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to stay free, as there's only a 30-day trial
- Tight if you automate a lot on Pro, which stops at 250 automations a month, 20 GB and 10 Members, and is sold to new customers only
- Pricey if you need timeline view, workload tracking or the API, since those start at Business, $19 a Member with 3 minimum
- Pricey if you need single sign-on or portfolios, which are Enterprise only, from 10 Members and priced by quote
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAMeisterplanFair | 3.0GPASmartsheetVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DBasic is $700 a month for 50 resources billed yearly, Pro $900, against a category middle of $9 a seat. The listed prices are for 50 resources, so that is the floor, and one person cannot buy it for less. Scenarios and goals need Pro. | CPro is $9 a Member a month billed yearly, between the $8 middle and the $10 dear end for project tools here, so an ordinary price. Contributors are free and unlimited, which helps. But Pro stops at 10 Members, and timeline view, workload tracking and the API all wait for Business at $19. |
| Free plan and trial | C30-day trial of Pro functionality, no credit card needed. There is no free plan. | CNo free plan. You get 30 days with no credit card asked for, and then a paid plan is the only way to carry on. |
| Features | CCapacity planning, load balancing, goals, a portfolio kanban and dashboards. Scenarios, goals and integrations are not on Basic, and the vendor positions it for portfolio planning, not day-to-day task tracking. | BIt covers the whole job: one sheet shown as a grid, a Gantt chart, cards or a calendar, rolling up into reports and dashboards, with forms for intake, automated workflows and Smart Assist for formulas. Airtable, monday and Wrike, its own named rivals, cover the same ground. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It is a web app where a PMO has to set up resources, projects and goals before it shows anything useful. | A4.85 from about 120,000 App Store ratings, which is the top band. The sheets behave like spreadsheets, so anyone who already lives in one has little new to learn. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Jira, Asana and Smartsheet integrations, a REST API and MCP access for AI tools. No phone or desktop app on record. | AThe full set: web, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android, with Microsoft Teams, Slack, Salesforce, Jira, Power BI and Tableau, and an API. The API is Business and up, mind. |
| Best for | capacity planning across a project portfolio | project plans for spreadsheet people |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Meisterplan and Smartsheet. How we grade
Price against what you get
Meisterplan starts at $700 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Smartsheet starts at $9 a month for each person and scores 3.7.
Smartsheet scores higher and starts $691 a month lower. Of the other project management tools on the chart, 58 score higher than Meisterplan for less, and none scores higher than Smartsheet for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Meisterplan also covers reports and dashboards.
- Smartsheet also covers tasks, calendar, Gantt & timelines and workflow automation.
At a glance
| Meisterplan | Smartsheet | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $700 per month for 50 resources, billed annually ($840 billed monthly) | $9 per Member / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial with Pro Edition functionality, no credit card required | 30-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | itdesign GmbH | Smartsheet Inc. |
| Price read from | meisterplan.com | smartsheet.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Meisterplan
- The listed prices are for 50 resources; the page offers packages up to 1,000 resources and a custom quote above that.
- What-if scenarios, goals and integrations are not on the Basic edition.
- Premium is billed annually only and starts at 150 resources.
- The vendor positions it for portfolio planning, not for day-to-day task tracking by individual teams.
Smartsheet
- There is no free plan; a paid plan is needed once the 30-day trial ends.
- Pro is limited to 10 Members and is only available to new customers; Business requires at least 3 Members.
- Pro is capped at 250 automations a month and 20 GB of storage.
- The API is offered from the Business plan, and SAML single sign-on needs Enterprise.
Key features
Meisterplan
- Resource capacity planning
- Plan projects against the capacity of the people or roles available, with load balancing per team.
- What-if scenarios
- Pro and Premium let a PMO try different portfolio scenarios before committing to a plan.
- Goals and prioritization
- Goals and a portfolio kanban help rank which projects to fund and start.
- Reporting dashboards
- Several ways to view and analyze portfolio data are included on Pro and above.
- Jira and Smartsheet integrations
- Pro lists integrations such as Jira and Smartsheet, and the site also covers Asana, Microsoft products, a REST API and MCP access for AI tools.
- Unlimited users
- Only resources count toward the license, so everyone who needs access to the portfolio can be given a login.
Smartsheet
- Sheets with multiple views
- Work is stored in spreadsheet-like sheets that can be switched between grid, Gantt, card and calendar views. Timeline view starts on the Business plan.
- Reports and dashboards
- Reports pull together and filter rows from sheets, and dashboards summarize the results for stakeholders.
- Forms
- Forms gather structured input such as requests, field reports and feedback. Forms are unlimited on the Pro plan and above.
- Automated workflows
- Workflows can be built from templates or from scratch for tasks such as reminders. Pro allows 250 automations a month; Business and above are unlimited.
- Resource management
- Shows who is assigned to what, so managers can even out workloads and plan for upcoming demand. Workload tracking is listed from the Business plan.
- AI tools
- Smart Assist and Smart Columns help with formulas and data analysis, and Business adds connections to external AI tools through MCP.
Plans
Meisterplan
Basic$700
per month for 50 resources, billed annually ($840 billed monthly)
Unlimited users, basic portfolio management, resource planning, load balancing per team and copy-and-paste import. The price rises with the resource count, up to 1,000.
Pro$900
per month for 50 resources, billed annually ($1,080 billed monthly)
Adds what-if scenarios, goals, portfolio kanban, more ways to analyze data and integrations such as Jira and Smartsheet. The price rises with the resource count.
Premium$3,490
per month for 150 resources, billed annually
Annual payment only, starting at 150 resources. Adds a dedicated Customer Success Manager, user auto-provisioning, a self-service sandbox and a custom SMTP server.
Smartsheet
Pro$9
per Member / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly)
1 to 10 Members with unlimited free Contributors. Gantt, table, board and calendar views, 250 automations a month and 20 GB of storage.
Business$19
per Member / month, billed yearly ($24 billed monthly)
3 or more Members. Adds timeline view, workload tracking, unlimited automations, proofing, admin controls and 1 TB of storage.
EnterpriseCustom
10 or more Members. Adds SAML single sign-on, portfolios, scenario planning, directory integrations and unlimited attachment storage.
Advanced Work ManagementCustom
Everything in Enterprise, plus Control Center, Dynamic View, Data Shuttle, DataMesh, connectors and premium support.
Ways to pay less
Meisterplan
No public discounts listed.
Smartsheet
- Annual discount
Lower per-Member price with yearly billing
Pro is $9 per Member / month billed yearly against $12 monthly (25% less), and Business is $19 against $24 (about 21% less).
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Meisterplan or Smartsheet?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Meisterplan starts at $700 per month for 50 resources, billed annually ($840 billed monthly), and Smartsheet starts at $9 per Member / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly). One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Meisterplan or Smartsheet?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Meisterplan nor Smartsheet has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Meisterplan and Smartsheet run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Smartsheet lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.