Microsoft Lists vs Smartsheet

Microsoft Lists

• Organizations already paying for Microsoft 365 that need shared trackers
• Teams that want a tracker beside the conversation in a Teams channel
• Tracking issues, assets, events and onboarding from ready-made templates

Smartsheet

• Teams that are comfortable working in spreadsheets
• Project offices that need Gantt charts, reports and dashboards
• Enterprises standardizing portfolio reporting across many projects

Microsoft Lists

• Lists is not sold on its own: it comes with Microsoft 365 business and enterprise plans, which are priced per user.
• The iOS and Android apps were retired in mid-November 2025. On a phone, Lists runs in a mobile browser or inside Teams.
• A list can hold up to 30 million items, but a view that shows more than 5,000 can run into the list view threshold.
• Help pages direct users to a work or school account. Lists for personal Microsoft accounts is offered only as a preview.

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.

Microsoft Lists

Templates and imports

Ready-made templates such as Issue tracker, Asset manager, Event itinerary and Onboarding checklist. A list can also start from an Excel workbook, a CSV file, an existing list or a blank page.

Grid, calendar and gallery views

The same items can be shown as a list, a calendar or a gallery, and saved views can sort, group and filter them. A single view can display at most 5,000 items.

Conditional formatting

View formatting highlights rows that meet a condition, such as a status set to Blocked, and alternating row styles are built in. An advanced mode accepts JSON.

Rules

A rule pairs a trigger, such as an item being modified or a column value changing, with an action such as emailing someone. Date-approaching rules are limited to two per list.

Lists in Microsoft Teams

A list can be added as a tab in a Teams channel, next to the conversation. Lists are created in the desktop or web version of Teams; on mobile, members can view and edit but not create them.

Power Apps and Power Automate

Forms can be extended with Power Apps and workflows built with Power Automate, using a list as the data source for a custom app.

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.

Microsoft Lists

• Microsoft 365 Business Basic$7.00

  per user / month, paid yearly ($8.40 on a monthly subscription)

  Lists with SharePoint, Teams, web and mobile Office apps, business email and 1 TB of storage per user. The version without Teams is $5.40.

• Microsoft 365 Business Standard$14.00

  per user / month, paid yearly ($16.80 on a monthly subscription)

  Everything in Basic plus desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, Loop and Clipchamp. The version without Teams is $10.79.

• Microsoft 365 Business Premium$22.00

  per user / month, paid yearly ($26.40 on a monthly subscription)

  Everything in Standard plus device management, protection against phishing and malware, and sensitive-data controls. $18.79 without Teams.

• Business Standard with Copilot$23.50

  per user / month, paid yearly

  Business Standard with Microsoft 365 Copilot Business built into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Teams. $20.30 without Teams.

• Business Premium with Copilot$32.00

  per user / month, paid yearly

  Business Premium with Microsoft 365 Copilot Business included. The version without Teams is $28.80.

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.

Microsoft Lists

• Annual discount

  Lower per-user price when paid yearly

  Business Basic is $7.00 per user a month paid yearly against $8.40 on a monthly subscription, Standard $14.00 against $16.80 and Premium $22.00 against $26.40.

• Nonprofit

  Nonprofit grant and staff pricing

  Eligible nonprofits get Microsoft 365 Business Basic as a grant, free for up to 300 users, with Business Standard at $3.50 and Business Premium at $5.50 per user a month, paid yearly.

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).