Smartsheet vs Stackby

Smartsheet

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

Stackby

• Small teams that want a spreadsheet-style database with forms and automations
• Pulling data from third-party APIs into table columns
• Teams of three or more, where annual bundles lower the per-user price

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.

Stackby

• Annual prices are sold in team-size bundles (1, 3, 6, 10 users and up), so the per-user rate changes with the seat count.
• Rows are capped per stack: 1,500 on Free, 7,000 on Economy, 50,000 on Business and 100,000 on Pro.
• Table, column and view permissions, personal and locked views and 2FA start at Business; SAML single sign-on is Enterprise only.
• The Free plan refreshes API-connected cells manually and keeps only 2 weeks of activity history.

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.

Stackby

Grid, kanban, calendar and timeline views

Tables with 30+ column types can be shown as a grid, kanban board, calendar, gallery, list or timeline, with sorting, filtering, grouping and color formatting.

Form builder

Drag-and-drop forms write responses straight into tables and support conditional logic, signatures and multiple line items. Custom branded forms start at the Economy plan.

Automations

Trigger-and-action workflows send emails and Slack notifications, update rows or generate text with AI. Internal runs are capped at 100 on Free, 1,000 on Economy and 25,000 on Business.

AI columns with your own API keys

AI columns call OpenAI, Gemini or Anthropic models using the customer's own API keys to generate content, analyze documents or do web research.

Column-linked API connectors

Columns can pull data from third-party APIs: 2 connectors on Free, 10 on Economy and 15 on Business. The Free plan refreshes cells manually; paid plans refresh automatically.

Interface designer and portals

An interface (app) designer is on every plan, with publishing from Economy and a custom domain from Business. Client portals are a paid add-on, from $60 a month for 10 guests.

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.

Stackby

• Free$0

  Up to 5 editors and 50 read-only guests: 20 stacks, 1,500 rows and 2 GB of attachments per stack, 1 app per stack and manual API refresh.

• Economy$4.2

  per user / month for 3 users, billed annually ($149 / year)

  1 user is $99 a year; monthly billing is $10 per user. 25 stacks, 7,000 rows and 6 GB per stack, 1,000 automation runs and branded forms.

• Business$8.3

  per user / month for 3 users, billed annually ($299 / year)

  1 user is $199 a year; monthly billing is $18 per user. 50 stacks, 50,000 rows and 20 GB per stack, all powerups, granular permissions and 2FA.

• Pro$12.5

  per user / month for 3 users, billed annually ($449 / year)

  1 user is $299 a year; monthly billing is $30 per user. 100 stacks, 100,000 rows and 50 GB per stack, an enterprise admin panel and priority support.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Unlimited stacks, 250,000 rows and 1,000 GB per stack, 3 years of activity history and snapshots, and SAML single sign-on.

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).

Stackby

• Annual discount

  Annual billing saves 18% to 74% by team size

  The pricing page labels the annual saving as 18% for 1 user, 58% for 3 users and up to 74% for 100 users. Economy for 1 user is $99 a year against $10 a month.

• Startups

  $500 in credits for startups

  Startups can apply for $500 in credits toward the Economy or Business plan. Each application is verified, and startups working with a partner use the partner's code.

• Nonprofit

  Discounts for eligible nonprofits

  Stackby's homepage FAQ says it offers special discounts for eligible nonprofits. The amount is not published and is arranged through support chat.

• Education

  Discounts for educators

  The same FAQ says special discounts are available for educators. The amount is not published and is arranged through support chat.