Smartsheet vs Tom's Planner
We give Smartsheet a 3.4 GPA and Tom's Planner a 3.0, out of 4.0. Smartsheet grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. Tom's Planner grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Smartsheet
Spreadsheet-style project and work management for teams
Tom's Planner
Browser-based Gantt chart maker with drag-and-drop time blocks
How we grade them
| 3.4GPASmartsheetVery good | 3.0GPATom's PlannerVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPro is $9 a Member a month billed yearly, or $12 monthly. That's about typical for project tools, and Contributors are free and unlimited. But timeline view, workload tracking, unlimited automations and the API all sit on Business, at $19. | BProfessional is $9.95 a month per account, billed yearly at $119, or $39 a quarter. Only the person who creates and shares charts needs it, so a whole team can work off one paid account. For one person it's about the going rate. There's no month-to-month option. |
| Free plan and trial | CThere's no free plan. What you get is a 30-day trial with no credit card required, which is a decent run at it. After that, a paid plan is the only way to carry on. | BThe Personal account is free with 1 schedule of up to 200 rows, and you can join schedules other people share with you. But you can't invite anyone, print or export. Enough to see how it works, tight for real projects. |
| Features | AOne sheet shows as a grid, a Gantt chart, cards or a calendar, and rolls up into reports and dashboards. Forms take requests in, workflows send the reminders, and Smart Assist helps with formulas. That's the whole project job, with depth. | BDrag-and-drop time blocks, dependencies, progress shown as percentages or traffic lights, a timeline that zooms from years down to 5-minute intervals, more than 200 templates and an AI Assist that drafts a chart. Good charts. There's no critical path, baseline or workload view on record, though. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 120,000 App Store ratings. The sheets look and behave like spreadsheets, so if you already live in one there's not much new to learn. | BNo app rating on record, so a B at best. It runs in the browser with nothing to install, and building a chart is dragging blocks with the mouse. Invited team members only need a free account, which makes getting people in simple. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. It connects to Microsoft Teams, Slack, Salesforce, Jira, Power BI and Tableau. There's an API as well, though only from the Business plan. | BBrowser only, and the vendor's site lists no desktop or mobile apps. It imports schedules from Excel, MS Project, Outlook and Google Calendar, and paid accounts export to MS Project, Excel, CSV, PDF and image files. Embedding a live chart needs the Unlimited plan. |
| Best for | project plans for spreadsheet people | quick Gantt charts without full project software |
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: Smartsheet and Tom's Planner. How we grade
Where they differ
- Smartsheet starts at $9 per Member / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly). Tom's Planner starts at $9.95 per account / month, billed yearly at $119 (or $39 per quarter).
- Tom's Planner has a free plan. Smartsheet does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Smartsheet lists macOS, Windows, iOS and Android apps.
- Smartsheet also covers tasks, calendar, kanban boards and workflow automation.
- Tom's Planner also covers templates.
At a glance
| Smartsheet | Tom's Planner | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9 per Member / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly) | $9.95 per account / month, billed yearly at $119 (or $39 per quarter) |
| Free plan | None | Personal: 1 schedule of up to 200 rows, with email support, and you can join schedules other people share. No inviting others, printing or exporting. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Smartsheet Inc. | Tom's Planner NV |
| Price read from | smartsheet.com | tomsplanner.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Smartsheet
- Teams that are comfortable working in spreadsheets
- Project offices that need Gantt charts, reports and dashboards
- Enterprises standardizing portfolio reporting across many projects
Tom's Planner
- People who have outgrown spreadsheets but do not want full project software
- A project manager sharing charts with team members on free accounts
- Quick Gantt charts for proposals and client updates
Worth knowing
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.
Tom's Planner
- The free Personal account is limited to 1 schedule of 200 rows and cannot print, export or invite collaborators.
- Embedding charts, saving schedules locally and JSON export are limited to the Unlimited plan.
- Paid plans are billed quarterly or yearly; the pricing page shows no month-to-month option.
- It runs in the browser, and the vendor's site lists no desktop or mobile apps.
Key features
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.
Tom's Planner
- Drag-and-drop time blocks
- Add color-coded time blocks to a chart with the mouse, then stretch, shrink or move them as plans change. Several blocks can sit on the same row.
- Dependencies
- Link an activity to the one it depends on so that a large schedule stays up to date when dates move.
- Progress tracking
- Show status with percentages, traffic lights, icons or colored time blocks, whichever suits the project.
- Zoomable timeline
- Switch the schedule view between yearly, monthly, weekly and daily scales, down to 5-minute intervals.
- AI Assist and templates
- AI Assist drafts a Gantt chart from a project description, which is shared with OpenAI for processing. There are also more than 200 chart templates.
- Import, export and sharing
- Imports schedules from Excel, MS Project, Outlook and Google Calendar. Paid accounts can print and export, and Unlimited accounts can embed charts that update live.
Plans
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.
Tom's Planner
Personal$0
1 schedule with up to 200 rows or activities. Can collaborate on schedules shared by others, but cannot invite people, print or export.
Professional$9.95
per account / month, billed yearly at $119 ($39 billed quarterly)
20 schedules, unlimited invited collaborators, printing, a custom logo, and export to MS Project, Excel, CSV, PDF and image files.
Unlimited$19.95
per account / month, billed yearly at $239 ($79 billed quarterly)
Unlimited schedules, plus embedded charts, saving schedules locally, JSON export and printing for every invited collaborator.
Ways to pay less
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).
Tom's Planner
- Annual discount
Save 25% with an annual subscription
Professional is $119 a year against $39 a quarter ($156 over a year), and Unlimited is $239 a year against $79 a quarter ($316). The vendor rounds the saving to 25%.
- Other savings
Corporate account discount from 5 subscriptions
The pricing FAQ gives 25% off either plan with 5 to 9 subscriptions, 35% with 10 to 19 and 50% with 20 or more, on top of the annual saving. Arranged by email.
