Smartsheet vs Zoho Tables

Smartsheet

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

Zoho Tables

• Small teams that want an inexpensive Airtable-style database
• Organizations on Zoho One, which includes the Professional plan
• People who manage their records mostly from a phone or tablet

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.

Zoho Tables

• The Professional plan starts from 3 licenses, and the Free plan is limited to 2 users.
• Records are capped per base: 5,000 on Free and 50,000 on Professional, with more sold as an add-on.
• AI field types and removing Zoho Tables branding from forms need the Professional plan.
• The pricing page lists apps for Android and iOS only. The App Store listing also shows Mac compatibility; other desktop use is through the browser.

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.

Zoho Tables

Grid, kanban, gallery, calendar and form

The same records can be shown in a spreadsheet-style grid with formulas, on a drag-and-drop kanban board, as gallery cards or on a calendar. Form views collect entries from other people.

Linked records, lookups and rollups

Records link across tables in both directions. Lookup fields bring in values from a linked table, and rollup fields total or calculate over linked records.

Trigger-and-action automations

Automations start when a record is created, updated or enters a view, or on a schedule, and can send an email or a Zoho Cliq message or create and update records.

Real-time collaboration

Live cursors show who is active, record-level comments support mentions and attachments, and a collaborator field assigns records and notifies the person assigned.

AI base creation and AI fields

The Zia assistant builds a complete base from a description. AI field types such as sentiment analysis, keyword extraction and language detection are part of the Professional plan.

Mobile apps

Apps for iPhone, iPad and Android offer grid, gallery, kanban, calendar and form views, voice notes, OCR text scanning and a guest mode that needs no sign-up.

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.

Zoho Tables

• Free$0

  Up to 2 users and 3 viewers: 1 workspace with 5 bases, 5,000 records per base, 5 GB of attachments and 3 active automations per base.

• Professional$4

  per user / month, billed annually ($5 billed monthly); min. 3 licenses

  Unlimited workspaces, bases and viewers, 50,000 records per base, 200 GB of attachments, 25 active automations per base and AI field types.

• Personal Edition$6.00 to $57.00

  in-app purchase; the App Store does not show the billing period

  A plan for single users, bought inside the mobile app through the App Store. It is not listed on the web pricing page.

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).

Zoho Tables

• Annual discount

  Save 20% with yearly billing

  Professional is $4 per user a month billed annually against $5 billed monthly. The pricing toggle labels this as saving 20%.

• Other savings

  Included with Zoho One

  Zoho's pricing FAQ says Zoho One customers get the Professional plan of Zoho Tables at no extra cost by adding it from their app list.