Adobe Workfront vs Smartsheet comparison

Read 41 Smartsheet reviews

3,214 Views
1,181 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Adobe Workfront

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Adobe Workfront and Smartsheet are competing products in project management and collaboration. Smartsheet has the upper hand in intuitive design and user adaptability, while Adobe Workfront offers comprehensive features suitable for complex projects.

Features: Adobe Workfront provides extensive workflow automation, customizable templates, and integration capabilities, making it ideal for specific project needs. Smartsheet offers flexibility with integration options, robust reporting, and user-friendly dashboards, appealing to businesses looking for adaptable solutions.

Room for Improvement: Adobe Workfront could enhance user interfaces, simplify deployment processes, and reduce initial costs. Smartsheet can improve by expanding its feature set, enhancing reporting options, and increasing its customization capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Adobe Workfront requires an involved setup process and benefits from dedicated support. In contrast, Smartsheet offers a simpler deployment experience due to its cloud-based nature and accessible customer service.

Pricing and ROI: Adobe Workfront has a higher initial setup cost and detailed pricing based on features and users. Smartsheet typically offers lower entry pricing, scalable options, and can lead to a faster ROI for cost-effective project management.

To learn more, read our detailed Adobe Workfront vs. Smartsheet Report (Updated: March 2025).

Adobe Workfront vs. Smartsheet

Download the complete report

Helped 845,406 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Adobe Workfront

Ranking in Project Management Software

6th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Digital Asset Management (1st)

Smartsheet

Ranking in Project Management Software

5th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Project Portfolio Management (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Adobe Workfront is 3.6%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Smartsheet is 4.6%, down from 6.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Project Management Software

Featured Reviews

Graham Sprague

Sr. Manager/Adobe Workfront Fusion Developer at Staples, Inc.

Centralized task management and simplified creative collaboration but interface is inconsistent

Adobe Workfront could improve its interface, which may benefit from an overhaul for better consistency between the web interface and the API. The current setup was not originally designed API-first, leading to some confusion and differences in available functions. Additionally, the low-code environment in Workfront Fusion is beneficial yet sometimes limiting, and it might be more powerful with enhancements.

Read full review

PaulDiaz

Project Manager at Amgen

Needs to improve baselines and changing dates can be frustrating

I like the dashboarding feature best, as it lets me assemble a workspace with source sheets, dashboards, and reports simultaneously. The standard reports and worksheets are most useful for team collaboration. People look at dashboards during presentations, but they go to the sheets to update projects, add comments, or make notifications. It's automated, so changes come to me or whoever needs to see them. I can send notifications from specific line items. The worksheet is key for tracking project progress, though we track it at a higher level rather than detailed work breakdown structures. Subject matter experts say when they'll deliver things, and that's what we track.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"I also like Workfront's integration. The solution integrates natively with other systems. It's easy to connect Workfront to any product that has a customer service database, such as a CRM or service ticket management solution."

"I can say it is a powerful tool. We have everything in-house in that tool, like, creating reports, dashboards, creating various workflows, and everything we have inside one application."

"Workfront centralizes the tasks, the assignment of tasks, and documents required to do the work, streamlining communication and information availability, thus improving organization and reducing dependency on decentralized methods like email or servers."

"Feature-wise, I would say that its overall ability to be infinitely customizable is valuable...My experience with the support team has been amazing."

"Monitoring the progress of projects and tasks is very effective."

"Instead of following everything on email, business users can track everything on Adobe Workfront when the other systems are integrated with it."

"The tool is very user-friendly."

"The solution is stable."

More Adobe Workfront pros

"To me, one of the most powerful features of Smartsheet is being able to email others."

"It is a stable and scalable solution."

"The dashboard and the layouts are quite good."

"The management aspect is the most valuable. You can also prioritize tasks and then view tasks by priorities as passports."

"I like the dashboarding feature best, as it lets me assemble a workspace with source sheets, dashboards, and reports simultaneously. The standard reports and worksheets are most useful for team collaboration. People look at dashboards during presentations, but they go to the sheets to update projects, add comments, or make notifications. It's automated, so changes come to me or whoever needs to see them. I can send notifications from specific line items."

"The most valuable feature of Smartsheet is it can be highly customized."

"The tool creates shareable dashboards. These dashboards allow us to display project deliverables' status, their position in the queue, expected delivery timelines, and more. The best part is that these dashboards can be shared with our clients without a license."

"Smartsheet is easy to use."

More Smartsheet pros

Cons

"Adobe Workfront could improve its interface, which may benefit from an overhaul for better consistency between the web interface and the API."

"Workfront's reporting capabilities must be improved."

"The interface can also be customized to fit and accept many tools for better performance and customer service improvement."

"I have used the product and instantiated it, almost seven years back. The process was fairly complex, however, I don't know if they have changed the same now. But this is something I think, if not addressed can be improved. Another area that needs a little attention, is the change of implementation lead. Back when we had Workfront instantiated, we often had our timeline delayed due to the change in the implementation lead. Now Workfront is under Adobe and, in case, this issue, isn't fixed it should be given due attention. Also, Workfront is a universal tool, which can pose a difficulty for small businesses and companies, who don't have the required time, effort, and knowledge to configure it periodically."

"Our product and graphic designers are working with various Adobe products, but Workfront has a no-frills interface. It's a useful tool with everything we need, but it could be a little more attractive and present information in a polished way. It's a web interface, so it's accessible, but the appearance could be a little slicker."

"We were having some difficulties creating different kinds of reports and dashboards."

"Integration with Azure DevOps could be improved to facilitate better communication between the two systems."

"Sometimes there are glitches when we are reviewing an interactive proof."

More Adobe Workfront cons

"A room for improvement I found in Smartsheet is the view, as it's currently row-wise. I should have the opportunity to view a full scale, top down list instead of just a column driven list. I shouldn't have to go just left or right. I should be able to view it top down."

"The dashboard is not user-friendly, it needs improvement."

"You were forced to create a new tab rather than add another sheet."

"There isn't much automation at this time."

"The integration with Microsoft products should be improved."

"With a large quantity of data, the solution lags a bit."

"Smartsheet should continue to expand the spreadsheet-type functionality because it's limited currently. Most business users are familiar with Excel and Office, so Smartsheet should adopt a similar way of navigating the program."

"Smartsheet is a cloud-based tool similar to Google Sheets in that multiple stakeholders can work on a document simultaneously. However, unlike Google Sheets, which saves changes in real time, Smartsheet requires users to manually save their changes."

More Smartsheet cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Adobe purchased Workfront in the past year, and they're putting work into developing the platform, so I expect the price to rise. It isn't cheap, but it's reasonable for the value it provides. It isn't Monday.com where you pick a license with a set price, and you've got a project manager."

"Adobe Workfront is an expensive solution."

"The pricing is a barrier to implementation. It is expensive compared to other competitors. Speaking about licensing, they have a private manager license for $1000, which you can use for administration as well. Then they offer a worker license for $500, and then a reviewer or contributor license which is free."

"The pricing of Workfront is completely license based."

"We are partners with Adobe, so we get the licensing at a cheaper rate."

"Speaking about pricing, I wouldn't recommend it to a smaller company because I do think the price point is higher than other solutions that can work."

"The solution is too expensive."

"Smartsheet only requires licenses for project managers. When we were using Asana, we had to purchase a license for everyone who wanted to access their tasks and use the system. That gets costly fast. It was one of the main reasons we left Asana. As Asana and these other tools scale, they become way more expensive."

"I believe a licensed user costs between 300 to 400 euros."

"There's a license for Smartsheet, and the enterprise plan comes down to about $750. My company also pays an extra $60 monthly apart from the standard licensing fee."

"Smartsheet has many licensing models. You need to add the package that best suits your requirements. The license is paid per user and it is monthly. The cost was approximately $7 per PC, $15 for professional, and $33 for the enterprise plan."

"Smartsheet can be low-priced, with personal subscriptions around eight dollars a month, but I imagine it gets pricier for enterprise systems. Microsoft Project can be more expensive."

"If I'm not mistaken, it was pretty manageable. It was about 200 bucks a seed. The business really felt a strong need for it. So, it was viewed as a safer and more straightforward cost that we were willing to pay as compared to Domo, which took some convincing."

"The solution is expensive."

More Smartsheet pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Project Management Software solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

64%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Healthcare Company

Educational Organization

43%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Workfront?

I can say it is a powerful tool. We have everything in-house in that tool, like, creating reports, dashboards, creating various workflows, and everything we have inside one application.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Workfront?

Workfront incurs around a hundred thousand plus dollars per year. Licensing is strict, particularly with free accounts, however, it offers flexibility in project access, which could be enhanced fur...

What needs improvement with Workfront?

Has anyone moved from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet? How has your experience been with Smartsheet?

Hi @Eire Zimmermann, I helped an organization evaluate both MS-Project and Smartsheet when they were conducting their PM tool RFP. The short of it is this, MS Project is not caught up with the mo...

What do you like most about Smartsheet?

The tool creates shareable dashboards. These dashboards allow us to display project deliverables' status, their position in the queue, expected delivery timelines, and more. The best part is that t...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Smartsheet?

The pricing is great and reasonable enough that I maintained my copy and bought it for my team independently.

Aprimo vs Adobe Workfront

Comparisons

Compared 18% of the time

Wrike vs Adobe Workfront

Compared 17% of the time

ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management vs Adobe Workfront

Compared 15% of the time

Asana vs Adobe Workfront

Compared 14% of the time

Jira vs Adobe Workfront

Compared 12% of the time

More Adobe Workfront Competitors

Planisware vs Smartsheet

Compared 14% of the time

Broadcom Clarity vs Smartsheet

Compared 11% of the time

ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management vs Smartsheet

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft Project vs Smartsheet

Compared 7% of the time

Rally Software vs Smartsheet

Compared 6% of the time

More Smartsheet Competitors

Product Reports

Adobe Workfront

Download Adobe Workfront product report

Download Smartsheet product report

Also Known As

AtTask, Workfront DAM

No data available

Overview

AtTask is a cloud-based Enterprise Work Management solution that helps marketing, IT, and other enterprise teams conquer the chaos of excessive email, redundant status meetings, and disconnected tools. Unlike other tools, AtTask Enterprise Work Cloud is a centralized, easy-to-adopt solution for managing and collaborating on all types of work through the entire work lifecycle, which improves team productivity and executive visibility. AtTask is trusted by thousands of global enterprises, like Adobe, Cisco, HBO, House of Blues, REI, Trek, Schneider Electric, and ATB Financial. To learn more, visit www.AtTask.com or follow us on Twitter @AtTask.

Adobe

Smartsheet is a dynamic platform with features like real-time data sharing, Gantt charts, and integration with Jira and Microsoft Teams, offering valuable tools for efficient task management.

Smartsheet combines Excel-like functionality with cloud accessibility, making it efficient for tracking, reporting, and workflow management. Users benefit from its scalability and robust security, making it ideal for enterprise-level projects. However, improvements in data visibility, real-time collaboration, and user-friendliness can enhance its utility. Customizable dashboards, project management features, and seamless integrations offer great flexibility, though there is a demand for better automation, API enhancements, and new templates.

What are Smartsheet's most important features?

Real-time Data Sharing: Facilitates seamless collaboration between users.
Project Management Tools: Includes Gantt charts and task prioritization for efficient project tracking.
Integration: Works with major platforms like Jira and Microsoft Teams for comprehensive data flow.
Automation Capabilities: Reduces manual work with robust automation functionalities.
Customizable Dashboards: Allows users to tailor dashboards to meet specific needs.

What benefits or ROI should users look for in reviews?

Efficiency: Streamlines workflows with tools that enhance project tracking and collaboration.
Scalability: Supports growing enterprise demands with its scalable architecture.
Security: Provides robust, secure environments for data management.
Adaptability: Offers flexibility to customize workflows for improved resource management.

Smartsheet is utilized by organizations in industries like engineering, education, and IT for project management, task tracking, and data integration. It enables planning, scheduling, and team collaboration, facilitating dashboard creation and automation of processes. Its flexibility in customizing workflows is appealing to those managing projects and programs.

Sample Customers

Advance Autoparts, Emerson, Covario, Cisco, Caroma, TREK, Sapient Nitro, ATB, LexisNexis, CarPhone Warehouse

Sony Music, ESPN, Hilton, Unisource, Colliers, Extreme Networks, Groupon, Netflix

Adobe Workfront vs. Smartsheet