Notion vs Smartsheet comparison

Notion and Smartsheet are both solutions in the Project Management Software category. Notion is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.3, while Smartsheet is ranked #5 with an average rating of 7.6. Notion holds a 2.5% mindshare in PMS, compared to Smartsheet’s 4.9% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Notion users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Smartsheet users who would recommend it.

Notion

Read 15 Notion reviews

445 Views
302 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Smartsheet

Read 41 Smartsheet reviews

2,791 Views
1,092 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Notion

Smartsheet

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Smartsheet and Notion are prominent in the project management and organizational tools category. Smartsheet holds an advantage for complex project management due to its advanced features like Gantt charts and integrations.

Features: Smartsheet offers project management tools like Gantt charts, automation, and seamless integrations with platforms such as Jira and Microsoft Teams. It is highly customizable, making it akin to an advanced version of Excel. Notion provides a versatile platform for organizing notes and databases, emphasizing high customization, making it ideal for personal and team organization.

Room for Improvement: Smartsheet's areas for improvement include dashboard usability, concerns about security, and streamlining its single sign-on process. Users also suggest adding more Excel-like functions. Notion requires enhancements in its user interface, integrated charting abilities, and improved external connectivity, with suggested improvements in automation features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Smartsheet predominantly relies on public cloud solutions but supports hybrid deployments. Customer service feedback is varied, with enterprise users finding it satisfactory, although others report inconsistencies. Notion provides options for both on-premises and cloud deployment, with technical support that is generally regarded as satisfactory, supported by extensive documentation.

Pricing and ROI: Smartsheet is perceived as expensive, especially for enterprise-focused features like Control Center, with tiered licensing offering varied value perceptions. ROI often relates to time savings and increased productivity. Notion, more budget-friendly, offers a generous free plan and competitive team pricing, ideal for simple task management and collaborative note-sharing.

To learn more, read our detailed Notion vs. Smartsheet Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Notion vs. Smartsheet

April 2025

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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

Notion

Ranking in Project Management Software

11th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Knowledge Management Software (2nd), Document Automation Software (3rd)

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 May 2025, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Notion is 2.5%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Smartsheet is 4.9%, down from 5.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Project Management Software

Featured Reviews

Iván Fanego

Founder at AppCritic

Creates customizable systems and improve team collaboration

Notion is a very flexible and customizable platform, allowing users to create whatever they need. The most impactful feature for project management is the ability to invite multiple client stakeholders without complication. Once I understand the basics, it's easy to use despite an initial learning curve. It also significantly improves team collaboration through customized views and visualizations of data.

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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

"Notion is heavily used in my workflow."

"It is easy to use and very intuitive compared to Microsoft Project."

"The initial setup is easy."

"Notion is an all-in-one product, allowing us to do many things in a single place."

"Customer support is great, effective, and easy to reach."

"The product is easy to use and has good responsiveness."

"The product has a valuable feature for databases. It has a table and a calendar view and saves various documents in the system."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is its flexibility...The initial setup of Notion is easy."

More Notion pros

"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."

"I think Smartsheet would scale fine."

"It's very user friendly."

"The fact that you can have different access groups is definitely a pro for Smartsheet. It also has the ability to integrate with a lot of tools."

"The product is easy to use."

"The solution is straightforward. Whenever a requirement arises, we create three things in Smartsheet: a project plan, a dashboard, and internal documents. It is done through the form and Smartsheet's automation services. This process shortens the time to market from seven days to less than 12 hours."

"The dashboard and the layouts are quite good."

"The ability to build a quick dashboard and give management insight into the progress of the project itself is probably one of the most beneficial pieces."

More Smartsheet pros

Cons

"The only problem I experience is that it often hangs."

"The main problem with Notion is that it's not flexible enough for all of the use cases we intend to address. For instance, it is challenging to focus on a single KPI as it's mandatory to have a chart for this purpose, complicating some of our use cases."

"The linked view of database, along with the sharing and permission settings, are areas with shortcomings in the solution that need improvement."

"Notion has one big downside: the lack of an offline mode. If the internet or Notion's servers are down, I cannot access information. This is a big disadvantage."

"Notion's UI needs improvement."

"One area for improvement in the solution is the absence of integrated charts."

"If the internet or Notion's servers are down, I cannot access information. This is a big disadvantage."

"The only problem I experience is that it often hangs. I might find myself trying to load a new page, but I am unable to move from one page to another due to frequent hanging."

More Notion cons

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

"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."

"Smartsheet could improve by having seamless integration with Azure Board."

"Every feature for text mining, even process mining, would be a plus. We have about two hundred contract management events daily. First, I share specific documents. I talk about the search function because we assume it has a thorough search when we read the catalog. But when you test it, you realize it doesn't search within attachments. So, it's a great search function, but you need the brand folder. It has many options and can become complex."

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

"Areas for improvement in Smartsheet include better integration capabilities with other technologies through APIs and addressing limitations in reporting functionalities."

"It already has a really powerful Export to Excel feature, but it can have an Excel add-on. The way to set up single sign-on wasn't too easy in the beginning, and it was hard to get hold of customer service. They should make it easier to set up SSO. Smartsheet's customer service also definitely needs to be improved."

"More intuitive access without constant logins would be beneficial."

More Smartsheet cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution's pricing can seem steep, especially when you work with a lot of people. If you are working on your own or for another business, the solution's price won't affect you much."

"The product has good pricing."

"The product is affordable compared to other platforms."

"It's pretty affordable."

"Notion offers a free plan that covers most functionalities. Clients are only prompted to upgrade if they require AI capabilities, priced at $10 for unlimited usage, or if they need to add team members, typically around $10 per member."

"I rate the product's pricing a three out of ten. We only need to pay for it if we use it in the workspace."

"The pricing structure is quite reasonable, and the basic plan covers the most essential features."

More Notion pricing and cost advice

"There's a trial version and a free version. Each license costs a decent amount, $25 per month or something."

"It is less expensive than Microsoft Project for enterprise or Oracle Primavera by an order of magnitude. If you buy a Microsoft Project license, it's probably $300 or so by itself, whereas Smartsheet is probably less than $50 per head."

"There would be more extensive usage if the solution were cheaper. It's really expensive right now, and that's why we provide a few licenses for admins. The rest of them are just users without admin privileges."

"I would assume there is a licensing fee. I don't think that it is free."

"This licensing is straightforward and they charge per user."

"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."

"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."

"For a normal license, like the one I had: I had my own Smartsheet because I wanted to play with it and I didn't want to mess with what I was doing in Verizon, so I paid $200 monthly, and it gave me all the same functionalities, so I could do whatever I wanted for $200. The problem is if you have anyone else working on it or deploying on it, it's $200 a month for every single person who's deployed on it, that's working on it as an owner or an administrator, so owners and administrators are the only ones who can change, edit, and add data to worksheets and columns. Depending on the size of your organization, Smartsheet can be costly. As for implementing its Control Center, Smartsheet forces you to have three people come in: it's a minimum of three people from Smartsheet for three months who will provide you the solutions for the Control Center side, and that's $150 an hour, so it can become very expensive. For my company, not having the Control Center would save on the setup fees and then the $20,000 a year, because the Control Center of Smartsheet is a yearly subscription of $20,000."

More Smartsheet pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

University

10%

Comms Service Provider

Media Company

Educational Organization

37%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Notion?

I like the high level of customization in Notion.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Notion?

The licensing and setup cost for Notion is affordable for us as a small company.

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What needs improvement with Notion?

The main problem with Notion is that it's not flexible enough for all of the use cases we intend to address. For instance, it is challenging to focus on a single KPI as it's mandatory to have a cha...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Comparisons

AFFiNE vs Notion

Compared 31% of the time

Zendesk vs Notion

Compared 15% of the time

Microsoft Project vs Notion

Compared 13% of the time

Tana vs Notion

Compared 13% of the time

Sana vs Notion

Compared 6% of the time

More Notion Competitors

Planisware vs Smartsheet

Compared 13% of the time

Broadcom Clarity vs Smartsheet

Compared 10% of the time

ServiceNow Strategic Portfolio Management vs Smartsheet

Compared 9% of the time

Adobe Workfront vs Smartsheet

Compared 8% of the time

SAP Portfolio and Project Management vs Smartsheet

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Notion

May 2025

Download Notion product report

Buyer's Guide

Smartsheet

April 2025

Download Smartsheet product report

Overview

Notion is an all-in-one workspace that enables teams to collaborate, organize, and manage their work effectively. Its primary use case is to streamline project management, knowledge sharing, and task tracking. With its versatile functionality, Notion allows users to create and customize databases, wikis, and documents, making it a powerful tool for organizing information.

The most valuable functionality of Notion lies in its flexibility and ease of use. Users can create and link various types of content, such as text, images, files, and even embed external resources. This enables teams to centralize their work and collaborate seamlessly, eliminating the need for multiple tools. Notion's drag-and-drop interface and intuitive editing features make it accessible to users of all technical backgrounds.

Notion helps organizations by fostering transparency, improving productivity, and enhancing knowledge management. By providing a centralized platform for collaboration, teams can easily access and contribute to shared projects, reducing communication gaps and ensuring everyone is on the same page.

Notion's powerful search functionality and tagging system enable efficient information retrieval, making it easier to find and share knowledge within the organization.

Notion

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.

Smartsheet

Sample Customers

Startups like Loom, Mixpanel, Blinkist, Adobe, Deel and Education facilities such as USC, Dartmouth and The University of Chicago.

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

Buyer's Guide

Notion vs. Smartsheet

April 2025

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