Bubble PPM vs. Smartsheet

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Bubble PPM
Score 6.7 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Bubble PPM is a cloud-based Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) software solution from Bubble®. Founded in 1999, the company serves clients globally via offices in London, Cambridge, and Vancouver. Its cloud-based solutions help customers improve the planning, governance, and delivery of Innovation, New Product Development, Engineering, IT, and other initiatives. Their software supports Portfolio Planning, ongoing Project and Portfolio Management, and Resource management.…N/A
Smartsheet
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Smartsheet is an online project management and collaboration tool. It includes automated alerts, instantaneous updating and sharing across team members, resource management, nested tasks organized in a hierarchy, a Gantt chart view, exportable and automated reports, and integration with email.
$14
per month
Pricing
Bubble PPMSmartsheet
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Individual
$14
per month
Business
$25
Per User / Per Month
Enterprise
Contact Sales
Premier
Contact Sales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Bubble PPMSmartsheet
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional DetailsElement 1: One-time fixed SaaS set-up fee One-time investment based on required configuration and deployment. Element 2: Monthly license fee Calculated on #users (per user type). Variable - According to required users/types.
More Pricing Information
Features
Bubble PPMSmartsheet
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Bubble PPM
-
Ratings
Smartsheet
7.7
123 Ratings
2% above category average
Task Management00 Ratings8.3120 Ratings
Resource Management00 Ratings8.8102 Ratings
Gantt Charts00 Ratings8.0103 Ratings
Scheduling00 Ratings8.5105 Ratings
Workflow Automation00 Ratings8.194 Ratings
Team Collaboration00 Ratings8.3116 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology00 Ratings8.476 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology00 Ratings5.674 Ratings
Document Management00 Ratings6.595 Ratings
Email integration00 Ratings7.994 Ratings
Mobile Access00 Ratings7.390 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking00 Ratings6.257 Ratings
Change request and Case Management00 Ratings8.163 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management00 Ratings8.069 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
Bubble PPM
-
Ratings
Smartsheet
6.6
61 Ratings
12% below category average
Quotes/estimates00 Ratings5.639 Ratings
Invoicing00 Ratings6.132 Ratings
Project & financial reporting00 Ratings7.155 Ratings
Integration with accounting software00 Ratings7.629 Ratings
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Bubble PPMSmartsheet
Small Businesses
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Score 8.4 out of 10
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Score 8.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Quickbase
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Score 9.2 out of 10
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
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Score 9.2 out of 10
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Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Bubble PPMSmartsheet
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(15 ratings)
8.5
(141 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(3 ratings)
10.0
(23 ratings)
Usability
8.2
(1 ratings)
8.6
(12 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
9.1
(2 ratings)
8.1
(45 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.1
(2 ratings)
10.0
(6 ratings)
User Testimonials
Bubble PPMSmartsheet
Likelihood to Recommend
Bubble Software
Bubble PPM is well suited for anyone who manages product related projects, especially new product development. As we've matured in our implementation of the system we found that it is great for managing all projects, but the specific strength is product development to launch. Bubble PPM would not be as appropriate for use as a CRM tool, as the references to people are best suited to users within the organization
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Smartsheet
For teams and users who are very familiar with Excel and its mode of operation, Smartsheet will feel like a walkover. If you have a number of users who use Excel or Google Sheets for their personal project management then you will find this tool to be very useful and somewhat familiar.
Teams that may be used to other project management suites or styles would find Smartsheet a bit challenging to adapt to, as formulas and formatting can be challenging to adapt to.
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Pros
Bubble Software
  • I already mentioned the simple user interface for data upload, and the equally intuitive customized reporting. Leadership and "supporting" functions for product development get tremendous value from this because they don't need to hunt down answers anymore. Everything from pipeline planning to operational planning can be built on the same foundation of objective data, rather than many different sources interpreted through many different lenses.
  • But the greatest value I think Bubble Innovator delivers is not really the product itself. It's the sense of partnership and responsiveness from the Bubble Innovation team. The Bubble Innovation team becomes a part of your team. They are valued consultants with helpful input on best practices for stage gate management, portfolio analytics, and report visualization. I have continually been impressed with the responsiveness and effort that their team brings to the table. When we have challenges and need to customize our data or analytics or reporting, they are right there beside us, finding the best solution, sharing prototypes in a test environment, and implementing as fast as possible.
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Smartsheet
  • The easy to use dashboard has enabled us get comprehensive view of projects across the entire business.
  • It has streamlined internal communication with ease of sharing information across different teams.
  • Smartsheet automates our workflows, enhances collaboration and ensures there are no data silos.
  • I like that it saves time for us and ensures we spend less time switching between apps.
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Cons
Bubble Software
  • Development of custom functionality, and redefining 'standard' options for the software. As Bubble grows and their customer base increases there will be opportunity for this, at present development projects can be slow and expensive. However the standard software options are excellent, but as processes evolve within organisations the flexibility to evolve the software could be made simpler.
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Smartsheet
  • Smartsheet set up is similar to Excel, yet when you upload an Excel file, things like conditional formatting are lost. Smartsheet has its own conditional formatting, and you have to reinstate the rules. It would be great if those would apply automatically once a file is uploaded
  • Some Smartsheet management and access rules can take some tweaking to work properly. This may be a case of offering more info to admins so they can apply these better and with more efficiency
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Likelihood to Renew
Bubble Software
The business has been extremely satisfied with Bubble Innovator and is in support of rolling this tool out to our other businesses within the overall franchise.
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Smartsheet
It definitely meets our needs as far as organizing and archiving our tasks and files. As we train more staff to view it, I see opportunities for more improvement, which I am sure this program can handle. I look forward to seeing continued improvement from Smartsheet on their capabilities and functionality.
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Usability
Bubble Software
The user interface is highly visual and simple. Literally within 10-15 minutes of my introduction to the software, I was up and running. Of course, deeper capabilities become apparent after additional use, but the basic functionality is very simple to grasp. Where there are consistent challenges reported by multiple users, the Bubble Innovation team is quick to connect and put plans in place to address the challenges.
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Smartsheet
Smartsheet is very easy to learn. However, while I have been able to pick it easily, Microsoft Excel and Project super users that I have trained on Smartsheet get bogged down in the differences and can find it frustrating. Explaining the differences ahead of time and why Smartsheet is being chosen instead of a different software seems to counteract those reactions
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Support Rating
Bubble Software
Outstanding response times, and solutions to issues requiring support are quickly implemented. For bigger issues or longer term developments, Bubble happily takes the time to meet in person and discuss requirements to drive detailed solutions.
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Smartsheet
I give this rating because it fills a niche in the market. MS Project scares many away from proper task management but there are limited tools our there, especially cloud-based that are mobile-friendly. Smartsheet fills this market gap, especially for small to medium-sized businesses. IT is not fair to compare it to MS Project, but fairer to see what gaps it fills.
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Implementation Rating
Bubble Software
The number of variables made this extremely challenging (org changes, stage gate harmonization, pipeline prioritization, and new governance model). I think the implementation was handled very well in spite of this, and managed to deliver on time and on budget.
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Smartsheet
It's absolutely paramount to take a few minutes to actually play with the software. It's nearly impossible to do anything wrong or make a mistake which cannot be fixed easily. Under the help menu is Live Training option. After you familiarize yourself with the commands, watch the live training for some in depth understanding of how to make the software fit your needs perfectly.
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Alternatives Considered
Bubble Software
When evaluating Bubble Innovator against the competition, we felt that Bubble Innovator gave us the flexibility that we were looking for. Other solutions tended to have some hardwired functionality. Bubble Innovator was a great fit for managing our projects and was efficient to deploy, especially within our existing business processes.
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Smartsheet
Jira and Redmine are much more robust and technologically advanced project management solutions. I enjoy using either when managing a very large project. However, I prefer to use Smartsheet for my smaller to medium sized projects. As for Google Drive - I would say that Google sheets and Smartsheet are almost identical in my opinion when it comes to functionality. Personally I prefer to manage smaller projects via Google Drive, but it is a personal preference!
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Return on Investment
Bubble Software
  • Increased efficiency at several levels - Proejct Teams/Project Managers/Portfolio Decsision Makers
  • Driven consistency of process and reporting across a complex global organization
  • Greater visibility of NPD pipeline has led to improved cross functional alignment on priorites
  • Improved portfolio decision making capability
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Smartsheet
  • This has really opened up collaboration across teams. A lot less working in silos.
  • It hasn't fully replaced any one tool so it means having to go to another place. Hopefully, we can eliminate a tool or two in the next six months.
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ScreenShots

Bubble PPM Screenshots

Screenshot of Example of Portfolio Management Dashboards (Fully Configurable)Screenshot of Example of Project Management Dashboards (Fully Configurable)Screenshot of Real-time metrics and automated project reporting saves users an average of one day per week. Editable dashboard tiles display project status indicators, tabulated data, and summary overviews, as well as metric ratios, KPIs, and calculated metrics. The easy-to-use reporting module makes it possible to quickly share summaries for any number of selected projects and automation tools can facilitate the generation of reports that need to be shared at fixed intervals. And because the very latest information is always available, senior management can obtain a presentation-ready report at any time (without adding to the workload of your team)Screenshot of Projects rarely exist in complete isolation. Our program and project management tools allow portfolio managers to manage many processes or projects in tandem. Track delivery according to priorities, dependencies, or other drivers. The ability to create and link parent and child projects provides an oversight of all project activity while, at the same time, focusing on higher-level program goals. Line extensions, annual updates, or other Projects can be duplicated in whole or in part and required elements are copied across, saving valuable time and effort. Process measurement tools allow you to spot, analyze, and continuously refine process blockers and bottlenecks.Screenshot of The software is designed to reflect the way your organization already works. Any number of project management processes can be added to the system and automated, meaning it's easy to accommodate all of your projects and all of your project types (e.g. New Product Development (NPD), Innovation, Reserach, IT, Project Management Office (PMO) projects).Screenshot of Get organization wide, department, team, or person views, of resource allocation and total capacity. Assign time to projects by hours, days, percentage, etc. View assigned and required resources together or separately. Bring up assignment summaries to see precisely who’s working on what, where the pressure points are, when there’s a risk of becoming overloaded. See where resource gaps could be filled by assigning underutilized capacity from elsewhere. Support long-term business planning with automatic charts that graphically flag where your total available resources are overtaken by the number of projects required.