Smartsheet vs. Zoho Projects

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
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
Zoho Projects
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Zoho Project is online project management and planning software that provides project teams with a web-based collaborative environment. Zoho Projects can also include a bug tracking module specifically design to support software development project. It is integrated with other Zoho products including Zoho CRM.
$4
per user/per month if billed annually
Pricing
SmartsheetZoho Projects
Editions & Modules
Individual
$14
per month
Business
$25
Per User / Per Month
Enterprise
Contact Sales
Premier
Contact Sales
Premium
$4
per user/per month if billed annually
Enterprise
$9
per user/per month if billed annually
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
SmartsheetZoho Projects
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptional
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
SmartsheetZoho Projects
Considered Both Products
Smartsheet

No answer on this topic

Zoho Projects
Chose Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects is far superior as a project management tool compared to the simple ones we investigated. The pricing was very competitive to the market and the free trial helped out with our proof of concept. Compared to Workfront, you get similar functionality but at a …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
SmartsheetZoho Projects
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Smartsheet
7.7
124 Ratings
3% above category average
Zoho Projects
8.6
18 Ratings
14% above category average
Task Management8.4121 Ratings8.718 Ratings
Resource Management8.8103 Ratings8.617 Ratings
Gantt Charts8.1104 Ratings9.715 Ratings
Scheduling8.5106 Ratings8.616 Ratings
Workflow Automation8.295 Ratings8.013 Ratings
Team Collaboration8.4117 Ratings9.918 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology8.377 Ratings6.35 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology5.675 Ratings8.610 Ratings
Document Management6.596 Ratings9.714 Ratings
Email integration7.995 Ratings9.914 Ratings
Mobile Access7.491 Ratings8.417 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking6.158 Ratings8.917 Ratings
Change request and Case Management8.064 Ratings6.96 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management8.070 Ratings8.713 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
Smartsheet
6.5
62 Ratings
13% below category average
Zoho Projects
7.3
11 Ratings
1% below category average
Quotes/estimates5.540 Ratings5.55 Ratings
Invoicing6.033 Ratings8.611 Ratings
Project & financial reporting7.056 Ratings6.55 Ratings
Integration with accounting software7.530 Ratings8.711 Ratings
Best Alternatives
SmartsheetZoho Projects
Small Businesses
FunctionFox
FunctionFox
Score 8.3 out of 10
FunctionFox
FunctionFox
Score 8.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
SAP Ruum
SAP Ruum
Score 9.0 out of 10
SAP Ruum
SAP Ruum
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
Quickbase
Quickbase
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
SmartsheetZoho Projects
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(142 ratings)
8.8
(22 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(23 ratings)
9.9
(3 ratings)
Usability
8.6
(12 ratings)
5.6
(4 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Performance
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.1
(45 ratings)
7.4
(9 ratings)
Online Training
7.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(6 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
SmartsheetZoho Projects
Likelihood to Recommend
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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Zoho
My work involves projects of 5-15 people with numerous projects running simultaneously. Prior to Zoho, I did not have a central location from which to view all project statuses at once. Zoho looks to provide this and also looks like it will deliver. I am anxious to see how our organization's use of it develops. At this time, I feel I am likely to recommend Zoho Projects because my organization has made great software decisions in the past so I have a level of trust already that the research has been done that Zoho is the best solution for our line of work.
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Pros
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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Zoho
  • We use it to manage our sales orders as there are lots of moving parts which are necessary to get client orders done properly.
  • I use it anytime I have a new idea I want to put into motion. As I can create a list for brainstorming, feedback, specific actions necessary in order to test and or implement the idea.
  • Unrelated to business, it's a great way to plan travel in order to make sure you don't forget those important things like passport, flight arrangement, client meeting confirmation, and meeting prep as far as what specific documents or things do you need to bring with you.
  • And since everyone is on the go and expected to keep up with work, the mobile/tablet app makes it a breeze to keep up, work on, and create new projects.
Read full review
Cons
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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Zoho
  • There is no ability to add custom fields in the "Bugs" module - for example, if we want to add fields such as Version Number.
  • Reporting is not integrated - its a fairly expensive add-on.
  • There is no easy way to track actual and completed dates for tasks - so historical variance analysis is not easy.
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Likelihood to Renew
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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Zoho
I've reviewed about 8 other project management solutions and Zoho Projects is the best I've seen without being overly complicated. Zoho Projects keeps getting better! Recent new enhancements makes it even easier to navigate. There are new keyboard shortcuts that cut my time way down. The tools are very easy to use.
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Usability
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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Zoho
Zoho Projects is an easy project management tool to use. It provides all the functionality that we required for handling projects. We can easily create personal forms for projects and tasks, allowing us to add and report on our own desire. Apart from this we can create and edit documents in real time which saves our time. This allows us to share text docs, presentations, tables with the whole team and we can work on them together
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Reliability and Availability
Smartsheet
No answers on this topic
Zoho
Has not been down to my knowledge.
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Performance
Smartsheet
No answers on this topic
Zoho
Speed meets my expectations.
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Support Rating
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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Zoho
Although it might lack intuitiveness, once you get a hang of how Zoho Projects works, you can do a LOT. The impact good project management has on profitability is huge, and it has helped not only improve communication and coordination when working on a project, but more importantly have adequate tracking of time, due dates and potential bottle necks
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Implementation Rating
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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Zoho
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
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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Zoho
Zoho Projects provides a more limited set of functionality and customization options than other task/bug trackers on the market, but what it lacks in functionality it makes up for in ease of use. It probably has 80-90% of the features of its competitors but takes about a third of the time to get up and running and realizing value.
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Return on Investment
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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Zoho
  • We needed a system to organize our growing business, so anything was better than what we had, which was nothing.
  • Recording time spend is a huge reason for using project software. It has made me aware of the tasks that are taking too long and where we are not being profitable as a company.
  • It has kept our team accountable for what needs to get completed and when projects are not in motion or completed timely. It's helpful to know in order to get billing out faster.
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ScreenShots

Zoho Projects Screenshots

Screenshot of Task Automation with Blueprint - Map out your entire workflow with no code as flowcharts. Automate your tasks and notifications and set approval criteria with blueprint.Screenshot of Intuitive Gantt Charts - Say what, say who, say when. And done. Zoho Projects' Gantt chart comes feature loaded with advanced operations such as Critical path and Baseline.Screenshot of Inbuilt Issue Tracker - You can log, organize, track, and fix any problems. Features such as status and workflow, can be customized to suit the exact needs of your project.Screenshot of Drag, Drop and Done - A view of your tasks as cards placed along columns. Helps you identify bottlenecks and reorganize quickly using drag and drop.Screenshot of A quick pulse of all your work - The Portfolio dashboard, is a compact overview of all the work that's been happening across projects with widgets that address the project level timeline, status, ownership, budget health, and clients.Screenshot of Looks that matter - A refreshing UI that supports multiple themes, including an eye-catching dark mode.