Wrike and Smartsheet are two of the most popular project management software options available today. While the two platforms seem similar at a general overview, I discovered many differences when I started looking into the features in more detail.
After carefully comparing them, I recommend Wrike for small teams looking for a free tool and businesses that need more integrations. Meanwhile, Smartsheet’s free plan offers more features for individual users and monthly billing for businesses that don’t want to be tied to an annual contract.
1
Monday.com
Employees by company size
Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1000-4999), Enterprise (5000+)
Any size of company
Any size of company
Characteristics
Agile development, analytics/reporting, APIs and more
2
Wrike
Employees by company size
Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1000-4999), Enterprise (5000+)
Medium (250-999 employees), Large (1000-4999 employees), Enterprise (5000+ employees)
Medium, large, corporate
Characteristics
Agile development, analytics/reporting, APIs and more
3
Fast base
Employees by company size
Micro (0-49), Small (50-249), Medium (250-999), Large (1000-4999), Enterprise (5000+)
Small (50-249 employees), Medium (250-999 employees), Large (1000-4999 employees), Enterprise (5000+ employees)
Small, medium, large, company
Characteristics
Agile development, analytics/reporting, APIs and more
Smartsheet vs Wrike: Comparison Table
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| Our rating (out of 5) | ||
| Initial price (billed annually) | ||
| Free plan | ||
| Project views | ||
| Time tracking | ||
| Integrations | ||
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Smartsheet vs Wrike: Pricing
At first glance, Smartsheet and Wrike appear to have similar pricing structures: both offer a perpetual free plan, two comparably priced paid plans, and at least one enterprise plan with undisclosed pricing (Wrike offers two enterprise plans versus Smartsheet’s single enterprise plan).
Smartsheet’s free plan only supports one user and two editors, compared to Wrike’s generous free plan, which supports an unlimited number of users. However, I appreciate that Smartsheet offers a monthly payment option, while Wrike’s pricing is only annual, which can be off-putting for businesses that don’t want to be tied down to a long-term contract.
Smartsheet Pricing
- Free: $0 for one user and up to two editors.
- Pro: $9 per user per month, billed annually, or $12 per user per month, billed monthly.
- Business: $19 per user per month, billed annually, or $24 per user per month, billed monthly.
- Company: Quotes are available upon request.
A 30-day free trial is available for the Business plan. For more information, read the full Smartsheet review and see this list of Smartsheet alternatives.
Wrike Pricing
- Free: $0 per user per month for unlimited users.
- Equipment: $9.80 per user per month billed annually.
- Business: $24.80 per user per month billed annually.
- Company: Please contact sales for a customized quote.
- Pinnacle: Please contact sales for a customized quote.
There is a 14-day free trial available for all paid Wrike plans. To learn more, read the full Wrike review and see this list of Wrike alternatives.
Smartsheet vs Wrike: Feature Comparison
Free plans
Winner: Wrike
As for team size, Wrike’s free plan offers unlimited users, while Smartsheet only allows one user, two editors, and two viewers. If you’re looking for a small business project management software that you can use with your entire team, Smartsheet’s free plan won’t be enough, though I think it can work for individual use.
However, when it comes to features, Smartsheet’s free plan offers a lot more than Wrike. With Smartsheet, you get unlimited reports and dashboards, as well as four (out of five) project views, including Gantt charts and Kanban boards. Its free plan even supports 250 automations per month and access to integrations.
Wrike’s free plan is more limited, offering no automations, dashboards, analytics, or integrations. Considering there are plenty of free project management software platforms that offer generous plans at no cost, I was a little disappointed to see this. But Wrike’s free plan offers access to multiple project views, as well as subtask management, smart search, and use case project templates. Plus, it offers unlimited users, making it a better overall choice for teams.
Time tracking
Winner: Wrike
Wrike is fairly well-known for its employee time-tracking software, which comes with Business, Enterprise, and Pinnacle plans. Smartsheet also offers native time tracking, but that’s part of its resource management capabilities, which is a paid add-on not included in the basic plans. Neither Wrike nor Smartsheet offer time tracking in their free plans. You can also use third-party time-tracking software and integrate it with either platform.
Automation
Winner: Tie
Wrike offers a limited number of automations per user, which varies by plan. Meanwhile, Smartsheet offers a certain number of automations per plan for all users. For example, Wrike allows 50 task automations per user on its Team plan, while Smartsheet has 250 automations per month on its Pro plan.
I crunched the numbers for the two cheapest plans and found that you'll get more automations per person with Smartsheet if you have 12 users or fewer, but you'll get more automations overall with Wrike if you have 13 users or more.
I recommend taking into account your own team size, frequency of automation use, and budget for a more accurate comparison.
Integrations
Winner: Wrike
Smartsheet has over 100 integrations, while Wrike has over 400. Both software integrate with standard business tools like Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, and Slack. Teams can also find compatible third-party apps for data visualization, communication, business intelligence, marketing, and security for each platform.
While it’s great that Wrike offers such a large number of connections, some of Wrike’s integrations are limited to the paid Wrike Integrate add-on, and it’s not entirely clear to me from the website which integrations are subject to a paywall. It’s fairly common for project management software to restrict some integrations to higher-tier plans, but I found it a little unusual that Wrike decided to make them a paid add-on.
If you're looking for a specific integration to use with Wrike, it's definitely worth confirming with the sales team whether it's included with a plan level or if it would require an additional cost with the add-on.
Security
Winner: Tie
Users get advanced security features, such as SAML single sign-on (SSO), in both Smartsheet and Wrike, but these features are limited to the Enterprise tier on both platforms. Wrike also offers an additional layer of encryption through an add-on called Wrike Lock. Meanwhile, Smartsheet offers several à la carte security add-ons, including data retention policies and event reporting.
Pros and cons of Smartsheet
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Pros and cons of Wrike
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Should you use Smartsheet or Wrike?
Choose Smartsheet if…
- You are looking for free project management software for individual use.
- You want a month-to-month billing option.
- You prefer a more traditional looking interface reminiscent of Excel.
- You need advanced reporting and analytics tools.
Choose Wrike if…
- Want free project management software with unlimited seats?
- You need more integrations and are willing to potentially pay for the plugin.
- You want annual billing instead of month to month.
- You prefer native time tracking to be included in the basic plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wrike similar to Smartsheet?
Wrike and Smartsheet are both project management software and offer many of the same features. However, they approach their pricing structures differently, so you should compare the platforms carefully to determine how much you'll need to pay for the tools of your choice.
For example, Smartsheet offers many more features in its free plan, but limits it to a single user, making it useless for teams. In contrast, Wrike’s free plan supports an unlimited number of users, but offers very limited features.
What are the limitations of Smartsheet?
Smartsheet only supports one user and two editors on its free, permanent plan. Additionally, Smartsheet’s spreadsheet-inspired interface can feel dated compared to its alternative’s more colorful and visually appealing interface. Smartsheet also limits several resource management features, including native time tracking, to a paid add-on.
Review methodology
To compare Smartsheet vs Wrike, I took advantage of free trials so I could test the software myself. While writing this review, I compared features like project views, time tracking, automations, integrations, and security. I also considered other factors like price, customer support, and user interface design.
