Smartsheet

smartsheet.com

KEEP IT

The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying.

A grid that behaves like project management software: dependencies, Gantt charts, approvals and resource planning on top of rows, used mostly by operations and PMO teams.

Promptfree, for everyone, and the only version there is
Do not rebuild Smartsheet. Build the one grid your team actually uses, with dependencies done properly.

WHAT TO BUILD
- Astro with a Node adapter, SQLite, server-rendered
- One project, many tasks, no cross-project resource planning

THE SCHEDULE
- A task has a duration in working days, an optional start, and a list of predecessors
- Support finish-to-start dependencies with a lag; document that the other three types are not implemented
- Compute the schedule with a topological sort, and refuse a cycle with the path that caused it named

WORKING TIME
- A calendar of working days and holidays in one config file
- All arithmetic in whole days in a single timezone; do not attempt hourly resourcing

THE VIEW
- A table on the left, a bar chart on the right, drawn as inline SVG at a fixed day width
- The critical path highlighted, computed as the longest zero-slack chain
- Print stylesheet, because this is the artefact that gets printed

CHANGES
- Every field change appended to a revision table with who and when
- A baseline snapshot that can be captured and compared against, showing slippage per task

WHAT IS OUT OF SCOPE, SAY SO IN THE README
- Approvals, forms, resource levelling and SSO

Include a README on the working calendar, the critical path definition used, and how to export to CSV.

What you lose

  • Gantt, dependency and critical-path scheduling that project managers already know how to read
  • Approval and request workflows with an audit trail that survives a compliance review
  • Enterprise administration: SSO, provisioning, retention policies and regional data residency
  • Resource management across many projects and people
  • The fact that finance and operations teams already have templates and habits built on it

If you would rather not build

  • Monday.com — paid, the direct competitor, stronger on visuals

The escape hatch

open source · no votes, no paid placement

Grist

$0

Spreadsheet-database with Python formulas and granular access rules, self-hostable.

gristlabs/grist-corefree · open source

Baserow

$0

No-code database with grid, form and gallery views, self-hostable.

baserow/baserowfree · open source

Why this verdict

our own opinion · changed only by a person

33/100

Verdict no at 33: the scheduling maths is a fair weekend and the prompt covers the critical path honestly. What cannot be built is the reason it is bought — a compliance-grade audit trail and an organisation that already works this way.

History

tracked since 9 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten

Interest · last 30 days

Nothing recorded yet. This chart fills in once the page has visitors, votes or prompt copies — it will not draw a flat line to look busy.

Questions about Smartsheet

answered from the record above

Is Smartsheet free?

No — the plan we track is $12 a month. Pro at $12 per member per month billed annually, $14 monthly; Business is $24 and adds automations and approvals.

Can you replace Smartsheet by building your own?

KEEP IT. The value is the network, the data or the infrastructure. Keep paying. Replacement score 33 out of 100, build time longer than it saves. Read what you lose before you decide.

How much does Smartsheet cost?

$12 a month on Pro — $144 a year. Recorded 9 Aug 2026.

What do you lose by replacing Smartsheet?

Gantt, dependency and critical-path scheduling that project managers already know how to read; Approval and request workflows with an audit trail that survives a compliance review; Enterprise administration: SSO, provisioning, retention policies and regional data residency; Resource management across many projects and people; The fact that finance and operations teams already have templates and habits built on it. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.

Is there an open-source alternative to Smartsheet?

Yes: Grist, Baserow. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.

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