Smartsheet Interactive Demo
Explore a demo of Smartsheet, a work management platform that combines a familiar spreadsheet interface with project management features like Gantt charts, automation, and real-time dashboards.
What is Smartsheet?
Smartsheet is a cloud-based work management platform founded in 2006 that wraps enterprise project management capabilities around a spreadsheet-style grid. Rows represent work items, columns hold data fields, and the familiar layout means most users can get oriented quickly without formal training. Beneath that surface, it supports Gantt charts, card views, calendar views, and resource management that go well beyond what a spreadsheet can handle.
Automation is a core part of the platform. You can set up workflows to send alerts when deadlines approach, request approvals from specific people, and automatically update fields based on conditions. Update requests pull stakeholders into the sheet without giving them full edit access — useful when you need input from executives or external partners.
Smartsheet also connects sheets across a workspace through cross-sheet formulas and reports, so a portfolio-level rollup can pull live data from dozens of individual project sheets. Dashboards built on top of that data give leadership a single view of status, capacity, and progress without anyone manually compiling a status report.
How to get started with Smartsheet
- 1
Start a free trial
Go to smartsheet.com and start a 30-day Business trial. No credit card is required. The trial gives you access to all views, automations, and integrations so you can evaluate the full feature set.
- 2
Create your first sheet
Choose a template from the template gallery — options cover project tracking, content calendars, budgets, and CRM — or build from a blank grid. Add columns for each data field your team needs to track.
- 3
Set up Gantt or card view
Switch to Gantt view to assign start and end dates and draw dependencies between rows. Use card view to get a Kanban-style layout. Both views update the same underlying sheet data.
- 4
Build an automation workflow
Go to Automations and create a workflow — for example, send an alert when a status column changes to 'At Risk,' or request an approval when a row moves to 'Ready for Review.' No code is required.
- 5
Connect a dashboard
Create a dashboard and add widgets that pull live data from your sheets — charts, metrics, Gantt summaries, and report tables. Share the dashboard link with stakeholders who need visibility without edit access.
Explore more Smartsheet guides
Step-by-step interactive demos and tutorials for Smartsheet.
Who is Smartsheet most useful for?
Operations and program managers running cross-functional projects at mid-market and enterprise companies. The spreadsheet grid lowers the adoption barrier for teams that already live in Excel, while Gantt and resource views give managers visibility that spreadsheets lack. IT teams, construction firms, and professional services organizations are among the heaviest users.
Teams managing complex approval chains, external vendor coordination, and compliance-driven workflows rely on Smartsheet's permission model and update request system. You can loop in clients or contractors to fill in specific cells without exposing the rest of the sheet.
Organizations rolling out Smartsheet to large teams can use Supademo to build interactive walkthroughs that show employees exactly how to submit requests, update their rows, and read dashboard widgets — reducing the support burden on admins. Supademo captures the actual Smartsheet interface and lets you layer in step-by-step annotations that work as self-serve onboarding guides.
Smartsheet is a solid fit for enterprise project management, but these four tools approach work management from different angles.
More flexible than Smartsheet for building custom apps and relational data structures. Less mature for traditional project management but excellent for teams that want to model their own data schema.
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Colorful, highly visual, and easier to onboard non-technical teams. Stronger marketplace of integrations and automations. Less spreadsheet-native than Smartsheet, which can be a feature or a limitation.
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Better suited for task-level work and individual accountability. Goals and portfolio features tie project execution to company objectives in a way Smartsheet does not natively support.
View demo →
The long-standing standard for heavy-schedule projects with deep resource leveling and earned value tracking. Requires more training than Smartsheet and is better suited to dedicated project managers than self-organizing teams.
FAQs on Smartsheet
Commonly asked questions about Smartsheet. Have more? Reach out and our team will be happy to help.
How much does Smartsheet cost?
Smartsheet pricing starts at $9 per user per month on the Pro plan (billed annually), which supports up to 10 users. The Business plan is $19 per user per month with no user cap. Enterprise pricing is custom and includes advanced security, admin controls, and dedicated support. There is no permanent free plan, though a 30-day trial is available.
How does Smartsheet differ from Excel?
Smartsheet uses a grid similar to Excel but adds real-time collaboration, Gantt views, automated workflows, and cross-sheet formulas that update live across your workspace. Excel requires manual version management and lacks native project management views. Smartsheet is designed for teams working on the same data simultaneously.
Can Smartsheet replace a dedicated project management tool?
Smartsheet can replace tools like Asana or Monday.com for many teams, particularly those managing large-scale programs with many dependencies. It is less suited to software development workflows that need native Git integration or sprint-specific tooling.
Does Smartsheet integrate with other tools?
Smartsheet integrates with Salesforce, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, Jira, Tableau, and dozens of other platforms. It also supports custom integrations through its API and through Zapier. Native connectors to Salesforce and Microsoft Teams are available on Business and Enterprise plans.
Is Smartsheet suitable for managing construction or field projects?
Smartsheet is widely used in construction project management for tracking submittals, RFIs, schedules, and budgets. The mobile app allows field teams to update rows and attach photos from job sites. Gantt views and cross-sheet reporting make it practical for managing multiple sites in parallel.
How does Smartsheet handle resource management?
Smartsheet's Resource Management module (formerly 10,000ft) tracks team capacity, project assignments, and utilization rates. It is available as an add-on and is most useful for agencies and professional services firms that need to forecast headcount across a portfolio of active projects. See how Airtable compares for lighter-weight resource tracking.