ProWorkflow vs Smartsheet

What ProWorkflow is

ProWorkflow is a project, time and resource management platform aimed at agencies and service firms, and its pricing has a detail that changes the comparison: on the entry Professional plan, quoting and invoicing are paid add-ons rather than included modules. Add both and the plan costs roughly what the Advanced tier does — except Advanced includes them, doubles the storage and adds recurring projects, templates and an organisational chart, while requiring at least five users. There is no free plan, but the 30-day trial takes no card and onboarding is included at every level.

What Smartsheet is

Smartsheet manages work in a spreadsheet-like grid with automations, dependencies and reporting layered on. The grid is deliberate: teams that already run projects in spreadsheets can move across without learning a new mental model, then gain Gantt views, approval workflows and cross-sheet reporting they could not build in a spreadsheet. It suits operational and portfolio work more than software development, where board-based tools fit the rhythm better.

What ProWorkflow is built to do

Time and project tracking

Tracks time against projects and feeds it straight into invoices.

Resource planning

Allocates staff and workload using Kanban and Gantt views.

Quoting and invoicing

Converts quotes to invoices; an add-on on Professional and included on Advanced.

What Smartsheet is built to do

Grid, Gantt and card views

The same data shown as a sheet, a timeline or a board without duplicating it.

Cross-sheet reporting

Roll many project sheets into one portfolio view for reporting upward.

Automated workflows

Approval chains, reminders and status updates triggered by field changes.

Forms

Collect structured requests from people who never open the sheet itself.

Choose ProWorkflow if

• Small teams that only need project, task and time management — Professional starts at one user, $20 per user per month
• Agencies that quote and invoice from the same system, which is free from Advanced at $30 per user per month
• Teams of five or more, since Advanced adds recurring and retainer projects, templates and custom fields
• Buyers who want implementation help included: onboarding with a specialist is free on every plan

Skip ProWorkflow if

• You picked Professional for the price but need quoting and invoicing — those are $10 each on top
• You are a team of fewer than five and want Advanced, which lists a 5+ user minimum
• You want to try before committing budget: there is no free tier, only a 30-day trial
• You need on-premise hosting, LDAP sync or a custom SLA, which are Enterprise and quote-only

Choose Smartsheet if

• Teams that think in spreadsheets but need automation, forms and dashboards on top
• Small groups: Pro starts at $9/member/month billed annually
• Trying it fully first — 30 days with no card

Skip Smartsheet if

• You need unlimited automations or timeline view; those start at Business, $19/member/month annual
• You want a free tier; Smartsheet has none, only a trial
• You are an existing customer hoping to move to Pro — the vendor lists Pro as available to new customers only

ProWorkflow: pros & cons

• Quoting and invoicing included from the Advanced tier
• Free onboarding with a specialist on every plan
• 30-day trial with no credit card
• Quoting and invoicing cost extra on Professional
• Advanced requires a minimum of five users
• No free tier at any level

Smartsheet: pros & cons

• Familiar to anyone comfortable in spreadsheets
• Handles dependencies and resource views
• Strong automation and forms
• Interface is dense
• Per-user pricing with feature gates
• Spreadsheet metaphor breaks on complex work