Smartsheet vs Trello
A source-aware comparison of pricing, documented capabilities and workflow fit.
Short answer
- Price: Trello is cheaper — $6/user/mo vs $9/user/mo.
- How to start: Smartsheet is from $9/user/mo billed annually, Trello is from $6/user/mo billed monthly.
- Where they differ: on what we checked they match — both offer public api, mobile app and sso (saml).
These lines are generated from the pricing we track, not from a paid placement. How we score tools.
What Smartsheet is
What Smartsheet isSmartsheet 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 Trello is
What Trello isTrello is the world's most popular and simple Kanban board system. It brings the 'To Do, Doing, Done' logic into the digital world in its purest form. You manage your workflow by dragging cards between columns. Its success is rooted in providing instant usability for those who don't want to get lost in complex features. With 'Power-Ups,' it can connect to tools like Slack or GitHub, while 'Butler' automation handles routine chores easily.
Side by side
| Smartsheet | Trello | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Project Management | Project Management |
| How to start | $9/user/moverified | $6/user/moverified |
| Public API | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Open source / self-hostable | No | No |
| SSO (SAML) | Yes | Yes |
| Visit | Smartsheet ↗ | Trello ↗ |
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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.
What Trello is built to do
- Kanban Boards
- Create a visual workflow by dragging and dropping cards between lists.
- Butler Automation
- Set up rules triggered by card movements without writing any code.
- Power-Ups
- Add calendars, voting, or external app integrations directly to your cards.
- Checklists
- Break large tasks into smaller pieces within individual cards.
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
Choose Trello if
- Small groups working for free: up to 10 collaborators per Workspace with unlimited cards, 10 boards, unlimited Power-Ups and 250 Workspace command runs per month
- Teams that hit the board cap — Standard ($6 per user/month billed monthly, less annually) gives unlimited boards, advanced checklists, custom fields and 1,000 command runs
- Teams that need views: Premium at $10 per user/month billed annually ($12.50 monthly) adds Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views plus unlimited command runs and admin controls
Skip Trello if
- You need SSO and user provisioning below the top tier — those come with Atlassian Guard on Enterprise at $17.50 per user/month billed annually ($210.00 per user per year)
- You attach large files: storage is unlimited but capped per file at 10MB on Free and 250MB on Standard
- Your Workspace has more than 10 collaborators and you wanted to stay free — that is the hard limit on the Free plan
Evidence and freshness
Where a claim on this page comes from a vendor page, it is linked here.
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
Trello: pros & cons
- Zero Training: Anyone can understand how to use it at first glance.
- Fast and Light: Low CPU usage and very responsive in both browser and mobile.
- Visual Simplicity: Lets you see exactly where work stands with one look.
- Free Plan: Generous enough for personal use and small projects without a card.
- Complexity Cap: Can become difficult to manage for projects with hundreds of tasks.
- Reporting: Has very low capacity for deep data analysis and advanced charting.
- Hierarchy: Not as flexible as rivals for breaking projects into layers or sub-tasks.
Our verdict on Smartsheet
The easiest migration path off spreadsheets. Teams that never liked spreadsheets will not like this either.
Our verdict on Trello
A card-based board that stays simple on purpose; you will feel its limits on complex projects.
Published plans, side by side
Every figure below was read from the vendor's own pricing page and is shown with the sentence it came from. Where a vendor publishes no plan prices, we say so rather than guess.
Smartsheet
- Pro$9/user/mo billed annually
Pro from $9 per member/month billed annually
- Business$19/user/mo billed annually
Business from $19 per member/month billed annually
Trello
- Free$0/mo
Free: up to 10 collaborators per Workspace, unlimited cards, up to 10 boards per Workspace, unlimited Power-Ups per board, unlimited storage at 10MB/file, 250 Workspace command runs per month, unlimited activity log, iOS and Android apps, 2-factor authentication
- Standard$6/user/mo billed monthly
Standard: '$6 billed monthly', lower per user/month if billed annually — unlimited boards, AI, advanced checklists, card mirroring, custom fields, list colors, collapsible lists, unlimited storage at 250MB/file, 1,000 Workspace command runs per month, single board guests, saved searches
- Premium$10/user/mo billed annually
Premium $10 per user/month if billed annually ($12.50 billed monthly): Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views, Workspace views, unlimited Workspace command runs, admin and security features, Workspace-level templates, collections, observers, simple data export
- Enterprise$17.5/user/mo billed annually
Enterprise $17.50 per user/month billed annually ($210.00 annual price per user): unlimited Workspaces, organization-wide permissions, public board management, multi-board guests, attachment permissions, Power-Up administration, free SSO and user provisioning with Atlassian Guard, 24/7 Enterprise Admin support
Smartsheet vs Trello: common questions
- Is Smartsheet cheaper than Trello?
- Trello is the cheaper entry point at $6/user/mo billed monthly, against $9/user/mo billed annually for Smartsheet. Both figures come from the vendors' own pricing pages.
- Does Smartsheet or Trello have a free plan?
- Smartsheet has no free plan listed, while Trello publishes a free plan (Free).
- Which is cheaper once you start paying, Smartsheet or Trello?
- Trello has the cheaper first paid step: Standard at $6/user/mo billed monthly, against Pro at $9/user/mo billed annually for Smartsheet. Both figures come from the vendors' own pricing pages.
- What is the difference between Smartsheet and Trello?
- On the criteria we check, on what we checked they match — both offer public api, mobile app and sso (saml). The table above lists every criterion side by side.