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It's a split decision.
Choose AppSheet if you need custom business apps, forms, or workflow automations: its listed paid plans start at $5 per user per month, and it has a free plan. Choose Smartsheet for project and portfolio visibility, resource planning, and structured PMO work. Its Pro plan starts at $9 per member per month with annual billing, or $12 monthly. These are different tools more than direct substitutes, so the deciding factor is whether you need an app platform or a work-management platform.
01Side by side
| AppSheet | Smartsheet | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $5 per user monthly | $9 annual; $12 monthly per member |
| Free plan | Available | Not available |
| Best for | Building custom business apps | Structured project and portfolio management |
| Core strength | App building and workflow automation | Project visibility and resource planning |
| Learning curve | Review flags learning demands | Review scores ease of use 6/10 |
| Integrations and data | Connects data sources and software | Connects workflows and work from other apps |
| Team and seat costs | Licenses required for signed-in and guest users | Unlimited contributors; Business adds unlimited guests |
| Support | Core includes email support; Enterprise Plus priority | Support packages listed as add-ons |
AppSheet Choose AppSheet if
- Choose AppSheet if you need to build custom business apps.
- Choose AppSheet if forms, barcodes, signatures, or photos matter.
- Choose AppSheet if you want a free plan or lower entry price.
Smartsheet Choose Smartsheet if
- Choose Smartsheet if your team runs structured projects or portfolios.
- Choose Smartsheet if you need resource and capacity planning.
- Choose Smartsheet if unlimited contributors fit your team setup.
02Pricing compared
AppSheet has a free plan, and its listed paid plans start at $5 per user per month. Starter includes five AppSheet databases, capped at 2,500 rows each; Core is $10 per user per month and includes 10 databases with the same row cap. The pricing page lists no annual prices or discount. AppSheet also requires licenses for signed-in and guest or external users.
Smartsheet Pro costs $9 per member per month with annual billing, or $12 monthly. Pro allows 1–10 members, unlimited contributors, and 250 automations per month. Business is $19 annually or $24 monthly per member, with unlimited automations. Enterprise and Advanced Work Management use custom pricing. The unit matters: AppSheet charges by user, while Smartsheet’s listed plans charge by member. Compare your actual seat count and required limits, not just the starting prices.
03Features and depth
AppSheet is for building business apps and automations. Its features include forms, barcode and location capture, signatures and photos, plus triggers, conditions, and branches for workflows. Gemini can help create an app from a description, and the platform supports AI document processing and OCR. Teams can customize app design, security, and branding, and manage users, developers, and policies. Its listed plan caps matter: Starter and Core include 2,500 rows per database, while Enterprise Plus raises that to 200,000.
Smartsheet is centered on managing work across projects and portfolios. It offers project visibility, dashboards, resource and capacity planning, milestone and dependency tracking, and intake and approval workflows. Its features also include client collaboration portals and AI-powered customer reporting. Business includes unlimited automations and 1 TB of attachment storage; Pro includes 250 automations monthly and 20 GB. These products overlap around workflows, but they solve different problems: AppSheet builds custom apps, while Smartsheet organizes plans, people, and project work.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Neither product is automatically the simpler choice; the work you need it to do is the better guide. AppSheet lets users build without code, but customizing app behavior, data capture, security, and automation means there are more decisions than in a basic form builder. Its review notes that learning demands deserve attention.
Smartsheet is aimed at organizing projects, portfolios, resources, and intake workflows. That structure can suit a PMO, but may be more platform than a team needs for simple tracking; its review flags weaker appeal for low-cost, straightforward project work. Before switching, map a real workflow to the product: app creation and field data capture point toward AppSheet, while project and portfolio visibility point toward Smartsheet.
Questions people ask
Why should I use Smartsheet?
Use Smartsheet if your main need is coordinating projects or portfolios, planning resources, tracking milestones and dependencies, or centralizing intake and approvals. Its listed features focus on work visibility and structured project management. If you mainly need custom business apps or rich data-capture forms, AppSheet is the closer fit.
Does Google have a version of Smartsheet?
The published product details describe AppSheet as a no-code platform for building business apps and automations, not as a direct Smartsheet equivalent. AppSheet may fit teams that need custom apps and forms; Smartsheet focuses on projects, portfolios, resources, and work visibility. The published sources do not establish a direct Google counterpart.
Can Power Automate work with Smartsheet?
The published Smartsheet details do not say whether Power Automate connects to Smartsheet, so we can’t confirm compatibility from these sources. Smartsheet lists connectors among its add-ons, but does not identify Power Automate here. Check the current integration documentation before choosing based on that connection.
What's better than Smartsheet?
There isn’t one better choice for every team. AppSheet is a better match when the job is building custom business apps, collecting data through forms, or automating workflows; Smartsheet is a better match for project and portfolio visibility, resource planning, and PMO work. Compare the required seats, plan limits, and total price.