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It's a split decision.
Choose Smartsheet if your work centers on structured PMOs, portfolio visibility, resource planning, and connected workflows. Its Pro plan starts at $9 per member monthly when billed yearly, and there’s no free plan. Choose Wrike if you want a free tier, project delivery tools, proofing, or workflow automation. Its paid plans start at $10 per user monthly, billed yearly; the pricing page lists seat-group requirements, and Business and higher require annual subscriptions. Both offer custom-priced higher tiers.
01Side by side
| Smartsheet | Wrike | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Pro: $9/member/month, billed yearly | Team: $10/user/month, billed yearly |
| Free plan | No free plan listed | Free plan for individuals and small teams |
| Best for | Structured PMOs and portfolio coordination | Teams coordinating projects through delivery and reporting |
| Core strength | Portfolio visibility, resource planning, and intake workflows | Workflow automation, proofing, and project analytics |
| Learning curve | Review says less compelling for simple project tracking | Review flags setup overhead |
| Integrations/data | Connectors and data tools are listed as add-ons | Business includes standard integration; Integrate and Sync cost extra |
| Team/seat costs | Business: $19/member/month yearly; higher tiers custom | Business: $25/user/month yearly; seat groups apply |
| Support | Review support score: 5/10 | Review support score: 5.5/10 |
Smartsheet Choose Smartsheet if
- Choose Smartsheet if portfolio visibility is central to your work.
- Choose Smartsheet if you need resource and capacity planning.
- Choose Smartsheet if centralized intake and approval workflows matter.
Wrike Choose Wrike if
- Choose Wrike if you want a free plan to start.
- Choose Wrike if online proofing is part of project delivery.
- Choose Wrike if workflow automation and project analytics are priorities.
02Pricing compared
Wrike has the lower entry point if its free tier is enough: the Free plan costs $0, while Smartsheet has no free plan. Smartsheet Pro is $9 per member/month billed yearly, or $12 with monthly billing; Business is $19 annually or $24 monthly. Wrike Team is $10 per user/month billed annually, and Business is $25. Wrike does not publish monthly-billed rates, and Business and higher require annual subscriptions.
Wrike sells seats in groups of 5 up to 30 seats, 10 for 30–100 seats, and 25 above 100. That can make the listed per-user price differ from the cost of the seat block you need. Both vendors have custom-priced higher tiers: Smartsheet Enterprise and Advanced Work Management, and Wrike Pinnacle and Apex.
03Features and depth
Smartsheet is the stronger fit when the work is organized around portfolios, resource planning, and intake. Its listed features include portfolio dashboards, milestone and dependency tracking, workload and capacity planning, and centralized intake and approval workflows. It also connects workflows and brings work from other apps into a shared plan. Some capabilities, including Advanced Portfolios and Dynamic View, are listed as add-ons or part of Advanced Work Management.
Wrike covers project delivery from ideation and planning through reporting. Its feature list includes workflow automation, resource allocation and workload views, online proofing, analytics, dashboards, and Wrike Copilot for questions and summaries. Team includes AI Essentials and interactive Gantt charts; Business adds AI Elite starter actions and work templates. Pinnacle lists advanced resource and capacity planning, budgeting, and advanced reporting. In short, Smartsheet emphasizes portfolio coordination, while Wrike puts more emphasis on delivery workflows and review. Both have AI features, but access varies by plan.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Neither product is positioned here as a bare-bones task tracker. Smartsheet’s feature set spans intake, dependencies, portfolios, and resource planning; that breadth may suit a PMO but can be more than a small team needs. Its published review gives ease of use a 6/10 and says it is less compelling for simple, low-cost tracking.
Wrike also combines project management with automation, resource management, proofing, and analytics. Its published review rates ease of use 6.8/10 and notes that setup overhead needs to fit the team. We’d compare the workflows you actually need against the plan limits before switching, rather than assume either will be simpler for every team.
Questions people ask
Which is better for a project management office?
Smartsheet is the clearer match if your PMO needs portfolio visibility, resource and capacity planning, milestone tracking, and centralized intake. Wrike also offers resource management and reporting, with advanced capacity planning listed on Pinnacle. The better choice depends on which workflows your PMO needs and which plan includes them.
Does Smartsheet or Wrike have a free plan?
Wrike lists a Free plan for individuals and small teams, with project and task management, board view, table view, and web, desktop, and mobile apps. Smartsheet does not list a free plan. If you need a no-cost starting tier, Wrike is the only option of the two.
Does Wrike require an annual subscription?
Wrike’s displayed paid-plan prices are per user per month, billed annually. The pricing information says Business and higher require annual subscriptions, and monthly-billed rates are not published. Its seat-group rules may also affect the total number of seats you need to purchase.
Which product offers more resource-management features?
Both list resource management. Smartsheet describes cross-team resource planning, workload balancing, and capacity planning. Wrike lists resource allocation and workload views, while its Pinnacle plan includes advanced resource and capacity planning. The published pricing information does not give a direct feature-by-feature comparison of those capabilities.