Head-to-head
monday.com vs Smartsheet: which one in 2026?
monday.com is an Israeli work management platform built on configurable boards, with a free plan and five tiers. Smartsheet is a US spreadsheet-style work management product with a trust page listing SOC 2 and ISO 27001. Pick by board flexibility against documented compliance and sheet-based planning.
Verdict
monday.com ranks above Smartsheet for most teams because it can be tried free, its price ladder is readable, and its limits are printed per tier. Smartsheet is the stronger pick once procurement asks for documents, since its trust page lists certifications and an EU region while monday.com's were not opened. Smartsheet's Pro and Business prices could not be read reliably, so get a quote with your Member count before comparing totals.
monday.com and Smartsheet side by side
| monday.com | Smartsheet | |
|---|---|---|
| Price entry | 9 euros per seat per month (Basic, billed annually, as shown on the euro pricing page) | $9 per member per month (Pro, billed yearly) |
| Trying it without paying | A free plan covers 2 seats, 3 boards and 3 Docs. It does not cover a real team, so it works as a proof of concept. | No free plan. The pricing page offers a 30-day trial with no credit card, after which every use is paid. |
| Published price shape | Basic EUR 9, Standard EUR 12 and Pro EUR 19 per seat per month billed annually, with a 3-user minimum. Prices vary by billing country. | Pro and Business per Member per month. The page text runs two figures together, so we do not quote them. Enterprise is custom. |
| Who counts as a paid user | Every seat is paid, though Basic lists unlimited free viewers and Standard adds guest access. | Only Members pay. Pro includes unlimited Contributors, and Business adds unlimited Guests, which lowers cost when most people only update tasks. |
| Automation allowance | Standard has 250 automation and 250 integration actions monthly, Pro 25,000 and Enterprise 250,000. Basic shows no count on its card. | Pro allows 250 automations per month. Business and above list unlimited automations, which removes metering as a planning concern. |
| Planning views | Gantt and Timeline arrive on Standard, with workload views for capacity. AI builds a plan with tasks, owners and dependencies from a description. | Pro has Gantt, table, board and calendar. Timeline and workload tracking begin on Business. Portfolios and Scenario Planning need Enterprise. |
| Storage and attachments | Storage limits for work management were not stated on the pages we read, so ask sales what file volume each plan allows. | Pro gives 20 GB with a 30 MB attachment cap. Business gives 1 TB with 250 MB, and Enterprise is unlimited. |
| API ceilings | 1,000 calls per day on Standard, 10,000 on Pro and 25,000 on Enterprise, a clear number to size an integration against. | The pricing text we read gave no daily API figure. Business adds MCP-enabled AI connections, and Connectors and Data Shuttle are priced add-ons. |
| Security statements | The privacy policy mentions encryption and a Trust Center, but certifications were not confirmed because trust pages were not opened. | The trust page lists SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 27701, FedRAMP, AES-256 at rest, and EU hosting in Germany or Ireland. |
Where each one wins
monday.com wins on
- Free plan plus a three-step price ladder under EUR 20 makes small-team budgeting predictable
- Published daily API limits and monthly automation counts per tier let you size integrations in advance
- Describing a project to AI produces tasks, owners and dependencies assigned by capacity
Smartsheet wins on
- Trust page names SOC 2, ISO 27001 and FedRAMP, and states customer data is not used to train third-party models
- Unlimited Contributors and Guests mean only people who build sheets are counted as paid Members
- Business includes unlimited automations and 1 TB of attachment storage, with Enterprise adding portfolios and SSO
Which to pick
Pick monday.com if
You want a flexible board tool a small team can start on free, with clear per-seat prices and published automation and API limits.
Pick Smartsheet if
A security review will ask for certifications and hosting region, or many colleagues only update tasks and you want them off the paid seat count.
Each tool in context: monday.com profile, Smartsheet profile, and the full Best Project Management Software in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is monday.com cheaper than Smartsheet?
For a small team, probably, but the page does not settle it. monday.com publishes EUR 9, 12 and 19 per seat per month, billed annually with a 3-user minimum. Smartsheet's price text was ambiguous, and it charges Members only, so the answer depends on how many collaborators need paid access.
Does Smartsheet have a free plan like monday.com?
No. Smartsheet offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required, then paid plans. monday.com has a free plan limited to 2 seats, 3 boards and 3 Docs. For a long unpaid trial of real workflows, neither fits, but monday.com can stay free for one very small team.
Which one is better for a SOC 2 or ISO 27001 review?
Smartsheet has the easier path from the pages we read: its trust page lists SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 27701 and FedRAMP. monday.com links ISO, SOC and HIPAA materials from its footer, but we did not open them, so ask monday.com for its current reports directly.
Which tool has Gantt charts on its lower plans?
Both do. monday.com puts Timeline and Gantt on Standard at EUR 12 per seat, while Smartsheet's Pro lists Gantt, table, board and calendar views. Smartsheet's Timeline view and workload tracking require Business, and Portfolios require Enterprise, so check which views your project plans actually need.