SmartsheetandLinearsolvedifferentproblems.Smartsheetisspreadsheet-styleworkmanagementforPMOs,opsteamsandcross-functionalprograms;Linearisafastissuetrackerbuiltforsoftwareengineering.PickSmartsheetwhennon-technicalpeopleowntheplan,andLinearwhenengineersownthebacklog.Veryfewteamsgenuinelyneedtochoosebetweenthem.
Whyanyonecomparesthesetwoatall
Mostsoftwarecategoriesproducesensiblehead-to-headmatchups.Thisonedoesn’t.Smartsheet’sclosestcompetitorsareAsana,MondayandMicrosoftProject.Linear’sareJira,ShortcutandGitHubIssues.Puttingthemonthesamepageisabitlikecomparingaprojectaccountingsystemtoacodereviewtool.
Therearethreesituationswherethecomparisonisreal,andthey’reallprocurementsituationsratherthanproductones.
Thefirstisconsolidation.A60-personcompanyalreadyrunningLinearinengineeringgetstoldbyfinancetocutthesoftwarebill,andsomeonenoticesthattheopsteam’sSmartsheetlicencecouldtheoreticallycoverengineeringtoo.Thesecondisthereverse:aSmartsheet-standardisedcompanyhiresitsfirstseriousengineeringteam,andthoseengineersrefusetofileworkinagrid.Thethirdisafounderoropsleadbuildingastackfromscratchwhohasseenbothtoolsdemoedinthesameweekandhasn’tyetworkedoutthattheysitatdifferentlayers.
Inallthreecasesthehonestanswerisusually”runboth”—butthatanswercostsmoney,soit’sworthunderstandingexactlywhatyougiveupeitherway.
Whateachtoolactuallyis
Smartsheet
Smartsheetisagrid.Everythingsitsontopofthat:rows,columns,cellformulas,cross-sheetformulas,dependencies,conditionalformatting.OntopofthegridyougetGantt,calendar,cardandtableviews,dashboards,reportsandforms—allunlimitedoneverypaidplan,accordingto
Thereasonlargeorganisationsbuyitisnotthegrid.It’sthelayerabove:ControlCenterforspinningupstandardisedprojectsacrossaportfolio,DynamicViewforlettingexternalpartiesseeonlytheirsliceofasheet,DataShuttleforscheduledimportsandexports.ThosearethetoolsthatmakeSmartsheetaPMOplatformratherthananonlinespreadsheet,andtheyareadd-ons—DynamicViewstartsat$125/monthandDataShuttlestartsat$100/month,oryoubuythembundledintheAdvancedWorkManagementpackagealongsideControlCenter,DataMesh,ConnectorsandthePivotandCalendarapps.
Ifyou’reevaluatingSmartsheetagainsttoolsitactuallycompeteswith,our
Linear
Linearisanopinionatedissuetracker.Issues,projects,cyclesandinitiatives—that’stheobjectmodel,anditbarelymoves.Thereisnogrid,noGanttchart,noresourceallocation,notimesheet.Theproduct’sentireargumentisspeedandconstraint:fewerfields,keyboard-firstnavigation,andaworkflowthatassumesthepeoplefilingworkarethepeopledoingit.
RecentreleaseshavepushedhardintoagentandAIworkflows—theagentplatformandLinearAgentareavailableevenonthefreeplan,withCodeIntelligence,LoopsandTriageIntelligenceonBusiness.Teamsrunningtwo-weekiterationsshouldreadour
Pricing,sidebyside
Bothvendorspublishlistprices.SmartsheetchargesperMember;Linearchargesperuser.NotethatSmartsheet’sheadlinenumberistheannualrate—themonthlyrateisroughlyathirdhigher.
| Smartsheet | Linear | |
|---|---|---|
| Freeplan | Nonelisted—freetrialonly | Yes:250issues,2teams,unlimitedmembers |
| Entrypaidtier | Pro—$9perMember/monthbilledyearly($12monthly) | Basic—$10peruser/monthbilledyearly |
| Midtier | Business—$19perMember/monthbilledyearly($24monthly) | Business—$16peruser/monthbilledyearly |
| Toptier | Enterprise(custom,10+Members)andAdvancedWorkManagement | Enterprise(custom,annualbillingonly) |
| Seatlimits | Pro:maximum10Members.Business:minimum3.Enterprise:10+ | Unlimitedmembersoneveryplan,freeincluded |
| Freecollaborators | UnlimitedContributorsonallplans;GuestsfromBusinessup | GuestaccountsfromBusinessup |
| Automationlimit | 250automatedtriggers/monthonPro;unlimitedfromBusiness | Notmeteredbytriggercount |
| Filestorage | Pro:20GB,30MBmaxattachment.Business:1TB,250MBmax | Free:10MBuploads.Basicandabove:unlimited |
| SAMLSSO | Enterpriseandabove(basicSSOonallplans) | Enterpriseonly(GoogleSSOonallotherplans) |
| Notableadd-ons | DynamicViewfrom$125/mo;DataShuttlefrom$100/mo | AIcredits,purchasedseparately |
TheSmartsheetProceilingisthegotcha
Smartsheet’sProplaniscappedat10Members.Notsoft-capped,not”contactusformore”—theplanissoldas1–10Members.YoureleventhpaidseatmeansmovingtoBusiness,whichroughlydoublestheper-seatprice.
Proalsodropsthingsthatlookliketablestakesuntilyoufindthey’remissing:noAPIcalls,notimelineview,nobaselines,nodocumentbuilder,noGuestaccounts,noproofing,andahard250automatedtriggerspermonth.Asinglewell-usedapprovalworkflowcaneatthatallowance.Smartsheet’spricingpagealsonotesthatProisonlyavailabletonewcustomers,whichmattersifyou’reanexistingaccounthopingtodowngradeintoit.
TheoffsettingfactoristheContributormodel.UnlimitedfreeContributorsoneveryplanmeansalotofpeoplecaninteractwithyoursheetswithoutalicence—whichisexactlywhySmartsheetsurvivesinorganisationswherehundredsofpeopletouchaprocessandtenpeopleownit.Ifyourcomparisonisreallyaboutportfolioschedulingratherthanissuetracking,
Linear’sper-seatbillingissimpler,andlessforgiving
Linearbillsforeveryunsuspendeduserintheworkspace,inanyrole.Thereisnofree-collaboratortierbelowBusiness,andeventhenguestsareaBusinessfeature.Ifadesigner,aPMandtwosupportleadsallneedtofileandfollowissues,thosearefourbilledseats.
Onannualbilling,addingusersmid-yeartriggersapro-ratedchargethatappearsonyournextmonthlycycle;suspendingthemgeneratesapro-ratedcreditappliedtofutureinvoices,notrefunded.Linear’sdocumentationisexplicitthatinvoicesarefinalonceissuedandthattherearenorefundsformid-subscriptioncancellations—startmonthlyifyou’renotcertain.Onemoredetailworthknowingbeforeyoucancel:ifyoudropbacktofreewithmorethan250issues,youkeepeverythingbutcan’tcreatenewissues.Our
Wheretheyoverlap—andwheretheydon’t
Thegenuineoverlapisnarrow:bothletyoucreateaunitofwork,assignit,giveitastatus,groupitintoabiggercontainer,andreportonprogress.That’sit.
Everythingelsediverges.Smartsheetgivesyoucell-levelformulas,dependencies,baselines,workloadtrackingandtheabilitytomodelascheduleagainstdates.Lineargivesyounoneofthatanddoesn’tpretendto.Lineargivesyoucycles,triage,issuerelationships,deepGitintegrationandaUIengineerswillactuallyopen.Smartsheetgivesyounoneofthat.
Thepracticaltest:ifthepersonwhoownstheplanisgoingtochangedatesandwatchdependentdatesmove,youneedSmartsheet.Ifthepersonwhoownstheworkisgoingtocloseabranchandexpectthetickettomoveitself,youneedLinear.
Runningatrialthatproducesarealanswer
Demoswon’tsettlethis.Atwo-weekparallelrunwill.Useyouractualwork,notatemplate.
- CreateaLinearworkspaceandleaveitontheFreeplan.250issuesand2teamsisenoughtotestarealbacklogforafortnightwithoutspendinganything.
- StartaSmartsheettrialfromtheTryforfreelinkonthepricingpageandbuildoneliveprojectsheet—themessyonewithunclearownership,notthetidyone.
- Addyournon-technicalstakeholderstoSmartsheetasContributorsandconfirmtheycandotheirpartwithoutapaidMemberseat.ThisisthesinglebiggestdriverofSmartsheet’srealcost.
- InvitethesamestakeholderstoLinearandwatchtheseatcountmove.Everyunsuspendeduserisbillable,sothisnumberisyourtruemonthlyfigure.
- BuildaDashboardinSmartsheetagainstyoursheet,thencompareittowhatInsightsproducesinLinear.Showbothtowhoeverasksfortheweeklyupdateandletthempick.
- Beforeyoubuyanything,openSettings→Administration→BillinginLinearandAdminCenter→UserManagementinSmartsheet,andreconcilewhoisactuallybeingcountedagainstwhoyouthoughtyouwerepayingfor.
Whennottouseeach
Don’tuseSmartsheetasanengineeringissuetracker.EvensettingasidethemissingGitintegration,theProplanhasnoAPIaccessatall,whichrulesouttheautomationengineerswillimmediatelywanttobuild.Developerswillfilehalftheirworkinthesheetandtheotherhalfnowhere.
Don’tuseSmartsheetifyourteamisunderfivepeopleandyourprojectsaresimple.Theformuladepththatjustifiesthepriceisdeadweightonasmalloperation,andyou’llbepayingforaportfolioplatformtorunatasklist.
Don’tuseLinearasacompany-wideworkmanagementsystem.There’snoscheduling,noresourcemanagement,nofinancialtracking,andthedeliberatelackofcustomfieldsthatengineerslovebecomesawallthemomentmarketingorfinancetriestomodeltheirprocessinit.
Don’tuseLinearifyourdocumentworkloadisheavierthanyourticketworkload.Teamsthatliveinspecsandbriefsmorethaninissuesusuallylandsomewhereelse—our
Frequentlyaskedquestions
CanSmartsheetreplaceLinearforasoftwareteam?
Realistically,no.SmartsheethasnoGitintegration,nocyclesandnotriageworkflow,anditsProplanexcludesAPIaccessentirely.Youcouldtrackbugsinasheet,butengineerswillroutearoundit.Smartsheetworkswellasthelayeraboveengineering—programmestatus,budgets,dependencies—notasthetrackeritself.
CanLinearreplaceSmartsheetforprojectmanagement?
Onlyforsoftwareprojects.LinearhasnoGanttview,nodependencyscheduling,nobaselinesandnoresourceallocation.Initiativesandprojectsgiveyouroadmap-levelvisibility,whichsatisfiesmanyproductorganisations.ButaPMOreportingondeliverydates,capacityandbudgetacrossaportfoliowillfindnothinginLineartobuildthaton.
Whichischeaperfora25-personteam?
Dependsentirelyonhowmanypeopleneedwriteaccess.Twenty-fiveLinearseatsonBasicrun$250/monthbilledyearly.SmartsheetatthatsizecannotusePro—the10-MembercapforcesBusinessat$19perMember/month.ButifonlysixofthosepeopleareMembersandtherestareContributors,Smartsheetisfarcheaper.
DoSmartsheetandLinearintegratewitheachother?
Neithervendorlistsanativeintegrationwiththeother.BothexposeAPIs,soteamsrunningbothusuallywireaone-waysyncthroughmiddleware—pushingLinearprojectstatusintoaSmartsheetreportingsheet.NotethatSmartsheet’sAPIaccessstartsattheBusinessplan,soaProsubscriptioncan’tparticipateinthatsetup.
IsLinear’sfreeplanenoughforarealteam?
Forasmallteamgettingstarted,oftenyes.Unlimitedmembers,2teams,250issuesandaccesstotheagentplatformcoversafirstfewmonths.Thelimitsthatbitefirstaretheissuecapand10MBfileuploads.GoogleSSOisincluded;SAMLandSCIMrequireEnterprise.
Sponsored
