Issues, not spreadsheet rows
Smartsheet models work as grid rows and formulas. Planoda gives you real issues with priority, estimates, cycles, and dependencies built in.
Comparison
Planoda vs Smartsheet
Planoda is an AI-native work platform that unifies a keyboard-first issue tracker, Trello-style boards, roadmaps, and no-code automations on one schema. Smartsheet wraps project management around a familiar spreadsheet grid, but software teams need issues, cycles, and code links — not formulas and rows. Planoda is purpose-built for shipping while staying fast and approachable.
Planoda vs Smartsheet, in short
- Smartsheet wraps project management around a familiar spreadsheet grid, but software teams need issues, cycles, and code links — not formulas and rows. Planoda is purpose-built for shipping while staying fast and approachable.
- Issues, not spreadsheet rows: Smartsheet models work as grid rows and formulas. Planoda gives you real issues with priority, estimates, cycles, and dependencies built in.
- Built for shipping software: Cycles, roadmaps, and native PR/CI links are first-class — not a Gantt chart you maintain by hand on top of a spreadsheet.
- Fast and keyboard-first: Sub-100 ms interactions and a command palette beat scrolling and editing cells in a large grid.
- When Smartsheet is the better choice: Your team thinks in spreadsheets and needs grid-based project and portfolio management with heavy formulas; You manage construction, manufacturing, or operations plans that map naturally to a powerful grid.
| Feature | PlanodaRecommended | Smartsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Grid + Gantt + card views | Yes | Yes |
| Keyboard-first issue tracker | Yes | No |
| Cycles / sprints + estimates | Yes | No |
| PR + CI links | Yes | No |
| Roadmaps + initiatives | Yes | Partial |
| No-code automations | Yes | Limited |
| Realtime co-editing + presence | Yes | Partial |
| Sub-100 ms p95 interactions | Yes | No |
| AI triage + semantic search | Yes | Partial |
| Bring-your-own AI gateway key | Yes | No |
| Row-level security (per-tenant) | Yes | Varies |
| Propose/approve broker for destructive agent actions | Yes | Partial |
| Agent actions in the same immutable audit log as people | Yes | Partial |
| Per-workspace AI cost ledger | Yes | Varies |
| Free tier | Generous (10 / 1k / 3 proj) | Varies |
| Starting price | $10 / $20 | $9+ |
Comparison based on publicly available information, last reviewed June 2026; competitor features change — verify current capabilities with each vendor.
- tools replaced
- 4tools replacedLinear · ClickUp · Monday · Trello
- p95 interactions
- <100msp95 interactions
- AI-native
- 100%AI-nativeagents on every surface
- AI add-on
- $0AI add-onincluded per seat
Why teams switch
Three reasons teams move off Smartsheet.
Built for shipping software
Cycles, roadmaps, and native PR/CI links are first-class — not a Gantt chart you maintain by hand on top of a spreadsheet.
Fast and keyboard-first
Sub-100 ms interactions and a command palette beat scrolling and editing cells in a large grid.
What sets Planoda apart
AI-native, governed, and built on one schema.
The wedge isn't a single missing feature — it's the platform underneath. Here's what you get on Planoda that Smartsheet doesn't put at the core.
AI-native, not AI-bolted-on
Triage, summaries, related-issue surfacing, and semantic search are built into every surface — not a chat box bolted onto the side. Agents act as teammates under a propose/approve broker, so nothing destructive runs without a human approving it.
Row-level security isolation
Every tenant's data is isolated at the database layer by Postgres row-level security — a guarantee enforced below the application, not just in app code. Most tools in this category isolate by query filters alone.
Governed agents, transparent spend
Agent actions land in the same immutable audit log as human actions, with a per-workspace AI cost ledger and bring-your-own AI gateway key on Business and Enterprise — your model, your spend, your data boundary.
One schema, every team
Boards, a keyboard-first issue tracker, cycles, roadmaps, no-code automations, docs, and intake all read one schema — so engineering and the teams around it work in one workspace instead of syncing two tools.
Linear-speed at any scale
Every interaction targets sub-100 ms p95 with optimistic updates and a realtime fabric, so it stays fast at two people or two thousand — it doesn't slow down the way large instances of legacy tools do.
The honest call
Should you switch from Smartsheet?
No tool is right for everyone. Here's an honest read on when to move off Smartsheet — and when to stay put.
Switch to Planoda if…
- Issues, not spreadsheet rows
- Built for shipping software
- Fast and keyboard-first
- You want boards, a real tracker, roadmaps, and governed AI on one fast, row-level-isolated schema — not three tools stitched together.
Stay on Smartsheet if…
- Your team thinks in spreadsheets and needs grid-based project and portfolio management with heavy formulas
- You manage construction, manufacturing, or operations plans that map naturally to a powerful grid
Migration
Moving from Smartsheet, step by step
- 1Export each sheet to Excel/CSV (File → Export → Microsoft Excel/CSV).
- 2Create a workspace in Planoda and a team per Smartsheet workspace or sheet group.
- 3Upload the file; rows become issues, status columns map to workflow states, and assigned-to + due-date columns carry over.
- 4Map dropdown and symbol columns to labels or priority, and recreate sheet automations as Planoda no-code automations.
- 5Add cycles, estimates, and roadmap initiatives for software work, and connect your Git provider for PR/CI links.
FAQ
Planoda vs Smartsheet — FAQ
Related matchups
Smartsheet vs the field.
Weighing Smartsheet against another tool? See it head-to-head — with the honest third option.
A note from the founder
“I'm building Planoda in the open and putting my name on it. No borrowed logos, no invented stats — just the work, shipped and auditable. If it doesn't earn your trust, tell me.”
Dmitrii Selikhov is the founder of Planoda and a lead full-stack engineer with 15+ years building developer tools and leading teams as a technical lead, software architect, and CTO.
Make the switch