The 5 best alternatives to Smartsheet
Many project teams have made Smartsheet their go-to tool for running projects, won over by its familiar grid and its automations. Its 4.5/5 rating on Capterra confirms it.
The friction lies elsewhere.
It comes first from a long learning curve and heavy sheets. It also comes from a license that charges for every contributor and from a US vendor owned by investment funds.
For a project manager, an IT department or a local authority, these issues weigh on adoption as much as on compliance.
This comparison reviews five serious alternatives, with a deliberate focus on European solutions. At the top of the list is Wimi, the French collaborative suite that brings together projects, files and discussions.
Wimi: the sovereign French collaborative suite
Smartsheet puts each project in a sheet, alongside the team's other collaborative tools. Wimi makes the opposite choice: collaborative project management built into a complete suite, developed and hosted in mainland France by a French vendor founded in 2010.
Schedules, files and discussions thus share the same workspace.
The task management and Gantt chart module brings three complementary views together in one tool: list, Kanban and Gantt on a timeline. You link tasks with dependencies, filter by assignee, tag, status or date, then save your views to find them again in one click.
On smartphones and tablets, tasks remain accessible with real-time synchronization.
The Workboard gathers your priority tasks, shared files and conversations in a single overview. Drive, Chat, AirTime video conferencing, calendar and email are part of the same suite: your team no longer has to juggle a tracking spreadsheet, a messaging app and a storage space.
On the security front, on May 18, 2026, Wimi obtained ANSSI's SecNumCloud SaaS 3.2 qualification, the most demanding in France, as well as ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification. For the most sensitive data, the Wimi Restricted offering adds end-to-end encryption.
Rated 4.7/5 on Capterra, Appvizer and GetApp, Wimi counts the Palace of Versailles among its clients.
It is the option to favor for running your projects in a sovereign cloud, without adding yet another isolated tool. Smartsheet regulars will find a Gantt chart with dependencies, surrounded by the project's files and discussions.
Airtable
Airtable is the closest option when you mainly use Smartsheet as a database. The tool keeps the familiar look of a spreadsheet, while letting you structure richer information than a simple tracking grid.
A team that uses Smartsheet as a register or inventory will therefore find its bearings there.
On top of this data, you build custom interfaces that show each team only the information it needs for its work. Automations take care of repetitive tasks, and built-in AI rounds out the package.
A free plan lets you test the tool before committing.
Airtable is a US vendor, and its homepage does not mention European hosting. For an organization that cares about its digital sovereignty, this point deserves a direct question to the vendor before any rollout.
Airtable is aimed first at teams that structure a lot of data and want to build their own applications from a shared base. This choice makes sense when spreadsheet logic matters more than detailed planning.
Wrike
Wrike is Smartsheet's most direct competitor among large organizations and PMOs. The platform covers Gantt charts, dashboards, resource management and task automation, with an AI assistant called Copilot.
Its scope is close to Smartsheet's, without relying on spreadsheet logic.
Wrike has a European data center located in Amsterdam. According to the vendor's help center, accounts registered in Europe have been created there since May 5, 2025.
There are two limitations to keep in mind. Wrike remains a US vendor, and its help center states that some features are not available on the European data center.
The free trial lets you check this point against your own use cases.
PMOs that track many projects in parallel will find portfolio management and a consolidated view of resources. It is probably the most natural replacement for heavy Smartsheet use.
Baserow
Baserow is the open-source European spreadsheet in this selection. Released as open source under the MIT license, it combines a spreadsheet and a no-code database, and the company behind it is based in the Netherlands.
As early as 2022, TechCrunch presented it as an open-source competitor to Airtable.
Its main strength is self-hosting: with Docker, Helm or an on-premises installation, you choose where your data resides. For those who prefer the cloud, the vendor states that its offering is GDPR compliant, and a free plan is available.
Technical teams thus keep control of the tool as well as the data.
Views cover grid, Kanban board, calendar, timeline and form, complemented by automations. Baserow, however, lists no Gantt view, even though its timeline comes close.
The tool remains a database more than a project management suite.
Stackfield
Stackfield is a German collaborative platform that presents itself as "made & hosted in Germany". It brings together tasks, workflows, timelines and portfolios, as well as chat, video calls, documents and whiteboards.
Stackfield thus adds team communication to project management.
In terms of security, Stackfield highlights end-to-end encryption, ISO 27001 certification and the BSI C5 standard. The platform also states that it is GDPR compliant.
For a French organization, the hosting is European without being national, a nuance to weigh against your requirements.
Its homepage does not mention a Gantt chart: tracking relies on timelines. Teams used to Smartsheet's Gantt should check that this planning method is enough for them.
Otherwise, Stackfield shares with Wimi the logic of a single online workspace, with German hosting rather than French.
How do you choose a Smartsheet alternative?
Before comparing features, ask yourself what really bothers you about Smartsheet. Each tool in this selection addresses one specific pain point, not all of them, and the choice narrows quickly.
- If it is the spreadsheet logic you like, stay on that ground: Airtable for its interfaces and automations, Baserow for open source and self-hosting.
- If it is portfolio management at scale, Wrike brings together Gantt charts, resources and dashboards, with a European data center.
- If it is tool sprawl and hosting, turn to a unified work platform: Stackfield in Germany, Wimi in France, with projects, files and video conferencing in one place.
Finally, keep two reflexes: look at who hosts your data, then at who pays to contribute. The first determines the applicable law, the second the real cost of collaboration.
These questions go beyond Smartsheet, as our selections of Basecamp alternatives and monday.com alternatives show.
Why switch from Smartsheet to Wimi?
On Capterra France, the complaints about Smartsheet mostly concern day-to-day work. In May 2026, one user mentions a "fairly long learning curve for new users," while another regrets in June "the sluggish loading of massive spreadsheets."
Wimi positions itself precisely on this ground, with tasks and workspaces rather than sheets.
Lionel Roux, CEO of Wimi, puts it bluntly: "What good is an ultra-secure sovereign system if it is almost unusable?" For him, simplicity drives adoption as much as security does.
That leaves the question of the framework. Under Smartsheet's new model, editing, creating or commenting on a sheet requires a paid seat, and since January 2025 the US vendor has been owned by the funds Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners.
Wimi, an independent French vendor, charges per user according to the plans on its Pricing page and hosts your projects in France under the SecNumCloud SaaS 3.2 qualification, outside the reach of the Cloud Act.
If you also plan in Microsoft Project, our selection of Microsoft Project alternatives follows the same reasoning. The best approach is still to try Wimi with your teams, on a real project.
FAQ
Does Smartsheet offer a free version?
Not for contributing. According to Smartsheet's announcement, guests and viewers can view shared content for free, but editing, creating or commenting requires a paid member license.
Does Smartsheet host data in Europe?
Yes, as an option: Smartsheet's EU region runs on AWS in Frankfurt and is selected when the account is created. The vendor remains American, a point to consider in light of the Cloud Act.
Does Wimi offer a Gantt chart?
Yes. Wimi's Gantt chart places tasks on a timeline, manages dependencies between tasks and lets you adjust the schedule, alongside the list and Kanban views.
Which alternative keeps Smartsheet's spreadsheet logic?
Airtable and Baserow remain the closest, with their data grids and automations. Baserow adds open source and self-hosting, useful for keeping control of the infrastructure.
How do you switch from Smartsheet to Wimi?
The Migrate to Wimi page describes a guided migration from Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Trello, Asana or monday.com, but does not mention Smartsheet. Contact the Wimi team to scope the transfer of your projects.
