Smartsheet vs. OpenProject

Project Management (PM) software solutions help businesses collaborate on projects in real time and manage costs and resources. It has made automation the norm by bringing together all information into one unit for efficiency and productivity. Users can benefit from resource planning, budgeting, time tracking, and task distribution features.

PM software solutions enable managers to remotely supervise projects and members of geographically distributed teams using collaboration and communication tools. Teams can deliver timely and quality outputs and mitigate risk by identifying a project’s failing aspects using time tracking features.

Let’s evaluate two popular project management solutions: Smartsheet vs. OpenProject. We’ll consider their features, integrations, and pricing models to help you decide on the suitable product for your business requirements. Our free Product Selection Tool provides five recommendations of PM software systems from our Technology Advisors. It’s easy to use and doesn’t take more than five minutes.

Smartsheet vs. OpenProject: An overview

Smartsheet is a cloud-based PM software product designed for all business sizes for real-time project collaboration from any device or browser. It uses spreadsheets with collaborative file sharing and intricate data displays and helps teams plan, execute, and manage projects in one platform. A mobile app lets users access information and data anywhere using a mobile device, while self-service reports and dashboards are for reporting and analytics. Smartsheet makes project management easier thanks to Gantt charts, work automation, and a user-friendly interface.

OpenProject is an open source project management software product for team collaboration, multi-project management, and communication. It offers features such as time and cost reporting, issue tracking, and code and document management. Users can view different projects in a single bar chart, break down deliverables and work packages into activities and tasks, and highlight changes to a project schedule. OpenProject lets clients and stakeholders see plans and product roadmaps for transparency. It supports Scrum and manages backlogs.

Read also: The 6 Best Project Portfolio Management (PPM) Software Of 2019

Smartsheet vs. OpenProject: A comparison of features

Smartsheet promotes team success through its set of features:

• Real-time visibility: Managers can make informed business decisions using Smartsheet Sights and live reports that provide real-time information. Users can configure reports without technical support for immediate response to trends. Smartsheet protects business information while assigning tasks to vendors and giving status updates to clients.
• Secure platform deployment: End-users and administrators share permissions to stay in control and protect information. Smartsheet’s single sign-on capabilities and user management features have scalable administrative controls. Admin can handle internal standards, restrict integrations, and approve external domains.
• Alerts and reminders: Smartsheet automatically sends daily alerts for approaching deadlines and changes made. Users can update spreadsheets from within the email without logging into the system. The software shows previous data of any cell along with the user who made the changes for accountability.
• Shared workspaces: Users have shared workspaces for secure team collaboration. They can share files and folders with clients, partners, and internal teams.

OpenProject allows for collaboration through its features:

• Project planning and scheduling: Users can define project objectives with ease and specify work to be completed. OpenProject helps analyze required activities and provides a detailed plan of how and when the project will be completed.
• Task management and team collaboration: OpenProject provides users with project goals and lets them organize and assign tasks to members. All communications and tasks are placed in one space.
• Kanban, Agile, Scrum: Agile teams can estimate and create stories, prioritize a sprint backlog, and track tasks. OpenProject integrates with other modules for task management, bug tracking, and roadmap planning.
• Bug tracking: OpenProject provides quality assurance managers and testers with a platform for capturing, classifying, and prioritizing bugs. It allows for fast issue tracking and clear communication across departments.
• Time tracking, cost reporting, and budgeting: Time tracking allows users to stay on top of costs spent and project budgets. Users can plan the cost of each project phase and view how much of the allocated budget has already been spent.

Smartsheet vs. OpenProject: A comparison of prices

Smartsheet has a 3-tier pricing plan: Individual, Business, and Enterprise. The Individual Plan is for individual users and has email support, 1 dashboard, 5 reports, 10 sheets, and a mobile app. The Business Plan is for small and mid-sized teams and comes with 100 sheets per user, email and phone support, unlimited reports and dashboards, unlimited free collaborators, and a mobile app. The Enterprise Plan is for enterprises and is customizable by contacting the vendor directly.

OpenProject offers a 3-tier pricing plan: Community, Cloud, and Enterprise. The Community Plan is free and can be easily installed by the user. The Cloud Plan can be used by a minimum of five users, provides hosting from OpenProject experts, and offers premium features and support. It is ideal for teams with 200 or more members. The Enterprise Plan has powerful premium features, professional support, and high security for teams with 200 members or more.

Smartsheet vs. OpenProject: A comparison of integrations

Smartsheet makes team collaboration easy through its integrations:

• Easy Insight
• Git Hook
• Google Calendar
• Google Drive
• Harvest
• Klipfolio

OpenProject easily integrates with:

• Gitlab
• Jira
• Microsoft Project
• Toggl
• Slack

Which suits your business best 

Both Smartsheet and OpenProject are designed to help teams and businesses collaborate on projects in real time. Their features promote smooth project management and timely delivery of outputs. They integrate with commonly used apps and offer time tracking capabilities. However, it’s as important to consider their differences when choosing your PM software product.

Smartsheet’s strength is in the use of spreadsheets, which is easy for teams that often use it. OpenProject’s strength is in bug tracking that promotes smooth processes across all projects. It is beneficial to teams with Agile, Kanban, and Scrum projects. It has a free plan — a better deal than Smartsheet’s all paid subscription plans and is helpful to individuals and starting teams. 

Want more PM software options? Use our Product Selection Tool.