Smartsheet vs. Podio

Businesses gain productivity and efficiency with the help of project management (PM) software solutions. Thanks to its features, teams can multi-task and deliver quality and timely outputs. Users can access time tracking, task distribution, budgeting, and resource planning in one platform. PM software solutions break geographic barriers by allowing managers to remotely supervise projects and teams using real-time collaboration and communication tools.

Also called Project Portfolio Management (PPM) or Task Management Software (TMS), it allows for project tracking, forecasting time left to completion, and cost and resource management.

Let’s compare two popular project management software systems: Smartsheet vs. Podio. We’ll evaluate their features, pricing models, and integrations to help you decide on your business’s software product. Our free Product Selection Tool can give you five recommendations of software solutions tailored to your needs from our Technology Advisors. It’s easy to use and takes less than five minutes.

Smartsheet vs. Podio: An overview

Smartsheet is a cloud-based PM software solution for all business sizes designed with a spreadsheet-like interface for tracking and managing projects in real time. It offers time tracking, document and resource planning, and project reporting. Users can access information anywhere using a mobile app for iOS and Android devices. Smartsheet ensures consistency across all projects using dashboards and self-service reports. Users can take advantage of interactive Gantt chart applications for visualizing complex data and highlighting tasks.

Podio is a project management software product that provides users with workspaces for collaboration. It determines how to structure teams, projects, and workflows and gives users power to control and utilize tools. Access hundreds of free apps in the Podio App Market to meet a range of project management functions and industry-specific requirements. There are also apps available for applicant tracking and customer relationship management (CRM). Podio has social collaboration features like file sharing and ‘likes’.

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

Smartsheet vs. Podio: A comparison of features

Smartsheet promotes real-time team collaboration with its features:

• Alerts and reminders:  Smartsheet automatically sends daily alerts to users whenever changes are made or deadlines are approaching. Users can update spreadsheets from within the email without logging into the system and see previous data of any cell along with the user who made the changes.
• Shared workspaces: Users can securely collaborate with clients, stakeholders, and internal teams. They can share folders and sheets through secure workspaces that promote transparency throughout the team.
• Secure platform deployment: Teams have control over access to workspaces, spreadsheets, and rows to protect information. Admin and end-users can restrict integrations, approve external domains, and handle internal standards within the software. Its user management features and single sign-on capabilities come with scalable administrative controls.
• Real-time visibility: Smartsheet Sight and live reports offer real-time information to help managers make informed business decisions with ease. Users can send status updates to clients and assign tasks to vendors while protecting business information. Use Smartsheet to respond to trends by configuring reports without technical support.
• Shared sheets: Users can invite an unlimited number of users to view and edit sheets and share any type of work. Send sheets as PDF or Excel attachments once or on a recurring schedule.

Podio simplifies team collaboration and project management through its features:

• Workspaces: Users can share workspaces to collaborate on projects and automate team communication. They can add clients, employees, vendors, and contractors to workspaces for project work. The workspaces can be set to private, open, or for employees only to ensure confidentiality and security.
• Podio apps: Teams can choose from Podio’s apps or customize their own to meet specific needs for structuring workflows or organizing deliverables. Podio simplifies app creation using drag-and-drop tools.
• Communication and meetings: Podio’s communication tools allow for streamlined communication between team members. Use the comment and ‘likes’ feature for engagement, activity streams for transparency, and Podio chat for instant messaging. Users can take advantage of the Podio Meetings app to choose meeting participants and initiate meetings within the software.
• Task management: Users can break down projects into smaller tasks and simple to-do lists. Create and label task lists for prioritizing work. Teams can share files through chat messages, status posts, or attachments to tasks.
• Customized calendars: Podio’s calendars help track projects and manage schedules. It offers personal calendars for personal tasks and events and workspace calendars that are visible to all members in the workspace. 

Smartsheet vs. Podio: A comparison of prices

Smartsheet offers a 3-tier pricing plan: Individual, Business, and Enterprise. The Individual Plan is suitable for individual use and comes with email support, 1 dashboard, 5 reports, 10 sheets, and a mobile app. The Business Plan supports small and mid-sized businesses with 100 sheets per user, unlimited reports and dashboards, unlimited free collaborators, a mobile app, and email and phone functionalities. The Enterprise Plan is beneficial to large businesses for its customizability. Interested parties can contact the vendor directly for detailed information.

Podio offers a 4-tier pricing plan: Free, Basic, Plus, and Premium. The Free Plan can be used by up to five members and offers apps and workspaces. The Basic Plan offers a simple start for startup companies with task management, apps, workspaces, user management, unlimited items, and external users. The Plus Plan provides automated workflows, basic features, light user role, and read-only access to mid-sized businesses. The Premium Plan is designed for enterprises and includes interactive sales dashboards and advanced workflow orchestration by GlobiFlow.

Smartsheet vs. Podio: A comparison of integrations

Smartsheet’s integrations promote efficiency and productivity:

• Qlik
• Quip
• Tibco Spotfire
• Tableau
• Skype for Business Online
• Slack

Podio integrates with other apps for successful project management:

• Dropbox
• Google
• Sharefile
• Evernote
• SugarSync
• Box

Takeaways: Smartsheet vs. Podio

Smartsheet and Podio are both excellent project management software solutions with brilliant features. They offer multi-tiered pricing models that allow users to pay for only the features used. Their integrations with various apps are excellent and allow for streamlined workflows. However, it’s important to consider their differences in choosing your business software product. 

Podio has a free version for up to five members — a better offer than Smartsheet’s free trial. This is beneficial to smaller teams that need a project management software product for collaboration. Podio’s app market offers free apps and lets users customize apps to meet specific needs. It’s a good feature for businesses of all sizes because it eliminates the need for other apps. While Smartsheet offers shared workspaces for file sharing and project status updates, Podio has a meeting app where users can start an online meeting with specific members within the platform. 

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