Smartsheet vs. Zoho Tables: Which works better for your business?

Smartsheet was launched in 2006 as a flexible spreadsheet alternative to manage work. It attracted small and medium businesses that wanted a simple tool to manage data and work processes. Over the years, it's shifted its focus to enterprises that want to manage projects, collaborate with teams, and track work.

In this blog post, we'll compare Zoho Tables and Smartsheet to help you choose which is better for your business.

Feature comparison between Smartsheet and Zoho Tables

Diverse data types

Smartsheet supports twelve field types to store basic numerical, text, date, time, and collaborator data. While it's sufficient for simple solutions, it falls short for businesses wanting to manage operations that require storing diverse data, such as contact details, links, and field-level formulas.

Zoho Tables supports over twenty-five field types, from basic fields like text, attachments, and numbers to advanced AI fields and bidirectional relationship fields that look up and roll up data from any table. It combines the simplicity of a spreadsheet with the power of a database.

Bidirectional relationships between tables

One of Smartsheet's major drawbacks is its lack of tabs. Users are forced to view all their data in a single tab, making it harder to categorize. The only workaround is creating multiple sheets and pulling specific values from one sheet into a read-only format in another. This is time-consuming; changes you make in one sheet won't be reflected in the other.

Zoho Tables lets users create multiple tables and establish bidirectional relationships between them using link fields. Users simply have to choose the table and the corresponding field. Any changes made in one table will be reflected in the other. This is especially useful for businesses and teams that track processes, DRIs, sales, and other metrics in different tables. They can track and edit data from any table without losing context.

Mobile apps

Smartsheet's mobile app is clunky and not accessible on the go. The columns are harder to read, and the interface isn't mobile-friendly.

Zoho Tables has a mobile-first design with features such as scanning tabular data, uploading voice attachments, creating bases using Siri, and watching video attachments in picture-in-picture mode, making it a powerful no-code solution for any use case.
 

Onboarding

Smartsheet comes with a learning curve. Users either have to build a solution from scratch or choose from their template gallery.

Zoho Tables, on the other hand, has a built-in AI assistant that creates custom solutions. Users just have to type a prompt explaining their use case, and Zia, Zoho's AI assistant, builds an entire base for them with sample data and linked fields.

Alternatively, they can also import data from local storage, cloud storage, URLs, and Zoho CRM. This makes it easier to migrate data and start working with a minimal setup.

Pricing

Smartsheet offers three pricing tiers: pro, business, and enterprise. Pro starts at $9 per user per month and has limited features. Business starts at $19 per user per month. Only the enterprise plan has features such as AI formulas, charts, and data analysis, and its price varies by business.

Zoho Tables has two plans: free and professional. The professional plan is priced at $4 per user per month, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes.

Use case

Smartsheet focuses heavily on enterprise project management. It has features like proofing for project managers to approve text, images, PDFs, videos, and documents uploaded by teammates; managing digital assets with Brandfolder; and reviewing update requests to edit data.

Zoho Tables is highly flexible. It can be used across departments such as sales, marketing, operations, IT, product development, and more to manage data and work processes.

Check out the template gallery here.

Its versatility in creating custom lightweight solutions for any use case makes it suitable for both businesses and individuals to organize work and data efficiently.

Smartsheet vs. Zoho Tables: Which is better for your business?

Smartsheet is better suited for enterprises managing multiple projects at a larger scale.

Zoho Tables is the better choice for individuals and businesses looking for a flexible spreadsheet-database hybrid to create lightweight solutions to manage work and data, collaborate with teams, and automate workflows.

Start your Zoho Tables free trial today.

Check out other Smartsheet alternatives.