Compare Wrike vs Smartsheet

As companies try to figure out the most appropriate setup for their workforce, employees have more expectations of the tools available to them. Some workers feel their current PM tools are too rigid to be helpful, too tedious to use, too distracting, or too complex for the job. To successfully adopt a project management solution, everyone needs to get on board. In this Wrike vs. Smartsheet article, we compare the approach and features of two software known for having high adoption rates.

Project Management Software Adoption

When senior management brings a new software tool into the organization, they need a strategy and process that will help everyone adopt the tool efficiently. Incorporating feedback provided by end users, IT, and other relevant departments, the company chooses the most suitable solution. The chosen tool should address current and future business needs like budget, scalability, ease of use, training, deployment, support, administration, and security.

---

Read more: Types of Risk in Project Management

---

Without a clear adoption strategy, companies may haphazardly choose solutions that are only good for the short term, or for use cases that are too niche. Also, organizations need to look for features in PM tools that will enable employees to perform their best work with flexibility, customization, and automation. Above all, a PM tool should enable teams to spend more time on work that matters without risking corporate data.

This Smartsheet vs. Wrike comparison will identify important features that help facilitate team adoption.

Wrike Approach

Wrike is cloud-based project management software that provides teams a secure and collaborative platform. It gives users solid project management tools like interactive Gantt charts, flexible Kanban boards, and shareable calendars to keep track of milestones, tasks, and due dates. Aside from project teams, the software is also useful to IT, marketing, creative, and operations teams.

Wrike promotes collaboration and visibility so the whole organization, its external partners, and clients can all work together. Wrike provides real-time information, whether you’re proofing digital artifacts, coordinating company-wide events, or presenting industry reports. It has interactive dashboards that display overviews as well as details, and project portfolio management that helps prioritize investments and accelerate rollouts. Other features include custom request forms, pre-built templates, and time tracking.

---

Read our complete Wrike software review.

---

Customization

Wrike is highly customizable, yet easy to use. Teams can configure their views, workflows, and dashboards to ensure that the tool fits the work. Gantt charts, critical path, and workload views enable users to be proactive and mitigate issues before they become problems. Teams can customize stages and statuses, so they can track progress and inform stakeholders without getting interrupted. It also has customizable reports and advanced analytics with a variety of layout visualizations, and custom request forms that simplify intake and standardize input.

Automation and Integration

Wrike automation features allow teams to set the right priorities and optimize performance. Its workload view automatically shows how much work every team member has, so project managers can avoid team burnout. Reports quickly show allocation of resources and any need for adjustments. Flexible drag-and-drop scheduling makes it easy to maximize resource planning. An integration and automation add-on allows teams to configure integrations to work exactly as needed, connect to any combination of apps, and customize them with unique automations. Users can select from over 400 pre-built connectors, as well as utilizing APIs.

---

Read more: What is Wrike?

---

Security

Wrike provides needed security so companies can trust and rely on their software. Its commitment to protecting its customers’ data includes establishing secure data centers in the US and EU, complying to ISO 27001 and ISAE 3402 standards, and having disaster recovery infrastructure. It has near real-time database replication backed up on redundant and geographically dispersed servers. Further, it uses industry-standard network protection procedures, provides regular updates and patches, and uses bank-grade user authentication and data encryption protocols.

Smartsheet Approach

Smartsheet is an online project management and work collaboration software. It is a business solution that provides teams a dynamic workspace to help align work, processes, and technology across the organization. Project, IT, marketing, and operations teams use it to promote work visibility, streamline processes, build applications, drive innovation, and prioritize tasks. Teams can collaborate on content, share dashboards and reports, and hold conversations. Smartsheet is a flexible solution that can adapt to changing demands, connect to various applications and systems to unify data, and provide individuals with an easy-to-use, no-code tool to build rapid solutions.

---

Read our complete Smartsheet software review.

---

Automation

Smartsheet automation gives users the ability to automate repetitive processes like sending alerts, requesting updates, issuing approvals, and locking rows at preset times or when changes occur. End users can automate their workflows using an intuitive visual editor. They can combine conditional paths and multiple actions to manage daily deadline reminders or weekly status requests. Other use cases for automation include approvals for sale discounts, procurement, timesheets, and hiring.

Security

Smartsheet recognizes the importance of keeping customer data intact and secured. The developers built the software following strict security requirements and protocols. Data centers are hosted in AWS facilities with multi-site data redundancy. TLS technology, AES 256-bit encryption, and Amazon S3 file storage are among the components of Smartsheet’s multi-layered data security strategy. It also complies to ISO 27001, GDPR, and EU International Data Transfer mechanisms to uphold privacy practices. An Admin Center console allows IT admins to configure and manage settings from a single location.

WorkApps

WorkApps is a no-code tool in Smartsheet that enables users to build web and mobile apps as a business solution. WorkApps is one of the features that make Smartsheet an excellent Wrike alternative, especially for those looking to optimize their business processes. Teams can create an app directly from sheets, forms, reports, and dashboards to streamline processes and simplify collaboration. It can improve user experience by tailoring the app to users’ role and the data they frequently access. Instead of changing apps when requirements change, they can update the app with a few steps using the WorkApps builder. It allows users to scale their apps as the workload increases in size and complexity.

Ready to Decide on Wrike vs. Smartsheet?

Wrike and Smartsheet are both leading cloud-based project management software. They offer companies a secure work platform to manage and collaborate on projects, with modern tools that include automation, customization, and integration.

Wrike customers include many small, midsize, and large businesses in the marketing, advertising, technology, manufacturing, media, and retail industries. Wrike pricing starts at $10.00 per user per month for 5 users, with a 14-day free trial of all premium plans. A free plan is also available.

Smartsheet is a solution preferred by many growing companies and enterprise firms in the professional services, construction, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and finance industries. Smartsheet pricing starts at $9 per month billed annually for individuals, and $19 per user per month billed annually for teams. A 30-day free trial period is also available.