Smartsheet vs PMPeople:Which PPM Platform Works Harder for You?

Introduction: Comparing Smartsheet and PMPeople for Modern Project Management

For Project Managers, PMO Leads, and Business Decision-makers evaluating collaborative project platforms, this page offers a structured comparison between Smartsheet and PMPeople to help you choose the right tool for visibility, governance, and agile scalability.

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Quick Comparison Snapshot

Category

Methodologies

PMPeople

Agile, Hybrid & Traditional

Smartsheet

Grid-first; Agile add-ons required

Category

Ease of Use

PMPeople

Built for instant use, minimal learning

Smartsheet

Familiar to Excel users, less Agile-native

Category

Governance & PMO

PMPeople

Built-in governance & role-based views

Smartsheet

Light governance via permissions

Category

Collaboration

PMPeople

Real-time, role-specific collaboration

Smartsheet

Commenting, workflows, @mentions

Category

Pricing

PMPeople

Predictable SaaS per-user pricing

Smartsheet

Tiered pricing, usage-based features

Why Teams Move Beyond Spreadsheets

Smartsheet is great for spreadsheet lovers, but when scaling projects, users often face:

Methodology Support

Lack of Agile/Hybrid methodology support out of the box

View Limitations

Poor native portfolio and role-based views

AI Limitations

Limited AI, forecasting, or governance features

Dashboard Disarray

Collaboration scattered across dashboards

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Functionality Area

Project Methodology

PMPeople Features

Supports unified Agile, Hybrid, Predictivet

Smartsheet Features

Spreadsheet-based primarily. Agile applied via templates.q

Functionality Area

UX & Adoption

PMPeople Features

No learning curve, usable at first interaction

Smartsheet Features

Excel styled user interface.

Functionality Area

Team Collaboration

PMPeople Features

Role-based task views, comments, alerts

Smartsheet Features

Basic commenting with asks for updates

Functionality Area

Governance & Visibility

PMPeople Features

Role based permissions with automated visibility of progress.

Smartsheet Features

Basic permissions types requiring manual updates to report.

Functionality Area

Resource Planning

PMPeople Features

Visual representation of workloads, capacity planning

Smartsheet Features

Requires setup and licenses or manual configuration

Functionality Area

Integrations

PMPeople Features

Slack, Jira, GitHub natively, using native REST API.

Smartsheet Features

Microsoft 365, Google Drive, 3rd party apps

Functionality Area

Pricing Model

PMPeople Features

Transparent SaaS pricing model, includes all features

Smartsheet Features

Tiered models, you only get features you pay for (provider imposes limits)

PMPeople vs Smartsheet: Implementation, Scaling, and Governance

Area

Set Up

PMPeople

Instant, natively cloud-based

Smartsheet

Fast, based on a spreadsheet interface

Area

Team Size Fit

PMPeople

Perfect for scaling across a portfolios

Smartsheet

Fit for small teams who can handle less governance

Area

Agile Frameworks

PMPeople

Native support for Agile workflows (Kanban, Sprints, etc.)

Smartsheet

Not natively supported, requires adaptation using templates

Area

Training Required

PMPeople

Low-to-none

Smartsheet

Low for simple tasks; higher for managing workflows

When to Use Each Product

Smartsheet vs PMPeople: Which PPM Platform Works Harder for You?

Use PMPeople if:

  • Your managing Agile or Hybrid projects across multiple teams
  • You require project governance, real-time visibility, and reporting
  • You want to quickly have collaboration built-in and roles separated out

Use Smartsheet if:

  • Your managing grid-style task tracking templates for small projects
  • You prefer an Excel style UI and manual workflows
  • You are not managing portfolios and have complex dependencies

What Our Users Are Saying!

“We loved Smartsheet’s ease of use but we quickly maxed it out. PMPeople gives us true project visibility, support for Agile projects, and stakeholder dashboards in one platform.”
— Sandeep Kulkarni, PMO Manager, VisionNext
FAQs (Optimized for Voice and Snippets)
Is PMPeople better than Smartsheet for Agile project management?
Yes! PMPeople supports Agile, Hybrid, and Traditional frameworks out of the box. Smartsheet relies strictly on templates and no inherent support for PM Governance or multiple frameworks.
Can I migrate from Smartsheet to PMPeople?
Yes. PMPeople has tools to easily bring over your task lists, timelines, and user lists.
How do prices compare?
PMPeople has easy per user pricing with all features included. Smartsheet has tiered pricing with limited features in their cheapest plans.
Is PMPeople built for PMO governance?
Yes! PMPeople includes role-based visibility, portfolio views, and built-in governance logic.
Does PMPeople integrate with other tools such as Smartsheet?
Yes. PMPeople integrates with Slack, Jira, GitHub, and we also offer an open REST API.

Final Verdict: Spreadsheet Simplicity vs. Portfolio Power

Smartsheet is flexible, but PMPeople is designed for project portfolios, agile control, and real-time collaboration at the scale needed.