AppFlowy
Smartsheet
| Feature | AppFlowy | Smartsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $12.5/mo | Free / from $9/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | privacy-focused-teams, open-source-enthusiasts, notion-alternatives, self-hosters | enterprise, pmo-teams, operations, construction, it-teams |
| Founded | 2021 | 2005 |
| Documents | ✓ | ✗ |
| Databases | ✓ | ✗ |
| Kanban | ✓ | ✗ |
| Calendar View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ai Assistant | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hostable | ✓ | ✗ |
| Offline Mode | ✓ | ✗ |
| Grid View | ✗ | ✓ |
| Gantt | ✗ | ✓ |
| Card View | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Reports | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dashboards | ✗ | ✓ |
| Resource Management | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ AppFlowy Pros
- Open-source with full self-hosting option
- Familiar Notion-like interface and features
- Local-first with offline support
- AI features powered by multiple models
✗ AppFlowy Cons
- Less mature than Notion with fewer integrations
- Template library is limited
- Collaboration features still developing
✓ Smartsheet Pros
- Familiar spreadsheet interface reduces learning curve
- Powerful automation with no-code workflows
- Enterprise-grade permissions and governance
- Excellent for resource management at scale
✗ Smartsheet Cons
- Can feel overwhelming for simple projects
- Expensive at enterprise scale
- Mobile experience is limited
The Verdict
AppFlowy is built for privacy focused teams and open source enthusiasts, with a focus on documents and databases. Smartsheet targets enterprise and pmo teams and leads with grid-view and gantt.
Pricing is close: Smartsheet starts at $9/mo versus $12.5/mo for AppFlowy — not a deciding factor on its own.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.