Focalboard
Smartsheet
| Feature | Focalboard | Smartsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free only | Free / from $9/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | self-hosters, mattermost-users, small-teams, open-source-advocates | enterprise, project-managers, operations-teams, it-teams |
| Founded | 2021 | 2005 |
| Kanban Boards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Table View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Calendar View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Filters | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sheets | ✗ | ✓ |
| Gantt Charts | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dashboards | ✗ | ✓ |
| Forms | ✗ | ✓ |
| Resource Management | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Focalboard Pros
- Completely free and open-source
- Self-hostable for data control
- Multiple view types (board, table, gallery)
- Integrates with Mattermost
✗ Focalboard Cons
- Limited to basic project tracking
- No built-in time tracking
- Smaller community than alternatives
✓ Smartsheet Pros
- Familiar spreadsheet interface
- Powerful automation
- Enterprise-grade
- Good dashboards
✗ Smartsheet Cons
- Can be confusing
- Expensive for small teams
- Learning curve
The Verdict
Focalboard is built for self hosters and mattermost users, with a focus on kanban-boards and table-view. Smartsheet targets enterprise and project managers and leads with sheets and gantt-charts.
Focalboard uses custom enterprise pricing, while Smartsheet starts at $9/mo — a tangible advantage for teams with a fixed budget.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Bottom line: Smartsheet has a slight overall edge — but if completely free and open-source matters most to you, Focalboard may still be the right call.