Focalboard
Smartsheet
| Feature | Focalboard | Smartsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free only | Free / from $9/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | self-hosters, mattermost-users, small-teams, open-source-advocates | enterprise, pmo-teams, operations, construction, it-teams |
| Founded | 2021 | 2005 |
| Kanban Boards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Table View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Calendar View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Templates | ✓ | ✗ |
| Filters | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Hosting | ✓ | ✗ |
| Grid View | ✗ | ✓ |
| Gantt | ✗ | ✓ |
| Card View | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Reports | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dashboards | ✗ | ✓ |
| 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 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
Focalboard is built for self hosters and mattermost users, with a focus on kanban-boards and table-view. Smartsheet targets enterprise and pmo teams and leads with grid-view and gantt.
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.
Feature-wise, Smartsheet offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Focalboard takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
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.