Paymo
Smartsheet
| Feature | Paymo | Smartsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $5.9/mo | Free / from $9/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.3 / 5 | 4.2 / 5 |
| Best For | freelancers, small-businesses, agencies, consultants | enterprise, pmo-teams, operations, construction, it-teams |
| Founded | 2008 | 2005 |
| Time Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Project Management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Invoicing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Resource Scheduling | ✓ | ✗ |
| Kanban Boards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Gantt Charts | ✓ | ✗ |
| Grid View | ✗ | ✓ |
| Gantt | ✗ | ✓ |
| Card View | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automations | ✗ | ✓ |
| Reports | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dashboards | ✗ | ✓ |
| Resource Management | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Paymo Pros
- All-in-one project and time tool
- Built-in invoicing
- Resource scheduling
- Good free plan
✗ Paymo Cons
- Limited advanced features
- Reporting could be deeper
- Mobile app less polished
✓ 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
Paymo is built for freelancers and small businesses, with a focus on time-tracking and project-management. Smartsheet targets enterprise and pmo teams and leads with grid-view and gantt.
Pricing is close: Paymo starts at $5.9/mo versus $9/mo for Smartsheet — 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.
Feature-wise, Smartsheet offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Paymo 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.