Shortcut
Smartsheet
| Feature | Shortcut | Smartsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $8.5/mo | Free / from $9/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.3 / 5 |
| Best For | software-teams, startups, engineering-managers, product-teams | enterprise, project-managers, operations-teams, it-teams |
| Founded | 2016 | 2005 |
| Stories | ✓ | ✗ |
| Epics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Iterations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Milestones | ✓ | ✗ |
| Api | ✓ | ✗ |
| Integrations | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sheets | ✗ | ✓ |
| Gantt Charts | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automation | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dashboards | ✗ | ✓ |
| Forms | ✗ | ✓ |
| Resource Management | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Shortcut Pros
- Intuitive UI for engineering teams
- Great API and integrations
- Flexible iteration planning
- Excellent GitHub integration
✗ Shortcut Cons
- Limited reporting on free plan
- No time tracking built-in
- Smaller ecosystem than Jira
✓ Smartsheet Pros
- Familiar spreadsheet interface
- Powerful automation
- Enterprise-grade
- Good dashboards
✗ Smartsheet Cons
- Can be confusing
- Expensive for small teams
- Learning curve
The Verdict
Shortcut is built for software teams and startups, with a focus on stories and epics. Smartsheet targets enterprise and project managers and leads with sheets and gantt-charts.
Both tools come in at similar price points ($8.5/mo for Shortcut, $9/mo for Smartsheet), so pricing won't make the decision for you.
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.