Smartsheet vs Monday vs Fluid explained: Similarities, differences and find out which is best for your organization

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Project management is more than just scheduling tasks and assigning the right person with a timeline. You need to have a roadmap, data, and proper resources, a.k .a. a tool stack, to be able to move faster and increase your efficiency.

You can have the right process, timelines and projects lined up but if your PMO software doesn’t support you well—-we can already hear the frustration screams. 

Let’s face it—if you search for the best PMO software, you’ll see a bunch of ads before you can see a few perfect ones. 

Smartsheet, Monday.com, and Fluid are a few examples of such software. But which one should you choose? It’s not easy to decide, huh?

So, in this blog, we’ve drawn a biassed free comparison between Smartsheet vs Monday.com vs Fluid to help you decide the right PMO tool.

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At a glance: Smartsheet vs Monday vs Fluid

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Key features: Smartsheet vs Monday.com vs Fluid

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Smartsheet

Centralise visibility and control

Get a holistic view of all projects through every stage. Smartsheet intuitive dashboards and reports serve insights into progress, allocation, risks—in real-time.

Streamline portfolio management

Prioritise, track, optimise your entire portfolio with ease. Smartsheet helps you make informed decisions on resource allocation, budgeting and project selection—all based on data-driven insights.

Team collaboration and communication

Break down silos, seamlessly collaborate across teams. Smartsheet’s intuitive interface and collaborative features enable real-time communication, document sharing, task management—keeping everyone on the same page.

Automate manual processes

Free up valuable time by automating repetitive tasks like progress updates, notifications, approvals. Smartsheet’s workflow automation engine lets you focus on strategic initiatives, drive innovation.

Scale with your organisation

Highly scalable, adaptable to evolving needs. Whether a handful of projects or a complex portfolio, Smartsheet grows with you.

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Monday.com

Quickly adapt to changing priorities

Re-prioritize projects, adjust resources, pivot seamlessly when something unexpected happens.

Foster collaboration

Break down silos, foster cross-functional collaboration. Monday.com makes it easy to share information, track progress, and celebrate wins together.

Elevate your PMO's strategic impact

Move beyond operational, become a true strategic partner. monday.com’s powerful reporting and data analysis tools give insights to inform executive decisions, optimize your entire portfolio.

Automate manual tasks

Automate workflows, notifications, reports, free your team to focus on delivering.

Standardise project management

Set consistent processes and templates across projects, ensuring smoother execution, and minimizing errors.

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Fluid

Unify your project workspace

Centralise everything related to each project in one place: actions, decisions, scheduling, impacts, risks, boards, resources, financials and more.

Resource Management

Manage and forecast resource capacity, identify the best resources for each project.

Ensure consistency

Maintain consistent standards across the portfolio with custom templates—for projects, meetings, processes, and more.

Advanced reporting

Zoom in on project details with dozens of reporting templates and customizable filters.

Customiszed dashboards

Have your perfect portfolio view with customised dashboards. Let senior stakeholders see the progress on every project quickly from a single place without having to send multiple follow-up emails or messages.

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Cons

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Smartsheet

Less affordable for small businesses

Some reviewers feel the pricing structure favours larger teams and enterprises, making it less affordable for individuals or smaller businesses.

Steep learning curve

New users find that Smartsheet has a steep learning curve.

Complex integrations

Integrating Smartsheet with other software can be complex, requiring technical expertise.

Slow customer support response time

Some users have reported that they had to wait long hours to get any response.

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Monday.com

Lacking features

Several reviewers mention desired features currently unavailable, like Gantt charts, time tracking, and resource management.

Integration issues

Customers have reported issues with data syncing and workflow disruptions.

Issues with handling larger teams

Some users worry about the platform's ability to handle larger teams and complex projects as their business grows. Typically you need 6 boards to manage a project…with multiple projects on the go that number ramps up fast!

Occasional bugs

Lag, bugs, and occasional crashes are mentioned, especially for larger boards or datasets.

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Fluid

• Fluid doesn’t have any mobile application yet
• Supports limited integrations however you can use open API to connect the right software
• Lack of scenario planning

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Integrations

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Smartsheet

Google Workspace

You sync your projects with Google Calendar, Drive, and Gmail for effortless data transfer and centralised communication.

Microsoft Office 365

Connect your Sheets with OneDrive, Outlook, and Teams for seamless Microsoft ecosystem collaboration and data sharing.

Docusign

Integrate DocuSign for e-signatures directly within your Smartsheet, eliminating platform switching and accelerating document completion.

Salesforce

Connect your Salesforce data to Smartsheet for real-time sales insights and improved project management for your customer-facing teams.

Zendesk

Integrate your Zendesk tickets with Smartsheet tasks for efficient customer support and project follow-up.

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Monday.com

GitHub

Link your GitHub repositories to Monday.com boards—track development progress, manage code reviews, collaborate on projects efficiently.

Jira

Integrate with Jira to sync issues, track bugs, manage software development projects effectively.

MailChimp

Connect your MailChimp account to create automated email campaigns based on actions or updates in Monday.com.

HubSpot

Sync your HubSpot contacts, leads, deals with Monday.com for comprehensive CRM and marketing data management.

QuickBooks

Integrate QuickBooks to sync invoices, payments, financial data. Streamline accounting processes, ensure real-time visibility into financial performance.

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Fluid

Google Workspace

Sync tasks, calendars, documents with Google Calendar, Drive.

Zapier 

This automation platform connects Fluid with over 3,000 apps and services, enabling custom workflows and automations.

API

Fluid provides open API access, allowing you to build custom integrations with existing tools and systems.

Jira

This integration allows managing tasks, issues, project data between Fluid and Jira.

Azure DevOps

Fluid also integrates with Microsoft's Azure DevOps, facilitating the alignment of development activities with project management processes.

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Customer Support

Smartsheet

• Access a comprehensive Help Center with articles, FAQs, tutorials, videos—covering getting started, managing projects, using features, troubleshooting issues.
• Connect with other Smartsheet users and experts in the community forum—ask questions, share insights, find solutions.
• Attend live or on-demand webinars and training—learn best practices, discover new features, improve your Smartsheet skills.
• Submit a support ticket directly to Smartsheet’s customer support team via email. Expect a response within 24 business hours.
• Phone support is available Monday-Friday, 9AM to 8PM ET. For international support, check “Contact Us” for specific numbers.
• Get real-time assistance from a Smartsheet representative through online chat within the platform during business hours.

Monday.com

• Access an extensive Help Center—your first stop for troubleshooting, guides, tutorials. Search topics or browse categorised information.
• The Knowledge Base dives deeper into specific features, workflows, best practices.
• Connect with other Monday.com users, share experiences, and find solutions in the active community forum.
• Stay updated on new features, tips, industry trends by following the Monday.com blog.
• Access real-time assistance via live chat available on weekdays during business hours. Find the chat icon on the website and within the platform.
• Submit support queries via email. Expect a response within 24 business hours.
• Call Monday.com's support line for urgent issues. Contact details are on the Help Center under "Contact Us."
• Attend live or on-demand webinars to learn best practices, discover features, and ask experts questions directly. Find upcoming webinars on the blog or Help Center.
• Learn at your own pace with instructional videos covering platform aspects. Access them through the Help Center or YouTube channel.
• Invest in comprehensive training sessions delivered by Monday.com experts to address needs. Contact their sales team for information.

Fluid

• You get dedicated Fluid support, offering direct contact via email, phone—ensuring you reach their support team when issues or questions arise.
• Fluid maintains a comprehensive knowledge base with articles, tutorials, docs—covering project management aspects. It serves as a valuable self-help resource.
• Fluid offers live chat support during business hours, providing real-time assistance for your questions or issues.
• Depending on your subscription level, Fluid may offer custom training sessions to help you and your teams optimise using the software.

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Pricing

Smartsheet pricing plans

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Monday.com pricing plans

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Fluid's pricing plans

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Ease of use

Smartsheet

User-friendly templates and tutorials to start quickly. 

The easy to use, organised interface is easier to grasp than some complex PMO platforms.

But you may face a potentially steeper learning curve. Depending on your project complexity and desired features, you will have to invest more time learning specific tools like automations, resource management, or reporting.

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Monday.com

You can grasp basic functionality easily. But mastering advanced features and customising complex workflows takes time and effort.

Managing large teams and projects with numerous boards and integrations can get overwhelming and messy lacking organisation.

You can personalise boards, views, workflows to fit your specific needs and preferences.

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Fluid

With Fluid you get a user-centric design approach that prioritises user experience. The intuitive interface and guided setup make it easy for new and experienced users to navigate and configure Fluid.

With optional custom training sessions, Fluid provides additional support to enhance ease of use and maximise utilisation.

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Alternatives to Smartsheet, Monday.com and Fluid

Primavera

You use Primavera for complex megaprojects. Get powerful resource and cost control, robust scheduling—built for heavy engineering and construction. The steeper learning curve means higher cost.

MS Project

MS Project offers a familiar interface with strong Gantt charts and resource levelling. Integrating with the MS Office suite works well for mid-sized projects, but can feel clunky and less flexible.

Asana

Asana has a simple, clean layout that's ideal for task management and team collaboration. Great for visual team members and startups. But offers limited resource and budget tracking—not for complex workflows.

Jira

Jira focuses on agile, ideal for software development and IT teams. Kanban boards track progress, sprints manage iterations. Advanced bug tracking and reporting. Not ideal for non-technical projects.

Notion

Notion is an all-in-one workspace, combining notes, wikis, project management, calendars. Highly customizable, great for knowledge sharing and creative teams. Less structured than dedicated PM tools, may require deeper setup.

Choose the right PMO tool for you

We’ve compared Smartsheet, Monday.com, and Fluid in depth. Now it's time to try them out! Smartsheet and Monday.com offer a free trial—so experiment with features, see what suits your needs. And to try out Fluid, contact our sales team for a demo. We will take you through the entire platform and help you understand how you can leverage each feature to your utmost advantage—-because we don’t like to leave your customers to figure it all out alone.

As you evaluate, keep certain factors in mind:

• Do your project requirements need robust resource management? Advanced reporting? Collaboration? Size your tool to your workflow.
• Smaller teams may find Smartsheet’s basics sufficient. Larger teams may need Monday.com’s or Fluid’s scalability and automation.
• Pricing varies significantly—choose what fits your budget constraints.
• Test the interfaces for ease of use and user-friendliness. An intuitive platform makes work easier.
• How many projects are in your portfolio? Some tools cap the maximum number of projects even on their most expensive price plans.

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