--- title: Smartsheet vs ZincFlow competitor: Smartsheet category: Project Management & Spreadsheets description: When Smartsheet's pricing hikes, performance issues, and spreadsheet limits hold your business back. --- ## The Short Version **Use Smartsheet if:** You need a collaborative spreadsheet tool for small projects, you can work within the row and formula limits, and you can absorb annual price increases. **Use ZincFlow if:** Smartsheet's performance has slowed to a crawl, you've hit the limits, or you need automation that goes beyond what a spreadsheet can handle. **The difference:** Smartsheet is a collaborative spreadsheet with project management features. ZincFlow builds custom automation you own - no row limits, no formula restrictions, no annual price hikes. --- ## The Real Problem With Smartsheet ### Aggressive Price Increases Smartsheet has been raising prices dramatically. > "Standard price hikes of 3% to 5% year-over-year have given way to stratospheric increases of 30% to 50% in some instances. That's nearly 10x higher than expected standards." > - [NPI Financial](https://www.npifinancial.com/blog/smartsheet-increases-pricing-at-alarming-rate) > "1000's of people who viewed a sheet were now being counted in the connected user count. Our bill went from $65K to $165K overnight." > - [Smartsheet Community](https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/141135/new-pricing) > "They told me I couldn't [cancel] and that we had to pay the next yearly fee which is about $5,000." > - [Trustpilot Review](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.smartsheet.com) > "Over time, they made these features more expensive and barely improved their software. This year, when asked to reduce the number of users on contract due to redundancies in my team, they locked us into the previous year's contract, citing a 'Negative Option' rule." > - [Trustpilot Review](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.smartsheet.com) --- ### Slow and Clunky Performance Smartsheet struggles with anything beyond small datasets. > "Unlike Excel 365/Google Sheets whose performance is pretty impressive for even some complex and heavy demand spreadsheets, Smartsheet is really clunky and becomes desperately frustrating and slow." > - [Smartsheet Community](https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/7207/very-poor-performance-speed-of-smartsheet) > "It's embarrassing to collaborate on a Smartsheet when it's so slow - the clients will often complain." > - [Smartsheet Community](https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/7207/very-poor-performance-speed-of-smartsheet) > "Sheets are loading super slow... going from almost instant loading of items to clicking in a cell and having to wait for the cursor to come up - sometimes waiting up to 15 seconds." > - [Smartsheet Community](https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/131721/sheets-are-loading-super-slow) > "Lagging issues with sheets that are not that large... maybe 100 rows." > - [Smartsheet Community](https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/112612/lagging-in-sheets) --- ### Hard Limits That Stop You Cold Smartsheet has strict limits that can't be bypassed. > "A sheet cannot exceed a total of 500,000 cells. A sheet with 20,000 rows can only have 25 or fewer columns." > - [Smartsheet Developer Documentation](https://developers.smartsheet.com/api/smartsheet/guides/basics/limitations) > "Some companies have headcounts that surpass the 20,000 mark, making it extremely difficult to utilize Smartsheet." > - [Smartsheet Community](https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/106947/increase-sheet-row-and-column-limits) > "Just one of those formulas is close to the hard limit of 4,000 characters... we start hitting the 'Can't connect to the Internet' error... when we get over about 600 rows, which is only 10% or so of the maximum number of rows." > - [Smartsheet Community](https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/6861/latency-and-speed) > "A sheet can include no more than 100 distinct cross-sheet references." > - [Smartsheet Community](https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/22861/maximum-number-of-cross-sheet-references-per-sheet) --- ### Automation That Doesn't Work Smartsheet's automation is unreliable. > "Automations work when testing with 'Run Now' but fail to trigger automatically when actual changes occur." > - [Smartsheet Community](https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/94669/smartsheet-automation-not-triggering-takes-forever-to-trigger) > "I have had to change automations from 'trigger' to 'hourly' because triggers weren't working properly." > - [Smartsheet Community](https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/81498/automation-not-working-reliably) > "Previously working automations suddenly stopping without any changes being made on our end. Very frustrating." > - [Smartsheet Community](https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/66736/automation-suddenly-not-working) > "Confirmations not being sent for hours after they complete the row, and occasionally doesn't happen at all." > - [Smartsheet Community](https://community.smartsheet.com/discussion/94669/smartsheet-automation-not-triggering-takes-forever-to-trigger) --- ### Formulas Weaker Than Excel If you're used to Excel, Smartsheet will frustrate you. > "Excel is the winner in this round. It's far more powerful than Smartsheet when it comes to analyzing large amounts of data, using complex formulas, filtering, and running macros." > - [Zapier Blog](https://zapier.com/blog/smartsheet-vs-excel/) > "The worst experience of my life. Undo buttons for text editing are disabled and the undo button in the application does not undo text edits while typing a long formula. Vlookup is fundamentally broken and lacks any serious documentation." > - [Trustpilot Review](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.smartsheet.com) > "Formulas aren't preserved. Due to formula syntax differences between Excel and Smartsheet, imported Excel formulas might not function in Smartsheet. Unsupported formulas are replaced by an #UNPARSEABLE error message." > - [Smartsheet Learning Center](https://help.smartsheet.com/articles/504553-import-files-to-create-new-sheets) --- ### Customer Support Failures Getting help is nearly impossible. > "THE worst company we have ever worked with... You can't ever get a hold of an actual person who will take accountability of the service request." > - [Trustpilot Review](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.smartsheet.com) > "Worst CS in the industry... holding you (your money) hostage, with nobody to talk to." > - [Trustpilot Review](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.smartsheet.com) > "A great tool, totally let down by zero support! Long term 10 year+ customer, nearly 2 weeks with no resolution. Don't recommend at all if you ever need support, look elsewhere!" > - [Trustpilot Review](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.smartsheet.com) > "Support is horrendous as in no support unless you're paying $1,000+ a month." > - [Trustpilot Review](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.smartsheet.com) --- ### Cancellation Nightmares Trying to cancel is a battle. > "Smartsheet.com makes it extremely difficult to cancel their services. The website has no way of ending services online. Instead, they provide email or phone, and both lead you to submitting a ticket online." > - [BBB Complaint](https://www.bbb.org/us/wa/bellevue/profile/computer-software-developers/smartsheetcom-inc-1296-22570554/complaints) > "I have written to shut down my account twice, and they say it is solved, but then I am charged again." > - [Trustpilot Review](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.smartsheet.com) > "Impossible to cancel they just keep taking your money." > - [Trustpilot Review](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.smartsheet.com) --- ## What Real Users Say **On learning curve:** > "Users find the steep learning curve of Smartsheet challenging, making it hard to navigate and utilize features effectively." > - [G2 Reviews](https://www.g2.com/products/smartsheet/reviews) (1,463 mentions) **On missing features:** > "Users find missing features in Smartsheet, particularly in customization, advanced dependencies, and automation options." > - [G2 Reviews](https://www.g2.com/products/smartsheet/reviews) (1,520 mentions) **On switching:** > "Previously a Fan - Not Anymore. I have used SmartSheet for years and been a huge advocate. Recently they have fallen behind their competitors on user interface and started pushing extremely overpriced add-on software." > - [Trustpilot Review](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.smartsheet.com) **On the product:** > "The presenter from Smartsheet who demoed the product for us said it aimed to do 'everything a spreadsheet can do' (e.g. Excel, GoogleSheets) but in reality the number of missing features are so significant that the product is almost entirely useless." > - [Capterra Review](https://www.capterra.com/p/79104/Smartsheet/reviews/) --- ## What ZincFlow Does Differently ### Real Automation, Not a Transfer of Attention With Smartsheet, you manage spreadsheets and fight limits. With ZincFlow, we build exactly what your workflow needs. | Smartsheet | ZincFlow | |------------|----------| | $9-$32/user/month (with 30-50% annual hikes) | One-time build + monthly maintenance | | 20,000 row limit | No row limits | | 500,000 cell limit | No cell limits | | 4,000 character formula limit | Any logic you need | | Automations fail silently | Reliable automation | | 15-second load times | Built for performance | ### Investment vs. Cost Smartsheet's pricing increases 30-50% annually. What costs $65K can become $165K "overnight." ZincFlow is an investment: - **One-time build fee** based on complexity - **Monthly maintenance** for ongoing support and monitoring - **You own everything** - the code, the automation, all of it - **Cancel anytime** and keep what we built - **No surprise price hikes** - predictable costs If you ever sell your business, custom automation you own adds real value. "We use Smartsheet" doesn't. ### No Artificial Limits | Smartsheet Limit | ZincFlow | |------------------|----------| | 20,000 rows | Unlimited | | 500,000 cells | Unlimited | | 4,000 character formulas | Any complexity | | 100 cross-sheet references | No limits | | 300 API requests/min | Built for your needs | ### Support That Actually Supports - **6 days a week** availability - **Small client roster** = real attention - **We maintain everything** - automations don't fail silently - **No $1,000/month premium support** - same service for everyone - **Actual humans** who solve problems --- ## Real Example **The situation:** Operations team hitting Smartsheet limits. **The Smartsheet reality:** - Business plan: $32/user × 25 = $800/month - Hit 20,000 row limit - 15-second load times - Automations failing without notice - 30% price increase at renewal - **Total: $1,040/month after increase** and still hitting limits **The problems:** - Can't grow data beyond limits - Performance gets worse with more data - Cross-sheet references maxed out - Support takes weeks to respond - Annual price increases unpredictable **What we built:** - Custom workflow automation with no row limits - Fast performance regardless of data size - Reliable automations that actually trigger - They own the entire system - Predictable monthly maintenance **The result:** - No more row/cell limits - No more 15-second waits - Automations that work - An asset they own --- ## When to Stay with Smartsheet Smartsheet makes sense if: - You have small projects under 20,000 rows - You can absorb 30-50% annual price increases - Slow performance doesn't impact productivity - You don't need complex automations - Formula limits don't affect your work - You have time to fight for support responses --- ## When to Call ZincFlow - You've hit the 20,000 row or 500,000 cell limit - Performance has degraded to 15+ second loads - Automations are failing without explanation - Price increases are becoming unacceptable - You need formulas more powerful than what Smartsheet allows - You want to own the automation, not rent limited spreadsheets --- ## How It Works 1. **We talk** - Understand your workflow, data, and what you actually need 2. **We build** - Custom automation without spreadsheet limits (one-time build fee) 3. **We maintain** - Ongoing support, monitoring, and updates (monthly maintenance) 4. **You own it** - Cancel anytime and keep everything --- ## Bottom Line Smartsheet is a collaborative spreadsheet that hits walls fast. The 20,000 row limit, formula restrictions, unreliable automations, and 30-50% annual price hikes make it a poor choice for serious business operations. ZincFlow builds automation you own. No row limits. No cell limits. No formula restrictions. No annual price surprises. We handle the building and maintenance. You get automation that actually works. That's the difference between renting a limited spreadsheet and owning unlimited automation. --- ## Sources - [G2 Smartsheet Reviews](https://www.g2.com/products/smartsheet/reviews) - [Capterra Smartsheet Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/79104/Smartsheet/reviews/) - [Trustpilot Smartsheet Reviews](https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.smartsheet.com) - [BBB - Smartsheet Complaints](https://www.bbb.org/us/wa/bellevue/profile/computer-software-developers/smartsheetcom-inc-1296-22570554/complaints) - [Smartsheet Community Forums](https://community.smartsheet.com/) - [Smartsheet Learning Center](https://help.smartsheet.com/) - [Smartsheet Developer Documentation](https://developers.smartsheet.com/) - [NPI Financial - Smartsheet Pricing](https://www.npifinancial.com/blog/smartsheet-increases-pricing-at-alarming-rate) - [Ragic Blog - Smartsheet Pricing Changes](https://www.ragic.com/intl/en/blog/607/smartsheet-pricing-changes-limitatons-alternatives) - [Spendflo - Smartsheet Pricing Plans](https://www.spendflo.com/blog/smartsheet-pricing-a-complete-guide-to-plans-costs-and-savings) - [Stackby - Smartsheet Pricing Guide](https://stackby.com/blog/smartsheet-pricing-plans-complete-guide/) - [Baserow - Smartsheet Pricing](https://baserow.io/blog/smartsheet-pricing) - [SmartSuite Blog - Smartsheet Review](https://www.smartsuite.com/blog/smartsheet-review) - [CrazyEgg - Smartsheet Review](https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/smartsheet-review/) - [Cloudwards - Smartsheet Review](https://www.cloudwards.net/smartsheet-review/) - [ClickUp - Smartsheet vs Excel](https://clickup.com/blog/smartsheet-vs-excel/) - [Zapier - Smartsheet vs Excel](https://zapier.com/blog/smartsheet-vs-excel/) - [Project Manager - Smartsheet Dashboard](https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/smartsheet-dashboard) - [Unito - Smartsheet Integration Limitations](https://guide.unito.io/limitations-smartsheet-integration)