Top 10 Free Alternatives to Smartsheet AI in 2025: A Detailed Analysis
With the rise of AI in project management, 2025 has presented a variety of free alternatives to Smartsheet AI. This article dives into the top 10, highlighting their unique features, capabilities, and the benefits they offer to users.
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1. ClickUp
- Free Plan: Offers unlimited members, tasks, chat, and documents with 100 MB of storage.
- Customization: Highly customizable views, including list, board, calendar, Gantt chart, and more.
- Collaboration: Real-time collaboration, chat channels, and document sharing.
- AI Features: ClickUp Brain offers AI-powered summaries and workflow streamlining.
- Task Management: Comprehensive task management with subtasks, dependencies, and custom statuses.
- Discover ClickUp
2. Notion
- Free Plan: Unlimited blocks for individuals, with some limitations on team features.
- All-in-One Workspace: Combines notes, databases, Kanban boards, and calendars.
- Customization: Highly customizable templates and databases for tailored project management.
- Collaboration: Real-time collaboration on pages and databases.
- Flexibility: Supports diverse project types and organization styles.
- Learn more about Notion
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3. Trello
- Free Plan: Unlimited cards and members, making it suitable for teams of all sizes.
- Kanban Boards: Simple, drag-and-drop interface for easy workflow visualization.
- Power-Ups: Options to add advanced project management features (some require paid plans).
- Simplicity: Uncomplicated tool for visual task management.
- Collaboration: Easy sharing and progress tracking via boards and cards.
- Explore Trello
4. Asana
- Free Plan: Unlimited projects and tasks, suitable for small teams (up to 15 users).
- Task Management: Supports multiple project methodologies, including timeline and board views.
- Team Collaboration: Features to manage task dependencies and milestones.
- Reporting: Offers advanced reporting tools and customizable dashboards.
- Integration: Integrates with tools like Slack and Google Workspace.
- Discover Asana
5. Wrike
- Free Plan: Good for small teams starting out with basic project management.
- Features: Offers Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and task management.
- Collaboration: Real-time commenting, file sharing, and @mentions.
- Automation: Allows custom workflows and repetitive task automation.
- Integration: Wide range of tools for project management.
- Learn more about Wrike
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6. ProProfs Project
- Free Plan: Offers all features, a clean UI, and task management tools.
- Task Management: Includes subtasks, time tracking, billing, invoicing, and customizable workflows.
- Project Views: Provides Kanban and Gantt chart views for project planning.
- Reporting: Ability to generate detailed reports from the platform.
- Collaboration: Supports team collaboration features.
- Explore ProProfs Project
7. Todoist
- Free Plan: Supports 5 active projects.
- Task Management: Task prioritization, due dates, and labels.
- Simplicity: Clean and intuitive interface for quick task input.
- Features: Natural language processing for task creation and recurring tasks.
- Integration: Integrates smoothly with Google Calendar and Slack.
- Discover Todoist
8. Airtable
- Free Plan: Unlimited bases with 1,000 records.
- Customization: Highly customizable templates and flexible database structure.
- Flexibility: Can be used to build customized project management apps.
- Collaboration: Real-time collaboration and sharing features.
- Spreadsheet-based: Suitable for spreadsheet-based projects.
- Learn more about Airtable
9. nTask
- Free Plan: Offers core task management capabilities.
- Task Management: Features for setting priorities and tracking progress.
- Project Planning: Includes robust project planning tools and Gantt charts.
- Simplicity: Clean, intuitive interface with a structured way to manage tasks.
- Collaboration: Features for assigning tasks and tracking real-time progress.
- Explore nTask
10. Plaky
- Free Plan: Offers unlimited projects, tasks, and users.
- Visual Management: Designed for visually managing tasks and teams.
- Flexibility: Free and flexible project management software.
- Features: Supports task management and collaboration.
- Discover Plaky
These alternatives offer a range of features from simple Kanban boards to more complex project management tools with AI assistance. The best choice will depend on the specific needs of your team and projects. Each tool on this list has a robust free plan that allows you to test it out before committing to a paid subscription.
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FAQ
What is ClickUp?
ClickUp is a highly customizable project management platform with a wide array of features including task management, document creation, chat, and reporting. It offers a free plan with unlimited members, tasks, chat, and documents with 100 MB of storage. ClickUp Brain provides AI-powered summaries and workflow streamlining. Learn more about ClickUp
What can Notion be used for?
Notion is an all-in-one workspace that combines note-taking, project management, and database capabilities. Known for its versatility, Notion allows for real-time collaboration on pages and databases. It includes customizable templates and supports diverse project types and organization styles. Discover Notion
How does Trello handle task management?
Trello utilizes Kanban boards to organize tasks with a simple, drag-and-drop interface for easy workflow visualization. Its free plan includes unlimited cards and members, making it suitable for teams of all sizes. Explore Trello
What features does Asana offer on its free plan?
Asana's free plan supports unlimited projects and tasks, suitable for small teams (up to 15 users). It features task management with various project views, advanced reporting tools, and integrates with tools like Slack and Google Workspace. Learn more about Asana
What features does Wrike provide for free?
Wrike offers a free plan that is good for small teams starting out with basic project management, including features like Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and task management, along with real-time commenting, file sharing, and custom workflows. Discover Wrike
What are the main features of ProProfs Project?
ProProfs Project offers a free plan with all features included, such as subtasks, time tracking, billing, invoicing, customizable workflows, and project views like Kanban and Gantt charts. It supports team collaboration and detailed reporting. Explore ProProfs Project
What makes Todoist a good choice for task management?
Todoist is a straightforward task management tool with a clean and intuitive interface. Its free plan supports 5 active projects, and it features task prioritization, due dates, labels, and natural language processing for task creation and scheduling. Learn more about Todoist
How customizable is Airtable for project management?
Airtable is a flexible database tool that can be used to build custom project management applications. It allows for highly customizable templates and a flexible database structure, providing real-time collaboration and sharing features. Discover Airtable
What does nTask offer on its free plan?
nTask's free plan offers core task management capabilities, project planning tools, Gantt charts, and features for setting task priorities and tracking progress. It supports team collaboration and real-time progress tracking. Learn more about nTask
Why choose Plaky for task management?
Plaky is a free project and task management software known for its flexibility and visual task management capabilities. It offers unlimited projects, tasks, and users, making it a very flexible option for managing tasks and teams. Explore Plaky
References
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond and launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.
About the Publication
Fe/male Switch is an innovative startup platform designed to empower women entrepreneurs through an immersive, game-like experience. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic "without any funding and without any code," this non-profit initiative has evolved into a comprehensive educational tool for aspiring female entrepreneurs.The platform was co-founded by Violetta Shishkina-Bonenkamp, who serves as CEO and one of the lead authors of the Startup News branch.
Mission and Purpose
Fe/male Switch Foundation was created to address the gender gap in the tech and entrepreneurship space. The platform aims to skill-up future female tech leaders and empower them to create resilient and innovative tech startups through what they call "gamepreneurship". By putting players in a virtual startup village where they must survive and thrive, the startup game allows women to test their entrepreneurial abilities without financial risk.
Key Features
The platform offers a unique blend of news, resources,learning, networking, and practical application within a supportive, female-focused environment:
- Skill Lab: Micro-modules covering essential startup skills
- Virtual Startup Building: Create or join startups and tackle real-world challenges
- AI Co-founder (PlayPal): Guides users through the startup process
- SANDBOX: A testing environment for idea validation before launch
- Wellness Integration: Virtual activities to balance work and self-care
- Marketplace: Buy or sell expert sessions and tutorials
Impact and Growth
Since its inception, Fe/male Switch has shown impressive growth:
- 3,000+ female entrepreneurs in the community
- 100+ startup tools built
- 5,000+ pieces of articles and news written
Partnerships
Fe/male Switch has formed strategic partnerships to enhance its offerings. In January 2022, it teamed up with global website builder Tilda to provide free access to website building tools and mentorship services for Fe/male Switch participants.
Recognition
Fe/male Switch has received media attention for its innovative approach to closing the gender gap in tech entrepreneurship. The platform has been featured in various publications highlighting its unique "play to learn and earn" model.