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Jira vs Microsoft Project vs Smartsheet comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
Jira boosts ROI through enhanced productivity, versatility, and efficient workflows, leading to cost savings and quick payback periods.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Project optimizes resource use and efficiency, enhancing project management, reducing costs, and improving transparency and completion timelines.
Sentiment score
6.9
Smartsheet enhances productivity and collaboration, automates processes, manages timelines, and is cost-effective compared to Microsoft Project alternatives.
A return on investment has been seen with Jira, as a lot of time has been saved in arranging tasks, converting software features into epics, tasks, and milestones, making it easy to track progress and plan future roadmaps.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
We implement it and track it with the help of the time tracking feature, which makes it quite easy to manage everything in a single platform.
Technical Lead at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Tracking has helped people see productivity measures and different observability metrics and traceability metrics of different tools.
Integration Supervisor Lead at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
If I can eliminate delays, I achieve good ROI because resources can be utilized to their maximum capacity.
Domain Consultant at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Microsoft Project does help save time and money due to its completeness as a project management solution.
Principal: Cyber Security, Information Security Management, Data Privacy at Astrum
Compared to Microsoft Project, which is more expensive, we save costs using Smartsheet.
Project Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Customer service is valued for timely help, but email-only support and inconsistent technical assistance cause some frustration.
Sentiment score
6.4
Microsoft Project support receives mixed reviews, with responsiveness varying by location, support type, and specific customer needs.
Sentiment score
6.8
Smartsheet's customer service feedback is mixed, with praise for responsiveness and resources but concerns over response delays and ticket management.
Jira's customer support is one of the best I have ever dealt with because they respond quickly.
CEO at 2Help
They usually reach out within one to two business days and give specific answers.
Senior Technical Support Engineer I at Krisp
I did not face any issues with stability or upgrades.
Senior Director, Head of Information Systems Division at Israel Innovation Authority
Currently, there are more support personnel who speak English, and Microsoft has increased its Spanish language support compared to previous years.
Desarrollo de negocios at SEGEN GROUP SAS
There is a website and a connection to AI for support.
Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
I would give somewhere around 10 for my overall experience with support.
Associate Director at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Jira is highly scalable, integrates well with tools, supports growth effectively, but may incur additional costs with expansion.
Sentiment score
6.9
Microsoft Project is scalable and adaptable, integrating well with Microsoft tools but needing better external system integration.
Sentiment score
7.4
Smartsheet is praised for scalability, integration features, and cost-effectiveness, with some concerns over task tracking in larger projects.
As the number of users, projects, and work items grows, Jira can scale effectively.
Integration Supervisor Lead at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Scalability for Jira is great, and it handles growth easily from 100 to thousands.
CEO at 2Help
Smartsheet is pretty flexible and scalable.
Project Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Jira is praised for its stability and reliability, with minimal disruptions and consistently high user ratings.
Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Project is generally stable and reliable, with occasional issues in complex projects, rated 8-9 for stability.
Sentiment score
7.9
Users find Smartsheet stable, with minor issues, high reliability ratings, and minimal disruptions enhancing overall satisfaction.
In my experience, Jira is stable, with around 99% uptime.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Microsoft Project is a stable tool, and when using it in different projects, it works perfectly.
Desarrollo de negocios at SEGEN GROUP SAS
Microsoft Project is a stable product.
Domain Consultant at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
I would rate the stability of Microsoft Project as an eight out of ten.
Project Lead at ABB
 

Room For Improvement

Jira's complexity causes user challenges, requiring enhanced usability, integrations, performance, automation, AI features, and better support.
Microsoft Project users seek improved usability, integration, real-time data, reporting, automation, collaboration features, and better pricing with Office apps.
Users want better data management, UI, integration, security, support, and Excel-like features in Smartsheet.
Focus more on improving API integration and automation tools, not just the design.
CEO at 2Help
One feature that could improve Jira is the integration of AI capabilities, such as organizing Jira tasks autonomously with minimum human intervention and executing aggregations and clustering of these tasks.
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
A simpler user experience for new users is necessary.
Product Analyst at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing.
Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
It would be beneficial to see enhanced reporting functionalities in future versions.
Project Lead at ABB
Microsoft Project tends to become very unstable on large project plans with more than 400 lines.
Principal: Cyber Security, Information Security Management, Data Privacy at Astrum
I have a novice understanding of Smartsheet, so I sought a solution more suited to repeatable projects and process-oriented governance.
Strategic Programs Vice President, Project Management Office at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

Jira's reasonable pricing escalates for enterprises with more users, add-ons, and data center or cloud subscriptions.
Microsoft Project offers varied pricing; value in bundles but standalone licenses may be costly, seen as competitive overall.
Smartsheet pricing is user-based, varies by plan, and advanced features can increase costs compared to competitors like Microsoft Project.
Even if only five people from your team use a financial plugin, you still pay for all 100 seats.
CEO at 2Help
The issue with Microsoft is that the license is per personnel, making it expensive.
Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
I believe it's usually included in the Microsoft 365 package.
Desarrollo de negocios at SEGEN GROUP SAS
Microsoft Project is affordable, but the standalone Project license should be included in the Office price to increase adoption.
Domain Consultant at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Licensing might be cheaper per user.
Project Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

Jira supports Agile with customizable workflows, integrations, and dashboards, enhancing project management and collaboration through scalable, flexible tools.
Microsoft Project offers intuitive scheduling, resource management, and integration with Office Suite for streamlined and efficient project planning.
Smartsheet offers real-time collaboration, customizable dashboards, automation, and integration, making it ideal for efficient project management.
You can build your own workflows and make it work exactly the way your team needs and integrate it with almost every third-party software.
CEO at 2Help
Agile boards give instant visibility into what is in progress, blocked, or completed. It provides clear status and ownership, which helps the team stay aligned without constant follow-ups.
Product Analyst at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
Jira has helped not only our organization but many organizations to be very focused and understand what needs to be done and to prioritize things effectively.
Senior Technical Support Engineer I at Krisp
This tool is the most accurate project management tool, allowing me to run a full set of project activities without having to switch between different tools for scheduling and other tasks.
Principal: Cyber Security, Information Security Management, Data Privacy at Astrum
The collaboration features are valuable for controlling the project and transmitting information to other team members when working in a team.
Desarrollo de negocios at SEGEN GROUP SAS
The most valuable features are in the successor and predecessor determination and the tracking tools, such as obtaining data on the S curve financial curve.
Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd
Automation helps by simplifying some manual work, saving time and facilitating communication.
Project Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
We were looking for a tool that allowed for repeatable projects and process-oriented governance.
Strategic Programs Vice President, Project Management Office at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
What I appreciate best about Smartsheet is the straight Gantt chart and its flexibility.
Solution Architect at Think People
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Jira is 3.8%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Project is 2.8%, down from 8.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Smartsheet is 2.3%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Management Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Jira3.8%
Microsoft Project2.8%
Smartsheet2.3%
Other91.1%
Project Management Software
 

Featured Reviews

Akhil Viswam - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees
Agile workflows have streamlined sprint planning and tracking for faster feature delivery
Jira has a very good interface and it is very easy to manage sprints, tasks, and epics. The main feature is the hierarchy, as features can be converted into epics and topics, allowing bigger tasks to be partitioned into smaller ones. The hierarchy feature in Jira helps the team significantly compared to other tools that have been used, such as Trello, which is mainly useful only for a waterfall model. For modern Agile practices, Jira is the most adapted tool in the industry. Another valuable feature is that Jira APIs have been used for data science projects to analyze tasks and get insights. This has also been very helpful in the project.
Jacob-George - PeerSpot reviewer
Domain Consultant at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Improved project scheduling has maximized resource utilization and has reduced delays
I think the licensing structure presents a significant area for improvement. The full features are not offered on the standard E4 license. This becomes problematic when distributing the project plan. I can export the plan as Excel and CSV files, but then I lose all the rich features, including dependency mapping. To recreate all that functionality without proper licensing is challenging. Microsoft Project offers a light version available for free, but when I try to distribute a project plan, it requires separate licensing. Microsoft Project Central used to be more of an enterprise product. Microsoft Project currently focuses on very low-level task management, and it could do much more. I do not see significant advancement happening because there is confusion about where Microsoft Project is heading. I believe Microsoft should bundle the license with Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This approach would result in more people using Microsoft Project. That is my opinion on how to improve adoption and the product offering.
DS
Project Manager at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Automation simplifies manual tasks and facilitates team communication
There are many useful features in Smartsheet. One can easily share plans with the entire team, and it functions similarly to Microsoft Project. Creating dependencies across all tasks is smooth, and team members can make adjustments if necessary. Automation helps by simplifying some manual work, saving time and facilitating communication.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
7%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Aerospace/Defense Firm
9%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Government
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business107
Midsize Enterprise58
Large Enterprise151
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise41
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise22
 

Questions from the Community

Is Jira better or would you go with Micro Focus ALM Octane?
Hi Netanya, Basically , it all depends on the use cases for your environment and the business needs. Hope the below d...
Which is better - Jira or Microsoft Azure DevOps?
Jira is a great centralized tool for just about everything, from local team management to keeping track of products a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Jira?
Jira itself is fairly priced for the features it provides, but pricing is a bit higher than some alternatives, mostly...
Has anyone moved from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet? How has your experience been with Smartsheet?
Hi @Eire Zimmermann, I helped an organization evaluate both MS-Project and Smartsheet when they were conducting thei...
What do you like most about Microsoft Project?
The product's initial setup phase is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project?
I would say Microsoft Project is affordable, but the standalone Project license should be included in the Office pric...
What do you like most about Smartsheet?
The tool creates shareable dashboards. These dashboards allow us to display project deliverables' status, their posit...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Smartsheet?
Licensing might be cheaper per user. I rate it as seven or eight due to its demanding nature. For personal use, I hav...
What needs improvement with Smartsheet?
Currently, I feel that Smartsheet fulfills all my needs. However, I need to investigate more about the product to ide...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Jira Software
Project Pro, MS Project
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Square, Nasa, eBay, Cisco, SalesForce, Adobe, BNP Paribas, BMW and LinkedIn, Pfizer, Citi.
Aston Martin, ABANCA, Airbus Group, Capita, Cardiff University, City of Saskatoon, Intel, Pegasus Airlines, South Australia Power Network (SAPN), Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing
Sony Music, ESPN, Hilton, Unisource, Colliers, Extreme Networks, Groupon, Netflix
Find out what your peers are saying about Atlassian, monday.com, Microsoft and others in Project Management Software. Updated: March 2026.
885,444 professionals have used our research since 2012.