Which open-source Smartsheet alternative fits your sheets and renewal
If you are facing a renewal, a pricing change, a data residency rule or a lock-in concern, the fit depends on what your sheets actually do. Teams that mainly track schedules, dependencies and task ownership will find OpenProject the closest match, because it offers Gantt charts and work packages in a self-hosted, GPL-3.0 licensed platform. Teams whose sheets depend on cross-sheet formulas, dashboards and automated workflows should expect a rebuild rather than a direct move, and should scope that work before choosing a platform. Redmine, also under GPL v2, suits teams that want a lightweight, self-hosted tracker with Gantt charts and time tracking, but it is less of a spreadsheet replacement. Teams usually look for an open-source option when they want the data and the hosting under their own control. Self-hosting keeps project records inside your own cloud account, data center or air-gapped network, which matters when a residency rule restricts where project data may sit. Open-source licensing also means the software itself is not tied to a single vendor's contract terms. Note that the supplied facts do not cover Smartsheet's pricing, so any pricing change or renewal figure you are weighing should come from your own contract and your Smartsheet account team, not from this page. Before you commit, pull a full inventory of what your sheets depend on: formulas, reports, dashboards, workflows, cross-sheet references and attachments. Smartsheet's own backup file is a zip of Excel files with comments and attachments, and it excludes reports, dashboards, formulas, workflows, cross-sheet references and formatting, so that inventory must be built by hand. Confirm with each candidate vendor which of those elements it can reproduce natively, which need custom work, and which will be retired. The result tells you whether the decision is a platform choice or a broader process redesign.
How OpenProject, Redmine and Plane compare as Smartsheet replacements
Smartsheet teams usually need Gantt-style scheduling, shared task tracking and some reporting. The three options below cover that ground differently, so the right choice depends on whether your sheets lean toward schedules, issue tracking or lightweight boards. Each card names the main trade-off to weigh before a pilot.
OpenProject for scheduling
OpenProject is licensed under GPL-3.0 and offers a free Community edition, with Enterprise on-premises and cloud plans on top. Its Gantt charts and work packages are the closest match to Smartsheet's schedule-driven sheets, so teams that track dependencies and milestones start here. The trade-off is licensing: SSO, LDAP synchronization, SCIM provisioning and portfolio and resource management sit in paid Enterprise plans. Confirm which of your identity and reporting needs fall inside the Community edition before you plan the rollout.
Redmine for issue-driven teams
Redmine is a self-hosted web application under GPL v2, built on Ruby on Rails. It provides issue tracking, Gantt charts, wikis, time tracking, LDAP authentication and Git and Subversion integration. It suits engineering and IT teams whose Smartsheet sheets are really issue logs with dates attached. The trade-off is the interface and reporting model: Redmine feels more like a ticketing system than a spreadsheet, so people used to free-form grids will need time to adjust, and you should test its custom fields against your existing column structure.
Plane for lightweight boards
Plane's Community Edition is licensed under AGPL-3.0, which requires careful review if you modify and expose the software to users. Plane offers CSV import, and its other importers are available on Plane Cloud and the self-hosted Commercial Edition. It fits teams that want modern work item views and a simpler model than Smartsheet's. The main trade-off is coverage: confirm whether Plane's Gantt and reporting features reproduce your sheets' dependencies, roll-up formulas and dashboards before you commit, because these are the parts most likely to need rebuilding.
Which open-source option covers each Smartsheet capability
This table maps each main Smartsheet capability to the closest self-hosted option among OpenProject, Plane and Redmine, with a coverage note for each. Read the notes as a rebuild plan: where a row says partial or rebuild, plan time for reconstructing that part before retiring the sheet. Confirm every row against your own edition and version before you commit.
| Smartsheet capability | Closest open-source option | Coverage note |
|---|---|---|
| Grid-style sheets with rows and columns | OpenProject work packages in table view, Plane issues in list view | Covered for tasks and fields. Spreadsheet-style free entry across many columns is partial, so confirm with your users. |
| Gantt timelines | OpenProject Gantt charts, Redmine Gantt charts | Covered. Confirm that the timeline view meets your scheduling needs, since Plane is weaker on Gantt-style planning. |
| Task dependencies | OpenProject work package relations, Redmine issue relations | Covered for predecessor and successor links. Rebuild any dependency logic that Smartsheet drives through sheet-level automation. |
| Cell formulas and calculated columns | None as a direct equivalent in the three options | Rebuild. Recreate totals, roll-ups and date math as custom fields, reports or external spreadsheets, and test each one. |
| Dashboards and reports | OpenProject reports and dashboards, Redmine reports and wiki pages | Partial. Reports are not included in Smartsheet backups, so export layouts and definitions manually and rebuild them. |
| Automated workflows and alerts | OpenProject and Plane notification settings, plus external automation tools you host | Rebuild or confirm first. Built-in rules differ from Smartsheet automations, so list every active workflow before migration. |
| Comments and attachments | OpenProject and Plane work item comments and attachments, Redmine issue journals | Covered. Smartsheet backups include comments and attachments as Excel files, so check that migrated files and history stay linked. |
| Sharing and permissions | OpenProject roles and project membership, Redmine roles, Plane workspace roles | Partial. Permission models differ, so map each sheet share to a project role and test access before cutover. |
| SSO and directory sync | OpenProject SSO, LDAP synchronization and SCIM provisioning in paid Enterprise plans, Redmine LDAP authentication | Confirm first. In OpenProject, SSO, LDAP synchronization and SCIM provisioning sit in paid Enterprise plans, so budget for them if you need them. |
What a Smartsheet Excel backup keeps and what you must rebuild
A Smartsheet data backup protects row data, not the working system around it. According to Smartsheet's help center, backups are available on Business and Enterprise plans and arrive as a zip of Excel files that include comments and attachments. The same help article states that reports, dashboards, formulas, workflows, cross-sheet references and formatting are excluded. Treat the backup as a copy of the data you would need to re-import, and nothing more. Before you start a migration, ask your Smartsheet admin whether your organization is on a plan that includes backups, and whether your account role has the export rights to generate one for every sheet in scope. Smartsheet's backup file contents article lists the exact exclusions to check against your inventory.
Build the inventory from the Smartsheet side before you touch the target platform. For each sheet, record the column types, any column formulas, the cross-sheet references that pull values from other sheets, and the workflows and automated alerts that reference its rows. List every report and dashboard that depends on the sheet, along with its filters and the people who receive it. Conditional formatting and sheet-level styling also need to be written down, because the backup will not carry them. A practical starting point is a spreadsheet with one row per sheet and one column per dependency type, reviewed with the people who own each project. Expect that some formulas will become plain queries or Gantt rules in OpenProject or Plane, and that some workflows will need to be rebuilt as the platform's own automation or as a script against its API.
Plan the rebuild as a separate work stream with its own acceptance tests, not as a side effect of the data import. For each report and dashboard, define the output a stakeholder relies on today and confirm the target platform can produce it, using saved views, work package filters, or exports from a reporting tool. Where a capability is missing or only partly covered, record it as a gap and decide whether to accept it, build a workaround, or keep a small read-only copy of the Smartsheet data for historical reference. Cutover should wait until each dependency on the inventory has an owner and a passed check. Your quote should cover the inventory, rebuild and testing of these items separately from the data import, because the import is usually the smaller share of the work.
What you give up when you leave Smartsheet and the usual workarounds
Moving off Smartsheet means more than copying grids. Formulas, cross-sheet logic, automation, dashboards and vendor-run operations each need a deliberate replacement. The cards below describe what is lost, the workaround most teams use, and the effort it adds, so you can scope it before a renewal date forces the decision.
Cross-sheet formulas and references
Smartsheet formulas can pull values from other sheets and roll them up across a portfolio. Self-hosted tools rarely reproduce this model directly. Most teams rebuild it with custom fields on work packages, shared categories or a rollup view, and some move the arithmetic into a reporting layer. Check every formula in your export and classify it as a field calculation, a roll-up or a cross-project link before you estimate the rebuild.
Automated workflow rules
Smartsheet automations that send reminders, change status or assign owners on a date or a cell change must be recreated in the new platform's own rule engine, a webhook script or an external automation service. Export the rules from Smartsheet first, since its backup file does not include workflows. Document each trigger and action, then test them in a staging instance before cutover.
Executive dashboards and reports
Smartsheet reports and dashboards are excluded from its backup file, so their layouts and filters must be rebuilt from scratch. Common replacements are saved work package queries, portfolio views, scripted exports or a BI tool that reads the platform's database. Ask who owns each executive view, because a dashboard with no owner is usually the first thing to break after migration.
Familiar grid editing
Many Smartsheet users work in a spreadsheet grid with keyboard fills, paste behavior and column-level formatting. Self-hosted project tools usually present tasks as lists, boards or tables with different editing rules. Plan a short retraining period, and identify the power users whose daily habits will need the most support. Formatting is excluded from the backup, so conditional colors must be rebuilt by hand.
Vendor-run hosting and support
Smartsheet hosts the service, applies upgrades and provides vendor support. Self-hosting moves those duties to your team or to a partner: patching, backups, uptime, certificate renewal and upgrade testing. Confirm who will own each duty, how restores are tested and which support channel covers production incidents. These costs recur every year, so compare them with the license fee you are avoiding.
Built-in integrations and connectors
Smartsheet ships with connectors to collaboration and identity tools that many teams never configure themselves. Open-source platforms expose APIs and some native integrations, but each connector to chat, file storage or a ticketing system may need an adapter or an app built and maintained by your team. List every integration in use today, mark which ones have a supported equivalent, and budget time for the rest.
What the Smartsheet subscription and self-hosted replacement each cost over time
This table lists the cost components on the Smartsheet side and the self-hosted side, marking each as one-time or recurring and naming what drives it up or down. Use it to structure a written comparison, since no prices are stated here and each figure should come from your own quote, your Smartsheet contract and your environment.
| Cost component | Who is paid or who pays | One-time or recurring | Main cost drivers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smartsheet subscription | Smartsheet, per licensed user under your plan | Recurring | Seat count, plan tier, renewal terms, and whether Business or Enterprise features are needed for backups and admin controls |
| Self-hosted infrastructure | Your cloud provider or data center | Recurring | Hosting model (own data center, private cloud or customer cloud account), environment count, storage and backup retention |
| Open-source licensing | Vendor only if you buy an Enterprise plan (for example OpenProject Enterprise on-premises) | Recurring if chosen | Whether SSO, LDAP synchronization or SCIM provisioning are required, since these sit in paid tiers |
| Discovery and sheet inventory | Internal team or implementation partner | One-time | Number of sheets, automations, reports, dashboards and cross-sheet references to map |
| Data extraction and migration | Internal team or implementation partner | One-time | Backup format (Excel files exclude formulas, reports and workflows), and whether an API export is needed |
| Rebuilding sheets, formulas and workflows | Internal team or implementation partner | One-time | Formula complexity, automation count and approval flows that must be recreated in the new tool |
| Testing and acceptance | Internal team or implementation partner | One-time | Number of processes validated, integrations tested and user acceptance cycles |
| Training and change management | Internal team or implementation partner | One-time, with recurring onboarding | Number of users, role differences and turnover of new staff |
| Upgrades, patching and support | Internal platform team or a retainer partner | Recurring | Release cadence of the chosen platform, uptime targets, and how much custom code must be retested per upgrade |
How to move sheets, reports and workflows off Smartsheet in order
This sequence turns a Smartsheet estate into a tested, documented set of projects on a self-hosted platform, with each sheet, formula and report accounted for before the old workspace is retired.
Inventory every sheet, report and automation
Someone who administers the Smartsheet account lists every sheet, report, dashboard, automation rule, approval flow, integration and cross-sheet reference, noting the owner, the teams that rely on it and how often it is used. Smartsheet's backup does not include reports, dashboards, formulas, workflows, cross-sheet references or formatting, so this inventory must be built from the live account, not from the backup file. The step is done when every item has an owner and a keep, rebuild or retire decision agreed with the business teams.
Export row data, comments and attachments
Run a full Smartsheet data backup on a Business or Enterprise plan, which produces a zip of Excel files with comments and attachments, and supplement it with CSV or Excel exports of each sheet you plan to migrate. Treat these files as the starting point, not the finished migration, because they carry values but not the logic behind them. Confirm the attachment count and row counts per sheet against the live account, and store the export in a controlled location with access logging.
Map columns and formulas to target fields
For each migrated sheet, map Smartsheet columns to work package fields, custom fields, statuses and types in the target platform, and record the data type of each column. List every formula and document what it calculates, then decide whether the result becomes a stored field, a report calculation or a manual process. Formulas and cross-sheet references do not carry over automatically, so each one is rebuilt by hand or with scripts against the new platform's data. The mapping document is complete when a reviewer can trace every source column to a target field or a recorded exception.
Rebuild reports and workflows on the new platform
Recreate the reports, Gantt views, dashboards and approval steps that teams use, using the target's native views, filters and notifications where they exist. Where the target has no direct equivalent, record the gap and agree a workaround with the report owner before cutover. Use scripts against the platform's API for repetitive rebuilds, and test each rebuilt report against the same source figures from the Smartsheet export. The step closes when each rebuilt item matches the agreed reference output.
Pilot one project end to end
Choose one active project with representative sheets, formulas and approvals, migrate it in full, and let a small group of real users work in it for a defined period agreed in advance. Record every defect, missing field, broken calculation and unclear permission, and fix the mapping before any larger migration. The pilot is done when the owner signs off that the project can run on the new platform without reference to the old sheets.
Run both platforms in parallel
Keep the Smartsheet workspace active and read-only for reference while teams work in the new platform, and reconcile key figures such as dates, owners, status counts and budget totals between the two at agreed points. Log every discrepancy and its cause, because a parallel run exposes mapping errors that the pilot did not reach. The run ends when reconciliation shows no open differences in the agreed key figures.
Cut over and confirm access
Set a cutover date with the business owners, freeze edits in Smartsheet, perform a final export and migration of changed data, and point teams, notifications and integrations to the new platform. Confirm that single sign-on, user roles and permissions match the approved design, since some identity features may sit in paid tiers of the target. The cutover is complete when each team has confirmed it can work from the new platform and no integration is still writing to Smartsheet.
Decommission Smartsheet and retain records
After the agreed retention period, remove user access, cancel scheduled automations and integrations, and retain the final Smartsheet backup, exports, mapping document and reconciliation records in an archive that your records policy covers. Check the contract terms for data return and deletion obligations before removing the account. Decommissioning is done when access is removed, the archive is verified as readable, and the contract obligations have been met.
Which Smartsheet alternative fits a data residency, cost or regulated team
Teams with a residency requirement usually need to know which servers hold project data and who can reach them. Self-hosting removes the vendor's shared cloud from the picture, but it moves patching, backups and access control onto your own team. OpenProject and Redmine can both run in the cloud account, data center or air-gapped network you choose.
- OpenProject on your own infrastructure: The Community edition is licensed GPL-3.0 and runs on hosts you control. Confirm which installation method your platform team will support over the long term.
- Redmine as a narrower option: Redmine is GPL v2, built on Ruby on Rails, and includes issue tracking, Gantt charts, wikis and time tracking. Confirm that the plugins you need exist and are maintained.
- Plane for cloud-native teams: Plane's Community Edition is AGPL-3.0, which carries source-sharing duties when modified versions are offered to users over a network. Confirm how that license fits your hosting model with counsel.
- Exported copies in transit: Smartsheet backups are Excel files, so any copies made during migration must be stored in the same approved region and encrypted.
Check which regions and subprocessors your current contract names, then confirm that the chosen platform's hosting footprint matches them.
A renewal is a good moment to separate what the license costs from what it costs to operate the platform. Community editions carry no license fee, but someone pays for hosting, patching, backups, upgrades and administration. Enterprise plans add a subscription on top of those costs. Ask for line items, not a single bundled figure.
- Community licenses: OpenProject Community is free under GPL-3.0, and Redmine and Plane Community are open source. Confirm that the license terms cover your intended use.
- Enterprise subscriptions: OpenProject publishes paid Enterprise on-premises and cloud plans on its pricing page. Get the tier, renewal terms and support scope in writing.
- Recurring operations: Infrastructure, monitoring, upgrades and on-call support repeat every year. Estimate them against your current environment, not against a generic template.
- One-time migration labor: Rebuilding formulas, reports and workflows is a one-time task. Smartsheet's backup contents exclude those items, so plan for them as a separate line.
Ask any vendor or partner for a quote that lists one-time migration work separately from recurring hosting and support.
Teams that run schedule-led programs care about dependencies, baselines and roll-ups across projects. OpenProject offers Gantt charts built on work packages, which is the closest match to Smartsheet's sheet-based scheduling. Portfolio and resource management, however, sit in paid Enterprise plans, so an executive view across many projects may require a subscription.
- OpenProject for schedule-led work: Work packages and Gantt charts map to the task-and-dependency model many Smartsheet users rely on. Confirm how dependencies and baselines behave with a test project before migrating.
- Portfolio views need Enterprise: Portfolio and resource management are listed under paid Enterprise plans. Confirm which tier includes the roll-up views your leadership uses.
- Redmine for simpler schedules: Redmine's Gantt charts suit single-project planning well. Confirm whether its cross-project reporting meets the roll-up needs of your portfolio.
- Rebuilding summary formulas: Smartsheet formulas and cross-sheet references are not carried in the backup, so totals and status rollups must be rebuilt as native fields or reports.
Build one representative program in each candidate tool, including its dependencies and roll-ups, before choosing.
Regulated teams typically need single sign-on, directory-based access and records showing who had access and when. OpenProject lists SSO, LDAP synchronization and SCIM provisioning in its paid Enterprise plans. Redmine provides LDAP authentication in its core product, which can fit an existing directory. Your team sets the access model, and independent auditors and certification bodies issue any assessment reports.
- OpenProject Enterprise for identity: SSO, LDAP synchronization and SCIM provisioning are gated behind paid plans. Confirm which tier includes each feature before you design the access model.
- Redmine LDAP authentication: Redmine can authenticate users against an LDAP directory. Confirm whether you also need automated deprovisioning when people leave, which may require additional work.
- Plane identity features: Confirm SSO and provisioning support in the specific edition you plan to self-host, since Community and Commercial editions differ.
- Evidence for assessors: Access reviews, deprovisioning records and change logs are what assessors typically request. DeployOpen prepares systems, controls and evidence, but it does not issue audit reports.
Ask each vendor for written confirmation of identity features on the exact edition and plan you intend to run.
Questions buyers ask before replacing Smartsheet
What drives the cost of replacing Smartsheet with a self-hosted tool?
The cost depends on the size of your Smartsheet estate, the number of sheets that carry business logic, and how many people must be trained. Cost falls into four parts: software (OpenProject Community is free under GPL-3.0, while Enterprise on-premises plans are paid), infrastructure you run yourself, a migration effort that is largely one-time, and ongoing administration, upgrades and backups that recur. Ask any quote to separate these components, state which OpenProject edition is priced, and show who performs each task. The licence line is usually the smallest part of total effort.
How long does a Smartsheet migration usually take?
The timeline is set by inventory and rebuild work, not by the file transfer. Sheets with simple columns move quickly, while sheets with cross-sheet references, dashboards, automated workflows and complex formulas need redesign and testing. Teams that list every sheet, report and automation first usually plan more accurately. Smartsheet's backup documentation does not include reports, dashboards, formulas, workflows or cross-sheet references, so these must be documented from the live account. Ask a provider for a written scope and timeline based on your inventory rather than a generic duration.
What does our internal team need to provide before a migration starts?
Your team needs to supply access, decisions and knowledge that no outside party can supply alone. In practice this means:
- An inventory of sheets, owners, reports, dashboards and automations in use
- Named business owners who can approve field mappings and workflow changes
- Identity and access requirements, including whether single sign-on or directory synchronization is needed
- Hosting decisions covering cloud accounts, data centers or air-gapped networks, plus backup and retention rules
- Test users who can validate migrated work packages before cutover
Without these inputs, scope is hard to fix and rework grows.
Can Smartsheet formulas and reports be migrated automatically?
Data can be moved with export and import tools, but formulas, reports, dashboards and workflows generally need to be rebuilt by hand. Smartsheet's backup file is a zip of Excel files that includes comments and attachments but excludes reports, dashboards, formulas, workflows, cross-sheet references and formatting, so these elements cannot be recovered from that file. OpenProject offers its own work package model, Gantt views and query-based reports, so each Smartsheet report should be mapped to an equivalent view and tested. Confirm the exact capabilities of the edition you choose before you rely on them.
What happens to attachments and comments during the move?
Smartsheet's backup includes comments and attachments in the zip of Excel files, which gives you a copy that can be archived or used as a source for import. The backup does not restore the sheet as a live object, so comment threads and file links must be checked after import. Confirm with your provider how attachments are linked to work packages, how comment authorship and timestamps are preserved, and how large files are handled on your storage. Record the mapping in your migration plan so that auditors and users can trace records back to the source.
Can our team migrate from Smartsheet without outside help?
A capable internal team can perform a small migration, but a larger estate usually benefits from outside help with architecture, data mapping and hardening. Doing it yourself requires people who can administer a self-hosted application, manage upgrades and back up the database, and rebuild reports and workflows. The OpenProject community documentation covers installation and operations. DeployOpen plans, implements, integrates, hardens, backs up and documents self-hosted platforms inside your own environment under a written, fixed scope, and it also offers retainers for ongoing support and upgrades.
Which OpenProject features need a paid plan?
The Community edition is free, but single sign-on, LDAP synchronization, SCIM provisioning and portfolio and resource management are included only in paid Enterprise plans. OpenProject lists its Jira Migrator under Enterprise plans from Basic upward, which matters if you move through Jira first. Enterprise is offered both on-premises and in the cloud. Check the current OpenProject pricing page for plan contents before budgeting, because plan details can change between releases.
How DeployOpen scopes, migrates and hands over a Smartsheet replacement
DeployOpen is a Chainscore Labs company that plans, implements, customizes, integrates, hardens, backs up, upgrades, documents and supports self-hosted open-source platforms inside your own cloud accounts, data centers or air-gapped networks. For a Smartsheet replacement, we start with a written scope covering the sheets, reports, formulas and workflows your teams depend on, then build and hand over the result in your environment.
How we scope
- Inventory every sheet, report, dashboard, automation and cross-sheet reference your teams rely on today.
- Map each item to a feature in the chosen platform, and flag gaps that need configuration or custom work.
- Agree deliverables, timelines and responsibilities in writing before any migration work begins, as engagements are fixed-scope.
How we build
- Deploy the self-hosted platform in your own infrastructure, with access control and single sign-on set up to your identity provider.
- Rebuild formulas, reports and workflows manually where the target platform has no direct equivalent, and document each rebuilt item.
- Test imported data against the original Smartsheet exports, checking dates, dependencies, assignees and attachments before users go live.
How we hand over
- Provide runbooks covering installation, configuration, backup and restore, and upgrade procedures for your operations team.
- Document a field-by-field mapping from the Smartsheet backup to the new data model, including what was intentionally left behind.
- Walk your administrators and project leads through the rebuilt views and workflows so ownership sits with your staff.
How we support
- Ongoing support, upgrades and continuous testing are available as a retainer, scoped separately from the migration.
- Retainers can cover platform patching, backup verification and periodic review of permissions and configuration.
- Ask us to confirm which support tiers and response commitments apply before signing, since these are set in the written scope.
