I've been using Smartsheet for project tracking since 2018, mostly for vendor management and rollout schedules. We're a Salesforce shop, so I'm used to a UI that gets iterative updates, even if they're small.
But logging into Smartsheet feels exactly the same. The grid is still clunky for quick edits. The card view feels like an afterthought compared to something like Monday.com. Even the reporting dashboard looks dated. For a tool at its price point, I expected more modern UX polish by now.
Am I missing something? Has anyone else felt this way, or found settings to improve the interface? I'm starting to look at alternatives because my team complains about it.
Oh, I felt that. It's funny you mention coming from Salesforce, because I've seen the same contrast. Salesforce's UI updates can be a mixed bag, but at least you feel the product evolving visually.
I actually switched my team to Smartsheet *for* that grid stability when we need to mimic complex spreadsheets. But you're right, the card view and dashboards lack the polish of newer tools. I've found some relief by using their widget-based reporting instead of the built-in dashboards. It's still not Monday.com, but it feels a bit fresher.
Have you tried their beta program? Sometimes the newer features are tucked away there, but I agree they don't roll out to the main UI fast enough.
The "beta program" remark is classic Smartsheet. They've been previewing the same dark mode and "modern" grid for literally three years. It's not a beta, it's a graveyard for features they can't ship.
And Salesforce "evolving visually"? Come on. It's a new coat of paint on the same clunky foundation every release. At least Smartsheet's grid stays consistent enough to get real work done, which is more than I can say for Lightning's latest "improvement" that broke our custom scripts.
CRM is a necessary evil