Honest comparison
Pocket PMO vs Smartsheet
Smartsheet is the strongest spreadsheet-shaped work platform there is. Pocket PMO is a delivery tool with the governance already assembled.
Smartsheet won by meeting people where they already worked: the grid. If your organisation runs on spreadsheets, Smartsheet turns them into something collaborative, automated and reportable, with genuinely deep formula, form and rollup capability. The cost is that a PMO on Smartsheet is a PMO that has built its own methodology in sheets — a risk register here, a RAG formula there, a dashboard someone maintains. That works until the person who built it leaves. Pocket PMO ships the RAID log, stage gates, baselines, portfolio roll-up and board reporting as product, so there is nothing to maintain and nothing to inherit.
Where Smartsheet wins
Best-in-class grid, formulas and sheet-level automation
Very deep forms, conditional logic and cross-sheet references
Huge enterprise footprint, procurement teams already know the name
Extensive connectors and an established partner network
Excellent when the source of truth genuinely is a spreadsheet
Where Pocket PMO wins
RAID, stage gates and governance are product features, not sheets you build
Nothing to architect: a PM can run a real project on day one
AI drafts the status report, exec summary and meeting minutes for approval
Portfolio roll-up, capacity heatmap and programme milestones as standard
Board-ready reporting without a dashboard-building exercise
British English, GBP and UK-first locale by default
Feature-by-feature
| Feature | Pocket PMO | Smartsheet |
|---|---|---|
Spreadsheet-style grid and formulas We are not a sheet tool — if you need formulas, Smartsheet wins outright | ||
Pre-built PM methodology (RAID, stage gates) Smartsheet offers templates you then own and maintain | ||
Real RAID log with history and ownership | ||
AI status report drafting | ||
AI risk and dependency analysis | ||
Executive summary generation | ||
Plan baselines with variance narrative | ||
Benefits register with realisation tracking | ||
Portfolio capacity heatmap Smartsheet resource management is a separate paid capability | ||
Programme milestones across projects | ||
Portfolio prioritisation and scenarios | ||
Lessons learned library | ||
Audit log and one-click audit pack | ||
MFA (TOTP) with step-up | ||
Custom forms and intake | ||
Integration marketplace breadth | ||
Free tier We offer a 15-day free trial instead — cancel anytime | ||
GBP pricing and UK-first locale | ||
PWA and offline mode |
Yes Partial No
Who should choose Pocket PMO?
You are a PM, PMO lead or fractional consultant who has already tried running governance in sheets and does not want to maintain it. You want the risk register, the stage gate, the baseline and the board pack to exist as features with owners, dates and an audit trail, rather than as a workbook you personally keep alive. If your organisation genuinely needs spreadsheet mechanics, stay with Smartsheet.
See it for yourself
15-day free trial. Add a card to start; cancel anytime before it ends.