Updated 30 March 2026

Smartsheet Free Trial: 30 Days to Test Everything

Smartsheet gives you 30 days on the Business plan with all features unlocked. No credit card required to start. The challenge is testing the right things so you can make an informed decision before the trial ends.

What the Trial Includes

All Business plan features

Unlimited automations, conditional forms, Document Builder, WorkApps, proofing, unlimited viewers, group management, and web publishing

Unlimited sheets

Create as many sheets as you need with up to 20,000 rows per sheet during the trial

Full integrations

Connect to Slack, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Jira, Salesforce, and 100 other tools

Mobile access

Full iOS and Android apps with push notifications for automations and approvals

Templates

Access the full template gallery with pre-built project plans, trackers, and dashboards

Support

Access to Smartsheet help center, community forum, and email support during the trial

What the trial does NOT include:

  • Access Enterprise features (SSO, SCIM, audit logs, Smartsheet Advance)
  • Use Resource Management (this is a separate product with its own trial)
  • Keep Business features after the trial without subscribing
  • Transfer your trial to another email address

Week-by-Week Trial Checklist

30 days goes fast. This structured plan ensures you test the features that matter most so you can make a confident decision at the end. Focus on using real project data rather than sample templates.

1Week 1: Build Your Foundation

  • Create 3 real project sheets using actual team data, not sample projects
  • Set up column types: dropdown lists for status, contact columns for assignments, date columns for deadlines
  • Build a Gantt chart with 10 or more tasks and set predecessor dependencies between them
  • Invite 2 to 3 team members as collaborators and test real-time editing
  • Create a dashboard that pulls data from all 3 project sheets into one view

2Week 2: Test Business-Tier Features

  • Set up 5 or more automations: status change alerts, overdue reminders, row assignment notifications, approval requests, and conditional moves
  • Build a form with conditional logic where fields appear based on previous answers
  • Create a WorkApp that combines a sheet, dashboard, and form into a single portal
  • Test the Document Builder by creating a template that pulls project data into a formatted document
  • Use proofing to review and annotate an image or PDF attachment

3Week 3: Test Integrations and Scale

  • Connect Smartsheet to tools you already use: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Salesforce, or Google Workspace
  • Test cross-sheet references by creating formulas that pull data from one sheet to another
  • Build a report that aggregates rows from multiple sheets based on criteria (e.g., all overdue tasks across all projects)
  • Set up group management: create a user group and share multiple sheets with the group
  • Publish a dashboard to the web and test the shareable link

4Week 4: Evaluate and Decide

  • Review which Business features you actually used versus which you did not touch
  • Count your automation actions: did you exceed 250 in any week? (This determines if Pro works.)
  • Ask your team: did conditional forms, WorkApps, or Document Builder save measurable time?
  • Calculate the cost: team size times $32/user/mo for Business versus $9/user/mo for Pro
  • Make the decision: downgrade to Pro if automations are under 250/month and you did not use conditional forms, or subscribe to Business if those features delivered real value

What Happens When the Trial Ends

Your data stays

All sheets, dashboards, reports, and forms you created during the trial remain in your account. You do not lose any data when the trial expires. You can still view and export everything.

Business features lock

Automations stop running (even the ones under 250/month). Conditional form logic disables. WorkApps become read-only. Document Builder stops generating documents. You keep the content but lose the Business-tier functionality.

Three paths forward

Subscribe to Business ($32/user/mo) to keep everything working. Downgrade to Pro ($9/user/mo) if you only need basic automations (under 250/month) and standard forms. Or stay on the free plan with 1 user and 2 sheets if you decided Smartsheet is not the right fit.

The Decision: Pro ($9) vs Business ($32)

After your trial, the key question is whether the Business-tier features justified the 3.5x price increase. Here is a framework for deciding.

Stay on Pro ($9/user/mo) if:

  • •Your automation usage stayed under 250 actions per month during the trial
  • •You did not use conditional logic in forms (or your forms are simple enough without it)
  • •You did not build any WorkApps during the trial
  • •Document Builder was nice to have but not essential to your workflow
  • •Your team is under 10 people and the annual cost difference ($2,760/yr for 10 users) matters

At 10 users: Pro = $1,080/year. Business = $3,840/year. You save $2,760/year on Pro.

Subscribe to Business ($32/user/mo) if:

  • •You hit or came close to the 250 automation limit during any week of the trial
  • •Conditional forms made your intake process measurably better (fewer errors, less follow-up)
  • •You built a WorkApp that stakeholders or clients actively used during the trial
  • •Document Builder automated a document creation task that previously took hours per week
  • •You need unlimited free viewers to share dashboards with executives or clients

At 10 users: Business = $3,840/year. Worth it if automation and forms save 5+ hours/week across the team.

Common Trial Mistakes to Avoid

Using sample data instead of real projects

Import your actual project data from Excel or wherever it currently lives. You need to test Smartsheet against your real workflows, not hypothetical ones. Sample templates show what is possible but do not reveal whether the tool fits your specific needs.

Testing alone without involving the team

Invite at least 2 to 3 colleagues to collaborate during the trial. Smartsheet's value is in collaboration. Testing alone tells you about the interface but nothing about how it handles real-time multi-user editing, notifications, and permissions.

Not tracking automation usage

Go to the Account Admin panel and check your automation action count each week. This single number determines whether Pro's 250/month cap is workable or whether Business is necessary. If you do not track it, you will not have the data to decide.

Forgetting to test integrations

Connect Smartsheet to your existing tools in week 2, not week 4. If the Jira integration does not work the way your team needs, or the Slack notifications are too noisy, you want to discover this early enough to troubleshoot or decide the platform is not a fit.

Waiting until the last day to decide

Start evaluating by week 3. If you need more time, you can request a trial extension through your Smartsheet account representative. Extensions of 7 to 14 days are commonly granted for teams that are actively evaluating.

Starting Your Trial

Visit smartsheet.com and click "Try Smartsheet for Free." Enter your work email address. No credit card is required. You will get 30 days on the Business plan with all features. Your trial starts immediately and the countdown begins from your first login.

If you already have a free Smartsheet account, you can start a Business trial from the Account Admin page. Existing sheets and data carry over into the trial without any migration.