SmartSuite Review: Features, Pros, Cons, and More | 2025 🎨

SmartSuite stands out in business management software, offering extensive templates and automation features for efficiency. 

Read on to learn:

• Overview of SmartSuite and its purpose 

• How SmartSuite works and its key features 

• Pros and cons

• Ideal users and deciding if SmartSuite is a good fit for you

• Adalo, a popular SmartSuite alternative 

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What is SmartSuite?

SmartSuite is business management software that is suitable for nearly every industry. It allows you to organize and manage most aspects of your business by creating automated workflows and streamlining process operations. 

While SmartSuite isn’t a no-code app builder that lets you design a unique user interface and backend logic, it is a potent business tool. It provides an easy-to-understand interface that allows you to organize your business data seamlessly on interactive spreadsheets. 

You’ll also be able to trigger automations and display visual data through various graphical interfaces like grids, Kanban boards, heat maps, pivot tables, and many more. 

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How Does SmartSuite Work?

Getting started with SmartSuite is a breeze — just navigate to the SmartSuite homepage and sign up for a free 14-day trial. This allows you to test the platform properly before handing over your hard-earned cash. Refreshingly, you won’t need to provide any credit card info to activate your trial. 

Getting Started with SmartSuite 

You'll land on your homepage once your account is up and running. On the left-hand side, you’ll see a drop-down menu titled “Resources.” You’ll find tutorials, links to guides, videos, and even the SmartSuite Academy for structured learning. These all provide all the information you need to become a SmartSuite master. 

Diving into SmartSuite’s resource collection and studying the building interface is ideal because the platform has a learning curve. Having some knowledge about the platform will save you frustration. 

If you need any more help, you can also visit SmartSuite’s message board. Just post a question, and an experienced SmartSuite user or staffer will respond quickly. 

We recommend you click the “SmartSuite Guide” button and watch the introductory video to learn more about launching your business’s SmartSuite workflow. After viewing, you’re ready to get started!

Start building your SmartSuite workflow by choosing a template (called a Solution) from Selecting a Template

Once you’ve seen a few tutorials, it’s time to get your feet wet and start building by picking a template. On the left-hand side of your screen, find the button for “Templates.” After clicking it, you can choose from around 200 options.

SmartSuite provides a template for almost any workflow from nearly every industry under the sun. For instance, you’ll find standard templates for project management, CRM, accounting and finance, and more. But you’ll also find more unique ones for remote work, personal productivity, and more — as we said, SmartSuite’s templates cover most bases.

How can you work with and configure each template? Just click the “See Live Demo” button at the top of your screen. You’ll be able to run through a sample template and see the different charts, graphics, and other functions that come with it.

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SmartSuite’s Main Functions

After you pick a template, you can start working on your workflow. Here’s how you’ll get started. 

Dealing with Data

Conveniently, all SmartSuite templates have a grid view that looks like a colorful, non-boring spreadsheet. This is where you’ll add your data — you can import it as a CSV, Excel, contacts, or calendar file.

To import your data, find the “...” button at the top right of your screen. Scroll down to “import data,” and connect your data to SmartSuite. 

Once your data has been connected, it’s time to customize it. To do this, click the green “Grid View” tile on the left-hand side of your screen. You can create new rows, fields, labels, and more. 

Visualizations

By selecting the “View” tile in the top left-hand corner of your template, you can see different visualizations of your data. In most templates, you can view your data as cards, Gantt Charts, Kanban boards, and more. ‍

Before selecting your view, you can set it to private or public, allowing you to grant certain team members access to each visualization. For instance, let your accounting team see the sales team’s workflows so they can create cash-flow projections. This can help ensure information flows smoothly throughout your organization. 

Integrations

If you have third-party applications you’d like to use with SmartSuite, today is your lucky day. The platform has dozens of integrations to third-party applications like Microsoft Teams, HubSpot, Salesforce, and many more tools. ‍

Integrate with these accounts, seamlessly transfer files and data directly to your SmartSuite project, update states and deals, and much more. These integrations provide the power to streamline loads of your external data into SmartSuite, ensuring everyone stays on the same page. 

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SmartSuite’s Key Features

If you’ve boiled your options down to SmartSuite vs. Airtable, you’ll find that SmartSuite provides powerful functionalities that differentiate it. Here are some that stood out: 

• SmartSuite’s template selection: Bursting at the seams with around 200 different templates, you’ll be able to find one for pretty much any need you require. This means you won’t need to spend hours starting from scratch to perfect your project management tool — just choose a template, upload your data, and choose your visualizations and automations.‍

• Time-saving automations: Frequently updating records across several different platforms or always sending emails and texts manually? Let SmartSuite execute these tasks for you, freeing up more time so you can focus on other tasks. ‍
  
  ‍SmartSuite lets you set up triggers, which are activated after specific actions have occurred. For instance, SmartSuite automatically generates an invoice when a client sends a purchase order. The invoice is then sent directly to the client and contributes to your accounts payable team’s overall well-being. 

• Secure data management: You can upload sheet upon sheet of data, meticulously organize it, and graphically illustrate it, putting you in the driver's seat when it comes to data management. Plus, you can ensure only the right people have viewing or editing access by setting permissions and implementing 2-factor authentication. ‍
  
  ‍SmartSuite is GDPR and SOC Type II compliant, so you can rest assured that your user data is in good hands. And, if you’re a medical professional, you won’t have to worry about storing sensitive client data: SmartSuite is HIPAA-compliant. 

• Collaboration tools: If you’re like most businesses, you may have several teams working on one project, meaning many folks will be accessing different parts of your SmartSuite solution simultaneously. SmartSuite is specifically designed for this, allowing for multiple collaborations while providing real-time updates. 

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SmartSuite’s Pros and Cons 

Like any other platform, SmartSuite isn’t perfect. Here are some pros and cons you should be aware of: 

Pros of Using SmartSuite

• An excellent platform for teams: Because SmartSuite is an all-in-one operations management software, anyone on your team can use it. You can also set up notifications that let other team members know when specific tasks have been completed, which fosters clear communication through real time collaboration. 

• Solutions for nearly any business: SmartSuite offers nearly 200 premade templates that cater to almost any business function, and you can easily plug data in from Excel, CSV, and other files. Chances are, you’ll be able to create a useful solution with SmartSuite. 

• Meticulous data organization: SmartSuite’s data tables are packed with features for organizing and visualizing your data, which gives it an edge over some competitors, like Airtable. Link records, generate documents, track progress, and much more. Then, visualize your data with a graph, Kanban board, or a map. 

Cons of Using SmartSuite

• Learning curve: Compared to similar platforms, SmartSuite is a more complex platform. You’ll need to spend some extra time watching tutorials and taking classes to ensure you know it well enough. 

• High pricing: SmartSuite doesn’t charge a flat monthly or annual rate. Instead, you’ll need to pay a per-user fee. If you’re a small company and everyone on your team uses the platforms, SmartSuite pricing could add up, cutting into your bottom line. 

• Limited flexibility: While it’s great for optimizing internal business operations, SmartSuite doesn’t let you create external client-facing apps for booking, ordering, and other purposes. If you need to create an external client-facing app, you’ll have to purchase and learn another platform. 

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Who Is SmartSuite Best Suited for?

SmartSuite has plans, features, and capabilities for businesses of all sizes. If your team needs a data tool that does more with simple Excel and CSV data and provides several tools for visualizing it, SmartSuite might be right up your alley. 

Ultimately, SmartSuite provides solutions for nearly any business process. Whether you’re a medical clinic with reams of patient data, an agency organizing marketing campaigns, a manufacturer tracking inventory, or anything else, you’ll most likely find a use for SmartSuite. 

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Is SmartSuite Right for You? 

If your business has loads of workflows and you need more than a database builder, you’ll most likely get good use out of SmartSuite. Companies that still execute tasks like manually sending confirmation emails and text messages might also find SmartSuite a game changer. 

SmartSuite’s collaboration tools are another central selling point. If your business has several teams working on the same project and everyone needs to see live progress, definitely give SmartSuite a shot. 

But if you need to create an app in the traditional sense, such as one for scheduling, listing real estate properties, booking tours, ordering, and more, SmartSuite is not the greatest option. You’ll need to check out a low-code or no-code tool to create an actual app. 

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Adalo: A Powerful SmartSuite Alternative

Need a platform that lets you create an actual app that users can access via the web, Apple App Store, or Google Play Store? Try Adalo. 

Adalo is a powerful no-code mobile app builder that’s easy enough for anyone to learn: You won’t need any programming or technical skills to build your app — Adalo’s so simple you can intuitively use it right out of the box. 

Bring your next app idea to life, whether it’s a KPI tracker for workflow and project management, a social media platform, or almost anything else. Select from one of Adalo’s nearly 40 templates, craft your app with Adalo’s almost pixel-perfect drag-and-drop interface, and supercharge it with over 1,000 integrations. 

After you put on the finishing touches, publish it on the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and the web so everyone knows where to get your app. Build your app without programming for free today.