ClickUp Brain vs Smartsheet: pricing, features and which to choose

ClickUp Brain is an embedded AI assistant rather than a standalone project tracker. Its January 2024 launch grouped AI Knowledge Manager, AI Project Manager, and AI Writer for Work, connecting answers and generation to Docs, tasks, projects, dashboards, and organizational knowledge. Current ClickUp materials describe Brain as supporting workspace questions, writing, summaries, web research, model selection, and agent features. Because context follows the user's ClickUp permissions, the product can help find decisions and produce project updates without copying information into another assistant. Output requires review: ClickUp's AI terms disclaim accuracy and say customers remain responsible for inputs, outputs, and lawful use. ClickUp was founded in 2017 and expanded Brain within its existing work management product.

ClickUp's current pricing page lists Free Forever at $0, Brain AI at $9 per user per month billed yearly, and Everything AI at $28 per user per month billed yearly. The same page displays Brain AI at $18 per user per month and Everything AI at $68 per user per month for monthly billing. These add-ons are purchased across workspace members and automatically renew. The same pricing page also presents newer workspace plans named Free, Core, Business, Enterprise, and Max, with Brain capabilities and AI credits included according to plan. Brain MAX is presented as the full Max AI engine and desktop experience. Buyers should distinguish add-on pricing from workspace pricing, confirm billing cadence, and check whether legacy workspace eligibility applies.

ClickUp's funding history provides context for Brain's product position. The company raised $35 million in Series A, $100 million in Series B, and $400 million in Series C in 2021, with reported total venture funding of $535 million and a reported $4 billion valuation. Brain extended an established all-in-one work platform rather than starting as a dedicated AI company. Compared with Granola, ClickUp Brain is broader and more closely tied to tasks and project execution, while Granola centers on meeting capture and notes. Compared with Microsoft Copilot, ClickUp is more self-contained for ClickUp workspaces, while Copilot is stronger where Microsoft 365 is the system of record. Compared with Notion AI, ClickUp offers more native task operations, while Notion often suits flexible documents and wikis better.

Smartsheet was founded in 2005 in Bellevue, Washington, and built its business on a familiar idea: project tracking that looks like a spreadsheet but adds dependencies, automations, forms and reports. It grew into an enterprise platform used for portfolio management, resource planning and operations at large companies. In January 2025 Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners completed an $8.4 billion deal to take Smartsheet private. In November 2025 it announced Intelligent Work Management, its push to combine AI, data and people across the platform. Smartsheet also owns Brandfolder for digital asset management and sells a Gov edition for US public sector customers.

Work lives in sheets with rows, columns, cell formulas, cross-sheet formulas and dependencies, viewed as grids, Gantt charts, boards, calendars, tables or timelines. Reports roll up rows across sheets, and dashboards show charts and metrics. Forms collect requests, and automations send alerts, request approvals, assign people and move rows on triggers. Higher plans add workload tracking, baselines, proofing, document builder, portfolios and scenario planning. Advanced Work Management bundles Control Center for portfolio rollout, Dynamic View for secure request intake, Data Shuttle for importing data, DataMesh and connectors to Jira, Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics. Free contributors can edit shared sheets without a paid seat.

Smartsheet's strength is structured project and portfolio work at scale, with strong governance and a familiar grid. Its drawbacks are a dated interface next to newer tools, many key features behind add-ons or Enterprise, and per-member costs that add up. Monday.com and Asana offer friendlier interfaces and their own AI agents. Airtable suits teams building database-driven apps. Microsoft Project and Planner fit Microsoft 365 shops, while Wrike and ClickUp compete on all-in-one features. Choose Smartsheet if your organization runs projects and portfolios in spreadsheets today and wants enterprise controls and AI help without leaving that format.