Planbox
Planbox provides an agile innovation management platform that helps you collect, develop, and capitalize on ideas from your employees, customers, and partners to drive sustainable business growth.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a flexible work management platform that combines the familiar interface of a spreadsheet with powerful project management features to help you automate workflows and track complex projects.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Planbox | Smartsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Website | planbox.com | smartsheet.com |
| Pricing Model | Custom | Freemium |
| Starting Price | Custom Pricing | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✓ 30 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 1999 | 2005 |
| Headquarters | Montreal, Canada | Bellevue, USA |
Overview
Planbox
Planbox is an agile innovation management platform designed to help you tap into the collective intelligence of your entire ecosystem. You can launch targeted innovation challenges to solve specific business problems, gather creative ideas from employees, and collaborate with external partners or customers. The software uses a proprietary 'Innovation Central' hub to organize these efforts, ensuring that great ideas don't just sit in a suggestion box but actually move through a structured development pipeline.
You can manage the entire lifecycle of an idea, from initial spark to final implementation, using built-in experimentation and portfolio management tools. It helps you reduce the risk of innovation by testing concepts early and aligning every project with your strategic business goals. Whether you are a mid-sized company looking to improve internal processes or a large enterprise managing a global R&D pipeline, the platform provides the structure you need to turn creativity into measurable financial results.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet gives you a dynamic workspace where you can manage projects, automate workflows, and build new solutions without writing code. You can switch between grid, card, Gantt, and calendar views to visualize your work exactly how you want. It bridges the gap between simple spreadsheets and complex project tools, allowing you to track individual tasks or manage massive enterprise portfolios in one centralized location.
You can eliminate manual data entry by setting up automated alerts, status updates, and approval requests. The platform scales with your needs, whether you are a small team organizing a launch or a large corporation managing global operations. It helps you increase transparency across your organization by sharing real-time dashboards and reports with stakeholders, ensuring everyone stays aligned on key goals and deadlines.
Overview
Planbox Features
- Challenge Management Launch time-bound innovation competitions to focus your team's creativity on solving your most pressing business hurdles.
- Idea Evaluation Score and rank submissions using customizable criteria so you can objectively identify the most promising opportunities.
- Collaborative Canvas Co-create and refine ideas in real-time with your colleagues using shared workspaces and interactive feedback tools.
- Agile Project Tracking Move winning ideas into execution phases with integrated task management and agile workflows to ensure delivery.
- AI-Powered Discovery Uncover hidden insights and avoid duplicating efforts by automatically connecting similar ideas and external patent data.
- Mobile Innovation App Capture inspiration the moment it strikes and participate in active challenges directly from your smartphone.
Smartsheet Features
- Flexible Work Views. Switch instantly between Grid, Gantt, Card, and Calendar views to manage your tasks from any perspective you prefer.
- Automated Workflows. Create visual automated actions to send alerts, request approvals, and update sheet rows without manual intervention.
- Real-time Dashboards. Build custom widgets and charts to give your team and executives a live look at project health and performance.
- Dynamic Reports. Consolidate information from multiple sheets into a single report to identify trends and risks across different departments.
- Proofing and Approvals. Streamline content reviews by uploading files directly to rows and collecting feedback through dedicated proofing workflows.
- Resource Management. Track team availability and allocate hours effectively to ensure your projects stay on schedule and under budget.
Pricing Comparison
Planbox Pricing
Smartsheet Pricing
- 1 user and 2 editors
- Up to 2 sheets
- Gantt, Grid, Card views
- 500MB attachment storage
- 100 automations per month
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Unlimited viewers
- Up to 10 sheets
- Unlimited reports and dashboards
- 20GB attachment storage
- Forms and branding
Pros & Cons
Planbox
Pros
- Highly flexible configuration matches your specific internal processes
- Strong gamification features encourage high employee participation rates
- Excellent integration with external patent and research databases
- Intuitive interface makes it easy for non-technical users
Cons
- Initial setup requires significant time for complex organizations
- Reporting tools have a slight learning curve for administrators
- Mobile app features are more limited than desktop version
Smartsheet
Pros
- Familiar spreadsheet interface reduces the initial learning curve
- Highly customizable views for different project management styles
- Powerful automation engine saves hours of manual work
- Excellent reporting capabilities across multiple different sheets
- Strong mobile app for managing tasks while traveling
Cons
- Advanced features require a significant time investment
- Real-time collaboration lacks the speed of Google Sheets
- Pricing can become expensive as you add more members