Forum Discussion
I know this is an older thread, but thought I'd post in case someone else comes across it and is curious.
I am a relatively new Quickbase user; we have also been using Smartsheet for a little over a year. The biggest difference for me is that QB is a relational database; Smartsheet is not. You can do cross-sheet lookups (via a formula), but no record picker functionality. Also, the Smartsheet forms are somewhat limited.
There are definitely some things I like about Smartsheet; for certain things it is easier to accomplish than in QB. I'd say for the average non-technical user, Smartsheet is easier to pick up on. It is much more like Excel, although with much enhanced capabilities in certain areas. Sounds like Power Apps is on one end of the spectrum, Smartsheet on the other, and QB in the middle. We are going to continue to use SS for some functions.
I come from a database development/programming background; I am working on an app now that definitely needs the relational database capabilities of QB. I had originally hoped to develop it in Smartsheet but quickly realized it wasn't going to work.
One advantage of Smartsheet is that you don't need a paid license for users to access your "apps"; they can add data and make changes with just a free license. You only need a paid license for anyone who is going to create workspaces/sheets (the SS version of apps & tables).
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Jennifer Marquette
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Quickbase is now offering "per usage" licensing in addition to "per user" licensing. For many of my apps, there is a set of users who only use it to clock in and out, or to update a ship date and Airway Bill Number, or to look at the home page, or some other very limited interaction. The "per usage" model saves a lot of money for those users. It's not free like Smartsheet, but it is pretty low cost.
Another thing about Smartsheet - it is WAY better at adjusting dates for tasks in a project. At my old company, we used Smartsheet for scheduling installations and just imported that information into Quickbase for a "read only" view.
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Edward Hefter
www.Sutubra.com
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