A-Plan vs SmartSuite: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of A-Plan and SmartSuite to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
A-Plan
5.7/10
A-Plan is Windows desktop software from Germany for project, resource and cost planning, with Gantt charts. It is built for project managers in small and mid-sized organisations.
SmartSuite
7.3/10
SmartSuite is a no-code work management platform that teams use to build project, process and operations solutions with views, automations and AI agents.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 5.7/10 | 7.3/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 7/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 6/10 | 9/10 |
| Ease of Use | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 5/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 5/10 | 9/10 |
| Support | 6/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | €12/user/mo Standard (subscription) | $20/user/mo Team |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | €149/mo SQL (subscription) | $200/mo Team |
| Features | ||
| Client collaboration | ||
| Kanban boards | ||
| App integrations | ||
| Gantt charts | ||
| Reporting | ||
| Scheduling | ||
| Spreadsheet interface | ||
| Task lists | ||
| Task management | ||
| Time tracking | ||
| Collaboration tools | Not listed | |
| Dashboards | Not listed | |
| Databases | Not listed | |
| Docs | Not listed | |
| File sharing | Not listed | |
| Team messaging | Not listed | |
| Timeline view | Not listed | |
| Whiteboards | Not listed | |
| Workflow automation | Not listed | |
A-Plan vs SmartSuite cost by team size
| Team size | A-Plan | SmartSuite |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | €12/moStandard (subscription) | Contact for pricing |
| 5 users | €60/moStandard (subscription) | $100/moTeam |
| 10 users | €149/moSQL (subscription) | $200/moTeam |
| 25 users | €373/moSQL (subscription) | $500/moTeam |
| 50 users | €745/moSQL (subscription) | $1,000/moTeam |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose A-Plan
- Higher Cost score (7/10 vs 6/10)
Why choose SmartSuite
- Higher Security score (9/10 vs 5/10)
- Higher Customization score (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (7/10 vs 4/10)
- Includes Client collaboration, which A-Plan lacks
- Includes Kanban boards, which A-Plan lacks
Pros & Cons
A-Plan
Pros
- The Standard subscription costs about 11.90 EUR per user per month, which is cheap for resource and cost planning.
- It imports and exports MS Project and Excel files, which makes migrating from or working alongside Microsoft tools easier.
- Cost planning, planned-versus-actual comparison and forecasts are built in, not sold as extras.
- Customers can choose between a perpetual licence and a subscription.
- A 30-day free trial is available, and the vendor offers training and consulting.
Cons
- It is a Windows desktop application, and web or mobile access requires the optional WebViewer.
- It has no Kanban boards, agile methods or client portal.
- The vendor's homepage does not show prices, and third-party price figures conflict.
- Most of its materials and its market are German-language.
SmartSuite
Pros
- The same records can be shown as grid, Kanban, Gantt, timeline, calendar, map and dashboard views without duplicating data.
- Its compliance coverage is unusually strong for the category, with ISO 27001, SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA and GDPR audits plus a choice of US or EU data residency.
- Read-only users, commenters and form submitters are free, which lowers the cost of involving stakeholders.
- It ships more than 200 templates and an AI solution builder to speed up setup.
- Reviewers describe the support team as responsive.
Cons
- Team, Professional and Enterprise carry 3-, 5- and 25-seat minimums, and there is no free plan.
- The Team plan allows only 5,000 records per solution, and automation runs plus API calls are hard-capped each month.
- SAML SSO and SCIM are available only on Enterprise and Signature plans.
- There is no team chat or whiteboard, and external access is limited to read-only shared views.
- Reviewers say complex workflows and large data imports take real setup effort, and there are no native desktop apps.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
SmartSuite scores higher on our Project Management criteria: 7.3/10 against 5.7/10 for A-Plan. The largest gap is in Security: 5/10 for A-Plan and 9/10 for SmartSuite.
No, neither A-Plan nor SmartSuite lists a free plan.
SmartSuite is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 7/10 for them, against 4/10 for A-Plan.
SmartSuite has Client collaboration and Kanban boards, which A-Plan lacks.
