ConnectWise PSA vs SmartSuite: Complete Comparison (2026)
An in-depth comparison of ConnectWise PSA and SmartSuite to help you choose the right tool for your business.
Last updated: November 2026
ConnectWise PSA
5.9/10
ConnectWise PSA (formerly ConnectWise Manage) is professional services automation software that gives managed service providers ticketing, projects, time tracking, billing, and reporting in one system.
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 | 5.9/10 | 7.3/10 |
| Analytics | 7/10 | 7/10 |
| Cost | 3/10 | 6/10 |
| Customization | 8/10 | 9/10 |
| Ease of Use | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Integration | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Scalability | 8/10 | 7/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 9/10 |
| Support | 4/10 | 7/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | No |
| Cheapest paid plan | Contact for pricing | $20/user/mo Team |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | Contact for pricing | $200/mo Team |
| Features | ||
| App integrations | ||
| Client collaboration | ||
| Dashboards | ||
| Reporting | ||
| Scheduling | ||
| Task management | ||
| Time tracking | ||
| Workflow automation | ||
| Collaboration tools | Not listed | |
| Databases | Not listed | |
| Docs | Not listed | |
| File sharing | Not listed | |
| Gantt charts | Not listed | |
| Kanban boards | Not listed | |
| Knowledge base | Not listed | |
| Spreadsheet interface | Not listed | |
| Task lists | Not listed | |
| Team messaging | Not listed | |
| Timeline view | Not listed | |
| Whiteboards | Not listed | |
ConnectWise PSA vs SmartSuite cost by team size
| Team size | ConnectWise PSA | SmartSuite |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | Contact for pricing | Contact for pricing |
| 5 users | Contact for pricing | $100/moTeam |
| 10 users | Contact for pricing | $200/moTeam |
| 25 users | Contact for pricing | $500/moTeam |
| 50 users | Contact for pricing | $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 ConnectWise PSA
- Higher Integration score (8/10 vs 7/10)
- Higher Scalability score (8/10 vs 7/10)
Why choose SmartSuite
- Higher Cost score (6/10 vs 3/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (7/10 vs 4/10)
- Better fit for small business (6/10 vs 3/10)
- Better fit for freelancers (3/10 vs 1/10)
Pros & Cons
ConnectWise PSA
Pros
- Ticketing goes deep, with SLA timers, routing rules, and service boards for MSP service desks.
- Billing handles recurring agreements, time and materials, and prepaid blocks, and syncs with QuickBooks and Xero.
- Time entries link directly to tickets, projects, and agreements, which helps capture billable work.
- A large ecosystem through the ConnectWise Marketplace and native RMM ticket creation.
Cons
- Reviewers report a learning curve of several weeks, plus ongoing work to maintain boards and workflows.
- There are no public prices, and independent estimates of 75 to 145 USD per user per month exceed many rivals.
- Users mention a dated, cluttered interface and slow performance at peak times.
- Reviewers cite uneven support, account manager turnover, and price increases at renewal.
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 5.9/10 for ConnectWise PSA. The largest gap is in Cost: 3/10 for ConnectWise PSA and 6/10 for SmartSuite.
No, neither ConnectWise PSA nor SmartSuite lists a free plan.
SmartSuite is the better fit for small business: we rate it 6/10 for them, against 3/10 for ConnectWise PSA.
