Reducing Your Smartsheet Spend: Proven Strategies to Lower Bills

Introduction

Smartsheet has become one of the most widely adopted enterprise work management platforms, used across industries for project tracking, PMO governance, portfolio management, collaboration, resource allocation, and workflow automation. As organizations expand their reliance on Smartsheet, its licensing and cost structure have grown increasingly complex. The shift from legacy plans (Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Premier apps like Control Center and Dynamic View) to the newer 2024/2025 pricing model (Standard, Business, Enterprise, and Advanced Capabilities) has introduced new challenges in spend governance, user provisioning, and feature access.

All renewals starting in 2025 will be on the new User model. There is no opt-out, this is a mandatory change on renewal. Effective June 24, 2024, all current customers (in 2024) are likely on the Legacy Collaborator model.

While Smartsheet delivers substantial value in operational efficiency, project standardization, and PMO alignment, the financial realities cannot be ignored. Many enterprises experience silent cost inflation as user adoption grows, sheets proliferate, premium capabilities are added, and the governance model becomes fragmented. Gartner notes that collaboration and work management platforms regularly exhibit 20 to 40 percent overspending when provisioned without structured license controls. G2 and Capterra reviews repeatedly highlight organizations paying for unused capabilities, orphaned accounts, and premium features assigned to users who do not need them.

Most executives do not realize that as Smartsheet usage expands, costs can escalate faster than adoption. Without strategic oversight, companies end up with misaligned licenses, underused premium add-ons, unmanaged workspace growth, and unnecessary upgrades driven by permissions rather than actual functional requirements.

This blog provides a high-level, strategic framework for senior IT, finance, PMO, and SaaS governance leaders who want to reduce Smartsheet spend without disrupting business workflows. These recommendations are designed to be immediately actionable and rooted in real enterprise experience, pricing research, and benchmark data. They reflect both legacy and new Smartsheet plans, including transitional licensing rules that affect cost predictability.

Reducing Spend Tip

If your organization recently migrated to the new Smartsheet plans or is still managing a hybrid of old and new licenses, conducting a strategic cost review now can significantly lower future renewal bills.

With a 15-minute setup and measurable results in under 24 hours, CloudNuro gives IT teams a fast path to value. Request a demo with Cloudnuro.

Strategic Recommendations

Below are seven high-impact strategic recommendations to help reduce Smartsheet spend and avoid unnecessary cost escalation.

1. Rationalize User Access by Mapping Permissions to Actual Workflows

One of the core drivers of Smartsheet overspending is provisioning users at higher license tiers than necessary. Under both the old and new plans, the ability to create, edit, share, and manage sheets varies significantly. Many enterprises grant Business or Enterprise licenses simply because users need to collaborate, even though a Viewer or Editor seat would suffice.

Why this matters

Smartsheet’s licensing model tightly ties access to cost. Editors, creators, and sheet owners consume higher-cost licenses, whereas Viewers and internal collaborators may require little to no paid access depending on the sharing model.

Under the old plans:

Many users were unnecessarily put on the Business or Enterprise tiers simply because they needed edit access. Premier add-ons (Dynamic View, Control Center) were often assigned to users who barely used those capabilities.

Under the new 2024–2025 plans:

Standard vs Business tiers split features differently. Automations, API usage, WorkApps, and premium governance capabilities are now more tightly scoped.

Enterprise Example

During a CloudNuro engagement, a metropolitan public sector agency assigned Business-level licenses to nearly 900 employees. After a usage review:

• Only 15 percent created sheets.
• 40 percent only viewed dashboards.
• 25 percent updated forms.
• Fewer than 5 percent used premium capabilities such as cross-sheet automations or resource views.

By downgrading 380 users to lower tiers and removing 120 unused accounts, the organization saved USD 410,000 annually.

Gartner Evidence

Gartner’s collaboration platform efficiency report states that 45 percent of organizations misalign license tiers, resulting in inflated budgets, especially during renewal cycles.

Strategic Impact

Rationalizing user access in Smartsheet can significantly reduce your bills and avoid unnecessary upgrades caused by misunderstandings of permission requirements.

With a 15-minute setup and measurable results in under 24 hours, CloudNuro gives IT teams a fast path to value. Request a demo with Cloudnuro.

2. Control Sheet Proliferation and Workspace Sprawl Across Departments

Smartsheet’s unlimited sheet creation model can become a cost trap if not governed. As more sheets and dashboards are created, administrators often mistakenly upgrade user roles to maintain ownership or editing permissions.

Why this matters

Sheet sprawl increases storage usage, automation triggers, cross-sheet dependencies, and user provisioning needs. Under old plans, sheet complexity often pushed admins to increase user permissions. Under new plans, sheet limits, automation volumes, and governance capabilities are more closely tied to pricing tiers.

Case Example

A global retail organization had:

• 18,000+ sheets
• 74 dashboards
• 2,900 automation workflows
• 400+ cross-sheet references

Their PMO found that sheet sprawl was forcing them to upgrade dozens of users because of permission conflicts.

After consolidating redundant sheets and reorganizing workspaces under governance guidelines:

• Sheet count dropped by 32 percent
• Automation volume decreased by 40 percent
• Cross-sheet references became manageable
• License upgrades dropped dramatically

FinOps Evidence

FinOps Foundation guidance for workflow automation indicates that reducing redundant automation chains can lower platform spend by 18–28 percent.

With a 15-minute setup and measurable results in under 24 hours, CloudNuro gives IT teams a fast path to value. Request a demo with Cloudnuro.

3. Audit and Right-Size Premium Add-Ons (Control Center, Dynamic View, Bridge, Resource Management)

Smartsheet’s Premier apps can significantly increase annual costs. These include Smartsheet Advance, Control Center, Dynamic View, Bridge (automation), Resource Management, Calendar App, and Pivot App.

Why this matters

Many organizations buy these add-ons centrally but do not track team-level adoption. Under both the old and new pricing models, these add-ons are among the largest cost inflators.

Enterprise Example

A healthcare system had:

• Control Center deployed to 120 users
• Dynamic View assigned to 70 users
• Bridge automation enabled for 35 workflows

After analyzing usage:

• Only 12 users opened Dynamic View in the last 60 days
• 8 Bridge workflows accounted for 90 percent of triggers
• Only 40 users were using Control Center

Right-sizing licenses saved USD 590,000 annually.

G2 Evidence

According to G2 user feedback, many organizations “buy more Smartsheet add-ons than they need” due to a lack of visibility into ongoing usage.

With a 15-minute setup and measurable results in under 24 hours, CloudNuro gives IT teams a fast path to value. Request a demo with Cloudnuro.

4. Build a Smartsheet Licensing Governance Model Aligned to PMO Standards

Without governance rules, licensing requests grow uncontrollably. A Smartsheet governance model should define who can create sheets, who can own workspaces, who gets Business vs Standard licenses, approval workflow for new license requests, rules for sheet archival and workspace retirement, and standards for automation and cross-sheet references.

Why this matters

Work management tools like Smartsheet become deeply embedded in business processes. Without governance, license drift becomes unavoidable.

Strategic Result

Organizations that formalize governance reduce Smartsheet spend by 20 to 30 percent, according to multiple Capterra reviews.

With a 15-minute setup and measurable results in under 24 hours, CloudNuro gives IT teams a fast path to value. Request a demo with Cloudnuro.

5. Centralize Automation Ownership to Avoid Unnecessary Upgrades

Administrators often upgrade users simply because their automation workflows exceed the capabilities of lower tiers.

Why this matters

Smartsheet automations are powerful but costly. Only a minority of users need full automation creation capabilities.

Case Example

A construction enterprise discovered:

• 3 users were responsible for 54 percent of automations
• 22 users had automation privileges they never used
• Cross-sheet automations were duplicated across departments

By centralizing automation ownership:

• 40 Business licenses were downgraded
• Overall, the spending dropped by USD 120,000 per year

FinOps Insight

Centralizing automation creation reduces cost drift in workflow tools by 25 percent on average.

With a 15-minute setup and measurable results in under 24 hours, CloudNuro gives IT teams a fast path to value. Request a demo with Cloudnuro.

6. Perform Quarterly Smartsheet License and Usage Audits

Annual audits are not enough. Smartsheet usage changes continuously.

Quarterly audits should check:

• Inactive users
• Unused premium features
• Underutilized dashboards
• Automation volume
• Workspace ownership
• Form submission behavior
• Cross-sheet references
• Sheet archives needed

Why this matters

Without quarterly reviews, organizations allow overspending to compound until renewal, when it's too late to adjust.

CIO Insight

CIO.com reports that “quarterly SaaS governance reviews reduce renewal inflation by up to 40 percent”.

With a 15-minute setup and measurable results in under 24 hours, CloudNuro gives IT teams a fast path to value. Request a demo with Cloudnuro.

7. Align Contract Negotiations With Actual Usage Data

Smartsheet pricing, especially for Premier add-ons and Business/Enterprise tiers, is negotiable. Organizations that negotiate with usage data consistently secure better pricing.

Strategy

• Collect 12 months of usage reports
• Document adoption gaps
• Identify overprovisioned add-ons
• Benchmark against peer contracts
• Request multi-year discounts
• Remove modules tied to old pricing plans

Real Outcome

A CloudNuro-supported enterprise reduced its renewal from USD 1.2M to USD 790k by presenting activity heatmaps, module adoption data, add-on usage reports, and contractual benchmarking.

Recommendations Insight

If your Smartsheet renewal is within 120 days, begin usage data gathering now. It provides significant negotiation leverage.

With a 15-minute setup and measurable results in under 24 hours, CloudNuro gives IT teams a fast path to value. Request a demo with Cloudnuro.

Common Strategic Mistakes

Below are the most frequent mistakes organizations make when managing Smartsheet spend.

• Giving too many users Business or Enterprise licenses: Many could work effectively with Standard.
• Overbuying Premier add-ons: Dynamic View, Control Center, or Bridge are often underused.
• Allowing unmanaged sheet sprawl: Redundant sheets cause permission and provisioning issues.
• Not reviewing pending collaborator requests: Collaboration needs often trigger unnecessary upgrades.
• Not archiving inactive workspaces: Old PMO or departmental workspaces inflate complexity and cost.
• Not monitoring automation triggers: Redundant automations force higher-tier licenses.

Mistakes Insight

Avoiding these mistakes prevents budget inflation and strengthens control over Smartsheet licensing behavior.

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