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Comparison · Collab

Smartsheet vs Hive

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Smartsheet and Hive — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:collaboration

Smartsheet vs Hive: at a glance

FeatureSmartsheetHive
SectorCollab, PMCollab, PM
Velocity score3.86.3
Sparks · 30d00
Top themespricing, contributor-seat, collaboration, packagingproject-management, ai-automation, workflow, collaboration
Last editorial update4mo ago5d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Smartsheet?

Smartsheet introduces a Contributor seat tier; rest of the stream is portal nav.

Almost everything in Smartsheet's tracked stream is portal navigation — Community link, Learning Center, customer stories, archived release notes index. The one substantive entry is the Contributor seat reaching general availability on April 30, positioned as 'best-in-class collaboration value' — i.e., a new pricing tier for users who participate in but don't author work.

Read the full Smartsheet trajectory →

What is Hive?

Hive is building shared AI automation infrastructure into the core of its PM platform.

Hive is a project management and collaboration platform shipping a parallel track of AI automation infrastructure and traditional planning features. The introduction of shared OAuth connections for Buzz AI Snippets — allowing teams to reuse authenticated external service connections across automation workflows — is the most substantive architectural move in this window. Alongside it, the platform added a configurable Roadmap view in Timeline, capacity context in Resourcing Estimates, and personal reporting dashboards.

Read the full Hive trajectory →

Smartsheet vs Hive: editorial side-by-side

Smartsheet logo
Smartsheet
COLLABPM
3.8

Smartsheet introduces a Contributor seat tier; rest of the stream is portal nav.

◆ Current state

Almost everything in Smartsheet's tracked stream is portal navigation — Community link, Learning Center, customer stories, archived release notes index. The one substantive entry is the Contributor seat reaching general availability on April 30, positioned as 'best-in-class collaboration value' — i.e., a new pricing tier for users who participate in but don't author work.

◆ Where it's heading

Smartsheet is using packaging, not features, as its visible motion right now: a Contributor seat sits below full-editor tiers and is built to expand seat counts inside accounts without forcing every collaborator onto a paid editor license. The rest of the stream offers no product-feature signal worth interpreting.

◆ Prediction

Expect Contributor-seat positioning to drive a B2B-style up-sell motion (more activated seats, eventually more upgrades) and follow-on packaging refinement around external collaborators and viewers. Real product moves are likely happening but not visible in this stream.

Hive logo
Hive
COLLABPM
6.3

Hive is building shared AI automation infrastructure into the core of its PM platform.

◆ Current state

Hive is a project management and collaboration platform shipping a parallel track of AI automation infrastructure and traditional planning features. The introduction of shared OAuth connections for Buzz AI Snippets — allowing teams to reuse authenticated external service connections across automation workflows — is the most substantive architectural move in this window. Alongside it, the platform added a configurable Roadmap view in Timeline, capacity context in Resourcing Estimates, and personal reporting dashboards.

◆ Where it's heading

Hive is building toward enterprise-grade agentic workflows: shared credential infrastructure, AI proofing configuration, and automation run visualization all signal investment in automation reliability at scale. The planning surface additions (configurable roadmaps, capacity-aware estimates) suggest positioning for portfolio-level use cases beyond task tracking. The two threads — AI workflow infrastructure and structured planning — are running in parallel rather than converging.

◆ Prediction

The next step is likely deeper integration between Buzz AI Snippets and the planning surface — agents that can read task state, update estimates, or trigger approval workflows based on connected service data.

Alternatives to Smartsheet and Hive

Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Smartsheet or Hive.

See all Smartsheet alternatives → · See all Hive alternatives →

Recent activity from Smartsheet and Hive

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 5d agoHiveNew My Insights Dashboard
  2. 7d agoHiveNew Allow approval templates to be archived and reinstated
  3. 7d agoHiveNew Filter Table View custom fields more naturally
  4. 12d agoHiveNew AI proofing review settings are now clearer and more flexible
  5. 15d agoHiveImproved A simpler default view for automation runs
  6. 19d agoHiveCalendar widget overlays connected Google and Outlook meetings
  7. 4mo agoSmartsheetContributor seat, now generally available!
  8. 4mo agoSmartsheetContributor seat, now generally available!
  9. 5mo agoSmartsheetFeedback portal link (not a release)
  10. 5mo agoSmartsheetBe inspired.
  11. 5mo agoSmartsheetLearning Center portal link (not a release)
  12. 5mo agoSmartsheetArchived release notes index page

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Smartsheet and Hive?

Both compete on the same themes — collaboration — within Collab. Hive is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 3.8), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Smartsheet better than Hive?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Hive is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 3.8), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Smartsheet?

Top Smartsheet alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Smartsheet alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/smartsheet for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Hive?

Top Hive alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Hive alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/hive for the full list with editorial commentary on each.