Smartsheet's free trial lasts 30 days and gives you access to its Business plan. Smartsheet doesn't collect any billing information, so you won't be charged unless you choose to buy a plan. When the trial ends without an upgrade, your sheets become read-only and are later deleted, and you have to wait 90 days before you can start another trial.
Smartsheet also closed its Free plan to new sign-ups on 28 August 2024, so for most new users the trial is now the only free way in. That makes the read-only and deletion rules the part to plan around, because they decide whether a month of work survives.
Smartsheet trial facts
| Question | What Smartsheet says |
|---|---|
| Length | 30 days |
| Plan you get | Business |
| Card or billing details | Not collected |
| Charged at the end? | No, only if you buy a plan |
| Another trial later? | Only after waiting 90 days |
| Free plan | Closed to new sign-ups since 28 August 2024 |
What the trial won't let you do
Smartsheet lists restrictions on trial accounts that disappear once you upgrade to Business or Enterprise:
- You can create up to 50 sheets.
- You can send up to 100 emails a day from Smartsheet, to a maximum of 20 unique recipients.
- You can't publish Smartsheet forms, sheets, reports or dashboards.
- Web content widgets aren't available on dashboards.
- Emails sent from Smartsheet can't include links to domains outside your plan.
- You can't generate API access tokens.
If your plan is to test Smartsheet with a public form, such as an enquiry form or event sign-up, you won't be able to publish it during the trial. Test the form internally and plan to upgrade before it goes live.
AI tools on the trial
The trial includes Smartsheet's AI tools for generating formulas, analysing data and writing summaries. Smartsheet says that after the trial, AI tools are only available on Enterprise and Advanced Work Management plans, so don't build a workflow around them if you plan to buy Business.
What happens to your sheets when the trial ends
Here's the detail to read twice. Smartsheet's help pages say that if a trial expires without an upgrade, your sheets become read-only for 30 days and are then deleted. One answer in the same FAQ says 90 days instead. Plan around the shorter figure. If you cancel early from the Account Admin settings, the trial ends straight away and the same read-only clock starts.
To keep the work, you have three choices: buy a plan, join your organisation's existing plan so the items move into it, or have someone with a paid plan take ownership of the sheets you want to keep.
Trial versus the old Free plan
| Free trial | Free plan (existing users only) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can get it | New sign-ups | Only users who had it before 28 August 2024 |
| Length | 30 days | Doesn't expire |
| Features | Smartsheet's full Business feature set, with trial limits | Limited functionality |
| Sheets | Up to 50 | Two sheets you own |
| People | Invite colleagues to the trial account | Up to two editors or viewers, plus yourself |
If you already have the Free plan, Smartsheet says nothing changes for you and your limits stay the same. If a colleague still has one, don't assume you can get it too.
How to start the trial
- Go to Smartsheet's website and sign up for the free trial with your work email.
- Create your first sheet.
- Invite colleagues: in the left navigation select Account, then User Management, name your account, type their email address and choose their user type.
- Watch for the upgrade message, which shows how many days are left.
Already on your company's plan?
If you're an unpaid user on your company's plan, Smartsheet lets you start a 30-day trial while you wait for your System Admin to approve a licence. It doesn't remove you from your existing plan or change your access to items you already work on. Whether you can buy your own plan when the trial ends depends on how your organisation manages users.
A tip for teams: agree who owns the trial account before you start. Items created on a trial belong to that account, and moving them later means changing owner permissions sheet by sheet, which is a dull job at the end of a busy month.
How to cancel the trial
- Open Account Admin.
- Go to the Plan and Billing Info tab.
- Select Cancel Account.
You don't have to cancel to avoid a charge, because there's no card on file. Cancelling only ends the trial early.
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Is Smartsheet right for you?
Smartsheet suits teams that think in spreadsheets but need project views, forms and automation on top. If you're comparing it with similar tools, my Airtable vs Smartsheet comparison covers the main differences, and my guide to Smartsheet's free options explains what you lose without a paid plan.
Getting the most from 30 days
- Move one live project in on day one, not a demo project.
- Invite the people who'll update it daily, so you see real adoption, not just your own opinion.
- Build the reports and dashboards you'd show a client or manager.
- Export anything important before day 30 if you're unsure you'll buy.
One last practical point. Because the trial gives you the Business plan, price your decision against Business, not against a cheaper tier you haven't tested. If a cheaper plan is what you'd buy, note which Business features you leaned on during the 30 days so you know what you'd be giving up.
My advice
This is one of the friendlier trials around: no card, no surprise charge and the full Business plan. The risk isn't paying by mistake, it's losing a month of work. Export or upgrade before the read-only clock starts, and don't start the trial until you've got a real project to put in it, because you can't have another one for 90 days.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the Smartsheet free trial?
30 days, with access to Smartsheet's Business plan.
Do I need a credit card for the Smartsheet trial?
No. Smartsheet says it doesn't collect any billing information during the trial period.
What happens to my sheets after the Smartsheet trial?
Smartsheet says they become read-only for 30 days and are then deleted unless you upgrade.
Can I start another Smartsheet trial?
Yes, but Smartsheet says you must wait 90 days before you can receive a new trial.
Does Smartsheet still have a free plan?
Not for new users. Smartsheet says the Free plan hasn't been available to new sign-ups since 28 August 2024.
