Migrating from Smartsheet to Linear
Smartsheet supports 150+ integrations — 75 more than Linear. If integration breadth is a factor in your switch from Smartsheet to Linear, this guide covers how to reconnect your stack after migrating.
At a Glance
- Spreadsheet-familiar interface makes adoption easy for teams transitioning from Excel — minimal training needed for basic use
- Extremely powerful Gantt chart and dependency tracking capabilities, ideal for traditional project management and waterfall methodologies
- Robust automation engine with conditional logic, approval workflows, and automated notifications that scale across the organization
- Exceptionally fast and responsive UI — keyboard-first design makes it the fastest issue tracker to use day-to-day, widely praised for buttery-smooth performance
- Opinionated, clean design reduces configuration overhead — teams can get productive within hours, not weeks
- Cycles (sprints) and Projects provide well-structured planning workflows with automatic progress tracking and burndown insights
You gain with Linear
- +roadmapping
- +sprint planning
- +backlog management
You leave behind
- −Gantt charts
Migration Steps
Audit and export your current workspace
Before touching Linear, document what lives in Smartsheet: projects and tasks, custom fields, automations, integrations, and team permissions. Export a full CSV backup — most tools support this from Settings → Export. Pay particular attention to any custom fields and workflow automations that your team relies on daily.
Set up your Linear workspace
Create your Linear workspace and replicate your project structure using issues and cycles. Linear starts at $8/user/mo/user/mo with a free tier available — $1/user/mo less than your current Smartsheet spend. Run with a single pilot team before migrating everyone.
Map your workflow equivalents
Find the closest Linear equivalent for each Smartsheet feature your team relies on. projects and tasks in Smartsheet maps to issues and cycles in Linear. Linear supports custom fields — recreate your Smartsheet field schema here first. Prioritise the critical path: task creation, status tracking, and assignment.
Import your data
Linear supports CSV import for tasks and projects and has 20+ native integrations. After importing, rebuild your key automations — Linear's automation engine can replicate most rules you had in Smartsheet. Start with your most active project rather than importing everything at once.
Onboard your team
Run a 30-minute walkthrough covering the daily workflow: how to create issues and cycles, update status, and find your board. Linear has a gentle learning curve — most PMs are fully productive within 1–2 days. Focus the session on the UI differences rather than feature training.
Run Smartsheet in parallel for two weeks
Keep Smartsheet read-only while your team works primarily in Linear. This reduces risk and lets people reference historical context — old decisions, archived tickets, past sprint data — without slowing the migration. After two weeks with no new work going into Smartsheet, archive the workspace and make Linear the official home.
Ready to switch?
Read the full Linear review for pricing, integrations, and team fit details.