Migrating from Figma to Smartsheet
The main reason teams move from Figma to Smartsheet is project tracking and resource management. Smartsheet's approach — spreadsheet-familiar interface makes adoption easy for teams transitioning from excel — minimal training needed for basic use — suits scaleup and enterprise teams that have outgrown Figma's model. Here's how to migrate without losing historical context.
At a Glance
- Browser-based with no installation required — runs on any OS and enables instant sharing via URL, removing friction for cross-functional collaboration with PMs, engineers, and stakeholders
- Best-in-class real-time multiplayer collaboration that allows entire design teams to work simultaneously in the same file with live cursors and commenting
- Powerful design system support with shared component libraries, variables, and design tokens that enforce consistency across products and teams at scale
- 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
You gain with Smartsheet
- +Kanban boards
- +Gantt charts
- +workflow automations
- +custom fields
Migration Steps
Audit and export your current workspace
Before touching Smartsheet, document what lives in Figma: 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 workflow automations that your team relies on daily.
Set up your Smartsheet workspace
Create your Smartsheet workspace and replicate your project structure using tasks and projects. Smartsheet starts at $9/user/mo/user/mo with a free tier available — $6/user/mo less than your current Figma spend. Run with a single pilot team before migrating everyone.
Map your workflow equivalents
Find the closest Smartsheet equivalent for each Figma feature your team relies on. projects and tasks in Figma maps to tasks and projects in Smartsheet. Smartsheet supports custom fields — recreate your Figma field schema here first. Gantt-style timeline views are available if your team used them in Figma. Prioritise the critical path: task creation, status tracking, and assignment.
Import your data
Smartsheet supports CSV import for tasks and projects and has 20+ native integrations. After importing, rebuild your key automations — Smartsheet's automation engine can replicate most rules you had in Figma. 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 tasks and projects, update status, and find your board. Expect a moderate ramp — most engineers and PMs hit their stride within a week. The biggest adjustment is usually the project hierarchy.
Run Figma in parallel for two weeks
Keep Figma read-only while your team works primarily in Smartsheet. 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 Figma, archive the workspace and make Smartsheet the official home.
Ready to switch?
Read the full Smartsheet review for pricing, integrations, and team fit details.