Smartsheet is widely used to track study timelines, tasks and site status. It is not built to hold clinical data. Capture is, and its dashboard covers much of the tracking teams build by hand.
Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 aligned
Tests
5
Hands-on
4
To confirm
1
Capture vs Smartsheet: the short version
0
sales calls needed to start building
1
audit trail across EDC, ePRO, eConsent and randomization
Free
sandbox with every feature, no time limit
EU + US
hosting in Frankfurt or N. Virginia
The comparison
Trackers are great for project management: who does what by when, which sites are activated, which documents are pending. Problems start when clinical data creeps in: participant visit results, adverse events or eligibility decisions typed into a tracker, outside any audit trail or access control.
Capture keeps clinical data where it belongs and reduces manual tracking: enrolment, compliance, safety and site risk on a live dashboard, and a status overview of every subject and visit. See real-time clinical trial dashboards.
What to compare
| Criterion | Why it matters | Capture |
|---|---|---|
| Study status | Knowing where things stand | Live dashboard; status overview by subject and visit |
| Site readiness | Activation and delegation | Site activation checklist; delegation log export |
| Audit trail | Who changed what, when and why | Field-level, append-only, with user, time, old and new value and reason |
| Data checks | Clean data at entry | Range and custom-value edit checks raise auto-queries |
| Identity separation | Minimum necessary access | Names at the site; coded IDs for researchers and sponsors |
| Cost | Budget for small studies | Free sandbox; no setup fee; pay only when you go live |
This table shows Capture's answers only. Ask Smartsheet for theirs, and confirm current capabilities and terms directly with them.
Compliance controls
Every change is written to an append-only, hash-chained audit trail with user, time, old and new value and reason. Electronic signatures require password re-authentication and carry a meaning statement. Roles separate sites, and identifying data is segregated from study data at the database layer.
Weight changed 68.0 to 68.5 kg
Site coordinator · Reason: Transcription error
Query Q-0014 answered on Weight
Site coordinator · Reason: Source checked
Vital signs form locked
Data manager · Reason: Visit cleaned
Longitudinal studies
Each visit is anchored to screening, a milestone, an earlier visit, a fixed study day or a date recorded on a form, with a window and an enforcement mode. Questionnaires follow the schedule, reminders go out by email or SMS, and the status overview shows every participant against every visit.
Window -3 / +3 days around the anchored target date
Soft window
Stays available with a protocol deviation flag
Hard window
Locks outside the window
Warning only
Stays available with a warning
Auto-close
Marked missed when the window closes
Describe it or upload it, and let the AI draft the questions in the free sandbox.
Fit
Smartsheet is often a good fit for project management across a study or portfolio: timelines, tasks, budgets and document tracking.
Capture fits the clinical data and the study status that comes from it, with dashboards that replace much manual tracking.
Identity and access
Site coordinators see participant names; researchers and sponsor-side users work with coded IDs. Identifying data is segregated at the database layer, sites see only their own participants, and data is encrypted with AES-256 at rest and TLS in transit, hosted in the EU or US.
Site coordinator
Jane Peterson
DOB: 04-Mar-1978
Subject 01-004
Sees direct identifiersResearcher
Subject 01-004
DOB: withheld
Coded ID only
Sees coded ID onlySame record, two roles. Row-level security enforces the split.
Switching
Keep Smartsheet for project tasks if it works for you, and move any clinical data out of it into Capture forms with edit checks and audit trails.
Replace manual status sheets with Capture's dashboard and status overview, which update as data is entered.
Evaluation
Agreements, access control and hosting checked.
Schedules, windows and reminders needed.
Audit trail with reasons required.
Consent or investigator sign-off needed.
Site separation and roles needed.
Part 11 or GCP expectations apply.
All comparisons
Every comparison uses the same approach: what to test, where each option fits, and Capture's own answers. See all of them on the comparisons hub at /compare.
It is a work management tool. Clinical data needs audit trails, edit checks and access control that an EDC provides.
Partly. The dashboard and status overview cover enrolment, compliance, safety and site risk; project tasks may still live elsewhere.
Yes. Many teams track operations in one tool and capture clinical data in Capture.
Yes. The free sandbox includes every feature with sample data, no credit card and no time limit. You pay only when you go live.
From public positioning and the criteria teams tell us matter. We state only Capture's own capabilities as fact; confirm Smartsheet's current offering with them.
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