Spreadsheet-style collaborative work management with CRM templates from the marketplace — a project tool that pretends to be a CRM, in an industry that needs an actual CRM. Exphora is the only CRM purpose-built for the trade show industry — with 30+ booth specifications, a free 3D Booth Designer, AI-generated proposals, multi-currency invoicing and a 433,000+ exhibitor signal database. All at flat $49–$399/mo, not per seat.
Switch from Smartsheet in days, not months. Keep your data, drop the add-ons, ship your first AI booth proposal today. The 3D Booth Designer is forever-free with no credit card.
Smartsheet is a fine general-purpose tool. For the specifics of trade show production, it leaves you filling gaps with add-ons, integrations and manual workarounds.
Smartsheet is a grid + Gantt + automation engine for cross-functional project work. CRM is a marketplace template overlay — there is no first-class Lead/Deal/Account model, no opinionated lead-to-cash flow.
You browse the Smartsheet template gallery, pick a "Sales Pipeline" template (or buy a paid one), then maintain it yourself. Booth-builder fields, render gallery, multi-currency invoicing — none of it exists in any template.
Smartsheet has internal proofing/approval flows but no branded customer portal, no e-signed contract motion, no proposal client-view. Booth shops bolt on DocuSign + a separate portal app, each its own SKU and integration.
Invoicing happens in QuickBooks/Xero/NetSuite or via a paid add-on. Multi-currency, partial payments, 9 payment methods — all external. Exphora bills natively.
Smartsheet is rows, columns, attachments. There is no 3D engine, no parametric stand modeller, no floorplan. Booth teams keep paying SketchUp / Vectorworks subscriptions for visuals.
Smartsheet has no Signal Explorer equivalent. Lead generation stays manual. Exphora ships 112k+ events and 433k+ verified exhibitors out of the box.
Smartsheet starts at $12/mo and tops out at $32/mo per seat — before add-ons. Exphora is flat $49 / $199 / $399, with the 3D Designer included free.
| Tier | Smartsheet | Exphora |
|---|---|---|
| Solo / 1 user | $12/mo (Pro, 1 user) | $49/mo flat — full CRM + Designer + invoicing |
| 5-user team | ~$120–$160/mo (Business $24–$32 × 5) | $199/mo flat — Pro, 5 users + Signal Explorer |
| 5-user team + DocuSign + QuickBooks + portal app | $300–$600/mo (Business + add-ons) | $199/mo flat — same scope, native |
| 10-user team | $300–$700/mo (Business + Enterprise add-ons) | $399/mo flat — Enterprise + API |
The capabilities booth builders actually need, side by side.
| Feature | Smartsheet | Exphora | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| First-class CRM data model | No | Yes | Smartsheet: marketplace templates |
| Booth specs (30+ fields) | No | Yes | Native in Exphora |
| Free 3D Booth Designer | No | Yes | Smartsheet has none |
| Branded client portal | No | Yes | Smartsheet: external add-on |
| Native e-signature | No | Yes | Smartsheet: DocuSign add-on |
| Native multi-currency invoicing | No | Yes | Smartsheet: external accounting |
| AI booth proposals | Partial | Yes | Smartsheet AI is cell-level |
| Trade show / exhibitor DB | No | Yes | Signal Explorer |
| Multi-channel inbox | No | Yes | Smartsheet has none |
| Flat pricing | No | Yes | Smartsheet: per seat + add-ons |
Comparison data based on publicly available pricing and documentation as of April 2026. Plan names and feature gating may change — always verify on the vendor’s website.
Six reasons booth shops pick the industry-specific tool over the generic one.
First-class Lead, Contact, Company, Opportunity, Booth and TradeShowEvent objects — opinionated, fast, with booth-builder workflows pre-built.
Parametric stand editor, electrical planning, art-list and 6 CAD export formats — included free, attached directly to the deal record.
Clients open a branded portal, review the 3D model, approve renders, e-sign the contract — no DocuSign SKU, no separate portal tool.
7 currencies, 9 payment methods, proforma + final invoices, partial payments — all on the same record as the booth specs and contract.
Smartsheet has generic AI for cell formulas. Exphora’s Claude integration writes the full booth proposal — 30+ specs, narrative, pricing — in 60 seconds.
Filter 112k+ trade shows by country, sector and date; push qualified exhibitors to your pipeline in one click. Smartsheet has no equivalent.
Most booth shops migrate in under a week. Here is the path.
Each sheet exports cleanly. Map your "Pipeline" sheet → Exphora opportunities, "Contacts" sheet → companies/contacts, "Production" sheet → tasks.
Drop the marketplace CRM template you have been maintaining. Use Exphora’s pre-built booth pipeline, proposal templates with 30+ specs and electrical sheets — all opinionated and ready.
DocuSign → Exphora dual e-sign. Customer portal app → branded Exphora portal. QuickBooks (client invoices only) → Exphora invoicing. Mailchimp → Exphora email sequences.
Run Smartsheet + Exphora in parallel for one billing cycle. Most teams retain a small Smartsheet plan for non-CRM project work and cancel everything CRM-related.
Everything booth builders ask before switching from Smartsheet.
Not natively. Smartsheet is a project / work-management platform with marketplace CRM templates layered on top. For booth builders the gap is large: no booth specs, no 3D Designer, no native invoicing, no e-signature, no exhibitor database. Exphora is a real CRM that already understands trade shows.
A 5-user booth team typically pays $300–$600/mo on Smartsheet (Business plan + DocuSign + portal app + QuickBooks Online). Exphora Pro is $199/mo flat for the same team — and bundles 3D Designer, AI proposals, Signal Explorer and native invoicing.
Yes — many teams keep a small Smartsheet plan for fabrication scheduling and Gantt charts during transition. Long-term, Exphora’s task module + project board cover production for most booth shops.
Smartsheet automations (when status = X, send email / assign owner / move row) have direct equivalents in Exphora’s workflow engine. Cross-app integrations re-point to Exphora’s API.
Exphora has timeline view for production tasks and dependencies. For deeply complex multi-trade Gantt scheduling some teams keep a parallel tool, but for most booth shops Exphora’s timeline is sufficient.
Exphora ships pre-built reports for booth builders: revenue by event, pipeline by stage, win rate by source, gross margin by project. Custom dashboards are on the 2026 roadmap; bespoke executive views can be exported via API.
Smartsheet has nothing visual beyond a row + attachment. Exphora ships a parametric 3D editor with electrical planning, render gallery and CAD export — clients walk through the booth before signing, drastically reducing redesign cycles.
2–5 working days. CSV export per sheet, automated import via Exphora’s wizard, then the team adopts the pre-built booth pipeline. Most shops are running real deals on Exphora by end of week one.
Start free. Import your contacts in minutes. Ship your first AI-generated booth proposal today — and try the 3D Booth Designer with no credit card.
If a generic CRM is the wrong fit for booth-builder workflows, these are the most useful next reads: