Software Archives - ProjectManager

20 Best Resource Management Software of 2025 (Free & Paid)

Brenna Schwartz — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 15:00:01 +0000

Resource management is all about getting the materials, supplies, equipment and people you need to execute a project. It involves how you plan, schedule, allocate and manage those resources to best serve the project. But what exactly is resource management software?

What Is Resource Management Software?

Resource management software helps project managers keep track of the human resources, raw materials and equipment needed to complete a project. Before we look at a number of tools that claim to be the best resource management software, let’s define the key features a resource management software should provide. Then we’ll get to the best resource management software rankings of 2025.

Best Resource Management Software Features

Resource management is all about obtaining the materials, supplies, equipment, and people needed to execute a project. It involves planning, scheduling, allocating, and managing those resources to best serve the project.

Resource management software should include resource planning, resource forecasting and resource allocation features to ensure teams have what they need when needed. Through resource management tools, projects keep to their budgets and stay on schedule.

Resource forecasting tools: Using too many resources can be costly and using too few will affect your project schedule and budget. Fortunately, resource forecasting tools can help you gauge your resource requirements so you can determine which resources are truly needed.
Resource planning tools: Resource planning tools help you ensure your resources are used effectively. That means working with vendors, subcontractors and your own teams, coordinating their work and making sure that your resource utilization aligns with your project plan.
Resource scheduling tools: Once you know what resources are needed for each task, you’ll need resource scheduling tools to create a resource schedule and a timeline for the procurement and allocation of resources.
Resource allocation tools: Resource allocation tools help project managers assign specific resources to project tasks, such as assigning tasks to a team member or indicating the equipment that will be needed for a particular project activity.
Workload management tools: Workload management tools help project managers measure the amount of work that’s assigned to their team members so they can better reallocate project resources.

2025 Best Resource Management Software Rankings

The following are a handful of the best resource management software currently available. One of them should meet your resource management needs.

1. ProjectManager

ProjectManager is a comprehensive project and portfolio management software that tops our list of best resource management software. No other software seamlessly integrates real-time resource management with detailed planning and scheduling. Incorporate planned hours, resource costs and dependencies into your project plans.

Use Gantt charts, kanban boards, dashboards, workload calendars and a comprehensive Team page to manage everything on one platform. Live data gives users greater visibility into their resource schedule, tracking labor costs, workload and task progress in real time. ProjectManager offers a free 30-day trial so you can try it out for yourself.

Schedule & Track Resources with Gantt Charts

Resource planning is one of the more challenging aspects of managing a project. Fortunately, ProjectManager makes it easy to identify and categorize teams, supplies, equipment and other resources for easy planning and scheduling on the Gantt chart. More than that, the Gantt chart schedules resources based on their availability and skillset. As the project progresses, you can monitor costs and workload in real time to keep to your budget and avoid burning out your team.

Set Availability and Balance Workload

Teams are your most valuable resource and you need a resource management tool that knows how busy they are without getting in their way. A color-coded workload chart gives managers transparency into how many or how few tasks are assigned to their team. You can then balance the workload right from that page. When you reallocate resources, though, you need to know your team’s availability, especially if they’re hybrid or remote.

ProjectManager is the best resource scheduling software because it lets you define working days, holidays and planned hours, blocking days and setting parameters to help with task management and project scheduling. You can even filter by project, team or month if you’re using the tool for project portfolio management or program management.

Manage Team Workload and Track Progress

When you’re done with your resource planning and scheduling, switch over the Team page to see specific tasks your team is working on on a daily or weekly basis. This intuitive view sets ProjectManager apart from other resource management software beacuse it allows you to reallocate tasks with a simple drag-and-drop and click into tasks for quick updates. It’s never been easier to manage your team alongside your project plan.

Resource management isn’t just about planning and scheduling; it’s also about tracking resource utilization. ProjectManager has live dashboards (unlike other tools that require time-consuming setup) and one-click reporting for in-depth tracking of workload, availability, timesheets and tasks. Secure timesheets track how long your team is spending on tasks. Plus, when teams update their status, that resource utilization data is shared across the software instantly—even when data is entered via the mobile app.

With these features and others like a sheet view, kanban and more, no software does resource management better than ProjectManager. The best part? You can get started for free right away. Start your free trial of ProjectManager by clicking here.

Verdict: Best Project Resource Management Software for Project Management

ProjectManager Pros & Key Features

Built-in time tracking that’s easy to use
Multiple resource allocation views
Workload management charts
Cost tracking dashboards
Excels at real-time collaboration
Offers a 30-day free trial
Has a mobile app for Android and iOS

ProjectManager Cons & Limitations

Limited customization
Few native integrations
No free plan

ProjectManager Pricing

Team: $14 user/month
Business: $26 user/month

ProjectManager Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.1/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“ProjectManager works very well with both large and small-scale projects. Being able to use this with anything from a project involving only two members of staff, to hundreds, has been invaluable.” Peter W – from Capterra
“We used to manage our projects, resources, and reporting in different systems. Enter ProjectManager. We have consolidated systems and work more efficiently.” Jeffrey M – from Capterra
“Having the full scope of activities and who is responsible to do it, plus the time tracking is excellent.” Flavio M – from G2
“It has an excellent accounting system capable of calculating the time that a person has used to develop a task that was assigned to him, I like being able to collaborate with all my colleagues in the Finance sector through ProjectManager.” Jesus C – from G2
“The UI of the application is user-friendly, and it helps to identify what we are looking for with minimal effort.” Pavan H – from G2

2. Float

Float is a resource management software that’s used by agencies, studios and firms for tracking who is working on what and when.

It can manage more than one project at a time, so you can see all your projects and their competing milestones in a single view, which helps with planning and scheduling. You can monitor your budgets in real time and forecast hours, which helps prevent overspending. The resource management software integrates with Slack, Google Calendar and other apps, which fills in some holes. It excels at capacity management, demand forecasting and skills tracking—making it one of the best resource management software around.

A problem with this resource management software is that if more than one person is using it, things like task names and job descriptions aren’t centrally controlled and can vary as people edit them. While it can help organize resources, it’s missing some vital resource planning features, such as a decent search and a well-designed dashboard. Resource utilization reports are complicated and not visual, which would make them easier to digest at a glance. However, the fact that it can work with multiple projects makes it a good bet for project portfolio or program management.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for Portfolio Management

Float Pros & Key Features

Strong capacity management and demand forecasting
Offers many integrations
30-day free trial
Mobile app for Android and iOS

Float Cons & Limitations

Decent resource management tool but not a project management solution
Missing important project management features such as Gantt charts, dashboards and reports
Limited feature set

Float Pricing

Starter: $6 user/month
Pro: $10 user/month

Float Reviews

G2 review: 4.3/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Very adaptable for different project types and team working styles. Visual reporting is easy to digest.” Nancy D – from G2
“The planning, time tracking and reporting features seem to work in a stable manner.” Alain S – from Capterra

3. Resource Guru

Resource Guru is designed for resource managers and project managers. It’s primarily a project scheduling and resource management software.

With Resource Guru, adding, editing, moving or deleting items in your schedule is fast and simple. You get visibility into resource utilization on its calendar view and a staff time tracker helps you stay updated on vacations, sick days, maternity leave, etc. The calendar syncs to a resource planning dashboard so everyone in the project is on the same page, and visual reports give you data on resource allocation.

Beyond that, this resource management software has limited features. For example, there aren’t alerts or appointment scheduling. There’s also little automation, which would help streamline the process greatly. The reporting feature could be better, and while there are integration workarounds, it’d be nice to have everything working under one roof. But the fact that it keeps your teams on schedule is a resource management win.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for Team Resource Visibility

Resource Guru Pros & Key Features

Good for keeping your team on schedule
Strong visual reports
Offers a 30-day free trial
Mobile project management app for Android and iOS

Resource Guru Cons & Limitations

Has only one calendar-like view for resource planning, project scheduling and workload management
Lack of project planning and scheduling tools such as Gantt charts or kanban boards
Limited reporting, only offers reports on resource allocation

Resource Guru Pricing

Grasshopper: $4.16 user/month
Blackbelt: $6.65 user/month
Master: $10 user/month

Resource Guru Reviews

G2 review: 4.6/5
Capterra review: 4.7/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“We schedule our own crews and subcontractor crews with this tool and it works extremely well.” Tonya D – from G2
“We use Resource Guru to manage the utilization/booking of our research facilities. This works well for us as we have a small number of facilities we manage.” Steve B – from Capterra

4. Kantata

Kantata is the merger of Mavenlink and Kimble Applications. It aims to help users staff teams, respond to changes in their projects and deliver better operational performance.

Kantata offers project management and resource management features for small, medium and large businesses in IT services, engineering and other industries. It’s an easy-to-use, intuitive tool with good reporting features.

However, it can be complicated when trying to navigate integrations. The integration tool is poorly designed. While Kantata does have resource management tools that are fairly good at what they do, the price tag isn’t cheap. If your business is operating on a tight budget, then you might want to look elsewhere. On top of that, setup is a problem and will likely send users to customer support for assistance.

Verdict: Best Resource Planning Software for Reporting

Kantata Pros & Key Features

Multiple task management Tools
Intuitive and easy to use
Resource utilization dashboards

Kantata Cons & Limitations

User experience could be improved by making the software more intuitive
Lacks basic project management features like Gantt charts, kanban boards or project dashboards
Not ideal for task or project management due to limited functionality
Doesn’t have a mobile project management app

Kantata Pricing

Custom pricing depends on company information

Kantata Reviews

G2 review: 4.2/5
Capterra review: 4.2/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“The best thing about Kantata is that I can see budgets and time entries in real-time.” Rachel S – from G2
“The time tracking and resource allocation features are very well integrated into the system.” Hussain A – from Capterra

5. Monday.com

Monday.com is known more as a task management app but has a resource management template that helps you plan your asset allocation.

There are many workflow views and you can use Gantt charts and kanban boards to import the template. A map view allows you to locate assets and displays the status of your resources in a dashboard-like setting, including financial data.

But, as noted, Monday.com is primarily used for task management and that’s where it excels—not as resource management software. There’s also the pricing structure, which keeps the resource management features you want behind a higher subscription rate. Tracking time and expenses aren’t easy and the mobile app is limited in terms of what it can do. Add integration problems and suddenly Monday.com looks like the worst day of the week.

Verdict: Best Resource Planning Software for Task Management

Monday.com Pros & Key Features

Multiple workflow views
Excels at tracking financial data
Offers a 14-day free trial
Mobile project management for Android and iOS

Monday.com Cons & Limitations

Better suited for task and workflow management than for resource management
Very limited resource reporting features, dashboards lack detail
Cost and budget tracking features aren’t automated and require manual editing

Monday.com Pricing

Free: $0 user/month
Basic: $8 user/month
Standard: $10 user/month
Pro: $16 user/month

Monday.com Reviews

G2 review: 4.7/5
Capterra review: 4.6/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“We used to have a mess of excel sheets and emails but now everything’s in one place.” Laura A – from G2
“It is overall a great product but it requires a lot of setup initially to take advantage of all its functions and features.” Ana D – from Capterra

6. Runn

Runn is resource management software that helps with forecasting and assigning human resources. It’s a flexible and intuitive app that helps users integrate project information from your CRM and financial systems. You get an overview of what people are doing and their capacity, the projects they’re working on and their availability. You can reallocate overtasked resources and see the financial impact of that action.

However, this is strictly a resource management software. If you’re looking for task management or other project management features, then you’re going to have to use Runn in conjunction with other project management tools. In terms of resource management, it can be frustrating, especially if you’re not estimating for projects beforehand. Also, because of the extensive modeling and planning features, setup is time-consuming.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for Forecasting

Runn Pros & Key Features

Strong capacity planning features
Flexible and intuitive
Offers a 14-day free trial
Mobile project management for Android and iOS

Runn Cons & Limitations

Missing many project management features such as Gantt charts, kanban boards, task lists or project dashboards
Limited resource management features
Overly simplistic reports that lack detail

Runn Pricing

Pro: $10 user/month
Enterprise: Contact sales for customized pricing

Runn Reviews

G2 review: Not enough reviews, fewer than 50
Capterra review: Not enough reviews, fewer than 50

Highlighted User Reviews

“Runn works well for our organization because it’s inexpensive, cloudbased, and meets our scheduling needs as project managers.” David B – from G2
“This tool was so simple to implement, and it’s easy to use to track what projects our resources are working on now and in the future.” Joyce K – from Capterra

7. Wrike

Wrike combines project management with a real-time workspace. It’s a popular software option but only the most expensive plans include resource management features.

This software lets you create and customize multiple dashboards that can then be shared with teams. There are nice risk features that help you predict and manage them if they show up in a project. Also, the tool has a lot of collaborative features, allowing teams to stay in contact with automated responses.

Of course, a lot of these advantages aren’t related to resource management, which as we wrote, can only be accessed for a substantial investment in the resource management software. This can be a no-sale for mid-sized companies, especially as there are less expensive alternatives available. Also, integrations were slow to deliver alerts, such as Outlook, which is a problem.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for Risk Management

Wrike Pros & Key Features

Customizable dashboards
Strong collaboration features
Offers a 14-day free trial
Mobile project management for Android and iOS

Wrike Cons & Limitations

The Gantt chart functionality is very limited and the user interface is outdated
Lack of project and resource management reports
Limited cost and budget tracking features

Wrike Pricing

Free: $0 user/month
Team: $10.00 user/month
Business: $25.00 user/month

Wrike Reviews

G2 review: 4.2/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Wrike has become essential in my day and keeps me organized and on top of my tasks.” Paige T – from G2
“Productivity has been enhanced by removing essential but repetitive chores.” Denise S – from G2

8. Smartsheet

Smartsheet is software that takes the spreadsheet and supersizes it. The software is relatively inexpensive and there’s a free forever plan. The tool is also highly customizable, with powerful analytics and reporting tools. There are a lot of templates to get you started, including ones for human resources. It features collaborative tools, automation and real-time reporting.

What it doesn’t have, unless you pay for add-ons, is time tracking and resource management software. Maybe you’d be willing to pay extra, but the software even at its simplest is hard to use. There’s a steep learning curve to clear just to get any advantage out of it. Plus, pages don’t update in real time, which can mean you’re working on outdated data.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for Spreadsheet Users

Smartsheet Pros & Key Features

Analytics and reporting
Highly customizable
Offers a free 30-day trial
Has a mobile app available for Android and iOS

Smartsheet Cons & Limitations

Relies too heavily on spreadsheets
Limited resource management functionality
It requires the use of formulas which is not ideal for most users

Smartsheet Pricing

Pro plan: $9 user/month
Business plan: $19 user/month

Smartsheet Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Smartsheet has allowed me to take my to-do list and run with it in a way that I didn’t think would be possible.” Victoria W – from G2
“I like that Smartsheet has a lot of different functions. It can be used for project management, inventory or event planning.” Lauren M – from Capterra

9. Silverbucket

Silverbucket is a resource planning tool for projects that is user-friendly and helps to plan and allocate resources.

It allows you to avoid conflicts and manage loads and capacity. Projects, people and capacity planning all are monitored within a single view, so resource scheduling decisions are based on hard data, which leads to greater profitability. There’s a filtered search, which is helpful, and skill tracking for team members. Plus, it integrates with many other project management apps.

Some issues include that the resource management software doesn’t have drag-and-drop functionality, which can make it a bit clunky to use. The resource planning dashboard is less than ideal, and you have to click to get data on team members’ allocation. Resource allocation reporting is problematic, too, and leaves a big hole in the software that hopefully will get filled in one day. For all its shortcomings, we did appreciate the ease with which it integrated with other project management apps.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for Capacity Planning

Silverbucket Pros & Key Features

Integrates with many project management apps
User-friendly interface
Offers a free 30-day trial

Silverbucket Cons & Limitations

Outdated user interface
Cost tracking reports are not robust enough for project management
Overall limited resource management functionality
Not a good resource management software for small teams
Doesn’t have a mobile app

Silverbucket Pricing

Resource Planning: 9.10€ user/month, only available for 30 users or more

Silverbucket Reviews

G2 review: Not enough reviews, fewer than 50
Capterra review: Not enough reviews, fewer than 50

Highlighted User Reviews

“Silverbucket user interface is intuitive and straightforward.” Pirkka L – from G2
“It has given us more reliable data to be able to manage our business and enable global resource planning possibilities in the future.” Kate P – from Capterra

10. Birdview

Birdview PSA is a resource management software for midsize to enterprise-level teams. It’s used in projects ranging from marketing, IT, operations and software development to professional services.

This software automates your workflows, which saves time. Teams can automatically create template-driven projects or tasks based on available resources and incoming requests. Birdview PSA by Easy Projects offers a more visual resource planning and project reporting user interface. It has team collaboration tools, Gantt charts and kanban boards, making it more of a full project planning solution.

However, Birdview PSA might not be the best project management software for team communication or collaboration. For example, if two people are working on a task and one finishes because they still receive notifications until the other completes the assignment. There have been issues with resource allocation reporting, as well, as project stakeholders don’t get the full Gantt chart view unless they have a license. While there were some dings, the overall visual style was very appealing and made using this project resource management software fun and functional.

Verdict: Best Resource Management for Service Delivery Teams

Birdview Pros & Key Features

Workload balancing and automation
Ideal for visual resource planning
Has a 30-day free trial
Has a mobile project management for Android and iOS

Birdview Cons & Limitations

Outdated, non-intuitive user interface
Gantt chart lacks resource allocation and scheduling features
Project management tools like Gantt charts and kanban boards don’t allow tracking costs at the task level

Birdview Pricing

Lite: $9 user/month
Team: $24 user/month

Birdview PSA Reviews

G2 review: 4.2/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Birdview is an easy tool to use to manage projects with multiple users.” Cassie H – from G2
“Birdview has changed my working experience. It helps me stay on top of tasks in a timely manner and keeps everything in one place.” Paige A – from Capterra

11. Paymo

Paymo is a resource management app that helps to align teams and keep them engaged. Its resource scheduling works with features on project planning, time tracking and invoicing.

There are task management tools for managing team capacity, workload and availability and automatic ghost bookings based on task dates that were already added to the project plan. Other key features include Gantt charts and timesheets that track planned vs. actual work time.

Users have complained about the steep learning curve of using this resource management app. But even if you take the time and put in the effort to learn how to use it, there are limits that might have you seeking more robust resource management tools. For example, the dashboard is more geared for invoicing than resource management. There’s a web task timer, which is great for managing remote workers, only it doesn’t detect idle time or automatically shut off when left running, which can cause some discrepancies with your team.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for Payment and Invoicing

Paymo Pros & Key Features

Modern, visually appealing user interface
Track planned vs. actual data
Offers a 15-day free trial
Mobile project management app for Android and iOS

Paymo Cons & Limitations

Limited resource management reporting features
It’s hard to export data to other software, files can only be exported as PDF or PNG
Steep learning curve, requires onboarding and training

Paymo Pricing

Free: limited features for a maximum of 10 users
Starter: $5.90 user/month
Small Office: $10.90 user/month
Business: $16.90 user/month

Paymo Reviews

G2 review: 4.6/5
Capterra review: 4.7/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Paymo has all the capabilities that allows me to save time by automating project and task management procedures.” Larry K – from G2
“I like the way Paymo has been designed. With its straightforward menu sidebar, it’s easy to access everything your business needs quickly and easily.” Jamie Lee J – from G2

12. Forecast

Forecast is a resource management software used throughout the world mostly in the professional services, agency, consulting and software sectors.

Some of its benefits include the fact that it offers real-time data that can help companies with enterprise resource planning and improve KPIs. It’s one of the new crops of tools that applies AI to help with resource scheduling and selecting team members who are most suited to working on a particular task or project.

As with many of the options on our 2025 best resource management software list, Forecast can be difficult to use. One of the major deficits is the lack of reporting tools, which means poor tracking and difficulty learning from the lessons of past projects. Some users praise it as a forecasting tool but criticize the project visualization that gets confusing when dealing with larger teams in bigger organizations. Finally, the software is suited for more traditional ways of working with resource management and those creative industries or teams who work in an agile project management methodology tend to be frustrated by the tool.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for AI Automation

Forecast Pros & Key Features

Ideal for enterprise teams
Resource scheduling through AI
Offers a 14-day free trial
Project management app for Android and iOS

Forecast Cons & Limitations

High-priced alternative with a minimum of 20 users
The software is more focused on automating features through AI than optimizing the user experience
Limited resource allocation and cost management functionality

Forecast Pricing

Contact sales for customized pricing

Forecast Reviews

G2 review: 4.2/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Multiple ways to record time and view tasks without overcomplicating the process.” Kieran S – from G2
“It is an affordable tool that centralizes management making boosting productivity easy.” Marjo M – from G2

13. Hubstaff

Hubstaff is a resource management software designed for agile project management. In fact, the whole tool is based on an agile methodology to foster team collaboration and communication.

Its visual user interface is certainly going to attract the agile crowd, and kanban features will keep them happy. It’s easy to use and has multiple task management features, including Gantt charts, for resource planning. Customizable workflows help teams know that all their tasks are being worked on.

The problem with this resource management app that targets agile users is that its kanban boards have no work-in-progress (WIP) limits, swimlanes, custom fields or image previews in the board view. This is sure to turn off agile enthusiasts. Another fault of the software is its lack of integrations. Most organizations want their resource management tool to seamlessly integrate with other project management apps that they use. Not having this function or a very limited one might be a deal-breaker.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for Agile Teams

Hubstaff Pros & Key Features

Easy to use
Customizable workflows
Offers a 14-day free trial
Mobile project management for Android and iOS

Hubstaff Cons & Limitations

Missing key project management features such as Gantt charts or kanban boards
Not a good alternative for project management, geared towards time tracking and employee payroll management
Limited work management functionality

Hubstaff Pricing

Starter: $4.99 user/month
Grow: $7.50 user/month
Team: $10.00 user/month
Enterprise: $25.00 user/month

Hubstaff Reviews

G2 review: 4.5/5
Capterra review: 4.6/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Hubstaff is highly user-friendly and straightforward, making time tracking a natural part of my daily routine.” Janna A – from G2
“Hubstaff is a fantastic tool for time tracking, payroll, and productivity monitoring.” George S – from G2

14. Ganttic

Ganttic is an online resource management software that is ideal for portfolio management.

Ganttic Key Features

Ganttic visualizes tasks in a matrix, which gives users a fully customized view of the project. Not only can you brainstorm, plan and allocate tasks to your team, but also track resource utilization on your dashboard. While excelling at workload and resource management, it also has portfolio optimization and can help you pick the right resources for the job along with the right projects for your organization.

That’s a lot of resource management features, but it takes a lot of time to get there. Setup is long due to all the personalizing of unique client data required. It’s also not the easiest resource management software to use. For example, there’s no click-and-drag punctuality to move an allocated block of time around the timeline. It can also be problematic on some web browsers, such as Chrome. You can’t create a draft that is private until published, which might turn off some potential users. Some users complained about the complexity of its time-tracking and task-management tools. There are still some bugs in the user interface, but that’s par for the course and shouldn’t deter those who like the portfolio features.

Verdict: Best Resource Planning Software for Gantt Charts

Ganttic Pros & Key Features

Visualizes tasks
Strong project portfolio management tools
Offers a free 10-day trial

Ganttic Cons & Limitations

Mobile app is only available for premium users
It’s a very limited tool that relies on a Gantt diagram view for most actions
Poor project and resource management reporting features

Ganttic Pricing

Up to 10 resources: $0 per month per resource
Up to 20 resources: $25 per month per resource
Up to 50 resources: $59 per month per resource
Up to 150 resources: $149 per month per resource
Up to 250 resources: $229 per month per resource
Up to 500 resources: $379 per month per resource
Up to 1000 resources: $599 per month per resource
Up to 1500 resources: $790 per month per resource

Ganttic Reviews

G2 review: 4/5
Capterra review: 4.3/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Ease of use, once you learn the Ganntic way of doing things.” Nathan R – from G2
“Our planning and resource management is made easy with the adoption of Ganttic.” Thomas K – from Capterra

15. eResource Scheduler

eResource Scheduler is an enterprise resource management software that’s designed for managing resource utilization, scheduling and tracking across departments and business units within an organization.

This software helps you allocate resources and manage your team’s workload with simple tools such as workload charts, project calendars, timesheets and cost-tracking reports. It allows for effective resource mapping and has a skill matrix to pair the right team members with the right resources and projects.

However, the simplicity of this software is a drawback when it comes to meeting the needs of a project management team. It lacks many project management tools such as kanban boards, status reports or project dashboards. In addition, its existing project management tools such Gantt charts lack some of the more advanced features such as identifying task dependencies, managing the critical path or tracking costs at the task level. In general terms, it’s a tool that’ll help you with some aspects of resource management, such as tracking resource utilization or capacity reporting, but it’s not a fully featured resource management software for professional project management.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for Beginner Project Managers

eResource Scheduler Pros & Key Features

Ideal for project managers and team leaders who need basic resource management tools
Easy-to-understand features and simple user interface
Allows team leaders to assign hourly rates to each employee
Has timesheets to keep track of labor costs

eResource Scheduler Cons & Limitations

Its feature set might not be a good fit for many organizations
Not designed for project management
Confusing pricing structure

eResource Scheduler Pricing

Scheduling Module: $5.00 resource/month
Scheduling Plus: $2 resource/month
Timesheets Module: $4 resource/month
Financial Module: $3 resource/month
Authentication Plus: $1.60 resource/month

eResource Scheduler Reviews

G2 review: Not enough reviews, less than 50
Capterra review: Not enough reviews, less than 50

Highlighted User Reviews

“This software captures all the possible information about all resources in a central database which makes the identification of the resources easy.” Nikita S – from G2
“The visual display is very helpful. Clear and easy to see gaps. The ability to export data allows us to present information in ways that suit our needs.” Brooke F – from Capterra

16. Saviom

Saviom is an enterprise resource management software that helps with workforce planning, project management and workflow automation. It serves companies across industries such as construction, IT and engineering.

Saviom has features such as resource utilization charts, workload dashboards and resource scheduling calendars. These and other tools make Saviom a decent resource management tool for assessing your team’s workload, scheduling work or allocating resources for a project.

However, Saviom falls short as a project portfolio management tool as it lacks many of the features that project managers or project management offices (PMOs) need, such as project portfolio management roadmaps, dashboards and status reports. On top of this, Saviom has an outdated user interface, which offers a subpar user experience when compared with most of the resource management software alternatives in this list. In summary, Saviom helps with resource planning, allocation and tracking at the team level, but has significant drawbacks when evaluated as a project portfolio management software for project managers and PMOs.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for Workforce Planning

Saviom Pros & Key Features

Good for managing organizational resources and workflows for every day operations management
Resource estimation, planning and scheduling tools
Capacity planning and resource utilization reports

Saviom Cons & Limitations

Outdated user interface which results in a poor user experience
Project dashboards and reports are resource-centric, missing other aspects of project management
Lack of project planning, scheduling, tracking and reporting features

Saviom Pricing

Contact sales for customized pricing

Saviom Reviews

G2 review: Not enough reviews, less than 50
Capterra review: Not enough reviews, less than 50

Highlighted User Reviews

“Overall, it has robust forecasting capabilities that help anticipate future resource needs.” Puja K – from G2
“It makes it easy for us to manage resources and utilization across multiple discipline teams over three offices.” Tony L – from Capterra

17. Celoxis

Celoxis is project management and resource management software that is designed to help organizations plan, track and manage resources, projects and workflows. It effectively allocates and tracks resources, allowing users to manage both human and nonhuman resources. Users can create detailed schedules, allocate resources to specific tasks and adjust workloads based on availability and skill set. There are real-time insights into resource utilization to help project managers use those resources efficiently and effectively. Robust reporting and analytics, including customizable dashboards, track resource performance, workload and allocation.

With all those features, it will come as no surprise that the tool has a complex user interface. That means users will have to set aside time for training, even more so if they’re beginners without familiarity with project management software. There’s also a high initial setup cost. This resource management software can be expensive for small businesses and startups. The upfront cost, especially for on-premise deployment, can be a barrier for some organizations. While there is a mobile app, it’s not as comprehensive as the desktop version. The lack of features will limit flexibility for managing resources on the go. The reporting features are robots, but can be challenging to create custom reports or dashboards without significant setup or experience with the system.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for Advanced Scheduling

Celoxis Pros & Key Features

Allocates and tracks all resources
Adjust workloads based on availability and skill set
Real-time resource utilization and availability tracking
Customizable dashboards and reports

Celoxis Cons & Limitations

Complex user interface
High initial setup cost
Limited mobile functionality
Complex reporting features

Celoxis Pricing

Essential: $25 user/month (billed annually)
Professional: $35 user/month (billed annually)
Business: $45 user/month (billed annually)
Enterprise: contact sales

Celoxis Reviews

G2 review: 4.5/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“It offers a wide range of features, including task management, resource allocation, time tracking, and reporting.” Rajkumar M – from G2
“I use it everyday to log my time and view project progress.” Kay M – from Capterra

18. Planview

Planview is resource management software designed for project portfolio management. It has advanced resource management capabilities to allocate, track and optimize the use of human and nonhuman resources across multiple projects and teams. It helps ensure that resources are available when needed and that workloads are balanced. Users get real-time visibility into resource utilization, helping to prevent overloading or underutilization of resources. There’s also advanced forecast and capacity planning to predict future resource needs.

Users complain that the user interface is complex and sometimes overwhelming. Its wide range of features can make it difficult to navigate and fully understand. Users, especially beginners, should seek out training. Onboarding can be time consuming. Clearing those hurdles might be easier than the price tag. This is expensive software, particularly for small-to-mid sized businesses. The licensing and subscription fees can be a significant financial burden. There’s no free plan or free trial to test out the software, either, which might be a hard no for potential customers.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for Portfolio Analysis

Planview Pros & Key Features

Resource management for portfolios
Balances workloads
Real-time resource tracking and utilization
Resource forecasting and capacity planning tools

Planview Cons & Limitations

Complex user interface
Steep learning curve
Costly, especially for small organizations
No free plan
No free trial

Planview Pricing

Contact sales for pricing information

Planview Reviews

G2 review: 3.6 / 5
Capterra review: 4.1 / 5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Planview provides my team with a platform that is intuitive to manage and organize tasks and projects effectively.” Tetiana B – from G2
“When Planview finances are working properly I really enjoy the options for financial analysis across different projects.” Kelly C – from Capterra

19. Rocketlane

Rocketlane is resource management software that’s purpose-built for client onboarding and professional services teams, offering a unified platform that combines project management, resource planning and collaboration tools. Its resource allocation features allow managers to assign work based on availability and skill sets, helping optimize team utilization. Real-time insights into workload and project timelines make it easier to forecast capacity and avoid bottlenecks. Rocketlane also includes time tracking and billing features, streamlining project delivery and ensuring transparency with clients.

However, Rocketlane may fall short for teams outside of its niche. Its focus on client-facing project workflows means the platform may not offer the depth or flexibility needed for internal IT, product development or engineering teams. Some users also report that the interface, while functional, can feel unintuitive or clunky when handling complex projects with many dependencies. Integration options, though improving, are not as extensive as those found in more mature platforms, which could limit its adaptability in diverse tech environments. As a result, Rocketlane is excellent for its intended audience but might not be the best fit for broader or more technical use cases.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for Client Onboarding

Rocketlane Pros & Key Features

Assign work based on availability
Optimize team utilization
Real-time workload

Rocketlane Cons & Limitations

Not built for IT, product development, engineering or other non-facing users
Clunky interface
Intuitive user experience

Rocketlane Pricing

Essential: $19 per team member/month billed annually
Standard: $49 per team member/month billed annually
Premium: $69 per team member/month billed annually
Enterprise: $99 per team member/month billed annually

Rocketlane Reviews

G2 review: 4.7/5
Capterra review: .7/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“The project planning features are excellent, especially for keeping everything organized and tracking deadlines across multiple teams.” – Mary Ellen O., from G2
“The ability to integrate with Salesforce and have multiple templates for various project types. When using the templates it’s easy to tailor them to our customers’ needs.” – Tony G., from Capterra

20. Scoro

Scoro is resource management software that offers an all-in-one solution that combines project planning, time tracking, billing, CRM and resource scheduling into a unified interface. Its resource management features allow teams to visualize workloads, allocate resources efficiently, and track availability in real time. Scoro’s built-in reporting and dashboard tools provide deep insights into team performance, project profitability and resource utilization, making it especially valuable for agencies and professional service firms. Its integration with popular tools and scalable design makes it adaptable for both small teams and larger enterprises.

On the other hand, Scoro can be the worst choice for some organizations due to its steep learning curve and relatively high cost compared to simpler alternatives. Users new to project or resource management may find the platform overwhelming, as it bundles many features that require significant configuration to use effectively. Additionally, smaller teams or businesses with basic needs might find they’re paying for more functionality than they use. Limited flexibility in customization and occasional interface sluggishness can also hinder productivity. For teams seeking a lightweight, easy-to-adopt resource management solution, Scoro may feel like overkill.

Verdict: Best Resource Management Software for CMR

Scoro Pros & Key Features

Track availability in real time
Built-in dashboard and reporting
Integrates with popular tools

Scoro Cons & Limitations

Steep learning curve
High cost
Limited customization

Scoro Pricing

Core: $19.90 per user/month billed annually
Growth: $32.90 per user/month billed annually
Performance: $9.90 per user/month billed annually
Enterprise: contact sales

Scoro Reviews

G2 review: 4.5/5
Capterra review: 4.6/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“The downside is that attaching files can sometimes be challenging.” – Ryan M., from G2
“Effortless teamwork, timely expense monitoring, and expertly crafted spending plans. Automated document flow for invoices and estimates.” – Maddie B., from Capterra

What’s the Best Resource Management Software for You?

There are many resource management software choices. The right one for you depends on what you’re looking for in a resource management tool. Some projects aren’t going to be as resource-rich, but most projects require a lot of resources and that means a lot of management.

Getting a resource management tool that helps you plan, schedule and allocate resources is crucial. Having one that’s online and provides you with real-time data to track your resources is even more important, especially in the 2025 working environment. Still, these are just some of the basic aspects you should consider when choosing a resource management tool for managing projects and teams.

Besides the feature set, don’t forget to factor in other attributes of resource management software such as the user experience, learning curve, pricing and customer service, as these things might make a difference as you implement the software in your organization.

Best Project Management Software of 2025 (Comparison List)

Peter Landau — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 14:00:33 +0000

Many project management software alternatives can be used to plan, schedule and track the execution of projects. However, not all project management software is created equal. Some have a full suite of planning, scheduling and tracking features, while others can only help with some project management activities.

What Is the Best Project Management Software?

That’s not an easy question to answer because what’s best for a project depends on the industry, project management methodology, the work style of the team and many other factors.

However, we’ve sampled the best project management software products and rated each according to what they do well and where they’re lacking for both project managers and teams. This shows which project management software is the best fit for the work.

What Key Features Make the Best Project Management Software?

These are some of the main project management tools to look for when choosing project management software for teams.

Project planning and scheduling: Plan how the project will be executed and make a project schedule
Team collaboration: Communicate with teams and work together using online tools such as file sharing, document management and team messaging
Task management: Assign tasks to team members and track their progress Gantt charts, kanban boards or task lists to schedule and manage tasks
Resource management: Allocate resources, estimate their costs and monitor your resource availability
Time tracking: Log the time the team spends working on project tasks using tools like timesheets and dashboards
Cost management: Estimate costs to make a budget and then use timesheets and project dashboards to track costs
Project tracking: Monitor progress, costs and more to ensure that the actual effort is aligned with the planned effort
Project reporting: Make project reports to keep stakeholders informed on project progress
Work management: Balance how workload is distributed among the team
Mobile app: Project management apps are ideal for connecting teams out in the field

Now that we know what project management is and the features essential for getting the most out of project management software, let’s take a look at the top 17 project management software solutions on the market.

2025 Best Project Management Software Rankings

Many project management tools on the market sell themselves as the go-to solution. But how do they measure up to the task? We’ve thoroughly reviewed different types of software for project management, including:

Agile project management software
Construction project management software
Project planning software
Project scheduling software
Project tracking software
Project portfolio management software
Best open-source project management software

We’ve reviewed the best—here are our top picks.

1. ProjectManager

ProjectManager is an award-winning project management software that organizes teams and projects from initiation to closure. It helps plan, schedule, execute, monitor, balance resources and workload, track and report on projects in real time.

Since the tool is cloud-based, all of the features are accessible anywhere there’s an internet connection. Teams can collaborate by sitting next to one another, or on opposite sides of the globe. Automated email notifications and in-app alerts notify other team members when there’s a new task comment or update. There’s even a free trial so you try it for yourself.

Plan with Gantt Charts

No project management software worth the investment lacks the workhorse of traditional project management, the Gantt chart. ProjectManager has taken the Gantt chart into the new century, allowing teams to build, edit and share project plans. The Gantt acts as a visual project timeline while linking dependencies, creating milestones and even filtering for the critical path. Users can manage resource costs and other budget components. When a plan is finalized, setting a baseline means that project managers can track project variance in real time to keep their project on schedule and within budget.

Automate Workflows Over Multiple Views

Another reason that ProjectManager tops our list of best project management software is that it automated workflows to streamline business processes. By setting up triggers that automate actions, teams are free to focus on more important work. There’s even a task approval setting to ensure that work never fails to meet quality expectations. The automated workflow is available on all project views, from Gantt charts and sheets to kanban, list and calendar views. This is important as project managers, designers, account executives, customer service, stakeholders, et al., use different tools. With ProjectManager, they can work how they want and stay connected to everyone in the project to work better together. This flexibility allows for unrivaled productivity.

Track & Report with Dashboards

Of course, without a way to monitor the project, all of the automation and project views in the world won’t deliver success. But ProjectManager is project management software that has multiple windows into project progress and performance all in real time. A live dashboard captures project data, calculates it and displays six metrics including time, task, workload, costs, etc. Unlike other project management software, there’s no setup required to get a high-level view of the project whenever you want.

Create Reports in Minutes

Reporting is another integral facet of project management software. Reports can provide valuable real-time data to help managers make better decisions and they’re key to staying on schedule and managing stakeholder expectations. ProjectManager has customizable reports for project and portfolio status, tasks, timesheets and more. They can be filtered to show details for project managers or a more general overview for stakeholders. Plus, it’s easy to share reports in a number of formats.

Track Costs & Resources with Timesheets

Don’t overlook the importance of resource management tools that balance team workload to keep them working at capacity. ProjectManager has secure timesheets to track time on tasks, streamline payroll and tools to see team availability when making assignments. There’s an online file storage and global search that turns project management software into the project hub. With so many noteworthy features, those looking for software that meets their project needs should get started with ProjectManager for free.

Verdict: Best Project Management Tools for Planning, Scheduling and Tracking Projects Across Industries

ProjectManager Key Features & Benefits

Offers a wide variety of tools for managing tasks, projects and workflows
Resource management and cost-tracking features
Online team collaboration solution
Ideal for construction, manufacturing and professional services teams
Mobile app for Android and iOS
Free trial

ProjectManager Cons & Limitations

Limited customization features
Few native integrations
No free plan

ProjectManager Pricing

Team plan: $13 user/month
Business plan: $24 user/month

ProjectManager Reviews

Does ProjectManager offer a free trial? Yes, there’s a 30-day free trial
Does ProjectManager have a mobile project management app? Yes, it’s available for Android and iOS

2. Smartsheet

Smartsheet is a popular project management tool that bills itself as a productivity booster. It’s easy to use and flexible enough to manage projects of different sizes. It features a Gantt chart and kanban boards as well as a dashboard to get a big-picture view.

Like most project management software tools, Smartsheet fosters collaboration, but it comes with a high price tag. Some features are missing, even though it’s an otherwise thorough tool. For instance, there are no time-tracking capabilities.

Verdict: Best Project Management Tools for Switching from Spreadsheets

Smartsheet Key Features & Benefits:

Ideal for switching from spreadsheets to project management software
Files can be exported in a variety of formats which facilitates sharing them across platforms and devices
Runs on Windows and Mac computers
Free trial and free plan
Mobile app for Android and iOS

Smartsheet Cons & Limitations:

Most of its project management tools are spreadsheet-based which is not ideal
Users need to learn formulas unique to this software, which are hard to learn for most users
Limited resource management features
User interface isn’t ideal for program or portfolio management as it becomes cluttered and hard to navigate
Limited project reporting features

Smartsheet Pricing

Pro: $7 per user/month (maximum of 10 users)
Business: $25 per user/month (minimum of 3 users)

Smartsheet Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

3. Wrike

Wrike positions itself as an agile project management software. It organizes tasks, facilitates collaboration with file sharing and keeps track of progress. They have Gantt charts, reporting and security features. What distinguishes the tool is its three-pane view, which shows a dashboard, an individual or new task and all tasks and subtasks.

That three-pane view can be a deficit, though, as it can be hard to navigate and onboard teams. Its project tracking is limited, which can be frustrating when trying to keep to your schedule and budget. Like many of the more commercially branded products, Wrike can be expensive.

Verdict: Best Marketing Project Management Software

Wrike Key Features & Benefits:

Allows users without a license to view projects, which helps update stakeholders on project progress
Offers multiple project management tools for planning and scheduling
Free trial
Mobile app for Android and iOS

Wrike Cons & Limitations:

High user minimums for all its pricing plans
Can be hard to navigate due to its non-intuitive user interface
Its project management tools like Gantt charts lack resource management or cost-tracking features
Limited project tracking and reporting functionality

Wrike Pricing

Pro: $7 per user/month (maximum of 10 users)
Business: $25 per user/month (minimum of 3 users)

Wrike Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

4. Monday

Monday is a tool that connects teams so that they can execute their tasks more efficiently. It helps teams plan, manage and track tasks on a visual interface, allowing for the creation of visual workflows. The tool can execute projects no matter their size or complexity, helping teams stay organized and productive.

Oddly, as it targets task management, Monday makes it difficult to track time and expenses related to tasks. The biggest omission, however, is the lack of a fully-featured Gantt chart, which is considered the standard tool when planning and scheduling tasks for teams. If you’re interested in using this software with other applications, the integration is limited. There are many apps that work with Monday, but many popular ones don’t, which has led to the development of Monday alternatives.

Verdict: Best Project Management Tools for Workflow Planning

Monday.com Key Features & Benefits:

Ideal for users who are getting started with project management tools
User-friendly interface
Variety of team collaboration tools
Free trial and free plan
Mobile app for Android and iOS

Monday.com Cons & Limitations:

Most of its features are geared towards work management and not project management
Lightweight project tracking features
Project dashboards and reports are too high-level view and lack detailed information on certain areas such as resource planning or budget tracking

Monday.com Pricing

Pro: $7 per user/month (maximum of 10 users)
Business: $25 per user/month (minimum of 3 users)

Monday.com Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

5. Asana

Asana has a large user base which is a testament to its ability to manage tasks. This large user base might be due to Asana’s integrations with other apps, likely a selling point for many. It also has a full slate of features, from Gantt charts to kanban boards, though some of its features are in-app and others require plug-ins.

One of the main setbacks of Asana as a task management tool is the fact that tasks can only be assigned to one person. If you have a team working together on executing a task, there’s no way to assign it to multiple people. There’s also no time-tracking feature to determine how long a team member has spent working on a task, which can make staying on schedule and budget a challenge. Asana is a popular tool but has tracking drawbacks that leave many looking for an alternative.

Verdict: Best Project Management Tools for Small Teams

Asana Key Features & Benefits:

Focuses on team collaboration and communication
Easy-to-use tools for both team members and project managers
Free trial and free plan
Mobile app for Android and iOS

Asana Cons & Limitations:

It’s Gantt chart functionality is limited compared to most project management software in this list
Overly simplistic features that are not robust enough for certain areas of project management, like budgeting and resource planning
It’s features are a better choice for managing simpler tasks and workflows than larger projects

Asana Pricing

Premium plan: $10.99/user/month, billed annually
Business plan: $24.99/user/month, billed annually

Asana Reviews

G2 review: 4.3/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

6. Trello

Trello is a collaborative software tool that uses kanban boards, lists and cards to help teams organize and prioritize their work. It’s a highly visual tool that provides users with three tiers of information with drag-and-drop editing. It has real-time updates and is easy to onboard teams who will find its graphic interface intuitive.

But Trello is a bit of a one-trick pony. While it does that one trick well, there are no Gantt charts in Trello, which limits users’ ability to plan their projects or set task dependencies. Even the kanban is limited in that it can only use one board or project. Additionally, there are no customized tags and it has little email integration.

Trello isn’t a great fit for larger teams or larger projects, but luckily there are numerous Trello alternatives that not only offer kanban boards but a whole set of project management features.

Verdict: Best Project Management Tools for Kanban Boards

Trello Key Features & Benefits:

Ideal for Atlassian users as it integrates with Jira and Confluence
Can be used for agile sprint planning and managing scrum projects
Free plan and free trial
Mobile app for Android and iOS

Trello Cons & Limitations:

Has a very limited feature set compared to most project management software
Its functionality greatly depends on integrations and paid add-ons, which isn’t ideal compared to using just one project management tool
There are no Gantt charts

Trello Pricing

Standard: $5/user/month, billed annually
Premium: $10/user/month, billed annually
Enterprise: $17.50/user/month, billed annually

Trello Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

7. Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project is a favorite for organizations to manage large and complicated projects. Because it’s Microsoft, the tool integrates easily with the full suite of MS software solutions. Besides MS Office 365, there are communication platforms such as Skype and Teams. It also offers a full range of project management tools, from Gantts to dashboards, to help better manage projects.

Because it offers so much, MS Project can be difficult for users to get a handle on. There’s a steep learning curve that often requires a lot of training to get users equipped. It’s also expensive and that price increases when licensing the product to everyone on the team. But most irritating is how poorly it works at connecting teams. There are no real-time updates without integration and it doesn’t work on Apple products; if the team uses that operating system, they’ll be locked out. However, Mac users don’t need to panic as there are many similar project planning apps or Mac that can work as an MS Project replacement.

For these and other reasons, Microsoft Project’s popularity has decreased over time. It used to be a common choice for many project managers, but now there are many different Microsoft Project alternatives that might be a better fit for your organization.

Verdict: Best Project Management Tools for Kanban Boards

Microsoft Project Key Features & Benefits:

Ideal for organizations that use other similar Microsoft solutions like Teams, Planner or Lists
Can be used for agile sprint planning and managing scrum projects
Free plan and free trial
Mobile app for Android and iOS

Microsoft Project Cons & Limitations:

Has a very limited feature set compared to most project management software
Its functionality greatly depends on integrations and paid add-ons, which isn’t ideal compared to using just one project management tool
There are no Gantt charts

Microsoft Project Pricing

Standard: $5/user/month, billed annually
Premium: $10/user/month, billed annually
Enterprise: $17.50/user/month, billed annually

Microsoft Project Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

8. Primavera

Primavera is Oracle’s pony in the project management race. It’s a cloud-based tool that addresses the needs of project portfolio management. It’s used mostly by the construction and engineering industries and has a slew of features including Gantt charts, risk management tools, real-time reporting, graphical workflow modeling and progress tracking. There are also collaborative tools to connect teams on their preferred device.

As might be expected, the software isn’t the most user-friendly and can take a beginner some time to get comfortable with the tool. Like Microsoft, it’s not cheap, which might explain why it’s marketed to larger companies with the funds to invest in its product. There have also been a lot of user complaints about poor customer service, which is a shame as many new users will require some handholding to get used to working with the otherwise robust tool. Check our blog to learn more about Primavera P6.

Verdict: Best Project Portfolio Management Software for Businesses

Primavera Key Features & Benefits:

Offers specialized features for enterprise project portfolio management
On-premise and online project management software solutions
Has an online version, Oracle Primavera Cloud
Mobile app for Android and iOS
Free trial

Primavera Cons & Limitations:

There’s no customer support from Oracle, contact software resellers
User interface feels outdated compared to most project management software in this list
The software is complex and hard to use
It’s difficult to find product documentation online
Very expensive project management solution for small teams
No free plan

Primavera Pricing

You may acquire a desktop license or pay a monthly subscription for the online service for any of these and other versions of Primavera.

Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management: $2,750
Primavera P6 Progress Reporter: $950
Primavera P6 Professional Project Management: $2,500

Primavera Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.3/5

9. ClickUp

ClickUp says it’s the only project management tool you’ll need. It does a lot: tasks, documents, chat, setting goals and more. The project management software lets one manage work and collaborate by creating groups, assigning comments for action items and linking tasks. It tracks progress in real time and has list, board and calendar views.

But there’s a lot of heavy lifting required of users to get what they want in addition to several UI issues. For example, there’s a Gantt chart builder whereas other project management software has a Gantt chart already seamlessly incorporated into the tool. The whole point of project management software is to make work more efficient. While ClickUp might be a good fit for some teams, it certainly doesn’t work for every team.

Verdict: Best Project Management Tools for Team Collaboration

ClickUp Key Features & Benefits:

Offers productivity tools such as document editors and whiteboards for brainstorming with teams
AI task management features for marketing and sales teams
Good alternative for product development projects
Mobile app for Android and iOS
Free plan and free trial

ClickUp Cons & Limitations:

Most of its tools are not related to project management
Lacks cost and resource management features and tools
It’s feature set can be confusing for most users which complicates team onboarding and implementation of the software
While it offers a variety of tools and features, most of them have limited functionality compared to most project management tools in this list

ClickUp Pricing

Unlimited: $7/user/month, billed annually
Business: $12/user/month, billed annually
Enterprise: contact sales

ClickUp Reviews

G2 review: 4.7/5
Capterra review: 4.7/5

10. Kantata

Kantata has recently joined Kimble, a professional services automation app, to focus on staff optimal teams and real-time data to boost operational performance. This project management software looks at resources to help teams get better results by scaling and deploying tasks in real time to pivot as things change in the market. It’s all about streamlining to boost efficiency.

What caused us to think twice was the price as it’s always worrisome when no pricing is listed. That’s the first red flag. Second, this project management tool has a learning curve that you have to overcome before enjoying any benefits. Many other project management software products we reviewed were plug-and-play, which might cause some to steer clear of this option. They have a mobile app but it has a lot of improving to do.

Kantata Key Features & Benefits:

Can be used for resource planning and operations management
Time tracking, billing and payment processing features for large organizations
Financial management tools
Free trial

Kantata Cons & Limitations:

Doesn’t have kanban boards, project calendars and other basic project management tools
Not ideal for agile project management methodologies
Lacks features for managing everyday project tasks
Limited collaboration features compared to most project management software in this list
No mobile app
No free plan

Kantata Pricing

Custom pricing depends on company information

Kantata Reviews

G2 review: 4.1/5
Capterra review: 4.2/5

11. Basecamp

Basecamp is a project management software that organizes projects and teams by giving users visibility into what everyone is working on. This fosters collaboration and keeps everyone productive. Basecamp is pushing itself as the remote project management tool that helps teams work together anytime and anywhere.

As with any other project management software, there are advantages and disadvantages when it comes to using Basecamp to manage projects. One thing that might get in the way of that organization is a lack of tags and labels to quickly identify tasks. More problematic is that the project management software has no time tracking. Even though it can bring remote workers together, there aren’t any advanced features that can help them, such as analytic tools for insights into the project. Even chat functionality, which is a benefit, is poorly thought out. Topics and conversations can’t be archived, which is frustrating.

Basecamp Key Features & Benefits:

Low-cost project management tools for larger teams
Guest users can visualize project views without a plan
Mobile app for Android and iOS
Free trial

Basecamp Cons & Limitations:

Lacks Gantt charts and other basic project planning tools that most project management software in this list have
Limited resource tracking and cost management features
Overly simplistic tools and features
No free plan

Basecamp Pricing

Basecamp: $15 user/month
Pro Unlimited: $299/month

Basecamp Reviews

G2 review: 4.1/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

12. Jira

Jira, which is a product of Atlassian, started as a tracking tool for software developers. It has grown since then and has great features for tracking all types of issues, tasks and work items. This project management software helps to plan and track projects, generate reports and automate processes. It has enterprise-grade security and the Atlassian Marketplace is rich with plugins to further the tools’ reach.

With a product that grew out of software development, the setup is challenging for first-time users. There’s a steep learning curve and so many configuration options as to make one feel dizzy. While there are email notifications, there’s no messaging in the tool. Although it can use integrations for notifications, this just adds a layer of complexity to an already complex project management tool. The biggest complaint is that this is more a tracking tool than a full-service project management software. There’s no way to manage costs or assess risks. Plus, it’s not ideal for any methodology outside of Agile.

Verdict: Best Project Management Tools for Software Development Projects

Jira Key Features & Benefits:

Offers specialized tools for software development teams
Free project management software for teams of less than 10 people
Free trial
Mobile app for Android and iOS

Jira Cons & Limitations:

Short free trial period
Kanban boards are harder to use than most project management software in this list due to their agile software development features
Good for agile and scrum projects, but not compatible with other project management methodologies
No free plan

Jira Pricing

Free for up to 10 users
Standard: $7.75 per user
Premium: $15.25 per user
Enterprise: Custom pricing

Jira Reviews

G2 review: 4.3/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

13. Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects is online project management software that does the expected, helping teams to plan, track work and improve collaboration. One advantage users will immediately notice is the price as it’s certainly competitive. The billing and time tracking features are also going to make users take a second look. There are task and project tracking features that add up to an attractive package.

Before putting all of the work into this project management software, though, one should know that the search function is limited to only tasks in a project. There’s no global search. There is, however, a dashboard, but its functionality could use improvement. Besides the features, the whole tool will take a lot of time and effort to set up and use with any level of skill and comfort.

Verdict: Best Project Management Software for Small Teams

Zoho Projects Key Features & Benefits:

Low-cost project management tools
Free plan for up to three users
Offers a variety of third-party integrations
Mobile app for Android and iOS

Zoho Projects Cons & Limitations:

Its project planning views such as Gantt charts and kanban boards have limited functionality in comparison to most project management tools in this ranking
There are navigability and usability issues across its tools that affect the user experience
Short free trial period

Zoho Projects Pricing

Premium: $5/user/month, billed monthly
Enterprise: $10/user/month, billed monthly

Zoho Projects Reviews

G2 review: 4.3/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

14. ProofHub

ProofHub sells itself as collaborative project management software, controlling teams and projects to improve timely delivery. Like many others on this list, they have various project tools, such as kanban boards and Gantt charts in addition to custom workflows. Unlike others, they have proofing and markup tools as well as chat for collaboration. There are resource and workload reports and timesheets, too.

While this might seem like a fully loaded project management software, it isn’t. There’s no budgeting function for one, which is a glaring omission. There’s no way to set up budget or tracking requirements during project execution. Less annoying but still a problem is the lack of recurring tasks, which would make work more efficient.

Verdict: Best Low-Cost Project Management Software for Creative Teams

Proofhub Key Features & Benefits:

Has specialized tools for creative projects such as document management and image proofreading features
Special pricing plans for nonprofit organizations
Project management reports and templates
Free trial
Mobile app for Android and iOS

Proofhub Cons & Limitations:

Gantt charts and other project management tools don’t offer built-in resource planning, cost tracking or resource management features
Expensive solution for smaller teams
No free plan

ProofHub Pricing

Essential: $45 per month, flat pricing
Ultimate Control: $89 per month, flat pricing

ProofHub Reviews

G2 review: 4.5/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

15. Hive

Hive is a leading project management tool that helps thousands of teams work faster in today’s hybrid work environment. Hive brings all your workplace tools to one dashboard, so you can manage projects, chat with coworkers, send emails, and even start Zoom calls without ever leaving the window.

Hive is the first and only democratic project management platform. Via the Hive Forum, customers have access to a public roadmap and can submit and vote on the features they’d like to see in Hive. It’s a tool built by users, for users. Some of Hive’s key features include 6 flexible project views, including Gantt, Kanban, Calendar & Table views. It also offers an AI-powered writing tool and a native chat application for private and group messaging.

Hive Key Features & Benefits

Has a library of predetermined project management templates that can help project managers save time with routine tasks
Free trial
Mobile app for Android and iOS

Hive Cons & Limitations:

The setup process for some of its tools like Gantt charts is time consuming compared to other software for project management in this list
The free plan is limited to a number of uses
Must purchase add ons to get the same features as with other free editions on this list

Hive Pricing

Teams: $12 user/month

Hive Reviews

G2 review: 4.6/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

16. nTask

nTask is a project management software that focuses on task management. It provides transparency into the process and fosters collaboration for teams. Beyond assigning tasks, users can set recurring work, create progress reports, share files and more. It helps monitor the budget, allocate resources and even risks—all important aspects of managing the team’s tasks.

That doesn’t mean nTask is without its problems. One thing that blocks collaboration is that the project management tool doesn’t have a Zoom integration. While it has other communication tools, if the team is already using Zoom, this can be a problem. The tool also has limited customization and formatting options. A big hole in the app, especially for agile users, is that there’s no kanban board. That’s an odd omission for a project management software that specializes in task management.

Verdict: Best Project Management Software for Managing Every Day Project Tasks

nTask Key Features & Benefits:

Multilingual support
Offers a variety of task management tools like to-do lists and kanban boards
Free trial
Mobile app for Android and iOS

nTask Cons & Limitations:

Short free trial period
No program and project portfolio management tools
Limited resource management and cost-tracking functionality
No free plan

nTask Pricing

Essential: $45 per month, flat pricing
Ultimate Control: $89 per month, flat pricing

nTask Reviews

G2 review: 4.5/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

17. Adobe Workfront

Adobe Workfront is work management software that focuses on enterprise businesses. This project management software helps teams connect and collaborate on workflows. It streamlines intake, automates workflows and creates custom forms to help enterprises execute strategy. The tool has resource management, configurable dashboards and integrations to help with planning. Some features measure progress and productivity.

This might sound ideal until you try and unravel its complicated pricing structure. It’s certainly not going to attract smaller businesses, and even enterprise customers might find it hard to understand the price structure of the tool. While this is project management software, it looks more like Excel. It’s not the easiest tool to use, which leaves many project managers and team members looking for a Workfront alternative.

Verdict: Best Project Management Software for Strategic Planning

Adobe Workfront Key Features & Benefits:

Strategic planning and roadmapping tools
Helps large organizations manage workflows and project portfolios
Mobile app for Android and iOS

Adobe Workfront Cons & Limitations:

Limited project planning, scheduling and tracking features
Doesn’t specialize in project management like most tools on this list
No free plan
No free trial

Adobe Workfront Pricing

Enterprise, business and pro license types available, pricing upon request

Adobe Workfront Reviews

G2 review: 4.1 / 5
Capterra review: 4.4 / 5

18. Celoxis

Celoxis is a strong project management software for mid-sized to large organizations that need robust tools for planning, tracking and reporting across complex projects. It excels with features like dynamic Gantt charts, advanced resource management, time tracking, financial forecasting, and custom dashboards. Its ability to handle portfolio management, workflows and project requests in a single platform makes it ideal for organizations managing multiple interdependent projects. The software’s scalability and real-time insights offer strong visibility into performance, helping teams stay aligned and executives make data-driven decisions.

On the downside, as a project management software, Celoxis can be overwhelming for smaller teams or businesses without dedicated project management professionals. The user interface, while functional, is not as intuitive or modern as some competitors, which may result in a steeper learning curve. Customization options can require technical skill and integrations with third-party tools are limited compared to more flexible, API-driven platforms. Additionally, Celoxis is more enterprise-focused, so its pricing and complexity may not be a good fit for startups or teams looking for lightweight, agile-friendly solutions.

Verdict: Best Project Management Software for Scalability

Celoxis Pros & Key Features

Dynamic Gantt charts
Custom dashboards
Portfolio management

Celoxis Cons & Limitations

Steep learning curve
Poor interface
Customization requires technical skill

Celoxis Pricing

Essential: $25/user/month (billed annually)
Professional: $35/user/month (billed annually)
Business: $45/user/month (billed annually)
Enterprise: Contact sales

Celoxis Reviews

G2 review: 4.5/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“It includes many features like: task manager, cost tracking, resource tracking. You can calculate allocation of resources, build reports, etc.” Enrique L. – from Capterra
“I really like the dashboards offered by Celoxis for streamlining the IT industry as well as i really like the use case of Tuskr for test case management” Ujjwal S. – from Captterra

19. Teamwork

Teamwork is project management software for teams that need robust task management, time tracking and client collaboration features. It shines in professional services and client-facing industries thanks to its built-in billing, workload management and the ability to manage multiple projects across teams. The interface is clean and supports different project views, including Gantt charts and kanban boards, allowing for both high-level planning and detailed execution. It also integrates with tools like Slack, Google Drive and HubSpot, making it easy to embed into existing workflows.

However, Teamwork can be less ideal for teams looking for simplicity or modern UX design. Yet, it can take a while to figure out how to use the software–especially for new users or teams transitioning from simpler tools. Add to that complaints about performance issues such as slow lead times and lag when managing large projects. Additionally, certain advanced features—like full reporting or granular time tracking—are locked behind higher-tier plans, which may not suit startups or budget-conscious teams. As a result, while Teamwork is comprehensive, it may not be the best fit for all organizations, particularly those seeking lightweight, intuitive solutions.

Verdict: Best Project Management Software for Client-Facing Industries

Teamwork Pros & Key Features

Client collaboration features
Built-in bill
Many integrations

Teamwork Cons & Limitations

Many features can be overwhelming
Steep learning curve
Advanced features behind higher tier subscription

Teamwork Pricing

Grow: $19.99/user/month billed annually
Scale: $54.99/user/month billed annually
Enterprise: Contact sales

Teamwork Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“What I enjoy most about working in a team is when we have a set plan for how to accomplish our goals. It encourages team members to work together toward a single objective, and it establishes some semblance of order and predictability in the process.” Rachel M. – from Capterra
“I really liked the burn down reporting Teamwork offers.” Blake C. – from Capterra

FAQs

Those are 17 of the top project management software products. Which one is best depends on what an organization is looking for. Our top choice is ProjectManager, an award-winning project management software that helps plan, schedule and track costs, resources and more. Many tools help plan and collaborate, but what sets ProjectManager apart is its real-time tracking capabilities that help remain on track and on budget.

What Is Project Management?

Whether a seasoned professional and an accidental project manager, it’s best to define the term project management before diving into project management software. Project management is simply using various processes, methodologies, skills, knowledge and experience to plan, execute and track projects.

There are a number of different methodologies used to manage projects that influence what the best project management software is for an organization. They range from the traditional waterfall methodology, which plans, to agile environments that are more iterative. Project management has grown from a specialized industry to applications in everything from construction and manufacturing to IT and marketing.

What Is the Best Free Project Management App?

Ideally, look for a project management app that manages team workload and tracks progress and costs. Additionally, it should help teams collaborate whether in the office or out in the field.

For example, workers across industries can take ProjectManager’s project management app to their workplace to report on their progress, keep track of tasks, log work hours, share files and much more. These and other features make ProjectManager one of the best project management apps for construction, manufacturing and professional services teams.

Other project management apps in the list above include:

Smartsheet
Monday
Asana

What Are the Best Free Project Management Software Alternatives?

Some project management tools have a free plan which, in most cases, allows users a limited version of their software. Here are some examples:

Jira
ClickUp
Basecamp

Or, to evaluate various alternatives to help make a decision, most project management tools offer a free trial to try all their features.

Best Project Management Software for Mac: Free & Paid Options Ranked (2025)

Peter Landau — Thu, 29 May 2025 17:30:03 +0000

Microsoft Project is one of the most commonly used project management software, but its popularity has decreased over the years due to its many drawbacks such as not working on Mac. Luckily there’s project management software for Mac that offers the same robust task management, resource management and time tracking features Microsoft Project does.

Key Features to Look for in Project Management Software for Mac

When evaluating project management software for Mac, the most important thing is to choose a solution that helps you manage as many aspects of your project as possible. In other words, you should choose the software that offers the best mix of project planning, scheduling, tracking and reporting tools. Here’s a quick overview of some of them.

Gantt Charts: The Gantt chart is a planning tool that creates a visual timeline of the entire project. It is made up of two parts. On the left side is a spreadsheet that lists the tasks, duration, start and end dates, associated resources and costs. On the right side, the project schedule is illustrated with a bar char. Gantt charts are used in all different project management methodologies, but especially more traditional, planning-ahead methods, such as waterfall.
Kanban Boards: The kanban board is another project management tool, this one is designed to visualize the workflow of a team as they move through a production cycle. It’s made up of columns that represent the stages of a production cycle. At its most basic, kanban columns will be titled to do, doing and done, though there can be as many column headings as needed for the project. Beneath these columns are kanban cards, which are individual tasks. The kanban card will have a description of the work to be done, priority, due date, who’s assigned and more. As work is done, the kanban cards move from column to column until complete, allowing for transparency in the process.
Calendar View: The calendar view is often nothing more than a calendar. It collects important dates and can be used to see what is due at a glance. It’s another way to see your tasks and get a daily, weekly or monthly context of the work you have to do. Some calendars are more robust and are seamlessly integrated into the larger project management software. These calendars have features that can do more than just change dates but add descriptions, assign team members and more.
Project Dashboards: The project dashboard is a tool to monitor and track progress and performance. It consists of charts and graphs that collect data and show how your project is doing across metrics such as time, cost, workload and more. Some software requires you to set up your dashboard and even input the data, which it then displays. Other project management software for Mac will have the dashboard set up and fully functional, automatically gathering information and calculating the results.
Team Collaboration: Team collaboration is fostered by software features such as chat and file-sharing functions. It’s used to connect managers and team members no matter where or when they are working. For team collaboration to work it must be accessible over a cross-section of project tools, and serve hybrid teams that might not work in the office and any job type, such as those who aren’t as tech-savvy as the project management team.
Task Automation: Task automation is when software streamlines business processes, reducing busywork and giving team members more time to focus on their tasks. Triggers can be applied that set into action simple tasks or a series of more complicated tasks. The purpose of this is to add efficiency and boost the productivity of the team members.

All of these features are important to managing and executing a project. If you’re working on a Mac and software such as MS Project doesn’t work on your platform then nothing gets done. While not everyone works on a Mac, most organizations have people who work on both. They all need to be able to do their jobs. This is something Microsoft fails to understand.

Best Project Management Software for Mac Rankings (2024)

Let’s look at project management software for Mac computers that has all the features you need to deliver project success.

1. ProjectManager

ProjectManager is a powerful alternative to MSP. Our award-winning software is fully online (unlike MS Project) and is available at a price point that’s affordable for teams. It also has features that not only make collaboration simple but also plan, manage and track projects in real time.

Mac users also love the easy-to-use interface and collaboration tools that allow teams anywhere in the world to work together. Plus, our iOS app for mobile phones and tablets supports on-site visits with clients, field updates or even working on your tasks in your pajamas.

Cloud-Based Software for Mac

ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software that exists entirely online. Manage your projects on any computer with any web browser, including Safari. As long as you have access to an internet connection, you have access to your projects.

You can store all of your files in the cloud with our online file storage, so you can download, upload or view project files whenever you need to. You’ll never have to drag your work computer to the coffee shop again!

Get Multiple Project Views

Not everyone in an organization works the same, but they have to work together. That’s why we have multiple project views so every department can collaborate, whether they’re on a PC or a Mac. People who plan and work more linearly can use the Gantt chart or sheet view. Their schedules are updated on the task list, calendar and kanban view. Kanban boards are perfect for your agile teams, who are more self-directed. Everyone is working from a single source of truth without having to use tools they’re uncomfortable with.

Automate Workflows and Tasks Approvals

Neither PC nor Mac users want to get bogged down with busywork. Our custom workflows keep teams free to work on what matters. You can add as many triggers as you like and then set off actions to streamline simple tasks and add greater efficiency. Watch our task automation features to boost your team’s productivity. Managers can still control the status of work with task approvals.

All this and more is why ProjectManager tops our list of project management tools for Mac. There are also powerful resource and risk management tools that help manage resources, identify and track risks and much more. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Verdict: Best Project Management Software for Mac for Planning, Scheduling and Tracking

ProjectManager Pros & Key Features

Dashboards work right out of the box and update in real time
Time tracking and resource management features are included at a low price
Project portfolio management features are easy to use
Mobile project management app for Android and iOS
Free trial 30-day trial

ProjectManager Cons & Limitations

Limited native integrations
Poor mobile experience unless you have the mobile app
Defaults to dark mode

ProjectManager Pricing

Team: $13.00 user/month
Business: $24.00 user/month
Enterprise: contact sales for a custom quote

ProjectManager Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.1/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“ProjectManager works very well with both large and small-scale projects. Being able to use this with anything from a project involving only two members of staff, to hundreds, has been invaluable.” Peter W – from Capterra
“We used to manage our projects, resources, and reporting in different systems. Enter ProjectManager. We have consolidated systems and work more efficiently.” Jeffrey M – from Capterra
“Having the full scope of activities and who is responsible to do it, plus the time tracking is excellent.” Flavio M – from G2
“It has an excellent accounting system capable of calculating the time that a person has used to develop a task that was assigned to him, I like being able to collaborate with all my colleagues in the Finance sector through ProjectManager.” Jesus C – from G2
“The UI of the application is user-friendly, and it helps to identify what we are looking for with minimal effort.” Pavan H – from G2

2. Wrike

Wrike is another Mac alternative and users will find that the software gives them real-time project updates, allows them to assign tasks to other users, change and update tasks, view calendars and great integrations. Using Wrike on a Mac gives you the features you need and more control to view projects and tasks.

However, there are some shortcomings. For example, you’ll likely get frustrated with its Gantt, which has limited capabilities. There are no project management reports, which will have some users looking for another Mac alternative, as well as its limited tracking features.

Verdict: Best Project Management Software for Mac for Integrations

Wrike Pros & Key Features

Designed for basic task and workflow management
Ideal for project management beginners
Mobile project management app for Android and iOS

Wrike Cons & Limitations

The Gantt chart functionality is limited
Lacks project management reports
Limited cost and budget tracking features
The user interface is hard to navigate

Wrike Pricing

Professional plan: $9.80 user/month
Business plan: $24.80 user/month

Wrike Reviews

G2 review: 4.2/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Wrike has become essential in my day and keeps me organized and on top of my tasks.” Paige T – from G2
“Productivity has been enhanced by removing essential but repetitive chores.” Denise S – from G2

3. Monday.com

Monday.com powers teams to run processes, projects and even everyday work in which real-time updates keep everyone in the loop. This project management software for Mac will track time and progress, automate repetitive tasks and customize workflows. There are kanban boards, timelines.

Yes, there are features like kanban boards, but they are limited in their functionality. There are better kanban software alternatives to choose from. This is also true of its Gantt chart, one of the pillars of project management. As a project management software for Mac, Monday.com is more for task management. Project managers will want to look elsewhere.

Verdict: Best Project Management Software for Mac for Marketing and Creative Teams

Monday.com Pros & Key Features

Friendly user interface and easy-to-use task management tools
Task management dashboards to track progress, resources and costs
Free trial
Mobile app available for Android and iOS

Monday.com Cons & Limitations

Limited kanban board functionality
Gantt charts lack important project planning and scheduling features
Like Trello is a task management tool with a limited project management feature set

Monday.com Pricing

Basic: $8/user/month, billed annually
Standard: $10/user/month, billed annually
Pro: $16/user/month, billed annually
3-seat minimum

Monday.com Reviews

G2 review: 4.7/5
Capterra review: 4.6/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“We used to have a mess of excel sheets and emails but now everything’s in one place.” Laura A – from G2
“It is overall a great product but it requires a lot of setup initially to take advantage of all its functions and features.” Ana D – from Capterra

4. Asana

Asana is project management software for Mac that helps organize your daily tasks and allows you to communicate with your team, wherever you are or they are. The user-friendly interface is a plus as well as its many integrations with third-party apps. It has an iOS mobile app and you can get a free trial or plan to test it out.

This project management software for Mac is not suited for managing multiple projects. It’s more of a task management tool and suffers a lack of project management features. For example, its Gantt chart doesn’t have cost-tracking, which is an essential piece of any Gantt chart software to help you stay on budget.

Verdict: Best Project Management Software for Mac for Team Management

Asana Pros & Key Features

User-friendly interface
Integrations with third-party apps such as Google Drive, Microsoft Teams and Slack
Mobile project management app for Android and iOS
Free plan
Free trial

Asana Cons & Limitations

Not ideal for managing multiple projects, programs or portfolios
Limited project management features
Gantt chart lacks advanced features such as cost tracking
Workload management tools are easy to use but can be limited for some users

Asana Pricing

Premium plan: $10.99/user/month, billed annually
Business plan: $24.99/user/month, billed annually

Asana Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Asana is very easy to use, intuitive for my team members who don’t have tech backgrounds but need to start and contribute right away.” Sara G – from G2
“Overall, I had great success staying organized with this project management tool.” Mary B – from Capterra

5. Smartsheet

Smartsheet is a project management software for Mac that helps you plan, capture, manage and report on work. It’s great for remote teams, allowing them to collaborate, while tracking key metrics with real-time visibility. It has essential project management features, such as a dashboard and automated workflows.

If you love Excel, then this is the project management software for Mac you’ll want. But if you’re looking for more than glorified spreadsheets, you’ll need to look elsewhere. While it has Gantt charts and kanban boards, they’re not as advanced as others on this list. You also have to use complicated formulas to get the most out of the tool and even then there are limited resource management features.

Verdict: Best Project Management Software for Mac for Project Spreadsheets

Smartsheet Pros & Key Features

Good for users transitioning from Excel to project management software
Work management and reporting tools
Workflow automation features
Free trial
Mobile project management app for Android and iOS

Smartsheet Cons & Limitations

Most of its tools are spreadsheet-based
Gantt charts, spreadsheets and kanban cards lack some advanced project management features
The software requires the use of complicated formulas
Limited resource management tools
Project reports have an outdated look and feel compared to other Monday.com alternatives

Smartsheet Pricing

Pro plan: $7/user/month, billed annually
Business plan: $25/user/month, billed annually

Smartsheet Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Smartsheet has allowed me to take my to-do list and run with it in a way that I didn’t think would be possible.” Victoria W – from G2
“I like that Smartsheet has a lot of different functions. It can be used for project management, inventory or event planning.” Lauren M – from Capterra

6. Notion

Notion is a strong project management software for Mac users due to its all-in-one workspace approach, combining task management, notetaking, wikis and databases in a clean, customizable interface. It runs smoothly on macOS and offers seamless syncing across Apple devices, which is ideal for users integrated into the Apple ecosystem. Teams can use Notion to build personalized project dashboards, create kanban boards, timelines and task lists, and collaborate in real time using shared pages and comments—all in one highly flexible platform.

But that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Notion also has drawbacks that can hinder project management, especially for complex or large-scale initiatives. While it’s versatile, it lacks built-in Gantt charts, advanced resource management tools and native time tracking, which are essential for more structured project workflows. Users must often rely on templates or third-party integrations to fill these gaps. Additionally, because everything is so customizable, it can take significant time and effort to set up an effective project management system from scratch. Teams needing robust automation, dependency tracking, or detailed reporting might find Notion too lightweight for their needs.

Verdict: Best Project Management Software for Mac for Notetaking

Notion Pros & Key Features

All-in-one workspace
Notetaking
User-friendly interface
Free plan

Notion Cons & Limitations

Lacks Gantt chart
Poor resource management
Customization leads to significant time and effort to get started

Notion Pricing

Free plan: $0 user/month
Plus: $10/month, billed annually
Business: $20/month, billed annually
Enterprise: contact sales

Notion Reviews

G2 review: 4.7 / 5
Capterra review: 4.7 / 5

Highlighted User Reviews

“I usually use it as a note taking, studying board, planner and even to organize my financial life – it is all my life in one place.” Fabiane C. – from G2
“Originally a really good UI, available on multiple platforms, very dynamic and responsive.” Keith P – from Capterra

Project Management Software for Mac Is Better Than Microsoft Project

Most project managers have endured Microsoft Project. For years, it was an industry-standard tool, even though it was (and is) difficult to use. Whether using MS Project for desktop, MS Project Server, or MS Project Online, the problems of the tools are legendary.

The calculations are confusing and overly complex. Sharing files requires add-on tools like Sharepoint. It’s non-collaborative, meaning only PM Pros can use it. And it’s costly. You’ll need a monthly subscription for each user. There are three plans to choose from $10, $30 or $55 a month. For Mac users, MS Project is a non-starter. It simply doesn’t work, leaving many looking for an alternative solution. Luckily, there’s ProjectManager.

18 Best Gantt Chart Software of 2025 (Free & Paid)

Peter Landau — Thu, 29 May 2025 15:25:46 +0000

We tested the best Gantt chart software options out there to help you make the right selection for your projects. But before we get into our list of the best Gantt chart software, we’ll first explain what Gantt chart software is, what the key features are and why it is so beneficial when managing a project.

What Is Gantt Chart Software?

Gantt chart software is a type of project management software that’s used to schedule projects and track their progress using Gantt charts and other complementary project planning, scheduling, monitoring and reporting features. This software can either be cloud based or stored in your PC.

Gantt chart software is commonly used in the project planning phase of project management to schedule tasks, but it’s actually useful throughout the life cycle of a project. It was designed to automate processes of a static Gantt chart, which previously were made on paper or spreadsheets.

Best Gantt Chart Software Features

Just because it’s called Gantt chart software, it doesn’t mean that it should only be equipped with Gantt charts and nothing else. Here’s a quick overview of some of the project management features you should look out for when choosing a Gantt chart software.

Project Scheduling: At a minimum, Gantt chart software should help you create a project schedule showing the order in which project tasks must be completed and their duration on a visual project timeline.
Project Planning: Besides Gantt charts, you’ll also need project planning tools such as task lists, kanban boards, project calendars and project dashboards.
Project Budgeting: You need to be able to track the costs of your project with tools like timesheets and dashboards so you can monitor your project budget.
Team Management: Gantt chart software should let you assign tasks to your team members, monitor their progress and offer collaboration features such as messaging and file sharing.
Task Management: Any Gantt chart tool should let you add a priority level to your project tasks, create milestones and link task dependencies.
Critical Path Analysis: Gantt chart software should also allow you to identify the critical path, which shows those tasks that are essential to getting the project done on time.
Workload Tracking: Throughout the project, you’ll assign tasks to your team members, so it’s important to have workload management tools to know who’s under or overallocated.
Project Reporting: Project dashboards and status reports are essential to keep your project stakeholders informed.

Using Gantt chart software offers other advantages, but first and foremost it disproves the belief that Gantt charts are hard to use. It’s true that making a Gantt chart on paper or even on an Excel spreadsheet is difficult and editing the Gantt chart is even worse, but those hurdles have been cleared with the advent of Gantt chart software.

2025 Best Gantt Chart Software Rankings

By now, you’re ready to hear about the best Gantt chart software. We’ve narrowed it down to a top 16 in order of preference, with the leader starting things off.

1. ProjectManager

ProjectManager is award-winning Gantt chart software with features that expand upon that tool and offer task management, resource management and risk management. It has multiple project views that share live project data, real-time dashboards, reporting and other essential time-tracking features. It’s powerful and expansive project management software that helps project managers and their teams plan, manage and track projects in real time. And there’s even a free 30-day trial you can take to try out the Gantt features for yourself.

Best Gantt Chart Software

While every product here has a good Gantt chart, ProjectManager leaves the competition in the dust. First off, ProjectManager’s Gantt chart is easy to set up. You can import any kind of spreadsheet, even Microsoft Project files (we’ll explain why you’d want to do that in the next segment). There are even industry-related templates to get you started quickly. Once you add the start dates and end dates, the project timeline automatically populates. You can then add milestones, color-code phases, add resources, costs and more.

But what makes ProjectManager’s Gantt chart software special is that it links all four types of task dependencies, which is a must to avoid costly delays. You can also filter for the critical path. That means no time–consuming calculations. It’s done in an instant. Now you can see the tasks that are critical to delivering your project. Best of all, you can set a baseline once you’ve completed the project plan. This feeds the real-time dashboard, reports and more to allow users to track their actual effort against their planned effort. That’s how you stay on schedule and keep to your budget.

Real-Time Tracking

Let’s take a look at the real-time dashboard. Other Gantt chart software products might have it, but they usually require time-consuming configuration or expensive plugins. ProjectManager’s dashboard is ready when you are, capturing live data and displaying it on easy-to-read graphs and charts. There are also secure timesheets that give project managers a live view of how far their team is in completing their tasks. Plus, customizable reporting tools can be filtered to show the data you want to see for project and portfolio status, workload, timesheets, variance and more. Then shared in a variety of formats with stakeholders.

Robust Resource Management Features

ProjectManager’s Gantt chart software is great for planning and managing resources. From nonhuman costs to easy onboarding of labor, accounting for availability and more. There’s a color-coded workload chart that makes it easy to see who on the team is overallocated. You can then reallocate resources right from that page, balancing your team’s workload to keep them working at capacity and productive, but avoiding burnout.

ProjectManager tops this list because its Gantt chart software is superior to the competition. The fact that it builds on that with multiple project views, such as kanban boards, task lists and calendars, a collaborative platform and the flexibility that makes it ideal for construction, manufacturing, IT, professional service and really any industry only sweetens the deal. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Project Management

ProjectManager Pros & Key Features

Multiple project planning views such as kanban boards, task lists, project calendars and spreadsheets
Real-time project dashboards for cost, progress and workload tracking.
Secure timesheets
Robust project reporting functionality
Has a free 30-day trial
Has a mobile project management app available for Android and iOS

ProjectManager Cons & Limitations

Limited customization
Few native integrations
No free plan

ProjectManager Pricing

Team: $14/user/month
Business: $26/user/month
Enterprise: Contact sales

ProjectManager Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.1/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“ProjectManager works very well with both large and small-scale projects. Being able to use this with anything from a project involving only two members of staff, to hundreds, has been invaluable.” Peter W – from Capterra
“We used to manage our projects, resources, and reporting in different systems. Enter ProjectManager. We have consolidated systems and work more efficiently.” Jeffrey M – from Capterra
“Having the full scope of activities and who is responsible to do it, plus the time tracking is excellent.” Flavio M – from G2
“It has an excellent accounting system capable of calculating the time that a person has used to develop a task that was assigned to him, I like being able to collaborate with all my colleagues in the Finance sector through ProjectManager.” Jesus C – from G2
“The UI of the application is user-friendly, and it helps to identify what we are looking for with minimal effort.” Pavan H – from G2

2. Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project is the gorilla in the Gantt chart software room so it deserves attention. Many larger organizations use it to manage their projects. It seems designed for complexity, which is both a plus and a minus about this Gantt chart software. However, you can’t deny Microsoft its power, with seamless integrations with Teams, Office and more. Plus, it’s got a full suite of project tools, from Gantt charts to dashboards.

It’s also built to do what’s needed in project management. That is, it’s a planning, tracking and management tool. It has an organized view of your tasks and timelines and can allocate resources and report on the project, but these features aren’t intuitively designed. You’ll need to factor in a lot of time before you can even start working on your Gantt chart to figure out how to use it properly.

Of course, lots of Gantt chart software has some learning curve to deal with, but Microsoft Project adds more roadblocks. It’s expensive. That alone is going to drive away the majority of potential customers. Then there’s the issue of compatibility. If not everyone on the team is using the same software, MS Project doesn’t make it easy to share. Add to the limits in customization and buyer beware.

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Microsoft Users

Microsoft Project Pros & Key Features

Offers a variety of project management views to plan, schedule and track projects
Robust enough for project, program and project portfolio management.
Built-in project management reports
Has a free 1-month trial

Microsoft Project Cons & Limitations

Both the desktop and online versions are expensive, especially for larger teams
Steep learning curve and overwhelming user interface for beginners
Microsoft Project files have a unique format which makes them hard to use and share with people that don’t have a Microsoft Project license
Doesn’t have a mobile app
No free plan

Microsoft Project Pricing

Planner Plan 1: $10/user/month
Planner and Project Plan 3: $30/user/month
Planner and Project Plan 5: $55/user/month

Microsoft Project Reviews

G2 review: 4/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Microsoft project has really helped to improve my productivity and project planning overall.” Jamie G – from Capterra
“I love the automatically generated gantt charts and the timeline feature.” Eric B – from G2

3. ClickUp

ClickUp is Gantt chart software that helps users manage tasks, workflows, collaborate and streamlines processes with automation. There’s a great deal of customization, which is both positive and negative. It gives you more control but it’s also a bit overwhelming. If you want to take advantage of this, you’ll be spending a lot of time setting up instead of working. However, it’s a great collaboration tool. You can send emails on the app, chat and edit Google Docs together.

What’s really going to stop people from adopting this Gantt chart software is its limited project time management features. While there are some rudimentary time-tracking features, such as deadlines and time spent on tasks, it’s a far cry from other Gantt chart software. A Gantt chart needs powerful time tracking to help you keep to your project plan. Then there’s the steep learning curve. We alluded to it above, with all the customization options available, but it goes beyond that. If you don’t have the hours necessary to learn ClickUp, you might want to keep looking.

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Collaboration Features

ClickUp Pros & Key Features

Multiple task and work management views
Has a mobile app available for Android and iOS
Free plan

ClickUp Cons & Limitations

User interface is cluttered
Gantt charts can only be exported as PDFs, which makes it hard to export data to other software like Excel or Google Sheets
Gantt charts don’t show the critical path and don’t allow project managers to track costs at the task level
Doesn’t have a free trial

ClickUp Pricing

Free plan: $0/user/month
Unlimited: $7/user/month
Business: $12/user/month

ClickUp Reviews

G2 review: 4.7/5
Capterra review: 4.6/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Good for operational tasks and customer support.” Hovhannes G – from G2
“ClickUp sits right in the middle between typical task management tools and business platforms.” Pawel M – from Capterra

4. Wrike

Wrike is Gantt chart software that’s broad enough to deliver project and product management features, proofing and publishing as well as risk management. It tends to be used by marketers, digital agencies and those working in professional services. They like its simple but effective collaborative features, such as built-in chat. It’s best for monitoring workloads and activities, plus it can track the progress of the project. Agencies like the billing and invoicing capabilities.

It’s lower on our Gantt chart software list primarily because the Gantt chart and other features aren’t intuitive. Even worse, you can’t view projects, only tasks on its kanban board. If you like lists, though, this is for you. Gantt charts, not so much. For example, you can’t track all four task dependencies on its Gantt chart. Also, if you’re managing multiple projects, you’ll not like the lack of portfolio reporting. There’s also no option to pay monthly, the cost is divided into 12 to show how much you’ll pay monthly but you have to sign up for a year.

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Workflow Management

Wrike Pros & Key Features

Workflow automation features
Easy to understand project dashboards
Has a 14-day free trial
Has a mobile app available for Android and iOS
Free plan

Wrike Cons & Limitations

Gantt charts lack critical path analysis features
The software is hard to navigate
Onboarding employees can be hard due to its non intuitive user interface

Wrike Pricing

Free plan: $0/user/month
Professional plan: $10.00/user/month
Business plan: $24.80/user/month

Wrike Reviews

G2 review: 4.2/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Wrike has become essential in my day and keeps me organized and on top of my tasks.” Paige T – from G2
“Productivity has been enhanced by removing essential but repetitive chores.” Denise S – from G2

5. Monday.com

Monday.com is Gantt chart software that bills itself as a project management, workflow and automation and collaborative tool. It’s made an aggressive push to a general market and appeals to users who like a spreadsheet view. It has integrations you can pick from or build your own. Users like its colorful interface and how the software helps to visualize work. It’s also priced for a general market with very competitive subscription tiers.

However, if you’re a business that needs project management software, Monday.com is going to fall short. Even if you’re using it for less dynamic projects, the onboarding and training are not great and support is hard to reach. In terms of Gantt chart software, its Gantt chart is especially problematic. For example, you have to manually add task dependencies. It’s really a task management, not a project management tool.

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Creative Teams

Monday.com Pros & Key Features

Simple, minimalistic user interface
Project portfolio reports and dashboards to track progress, resources and costs across projects
Has a free 14-day trial
Has a mobile app available for Android and iOS
Free plan

Monday.com Cons & Limitations

Gantt charts are overly simplistic and lack important features such as cost tracking
Limited project reporting capabilities
Customizable views require manual setup

Monday.com Pricing

Free plan: $0/user/month
Basic: $9/user/month
Standard: $12/user/month
Pro: $19/user/month

Monday.com Reviews

G2 review: 4.7/5
Capterra review: 4.6/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“We used to have a mess of excel sheets and emails but now everything’s in one place.” Laura A – from G2
“It is overall a great product but it requires a lot of setup initially to take advantage of all its functions and features.” Ana D – from Capterra

6. Smartsheet

Smartsheet is collaborative software that has some Gantt chart software features but is mostly a super-powered spreadsheet. It emphasizes the sharing of data with teams. It has a lot of templates and forms to help you get started as well as training tools. There are workflow automation tools that create efficiencies. There’s also a high level of customization, which many users will appreciate. If you want a Gantt chart, you’re going to have to create one yourself and it’s not going to satisfy users looking for Gantt chart software.

That should be a clue that this isn’t project management software and is barely Gantt chart software. But it’s popular, which is why it’s included, if at the bottom of our rankings. There’s a lack of project portfolio management features, resource management and capacity planning are expensive add-ons only available for top-tier subscriptions. The dashboard is cumbersome and, if you’re an enterprise customer, you’ll find the tool lacking. It’s not bad as a supplement to other tools, but why pay all that money for only a partial solution?

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Spreadsheets and Pre-built Project Templates

Smartsheet Pros & Key Features

Allows to export Gantt charts as Excel, Google Sheets and other file formats
Offers multiple project management tools such as kanban boards, spreadsheets and Gantt charts
Has a 30-day free trial
Has a mobile project management app available for Android and iOS

Smartsheet Cons & Limitations

The spreadsheet-like Gantt charts aren’t visually appealing and are hard to use
Not ideal for managing multiple projects, as you’ll need a separate spreadsheet for each project
Limited spreadsheet project reports

Smartsheet Pricing

Pro plan: $9/user/month
Business plan: $19/user/month, 3-user limit, making it $75/month

Smartsheet Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Smartsheet has allowed me to take my to-do list and run with it in a way that I didn’t think would be possible.” Victoria W – from G2
“I like that Smartsheet has a lot of different functions. It can be used for project management, inventory or event planning.” Lauren M – from Capterra

7. Ganttic

Ganttic offers a twist on a traditional Gantt. With its resource-centric Gantt charts, users are able to see who or is doing what and when. Offering a high-level overview of their entire resource pool, WBS, and project portfolio, the cloud-based tool is suitable for managers of mid-sized teams or large enterprises. It’s used mostly in industries such as engineering, construction, production, and design – fields where managers need to see the workloads, manage skills, and optimize utilization for equipment, people, and vehicles. Color coding, drag-and-drop scheduling, custom data fields, and automated reports are just a few other features that come standard with the tool.

Ganttic is a comfortable middle ground for those fed up with spreadsheet scheduling and those who don’t need all the bells and whistles of an expensive ERP. And while this makes it a perfect tool for resource management, there are some project management features that some users may find are lacking. Luckily, Ganttic was built with flexibility and modern workflows in mind. Offering native Calendar integrations, as well as robust opportunities for importing your existing spreadsheets or building your own custom workflow with its built-in API or Zapier connections.

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Resource Management Features

Ganttic Pros & Key Features

Resource utilization and capacity planning tools
Online Gantt chart software
Has a free 14-day trial
Has a mobile app
Free plan

Ganttic Cons & Limitations

Limited customization features
Missing project portfolio roadmaps, dashboards and other PPM tools, so it’s not ideal for managing multiple projects, programs or portfolios.
Outdated user interface

Ganttic Pricing

Up to 10 resources: $0 per month per resource
Up to 20 resources: $25 per month per resource
Up to 50 resources: $59 per month per resource
Up to 150 resources: $149 per month per resource
Up to 250 resources: $229 per month per resource
Up to 500 resources: $379 per month per resource
Up to 1000 resources: $599 per month per resource
Up to 1500 resources: $790 per month per resource

Ganttic Reviews

G2 review: 4 / 5
Capterra review: 4.3 / 5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Our planning and resource management is made easy with the adoption of Ganttic.” Thomas K – from G2
“Love how quick I can move from project to project.” Nathan R – from Capterra

8. Instagantt

Instagantt bills itself as a simple online Gantt chart software. It’s an affordable option that helps you create projects, manage tasks and set task dependencies. For a little extra money, you can access more features, such as a kanban board view, workload management, dashboards and reporting. In terms of Gantt charts, which is where it puts all its attention, you can schedule milestones, build timelines and create tasks and subtasks. Asana users will like it because it integrates with this project management software.

But when you put all your eggs in one basket, you’re asking for trouble. One thing is that it’s not great for updating stakeholders and you can’t export views to a PDF. While it integrates with Asana, InstaGantt is woefully behind in integrations with the more commonly used third-party tools. Also, the fact that users need to team up with another project management software to get a full suite of features to manage their projects feels like too much effort and cost when there are software solutions that offer it all under one roof.

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Beginner Project Managers

Instagantt Pros & Key Features

Visually appealing user interface and simple project management tools
Built-in Gantt chart templates
Has a free 7-day trial

Instagantt Cons & Limitations

Gantt charts fail to show all the information that’s needed to create detailed project schedules
Kanban boards merely show a task status, don’t show task assignees and lack messaging or file sharing features
Project dashboards and reports are not robust enough for project managers or project management offices (PMOs)
Doesn’t have a mobile app, but a mobile-optimized view
No free plan

Instagantt Pricing

Individual Plan: $12 month
Team Plan: $24/user/month

Instagantt Reviews

G2 review: 4.3 / 5
Capterra review: 4.3 / 5

Highlighted User Reviews

“It links with Asana, that’s a pretty nice feature.” Alex V – from G2
“Automatic creation of Gantt charts, able to share with multiple users.” Lucia F – from Capterra

9. TeamGantt

TeamGantt is intuitive Gantt chart software for beginners and those who are tasked with the management of small projects or businesses. Gantt charts can be complicated, especially for those who aren’t used to working with them. Here the interactive Gantt charts are easy to use, which is further helped by the fact that the software offers strong tutorial content. They hold your hand but still have features such as automatic dependencies, so it’s not a bare-bones tool.

But beginners quickly become more experts and expect their Gantt chart software to follow suit. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. For example, there are no budgeting or invoicing tools, which are going to send users to other software to fill the holes. While there are reporting features, they’re underwhelming. Compared to other Gantt chart software these reports are basic and not very useful. The Gantt chart is good, but the software rests its reputation on that tool. Users who want project management software will have to look elsewhere.

Verdict: Best Mobile-friendly Gantt Chart Software

TeamGantt Pros & Key Features

Collaboration features such as file sharing and messaging
Lets you compare planned and actual timelines
Has a free 30-day trial
Has a mobile app

TeamGantt Cons & Limitations

Missing project management tools when compared with most Gantt chart software
There are no kanban boards
Limited project reporting features
No free plan

TeamGantt Pricing

Pro: $49/user/month

TeamGantt Reviews

G2 review: 4.8 / 5
Capterra review: 4.6 / 5

Highlighted User Reviews

“I like the simplicity of the functionality since it allows me to easily and quickly set up new projects thus saving much time.” Sarah D – from G2
“It really does what it says on the tin! It’s quick and easy to create and move tasks around. The interface is intuitive.” Lola R – from Capterra

10. Zoho Projects

Zoho Projects is online Gantt chart software for project planning, tracking work and team collaboration. The fact that they offer a free edition, though with limited features and only for three users, is attractive. If you find the software working for you, then the pricing structure is reasonable. It offers the standard features one expects with Gantt chart software. It’s also pretty easy to navigate, which users who have been scratching their heads with complicated software like Microsoft Project will definitely appreciate.

But users might find this Gantt chart software a bit bland. It hits the basics but doesn’t go the extra mile to make the software more competitive. It’s not easy to find tasks and the tool’s search function could use an upgrade. Same with bug reporting. Users have complained about the dashboard functionality, but the biggest complaint is the steep learning curve. Many Gantt chart software products are hard to learn, which is a hurdle users are often not willing to clear.

Verdict: Best Low-cost Gantt Chart Software

Zoho Projects Pros & Key Features

Invoicing and budgeting features
Multiple project dashboards and reports
Has a free 10-day trial
Has a mobile app
Free plan

Zoho Projects Cons & Limitations

Gantt charts don’t show information such as percent complete, assignee and other information compared with other Gantt chart software in this list
Limited dashboard functionality
There’s no time logging at the task level, which affects how timesheets work

Zoho Projects Pricing

Free plan: $0/user/month
Premium: $4/user/month, billed annually
Enterprise: $9/user/month, billed annually

Zoho Projects Reviews

G2 review: 4.3/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“What I like most is how it integrates perfectly with the entire Zoho ecosystem.” Emy L – from G2
“While the UI and the setup were slightly complicated, Zoho Projects helps you track your projects efficiently.” Shria G – from Capterra

11. GanttPRO

GanttPRO is a simple way to plan with Gantt chart software. It enables users to work alone or create a workspace with Gantt charts that are shared with your team. It’s especially useful for small teams. It’s easy to use and well-designed, with a lot of features that teams will want. It also has kanban boards for those who don’t want to only work on Gantt charts. Add to that a competitive price and you can see why it made it to our list.

However, there’s a reason it lands in the middle of our listing. One is that there are no customizable reporting tools. You can’t even customize its dashboard. If you’re looking to do billing or invoicing, you’re out of luck. There are no such features. You might be able to live with that if you integrate with some of your favorite third-party apps, but that’s not likely. While there’s some integration, it’s very light and is one of the biggest areas that could use improvement on the tool.

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Sharing Files

GanttPRO Pros & Key Features

Files can be downloaded in a variety of formats, which makes it easy to view, share and edit them using other software
Cost and budget tracking features
Has a free 14-day free trial
Has a mobile app available on iOS and Android

GanttPRO Cons & Limitations

Time tracking features can be improved, there are no timesheets
Limited project reporting features, no project health reports
Lack of integrations
Doesn’t have a free plan

GanttPRO Pricing

Core: $7.00/user/month
Advanced: $10.00/user/month
Business: $17.00/user/month
Enterprise: Contact sales

GanttPRO Reviews

G2 review: 4.8/5
Capterra review: 4.8/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“I especially enjoy the collaboration feature where I can invite colleagues to edit tasks and timelines in the live document. I have moved from using Google Sheets.” Glen K – from Capterra
“GantPro software offers a seamless project management experience with its intuitive interface and robust features.” Dixie F – from Capterra

12. Proofhub

Proofhub is a Gantt chart software for marketing, sales and creative teams. It caters to these types of teams with tools such as file proofing, file versioning and collaboration. This Gantt chart software offers other tools such as kanban boards and project calendars, which allow teams to switch from the Gantt view to other project planning views. In addition to these, Proofhub offers time tracking tools such as timesheets and timers to monitor costs and team performance. This mix of features make this option not only a Gantt chart software, but a decent project management solution overall.

However, while it does have an interesting feature set, some of its tools need further development to be more competitive in comparison to other Gantt chart software in this list. For example, its workflow feature is merely a flow chart that shows a very basic representation of tasks and processes and its time, task and resource utilization reports lack detail. Its biggest omission is the lack of cost tracking and budgeting tools. All-in-all, Proofhub does a good job at helping marketing, sales and creative teams manage their tasks and workflows, but lacks some features that are needed for managing larger, more complex projects.

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Proofing, Approvals and Collaboration

Proofhub Pros & Key Features

Fosters collaboration with messaging and file sharing
Has Gantt charts, kanban boards and project calendars
Has a 14-day free trial
Has a mobile app for Android and iOS

Proofhub Cons & Limitations

Gantt charts have a limited functionality, missing cost tracking and project budgeting features
Missing important project management tools, such as workload management charts or project dashboards
Flat pricing isn’t ideal for most teams
No free plan

Proofhub Pricing

ProofHub has a flat pricing fee of $89 per month or $45 with limited features, billed annually

ProofHub Reviews

G2 review: 4.6/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“The best thing I like about ProofHub is the way it organizes tasks and the detailed information each task captures.” Jagadeep S – from G2
“There are areas that need to be improved and more user customization would benefit this platform greatly.” David F – from Capterra

13. Asana

Asana is a project and work management software that’s mostly used by marketing and IT teams to manage their daily tasks and workflows. Asana offers a variety of project management tools including timelines, kanban boards, task lists and calendars. It pairs these features with reporting dashboards and workflow automation tools, which are focused on streamlining every-day processes and helping teams be more productive. It has recently launched AI tools which help team leaders save time while using the software.

While Asana does a good job in terms of being a task-oriented project management solution, it should work on improving its Gantt charts. Asana’s Gantt charts feel like a lightweight alternative to other Gantt chart software in this list, mainly because they lack the level of detail that project managers need. They merely help project managers create a basic Gantt chart with task dependencies but omit important information such as percent of completion, task costs, planned vs. actual comparisons, among other important details. So, Asana can help you with task and workflow management, but if you’re interested in Gantt charts, it might not be the best choice for you and your team.

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Task Management

Asana Pros & Key Features

Workflow automation features
Has a free 14-day free trial
Has a free plan
Has a mobile app available on iOS and Android

Asana Cons & Limitations

Gantt chart lacks features such as critical path analysis and cost tracking
Workload management tools are limited
Timeline and Gantt chart features are not robust enough for project management

Asana Pricing

Free plan: $0/user/month
Starter: $10.99/user/month
Advanced: $24.99/user/month

Asana Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Asana is very easy to use, intuitive for my team members who don’t have tech backgrounds but need to start and contribute right away.” Sara G – from G2
“Overall, I had great success staying organized with this project management tool.” Mary B – from Capterra

14. Chisel

Chisel emerges as a standout product management tool for creating and managing Gantt charts and for good reasons. Its user-friendly interface simplifies the process, making it accessible to beginners and experienced project managers. What sets Chisel apart is its timeline view, providing a clear overview of tasks and their respective timeframes, ultimately resulting in a well-structured Gantt chart.

It comes at no cost, making it a budget-friendly option for efficient project management. Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned pro, Chisel’s simplicity and effectiveness make it a top pick for Gantt chart enthusiasts.

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Agile Product Backlog Management

Chisel Pros & Key Features

Lets manage work by user stories and epics
Good for agile teams

Chisel Cons & Limitations

Gantt chart is more of a timeline tool than a traditional Gantt chart for project management
There are no project management reports or dashboards
Doesn’t have a mobile app

Chisel Pricing

Starter: $7 per maker per month

Chisel Reviews

G2 review: 4.7/5
Capterra review: Not enough reviews, less than 50

Highlighted User Reviews

“Chisel AI idea summarizations and classification have changed our way of working.” Abdul M – from Capterra
“Chisel has provided us the framework to calculate prioritization score of various features along with giving visibility on team alignment for these scores.” Kapil B – from Capterra

15. Primavera P6

Primavera P6 is a project management tool that is also Gantt chart software. It’s used in large-scale industries like construction, engineering and energy. It has scheduling features, including Gantt charts that can create complex schedules with task dependencies, resource allocation and project timelines. These Gantt charts are highly customizable. Users can adjust its layout, task labels, colors and display options. Gantt charts can also be created for different stakeholders, from a high-level overview to more derailed, task-level views.

On the downside, this Gantt chart software can be difficult to learn, especially for beginners. It will require training and time to fully understand its functionality. The user interface can feel overwhelming and cluttered for users accustomed to simpler project management tools. It’s also costly when compared to other software on this list. This is especially true for small-to-medium sized teams or organizations on tight budgets. The tool requires substantial computer power and storage when handling large-scale projects. This could be an issue for companies without robust IT infrastructure. While it offers some collaboration features, it is not as intuitive in terms of real-time collaboration and team communication compared to newer, cloud-based project management tools.

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Large-Scale Industries

Primavera P6 Key Features & Benefits

Customizable Gantt charts
Multiple Gantt chart views
Allocates resources
Mobile app for Android and iOS
Free trial

Primavera P6 Cons & Limitations

Steep learning curve
Limited collaboration tools
Cluttered user interface
Heavy system requirements
Expensive, especially for small teams
No free plan

Primavera P6 Pricing

You may acquire a desktop license or pay a monthly subscription for the online service for any of these and other versions of Primavera.
Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management: $2,750
Primavera P6 Progress Reporter: $950
Primavera P6 Professional Project Management: $2,500

Primavera Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Oracle Primavera Cloud is very user-friendly, has amazing management and scheduling tools which allows good coordination between the team and also saves money and time.” Bruno L. – from Capterra
“Accurate calculation and output data is perfect” Sameh H. – from Capterra

16. Airtable

Airtable is known for its flexibility and being a user-friendly tool that combines spreadsheets with databases. But is it a Gantt chart software? Yes, it has Gantt charts, which are available to Pro and Enterprise users. Those Gantt charts can visualize dependencies, be customized and filter, group and color coordinate information. This is all on a collaborative platform that allows multiple team members to work on the same project simultaneously. Their changes are synced in real time. Gantt charts also have drag-and-drop functionality to adjust timelines, which makes scheduling and rescheduling quick and easy.

However, as a project management software it has limited advanced features. Its Gantt charts are great for smaller-to-medium sized projects, but it lacks the same level of resource management, cost tracking and reporting capabilities as other tools on this list. While the Gantt chart is customizable, it’s only to a degree. There is no critical path analysis, for example. It’s also not the best fit for large projects with many tasks. As projects grow, the interface can become cluttered and performance degrades. The software doesn’t have native time-tracking features, which means teams will need third-party apps, which add to the cost. There’s also a lack of robust resource management, such as workload management, resource leveling and detailed resource allocation.

Verdict: Best User-Friendly Gantt Chart Software for Sales and CRM Teams

Airtable Pros & Key Features

User-friendly interface
Real-time collaboration
Customizable Gantt charts
Drag-and-drop functionality
Free plan

Airtable Cons & Limitations

Limited advanced project management features
No critical path analysis
Not ideal for large projects
No native time tracking
Lack of resource management features

Airtable Pricing

Free: $0/user/month
Team: $20 per seat/monthly (billed annually)
Business: $45 per seat/monthly (billed annually)
Enterprise: contact sales

Airtable Reviews

G2 review: 4.6/5
Capterra review: 4.7/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“A lot of templates to start with. Highly customizable.” Jean D. – from Capterra
“When you got a table up and running it was super effective” Matt H. – from Capterra

17. Paymo

Paymo is good Gantt chart software because it combines task management, time tracking and visual project planning into a user-friendly interface that’s especially suited for small to mid-sized teams. Its Gantt chart feature allows users to create project timelines, set task dependencies and manage milestones with drag-and-drop functionality. Integration with timesheets and resource scheduling gives teams a clear view of who’s working on what and when, supporting efficient project execution and better workload balance.

However, Paymo falls short for larger or more complex projects due to its limited scalability and less robust reporting and customization options compared to enterprise-level tools. While it offers a clean and functional Gantt chart, it lacks more advanced features like portfolio Gantt views or real-time data syncing across multiple project layers. Users managing multiple projects or requiring in-depth analytics might find Paymo’s capabilities restrictive, making it better suited for freelancers or smaller teams rather than enterprise project environments.

Verdict: Best Gantt Software for Freelancers

Paymo Pros & Key Features

Combines task, time and visual project planning
Drag and drop functionality
Offers a free plan
Free 15-day trial
Mobile project management for Android and iOS

Paymo Cons & Limitations

Poor choice for larger, more complex projects
Limited reporting and customization
No portfolio Gantt view

Paymo Pricing

Free plan: $0 user/month
Starter plan: $5.90/user/month paid annually
Small Office plan: $10.90/user/month paid annually
Business plan: $16.90/user/month paid annually

Paymo Reviews

G2 review: 4.6/5
Capterra review: 4.8/5

Highlighted User Reviews

“Paymo has all the capabilities that allows me to save time by automating project and task management procedures.” Larry R – from G2
“I like the way Paymo has been designed. With its straightforward menu sidebar, it’s easy to access everything your business needs quickly and easily.” Jamie Lee J – from G2

18. GanttProject

GanttProject’s pros lie in its simplicity and cost-effectiveness. As a free, open-source desktop application, it provides essential Gantt chart features for users who need straightforward project scheduling without the complexity of enterprise software. Users can easily create tasks, define dependencies, set baselines and export to PDF or PNG formats. Its offline functionality is ideal for users in secure or disconnected environments, and it’s cross-platform compatible, supporting Windows, macOS, and Linux.

But, GanttProject has significant limitations compared to modern, cloud-based project management tools. It lacks real-time collaboration, integrations with other productivity apps and advanced features like dashboards, resource availability charts or time tracking. Since it’s a standalone program, sharing updates with team members requires manual file distribution, which can hinder team coordination. For larger teams or dynamic project environments, GanttProject’s static, offline model can quickly become a bottleneck.

Verdict: Best Gantt Chart Software for Open Source

GanttProject Pros & Key Features

Free
Straightforward without complex features
Offline functionality

GanttProject Cons & Limitations

Lacks real-time collaboration
No dashboards, resource availability charts or time tracking
Not ideal for larger teams

GanttProject Pricing

Free

GanttProject Reviews

G2 review: 4.3/5
Capterra review: 4.2/5

Highlighted Customer Reviews

“Its simplicity to use, makes it easy for me to create a schedule and track it.” – Chidera E., from G2
“It’s a good software for planning and project management. I always use it. It’s simple and works properly.” – Ezechiel D., from Capterra

You’ve Seen the List of Gantt Chart Software. Which Is the Best of the Best?

It’s important to pick the Gantt chart software that fits your needs. You’ll want one that’s easy to use and doesn’t require a complicated and time-consuming setup. It should easily link all four types of task dependencies, filter for the critical path and set a baseline to help you track project variance.

Then that Gantt chart should seamlessly connect with other project views and tools, such as dashboards and reporting. It should be cloud-based to allow teams to collaborate and give you real-time data to make more informed decisions. Look for that Gantt chart software that does all that and you’ll never look for another Gantt chart software again.

ProjectManager is award-winning Gantt chart software that links all four dependencies, filters for the critical path and sets a baseline to track progress in real time. Our Gantt chart is one of the multiple project views that all update together to keep you on the same page. There are also built-in task management, risk management and resource management features. Join teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver success. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

The post 18 Best Gantt Chart Software of 2025 (Free & Paid) appeared first on ProjectManager.

Microsoft Project Viewer Software – 10 Best MPP Viewers

William Malsam — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 13:20:53 +0000

A Microsoft Project plan file, or an MPP file, is a file format that’s exclusive to Microsoft Project. This means users need to purchase Microsoft Project to open them. Otherwise, using and more importantly, sharing MS Project files, will cause problems. However, you can avoid those hurdles if you have a Microsoft Project viewer to view and edit MPP files.

What Is a Microsoft Project Viewer?

A Microsoft Project viewer, also known as an MS Project viewer or MPP viewer, is software that allows you to open MPP files without having to purchase a Microsoft Project license. MPP viewers were created as a workaround for users who need to open MPP files but don’t have Microsoft Project due to drawbacks such as a high price, steep learning curve or lack of compatibility with Mac.

However, it’s important to note that while Microsoft Project viewers let you open MPP files, they don’t offer the same project planning, scheduling or tracking tools as Microsoft Project. An MPP viewer is not equivalent to project management software, but a much simpler tool that can only be used to visualize data from your MPP files.

If you’re looking for an MPP viewer with similar features to Microsoft Project, you should try ProjectManager. ProjectManager is more than just a Microsoft Project viewer, it’s online project management software that allows you to open, print, share and edit MPP files online. More importantly, ProjectManager allows you to use all the project management features you expect from Microsoft Project such as Gantt charts, kanban boards, project calendars and more. Get started today for free.

ProjectManager has nearly all the powerful features of Microsoft Project, including Gantt charts. Learn more

Why Should You Use a Microsoft Project Viewer?

There are several reasons why Microsoft Project might not be the best project management tool for some organizations, which causes project managers to look for Microsoft Project alternatives, such as MPP viewers. Here are some of them.

Microsoft Project Is Expensive

The price point is one of the difficulties that one encounters immediately with MS Project. Microsoft Project requires a monthly subscription that starts at $10/month/user, but you don’t get a lot of features with it. The more advanced cloud-based subscription will set you back $55 per month/user. The on-premise Microsoft Project solution is even pricier: the price range is $679.99 for Project Standard 2021 to over $1,129.99 for the Project Professional 2021 edition.

Microsoft Project Is Hard to Use

While the new Microsoft Project Online adds more flexibility to the product and is certainly an improvement over the desktop version, the learning curve is still steep. It’s not a user-friendly interface and sharing files is not easy. Microsoft offers its Sharepoint as a means to share files, but even their solution is expensive and not easy to use. Add to that the lack of a real-time dashboard, and you can see why people are motivated to find an alternative.

Microsoft Project Is Not Available for Mac Users

For those projects that are being managed on a Mac OS device, the problems are much worse. Microsoft Project doesn’t support Apple products. That ignores huge industries, such as publishing and design.

You can avoid these drawbacks by using a Microsoft Project viewer. Microsoft Project viewers are a good substitute for all versions of MS Project, including Microsoft Project Online, as most of them let you open MPP files online.

Key Features of a Microsoft Project Viewer

While each Microsoft Project viewer has different features and unique functionality, most Microsoft Project viewers allow you and your team to:

Open MPP files: View Microsoft Project files online.
Share Microsoft Project files: MPP viewers let you export MPP files as Excel or CSV files which lets you share them with non-MS Project license holders.
Print MPP files: Most MPP viewers allow you to print the content of your Microsoft Project files.

However, while they’re helpful, it’s important to understand that Microsoft Project viewers aren’t project management software like Microsoft Project and therefore might lack important project management tools. If you want the closest experience to Microsoft Project, you can try ProjectManager, online project management software that lets you use advanced project management features to:

Manage MPP files online using project management tools such as Gantt charts, kanban boards, project dashboards and timesheets.
Create project schedules and use project tracking tools.
Find the critical path of your projects.
Collaborate with your team online.
View real-time project dashboard data.
Export updated data as XML back into MS Project.

Let’s go over the process of using ProjectManager as an advanced Microsoft Project viewer and editor.

How to Use ProjectManager as a Microsoft Project Viewer

With ProjectManager, you can import and export Microsoft Project files without losing any data thanks to its online storage. Plus, you can view and edit MPP files before exporting your changes and sharing them with your team members. Best of all, our MPP viewer works on both Windows and Mac computers without requiring any downloads.

1. Start a Free 30-Day Trial

To view and edit MS Project files on your computer (Windows or Mac), you must first start your free 30-day trial. Choose any plan you like, as they’re all compatible with Microsoft Project, and each plan lets you seamlessly import, export, view and edit MPP files. Once you’ve selected a plan, ProjectManager is free for 30 days and can be canceled at any time—no strings attached!

Follow the walkthrough below to view and edit your MPP files in ProjectManager.

2. Use the Gantt Chart to Import Your MPP File

Launch the Gantt chart tool and click on the import button. You can find it on the top right of your screen. It’s the one with the symbol that looks like a box with an arrow piercing it on top. Once you import your file, you can use ProjectManager as an online MPP file viewer and editor and use all its project management features to edit your Microsoft Project plan.

3. Get Your MPP File

Find the MPP file you want to work on. A popup window will ask which project file you wish to import. Once you’ve selected it, hit next. Make sure your file has the right MPP file extension.

4. Pick Your Options

Follow the choices listed on the new popup menu. You can now add the imported MS project file to an existing project or open it as a new one, as well as replace the data or keep it.

5. Import the MPP File into Our Microsoft Project Viewer

Choose how you want to import the Microsoft Project file. You can get all the data from it or just the task list. It’s up to you. Choose whichever option gives you more options when it comes to efficiently viewing and editing your MPP file.

6. Get Started Viewing & Editing Your MPP File!

See that window that says success? That means you’ve imported the file and now you can share it, edit it and, if you want, export it back to MS Project, without any hassles. Your project will appear on the Gantt chart at first, but you can manage it in any of the project views available on our online platform. It’s Microsoft Project integration done right.

What MPP File Versions Does ProjectManager Open?

Microsoft Project is a software that has existed for decades, so various types of MPP files have been developed over the years. ProjectManager will allow you to open any 2021, 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010 and 2007 .MPP file formats.

This means you can use ProjectManager as an MS Project Viewer for the following versions of Microsoft Project:

Microsoft Project 2021
Microsoft Project 2019
Microsoft Project 2016 (with Office 365 subscription)
Microsoft Project 2013
Microsoft Project 2010
Microsoft Project 2007

Benefits of Using ProjectManager as a Microsoft Project Viewer

We’ve already learned that ProjectManager has all the Microsoft Project features you’re familiar with, at a much lower cost and a more friendly user interface than Microsoft Project. Here are even more benefits from using ProjectManager as your Microsoft Project viewer.

Open MPP files Online: View Microsoft Project files online, even if you used desktop versions of Microsoft Project to create them.
Edit MPP files Online: Use any of ProjectManager’s project management tools to make changes to your MPP files.
Print MPP files: Print the content of your Microsoft Project files in various formats such as Gantt charts, task lists, or project calendars.
Import and Export Files from Microsoft Project: If you need to export the data back to MS Project, you can simply click “export,” and it will open in MS Project with all the data updates intact. ProjectManager is also compatible with OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, Outlook and more than 1,000 business apps.
Share Microsoft Project files in multiple formats: ProjectManager is an online MPP viewer that lets you export MPP files as Excel or CSV files so you can share them with non-MS Project license holders. Export updated data as XML back into MS Project.
Cut Down Costs: ProjectManager is a cost-effective solution when compared to Microsoft Project and most Microsoft Project viewers. It allows you to use the same features as Microsoft Project at a fraction of the cost.
Manage Your Projects Online: Once your Microsoft Project files are seamlessly imported online, you can manage and share your projects 100% online, safely and securely, so you can collaborate with your team. Everything from MS Project transfers over, including formatting such as color coding.
Supports All Microsoft Project Views: Edit MPP files online using project management tools such as Gantt charts, kanban boards, project dashboards and timesheets, unlike other MPP viewers which don’t only support a few Microsoft Project views.

10 Microsoft Project Viewer Software With Free & Paid Plans (Online & Desktop Solutions)

If you’re just looking for a Microsoft Project viewer and nothing else, some lightweight options might interest you. All work as a free Microsoft Project viewer, even on Mac, and some can be found in the Microsoft Store.

These tools might not have the features that project managers need, such as Gantt charts, cloud storage, etc., but they’ll act as an online MPP viewer and make those stubborn MPP files workable for iOS, Android and Windows users alike.

1. Project Plan 365

Project Plan 365 is a Microsoft Project viewer that can open and save Microsoft Project files. It imports and exports seamlessly to collaborate with MS Project. It works with Mac and has a cloud interface to work online or a downloadable version for your macOS devices. A benefit for Microsoft Project users is that this free MPP viewer has a familiar feel to that tool.

Users have complained that the software crashes, especially if charts are more complicated. Another issue is that customers have complained of bugs, such as the tool doesn’t sync with Dropbox. While it promises a lot, such as Gantt charts, it doesn’t always deliver. When it does, the subscription price for the paid version is high.

Project Plan 365 Pricing

Standard: $9.99 user/month, billed annually
Business: $16.19 user/month, billed annually

Project Plan 365 Reviews

Mac App Store: 3.5 / 5
Google Play Store: 2.3 / 5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“So happy to have found an alternative that won’t hurt the bank. It’s simple to use, and keeps all my projects on track.” – From Mac App Store reviews
“It’s a saver app, I can review all my work with it.” – From Google Play Store reviews
“Very useful. There are no other apps that open MPP files on a smartphone.” – From Google Play Store reviews

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“It takes 30 minutes to import an Excel file because of how unruly the UI is matching field names to your column headers.” – From Mac App Store reviews
“The only way to update the schedule with actual dates is to set each task individually to manual scheduling.” – From Mac App Store reviews
“This App needs a proper Tablet mode, it doesn’t resize well on a bigger screen, wanted to use this with Samsung DEX mode but without proper adjustment to larger screen size (i.e. Not a phone but a tablet) it’s only just usable as a viewer.” – From Google Play Store reviews

2. Project Viewer 365

Project Viewer 365 is another lightweight Microsoft Project viewer. It allows users to view, read, share and print MPP files. It has cloud-based integration with Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox and SharePoint. Pricing starts at $29.99 for one license, though there’s a free MPP viewer, and it works with PCs, Macs, and any web browser.

While this is a decent online MPP viewer, it’s nothing else. If you’re only using Microsoft Project, then this might be a fine workaround to view files with teams and vendors that would otherwise require the purchase of more MS Project licenses. However it’s so barebones and even with a free version, it’s not worth the money to have another app that does only one thing.

Project Viewer 365 Pricing

Perpetual License: $29.99 per user, one-time purchase

Project Viewer 365 Reviews

Mac App Store: 3.3 / 5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“I’ve been using this software for three years and I’ve had one issue that the technical support team fixed upon notification.” – From Mac App Store reviews
“It’s exactly what I need to manage project schedules.” – From Mac App Store reviews
“VThis is a Project file viewing app, not the full blown MS Project so have more realistic expectations. Works perfectly.” – From Mac App Store reviews

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“I’m giving this product 2 stars only because it actually was able to open an MPP file. Otherwise, I’d give it a 1-star rating.” – From Mac App Store reviews
“To echo some reviews, the product works but can be incredibly slow and buggy.” – From Mac App Store reviews
“Just doesn’t seem to work all the time… loses files opened, can’t open a file directly. Seems to need a little more development but is about the only alternative since you cannot get MS Project on a Mac.” – From Mac App Store reviews

3. Seavus Project Viewer

There’s also Seavus Project Viewer, another MS Project viewer that supports all the views available on Microsoft Project and MS Project Professional, including graphical reports. Like the others on this list, the user interface mimics that of MS Project for ease of use. It even has Skype for Business integration and a task update collaboration add-in.

The trouble is, this is another expensive MPP viewer at $39 for a one-time user. There’s a free trial but that’s not going to help customers who need a long-term solution. As an MS Project viewer, you could do worse, but again, there are no other project management features. The idea of spending money on a product that does only one thing means you’ll eventually have a handful of expensive apps that can do but one thing when there are affordable alternatives that can view MPP files and much more.

Seavus Project Viewer Pricing

Single License for Windows: $62.00 per user, one-time purchase
Single License for macOS: $63.00 per user, one-time purchase
Concurrent License for Windows: $187.00 for multiple users, one-time purchase

4. Steelray MPP Viewer

Steelray is an MPP viewer that allows you to read data from MPP files in all of the same views that Microsoft Project has, including Gantt charts, timelines, network diagrams and calendars. Besides opening all Microsoft Project file formats, it can open Primavera P6 .XER files too. Probably the main advantage of Steelray is that it is an inexpensive Microsoft Project viewer for $35 per user per year.

Unfortunately, Steelray is an on-premises solution that needs to be downloaded and installed in your computer, which means you won’t be able to open MPP files online, from any device like you would with an online MPP viewer. Its features are also very limited and are designed for users that just need to have access to MPP files in a read-only view.

Steelray MPP Viewer Pricing

Viewer for Microsoft Project: $19.95 user/year, billed annually
Ultimate Edition: $35.00 user/year, billed annually

5. Project Reader

Project Reader is a lightweight MS Project viewer that focuses on resource management. Its main advantage is that it can open a wide variety of Microsoft Project file formats such as MPP files, MPT files and XML files. It can open Microsoft Project files from 1998 to 2019.

However, it only offers some of the project management views from Microsoft Project such as Gantt charts, resource sheet, resource usage and task usage. Another big disadvantage is that it’s an on-premises solution and its user interface looks and feels very outdated compared to most Microsoft Project viewers. A Project Reader license costs $29 per user per year, the price can go down to $23 per user per year if you purchase more than 20 licenses, which makes it a cost-effective alternative for larger organizations.

Project Reader Pricing

Standard: $29.00 up to 10 installations
Standard: $26.00 11 to 20 installations
Standard: $23.00 21 installations or more
Professional: $40.00 up to 10 installations
Professional: $36.00 11 to 20 installations
Professional: $32.00 21 installations or more
Concurrent Standard License: $92.00 per concurrent user
Concurrent Professional License: $115.00 per concurrent user

Project Reader Reviews

Software Advice: 4.3 / 5
Capterra 4.3 / 5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“Easy to use and compatible with our current software. Did not have exponential learning curves for new employees.” Tim – From Software Advice
“All the essential views are available. The printing resolution and preview are very professional.” Mark R – From Capterra
“I do not need to update the project plan and only need to read it. This is great.” Terry R – From Capterra

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“When the product works, it’s very easy to use but it has been very frustrating to get it to work for me.” Merrill – From Software Advice
“The only problem is that I think it’s not powerful enough.” Nava H – From Capterra

6. MOOS Project Viewer

MOOS Project Viewer is software designed as a way to see Microsoft Project Viewer files. Users don’t need Microsoft Project installed in their computer to do this. That’s because it supports opening and viewing Microsoft Project files, including MPP, XML and MPX formats.

While MOOS Project Viewer can be used as a Microsoft Project Viewer, it has limited editing capabilities, such as read-only access. It also lacks advanced features such as detailed resource leveling or complex scheduling. There are even compatibility issues with newer Microsoft Project features that are not fully supported. It’s designed to be user-friendly, but the reality is the software requires a steep learning curve. Larger files can be slow to open, it has limited integration and no cloud access, which might be a hard no for many potential users.

MOOS Project Viewer Pricing

Regular License: $25.00 user/year, billed annually
Ultimate Edition: $12.50 user/year, billed annually
License Renewal: $7.50 user/year, billed annually

7. Smartsheet

Smartsheet is mostly used as collaborative work management software, but it can be used as a Microsoft Project Viewer. It imports Microsoft Project files and allows them to be viewed and to interact with the project data. Now these files are collaborative and can be viewed in Gantt charts and reports.

That doesn’t mean all Microsoft Project files are supported by the Microsoft Project Viewer. More complex project plans with advanced scheduling features may not import accurately. Some data can be lost or misrepresented. The interface between the two software products differs, which might require users to adjust and could cause confusion. As with most of these Microsoft Project Viewers, users will have to take time to familiarize themselves with the features and functionality of the software.

Smartsheet Pricing

Pro: $9.00 user/month, billed annually
Business: $26.00 user/month, billed annually

Smartsheet Reviews

G2: 4.4 / 5
Capterra 4.5 / 5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“It has enhanced our ability to prepare comprehensive reports and dashboards, and has also improved the management of communication with colleagues and clients effectively.” Mor L – From Capterra
“Smartsheet has given me a solution that allows me to keep track of everything, all in one place. My employees utilize the system to track their calls, productivity, client info, workday tasks, etc.” Danielle B – From G2
“Every time I introduce someone to Smartsheet, they’re impressed that it’s much more than project management software; I’ve created CRMs, training trackers, and more with it.” Pamela S – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“Unfortunately, in Gantt chart view, there are limited possibilities to customize the task dependencies.” Otilde R – From Capterra
“Layout is not always user friendly and takes extra time for some users to acclimate. I wish the system was more robust, especially for the price.” Monique F – From Capterra
“One downside to the tool has been the onboarding process. Our customer service rep who sold us the platform was not very responsive and did not connect us with our support team to help us learn how to use the tool to our best ability.” Erin O – From G2

8. ClickUp

ClickUp is another tool that acts as a Microsoft Project Viewer. It can import Microsoft Project files so users can view the project data within, such as tasks, timelines and dependencies. Those tasks can be managed in ClickUp with its task management features and collaboration tools.

As with many of the Microsoft Project Viewers, there can be file compatibility issues with ClickUp, especially when dealing with complex project structures and dependencies that might not import correctly. Users can experience data loss during import, such as custom fields or specific scheduling features. There have also been reported problems with performance when dealing with large or complex Microsoft Project files. Similar to other Microsoft Project Viewers, users can manage and track tasks in ClickUp, but not directly edit the original Microsoft Project file within the application.

ClickUp Pricing

Free: $0.00 user/month
Unlimited: $7.00 user/month, billed annually
Business: $12.00 user/month, billed annually

ClickUp Reviews

G2: 4.7 / 5
Capterra 4.6 / 5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“If I’m just working on a straightforward to-do list or some intricate multi-team project, ClickUp accommodates flawlessly.” Gerald John A – From G2
“Everything in one workspace. We run agile sprints, publish docs, and manage OKRs without shuffling between apps.” Anders E – From G2
“What I like the most is its level of customization: you can build your own organizational system that fits exactly how you think and work.” JP M – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“It was ok, but generally created more frustration than it was worth.” Bri E – From Capterra
“Unfortunately, I need to upgrade to a paid subscription to continue using the timesheets feature, which is one of my main reasons for using ClickUp.” Tracy M – From Capterra
“Unfortunately, ClickUp’s recent pricing changes have significantly impacted our business. They converted previously free guests into “limited members,” forcing us to pay full membership fees for users who only need minimal access.” Martina R – From Capterra

9. Wrike

Wrike allows users to view and collaborate on project data. However, as a Microsoft Project Viewer, it may have certain limitations. It does allow users to import Microsoft Project files and collaborate with other team members. There is also basic visualization, which helps users understand project timelines and dependencies.

The trouble is that not all features or formatting may be supported, which can lead to potential discrepancies in the imported data. These data integrity issues can create data loss or misrepresentation, especially when importing complex project files, such as those with custom fields or intricate dependencies. This is also true with importing large files. As a Microsoft Project Viewer, another limitation is the fact that there is no editing of original files. As the subscription cost, and this might not be the right solution for a Microsoft Project Viewer.

Wrike Pricing

Free: $0.00 user/month
Team: $10.00 user/month, billed annually
Business: $25.00 user/month, billed annually

Wrike Reviews

G2: 4.2 / 5
Capterra 4.3 / 5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“I like how Wrike helps increase transparency and collaboration within our entire organization.” Kendra C – From Capterra
“It has streamlined our projects and allowed us to get our projects completed within the designated time frame.” Ana R – From Capterra
“Using Wrike has truly transformed our team dynamics. Originally, we sought it out just for our immediate group, but soon recognized its broader potential.” Felipe A – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“Good product solution for project management and would be an amazing bit of software if the support and accounts team were good to work with. Customer service, support, and billing are awful.” Matthew T – From Capterra
“It can be difficult to implement if users have no previous project management experience.” Jamie C – From G2
“Wrike is highly deficient when it comes to project and portfolio management. There is no RAID logging functionally at all, and project status reporting is incredibly weak.” Mat W – From G2

10. GanttPro

Besides being a project management tool with Gantt charts, GanttPro can be used as a Microsoft Project Viewer. It can import Microsoft Project files to view timelines, tasks and dependencies in the Gantt chart view. The Gantt chart is a good tool for visualizing project timelines, critical paths and task relationships. It’s also a collaborative tool, which Microsoft Project is not. Another benefit of this Microsoft Project Viewer is users can track progress, update task statuses and manage resources directly in the platform.

But GanttPro isn’t the ideal Microsoft Project Viewer. No surprise, there are compatibility issues. Not all the features or custom settings from Microsoft Project are fully supported. There can be data loss during import, especially for complex projects or larger files. Limited editing of original files can interfere with usability. Using this Microsoft Project Viewer can be costly, as GanttPro works on a subscription model. Plus, learning how to use the tool can take time, which many teams don’t have.

GanttPro Pricing

Core: $7.00 user/month
Advanced: $10.00 user/month, billed annually
Business: $17.00 user/month, billed annually

GanttPro Reviews

G2: 4.8 / 5
Capterra 4.8 / 5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“Overall, it is easy to use and has been very helpful with keeping our work organized.” Tanique S – From Capterra
“One of the primary things about GanttPro that I appreciate is that it shares similar features from MS Project 2016 without the frustration of the Newest MS Project.” Leif F – From G2
“Keeping schoolwork organized is a huge relief—tracking my deadlines, homework, tasks, and to-dos helps me stay on top of everything.” Van D – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“I’m having a bit of a hard time trying to import a file or task list, the process can be a bit tricky and takes some getting used to. I would love to make this feature more intuitive and easy to use.” Juan Carlos E – From Capterra
“One potential drawback is that it may have a learning curve for users unfamiliar with project management tools. Additionally, the platform’s features and capabilities may be limited for businesses with highly complex or specialized project management needs.” Sarfaraz K – From Capterra
“Even though the interface is easy to use, looking from a designer perspective, it seems a little outdated.” Tomas L – From G2

If you’re looking for a powerful tool that has a free version and different subscription tiers to match your needs and not break your wallet, you’ll want an MS Project viewer such as ProjectManager. It not only views but edits and shares your MMP files. In fact, you might just give up Microsoft Project altogether.

Why ProjectManager Is the Best Online Microsoft Project Viewer

When you’ve imported your MS Project File into an online Microsoft Project viewer with the capacity to edit MPP files, like ProjectManager, you’re given free rein to work, whether you’re using Windows, Mac, iOS or Android devices. The Microsoft Project files are fully imported into your online MS Project viewer.

Now that you’re in the MPP file, there are different project views available to you when you work. Let’s take a look at some innovative ways to use an MS Project viewer with project management features, like ProjectManager, and see how this tool can help you work more efficiently.

1. Online Gantt Charts

When you import an MPP file to ProjectManager, the project plan and Gantt chart immediately populate online, preserving your custom columns and settings like color-coding, WBS and task dependencies, as well as importing resources and assignments. You can then immediately view your project plans online and manage them with your team once invited to the online project.

This includes collaborating with your team on tasks directly on the Gantt chart, which enables you to receive alerts when your team members have updated their tasks with comments or file attachments. You can also manage projects in a portfolio, create project groups and manage task dependencies across projects.

2. Online Timesheets & Resource Management

When you import Microsoft Project plans online to ProjectManager, you get more than an MS Project viewer. You can manage your projects online, including managing resource time, costs and updates.

Since your resource data is imported, you can share the online project plans with your team and invite them to update timesheets. This is perfect for teams in the field; they can update tasks and timesheets anytime, anywhere, and you get email alerts when their timesheets are ready for approval.

3. Populate Real-Time Dashboards

When you import an MPP file into ProjectManager, for example, your real-time dashboard is instantly populated, showing you instant views of your project data. You might wonder, if you’ve never seen a real-time view of your project data, why you would need a project dashboard? The benefits are clear upon import. You can see at-a-glance:

Project health
Task status
Team workload status
Costs
And more

With ProjectManager, your MPP files are super-powered. Now they can reflect real-time changes in your project. You can easily share documents that were too big to email. Import and export are a breeze, the viewer can do all the formatting for you, and best of all, your project data instantly populate your dashboard with colorful charts and graphs. Ready to try it? Sign up for a 30-day free trial now.

ProjectManager Is More Than a Microsoft Project Viewer: It’s an MPP File Editor

ProjectManager isn’t just a free MS project viewer. It’s a Microsoft Project alternative that can be used as an MPP file editor or a fully-featured project management software that gives you complete control over your projects. When you import and export MS Project plans, you want to have the ability to work on them and access project management features.

With data roundtripping, your imported data columns don’t have to be “mapped,” like in other project viewers. The data immediately and seamlessly is imported into the right places, so you can continue your project planning and scheduling right there online!

With an advanced MPP editor, you can:

Open MPP files
Manage MPP files online
View planned, baselines and WBS
See & update task dependencies
Merge resources & their rates
Merge assignments
Collaborate with your team online
View real-time dashboard data
Export updated data as XML into MS Project

Once your Microsoft Project files are seamlessly imported online, you can manage and share your projects 100% online, safely and securely, so you can collaborate with your team. Everything from MS Project transfers over, including formatting such as color coding.

Team members can update tasks on the Gantt and add attachments and comments. So you can continue planning in just a few clicks. Plus, if you need to export the data back to MS Project, you can simply click “export,” and it will open in MS Project with all the data updates intact. ProjectManager is also compatible with OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, Outlook and more than 1,000 business apps.

Microsoft Project Viewers FAQ

Microsoft Project is a very commonly used project management software but is not the best tool. That’s why many Microsoft Project viewer tools have been developed for those who don’t want to use MS Project but still need to open and share MPP files. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions online about Microsoft Project viewers.

What is the best Microsoft Project viewer?

ProjectManager is the best Microsoft Project viewer. It’s an online project management software that lets you flawlessly import and edit MPP files.

Is there any Free Microsoft Project viewer?

Yes, there are several free MPP viewers available online, such as in the Microsoft Store, Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

Can you view MS Project files without MS Project?

Yes, you can use a Microsoft Project viewer, MPP file editor or better yet, project management software.

Can I edit MPP files with a Microsoft Project viewer?

No, Microsoft Project viewers don’t allow you to edit MPP files. With an MPP viewer, you can only read, share and print MPP files.

Microsoft Project for Mac: How to Run MS Project Files on Mac

William Malsam — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 22:00:39 +0000

You’re probably here because you’re looking for Microsoft Project for Mac. Unfortunately, Microsoft Project, also known as MS Project, wasn’t designed for Mac computers, so its desktop-based editions (Microsoft Project Standard and Microsoft Project Professional) won’t work on any Mac operating system (macOS).

Is There a Microsoft Project for Mac?

Microsoft Project for Mac doesn’t exist, but there are alternatives for those who want to work with Microsoft Project Plan (MPP) files on an Apple computer. The two most commonly used workarounds are trying one of the inferior, web-based versions of Microsoft Project or installing a virtual machine, a software that allows users to run a Windows operating system on Mac. The latter doesn’t work for everyone as it requires a complex setup and significant system resources such as CPU, RAM and storage.

However, there’s another way of opening and editing MPP files on Mac without any complicated setup. If you need to run Microsoft Project files on Mac, ProjectManager is the perfect solution. With ProjectManager, you can import MPP files and work on them in a more user-friendly platform: online project management software that has nearly all the same features as Microsoft Project, and it works on Windows, macOS and OS X. Empower your teams by eliminating the barrier between Microsoft Project and Mac.

How to Open & Edit Microsoft Project Files on Mac Using ProjectManager

ProjectManager has a free trial so you can test out its project management features and see if it’s the right software for you and your team. Viewing and editing MS Project files online with your Mac is so simple you won’t even remember Microsoft Project for Mac doesn’t exist. Just follow these steps to get started.

1. Start a Free 30-Day Trial

To use ProjectManager and edit MS Project files on your Mac, you must first sign up for a free 30-day trial. Visit the pricing page and choose your plan. All plans provide compatibility with Microsoft Project. Each plan lets you seamlessly import, export, view and Edit MPP files on a Mac computer. Once you choose a plan, ProjectManager is free for 30 days with no strings attached!

Follow the walkthrough below to open and edit Microsoft Project files on a Mac computer. This way you can manage MPP files on your own machine, or collaborate with someone else who uses a Mac computer.

2. Import MPP Files into ProjectManager on the Gantt Chart View

Once you’ve created your account and started your first project, switch to the Gantt chart view. From here, it’s easy to import your Microsoft Project Plan files so that you can manage them on your Mac computer. Below is a step-by-step walkthrough showing you exactly how to edit your MPP files without the necessity of Microsoft Project for Mac.

Start your MPP file import with one click. Go to the Gantt chart view. Then click the “Import” button in the Gantt ribbon.

3. Select Which MPP File You Want to Import

Follow the prompt on the popup window and select the Microsoft Project file you want to import. After you’ve imported your MPP file, you can view and edit the project on your Mac.

4. Choose Your MPP File Import Options

Pick from the options shown on the new popup menu, such as importing the MPP file to a new or existing project.

5. Import All Data or Just the Task List

Select from the next popup menu whether to import all the data on the MPP file or just the tasks.

6. Close the Success Prompt

If you see a new window that says “Success,” that means you’ve successfully imported the MPP file.

7. Bask in the Final Product: You’re Running Microsoft Project Files on Mac!

See the MPP file as it now appears in our project management tool. You can view it in the Gantt chart, as seen below, where dependencies can be linked, milestones set, etc., or use one of the other multiple views.

Open & Edit MPP Files

After you import the MPP file, it opens in the online Gantt chart feature. All of your columns, tasks, resource data, etc., will remain intact and appear on your project plan as they did in MS Project. Plus, the MPP file in ProjectManager is not view-only. You can update the tasks, deadlines and resources online, and you can invite team members to collaborate on the MPP file as well.

You can update the tasks, deadlines and resources online, and you can invite team members to collaborate on the MPP file as well. With a tool like ProjectManager, you and your team won’t need to wait for a version of Microsoft Project for Mac.

Use the Real-Time Dashboard

The data from your imported Microsoft Project file is instantly populated across the charts and graphs of the ProjectManager real-time dashboard, where you can see the project’s progress, team productivity, task status, budget, etc., in real time.

Create 1-Click Project Reports

Now that your Microsoft Project plan has been imported into ProjectManager, you can take advantage of our easy-to-use yet detailed project reports. We provide different types of project reports including status reports, task management reports, workload reports and more. Use our powerful project management tools to closely examine the progress of your project.

Download & Share

Once you’re done viewing, editing and analyzing your Microsoft Project Plan, seamlessly download your data with one click. All of your updates will be reflected on the MS Project file you download. You can then share this file with your colleagues who are using MS Project, and they’ll be able to see all the changes you made. Now you can work on the same files without having to run Microsoft Project on Mac.

Why There’s No Microsoft Project for Mac

As we’ve explained, there’s no Microsoft Project for Mac. It just doesn’t run on Mac computers or Apple devices by default, only on Windows. But why would Microsoft want to keep over 100 million Apple users from running their project management software?

It boils down to the fact that Microsoft wants more people to use Microsoft computers and Windows operating systems. By not creating a version of MS Project for Mac, Microsoft is betting that Apple users will come to the Windows platform to use MSP. So sadly, the development of a Microsoft Project for Mac is unlikely.

This leaves many Mac users to seek a Microsoft Project alternative for Mac since most “Mac people” would never switch to a Windows PC. Tools like ProjectManager give teams the flexibility to work on project plans, regardless of operating systems preference.

Web-Based Versions of Microsoft Project for Mac

MS Project isn’t traditionally thought of as an online product, but there are web-based, less-robust versions of Microsoft Project for Mac to consider.

Microsoft Project for the Web

Microsoft Project for the Web is accessible through a web browser as it’s an online version of Microsoft Project that lacks the features of its desktop counterpart. Part of the Microsoft 365 suite, Microsoft Project for Web aims to provide users with a more intuitive and accessible Microsoft Project experience. But, despite being more user-friendly, it still has a steep learning curve and has limited advanced features such as resource leveling, advanced reporting and sophisticated scheduling—which is probably why you are using Microsoft Project to begin with. It’s simply not powerful enough to manage complex projects.

Microsoft Planner

Microsoft Planner is another MS Project for Mac alternative. It’s an online tool accessible through a Microsoft 365 account. It’s known for its project management and task-tracking features to help teams organize and manage work.

Users can leverage kanban boards to track tasks through different stages and use charts and reports to view task statuses. But its effectiveness stops at task and team management. It has poor reporting and analytics compared to dedicated project management software and nearly no integrations with non-Microsoft third-party tools. What’s worse, there are regular reports of import and export issues for MPP files.

Microsoft Planner Pricing

Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6.00 user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50 user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $22.00 user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 Apps for business: $8.25 user/month, billed annually

Microsoft Planner Reviews

G2 review: 4.2 / 5
Capterra review: 4.3 / 5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“Overall I really enjoy it. It’s not as robust as MS Project of course, but it’s perfect for day-to-day projects and task assignments.” Karen L – From Capterra
“Overall this is an easy to use project planning tool with good integrations with other Microsoft products including Microsoft To Do and email.” Kate M – From Capterra
“Microsoft Planner makes task organization effortless. The ability to create tasks, assign them to members, set deadlines and prioritize them in one platform is a boon.” Naif H – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“Microsoft Planner serves as a rudimentary tool for project management, best suited for simple tasks. It falls short in providing the necessary tools for managing larger or more complex projects.” Michael D – From Capterra
“Really more of a planning or task management tool than a full project management tool, as it does not include time or risk management features or a dashboard to view multiple projects at the same time.” Samuel S – From Capterra
“It doesn’t allow you to tag people in a comment, so multiple coworkers have missed the updates on different tasks.” Deisy S – from G2

Why You Need an MS Project Alternative for Mac

On top of not offering a version of Microsoft Project for Mac, the expense of the software and its steep learning curve make it an unrealistic solution for many industry professionals. And, unfortunately, the list of reasons to look for a Microsoft Project alternative for Mac goes on.

Microsoft Project Features Can Be Found in Other Software

Microsoft Project offers useful project management features that can help you manage projects, but those can also be found in other software such as ProjectManager. Here are some of them.

Gantt charts: Gantt charts are an essential component of project management software. Microsoft Project is no exception to this rule, and it offers a Gantt chart view where users can manage tasks and create project timelines.
Project calendars: Project calendars allow project managers to plan and schedule projects while helping team members manage their personal tasks.
Project reports: Microsoft Project offers a variety of project reports that let you quickly check the status of your projects and share it with stakeholders.

Too Many Versions of Microsoft Project

Another problem you might encounter as an Apple user is finding compatibility for the numerous different versions of Microsoft Project. Fortunately, ProjectManager is compatible with every version of Microsoft Project, including:

Microsoft Project 2021
Microsoft Project 2019
Microsoft Project 2016 (with Office 365 subscription)
Microsoft Project 2013
Microsoft Project 2010
Microsoft Project 2007

And, since ProjectManager is an online software, it’s always up to date. You never have to worry about buying the latest version because our software team regularly releases updates and improvements that work on Mac and Windows. ProjectManager is also compatible with over 1,000 apps and platforms such as Microsoft Office 365, Onedrive, Google Drive, Slack and Outlook.

Microsoft Project Pricing: It’s Expensive Software

To get the on-premises version of Microsoft Project, you’ll need to pay $679.99 for Project Standard 2021 and $1,129.99 for Project Professional 2021. If you’re interested in other Microsoft Project products, such as Project Online, you can choose between three subscription plans, Planner Plan 1 (formerly Project Plan 1), Project Plan 3 and Project Plan 5.

To use all the features that Microsoft Project Online offers you’ll need other Windows apps such as Sharepoint, Microsoft Teams and Power BI, among others. Of course, all this is moot when you’re working on a Mac, simply because there’s no such thing as Microsoft Project for Mac.

Why ProjectManager Is the Best Microsoft Project Alternative for Mac

If you’re not wedded to antiquated software like Microsoft Project, there are many reasons to stop worrying about running Microsoft Project on Mac and change to ProjectManager. First and foremost, at least to your chief financial officer, is the price tag. Because ProjectManager is online and subscription-based, it’s a much less expensive solution to project management. Let’s look at the main features that make ProjectManager a great MS project alternative and one of the best project management software for Mac.

Real-Time Data

ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software that provides real-time data. You’re not looking at project progress from yesterday or even an hour ago, but as it happens. You can monitor and track any metric through the real-time dashboard and easy-to-read charts and graphs. Real-time data is critical for effective time tracking, task management and resource management.

Timesheets

Timesheets are also online, which means that team members can update their timesheets anywhere and at any time. Managers receive alerts when the timesheets are ready for approval so that the process is swift and efficient. Given the range of ProjectManager’s features, you’ll be able to ditch other resource management tools and keep all your project management under one roof.

Collaborative Environment

As noted, one of the biggest benefits of using ProjectManager as an alternative to running MS Project on Mac is that it fosters collaboration among team members. They can add files and comments at the task level on the online Gantt chart. Discussions are facilitated either one-on-one or at the group level. Project managers can easily assign tasks and track progress with time tracking and task management features.

Again, whether they’re using a Windows or a Mac OS device, ProjectManager allows your team to seamlessly import and export both MS Project and Excel files without losing any data. With robust project management software like ProjectManager, you won’t have to look for complicated workarounds to run Microsoft Project on Mac.

Using Virtual Machines to Run Microsoft Project on Mac

Speaking of workarounds, a virtual machine (VM) allows you to run Microsoft Project on Mac by emulating a Windows operating system. The most commonly used VM solutions for Mac are Parallels Desktop and VirtualBox. They’ll allow you to run MS Project on Mac computers, but there are several drawbacks. A large volume of system resources such as CPU, RAM and storage are needed for these virtual machines to be effective. If you have a Mac computer that already has limited resources, adding this can significantly slow down how fast your computer operates.

The initial setup for VMs is also important to factor in too. Those who aren’t tech-savvy may spend hours researching and understanding the process behind installing and setting up the VM software properly. Perhaps most crucially, there can be compatibility issues when file sharing, which is a huge detriment if you are trying to collaborate using Microsoft Project on Mac. All that being said, here are some virtual machines to consider.

Parallels Desktop

If you choose Parallels Desktop, you’ll need to install the VM on your Mac and pay for several software licenses and subscriptions. You’ll have to pay for Parallels Desktop, the Windows operating system, Microsoft Project and all the Windows apps that you might need.

Parallels Desktop Pricing

Standard Edition: $74.99 user/year, billed annually
Pro Edition: $89.99 user/year, billed annually
Business Edition: $112.49 user/year, billed annually

Parallels Desktop Reviews

G2 review: 4.4 / 5
Capterra review: 4.5 / 5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“For the short time that I used it, Parallels was definitely a smooth experience because they do a great job planning for what the users might want to accomplish in their VM deployment.” Ben L – From Capterra
“Being able to run Windows in the background and work with a windows app in my Mac environment has been awesome.” Will G – From Capterra
“It supports Windows, Linux and other operating systems. You can run them if you have a Mac and you can also share files between the two operating systems.” Ali J – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“It’s not completely intuitive, so if you aren’t computer savvy or have little patience, you’ll probably be a little frustrated in the beginning.” Jennifer B – From Capterra
“If you want the Parallels Desktop for Mac to run smoothly and stably, your computer needs to have a lot of RAM, otherwise it will cause crashes or lag.” Francis M – From G2
“I’m not an everyday user of the software so the price is a bit high for someone like me.” Takasur A – from G2

VirtualBox

On the other hand, you can download VirtualBox on your Mac for free, but you still have to pay for the Windows operating system, Microsoft Project and other Windows apps. Its user interface is also more difficult to use than the Parallels Desktop, which requires users to be more tech-savvy.

VirtualBox Pricing

VirtualBox Base Package: $0.00 free to use for personal and educational use
VirtualBox Enterprise User One-Time License Price: $50.00 one-time license purchase, 100 users minimum
VirtualBox Enterprise User Annual Support Price: $11.00 user/year, billed annually
VirtualBox Enterprise Socket One-Time License Price: $1000.00 one-time license purchase, 1 socket minimum
VirtualBox Enterprise Socket Annual Support Price: $220.00 per socket, billed annually

VirtualBox Reviews

G2 review: 4.5 / 5
Capterra review: 4.6 / 5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“I’ve installed Ubuntu and it’s running great. The data gets saved and it feels like I’ve got another computer right inside my main one.” Daniel C – From Capterra
“VirtualBox is very efficient when it comes to providing an environment that allows running more than one operating system.” Pascual G – From G2
“I love how seamlessly VirtualBox integrates the host and guest operating systems. I can share folders and files, copy and paste stuff, and even drag and drop files between them.” Stephen S – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“The USB support is not enabled and requires a lot of configuration to make it work.” Maha S – From Capterra
“The user interface could benefit from some improvements to enhance usability and make certain features more intuitive.” Regan T – From Capterra
“VirtualBox can be laggy even when you allocate tons of storage, RAM, and cores. The mouse controls are always delayed a little bit, same with the keyboard controls.” Alex A – from G2

VMware Fusion

Similar to Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion requires installing VM on your Mac. The basic edition of VMware is typically around $149.99 for a new license. Once VM is installed and set up, users can launch Microsoft Project within the Windows virtual machine and interact with MS Project alongside other macOS applications.

VMware Fusion Pricing

VMware Fusion is free for all users

VMware Fusion Reviews

G2 review: 4.4 / 5
Capterra review: 4.9 / 5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“VMWare Fusion helped my productivity with its ability to let you run dual operating systems side by side.” Wale A – From Capterra
“Overall, if you are looking for a simple solution to boot into different operating systems, VMWare Fusion is a great solution.” Clay K – From Capterra
“VMware Fusion allows me to run almost any software on my Mac and also access my VMWare ESXi Servers from the same program.” Jeff D – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“To get the most out of VMware Fusion, you’ll need a fairly powerful computer, which might not be ideal for everyone.” Sugam P – From Capterra
“It’s not easy to install when compared to other virtualization software.” Christian I – From G2
“The only thing I found to be a bit trickier to set up in VMware Fusion is the CPU/RAM/SSD settings.” Adam M – from G2

More Ways to Run Microsoft Project on Mac

Beyond virtual machines, there are other workarounds on how to use Microsoft Project on Mac devices.

Boot Camp

Apple provides Boot Camp, a utility that enables users to install and run Windows using a different area of their hard drive. As a result, they can use a native execution of various Windows applications, including Microsoft Project. To install Boot Camp, you’ll need to make sure your Mac meets the system requirements for Windows and Microsoft Project, meaning you’ll need Windows 10 or later in addition to an MS Project license. This is a clumsy and expensive option: a reboot is required when switching between Windows and macOS, and a separate Windows license is required, increasing costs.

Microsoft Remote Desktop

Similarly, Microsoft Remote Desktop is another way for Mac users to use Microsoft Project. Users will set up a Windows machine using the Microsoft Remote Desktop app. This connection can be established using the internet or a local network. From there, users will be able to control the Windows desktop and navigate Microsoft Project. However, due to its dependence on internet speeds, slower connections and lag time are apparent and can hinder the management of moderate to complex projects.

Microsoft Project for Mac FAQs

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to Microsoft Project and Mac.

Does Microsoft Project work on Mac?

No, there’s no Microsoft Project for Mac. However, you can use ProjectManager to get all the project management tools from Microsoft Project without its drawbacks. Get started for free.

Does Project Professional Work on Mac?

No, Project Professional was designed for the Windows operating system, so unfortunately Microsoft Project Professional doesn’t work on Mac.

Can I Use Project Online on Mac?

Yes, Project Online can be used on Mac. However, if you’re looking for Microsoft Project or Project Professional, you won’t get the same features.

Does Apple Offer Project Management Software?

No, Apple doesn’t offer any project management software like Microsoft Project. However, there are software alternatives such as ProjectManager that let you open and edit Microsoft Project files on Mac.

How Can I Open MPP Files on Mac?

There are several apps and software that allow you to open files in a read-only view, known as Microsoft Project viewers. If you want to edit your MPP files but can’t run Microsoft Project on Mac, you can try ProjectManager for a full project management experience.

Microsoft Lists vs. Planner: In-Depth Software Comparison

Peter Landau — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 16:00:51 +0000

When managing projects, users have many options. Microsoft Lists and Microsoft Planner are two of the most popular project management apps. But are they the one-stop solution project managers and their teams need to plan, manage and track work? There’s only one way to find out. We compared Microsoft Lists vs. Planner. Let’s see how they stack up.

We’ll put Microsoft Lists vs. Planner through a series of tests. First, let’s define each to understand what they are and how they’re used, including key features. Then we’ll explore Microsoft vs. Planner in terms of the pros and cons of each and where one excels over the other.

When comparing Microsoft project planning tools, such as Microsoft Project, Microsoft Lists and Planner, they all have the advantage of integrating with the large suite of MS products. For example, both are bundled with the business edition of Microsoft 365, which gives users access to staples, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more. But are these the tools project managers and their teams need to deliver successful projects?

The truth is when looking at Microsoft Lists vs. Planner, the best alternative is ProjectManager, award-winning project and portfolio management software that has features and multiple project management tools to plan, schedule and track projects. Managers can plan on Gantt charts (or the sheet view, a Gantt chart without the timeline) that link dependencies, filter for the critical path and set a baseline to track project variance in real time. Teams can use kanban boards or task lists to manage their work and stakeholders can monitor progress on the calendar view. Microsoft Lists vs. Planner pale in comparison. Get started with ProjectManager for free.

ProjectManager’s Gantt charts do more than Microsoft Lists and Planner combined. Learn more

Microsoft Lists vs. Planner: Why Should You Choose MS Lists?

Let’s prove that ProjectManager is the outside winner in a contest between Microsoft Lists and Planner by going through the due diligence on both tools. Let’s start with Microsoft List and go through an extensive tour of what it is, what it’s used for, its key features and much more.

What Is Microsoft Lists?

Microsoft Lists is like SharePoint Lists but delivered in a standalone app. It’s an information management tool that tracks and organizes tasks for personal use and professional teams. It creates lists, grids and calendars to show complicated data in a clear and easily digestible format. It bills itself as simple to use, flexible and able to integrate with other MS tools, such as Teams.

Microsoft Lists Pricing

Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6.00/user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50/user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $22.00/user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 Apps for business: $8.25/user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 E3: $33.75/user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 E5: $54.75/user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 F3: $8.00/user/month, billed annually

Microsoft Lists Reviews

Capterra review: 4/5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“If you are tracking data or managing processes with Excel, Lists is a great solution to make your data more stable and functional.” Aaron B – From Capterra
“The integration in Teams made it possible to have a unified solution ready in seconds.” Enrico G – From Capterra
“Microsoft Lists is a straightforward, clever, and adaptable method to organise your job and manage all the data that is particularly important to your company.” Lakshman R – From Capterra

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“It gets stuck often, it slows the system down.” Andres S – From Capterra
“It’s pretty easy to do basic things, but to do advanced features some level of coding is necessary. And the online resources aren’t very helpful for learning those things.” Shane J – From Capterra
“Small number of templates to start with, especially with strategic planning.” Filip S – from Capterra

What Is Microsoft Lists Used For?

Microsoft Lists is used to organize work and track information. It can track issues, assets, contracts, inventory, routines and more. Users can create issue trackers, new hire checklists, event itineraries and recruiting lists. Tasks can be shared to collaborate with others. Microsoft Lists can be customized by view, smart rules and alerts. There are project management templates to help users get started and other features that can be added on for a cost, such as automation.

Who Uses Microsoft Lists?

Both individual users and teams use Microsoft Lists. Project management teams use the app to create lists they can share and to track project information when managing projects. Event organizers use Microsoft Lists to prepare and execute their events as well as deal with issues that come up and manage assets needed for those events. Others use Microsoft Lists for workflow management, as lists can help teams manage their workflow.

Microsoft Lists Key Features

Microsoft Lists is similar to a spreadsheet or database, which can include people, pictures, links and file attachments. As noted, some templates and lists can be color-coded to highlight important details and users can track changes with its version history. Here are some of the features of Microsoft Lists.

Create custom views to focus on specific information
Integrate with other Microsoft 365 apps
Share task lists with team members
Track rules, reminders and comments
Templates to get started quicker
Version history to track changes
Color-code rows and columns for clarity

Microsoft Lists vs. Planner: How Is Microsoft Lists Better Than Planner?

While we’ve not highlighted Microsoft Planner yet, let’s still look at some of the advantages of using Microsoft Lists over Planner. For one, Microsoft Lists is a better option when looking for an app with greater flexibility and customization. It can create custom columns and tables, which makes it better for tracking inventory, managing assets, making travel plans and managing event inventories.

Microsoft Lists is great as a repository for team tasks. Users can assign tasks, update their status and have conversations. It also works well with Microsoft Teams, which fosters better collaboration. Users can make as many lists as they want and see the tasks that are assigned to others on the team. There is automation, as noted above, but it comes at a higher price. The templates are a selling point, though.

Microsoft Lists vs. Planner: How Is Microsoft Lists Worse Than Planner?

Microsoft Planner is more of a project management tool. It has kanban boards, which are not available in MS Lists. Kanban boards are visual workflow tools used to manage tasks, help avoid bottlenecks and are ideal for agile teams who want to manage their backlog and plan sprints—all of which won’t work on Microsoft Lists.

Those who are interested in a simple project management tool, they’re going to gravitate towards Planner. It integrates with To Do and Tasks in Teams and as stated earlier works well in an agile environment. However, it can also serve those who manage in a waterfall methodology. It’s ideal for smaller teams as opposed to enterprise or portfolio projects. There’s also a dashboard, which one won’t find in Microsoft Lists.

Microsoft Lists vs. Planner: Why Should You Choose MS Planner?

In our comparison between Microsoft Lists vs. Planner, we’ve given the former a good look over. Now it’s time to review the latter. Microsoft Lists has shown itself to be a simple and flexible tool for organizing work. But don’t dismiss Microsoft Planner. It’s time to take a close look at the tool, its features and what it’s used for.

What Is Microsoft Planner?

Microsoft Planner is a web-based application that comes with most Office 365 for business subscriptions. The software can be used for personal planners, but it’s designed for enterprise teams to create, assign and organize their project work. The focus is on task management, which is part of the larger project management, especially helpful when smaller are managing simple projects. Therefore, it depends on collaboration to connect teams when planning and assigning tasks.

Microsoft Planner Pricing

Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6.00/user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50/user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $22.00/user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 Apps for Business: $8.25/user/month, billed annually

Microsoft Planner Reviews

G2 review: 4.2/5
Capterra review: 4.3/5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“Overall I really enjoy it. It’s not as robust as MS Project of course, but it’s perfect for day-to-day projects and task assignments.” Karen L – From Capterra
“Overall this is an easy to use project planning tool with good integrations with other Microsoft products including Microsoft To Do and email.” Kate M – From Capterra
“Microsoft Planner makes task organization effortless. The ability to create tasks, assign them to members, set deadlines and prioritize them in one platform is a boon.” Naif H – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“Microsoft Planner serves as a rudimentary tool for project management, best suited for simple tasks. It falls short in providing the necessary tools for managing larger or more complex projects.” Michael D – From Capterra
“Really more of a planning or task management tool than a full project management tool, as it does not include time or risk management features or a dashboard to view multiple projects at the same time.” Samuel S – From Capterra
“It doesn’t allow you to tag people in a comment, so multiple coworkers have missed the updates on different tasks.” Deisy S – from G2

What Is Microsoft Planner Used For?

The main use of Microsoft Planner is to create project plans, assign tasks to teams and collaborate on the execution of those tasks among team members. Managers can then track the team’s work to ensure the project is progressing as scheduled. Its visual interface facilitates the organization of the team’s work and their collaboration with other team members. This makes it ideal for lightweight projects. That’s because it’s not a full-service project management software as much as a task management tool.

Who Uses Microsoft Planner?

Managers and teams that want to manage their tasks will naturally use this tool. That will include some project management professionals who work on projects that aren’t overly complex and seek a collaborative tool, especially if working with distributed or cross-functional teams. It can also be used by individuals who want to manage their work or even families trying to organize their household tasks.

Microsoft Planner Key Features

Microsoft Lists vs. Planner now moves on to list the features that make this task management software a strong contender for the title of best software. Here are some of the more essential project planning features of Planner.

Task cards for making assignments, with checklists, due dates, labels, file attachments and status
Multiple views, including kanban boards, charts and calendars
Integrates with MS Teams, Outlook and more
Customization with reporting, automation and workflows
Resource, program and portfolio management
Notifications to alert assignments, due dates and comments
Real-time collaboration

Microsoft Lists vs. Planner: How Is Microsoft Planner Better Than Lists?

In the battle of Microsoft Lists vs. Planner, let’s look at how Planner beats Lists. One advantage is that Planner is an out-of-the-box solution that’s ready to use without much of a learning curve. It’s easy to use and has a drag-and-drop interface that users like. The task cards capture a rich variety of information that is helpful for both managing and executing the work.

Unlike Lists, Planner has a dashboard that includes bar charts and other tools to gain valuable project insights. This provides managers with an overview of the project, which helps them keep it on schedule and budget. More than MS Lists, Planner is a simple tool that helps teams keep track of their tasks and execute them collaboratively with other team members.

Microsoft Lists vs. Planner: How Is Microsoft Planner Worse Than Lists?

While both are task management tools, Planner focuses more on using kanban boards. Microsoft Lists is the more flexible and customizable software. That makes Microsoft Lists a good fit for when users want more options, such as controlling the fields, layout, views and more.

Microsoft Planner has limitations, such as a task minimum in a plan (2,400), 9,000 tasks assigned to each user, 3,000 maximum tasks created by a user and others. While this sounds like a lot, it’s restrictive for larger, more complicated projects. Microsoft Lists, on the other hand, is the better choice for big projects with many moving parts and people. It can track those details better than Planner.

How to Make a Microsoft Planner Gantt Chart With ProjectManager

Microsoft Planner users can make a Gantt chart in ProjectManager. First, sign up for a free trial of ProjectManager, no credit card is required! Use the 30-day free trial to explore everything our software has to offer.

1. Export Your Microsoft Planner Project as an Excel, MPP or CSV File

In the board view of Microsoft Planner, export your plan as an Excel spreadsheet, CSV or MPP file. It has all your data and will be ready to import into ProjectManager’s Gantt chart.

ProjectManager has robust project management features in an easy-to-use software. Learn more

2. Choose the Excel, CSV or MPP File You Want to Import

ProjectManager’s Gantt chart view has an import icon. Click on it and a popup window will appear and ask which file you want to import. Now, choose the Microsoft Planner file that you exported.

3. Select Options

Next, choose if you want to add the data to an existing ProjectManager project or as a new project. If you’re adding the data to a project, choose which one and determine if you want to keep or delete existing data.

4. Import Into ProjectManager

The next step is choosing the data to import. There will be a popup window that asks if you want to import all the data or only the task list. Choose which suits your project and click next.

5. Customize Your Microsoft Planner Gantt Chart With ProjectManager

As soon as the success window appears, you can start managing your Gantt chart. Now, add tasks, link dependencies, indent and outdent, identify milestones, track resources and so much more.

Microsoft Lists vs. Planner: Pricing Comparison

For some, the bottom line is price. Therefore, let’s complete our Microsoft Lists vs. Planner comparison with a look at how much it’ll cost to use. Since both are part of Office 365, the pricing for each is the same, but they can be purchased on a business or enterprise level.

Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6 user/month with an annual commitment
Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50 user/month with an annual commitment
Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $22 user/month with an annual commitment
Microsoft 365 Apps for Business: $8.25 user/month with an annual commitment
Microsoft 365 E3 (no Teams): $33.75 user/month with an annual commitment
Microsoft 365 E5 (no Teams): $54.75 user/month with an annual commitment
Microsoft 365 F3: $8 user/month with an annual commitment

ProjectManager Is Better Than Microsoft Lists and Planner

When comparing Microsoft Lists vs. Planner, the battle is between two task management tools that masquerade as project management apps. The trouble is they lack real project management features. Users who try either will be disappointed if they’re managing projects big or small. Microsoft Lists vs. Planner simply falls short of real project management software.

ProjectManager is an award-winning project and portfolio management software that does everything Microsoft’s apps can do and much more. Our software has task management features, multiple project views and can collaborate as well as either Microsoft product, but has real-time project and portfolio management dashboards, reports and resource management tools to keep projects on track.

Monitor Project Progress, Timelines and Costs in Real Time

Managing tasks alone is not going to deliver a successful project. Managers need visibility into the progress and costs of the project as it’s being executed. Gantt charts can show progress on the taskbars of the timeline, but there are more tools to track progress. Real-time project and portfolio dashboards provide a high-level overview of the project with easy-to-read graphs and charts that show time, cost, workload and more. Timesheets help managers track labor costs, while the color-coded workload chart allows them to balance workload to keep teams working at capacity, which makes them more productive and cost-efficient.

Make Project Management Reports in Minutes

For a closer look at project key performance indicators (KPIs), toggle over to the reports section of the app. Reports can be generated with a keystroke and filtered to show only the data managers or stakeholders are interested in. There are status and portfolio reports, whether you’re managing one or many projects, plus reports on everything from variance to workload and timesheets to understand the project’s execution better. All reports are customizable and can be shared across various formats with stakeholders and keep them updated to manage their expectations and keep them informed.

In addition to these robust project management features, ProjecManager allows users to easily import Microsoft Project Plan files (MPP files), Excel files and CSV files so they can seamlessly switch from Microsoft Lists and Microsoft Planner.

Microsoft Planner vs. Project: In-Depth Software Comparison

William Malsam — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 14:45:43 +0000

If you’re looking to manage a project and facilitate better collaboration with your teams, chances are you’ve heard of and are thinking of trying Microsoft Project and Microsoft Planner. To help with that decision, we’ve set up a comparison with Microsoft Project vs. Microsoft Planner. May the best app win.

The stats when comparing Microsoft Project vs. Microsoft Planner tell us that the former is a robust project management tool and the latter is more of a stripped-down version. MS Project integrates with MS products such as Office and has financial management tools and Gantt charts. However, it doesn’t have a mobile app and is expensive and complicated to use.

Microsoft Planner also integrates with MS products and has kanban boards and other project views. It’s bundled in the business edition of Microsoft 365 and is good for single projects. However, it’s weak on integrations with competitor apps and is feature-light compared to Microsoft Projects.

In the battle of Microsoft Project vs. Microsoft Planner, the winner is an outsider: ProjectManager. This cloud-based tool can deliver the pros of both apps without the cons. It’s a great collaborative platform, with multiple project views, resource management and more, all delivered with real-time data. ProjectManager’s Gantt chart does more than either, linking all four task dependencies, filtering for the critical path and setting baselines to track project variance. They also have a mobile app, which Microsoft Project doesn’t, and you can seamlessly import and export Microsoft Project files. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

ProjectManager is the winner in the Microsoft Project vs. Microsoft Planner contest. Learn more

Microsoft Planner vs. Project: Why Should You Choose MS Project?

We’re getting ahead of ourselves. There are reasons to prefer ProjectManager in a Microsoft Project vs. Microsoft Planner battle, but let’s provide some context first. To start, we’ll take a closer look at Microsoft Project, which is the big project management software in the room and deserves a fair shake.

What Is Microsoft Project?

Microsoft Project is a project management software that has a suite of tools that are used by project managers to work more efficiently when managing projects and portfolios. It’s used in industries such as construction, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, government, retail, financial services and health care.

Microsoft Project Pricing

Planner Plan 1: $10.00/user/month, billed annually
Planner and Project Plan 3: $30.00/user/month, billed annually
Planner and Project Plan 5: $55.00/user/month, billed annually
Project Standard 2024: $679.99, one-time license purchase
Project Professional 2024: $1129.99, one-time license purchase

Microsoft Project Reviews

G2 review: 4/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“The most helpful aspect of Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management (PPM) is its comprehensive project management capabilities, enabling organizations to efficiently plan, track, and manage projects from start to finish.” Tushar K – From Capterra
“I really like the tie-in with every other Microsoft product we use in the office. It’s been very easy to collaborate with the other people on my team and keep everyone on track.” Jeb B – From Capterra
“Most project managers across industries understand reports/project plans generated from MS Project, whether or not they have used the software before.” Alex N – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“The UI may look a bit complex to new users and the learning curve is steep as well. Also it is pricey if you are a small business.” Aviral G – from Capterra
“There is a learning curve—especially for new users. It’s not as intuitive as some newer project management tools, and setting up complex projects can take some time.” Alicia B – From Capterra
“The software is sophisticated and tough to master, with a steep learning curve, in my opinion. Others have pointed out restrictions in customizing possibilities and integration with other products.” Aamir A – from G2

What Is Microsoft Project Used For?

Microsoft Project is used to help set realistic goals for project teams. It does this by creating project schedules, distributing resources and managing budgets. Microsoft Project users can create projects, track tasks, generate reports to monitor progress and manage resources and costs.

Who Uses MS Project?

As we’ve noted above, Microsoft Project is used across several industries. Anyone who’s tasked with delivering a project will find this software useful. Some companies that have used or are using Microsoft Project include Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin and Harris Corporation, all in the aerospace and defense sector. Deutsche Bahn, which is in the rail, bus, commuter and taxi sectors and many others. Notably, MS Project isn’t the choice of Mac users as it doesn’t work on Apple computers.

Microsoft Project Key Features

Microsoft Project has many use cases and it tends to be used by businesses that are managing one or many larger, more complex projects. Here are some key features that help with enterprise project management:

Project and portfolio management tools such as Gantt charts
Task and resource management tools such as roadmaps and resource allocation
Collaboration and reporting tools that integrate with other MS products

Microsoft Planner vs. Project: How Is Microsoft Project Better Than Planner?

Now that we have the stats down, it’s time for Microsoft Project vs. Microsoft Planner to get in the ring and see who comes out on top. When the bell rings, it looks as if Microsoft Project has a big advantage over Microsoft Planner.

It’s more comprehensive and built to manage more complex projects with more complex tools that use time-phased scheduling for medium to large-sized teams. Microsoft Project creates more detailed project outlines and comprehensive project planning, with task structuring and timeline. It also consolidates project scheduling, resource allocation and budget management.

Microsoft Planner vs. Project: How Is Microsoft Project Worse Than Planner?

Microsoft Project is on the ropes when it comes to ease of use. Planner is far easier to use and is a superior tool for team planning when working with less complicated projects. It has fewer features, but that makes it more user-friendly, especially if you’re working on a project that doesn’t need those advanced features.

Therefore, Microsoft Planner is going to be the choice for small teams and agile projects that prefer a lightweight and user-friendly tool that’s more focused on task management exclusively.

Microsoft Planner vs. Project: Why Should You Choose MS Planner?

In the bout of Microsoft Project vs. Microsoft Planner, Microsoft Project has come out strong and looks dominant. It’s more powerful, has more features and is the preferred project management software for very established companies that run big projects. But Microsoft Planner isn’t down for the count. There are many reasons why Microsoft Planner is the champion in this bout. But don’t take our word for it. Let’s look at what makes Microsoft Planner so good.

What Is Microsoft Planner?

Microsoft Planner is a lightweight, mobile and cloud-based tool that’s included with some subscriptions to Office 365. Unlike Microsoft Project, Microsoft Planner can be used as a personal task management app. In fact, its main focus is task management, which is an integral part of project management and is an ideal tool for simple projects being managed by smaller teams. It’s a collaboration tool that can create plans and assign tasks.

Microsoft Planner Pricing

Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6.00/user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50/user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $22.00/user/month, billed annually
Microsoft 365 Apps for business: $8.25/user/month, billed annually

Microsoft Planner Reviews

G2 review: 4.2/5
Capterra review: 4.3/5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“Overall I really enjoy it. It’s not as robust as MS Project of course, but it’s perfect for day-to-day projects and task assignments.” Karen L – From Capterra
“Overall this is an easy to use project planning tool with good integrations with other Microsoft products including Microsoft To Do and email.” Kate M – From Capterra
“Microsoft Planner makes task organization effortless. The ability to create tasks, assign them to members, set deadlines and prioritize them in one platform is a boon.” Naif H – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“Microsoft Planner serves as a rudimentary tool for project management, best suited for simple tasks. It falls short in providing the necessary tools for managing larger or more complex projects.” Michael D – From Capterra
“Really more of a planning or task management tool than a full project management tool, as it does not include time or risk management features or a dashboard to view multiple projects at the same time.” Samuel S – From Capterra
“It doesn’t allow you to tag people in a comment, so multiple coworkers have missed the updates on different tasks.” Deisy S – from G2

What Is Microsoft Planner Used For?

Microsoft Planner is an app that helps teams create plans, assign tasks, chat about those tasks and track progress on their work. It’s used to give project team members better tools to manage their tasks, facilitate teamwork and give managers visibility into that work. It’s used by teams to collaborate on a visual interface that helps them organize their work and enables each team member to manage their tasks while fostering collaboration with the whole team. It’s used for lightweight projects.

While it sounds like a project management tool, it’s more of a task management app that helps with projects through work management and team collaboration. Along these lines, it shows the tasks that are behind schedule, prioritizes tasks and shows how many tasks each team member has to complete and if they’re over-allocated. Therefore, it’s used for simple task management and can help with project management through time management.

Who Uses Microsoft Planner?

Microsoft Planner is part of the suite of Microsoft tools for project managers and their teams. Therefore, one group of users are certainly project management professionals who want to add to their project management software by incorporating an app that helps them with task management and collaboration.

It’s meant to be used by a group, however, because of the lightweight quality of the app, it’s also popular with the general public who wants help with managing their personal work. For example, it could be used by a family that wants to coordinate tasks among its members or if someone is planning a small event.

Microsoft Planner Key Features

There are many features that Microsoft Planner has to help project managers and their teams with task management and collaboration. Here are the main features:

Visual status chart
Kanban-style boards
To-do lists
Preview pictures to quickly identify tasks
Calendar that can be used to schedule events
Meeting notes that are great for collaboration
Microsoft 365 integration as well as the full Office suite of products as well as Microsoft SharePoint for documents

Microsoft Planner vs. Project: How Is Microsoft Planner Better Than Project?

Microsoft Planner is better than Microsoft Project if you’re looking for a simpler, easier-to-use tool. It has kanban boards that can be quickly created, which has content-rich task cards and is more appropriate for ad-hoc teams. It excels at team collaboration and is simple to use, unlike Microsoft Project. Planner is preferred by smaller teams working on less complicated projects.

Microsoft Planner vs. Project: How Is Microsoft Planner Worse Than Project?

Microsoft Project is the preferred tool for larger teams who are working on longer, more complicated projects. Planner doesn’t offer a grid or timeline view. You can’t link dependent tasks, which can cause delays, and there’s no roadmap for managing multiple projects, such as programs and portfolios. Microsoft Planner also lacks advanced project management features, such as baselines, critical path, resource and risk management. Fortunately, there are a number of Planner alternatives, besides just Microsoft Project, to choose from for managing your work.

Microsoft Planner vs. Project: Pricing Comparison

Finally, let’s look at the bottom line: cost. More often than not, the price of subscribing to the app is going to be the determining factor in one’s decision-making.

There are several plans offered by Microsoft 365, which features MS Planner. They are listed below.

Microsoft 365 Business Basic: $6 user/month with an annual commitment
Microsoft 365 Business Standard: $12.50 user/month with an annual commitment
Microsoft 365 Business Premium: $22 user/month with an annual commitment
Microsoft 365 Apps for Business: $8.25 user/month with an annual commitment

What does it cost to use Microsoft Project? Below are the three tiers of subscription.

Project Plan 1: $10 user/month
Project Plan 3: $30 user/month
Business Plan: $55 user/month

ProjectManager Is Better Than Microsoft Project and Planner

If you’re thinking that it’d be great to have one software product that combined the advanced project management features of Microsoft Project with the more agile task management and collaborative tools of Microsoft Planner, good news: there is. ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that’s flexible enough for teams of any size who are working on projects big or small.

Our software has features for portfolio management, risk management and is also a collaboration tool that makes it easy for teams working anywhere to work better together. You’ll find all the project management tools available on both Microsoft Project and Microsoft Planner, but they’re more accessible, less expensive and easier to use. Plus, we have a mobile app for Android and iOS so you can take the tool anywhere.

Work With Better Resource Management Features

Microsoft Planner has no resource management features and Microsoft Project has some, but it isn’t available for Mac users and is complicated and expensive for everyone else. Our resource management tools allow you to set the availability of your team, including vacation, PTO and global holidays, which makes it easier to assign tasks. Our color-coded workload chart allows you to see who is overallocated and then lets you reallocate resources right from that chart to quickly balance the workload so everyone is working at capacity.

You can manage human and nonhuman resources on our Gantt chart, which by the way links all four task dependencies, filters for the critical path and can set a baseline to track project variance in real time. We also have secure timesheets to streamline payroll and manage labor costs.

Track Progress With Real-Time Project Tracking and Reporting

Once you’ve set a baseline for your project plan on the Gantt chart, you can monitor your progress and performance across our tool. You can get a high-level overview of the project with our real-time dashboard or portfolio dashboard, both of which automatically collect live project data and display it on easy-to-read graphs and charts.

There you can see everything from time to tasks, costs to workload and more. Unlike Microsoft Planner and Project, there’s no complicated and lengthy setup required. It’s ready when you are. If you want more detail, use our customizable reporting features. You can quickly generate status and portfolio reports as well as reports on variance, timesheets, workload and more. Each report can be filtered to show only the data you want to see and then shared across multiple formats to keep stakeholders informed.

Asana vs. Monday: In-Depth Software Comparison

Camilo Tristancho — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 21:35:38 +0000

Asana vs. Monday is a matchup made for project management professionals. Which one to choose? That’s why Monday vs. Asana is such an important battle. You can’t have both, so you want what’s best. We’ll help you pick between Asana vs. Monday.

It’s difficult. Asana vs. Monday are both similar project management tools. They have features, such as project tracking, workflow automation and other standard project management software features. Let’s look at those features, pricing and other comparisons between Monday vs. Asana.

Of course, you can have the best of both worlds, with more powerful features and at a price point that fits your budget. ProjectManager is award-winning project management software with workflow automation and task approvals to keep up the quality of your outputs, and it has project tracking for cost, time and resources, all with real-time data so you can make more insightful decisions.

ProjectManager’s Gantt chart leaves the competition behind, with all four task dependencies to avoid delays, filtering for the critical path to identify essential tasks and a baseline to track planned progress and costs against your actual progress and costs. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

ProjectManager’s Gantt chart helps you plan, manage and track work in real time. Learn more

Asana vs. Monday: Why Should You Choose Asana?

Not convinced that ProjectManager is a superior project management tool? Fair enough. Let’s put Asana vs. Monday to the test. First, we’ll put the spotlight on Asana.

What Is Asana?

Asana is an online project management software that has project management and task management features. The San Francisco-based company prides itself on work management, which helps users organize, track and manage their work. It’s been around since 2008 and is designed for team collaboration.

Asana Pricing

Personal: $0.00/user/month, billed annually
Starter: $10.99/user/month, billed annually
Advanced: $24.99/user/month, billed annually

Asana Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.5/5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“Asana is a strong choice for teams that need structure and visibility in their workflows. It’s flexible enough for different types of projects and has helped us stay organized.” Katie S – From Capterra
“Three months ago, our team transitioned from paper checklists and endless email threads to Asana, and the impact has been transformative.” Alabama B – From G2
“The UI of the application is user-friendly, and it helps to identify what we are looking for with minimal effort.” Nush N – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“Asana can have its navigational challenges. There are a lot of aspects of Asana that take time and effort to learn. These components are not always intuitive.” Luke E – from Capterra
“Can get a little bit overwhelming with too many tasks and notifications. Sometimes it feels like more work just managing the work.” Umut Ö – From Capterra
“After our trial ended, our entire project panel was locked, with no clear notice or fallback option. We couldn’t access anything, not even to remove paid features. This brought our entire workflow to a halt.” Himanshu T – from G2

What Is Asana Used For?

That’s the high-level view of the product, but in the battle of Asana vs. Monday, what is Asana being used for?

Work management system that helps users by breaking down large projects into smaller, more manageable tasks
Track your project and tasks to show progress
Connect teams so they can better collaborate

Who Uses Asana?

In the contest of Monday vs. Asana, both have a large customer base. Asana is used by teams at companies such as Amazon, Google, Deloitte and many others. However, they’re not necessarily using them for project management, which is a distinct discipline that requires a suite of features that Asana doesn’t have. Yes, they have some project management tools, but they’re mostly a work management tool that connects teams and tracks their work.

Asana Key Features

Let’s look at those features. Asana has something called My Tasks to plan your work. It’s a to-do list that you can prioritize. There’s also a list view, which is a grid-like board structure to help teams collaborate on work. Asana also has workload features to view the team’s bandwidth, calendars to see tasks and reporting features. There’s also a dashboard to view progress on real-time charts. Asana has Gantt charts, though not very powerful ones, kanban boards and calendars to view your work.

Asana vs. Monday: How Is Asana Better Than Monday?

That’s a fair overview of Asana, but why would you choose it over Monday? Asana is simplistic, intuitive and has a pleasing-to-look-at interface, which is great for smaller teams that have lightweight work to manage. It has task reminders and workload balancing is easy.

All plans offer unlimited storage. There are custom task templates. If you’re only going to 15 or fewer users, there’s a free plan you can use. It has a free trial for its premium edition. It offers over 200 integrations, which is far more than Monday.

Asana vs. Monday: How Is Asana Worse Than Monday?

In the battle of Asana vs. Monday, it’s Monday that is going to attract those who are looking at costs first. While both have limited free plans, Monday has twice the number of pricing tiers. Monday also has more capabilities beyond simple project tracking.

There are workflow features that serve finance, project management, marketing, creative and design processes, IT, operations, sales, construction and HR. While both have many integrations, if customers have a problem, Monday has better customer support. It’s generally a more robust software than Asana.

Asana vs. Monday: Why Should You Choose Monday?

Asana had its chance to shine in the Asana vs. Monday bout. Now, it’s Monday’s turn to shine. Let’s see what Monday has to offer in the Asana vs. Monday contest.

What Is Monday?

Monday is another online platform that offers project management tools. It’s been around since 2014 and specializes in work management. Just like Asana, it bills itself as project management software, but in reality, it’s built for work management and collaboration. However, it has broadened its scope to include customer relationship management, software development, human resources, marketing and more. It, like Asana, is a project management tool that’s best when used by small teams for lightweight projects.

Monday.com Pricing

Free: $0.00/user/month, billed annually
Basic: $9.00/user/month, billed annually
Standard: $12.00/user/month, billed annually
Pro: $19.00/user/month, billed annually

Monday.com Reviews

G2 review: 4.7/5
Capterra review: 4.6/5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“Monday.com is a project management app that I genuinely look forward to using every day because it makes creating tasks and tracking progress really easy to do.” Jonathan B – From Capterra
“The system takes a little getting used to, but once everyone is onboard, they can’t work without it and use it daily.” Juan S – From G2
“A great way to track items for payroll. We use it to track our to-do’s for payroll and are able to give access to others so they can add items to our boards for each pay period and can attach any documents we need as back up for the request.” Amy M – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“I think it’s more suitable for very small businesses or scenarios where deep detailed resourcing/planning are not needed.” Jack C – from Capterra
“The automations and 3rd-party integrations are not very intuitive. It is difficult to know how to manage the set-up options.” Katie E – From Capterra
“As projects grow more complex, boards can become cluttered, making navigation less seamless. The pricing structure can also be a challenge for smaller teams, as some features require upgrading to higher-tier plans.” Nic J – from G2

What Is Monday Used For?

Monday can be used in a lot of different industries. It has workflows for project management. That is, you can use it to:

Plan and track projects if those projects aren’t too big and complicated
Set deadlines, assign tasks and resources
Monitor progress and track project metrics
Track leads and customers, manage the sales pipeline and more
Help teams plan and track sprints, manage their backlog and collaborate
Useful for onboarding new employees, managing records, monitoring performance and helping implement training programs

Who Uses Monday?

Asana vs. Monday shares many big players in the business world as customers. For example, large corporations, such as Time Warner, Discovery Communications and Rockstar Games.

Anyone looking for flexibility for work management will use Monday vs. Asana as Asana has more granular task management tools. Those who need help completing basic tasks will use Monday. It’s also used by people who need to stay connected and collaborate whether in the same office or remotely.

Monday Key Features

Monday has many of the same features as Asana. Both have workflow automation, collaborative tools and integrations, though Monday has far fewer integrations than Asana. It’s especially attractive to those users who prefer a spreadsheet view, similar to Excel, which they are probably familiar with.

There are dashboards to help you analyze and report on data and features that are helpful for efficient communication. Monday has a Gantt chart, but it’s not powerful enough, especially if you need to link dependencies. They also have time tracking, kanban boards and resource management features.

Asana vs. Monday: How Is Monday Better Than Asana?

In the battle of Asana vs. Monday, the choice isn’t immediately clear. Both project management software products have similar features, but some differences would make a user choose Monday over Asana. Both are popular with customers, let teams plan workflows, automate tasks and track projects and tasks.

Monday, however, has the flexibility to serve many different industries. Monday requires less setup than Asana, with more project templates, including some for marketing and software development, and customer support.

Asana vs. Monday: How Is Monday Worse Than Asana?

Monday loses to Asana when it comes to task management. Asana might not have as many features for managing tasks, but it’s more focused and you can do everything you’d need to do with only the free version.

While Asana vs. Monday is a tie in terms of integrations, Asana is the winner when it comes to usability. It’s an easier software to learn and use than Monday. Also, if you’re using the free version of Asana you can have up to 15 users, while Monday offers only two. Asana also has unlimited free storage.

Asana vs. Monday: Pricing Comparison

Asana is a bit more expensive than Monday. If you’re only looking at the bottom line with Monday vs. Asana, then you might not want to go with Asana. But the price difference isn’t great and if you like the good-looking user experience and features, then Asana is your winner.

Premium plan: $10.99/user/month, billed annually
Business plan: $24.99/user/month, billed annually

In the Asana vs. Monday price war, there’s a clear winner. Monday is cheaper. But considering you have to have a three-seat minimum, that might not always be the case. Still, price is price, and the following are the prices for the various tiers of subscriptions offered by Monday.

Basic: $8/user/month, billed annually
Standard: $10/user/month, billed annually
Pro: $16/user/month, billed annually
3-seat minimum

ProjectManager Is Better Than Asana and Monday

If you expand Asana vs. Monday to include ProjectManager, well, then you’re in a different ballpark. ProjectManager is real project management software. A lot of competitors offer Gantt charts and kanban boards, but there are differences. ProjectManager’s Gantt charts and kanban boards are more powerful and have more features than other software.

Some Gantt charts track fewer details about tasks, they’ll only track task names and due dates. ProjectManager’s Gantt chart has lots of columns that allow users to track resource utilization, costs, percentage complete and more. Some kanban boards are limited, or won’t allow users to share files or messages. ProjectManager does.

Use Resource Management Features That Outperform Asana and Monday

Real project management software is going to have robust resource management features. In the contest of Asana vs. Monday, neither comes close to ProjectManager, which allows users to set the availability of their team to make assignments easier. That includes PTO, vacation and global holidays for remote teams. Then you can toggle over to the workload chart to view your team’s allocation and balance their workload to keep everyone working at capacity and more productive.

Real-Time Tracking With Project Dashboards and Reports

There’s more than one way to monitor your resources as well as your progress and performance. If you’re looking for a high-level view, use the live dashboard that automatically collects real-time data and displays it on easy-to-read graphs and charts. You can quickly see time, costs, workload and more to stay on schedule and within budget.

For more information, use our customizable reports. You can quickly generate status and portfolio reports, as well as reports on variance, timesheets and workload. Plus, all reports can be shared in a variety of formats to share with stakeholders and keep them informed.

Asana vs. Monday ties in with their risk register templates, but ProjectManager has real risk management features that allow you to set the likelihood of an issue arising and the impact it can make on your progress. Asana has time tracking, but neither Asana vs. Monday has secure timesheets that streamline payroll and provide a window into labor costs and more.

Primavera P6 vs. Microsoft Project: In-Depth Software Comparison

Peter Landau — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 20:35:36 +0000

The stage is set. Primavera P6 vs. Microsoft Project. Two heavyweights in the project management software division. Known as project scheduling software, project portfolio management, project planner and more, but which is the champion or is there a dark horse in the wings to steal the title?

To make the Primavera vs. Microsoft Project fair, we’ll define both, explain what they’re used for and where one surpasses the other. These are both widely used project management tools, but that doesn’t mean they’re without issues. One of the main complaints is the cost and complexity.

We’ll get into the stats and let readers decide which is better, Primavera P6 or MS Project, but know that there is a galaxy of project management software for all industries, including construction scheduling. In the battle between Microsoft Project and Oracle Primavera, the best choice might be neither.

That’s because ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that is less expensive and easier to use than either of these products. Our software has multiple project views which means project managers can schedule projects on robust Gantt charts or multiple projects on roadmaps, while teams execute their tasks on the visual workflow of kanban boards or task lists. Stakeholders can stay up to date with calendar views.

But a lot of tools have multiple project views. Ours differs in the power they give users. For example, our Gantt charts do everything a normal Gantt chart can do, but also link all four types of task dependencies to avoid delays and cost overruns. They can also filter for the critical path instantly, which means no complex calculations. Then set the baseline to track progress in real time. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

It’s no contest, ProjectManager is best when it comes to Privamera P6 vs. Microsoft Project. See all features

Primavera P6 vs. Microsoft Project: Why Should You Choose Primavera P6?

Excuse our enthusiasm, but we can’t contain our endorsement for ProjectManager, which does what Primavera and Microsoft Project do and does it better. But fair is fair. Let’s give Primavera vs. MS Project its due and examine where they excel and where they fall short.

What Is Primavera P6?

Primavera P6 is a comprehensive project management software suite developed by Oracle. It’s designed to plan, manage and execute large-scale and complex projects. It is widely recognized for its ability to handle large numbers of tasks, resources and project dependencies. This tool is known for its advanced features in scheduling, resource management, cost management and project portfolio management.

Primavera P6 Pricing

You may acquire a desktop license or pay a monthly subscription for the online service for any of these and other versions of Primavera.

Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management: $2,750
Primavera P6 Progress Reporter: $950
Primavera P6 Professional Project Management: $2,500

Primavera P6 Reviews

G2 review: 4.4/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“Baselines are used to keep track of how a project has changed since day one, and re-baselining is so easy to do.” Juan R – From Capterra
“I usually segment the project into trades and then these trades into their respective WBS, the straightforward approach this software takes, in which I am able to see, expand, collapse each WBS is the most helpful thing.” Srinidhi S – From G2
“Comprehensive set of tools for managing projects, from planning and scheduling to execution and monitoring.” Muzammil H – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“Oracle Primavera P6 is a high-end project management solution, which means that the cost can be high for small companies or small projects.” Coraly C – from Capterra
“The software UI feels old and the options are not properly organized. There are some software bugs that are still persistent and Oracle has been very slow in debugging them.” Muhammed Anshad K – From Capterra
“It does not have a good dashboard. Activity-wise delegation is not available. Earned Value management and cost management is complex and difficult to perform. It is costly to own and train your people on it.” Saurabh A – from G2

What Is Primavera P6 Used For?

As noted above, this project management software is used to manage complex and large-scale projects. It handles significant resources, multi-layered dependencies and multiple teams. This involves project scheduling, resource management, cost management, portfolio management, risk management, collaboration and reporting.

Who Uses Primavera P6?

Organizations across various industries use the tool. Some of these are construction companies, engineering firms, oil and gas industry, aerospace and defense, utilities and energy, project management offices (PMOs) and government agencies.

Primavera P6 Key Features

Primavera P6 has many tools that allow it to be used across many industries. The project management software is designed to handle complicated, large projects and, therefore, has these key features.

Tracks critical path method, dependencies and project baselines with Gantt charts
Has resource usage profiles, as well as resource allocation, leveling and histograms
Project portfolio management with optimization and cross-project resource management

Primavera P6 vs. Microsoft Project: How Is Primavera P6 Better Than Microsoft Project?

Unlike Microsoft Project, which is more suited for smaller to medium-sized projects with fewer tasks, Primavera P6 can handle thousands of tasks, dependencies and resources. MS Project has basic resource management, but Primavera P6 allows for detailed resource management across multiple projects, including labor, equipment and materials, and is better at managing larger teams.

Again, MS Project has similar features, such as portfolio management, but it’s not as comprehensive as Primavera P6. The same is true with cost and budget management, where Primavera P6 includes features like earned value management (EVM), which helps to track project performance against the baseline. Primavera P6 has enterprise-level project management features that can handle complex workloads, while Microsoft Project is simply not that robust.

Primavera P6 vs. Microsoft Project: How Is Primavera P6 Worse Than Microsoft Project?

However, there are limitations compared to Microsoft Project, particularly in terms of usability, cost and flexibility. Both are not known for their ease of use, but Primavera P6 has a steeper learner curve and requires significant time and training. Primavera P6 is also prohibitively expensive, which makes it out of reach for small-to-medium-sized businesses.

Then there is the resource management complexity. Primavera P6 has advanced resource management capabilities, but they might be too detailed for smaller teams and organizations. Also, integrating Primavera P6 with other software, such as ERP systems, can require custom solutions and technical expertise, whereas MS Project seamlessly integrates with the Microsoft ecosystem and other third-party applications without such difficulties.

Primavera P6 vs. Microsoft Project: Why Should You Choose Microsoft Project?

That’s one side of the Primavera vs. MS Project debate. Now, it’s time to give the other side its due. Don’t make a decision quite yet. While Primavera P6 might look like a superior alternative to Microsoft Project, it’s still not a loser. It has its merits which we’ll explore now.

What Is Microsoft Project?

Microsoft Project is project management software that provides tools for project planning, scheduling, resource management and collaboration. The project management software is designed to help project managers create detailed project schedules, assign tasks and resources, track project progress and generate reports.

Microsoft Project Pricing

Planner Plan 1: $10.00/user/month, billed annually
Planner and Project Plan 3: $30.00/user/month, billed annually
Planner and Project Plan 5: $55.00/user/month, billed annually
Project Standard 2024: $679.99, one-time license purchase
Project Professional 2024: $1129.99, one-time license purchase

Microsoft Project Reviews

G2 review: 4/5
Capterra review: 4.4/5

Highlighted Positive User Reviews

“The most helpful aspect of Microsoft Project & Portfolio Management (PPM) is its comprehensive project management capabilities, enabling organizations to efficiently plan, track, and manage projects from start to finish.” Tushar K – From Capterra
“I really like the tie-in with every other Microsoft product we use in the office. It’s been very easy to collaborate with the other people on my team and keep everyone on track.” Jeb B – From Capterra
“Most project managers across industries understand reports/project plans generated from MS Project, whether or not they have used the software before.” Alex N – From G2

Highlighted Negative User Reviews

“The UI may look a bit complex to new users and the learning curve is steep as well. Also it is pricey if you are a small business.” Aviral G – from Capterra
“There is a learning curve—especially for new users. It’s not as intuitive as some newer project management tools, and setting up complex projects can take some time.” Alicia B – From Capterra
“The software is sophisticated and tough to master, with a steep learning curve, in my opinion. Others have pointed out restrictions in customizing possibilities and integration with other products.” Aamir A – from G2

What Is Microsoft Project Used For?

Microsoft Project is used to create project plans and schedule projects. It can allocate resources, track progress and manage budgets and costs. The tool can also generate reports on progress, timelines, costs and resource usage. There are also some collaborative features, though the product is not known as a great collaboration tool.

Who Uses Microsoft Project?

A wide range of industries and organizations of various sizes use Microsoft Project. Typical users include project managers, small-to-medium-sized businesses and freelancers and professional services consultants. It can also be found in departments within larger organizations as well as government and nonprofit organizations.

Microsoft Project Key Features

We’ve listed some key features that make Microsoft Project one of the best-known project management software products.

Gantt charts with task dependencies and milestones
Cost tracking against the project budget and assigning costs to resources, tasks and projects
Pre-built and customizable reports and visual dashboards

Primavera P6 vs. Microsoft Project: How Is Microsoft Project Better Than Primavera P6?

Microsoft Project might be a better choice than Primavera P6 in the following scenarios. For example, when managing smaller or similar projects, where it’s more straightforward and has sufficient tools to schedule tasks, allocate resources and track budgets. No one would say MS Project is easy to use, but it is in comparison to Primavera. It’s also not more cost-effective than most project management tools, except when comparing it to the expensive Primavera P6.

One of the main advantages is that it works easily with other Microsoft tools that organizations are probably already using, such as Outlook, Excel, Teams, etc. While MS Project is not a collaborative tool, it can be used with other Microsoft products, such as Project for the Web and Project Online. Of course, this will add to the cost of using the software, which might make some shy away from the extra purchases.

Primavera P6 vs. Microsoft Project: How Is Microsoft Project Worse Than Primavera P6?

If users are looking for project management software that’s designed for large-scale, complex projects, then Primavera P6 will be a better solution than Microsoft Project. It’s going to struggle to manage bigger projects effectively. Therefore, Primavera P6 is the choice for enterprise-level project management as it provides detailed control over multiple, complex projects.

This includes Primaveria’s dominance in resource and portfolio management when working with large, distributed resources across multiple projects. Primavera P6 also has built-in features for detailed risk management and analysis. MS Project lacks the depth required for managing high-risk, large-scale projects. It also doesn’t have the advanced scheduling capability that allows for fine-grained control over complex timelines, task dependencies and constraints that Primavera P6 has.

How to Make a Microsoft Project Gantt Chart With ProjectManager

We haven’t talked about ProjectManager for a while, but at this point, it’s important to bring up the fact that our software can make a superior Gantt chart. Both Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project have Gantt charts, but they’re difficult to learn and expensive to use. Our software will also allow Mac users to view and edit MPP files, unlike MS Project. A quick way to clear those hurdles is to take a free 30-day trial with ProjectManager.

See how easy it is to take a Microsoft Project (MPP) file and import it into our software. There, it can be shared easily among the project team, edited without difficulty and then exported back to Microsoft Project. While it’s better to just use ProjectManager to manage projects, this workaround is helpful for those working in organizations that are wedded to MS Project. Just follow these steps.

1. Export Your Microsoft Project File as an Excel, MPP or CSV File

Users can import MPP files, excel documents or any CSV file into ProjectManager. Open the Gantt chart view. On the top ribbon, click the import button, which looks like a box with an arrow piercing its top.

2. Choose the Excel, CSV or MPP File You Want to Import

Now, follow the prompt and select the file you want to import. Once the file has been imported, users can view and edit it on their PC or Mac.

3. Select Options

At this point, users will be given the option to choose which option they want, such as importing the MPP file to a new project or adding it to an existing one.

4. Import Into ProjectManager

Select whether to import all the data from the Microsoft Project file or just the tasks.

5. Customize Your Microsoft Project Gantt Chart With ProjectManager

When a window that says success pops up, you’re ready to customize your Microsoft Project Gantt chart within ProjectManager, which means using our all unique and easy-to-use features.

Primavera P6 vs. Microsoft Project: Pricing Comparison

We’ve talked a lot about pricing, but having provided details. If you can take the sticker shock, below is a pricing comparison between Primavera P6 vs. Microsoft Project. (Note: there are two versions of Primavera P6, but Oracle Primavera Cloud.)

Primavera P6 Pricing

Oracle Primavera P6 Professional: The P6 Professional version of Primavera is a desktop-based software that can be purchased directly from Oracle, or through an authorized Oracle software reseller. It must be installed into workstations. Oracle Primavera P6 Professional costs $2,570 for an annual subscription. That price includes $2,020 plus an annual maintenance fee of $550 for upgrades, fixes, patches, etc. The renewal of the maintenance cost isn’t required, but it’s suggested.
Oracle Primavera P6 EPPM: There’s also the enterprise option, Primavera P6 Enterprise Professional Project Management (EPPM). This version of Primavera P6 is accessed via the web rather than being a desktop software application which makes it easier to implement in large organizations. This option will run you $2,750 for a perpetual license, which includes an annual maintenance fee of $605.
Oracle Primavera Cloud (OPC): Like Primavera P6 Professional and Primavera P6 EPPM, Oracle Primavera Cloud focuses on project, program and portfolio management, but has a different feature set. OPC has the added benefits of faster delivery and fosters collaboration to improve efficiency and quality.

Microsoft Project Pricing

Planner Plan 1: $10/user/month
Planner and Project Plan 3: $30/user/month
Planner and Project Plan 5: $55/user/month

ProjectManager Is Better Than Primavera P6 and Microsoft Project

For those still reeling from the prices of Primavera P6 vs. Microsoft Project, don’t worry. There is an alternative. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with features like Primavera P6 and MS Project to deliver projects on time and within budget but without the expenses or steep learning curve. Our software is designed to deliver projects whether they are big and complex or small and simple, for one project or a program or portfolio of projects and across industries like construction, IT, manufacturing, professional services and more. Our software has powerful risk management features to identify and track issues, automated workflow with task approval settings to ensure quality control, version control, global search and unlimited document storage.

Monitor Project Progress, Timelines and Costs in Real Time

Of course, being about to plan and assign tasks is only the start. Project and portfolio managers need to monitor their team’s performance and progress to ensure it aligns with the schedule. To get a high-level overview of the project, toggle over to the real-time project or portfolio dashboards. They’re collecting live data and displaying it on easy-to-read graphs and charts that show time, cost, workload and more. For more detail, use customizable reports on status, portfolio, workload, timesheets, variance and more. They go deep for teams or provide a summary to keep stakeholders updated. Secure timesheets streamline payroll and provide a window into labor costs to help deliver projects within budget.

Schedule and Balance Project Resources

Managing resources is also essential to delivering successful projects. Gantt charts can schedule human and nonhuman resources, including costs. Project managers can then view their team’s resource allocation on color-coded workload charts and see who’s overallocated or underutilized. Then, balance their workload to keep everyone working at capacity without risking burnout. There’s also a team page that shows a daily or weekly overview of the team’s activities. This page can be filtered to show priority, progress and more.