Free Microsoft Project Alternatives

They come with limited functionality, but here is a list of a few free Microsoft Project free alternatives. These are great options for small teams and freelancers.

Other project scheduling software alternatives worth considering:

There are some new kids on the Gantt chart block! I haven’t had a chance to review these properly, but if none of the above work for you, it’s worth checking some of these out:

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Questions To Ask When Choosing Among The Best Microsoft Project Alternatives





So what is the best project scheduling software to use as a Microsoft Project alternative? It really depends on whether or not you subscribe to the requirements we set out above.

If you’re actually looking for something a bit more than that, then one of the cloud-based solutions like Smartsheet would probably work out well. As I often find myself offline, on planes, and in the wilderness of BC, I would miss having a desktop app to churn out my .mpp’s on the road.

So in short, my preference would be for Microsoft Project Pro for Office 365. It does everything I want it to do, in the format I need it. Yes, it’s kind of a cop-out but it works—and it’s actually no more expensive than any of the better, paid alternatives.

That’s how I made my decision. Here are some questions to ask yourself when choosing the right MS project alternative for your case:

Where is the Gantt chart and project schedule used in your workflow?

This is a bit of a catch-all, but in choosing a Microsoft Project alternative, it’s worth thinking about how you’re managing estimates, tasks, resources, budgets, risk, timesheets, and project reporting. There are features within Microsoft Project that support this, and many of the alternatives include them too.

How do you use your project plans and schedules?

If they are just Gantt charts that get created at the beginning of a project or during the project planning process and are then not updated, it’s very different from the requirement for a tool that needs daily updates during project progress.

Consider what you actually use project timelines for; do you print them off every day and baseline progress? How do you share that information with the project team and executive? Consider too how you’ll be updating the timeline throughout the project.

Who will use it?

It’s worth considering if it will be just the project manager updating the project plan, or if team members will need to do it too. If the project timeline needs to be actively updated by the project team, it’s worth considering tools which are easy to use and require minimal onboarding

What other tools are you using?

Microsoft Project integrates and plays nicely with its Microsoft buddies, SharePoint, and Project Server which are enterprise-based solutions capable of some incredibly smart things with Power BI, Internet of Things, bots, and machine learning. Microsoft Project integrates with a lot of other applications and tools too, including JIRA, using the Ceptah Plugin and Daptiv PPM.

Are you always online?

Cloud-based project timeline mobile apps can be great, and they can be kept more up to date with ‘live’ information but consider that they require an active internet connection to work. If you’re ever working offline and without cell reception, for example on a plane, you’ll be hooped and want a desktop application instead.

What’s the cost?

The cost of Microsoft Project tends to be one of the primary reasons that people look for an alternative. Microsoft Project isn’t cheap, but did you know that if you do a quick search on Amazon you can find the latest version of Microsoft Project 2019 for less than $600?

Consider Projects vs Users

Most of the Microsoft Project alternatives are priced on a cost per user basis. So in working out which solution is the most affordable, consider what makes the most sense for you; is it a tool that many people in the organization will need to use, or will it be used principally by the project manager? Some project management tools offer unlimited users, while other project management software costs more depending on the number of users you need.

Consider the Learning Curve

How much training will your team members require? If the project management software has a particularly steep learning curve, it may take more time and resources than it is worth just to learn the software. Test out the software with demos in advance to make sure your team members can be onboarded quickly.

Consider your project methodology

If you are using a specific project methodology such as agile or scrum, consider whether the project management software fits with that methodology. You don’t want to be trying to run agile projects on a software that is intended for use with waterfall project methodologies.

Consider The Lifetime Cost Of Ownership

While web-based apps might seem affordable in the short run, typically costing around $15/user/month, the cost of ownership over 3 years is actually the same as buying a copy of Microsoft Project. So before deciding on subscribing to a service, consider purchasing a desktop-based non-cloud solution like:

Most of the cloud-based Microsoft project alternatives offer at least some paltry freemium offering which might be enough for you:

TeamGantt (you get just one project)

Gantt Pro (you get one user)

Tom’s Planner (you get one user)

Summary

While Microsoft Project might seem like an easy tool to replace, when you can subscribe to Project Online Professional for $30/user/month, it’s worth weighing up all the options before subscribing to a cloud-based option.

But if you’re not using it every day, and just need a simple Gantt project planner, there are lots of great, cheap, and even free options for you.

What Do You Think?

What do you think we’re missing? Any other great alternatives to Microsoft Project for project scheduling, making Gantt Chart, and project plans? We’d love to hear if you’ve got any suggestions, tips, or thoughts on using this kind of project scheduling software – why not share them using the comments below?