Best Microsoft Project Alternatives 2023

Microsoft Project is one of the staples in the project management field. However, with the changing pace and place of work, more and more teams are looking for solutions that better suit their style. To help you out, we have gathered the best Microsoft Project alternatives for 2023. Each tool provides a specific benefit for those seeking alternatives.

MS Project Alternatives Comparison Table

Before we dive into the details, here is a table comparing each alternative to MS Project in one place. Look through, find what you like, and navigate to the tools you want to know more about.

What are the best MS Project alternatives?

MS Project is a well-known business tool that is popular amongst various teams and industries. At the same time, it is complex and sometimes no longer fits the modern collaboration standards of project management professionals across the globe. Team leaders today are looking for tools that allow visualization of the project in various forms such as Kanban boards, Gantt charts, Timelines, and custom Dashboards. At the same time ability to collaborate efficiently and effectively is just as important.

The below list of solutions aims to give you just that – 20 project management solutions that have a certain edge as a Microsoft Project alternative. Pick the ones you are interested in or continue reading for the full overview.

1. Teamhood

Capterra score: 4.9/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Teamhood is the go-to Microsoft Project alternative for ease of use and flexibility. This project management tool is the least opinionated tool that supports a variety of methodologies, such as Classic project management, Agile project management, Kanban project management, or Hybrid project management. Teamhood is best suited for teams larger than 3 people, as only larger teams will be able to appreciate the valuable collaboration features and focus on daily use.

Key features

• Gantt charts
• Workload view
• Dependency management
• Powerful Kanban Board
• Templating
• Project Portfolio

Pros:

• One of the easiest-to-use but still powerful Gantt charts on the market
• Most flexible Kanban structure for visual project management
• Integrated time tracking and ability to generate cost reports per project or portfolio
• Workload and team collaboration features

Cons:

• Some of the popular integrations can be done only via a no-code platform such as Zapier.

Price: Free for unlimited users, business plans start at €9 per user/month.

Website: https://teamhood.com

2. RationalPlan

Capterra score: 4.4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Rational Plan is one of the professional Gantt tools tailored for experienced project managers. It allows one to meticulously plan out projects, track resources, and manage finances. Its main advantage as an alternative to MS Project is that it can be deployed on-premises. Thus, it is more suited for users with sensitive data.

The one drawback of Rational Plan is the user interface which will not be greatly appreciated by innovative users.

Key features

• Gantt Chart
• Milestones
• Dependencies

Pros:

• Easy Milestones
• Available on-premise

Cons:

• Limits usage per project number
• Outdated user interface
• Complex to use

Price: Starting from $4 per user/month

Website: https://www.rationalplan.com/

3. Wrike

Capterra score: 4.2/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Wrike is a project collaboration tool tailored for marketing and e-commerce teams. It is a good alternative to MS Project due to its various integrated views – Kanban, Gantt, and Table. On top of this, the team can enjoy automated reporting features, visualize the process with various colors, and enjoy a smoother work environment with all information accessible in one place.

Key features

• Gantt Chart
• Proofing
• Personal tasks
• Kanban

Pros:

• Gantt dependencies
• Annotation of images
• Different views

Cons:

• Not flexible Kanban structure
• Takes time to learn

Price: Starting from $9.80 per user/month

Website: https://wrike.com

4. GanttPRO

Capterra score: 4.8/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Another Microsoft Project alternative focused on the Gantt chart is GanttPro. This online tool allows you to build the ideal project path and track it as the team gets to work. A great addition to this Gantt chart is dependencies that can be rescheduled based on their dependant items. Choose this tool if your main priority is the online Gantt chart.

Key features

• Gantt Chart
• Milestones
• Dependencies

Pros:

• Flexible structure
• Dependency auto-scheduling
• Offers individual user pricing

Cons:

• Higher price than competitors
• Mainly focused on classic project management

Price: $15 per month for 1 user or $8.50 per user/month for a team plan

Website: https://ganttpro.com

5. Jira

Capterra score: 4.4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Jira is often referred to as the de-facto standard tool for IT development teams and their projects. This tool offers integrations with various development tools. As such it can be a great Microsoft Project alternative for such cases. However, if you are working with a mixed team – developers and non-developers, Jira may prove too difficult and cumbersome to be useful. This tool will work best for teams using Agile practices as it offers no out-of-the-box Gantt chart.

Key features

• Agile Software Development
• Epics
• Sprints

Pros:

• Integrations to developer tools
• Popular among IT professionals
• Flexible
• Query language

Cons:

• Takes time to learn
• Complex to setup
• No Gantt Chart

Price: Starts at $7 per user/month

Website: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira

6. Eylean Board

Capterra score: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Another option for those looking to find the best MS Project alternative is Eylean Board. This on-premise solution offers a powerful Kanban board ready to visualize even the most complicated process. Use it to visualize your processes and subprocesses and involve the whole team in project execution.

Key features

• Kanban Boards
• Office integrations
• Workspace templates

Pros:

• Can be deployed on-premises
• Flexible Kanban structure
• Integrates with Office tools

Cons:

• Windows only
• Limited Gantt Chart

Price: Starting from $5 per user/month

Website: https://eylean.com

7. Ganttic

Capterra score: 4.2/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Ganttic is an online resource planning software aimed at portfolio and resource planning. As such, it is one of the best Microsoft Project alternatives for manufacturing and engineering projects. Use this tool to visualize your strategy and plan according to the workflow.

Key features

• Resource planning
• Scheduling
• Dependencies
• Time Tracking

Pros:

• Has integrated time tracking
• Flexible resource management
• Simple user interface

Cons:

• More for resources than for project management
• Limited Kanban view
• Limited Gantt Chart

Price: Around $1 per resource/month.

Website: https://www.ganttic.com/

8. Monday

Capterra score: 4.6/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Monday is a task management tool for those looking to add some color to their projects. And those looking for the best free MS Project alternative that is good with automation, this tool may be the right one. Monday will allow you to automate daily work and collaborate on tasks with your team easily. However, this is not a project management tool, thus you should look further when managing larger projects.

Key features

• Automation
• List view
• Flexibility

Pros:

• Has a flexible structure which is also complicated a bit
• Good automation engine
• Good integrations

Cons:

• Poor Gantt Chart
• Limited project management features
• Hard to maintain hierarchical tasks or work breakdown schedule

Price: Starts at $9 per user/month

Website: https://monday.com

9. Asana

Capterra score: 4.4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Asana is a simple project management tool focused on marketing and e-commerce teams. This is the best MS Project alternative for Mac users looking to visualize their process and collaborate on tasks in a convenient interface. The tool is created for smaller teams and does get cluttered with more tasks in the mix. Also, it does not support a Gantt chart, thus planning larger projects is more difficult.

Key features

• Kanban view
• Inbox
• Attachments

Pros:

• Good for collaboration
• Convenient inbox

Cons:

• No Gantt Chart
• Becomes cluttered very fast, does not fit bigger/complicated projects
• Expensive

Price: Starts from $13.50 per user/month.

Website: https://asana.com

10. TeamGantt

Capterra score: 4.6/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Compared to the previous item on this list, Team Gantt is focused more on project managers. This Microsoft Project alternative is a tool focused mostly on the Gantt chart. Allowing to plan out projects, and resources, and execute those projects with some team collaboration features.

Key features

• Gantt Chart
• Team collaboration
• Resource load and planning

Pros:

• Easy to use Gantt Chart
• Supports the majority of the platforms

Cons:

• Very expensive
• Mainly focused on the Gantt chart

Price: Starts at $30 per user/month.

Website: https://teamgantt.com

11. Smartsheet

Capterra score: 4.6/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Smartsheet is a flexible Excel-like alternative to Microsoft Project. It supports common data views and has a few automated reports for the users to choose from. This tool is quite straightforward and simple, and as such can be used in a variety of industries.

Key features

• Flexible table structure
• Integrations to business tools
• Reports

Pros:

• Good integrations
• Similar to Excel
• Has Kanban, Gantt, List views

Cons:

• Takes time to setup
• Powerful and complex

Price: Starts at $7 per user/month.

Website: https://www.smartsheet.com/

12. Trello

Capterra score: 4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Trello is a simple Kanban tool. This Microsoft Project alternative is best suited for those wishing to track simple projects involving up to 5 people. The true strength of Trello lies in personal usage and a great free version. While it does have great features, larger teams will find it cluttered and hard to navigate with larger projects.

Key features

• Kanban Board
• Kanban Cards
• Attachments

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Visual Kanban cards

Cons:

• Limited functionality
• Gets cluttered fast
• Does not have a Gantt chart

Price: Starts from $5 per user/month, free plan for basic features

Website: https://trello.com

13. ProjectLibre

Capterra score: 4.4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Project Libre is a professional project management tool. This Microsoft Project alternative free is best suited to complex projects that require advanced planning features. Project Libre supports a variety of diagrams, however, the interface will leave most users wanting more.

Key features

• Advanced scheduling features
• Gantt Chart
• Drawing Diagrams for detailed plans

Pros:

• Desktop App for Windows
• Feature-rich
• Open Source version available

Cons:

• Complex to use
• Takes time to learn
• Outdated technically

Price: Free / Open Source

Website: https://www.projectlibre.com/

14. OpenProject

Capterra score: 4.3/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

This Microsoft Project alternative is aimed at teams that need Agile workflows in their daily use. Open project is simple to use and has a Gantt chart with work packages. This tool is a great option for cases such as bug tracking.

Key features

• Work packages
• Agile backlogs
• Bug tracking
• Gantt chart

Pros:

• Supports classical and Agile workflows
• Can be used for different use cases including bug tracking
• Has BIM integration
• Open Project

Cons:

• Very limited Kanban view
• Limited collaboration features
• Becomes easily cluttered in larger projects
• Minimum 5 users

Price: Starts from $8.50 per user/month.

Website: https://www.openproject.org/

15. Agantty

Capterra score: 4.6/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Agantty is a visual Gantt chart tool. This free Microsoft Project alternative is great for those that need to visualize their data without further project management features. While additional functionality is available for purchase, the main strength of this tool is the Gantt chart.

Key features

• Gantt chart
• Tasks
• Assignments

Pros:

• Free for basic use
• Visual

Cons:

• A lot of features are missing like API, time tracking, workload management

Price: Free.

Website: https://www.agantty.com/

16. GanttProject

Capterra score: 4.1/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Gantt Project is a desktop app available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. This tool has the most extensive database of traditional project management reports – Gantt, PERT chart, and resources load. Thus, it is a great Microsoft Project alternative if you are looking for such features. The biggest drawback of this tool – is an outdated interface.

Key features

• Gantt Chart
• PERT Chart
• Resources load

Pros:

• Has professional features
• Has dedicated desktop apps on all platforms

Cons:

• No web version
• Outdated interface
• Complex to use

Price: Starts from $5 per user/month.

Website: https://www.ganttproject.biz/

17. Planner

Capterra score: not available

Description

It would not be a complete list of Microsoft Project alternatives without Microsoft Planner. This is a simple task management tool that visualizes tasks on a Kanban board. Great for personal use or teams of just a few people. However, lacking if you need project management features or run larger projects.

Key features

• Kanban Board
• Task List
• Assignments

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Clean interface
• Comes with Office365

Cons:

• No Gantt chart
• No dependencies
• Very limited for project management

Price: Part of the Office365 package starts at $12.50 per user/month.

Website: https://tasks.office.com/

18. ClarizenOne

Capterra score: 4.2/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Clarizen One is a classical resource, project, and workflow management tool. This Microsoft Project alternative has a variety of advanced features like resource load diagrams and Portfolio management. However, more tech-advanced teams will find the interface to be quite outdated.

Key features

• Workflow management
• Gantt chart
• Resource load diagram
• Portfolio management

Pros:

• Feature-rich
• Good for multiple project management

Cons:

• Outdated from the interface and technical standpoint
• Hard to learn
• Complex
• Only enterprise pricing

Price: Enterprise, N/A

Website: https://www.clarizen.com/product

19. Redmine

Capterra score: 4.3/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Redmine is an old-school tool with Agile support. However, one big advantage it offers is the ability to use it with both – classical and Agile project management. Thus, it is a Microsoft Project alternative that will fit hybrid project management practices. The biggest drawback of Redmine is the hard-to-learn interface.

Key features

• Gantt chart
• Sprints
• Kanban

Pros:

• Supports Agile workflows
• Can be used for bug tracking
• Feature-rich via plugins

Cons:

• Outdated interface
• Hard to learn
• Complex
• Missing modern collaboration features
• Can be costly if more features used

Price: Plans start at $25 per month.

Website: https://www.easyredmine.com/

20. Toggl Plan

Capterra score: 4.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description

Toggl Plan is a visually pleasing tool for small projects. It allows to coordinate teams and set plans via an easy-to-learn interface. However, this Microsoft Project alternative lacks project management functionality. Use it for smaller projects and teams as a visual collaboration platform.

Key features

• Timeline
• Teams
• Collaboration features

Pros:

• Easy to use
• Visually appealing

Cons:

• Limited project management functionality
• No proper Gantt
• Can be pricey as it is monetized by feature usage

Price: Paid plans cost around $8 per month/feature.

Website: https://toggl.com/plan/

Summary 

All of the listed tools are great in some areas, while the top ones are good in multiple ones. So, if you are looking for an easy start and the best Microsoft Project alternative – try Teamhood.

All the mentioned MS Project alternatives are mainly focused on Gantt Charts, while Teamhood brings full collaboration experience on top of the Gantt Chart – Kanban, List view, Workload, and many more. Successfully mixing approaches and enabling hybrid project management practices.

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Teamhood is the best Microsoft Project alternative because

• Fully customizable and adaptable
• Supports Hybrid, Agile, Kanban, or Classic project management
• By default is a Visual tool
• Rich item details
• Efficient collaboration on work items
• Metrics, Reports, Dashboards
• Time tracking 
• Templating
• Hourly rates and timesheets
• Workload management
• And more! 

Register for Teamhood today for free!

Vidas Vasiliauskas

Website

2019 - Present Co-founder and CEO @ Teamhood.
2015-2019 Head of software engineering department at Danske Bank.
2017-2018 Partner Associate Professor at Vilnius University. Lecturer of Software Architecture course
2011 - 2015 Managed numerous smaller IT teams at Prewise.
Co-founder of RaveIT, Eylean, No Brakes Games

Certified Agile product owner and practitioner. Managed large scale enterprise projects as well as launch of small startup products.
MSc of Software Engineering at Vilnius University.

Hobbies: Racing, MTB cycling, Windsurfing