Many companies relied on Microsoft Project due to its central role in the Microsoft ecosystem. It is often convenient for companies that are already dedicated to the Microsoft software stack to do so. However, when examined on its own, Microsoft lacks many of the project management features users expect from their business software.
The project management software field has grown astronomically, even for users who want free or low cost software. Whether you’re an individual, a small business or a larger organization that needs a better system for managing project workflows and tasks, these Microsoft Project alternatives are great options for a range of budgets and needs.
Read the full Microsoft Project review for more information.
Here is a head-to-head comparison of the best Microsoft Project alternatives.
| Our rating (out of 5) | Free plan | Pricing | OneDrive integration | Over 5 GB file storage | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| monday.com | 5 | Yes | $9 user/month | Yes | Higher tiers |
| ClickUp | 5 | Yes | $7 user/month | Yes | Unlimited in paid tiers |
| Smartsheet | 3.8 | Yes | $7 user/month | Yes | 20 GB to unlimited in paid tiers |
| Wrike | 4.6 | Yes | $9.80 user/month | Yes | Up to 15 GB |
| Teamwork | 3.7 | Yes | $5.99 user/month | Yes | 50 GB to 500 GB in paid tiers |
| TeamGantt | 4.5 | Limited | $19 user/month | No | Info not provided |
Our rating: 5 out of 5
monday work management is a web-based suite that supports milestone tracking, analytics and workflow automation, which gives it the edge over smaller project management open source apps. A desktop version is also available. monday work management runs on Windows and macOS and supports iOS and Android mobile devices. It also works with Microsoft Teams, Google, Slack, Dropbox, Zoom and Outlook.
We selected monday work management due to its versatility, extensive advanced features and ability to serve the needs of various teams across various industries. It also allows users to manage both basic and complex projects with ease.
For more information, read the full monday work management review.
Popular integrations offered by monday work management include Zoom, Slack, Google Drive, OneDrive, Salesforce and NetSuite. Integrations are limited across plan tiers, with most not available in the Individual plan.
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Our rating: 5 out of 5
ClickUp is another web-based project management all-in-one package that can run on Windows, macOS, Android or iOS. It integrates with Slack and Zoom, and it can sync your cloud storage, calendars and messaging apps. Its project management features work as expected, but ClickUp also supports team collaboration, documentation management, whiteboarding and kanban. When purchased annually, its subscriptions are some of the most affordable solutions on the market for small businesses.
We selected ClickUp because it balances affordability with quality features, and it offers a generous free plan that includes most of the necessary features required to run a project successfully.
For more information, read the full ClickUp review.
Popular integrations include Slack, HubSpot, Webhooks, OneDrive, Google Drive, Zoom and Salesforce. All plans have access to 50+ integrations, including Zapier and Make. A few integrations are limited to paid plans including OneDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox.
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Our rating: 3.8 out of 5
Smartsheet is a flexible cloud-based project management system that runs on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. Each new project starts with a grid view — based on a traditional spreadsheet interface — that can be turned into a Gantt, calendar or card view. Beyond project management, Smartsheet offers collaborative, workflow and content management components that support dashboards, reports and forms for data input. Smartsheet integrates with Microsoft Teams, Google and more.
We picked Smartsheet as one of the best Microsoft project alternatives for its user-friendly interface and its versatility. It can handle simple task tracking, complex project planning and even large-scale project portfolios. Smartsheet also offers various templates that can be customized to fit different project needs, making it a flexible tool for different industries and project types.
For more information, read the full Smartsheet review.
App integrations in Smartsheet include Webex, Okta, Microsoft Teams, Slack, Tableau, ChatGPT, Zapier, OneDrive, Google Drive, Microsoft Excel and more. Integrations are limited across plan tiers, but most are available in the free version. But some, like Tableau, Microsoft Power BI and Adobe CC, are limited to higher tiers.
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Our rating: 4.6 out of 5
Wrike is a cloud-based project management tool that runs on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It’s a comprehensive software that is especially well-suited to larger businesses that need a lot of features. Fully configure the workspace with custom item types, dynamic request forms, pre-built templates and more.
Enterprise users with different teams across various departments will find Wrike beneficial as a Microsoft Project alternative. You can easily adapt the platform to your team’s and overall organization’s workflow, making it helpful for enterprise businesses with multiple departments and teams working simultaneously on different projects.
For more information, read the full Wrike review.
Wrike offers over 400 available app integrations and the ability to build your own connections with their API. Integrations include OneDrive, Google Drive, Okta, QuickBooks and HubSpot. Certain integrations, like Adobe Creative Cloud, NetSuite and Salesforce are limited across plan tiers.
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Our rating: 3.7 out of 5
Teamwork is a cloud-based project management tool that is also available as a desktop app for Mac and Windows and a mobile app for iPhone and Android. It’s specifically designed for client-facing work such as marketing and consulting teams, which sets it apart from other project management apps. For example, Teamwork includes billing and invoicing tools, while many other project management tools do not.
We choose Teamwork as one of the top-rated Microsoft Project alternatives because it offers various features that serve the needs of client-focused teams. Agencies, professional service teams and creative teams will find Teamwork beneficial. It includes the capability to help teams manage project budgets, invoices, workload capacity and more.
For more information, read the full Teamwork review.
In Teamwork, integrations are limited across all tiers, some of which include Microsoft Project, OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive and Harvest. Zapier is available in all plans.
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Our rating: 4.5 out of 5
TeamGantt is a cloud-based, Gantt-focused project management tool that runs on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. As its name implies, TeamGantt offers the ability to create colorful Gantt charts with a simple drag-and-drop function. TeamGantt offers additional features, including time tracking, calendar and list views, project history and more.
TeamGantt is one of the best Microsoft Project alternatives for its visual project planning capability that allows users to create Gantt charts and timelines. Its drag-and-drop scheduling capability makes it easy to manage projects and timelines. This helps in visualizing project schedules and dependencies, making it easier to track progress.
For more information, read our full TeamGantt review.
Available app integrations include Jira, Slack, Dropbox, Zapier and Trello. In terms of integration options, they are more limited than most, but you can expand more with Zapier.
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Though Microsoft Project has many advantages, it also has some disadvantages you need to consider.
Microsoft Project is designed with experienced project managers in mind, which presents a very steep learning curve due to the number of features. Even advanced project managers will need time to teach themselves how to use the tool. It is not particularly intuitive and definitely not geared towards beginners.
On a similar note, Microsoft Project is not the most user-friendly project management tool out there. While the 2019 version significantly updated the user interface, the sheer number of features can make it time-consuming to find the exact one you’re looking for. Some users complain that much of the tool’s functionality goes unused, and they find it frustrating to wade through all the options.
While Microsoft Project includes almost any project management feature you can imagine, it lacks in other departments. That’s because it was designed with the assumption that you will be using other Microsoft products for other functions, such as Teams for communication and OneDrive for document management. If you’re not already part of the Microsoft ecosystem, then you’ll need to seek out additional tools besides Microsoft Project to compensate for the lack of features.
On its own, Microsoft Project is not the least expensive project management software available. It doesn’t offer a forever-free plan, and its entry-level pricing tier is more costly than some competitors. The price only goes up once you consider the external tools you’ll need to invest in for communication, document management and so on.
Although Microsoft Project offers a number of helpful project management features to users, it’s certainly not the right fit for every company and tech stack. Here are five things a company should look for in alternatives to Project:
If you’re not running a lot of Microsoft products already, you’ll likely find a product that’s easier for your new users to learn and master. Microsoft Project users often report a very steep learning curve — even for people who are already familiar with the Microsoft tech stack — due to the design of the user interface.
Microsoft Project is designed for super complex projects and organizations that need to track hundreds or thousands of tasks at once. If you work for a smaller organization looking to get started with project management, Microsoft Project will likely bog you down with a bunch of super-advanced features that you simply don’t need.
Because Microsoft Project is designed to be used in conjunction with Microsoft Teams, it doesn’t offer any built-in communication or chat tools of its own. Choosing a project management alternative that keeps communication centralized on a single platform can streamline your teamwork and promote collaboration.
Microsoft Project is designed to work with the Microsoft ecosystem, and pretty much only the Microsoft ecosystem, meaning that integrations with third-party apps are very limited. If you need your project management software to integrate with lots of non-Microsoft products, then your team should consider a different solution.
There are many project management software tools that offer forever-free plans for individuals and small teams, but Microsoft Project is not one of them. If you’re a freelancer or small business owner on a super tight budget, you’ll want to consider one of the alternatives listed here that offers a forever-free plan.
SEE: 6 best cloud-based project management software for 2023
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great for integrating with other Microsoft Products. | Costly. |
| Task management. | Not as beneficial for those who aren’t Microsoft fans. |
| Advanced features. | Learning curve. |
| Other competitors offer more features and affordable plans. |
Microsoft Project offers a 30-day free trial, allowing users to try the tool before buying it. Like the alternatives on this list, Microsoft Project also offers a tiered subscription and licensing model. It takes it further by offering an on-premise subscription option, allowing those who favor on-premise project management over cloud-based solutions to opt for a local installation.
This subscription model includes three pricing plans with various features and functionalities.
This license model is also available in three tiers. Keep in mind that your actual price may vary based on your region or location.
Compared to its alternatives, Microsoft Project is expensive. Although the “Project plan 1” pricing per user is cheaper than Asana and TeamGantt base subscription fees, it may not offer enough features to manage complex projects. This means you may need to buy an advanced plan, which will cost you more.
Those looking for affordable pricing may find one of the alternatives suitable for their needs, or you can explore our list of the best project management software.
Microsoft Project released a redesigned version in 2019. It now looks more like a typical Microsoft web-based product, which is a good thing if you’re a devoted Microsoft user. This update also made the user interface more similar to competitors’ and made it somewhat more intuitive to use.
Project supports a desktop and online version, runs on Windows and integrates well with other Microsoft products. If you’re already familiar with Microsoft products, especially Microsoft 365, Project might be your best choice. It has every basic feature you need to manage your projects. On the other hand, new users will need a bit of time to learn Microsoft Project, and it’s missing some bells and whistles that others support, such as chatting within the software.
Google Workspace does not offer an exact match for Microsoft Project. They have apps like Google Sheets, Google Docs, Google Calendar and Google Forms but they do not have feature-rich project management applications. You can manage simple projects with the available array of tools, but they do not have dedicated solutions for complex needs.
Choosing the best project management software is no different than choosing any other software. The best decisions come from weighing the pros and cons after spending a bit of time with each product you’re considering.
Can your organization afford the software? None of the bells and whistles matter if you can’t buy them. Start your decision-making process by determining the costs that will come with licensing all of your relevant users. These costs can add up quickly.
If all you need is project management support, look for the following features and assess their ease of use for each solution:
Investing in the right project management software will save you money in the long run. You want a package that meets your company’s current needs but also allows for growth without breaking the bank. This list of Microsoft Project alternatives is a helpful starting point if you’re unsure about what will work for your business needs.
To choose the best Microsoft Project alternatives for 2024, we considered many different parameters. This includes pricing, user interfaces, project views, user-friendliness and collaboration features. We gathered information about each platform from the vendor’s websites and tested the alternatives to learn about their features and capabilities. We also analyzed current and past users’ feedback on review websites to learn about user experience with each tool.
Kaynak: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/microsoft-project-alternatives/
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