Best Microsoft Project
Alternatives 2026: 12 Free & Paid Tools

Microsoft Project alternatives at a glance

A quick view of all 12 tools on this page. Prices change often, so check each vendor's own pricing page before you buy.

Why are teams leaving Microsoft Project?

Microsoft Project has been the reference standard for professional project scheduling since 1984. Its Gantt chart, resource levelling and critical path capabilities are still genuinely excellent. But the product was designed for a desktop-first, single-user-edits-the-file world, and its architecture shows it.

What MS Project Still Does Better Than Anything Else

Before listing alternatives, it is worth being honest about what MS Project does that most alternatives do not fully replicate: resource levelling (automatically resolving over-allocation across the schedule using calendars, priorities and resource pools); earned value management (native EVM reporting including CPI, SPI, EAC and TCPI from the schedule); complex dependency types (finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish, start-to-finish with lag and lead); and multi-project master scheduling (linking sub-projects into a master schedule with shared resource pools). If your team actively uses these features, not just has access to them, you are in the minority and you should choose your alternative carefully.

The 8 Best Microsoft Project Alternatives

Full Feature Comparison Matrix

Every key feature across all alternatives compared against MS Project. ✓ = native, ✗ = not available, ◐ = available with limitations or on higher plan.

How much effort does it take to switch?

The migration effort varies considerably by tool and by how deeply MS Project is embedded in your workflows. A team using MS Project primarily for Gantt charts and milestone tracking can migrate to Smartsheet or Asana in a day. A team with complex resource pools, baseline management and EVM reporting should plan for a week or more.

Migration Tips: What Every Team Should Do Before Switching

1. Audit your actual MS Project usage before choosing an alternative. Export your most complex project and identify which features you used: Gantt only, or also resource pools, baselines and EVM? Most teams use fewer MS Project features than they think. 2. Run both tools in parallel for 2–4 weeks on a new project before fully decommissioning MS Project. Discovering that your chosen alternative cannot handle a specific workflow two months into migration is expensive. 3. Export all historical .mpp files to PDF and CSV before cancelling licences. You will need to reference them and MS Project files become inaccessible once the licence expires. 4. Budget for one-time setup time even for low-effort migrations: no tool is zero-effort, and underestimating setup causes team frustration that kills adoption.

How to move from MS Project: a short checklist

1. Save two copies of every live schedule: the .mpp file and an XML file (File, Save As, XML). XML is the MS Project format most other tools can import.
2. Export task lists to Excel or CSV for tools that only import spreadsheets, such as Asana or Monday.com.
3. Check what your new tool reads. Smartsheet imports .mpp. ProjectLibre opens MS Project files. GanttProject reads MPP, MPX and XML but saves back only as XML.
4. Compare after import: finish date, critical path, dependencies, lags, calendars, constraints and resources. These are the things that most often come across wrong.
5. Set a new baseline in the new tool on day one, so variance reports start clean.
6. Keep PDFs of your final MS Project schedules. On construction jobs you may need them later for delay claims or audits.

Free and Open-Source Microsoft Project Alternatives

If budget is the main driver, these free options cover most project needs without a subscription. Three of them (ProjectLibre, GanttProject and OpenProject) are open source, so you can also run them without depending on a vendor.

1. ClickUp Free: Best Overall Free Option

ClickUp's free plan is the most generous in the category: unlimited users, Gantt charts, 15+ views, time tracking and goals: all free. The limitation is 100MB storage and a cap on some automation runs. For a team of any size that can work within these constraints, ClickUp free is the strongest MS Project alternative at zero cost.

2. Our Free Excel Gantt Chart Template

The free Gantt Chart Excel template provides a formatted, formula-driven Gantt bar chart with progress tracking, milestone markers and a project summary panel. No account, no cloud dependency, no recurring cost. For teams that primarily need a schedule they can distribute as a PDF or share via SharePoint, this covers the core need without any subscription overhead.

3. GanttProject: Free Desktop App

GanttProject is a free, open-source desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux with Gantt charts, resources and critical path. It reads MPP, MPX and XML files produced by Microsoft Project and exports to MS Project XML. The interface is dated but it works, and it is useful when you need to keep working on old schedules offline.

5. ProjectLibre: Closest Free Match to MS Project

ProjectLibre Desktop is free and open source, with no subscription, and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. It looks and works much like MS Project desktop: task sheet, Gantt chart, network diagram and resources. It can open Microsoft Project files, so you can carry on working on an existing schedule. This is the one I point students to when they want to practise scheduling without paying for a licence.

6. OpenProject: Free, Open-Source and Self-Hosted

The OpenProject Community edition is free open-source software (GPLv3) that you install on your own server. It gives your team a shared web tool with work packages, Gantt charts and boards. It needs someone with IT skills to host it, but you keep full control of your data. Paid editions with support are also available from the vendor.

4. Microsoft Planner: If You Already Have M365

If your organisation has Microsoft 365, Planner is already included and gives you task boards and a simple timeline. Since August 2025, the features of Project for the web live in Planner under the paid Planner plans. Basic Planner is not a full Project replacement: check which Planner plan your licence includes before you rely on dependencies or resource views.

MS Project Alternatives: FAQ