Microsoft Project is one of the best solutions used by teams in software development and other fields to manage projects, track progress, analyze workflow, allocate resources, increase productivity and more. But does that mean Microsoft Project is the right PM software for you? Not necessarily, which is why we’ve come up with a list of the best Microsoft Project alternatives, so you have plenty of options to choose from.
Features of Microsoft Project
Before we jump into our list of Microsoft Project alternatives, let’s discuss what PM software offers in terms of features so you can compare. Here are some of his highlights:
- The project home page provides a centralized view where you can quickly start new projects, review critical information, access recent projects, and more
- Timeline view (Gannt) to understand how project tasks are related to each other
- Display of the panel for visual monitoring of project tasks
- A grid view for project planning and management via an ordered list
- Collaboration through Microsoft Teams so you can hold meetings, chat, share files, etc.
- Simultaneous updating of tasks and the ability to assign tasks to specific team members
- Pre-built reports to track project progress, resources, portfolios, etc.
- Interactive road maps
- Timesheets for tracking time spent on tasks
Microsoft Project prices
Microsoft Project offers different pricing plans for development teams looking for cloud-based or on-premise solutions. Cloud-based solutions start with Project plan 1, which costs $10 per user, per month. It can help you manage projects through your web browser and includes features such as grid, board and timeline (Gantt) views, collaboration, co-authoring, project planning and scheduling, reporting and timing. Project plan 3 it costs $30 per user per month and offers scheduling tools accessible via a web browser or desktop client. It offers everything from Project plan 1, plus interactive road maps and resource management. The final cloud-based offering is Project plan 5, which costs $55 per user, per month. It gives you everything from Project plan 3plus portfolio selection and optimization, demand management, and enterprise resource planning and management.
If you’re looking for an on-premises project management solution, Microsoft is the cheapest offering Project Standard 2021. It costs $679.99 and best serves those who want to manage projects without the need for collaboration tools or other advanced features. Project Standard 2021 it gives you a desktop application and tools to manage tasks, reports and business intelligence.
It’s next Project Professional 2021, which costs $1,129.99 and is a comprehensive on-premises project management solution. It gives you advanced features to manage resources, timesheets, etc. And if you need a scalable and flexible on-premise project management solution, try Project Server. It has customized pricing and offers advanced analytics, demand management and more.
Strengths and weaknesses of Microsoft Project
What can motivate a project manager to look for an alternative to Microsoft Project? Discovering that PM software’s weaknesses outweigh its strengths. Here’s how Microsoft Project stacks up in terms of its pros and cons:
Strengths of Microsoft Project:
Some of the reasons why Microsoft Project is so popular include:
- Versatility to manage projects in many ways as MS Project supports Agile, Waterfall and hybrid methodologies and offers Scrum and Kanban capabilities
- Customizable workflow and task boards
- Tasks and projects can be customized with ease and just a few mouse clicks
- Knowledge is ideal for users of other Microsoft projects, such as Excel
- A centralized view from the home screen makes it easy to get started, access essential information, manage multiple projects, etc.
- It has powerful enough features for large organizations, unlike other PM software tailored to smaller ones
- Multiple views (Gantt, Kanban, grid, etc.) that you can quickly switch between for ultimate transparency
- Advanced time tracking features to increase efficiency
- Reports that are easy to generate and share with stakeholders
- Tools for managing resources such as employees, equipment and materials
- It allows you to assign tasks according to the capacity of the team member to avoid overload
Weaknesses of Microsoft Project:
Reasons for choosing an alternative to Microsoft Project include:
- A steep learning curve for anyone who is not an experienced project manager or highly technical
- The interface is not user-friendly
- Requires external team collaboration tools, such as Teams, Skype or Outlook
- Third-party integrations are limited and you’re mostly stuck with Microsoft products
- Prices can be expensive as you level up
Alternatives to Microsoft Project
If Microsoft Project doesn’t seem to meet your needs, here are some project management software alternatives that might be a better fit.
Monday.com
Monday.com offers easy onboarding and an intuitive interface for those looking for something simpler than Microsoft Project. It has multiple views (Kanban, calendar, map, list, timeline), custom workflows and dashboards, automation, strong customer support, pre-made templates and tons of integrations.
Why choose another MS Project alternative from Monday.com? Its spreadsheet format may not be for everyone, plus it has limited task dependencies and reporting capabilities.
You can learn more about Monday.com by reading our Monday.com project management software review.
ProofHub
ProofHub is another user-friendly alternative to Microsoft Project with a minimal learning curve. It gives you multiple views (Kanban, Calendar, Gantt), templates to get started easily, collaboration features, reports and custom workflows.
Like Microsoft Project, ProofHub’s integrations are limited.
Simple projects
As you can tell from the name, Easy Projects is PM software that prides itself on ease of use. Once you get started with Easy Projects, you can enjoy features like multiple views (to-do list, Kanban, list, Gantt), robust reporting, and integrations with more than 2,000 third-party tools. Easy Projects also offers fast customer support, time tracking, automated workflows and resource management.
One downside to Easy Projects is a bit surprising: some users say the software isn’t intuitive, though your mileage may vary.
Smartsheet
Spreadsheet fans may find Smartsheet an ideal alternative to Microsoft Project. Smartsheet is most commonly used by businesses, but other businesses can use its multiple views (calendar, project, card, grid), automation, collaboration, and real-time reports. Unlike MS Project, Smartsheet is strong in third-party integrations.
What might stop you from choosing Smartsheet over Microsoft Project? It too has a steep learning curve, and its price can be high compared to other PM software on the market. And if you have a ton of data to manage, Smartsheet’s performance might be slow.
To learn more about its features and pros and cons, check out our Smartsheet project management tool review.
GanttPRO
One of the biggest disadvantages of Microsoft Project is that it is not easy to use and takes time to learn. GanttPRO is the opposite, as PM software is surprisingly easy to use, but packs a punch when it comes to features. Once members of your development team receive an invitation to GanttPRO, they can start using features for collaboration, time tracking, project management, portfolio management, resource management, and more. GanttPRO offers Gantt chart templates to get you started quickly, multiple views (Gantt, task, board), drag and drop resource allocation, auto-scheduling, critical path, and a variety of sharing and exporting options to keep everyone up to date.
As for where it falls behind, GanttPRO is light on integrations, but so is Microsoft Project.
See our GanttPRO Project Management overview for more information on the PM tool.
Wrike
Wrike is one of the best all-in-one project solutions you’ll come across. Provided you’re not managing a small team, Wrike can serve as an alternative to your MS Project with a list of features that include task management, portfolio management, reporting, collaboration, and resource management.
Wrike can take some time to set up and learn, so if you’re looking for something with a minimal learning curve, try one of the other MS Project alternatives on this list.
Read our Wrike project management software review to see its features, pros and cons.
Other project management software for developers
Didn’t find project management software for your development team in our selection above? We have some other lists of project management tools that can help you narrow down your search: