GanttPRO vs Microsoft Project 2026: Affordable Cloud vs Enterprise Standard

GanttPRO vs Microsoft Project: what is the short answer?

Choose GanttPRO when your priority is dedicated cloud scheduling with critical path and baselines on every plan. Choose Microsoft Project when your priority is desktop scheduling depth, baselines, lead and lag, and the Microsoft ecosystem. Neither is universally better: the decisive questions are who needs to edit the schedule, whether critical path and baselines are required, and whether the surrounding workflow should be a focused scheduler or a broader work platform.

Checked on 18 October 2026: Prices and plan details below were checked against the vendors’ official pricing and help pages. Prices are USD list prices for annual billing unless stated otherwise; taxes, promotions, regions, legacy plans, and negotiated contracts can differ.

How do GanttPRO and Microsoft Project compare now?

The table separates a visible timeline from formal schedule controls. A product can show dated bars while placing dependencies, critical path, or baseline comparison on a higher tier. That distinction matters more than whether a marketing page simply says “Gantt.”

Figures and their sources

GanttPRO

Figure	Value	Source
Free plan	None; a 14-day trial	GanttPRO pricing
Core plan	$8 per user per month billed annually for 1–15 users, $9 monthly	GanttPRO pricing
Critical path and baselines	Included from Core	GanttPRO pricing
Rating	4.8 out of 5 from 560 reviews	GetApp

Microsoft Project

Figure	Value	Source
Project Standard 2024	$679.99 one-time, for one PC	Microsoft Project plans and pricing
Project Professional 2024	$1,129.99 one-time, for one PC	Microsoft Project plans and pricing
Desktop app by subscription	Comes with Planner and Project Plan 3, $30 per user per month paid yearly	Microsoft Planner plans and pricing
Project Online	Retired on 30 September 2026	Microsoft lifecycle: Project Online

Checked on 18 October 2026.

When is GanttPRO the better choice?

GanttPRO is the stronger fit when the priority is dedicated cloud scheduling with critical path and baselines on every plan. GanttPRO is a cloud scheduler for teams; workload and portfolio views come with Business, and storage is 1 GB per user.

Its current scheduling position is also clear: The Gantt chart is the core of every plan, from Core up. Dependencies are included on every plan, from Core up. Critical path is included on every plan, from Core up.

The main qualification is equally important. Every active user is a paid seat after the trial, there is no free plan, and a single user can only pay annually.

Choose GanttPRO if: its surrounding workflow matters as much as the chart, its current plan limits match the real editor group, and the team has tested one representative project rather than comparing feature names alone.

When is Microsoft Project the better choice?

Microsoft Project is the stronger fit when the priority is desktop scheduling depth, baselines, lead and lag, and the Microsoft ecosystem. Project desktop is a Windows app; shared web planning now happens in Planner, because Microsoft retired Project for the web on 1 August 2025 and Project Online on 30 September 2026.

For schedule buyers, the current entitlement is: Project desktop has Gantt Chart, Calendar, Network Diagram, and Task Sheet views; Planner Plan 1 and above add a web Timeline (Gantt) view. Project desktop supports all four link types (finish-to-start by default) with lead and lag; Planner and Project Plan 3 adds advanced dependencies with lead and lag on the web. Critical path is in Project Standard and Professional, and in Planner and Project Plan 3.

The tradeoff is not hidden. The product has a steeper learning curve and a higher price. Project Online was retired on 30 September 2026 and its projects are no longer accessible, so Microsoft now points Project Online customers to Planner Plan 3 or 5, or to Project Server Subscription Edition, which runs on their own servers.

Choose Microsoft Project if: its pricing unit matches how the team works, its scheduling tier contains every required control, and the product’s collaboration model fits internal and external participants.

What does the price comparison look like for 10 people?

• GanttPRO: For 10 users billed annually, Core is $960/year, Advanced $1,440/year, and Business $2,280/year.
• Microsoft Project: For 10 users, Planner and Project Plan 3 is $3,600/year. Ten Project Standard 2024 licenses are $6,799.90 one-time (Professional: $11,299.90).

Those figures are not automatically like-for-like. A free viewer, collaborator, guest, manager, or desktop user can have different permissions in each product. Compare the smallest group that must actually create tasks, change dates, restructure dependencies, and administer the schedule—not the total number of people who may open a link.

For procurement, model at least three cases: the current editor count, the editor count after one year, and the number of simultaneously active projects. Then confirm the result in each vendor’s checkout because seat limits, project add-ons, and regional pricing can change the total.

Which product has the stronger Gantt scheduling model?

GanttPRO: The Gantt chart is the core of every plan, from Core up. Dependencies are included on every plan, from Core up. Critical path is included on every plan, from Core up. Baselines are included on every plan, from Core up; workload and portfolios need Business.

Microsoft Project: Project desktop has Gantt Chart, Calendar, Network Diagram, and Task Sheet views; Planner Plan 1 and above add a web Timeline (Gantt) view. Project desktop supports all four link types (finish-to-start by default) with lead and lag; Planner and Project Plan 3 adds advanced dependencies with lead and lag on the web. Critical path is in Project Standard and Professional, and in Planner and Project Plan 3. Baselines are in Project Standard and Professional, and in Planner and Project Plan 3.

A stronger schedule model is not always the better product. A team may rationally accept lighter Gantt controls in exchange for automation, documents, dashboards, or ecosystem fit. Conversely, a project manager who recalculates handoffs daily should not buy a broad platform merely because it can display a timeline.

What should you test before choosing?

1. Import or rebuild one real project with at least 30 tasks.
2. Create the dependency types the project actually uses, including lag if relevant.
3. Move a predecessor and confirm how successors react.
4. Display critical path and a baseline using the tier you intend to buy.
5. Invite one scheduler, one contributor, and one read-only stakeholder.
6. Export the schedule in the format your clients or PMO require.
7. Price the exact number of paid editors and active projects at checkout.

This test exposes permission, scale, and plan-limit differences that a marketing comparison cannot.

When is GanttFather a better fit than GanttPRO or Microsoft Project?

GanttFather is the simpler cost pattern when a project needs a Gantt-first workspace, a small group of editors, and many reviewers. The free plan includes one project you own with two editor seats and unlimited free viewers, and no feature is locked to a paid plan: FS, SS, FF, and SF dependencies with lag and lead, critical path, milestones, auto-scheduling, Gantt, List, and Board (Kanban) views, Excel import and export, PDF and PNG reports, live updates from other editors, and an MCP server for AI agents. Each extra project is US$5 a month (US$2.50 a month billed yearly), and each extra editor seat is US$2 a month (US$1 a month billed yearly).

The limits should be explicit: GanttFather has no baselines, no task comments, and no automatic resource leveling; it runs only in the browser, with no desktop app or offline mode; and dependencies do not travel through its Excel import and export. Microsoft Project plans come in only as an Excel file exported from Project; GanttFather does not read .mpp or XML files. GanttPRO or Microsoft Project can be the better purchase when those capabilities, a larger ecosystem, or their specialized workflow outweighs the price difference.

Create a free GanttFather project and reproduce one dependency-heavy phase before deciding. For direct product pages, see GanttFather vs GanttPRO and GanttFather vs Microsoft Project.

Frequently asked questions

Is GanttPRO or Microsoft Project cheaper?

It depends on paid editors, active projects, and the feature tier. For 10 users billed annually, Core is $960/year, Advanced $1,440/year, and Business $2,280/year. For 10 users, Planner and Project Plan 3 is $3,600/year. Ten Project Standard 2024 licenses are $6,799.90 one-time (Professional: $11,299.90). Compare the exact checkout totals rather than multiplying a headline price that may use a different team-size band or project bundle.

Which one has a usable free Gantt chart?

GanttPRO: There is no free plan; new accounts get a 14-day fully featured trial. Microsoft Project: Microsoft lists no free edition; Planner and Project Plan 3 can be tried free for 30 days. “Free” should be evaluated with its usage, task, project, and collaboration limits—not just account creation.

Which one supports dependencies?

GanttPRO: Dependencies are included on every plan, from Core up. Microsoft Project: Project desktop supports all four link types (finish-to-start by default) with lead and lag; Planner and Project Plan 3 adds advanced dependencies with lead and lag on the web.

Which one supports critical path?

GanttPRO: Critical path is included on every plan, from Core up. Microsoft Project: Critical path is in Project Standard and Professional, and in Planner and Project Plan 3.

Which one supports baselines?

GanttPRO: Baselines are included on every plan, from Core up; workload and portfolios need Business. Microsoft Project: Baselines are in Project Standard and Professional, and in Planner and Project Plan 3.

How should a team migrate between them?

Export the smallest representative project first, preserve a copy of the source data, and validate task hierarchy, dates, dependency types, lag, assignees, comments, and custom fields after import. No cross-vendor migration preserves every permission, automation, dashboard, or integration, so budget time for manual reconstruction and acceptance testing.

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Sources

1. GanttPRO, Pricing
2. Microsoft, Project plans and pricing
3. Microsoft, Planner plans and pricing
4. Microsoft Learn, Planner trial
5. Microsoft Support, Link tasks in a project
6. Microsoft Learn, Project for the web service description
7. Microsoft Learn, Project Online lifecycle
8. Microsoft Planner blog, Project Online is retiring
9. GanttFather, Pricing