GanttProject vs Microsoft Project comparison for 2026, verified August 7. Compare current pricing, Gantt, dependencies, critical path, baselines, collaboration, and GanttFather.
GanttProject vs Microsoft Project: what is the short answer?
Choose GanttProject when your priority is offline scheduling, local file ownership, and no subscription. Choose Microsoft Project when your priority is desktop scheduling depth, baselines, lead/lag, and Microsoft portfolio work. 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.
Verified August 7, 2026: Prices and plan packaging 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 GanttProject and Microsoft Project compare now?
| Decision point | GanttProject | Microsoft Project |
|---|---|---|
| Free access | The desktop application is GPL3 software with an optional donation; free and paid downloads are functionally identical. | There is no permanent free plan. Microsoft now packages Project desktop with Planner and Project Plan 3. |
| Current starting price | The desktop application costs $0. GanttProject Cloud is a separate service and should not be confused with the local app. | Planner and Project Plan 3 is $30 per user/month, paid yearly, and includes the Project desktop application. |
| Gantt availability | The Gantt chart is the primary desktop planning surface on Windows, macOS, and Linux. | Project desktop remains Microsoft’s deepest scheduling interface, while premium Planner provides web and Teams planning. |
| Dependencies | The scheduler supports FS, SS, FF, and SF relationships plus positive or negative lag. | Plan 3 includes advanced dependencies with lead and lag; Project desktop supports formal schedule logic. |
| Critical path | The desktop product supports critical-path analysis. | Plan 3 includes critical path. |
| Baselines | The desktop product supports project baselines and local project files. | Plan 3 includes baselines and Project desktop. |
| Collaboration model | The base desktop app is file-based rather than a built-in simultaneous multi-user cloud workspace. | The package combines a desktop scheduling tool with Microsoft 365 web and Teams collaboration. |
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.”
When is GanttProject the better choice?
GanttProject is the stronger fit when the priority is offline scheduling, local file ownership, and no subscription. The base desktop app is file-based rather than a built-in simultaneous multi-user cloud workspace.
Its current scheduling position is also clear: The Gantt chart is the primary desktop planning surface on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The scheduler supports FS, SS, FF, and SF relationships plus positive or negative lag. The desktop product supports critical-path analysis.
The main qualification is equally important. Real-time browser collaboration, mobile access, and SaaS workflow automation are not part of the base desktop application.
Choose GanttProject 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/lag, and Microsoft portfolio work. The package combines a desktop scheduling tool with Microsoft 365 web and Teams collaboration.
For schedule buyers, the current entitlement is: Project desktop remains Microsoft’s deepest scheduling interface, while premium Planner provides web and Teams planning. Plan 3 includes advanced dependencies with lead and lag; Project desktop supports formal schedule logic. Plan 3 includes critical path.
The tradeoff is not hidden. The product has a steeper learning curve and higher per-user price; Project Online retires on September 30, 2026, so buyers should plan around Planner and Project desktop rather than a new Project Online deployment.
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?
- GanttProject: The desktop application is $0 for any team size, although coordination and file-sharing infrastructure are the team’s responsibility.
- Microsoft Project: For 10 licensed users, Planner and Project Plan 3 is $3,600/year, before any other Microsoft 365 subscription.
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 buckets, project add-ons, and regional pricing can change the total.
Which product has the stronger Gantt scheduling model?
GanttProject: The Gantt chart is the primary desktop planning surface on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The scheduler supports FS, SS, FF, and SF relationships plus positive or negative lag. The desktop product supports critical-path analysis. The desktop product supports project baselines and local project files.
Microsoft Project: Project desktop remains Microsoft’s deepest scheduling interface, while premium Planner provides web and Teams planning. Plan 3 includes advanced dependencies with lead and lag; Project desktop supports formal schedule logic. Plan 3 includes critical path. Plan 3 includes baselines and Project desktop.
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?
- Import or rebuild one real project with at least 30 tasks.
- Create the dependency types the project actually uses, including lag if relevant.
- Move a predecessor and confirm how successors react.
- Display critical path and a baseline using the tier you intend to buy.
- Invite one scheduler, one contributor, and one read-only stakeholder.
- Export the schedule in the format your clients or PMO require.
- 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 GanttProject or Microsoft Project?
GanttFather is the simpler cost pattern when a project needs a Gantt-first workspace, no more than two included editors, and many reviewers. The free tier includes one owned project, two editor seats, unlimited viewers and guests, FS/SS/FF/SF dependencies with lag, critical-path highlighting, Kanban, Excel import/export, real-time sharing, REST API access, and a native MCP server.
The limits should be explicit: GanttFather does not currently provide automatic resource leveling or a dedicated schedule-baseline overlay. GanttProject 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 GanttProject and GanttFather vs Microsoft Project.
Frequently asked questions
Is GanttProject or Microsoft Project cheaper?
It depends on paid editors, active projects, and the feature tier. The desktop application is $0 for any team size, although coordination and file-sharing infrastructure are the team’s responsibility. For 10 licensed users, Planner and Project Plan 3 is $3,600/year, before any other Microsoft 365 subscription. 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?
GanttProject: The desktop application is GPL3 software with an optional donation; free and paid downloads are functionally identical. Microsoft Project: There is no permanent free plan. Microsoft now packages Project desktop with Planner and Project Plan 3. “Free” should be evaluated with its usage, task, project, and collaboration limits—not just account creation.
Which one supports dependencies?
GanttProject: The scheduler supports FS, SS, FF, and SF relationships plus positive or negative lag. Microsoft Project: Plan 3 includes advanced dependencies with lead and lag; Project desktop supports formal schedule logic.
Which one supports critical path?
GanttProject: The desktop product supports critical-path analysis. Microsoft Project: Plan 3 includes critical path.
Which one supports baselines?
GanttProject: The desktop product supports project baselines and local project files. Microsoft Project: Plan 3 includes baselines and Project desktop.
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.
Sources
