Microsoft Project
Microsoft's scheduling powerhouse — Gantt, critical path, and portfolios in the cloud.
What is Microsoft Project?
Microsoft Project is a project management application for planning, scheduling, and tracking complex projects. Long the industry standard for project managers, it offers Gantt charts, critical-path scheduling, resource management, and portfolio views in desktop and cloud editions.
Best known for: Industry-standard Gantt charts and critical-path project scheduling
Key features
- Gantt chart scheduling
- Critical path analysis
- Resource and workload management
- Portfolio and program management
- Grid, board, and timeline views
- Project Online cloud collaboration
Who Microsoft Project is best for
- Teams on Microsoft 365 that want native integration
- PMs needing rigorous scheduling (baselines, critical path, resource leveling)
- Enterprises managing portfolios and capacity
Ideal team: Mid-to-large organizations with a dedicated project manager and an existing Microsoft 365 estate needing traditional, schedule-driven PM over a lightweight task board.
Microsoft Project pricing
Planner Plan 1
$10/per seat / mo
- Task dependencies + sprints
- Calendar/Timeline/People views
- Premium templates & custom fields
Planner and Project Plan 3
$30/per seat / mo
- Project desktop + Project Online
- Baselines & critical path
- Resource & portfolio management
Costs to watch before you commit
- Cloud plans require an annual commitment to buy online (not cancel-anytime monthly).
- The former Project Plan 5 reached End of Sale May 1, 2026 — no longer sold to new buyers.
- The real Project desktop + scheduling engine unlocks only at Plan 3 ($30) — Plan 1 is essentially Planner.
- Perpetual on-prem licenses are pricey one-time buys (Standard 2024 ~$680; Professional 2024 ~$1,130).
Top Microsoft Project alternatives
Popular Project Management tools teams evaluate alongside Microsoft Project.
GanttPROOnline Gantt chart maker for professional, timeline-driven project management.
LinearStreamlined, high-velocity issue tracking for product teams.
MeisterTaskIntuitive Kanban task and project management for teams that value simplicity.
Aha!Product management software to link strategy to detailed, AI-assisted roadmaps.
ClickUpOne app to replace them all — tasks, docs, goals, and automations.