Gantt Chart Maker vs Google Sheets
A free, no-signup Gantt chart tool compared with Google Sheets — feature by feature, and honestly about who each one fits.
Open the free app →Google Sheets is free, collaborative, and everywhere, and there are plenty of Gantt templates and add-ons that bend it into a timeline. If you want a shared sheet a whole team can edit at once, it is hard to beat. But like Excel, the "Gantt" is a manual construction — colored cells or a stacked bar chart — with no dependencies and no automatic rescheduling.
Gantt Chart Maker gives you the real thing: dependencies, milestones, and drag-to-reschedule, also for free, also in the browser — and it too offers live collaboration when you want it.
Google Sheets vs Gantt Chart Maker at a glance
| Feature | Gantt Chart Maker | Google Sheets |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — every feature | Free (Google account) |
| Account to start | Not required | Google account |
| Runs in the browser | Yes — installable PWA | Yes |
| Works offline | Yes | Limited |
| Your data stays on your device | Yes, by default | Google cloud |
| Gantt view | Yes — purpose-built | Manual / templates |
| Task dependencies | Yes — live re-routing, lag/lead | No |
| MS Project import / export | Yes (.xml both ways) | No |
| Live collaboration | Yes — free (optional account) | Yes — free |
| Best for | Fast, focused Gantt planning | Shared spreadsheets |
Comparison reflects publicly documented features as of July 2026. Competitor free tiers, plans, and features may change — check their site for the latest.
Where Google Sheets is strong
- Free, with excellent real-time multi-user collaboration.
- Familiar to almost everyone; nothing to install.
- A large library of templates and add-ons.
- Great when the plan is really a shared list or tracker.
Where Gantt Chart Maker is different
Both are free and browser-based, so the question is what you are drawing. In Sheets, a Gantt is cells you format and dates you maintain by hand. In Gantt Chart Maker, the Gantt is native — dependencies re-route as you drag, milestones are diamonds, and you can export to PNG, PDF, CSV, or Microsoft Project XML. Your data stays on your device by default rather than in a Google cloud file.
Which should you choose?
Choose Google Sheets if you want a shared spreadsheet the whole team edits and a manual chart is fine. Choose Gantt Chart Maker if you want an actual Gantt — dependencies included — that is just as free.
Frequently asked questions
Can Google Sheets make a real Gantt chart?
Only manually — via a stacked bar chart or colored cells, with dates kept by hand and no dependencies. A dedicated Gantt handles the scheduling for you.
Does Gantt Chart Maker collaborate in real time like Sheets?
Yes — it offers free real-time collaboration on a chart (an optional account is needed to share the live session).
Can I import a Google Sheets task list?
Export the sheet to CSV and import it, or rebuild the plan by dragging bars — most timelines take only a couple of minutes.
Try it — it opens in seconds
Gantt Chart Maker runs entirely in your browser: no signup, no account, nothing to install. Build a plan with dependencies in under a minute.
Open the app →