Gantt Chart Maker vs Microsoft Project
A free, no-signup Gantt chart tool compared with Microsoft Project — feature by feature, and honestly about who each one fits.
Open the free app →Microsoft Project is the tool most people picture when they hear "Gantt chart." It has been the enterprise standard for decades, and for good reason: its scheduling engine is deep, its resource and portfolio management is serious, and it is woven into the wider Microsoft ecosystem. It is also priced and built for that world — a paid licence or subscription, a real learning curve, and far more machinery than a single plan usually needs.
Gantt Chart Maker sits at the other end of the spectrum. It opens in a browser tab, needs no account, costs nothing, and gives you a working Gantt chart with dependencies in under a minute. The trade is honest: it is not an enterprise portfolio system. If you want to draw, share, and export a project timeline without buying a seat, it is the faster path.
Microsoft Project vs Gantt Chart Maker at a glance
| Feature | Gantt Chart Maker | Microsoft Project |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — every feature | Paid licence / subscription |
| Account to start | Not required | Microsoft account |
| Runs in the browser | Yes — installable PWA | Web + Windows desktop |
| Works offline | Yes | Desktop only |
| Your data stays on your device | Yes, by default | Microsoft 365 cloud |
| Gantt view | Yes — purpose-built | Yes |
| Task dependencies | Yes — live re-routing, lag/lead | Yes — advanced |
| MS Project import / export | Yes (.xml both ways) | Native format |
| Live collaboration | Yes — free (optional account) | Paid (Project / 365) |
| Best for | Fast, focused Gantt planning | Enterprise portfolios & resourcing |
Comparison reflects publicly documented features as of July 2026. Competitor free tiers, plans, and features may change — check their site for the latest.
Where Microsoft Project is strong
- A genuinely deep scheduling engine — constraints, calendars, effort-driven tasks, and baselines.
- Serious resource and cost management across many projects and a portfolio view.
- Tight integration with the Microsoft 365 stack (Teams, Power BI, SharePoint).
- The de-facto file format that agencies, contractors, and PMOs expect to exchange.
Where Gantt Chart Maker is different
Gantt Chart Maker deliberately does less, faster. You get dependencies (with live arrow re-routing and lag/lead), multi-task drag, and export to PNG, PDF, CSV, and Microsoft Project XML — but not resource levelling, cost tracking, or portfolio roll-ups. For a single project or a plan you need to communicate, that is usually the point. And because it imports and exports .xml, it interoperates with Project rather than locking you out of it.
Which should you choose?
Choose Microsoft Project if you manage resource-loaded schedules at enterprise scale, run a portfolio, or must exchange native Project files daily. Choose Gantt Chart Maker if you want a real Gantt — dependencies and all — in seconds, for free, with nothing to install and no account to create.
Frequently asked questions
Can Gantt Chart Maker open Microsoft Project files?
Yes. It imports and exports Microsoft Project XML (.xml), so you can move a plan between the two. It does not read the binary .mpp format directly — export to XML from Project first.
Is there a free version of Microsoft Project?
No ongoing free tier — Project is a paid licence or subscription, though trials exist. Gantt Chart Maker is free with every feature, no account required.
Is Gantt Chart Maker a full replacement for Project?
For drawing, sharing, and exporting a project timeline, yes. For enterprise resource levelling, cost management, and portfolio reporting, no — that is where Project earns its price.
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 →