Gantt Chart is a common project management program that is used through the construction industry at all stages of project planning. Gantt easy provides many features that make it flexible enough to allow you to track clients, projects and timelines. Features include: – date and name fields – set up timeline days – link instances – calculate tasks – calculate subtasks – comments field – version number field – capabilities for creating variations and extra dates – build and save as image
In this review we shall be looking at best software for Gantt Chart.
TeamGantt
Teamgantt is a very good option when it comes to project scheduling, as it lets users manage their projects easily and visibly. With TeamGantt you get the basics: tasks, timelines, and team assignments. What makes TeamGantt great is their understanding of the project management mentality and philosophy, and they make sure to apply it to their product. This tool offers a wholesome look of every project, their tasks, next to their deadlines and resources.
You’ll love that this system offers interactive Gantt charts and it’s very intuitive. Anyone on your team will be able to check it out and get started using it quickly and easily. And if they have any trouble there’s tutorial content that’s designed to help them along. The downside is that you’ll find budgeting and invoicing aren’t here and there are only average reporting features. Not to mention the discussions, file upload and notifications aren’t quite as stellar as you might want.
TeamGantt Features:
– Baselines
– Drag&Drop
– Multiple project view in one Gantt chart
– Guest permission
Overall, you’ll find a lot of great options with TeamGantt, especially if you want to get started with some of the more basic features and skip some of the more complicated things (or at least leave them until later).
ProofHub:
ProofHub is well-known for bringing together several tools that make project management an easy-breezy task. Managers can plan projects, visualize tasks, and modify schedules easily using ProofHub’s built-in Gantt charts.
As a manager, you always stay ahead of the game by having complete control over the tasks associated with a project. The Gantt chart offered by ProofHub allows you to set dependencies between different tasks, drag and drop tasks on the chart to change their durations, and much more. Additionally, the platform allows teams to stay in touch with one another and start discussions related to the project.
Another big benefit is the competitive pricing that you’ll find with ProofHub. For all the features that you’ll get there are some great deals to be had. And because it’s quick and easy to get started with you don’t have to worry about the learning curve or downtime for your entire team while you figure things out.The system is easy enough but still offers a good amount of features, but you’ll find that there are no budgeting tools and sometimes it’s going to be a little slow to get going. You might notice that your load time is not quite what you want it to be.
ProofHub Features:
- Multiple calendar views
- Timesheets
- File and document sharing
- Real-time in app and desktop notifications
- Chat tool for communication
- Markup tools for reviewing and suggesting edits
- Bookmark projects, tasks, discussions, etc.
Overall, ProofHub gives you a variety of features and even gives you chat tools and markup options. You’ll be able to do all of the project management that you need and then some. There are a couple drawbacks, such as load speed, and you’ll need a separate budgeting platform, but overall it’s designed to get things done.
Wrike
Wrike stands out for its organizational design. It serves as a table view, with assignees, task names, start and end dates; very easy to view and to understand.
This popular Gantt chart software allows you to see responsibilities and performance, thanks to its Workload View, one of its stars features. It also allows for easy communication between team members as it lets people adjust the necessary aspects within a project and to stay on top of any changes, minimizing the need for meetings.
You’ll also find new intelligent features, special account types and the ability to manage just about anything and everything you need. Wrike is designed to make sure that any type of business is able to manage and monitor their work, whether it’s larger projects or ongoing tasks. The downside that you’ll find here is that there are several different plans available and it can be difficult to figure out just which one is right for you. Getting in touch with customer service is generally going to be required so you can make sure that you’re on the right one.
Wrike Features:
- Critical path
- Folder hierarchy
- Collaborative team editing
Overall, you’ll find that Wrike has a lot of features and there are plenty of options when it comes to the different plans. That can be a little bit of a downside because you’ll need to pick a plan out of the different options, but it also means that things are going to be rather customized to your business needs.
Smartsheet
Smartsheet’s focus is to offer people a platform where all project information can be kept. Expect no beautiful or techy design, as it basically focuses on providing online spreadsheets.
Smartsheet offers great, useful templates, though, so it’s very easy to input your own information into a pre-built project management template that fits your needs. It allows you to see your project tasks and then click on the different parts to connect your own tasks, expenses, dependencies, and overall project related information.
You’ll get a whole lot of customization options here, which is one of the main benefits of working with this program. You’ll also find that you have plenty of automation options that can come from just about anywhere and work with just about any of the processes of the program. On the downside you will find that there are some things that you can’t do. You won’t get autosave options, which can be a downside when you’re working with large groups. It also doesn’t update in real time, which means if more than one person is working on something at the same time you won’t know it.
Smartsheet Features:
- Spreadsheet templates
- Predecessor tasks
- Automated workflows
Overall, this system is designed to be a smarter and more intuitive spreadsheet, but it doesn’t have all of the features that you might expect from Gantt charts. You’re going to want to work on this one with your team and make sure that everyone knows the downfalls if you do decide to go with it, and make sure everyone knows to check in before making too many changes.
GanttPRO
GanttPro is a very neatly designed Gantt chart tool, and it’s one of the most popular options around. It’s very simple to use and it focuses on intuitive, quick work.
GanttPro allows its users to create several workspaces and projects, and as soon as they’re done creating them, its drag & drop option makes it easy to start adding tasks and setting them a start and due date. This online tool also provides management options to differentiate permissions to different team members within different projects.
One of the biggest benefits you’ll find here is that it’s an inexpensive system, so you can get started without a lot of overhead. Plus, it has a great design and it’s really focused on Gantt charts rather than any of the other aspects you might consider. There are also other chart options if you prefer to try out something new.On the other hand, if you’re looking for integrations or mobile options you’re not going to get everything here. GanttPro does not have any reporting tools or customization options for dashboards. And they don’t integrate with most other systems. So you’ll have to set up those systems entirely separately if need be.
GanttPro Features:
- Workload tracking and management module
- Drag & drop
- Splitting tasks and subtasks
- Merging dependencies
Overall, you’ll find some good things about GanttPro that you don’t want to miss out on, like the cost and the design. You’ll also like that it keeps your history so you can undo changes that were made by mistake. Plus you get different options for the style of board that you want to use, which makes it easy for you to find something.
Agantty – Best for small- or medium-sized teams
Drill down into each task with plenty of customizable project and status tags.
Agantty is a free, easy, and clear project management tool that can be used for an unlimited amount of projects, tasks, and teams. Users will appreciate being able to administer an unlimited number of teams and tasks with a single account, as well as look up your To-Dos on a clean, comprehensive dashboard.
Pros
- Super clear delineated responsibilities and milestone dates
- Easy to view the chart by team member, calendar date, etc.
- Easy to share and distribute charts
Cons
- Can’t export in .PDF currently
- Better for long-term goals, not daily/weekly tasks
- No autosave for the Notes feature
GanttProject – Best for robust export options
A no-clutter, no frills Gantt chart builder with comprehensive resource spreadsheets.
GanttProject lets you break down your daily and weekly work, build a Gantt chart timeline, assign resources, calculate project costs, and then export the results easily to PDF, CSV, or PNG. You can import and export data directly into/out of MS Project and Excel, as well. GanttProject serves over 25 languages at this time.
Pros
- Reads and writes MS Project files
- Can export to CSV, PDF, HTML, and PNG
- Offers resource management with conflict checks
Cons
- You can only open one project at a time
- Reporting could be more customizable/editable
- Zooming and scrolling across large projects can be jumpy
dotProject – Best for DIY community support
Each task entry can be endlessly detailed, allowing managers to add as much or as little data as they want.
DotProject is a free, volunteer-supported Gantt chart and planning application that is managed, maintained, developed, and supported by a volunteer group of users. This means that there is no corporate headquarters to whom you can reach out to for support. However, PMs will have access to a large community of volunteer developers and very active online support forums—something DIYers will love.
Pros
- Granular task management and details available
- Easy movement of a task from one project to another
- Many add-on modules for additional functionality
Cons
- No rich-text (bold, italics, etc.)
- No default export or print functionality for Gantt charts
- Several documented bugs at this time
Tom’s Planner – Best free Gantt chart software for individuals or freelancers
Put related tasks on the same row so your chart doesn’t stretch vertically to infinity.
Tom’s Planner is a free project management app that is super quick and easy to use, making it great for users who don’t have a ton of time or resources to play with. You can easily drag and drop color-coded time blocks, stretch and contract individual task bars, and zoom in and out from hourly to monthly views.
Tom’s Planner costs from $9.95/user/month and offers a 14-day free trial.
Pros
- Very quick and simple to build a basic chart
- Has chart templates for construction, web design, business, and events
- Track status with percentages, traffic lights, icons, or colored time blocks
Cons
- Lack of 3rd-party integrations available
- Best for small to medium project sizes
- Only 1 user can edit a document at a time
RationalPlan – Best for fast onboarding
Easily track a project’s evolution in terms of completion, time, and costs.
RationalPlan is a user-friendly, incredibly intuitive project management software designed to help teams create project plans, allocate resources, analyze workload, track work progress, estimate project costs, and manage budgets. Their free Gantt chart tool is a very easy way to quickly highlight dependencies, baselines, and critical paths.
RationalPlan costs from $4 per license and offers a freemium version for up to 2 users with a maximum of 2 projects.
Pros
- Excellent critical path highlighting
- Can read Microsoft Project files
- Runs natively on Mac OS
Cons
- Free plan only includes max 2 users and 2 project
- No mobile app available
Microsoft Project
Who doesn’t know Microsoft Project? It’s probably the most reliable option in all things project management related. It might be the go-to option for most, as it’s developed and sold by Microsoft.
However, it lacks the flexibility an online Gantt chart software will provide for you. Yes, it is very robust when it comes to monitoring resources, budgets, and timelines, especially for large projects, but it might turn out to be just a little too hard to use for teams that just wish to keep track of their progress and to follow through simple project execution.
If you want a whole lot of features and power then you’re going to find it with Microsoft Project. This system gives you a whole lot of highly detailed options and some of the most customizable reports that you’ll find with any of the other systems. That makes it great for those who want to track anything and everything.On the downside, you’ll find that this system is a little more difficult to use and even difficult to purchase. For those who don’t need a lot of the extra features you may want to opt for something a little more simplistic. You’ll also find that it doesn’t integrate with many other apps even though it can do a whole lot of other things, and it’s somewhat expensive comparatively.
Microsoft Project Features:
- Lists
- Attachments
- Schedule development
- Resource assignment
- Progress tracking
- Budget analysis
- Templates
- Advanced reporting
Overall, their Gantt chart is slotted in split screens next to task lists and due dates to give you all of your timeline details in one view. This can be overwhelming for users who aren’t used to the volume of info and only need to view a few details or attachments. MS Project is definitely built for project managers who are monitoring timelines, budgets, and progress but is not necessarily the best fit for individual contributors who just need to see their next task.
Click Up
Click Up deems itself as an elegant Gantt chart software option. It allows its users to schedule, manage dependencies, and prioritize tasks into a project timeline. Its beautiful and swift interface makes it easy to manage projects by creating lists, tasks and following the overall progress of a project.
However, if you want to try the Gantt view option, you will have to have access to a Click Up paid plan. Once you get into it, however, you’ll find a number of good features and options that make it possible for you to work more efficiently.This system is inexpensive and offers plenty of different compatibility options. Not only that but it offers 24/7 support with a live representative and plenty of training options to go along with it. That way your entire team can get the hang of the system in no time at all. You’ll also get a number of additional features like portfolio management, resource management and cost-to-completion tracking. On the other side you’ll find that it can be a little difficult to figure out some of the options because there are so many features. It can also be difficult to get started and get things situated for the first time. If you make a mistake it can cause problems for the entire system. You’ll want to get a bit of help and definitely go through the training options to find out more about how it all works.
ClickUp Features:
- Multiple views
- Assigned comments
- Task tray
- Notepad
- Notifications
- Integrations
- Dark mode
Overall, you’ll find that this system gives you a whole lot of features and that’s a great way to go when it comes to tracking everything that your team needs to get done on a daily basis. But you’ll want to get some help preparing for how the system works.
Conclusion
If you’re a project manager, then chances are that you’ve probably been through numerous iterations of the Gantt Chart. This chart dates back to the early 1900s, and was developed by Henry Gantt who worked at the United States Steel Corporation. When he developed it back in 1904, he used a different color, however, most project managers continue to use his original basic template alongside a few other designs including Microsoft Project and Graph Kiz. This basic template is what most people refer to as a project Gantt Chart. There are numerous benefits to using a Gantt Chart during any period of time – from being used for estimating jobs, managing projects or even time tracking tasks – there are plenty of benefits as