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Microsoft Project vs Planisware comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Project
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
Project Management Software (3rd)
Planisware
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Project Portfolio Management (6th)
 

Featured Reviews

Nurul Asyikin Wahab - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient project management with robust data tracking and an easy setup
When I have too many elements or items in a project, it becomes cumbersome, especially during printing. Non-technical users do not need all the data, so it's primarily for technical personnel. Without guidance, it's challenging to use the app. With guidance and expert knowledge, it becomes manageable, however, it's not for non-technical teams. The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing. Printing on A3 size is quite burdensome, so I prefer viewing it on a tablet or computer. On a tablet or phone, I can see the full project elements depending on the screen size.
John Andrew Kossey - PeerSpot reviewer
Capably brings single source of truth to enterprise project portfolio management; provides consequential, flexible data display with effective visualization; integrated use of Agile, Kanban
Historically, some releases--even with extensive delays from initial announcement--had minor, yet troubling glitches. Planisware Enterprise has been addressing this shortcoming with more frequent releases that include helpful improvements. 7.0.0 release was January 2021; 7.0.1 March 2021; 7.0.2 July 2021; 7.0.3 December 2021; 7.0.4 March 2022. 7.1 became available in September 2023. Documentation has become much more thorough and clearly illustrated. Release notes for 7.0.4 has 133 pages. In my experience, small irritations I reported in E7 have been fixed in several days. SaaS provisions that Planisware provides in relation to security are superior to what smaller organizations can afford. Planisware SaaS no longer relies upon third-party providers. Faster data response time is a user benefit. Availability of Planisware software as a service (SaaS) contributes to operational stability; your team still needs to keep the configuration responsive to evolving business needs. Each customer has responsibility for continuing to grow "know why" as well as "know how." Investing in local capabilities on your customer side is vital--both for technical configuration and functional administrators. Over-dependence on the vendor can be needlessly expensive. Discussions with fellow Planisware customers conclude that commitment to achieving and sustaining product proficiency across versions is a key best practice. At-cost Planisware certification courses can provide training for a corporate customer's advanced users (those responsible for maintaining L1 level changes). One function I have requested for P6 and continuing through E7 is a comprehensive, detailed listing of attributes across modules--somewhat similar to attribute display in OPX2 versions (pre-P5). Some few attributes (e.g., Z-order) are difficult to document completely. Pull-down list of hundreds of attributes is insufficient.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The daily tracker is valuable."
"Microsoft Project is one of the only solutions you can use in just about any industry. It's difficult to do that with most other project management tools. There is a lot of flexibility within the product assets. Most sectors can utilize Microsoft Project successfully because it doesn't have any generic adapters."
"I find the planning features the most valuable to me."
"I like that I can change the task and include different resources related to the task."
"It is easy to use and pretty intuitive. User interfaces have stayed the same for the most part for the last 20 years. So, there is a familiarity."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Project is the reminder feature. This feature allows for the system to send notifications or reminders to individuals who have a task to complete once someone has finished their task. This has been especially useful in situations where multiple people are involved in a task. For example, if I have completed my task and the next person is just beginning, the system will send them a reminder to notify them of my completion. This feature has proven to be very beneficial and convenient for me in my tasks."
"The ability to break down project phases is most valuable. Being able to align the tasks and reporting with project milestones and progress is also valuable."
"The setup is pretty simple."
"The area that could benefit from improvement in this Planisware is the project management tool. I have previously used Project Server, which is a Microsoft solution, and I found it to be more user-friendly as it included a client solution. In contrast, with this solution, the only option available is the online version, making it difficult to create activities, milestones, and other necessary components. This is in comparison to Planisware, which offers a more comprehensive solution."
"Planisware has introduced Agile concepts, making it capable of Agile management similar to Jira and other Agile tools."
"There are two things in particular that I enjoy. The first is the portfolio planning section. Another advantage is that it is highly customizable."
"Planisware offers integration with multiple tools and provides a good level of customization."
"The solution is performance-oriented and easily customized accordingly to many areas, such as performance KPI."
"It has an inbuilt BI tool, which can be compared to Power BI or Tableau."
"It stands out by automating the intricate mechanics of project execution, eliminating the need for highly technical individuals to manage and reconfigure models."
"We have a variety of different modules, but it is mainly used for costs, risks, and resources."
 

Cons

"When I have too many elements or items in a project, it becomes cumbersome, especially during printing."
"We'd like the solution to have better integration with other third-party and open-source solutions."
"If Project had a better mechanism to allow those who are not the project manager to see their own work tasks, that would be of help or of value to us."
"When a project plan becomes huge, it is painful to arrange and structure the project in Microsoft Project. Currently, you require a separate product for managing agile projects, and people are using Jira and Rally to manage stories in agile. Primarily, on the software development side, people are kind of moving away from Microsoft Project."
"I would like to see a direct integration of Microsoft Project with AutoCAD. It will make client presentations easy."
"It would be better if the solution is integrated with other communication platforms like Microsoft Teams."
"It is a traditional Waterfall-based solution, so it doesn't lend itself particularly well to Agile development. You can record Agile sprints within it, but it is not really an Agile-based product. It can store the basic information about budgets that an Agile set of work is looking to use, but that's about it."
"When you start getting into the more advanced features, it can become unstable. The more you use the advanced features, the more exposure you have to an unanticipated result. I think we need to add the Kanban Board capability to the product that would help them advance that board into the project management methodology that's being used in the industry today. Being able to depend on Scrum management is key."
"The UI and UX of Planisware are not that advanced."
"The biggest con for Planisware is that if you are not a Planisware partner, you don't have access to their functions, making it difficult for beginners and new team members."
"More integration is needed with other kinds of products for better collaboration."
"The learning curve is steep and there could be more avenues for opening up learning materials to a broader audience, enabling individuals to gain practical experience with the tool."
"I have experienced some issues, and that’s okay. It tends to be stable when the server's processing power and memory are adequate."
"Its stability should be improved. Its stability is the main issue, but we sometimes also have issues with calculations."
"The area that could benefit from improvement in this Planisware is the project management tool. I have previously used Project Server, which is a Microsoft solution, and I found it to be more user-friendly as it included a client solution. In contrast, with this solution, the only option available is the online version, making it difficult to create activities, milestones, and other necessary components. This is in comparison to Planisware, which offers a more comprehensive solution."
"The solution's user experience and user interface need improvement because they are not that great and intuitive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten since I feel it is a bit costly."
"The product is not expensive. My company has opted for an annual subscription."
"It gets expensive when having to add all of the plugins and everything that you need."
"Its price could be reduced a little."
"The solution is expensive."
"The solution has a decent annual license subscription cost, which is not high."
"Licensing costs vary depending on the user volume. The pricing is good, I'd rate it four out of five."
"The solution is less expensive than other options."
"There are training and certification costs."
"The solution is expensive and support is an extra cost. There are three license types to choose from, and we only pay for support and cloud services depending on our needs."
"It comes with a high cost."
"The solution could be less expensive and the cost of scaling is expensive too."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
64%
Computer Software Company
5%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Government
4%
Manufacturing Company
18%
Energy/Utilities Company
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Has anyone moved from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet? How has your experience been with Smartsheet?
Hi @Eire Zimmermann, I helped an organization evaluate both MS-Project and Smartsheet when they were conducting their PM tool RFP. The short of it is this, MS Project is not caught up with the mo...
What do you like most about Microsoft Project?
The product's initial setup phase is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project?
The issue with Microsoft is that the license is per personnel, making it expensive.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Planisware?
I don't have any specific details, however, it might be expensive.
What needs improvement with Planisware?
I haven't had the time to work with any other TPM tools, so I can't compare it to other tools just yet.
What is your primary use case for Planisware?
We actually use it for project planning and estimating the cost for the projects, in resource management, and as a timecard application. Users can log their time using the timesheet.
 

Also Known As

Project Pro, MS Project
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aston Martin, ABANCA, Airbus Group, Capita, Cardiff University, City of Saskatoon, Intel, Pegasus Airlines, South Australia Power Network (SAPN), Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing
Apotex, Alstom Transport, HP, Stryker, Rexam, Jotun, Gelita, Kraton Performance Polymers, Abbvie, Rio Tinto Alcan, Maruho, Teva, SK Chemicals
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Project vs. Planisware and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,671 professionals have used our research since 2012.