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Microsoft Project vs RationalPlan 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
Ranking in Project Management Software
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
81
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
RationalPlan
Ranking in Project Management Software
54th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.4
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Microsoft Project is 7.7%, down from 12.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RationalPlan is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Management Software
 

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.
reviewer1976010 - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to understand with fair pricing and lots of unique features
We use the desktop version of RationalPlan, and It seems some desktop software has the ability to share a document as a web view. This would be a nice feature allowing us to share our plans with clients without needing additional software. This may be something that is offered in the RationalPlan cloud plan. However, it would be nice for the desktop version to have this ability to bring it one more step ahead of the competition. As a side note, RationalPlan does have a free viewer as well.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The resource allocation features, which help allocate resources to tasks, are quite valuable."
"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 solution is stable."
"In my experience, this solution is one of the best for the waterfall management model."
"It is easy to check project costs in the solution."
"The pricing is pretty good on the enterprise agreement we have."
"The solution is stable."
"Being able to get a milestone schedule or a breakdown out of it is valuable. It can integrate into Visio, which is helpful."
"Support is top-notch whenever help is needed."
 

Cons

"Could be more user-friendly, and forecasting could be better."
"It would be better if there were more access to Agile implementations."
"The stability of the solution is an area with certain shortcomings that need improvement."
"Microsoft Project could improve the interface, it should be more intuitive. It could be adjusted a little bit to make it a little easier to use and more user-friendly. It is a very powerful tool and it takes people a while to get used to it."
"What could have been better is the integration with Office 365 so that if you're discussing a project on Teams or there's an email related to the project, it can be tagged to the project in Microsoft Project. That functionality is currently not there."
"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 online version of Microsoft Project lacks some functionality compared to the on-premises version."
"There are a few bugs that can affect the stability. This is typical of most applications."
"We use the desktop version of RationalPlan, and It seems some desktop software has the ability to share a document as a web view. This would be a nice feature allowing us to share our plans with clients without needing additional software. This may be something that is offered in the RationalPlan cloud plan."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is based on a licensing model and is reasonable."
"I am not aware of any additional costs apart from the standard licensing fees of the solution."
"The license fees for the professional version, which is estimated to be approximately $1,600, and the standard version, which is approximately $1,200, may be considered expensive by some users. This is something that could be improved to make the platform more accessible to a wider audience."
"The solution is less expensive than other options."
"The solution is expensive."
"The solution has a decent annual license subscription cost, which is not high."
"The solution is expensive."
"You do not have to invest much in terms of configuring this solution to suit your needs."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
66%
Computer Software Company
4%
Government
3%
Manufacturing Company
3%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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.
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Comparisons

No data available
 

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
James Cook University, NASA, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Teleflex, Garmin, University of Missouri, BEA, Eurocoating, Adidas Group, Termoemcali, Solid Power
Find out what your peers are saying about monday.com, Atlassian, Microsoft and others in Project Management Software. Updated: April 2025.
849,210 professionals have used our research since 2012.