GanttProject vs Tom's Planner
We give GanttProject a 3.4 GPA and Tom's Planner a 3.0, out of 4.0. GanttProject grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
GanttProject
Free, open-source desktop Gantt chart app for Windows, macOS and Linux
Tom's Planner
Browser-based Gantt chart maker with drag-and-drop time blocks
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAGanttProjectVery good | 3.0GPATom's PlannerVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe desktop app is free with every feature, commercial use included. The optional Cloud service is €1 per active team member a month, and members who are idle that month aren't charged. You can pay from $5 for the download to fund development, but it's the same app. | BProfessional is $9.95 a month per account, billed yearly at $119, or $39 a quarter. Only the person who creates and shares charts needs it, so a whole team can work off one paid account. For one person it's about the going rate. There's no month-to-month option. |
| Free plan and trial | AThe whole desktop app is free and open source under GPL3, with nothing held back. The vendor says the paid and free downloads are identical. Cloud gives new sign-ups 2 free credits with no credit card required. | BThe Personal account is free with 1 schedule of up to 200 rows, and you can join schedules other people share with you. But you can't invite anyone, print or export. Enough to see how it works, tight for real projects. |
| Features | BTasks with dependencies and milestones on a Gantt chart, a PERT chart, a resource load chart, baselines and cost calculation. It reads MPX, MPP and MSPDI files from Microsoft Project. The vendor says it isn't built to match every high-end feature of Project, and team sharing is an add-on. | BDrag-and-drop time blocks, dependencies, progress shown as percentages or traffic lights, a timeline that zooms from years down to 5-minute intervals, more than 200 templates and an AI Assist that drafts a chart. Good charts. There's no critical path, baseline or workload view on record, though. |
| Ease of use | BThere's no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is as high as we go. It's an app you download and run, it works offline, and your data stays on your own computer. It moves slowly, though: stable release 3.3 came out in January 2024. | BNo app rating on record, so a B at best. It runs in the browser with nothing to install, and building a chart is dragging blocks with the mouse. Invited team members only need a free account, which makes getting people in simple. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWindows, macOS and Linux, so every kind of desktop is covered. But there's no web or mobile version. Its connections are file exchange with Microsoft Project and Excel, and export to PDF, HTML and PNG. | BBrowser only, and the vendor's site lists no desktop or mobile apps. It imports schedules from Excel, MS Project, Outlook and Google Calendar, and paid accounts export to MS Project, Excel, CSV, PDF and image files. Embedding a live chart needs the Unlimited plan. |
| Best for | free Gantt charts on your own computer | quick Gantt charts without full project software |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: GanttProject and Tom's Planner. How we grade
Where they differ
- GanttProject starts at €1 per active team member / month for the optional Cloud service; desktop app is free. Tom's Planner starts at $9.95 per account / month, billed yearly at $119 (or $39 per quarter).
- Only GanttProject lists Windows, macOS and Linux apps.
- Only Tom's Planner lists a web app.
- GanttProject is open source, according to its own site.
- Tom's Planner also covers templates.
At a glance
| GanttProject | Tom's Planner | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | €1 per active team member / month for the optional Cloud service; desktop app is free | $9.95 per account / month, billed yearly at $119 (or $39 per quarter) |
| Free plan | The desktop app is free and open source under GPL3 with every feature; the vendor says unmodified binaries may be used for any purpose, including commercial use, without paying. | Personal: 1 schedule of up to 200 rows, with email support, and you can join schedules other people share. No inviting others, printing or exporting. |
| Free trial | GanttProject Cloud gives new sign-ups 2 free credits, with no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | BarD Software s.r.o. | Tom's Planner NV |
| Price read from | ganttproject.biz | tomsplanner.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
GanttProject
- Small and medium businesses that want Gantt charts at no cost
- Exchanging schedules with people who use Microsoft Project
- Planning offline on Windows, macOS or Linux
Tom's Planner
- People who have outgrown spreadsheets but do not want full project software
- A project manager sharing charts with team members on free accounts
- Quick Gantt charts for proposals and client updates
Worth knowing
GanttProject
- Desktop only: the vendor lists Windows, macOS and Linux apps and no web or mobile version.
- Sharing a project with a team needs WebDAV or GanttProject Cloud, which is billed in euros from prepaid credits with a EUR 10 minimum top-up.
- The vendor says it is not designed to replicate every high-end enterprise feature of Microsoft Project.
- The current stable release, 3.3, came out in January 2024 and was last updated in January 2025; version 3.4 is in beta.
Tom's Planner
- The free Personal account is limited to 1 schedule of 200 rows and cannot print, export or invite collaborators.
- Embedding charts, saving schedules locally and JSON export are limited to the Unlimited plan.
- Paid plans are billed quarterly or yearly; the pricing page shows no month-to-month option.
- It runs in the browser, and the vendor's site lists no desktop or mobile apps.
Key features
GanttProject
- Gantt chart and task scheduling
- Tasks are arranged in a hierarchy with dependencies and milestones and drawn on a Gantt chart, with an option to generate a PERT chart.
- Resource load chart
- Assign resources to tasks and see how much work each one carries on a separate resource load chart.
- Baselines and cost calculation
- Save baselines to compare the current plan with an earlier one, and calculate the cost of tasks.
- Microsoft Project interoperability
- Reads MPX, MPP and XML/MSPDI files produced by Microsoft Project and exports to XML/MSPDI, so plans can be exchanged with Microsoft Project users.
- Export to PDF, HTML and PNG
- Plans can be exported as PDF, HTML or PNG, and exchanged with Excel and other spreadsheet apps.
- Optional team collaboration
- Projects can be shared over WebDAV, or through GanttProject Cloud, which adds team access management, project locks, update notifications and a history of recent changes.
Tom's Planner
- Drag-and-drop time blocks
- Add color-coded time blocks to a chart with the mouse, then stretch, shrink or move them as plans change. Several blocks can sit on the same row.
- Dependencies
- Link an activity to the one it depends on so that a large schedule stays up to date when dates move.
- Progress tracking
- Show status with percentages, traffic lights, icons or colored time blocks, whichever suits the project.
- Zoomable timeline
- Switch the schedule view between yearly, monthly, weekly and daily scales, down to 5-minute intervals.
- AI Assist and templates
- AI Assist drafts a Gantt chart from a project description, which is shared with OpenAI for processing. There are also more than 200 chart templates.
- Import, export and sharing
- Imports schedules from Excel, MS Project, Outlook and Google Calendar. Paid accounts can print and export, and Unlimited accounts can embed charts that update live.
Plans
GanttProject
GanttProject Desktop$0
The full desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux, free and open source under GPL3.
GanttProject Cloud€1
per active team member / month, paid from prepaid credits
Optional collaboration service, described as in beta. The team owner and members who are idle that month are not charged; a one-person team is free.
Paid download$5+
one-time, buyer chooses the amount from $5
An optional purchase that funds development. The vendor states that paid and free downloads are identical.
Tom's Planner
Personal$0
1 schedule with up to 200 rows or activities. Can collaborate on schedules shared by others, but cannot invite people, print or export.
Professional$9.95
per account / month, billed yearly at $119 ($39 billed quarterly)
20 schedules, unlimited invited collaborators, printing, a custom logo, and export to MS Project, Excel, CSV, PDF and image files.
Unlimited$19.95
per account / month, billed yearly at $239 ($79 billed quarterly)
Unlimited schedules, plus embedded charts, saving schedules locally, JSON export and printing for every invited collaborator.
Ways to pay less
GanttProject
No public discounts listed.
Tom's Planner
- Annual discount
Save 25% with an annual subscription
Professional is $119 a year against $39 a quarter ($156 over a year), and Unlimited is $239 a year against $79 a quarter ($316). The vendor rounds the saving to 25%.
- Other savings
Corporate account discount from 5 subscriptions
The pricing FAQ gives 25% off either plan with 5 to 9 subscriptions, 35% with 10 to 19 and 50% with 20 or more, on top of the annual saving. Arranged by email.
