Lucen Timeline vs think-cell (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Lucen Timeline if

• Fits if you report project schedules in PowerPoint on Windows
• Works for plans kept in Project, Smartsheet or Jira that a slide must follow, on the Expert plan

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you're on a Mac or in a browser: the add-in is Windows only, and Timeline Online is a separate license at under $13 a month
• Tight if you stay free, with 10 milestones and tasks a slide, 1 timescale and a license to renew every year
• Pricey if you need imports from Project, Jira, Smartsheet or Wrike, which take Expert at under $21 a user a month
• Watch out: licenses are per user and sold only by the year, with a 30-day money-back guarantee and no monthly option
• Skip it if you want to build whole decks, since it only makes timeline slides

Pick think-cell if

• Fits if you build waterfall and Gantt charts in PowerPoint every week
• Works for firms that can buy volume licences, as the price falls with more users

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you want charts: Suite is $28.60 a user a month for one user
• Skip it if you use a Mac or Google Slides, as the pages name only Windows and PowerPoint
• Tight if you lean on AI: AI Suite is $46.54, usage is capped, and you are told at 80%
• Watch out: the billing term and the trial length are not stated on the pages read

Lucen Timeline

• The add-in needs Windows and PowerPoint. Timeline Online, for Mac and browser users, is a separate license at less than $13 a month billed annually.
• The free version stops at 10 milestones and tasks per slide, and its license has to be renewed each year.
• Microsoft Project, Jira, Smartsheet and Wrike import and planned vs. actual tracking need the Expert plan.
• Licenses are per user and sold only as yearly subscriptions, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

think-cell

• It runs inside PowerPoint, so a PowerPoint license is needed; the pages read name Windows and list no web version.
• Charts and Excel linking need the Suite plan; AI features need AI Suite at $46.54 per user / month for one user.
• Prices shown are for one user and fall as the user count grows; the page did not state the billing term.
• AI usage is capped by volume, and users are notified at 80% of it.

Lucen Timeline

Timelines built inside PowerPoint

The add-in sits on the PowerPoint ribbon and creates timelines and Gantt charts as native, editable slides, so there is nothing to export.

Swimlanes and timescales

Group tasks into swimlanes and nested sub-swimlanes and show up to 3 timescales on one chart. Lite allows 2 swimlanes; Plus and Expert are unlimited.

Dependencies and critical path

Link tasks and highlight the critical path from Plus. Importing dependencies from a source plan needs Expert.

Import and refresh

Plus imports from Excel. Expert imports and refreshes from Microsoft Project, Smartsheet and Jira, including several Jira projects or boards, and imports from Wrike.

Planned vs. actual

Expert shows progress bars, baselines and variance against the original plan, so a slide can show where a project has slipped.

Templates and themes

Pre-designed themes on every plan, timeline, Gantt and swimlane templates from Lite, and custom themes that can be shared and imported on Expert.

think-cell

40+ chart types

Suite and above include waterfall, Gantt and Mekko charts, linked to Excel so charts update when the data changes.

Layout and alignment tools

Essentials and up add automatic alignment, sizing and scaling tools for objects on a slide.

Team slide and image library

A shared library of slides, templates and images is included from the Essentials plan.

AI slide building

AI Suite adds slide building and precision editing through an AI chat, plus Excel data analysis and chart creation.

Deck translation

AI Suite lists AI translation of whole decks in 70+ languages, and 20 template updates a month from Excel or JSON data.

Lucen Timeline

• Free$0

  Up to 10 milestones and tasks per slide, limited swimlanes and dependencies, 1 timescale and pre-designed themes.

• Lite$9

  per user / month, billed annually as a 1-year license

  More than 10 items per timeline, 2 swimlanes, timeline, Gantt and swimlane templates. Shown as less than $9 a month; the yearly total is not shown.

• Plus$17

  per user / month, billed annually as a 1-year license

  Unlimited swimlanes and sub-swimlanes, dependencies and critical path, 3 timescales and import from Excel. Shown as less than $17 a month.

• Expert$21

  per user / month, billed annually as a 1-year license

  Import and refresh from Microsoft Project, Smartsheet, Jira and Wrike, Excel refresh, planned vs. actual, baselines and custom themes. Less than $21 a month.

think-cell

• Essentials$8.90

  per user / month for 1 user; billing term not shown

  Team slide, template and image library plus tools for automatic alignment, sizing and scaling. Price drops with more users.

• Suite$28.60

  per user / month for 1 user; billing term not shown

  Adds 40+ chart types including waterfalls, Gantts and Mekkos, Excel data linking and auto-updating annotations.

• AI Suite$46.54

  per user / month for 1 user; billing term not shown

  Adds AI chat slide building, AI Excel analysis, summaries, translation in 70+ languages and 20 template updates a month.

• AI Suite Plus$97.60

  per user / month for 1 user; billing term not shown

  Everything in AI Suite with 5x the usage volume for complex AI tasks.

Lucen Timeline

No public discounts listed.

think-cell

• Education

  Student, professor and staff licenses

  The order page lists a Students program and a Professor & staff program, with their terms on separate pages.

• Startups

  Startup program

  A startup program is listed on the order page; the terms are on its own application page.