# Microsoft Project

> Desktop project scheduling for Windows with Gantt charts

Microsoft Project is desktop project management software for Windows, built around automated scheduling, Gantt charts, baselines and resource management. It is sold as one-time Project Standard 2024 and Project Professional 2024 licenses, or by subscription through Planner and Project Plan 3, which pairs the desktop client with Microsoft Planner. Project for the web has been folded into Planner, and Microsoft set September 30, 2026 as the retirement date for Project Online.

- **Category:** Project Management
- **Made by:** Microsoft Corporation
- **Website:** https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/project/microsoft-project-enterprise-plans-and-pricing
- **Runs on:** Windows
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 5, 2026

## Pricing

Microsoft Project is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $30.00 per user / month, paid yearly (Plan 3), or $679.99 one-time (Standard 2024).

- **Pricing model:** Free trial
- **Free plan:** None.
- **Free trial:** One-month free trial of Planner and Project Plan 3, credit card required. No trial is listed for the one-time licenses.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Planner and Project Plan 3 | $30.00 per user / month, paid yearly | Subscription that includes the Project desktop client on up to five PCs, plus premium plans in Microsoft Planner on the web and in Teams. |
| Project Standard 2024 | $679.99 one-time purchase, licensed for 1 PC | Perpetual desktop license with schedule, task and cost management, Gantt Chart, Calendar and Network Diagram views, baselines, critical path and resource leveling. |
| Project Professional 2024 | $1,129.99 one-time purchase, licensed for 1 PC | Everything in Standard plus fuller resource management, timesheets and the ability to connect to Project Server Subscription Edition. |
| Project Server Subscription Edition | Custom | On-premises project and portfolio management server built on SharePoint Server Subscription Edition, bought through a Microsoft partner. |

Read from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/project/microsoft-project-enterprise-plans-and-pricing on Oct 5, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Microsoft Project before buying.

## Key features

- **Automated scheduling:** Tasks are scheduled from start and end dates, effort, lead and lag times and dependencies, and dates fill in automatically as those dependencies change.
- **Gantt, calendar and network views:** Project Standard 2024 includes Gantt Chart, Calendar, Network Diagram and Task Sheet views, plus multiple timelines for presenting a complex schedule.
- **Baselines and critical path:** Baselines compare actual progress with the original plan, and the critical path shows the tasks that form the longest path through a project.
- **Resource management:** Resource leveling resolves conflicts and overallocations automatically. Project Professional 2024 adds fuller resource management and timesheets for payroll and invoicing.
- **Built-in reports:** Prebuilt reports such as Burndown and Resource Overview summarize project and resource data, and a project file can be saved as a PDF.
- **Project Server connection:** Project Professional 2024 can connect to Project Server Subscription Edition, an on-premises portfolio management server that runs on SharePoint Server.

## Good for

- Project managers who build detailed schedules with dependencies and baselines
- Organizations that prefer a perpetual license to a subscription
- Teams that keep project and portfolio data on their own servers

## Worth knowing

- Project desktop's requirements list only Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019, and no Mac or mobile version appears on the pricing page.
- Project for the web was retired in August 2025 and Project Online's retirement date was September 30, 2026; browser-based plans now live in Microsoft Planner.
- Project Standard 2024 and Project Professional 2024 are each licensed for one user on one PC.
- Project Server Subscription Edition has no list price and needs SharePoint Server Subscription Edition, which is not included.

## Works with

Excel, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Planner, SharePoint Server, SQL Server Analysis Services

**Tags:** Gantt & timelines, Tasks, Reports, Templates, One-time purchase

## Alternatives

- [Microsoft Planner](https://toolgpa.com/tools/microsoft-planner): Task and project planning app built into Microsoft 365. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/microsoft-planner-vs-microsoft-project)
- [Smartsheet](https://toolgpa.com/tools/smartsheet): Spreadsheet-style project and work management for teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/microsoft-project-vs-smartsheet)
- [ProjectLibre](https://toolgpa.com/tools/projectlibre): Microsoft Project-compatible scheduling: free desktop app, paid cloud. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/microsoft-project-vs-projectlibre)
- [OmniPlan](https://toolgpa.com/tools/omniplan): Gantt-chart project scheduling for Mac, iPad and iPhone. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/microsoft-project-vs-omniplan)
- [Merlin Project](https://toolgpa.com/tools/merlin-project): Offline Mac and iPad project planner with Gantt, Kanban and mind maps. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/merlin-project-vs-microsoft-project)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 5, 2026:

- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/project/microsoft-project-enterprise-plans-and-pricing
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/p/project-standard-2024/cfq7ttc0prmx
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/p/project-professional-2024/cfq7ttc0ph40
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/project/enterprise-project-server
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/planner/project-plan-3
- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/planner/microsoft-planner-business-plans-and-pricing
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/project-online-service-description/project-online-desktop-client-service-description
- https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/planner/frequently-asked-questions-about-microsoft-planner

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/microsoft-project
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).