GanttProject vs Tom's Planner Comparison: Everything You Need to Know Before Choosing

GanttProject is a free, open-source desktop application for project scheduling and management, available for Windows, macOS and Linux. It has been developed over many years by a community of contributors and is widely used by individuals, small teams, students and educators who need to plan projects with Gantt charts but do not require, or cannot justify, the cost of commercial tools such as Microsoft Project. The problem it addresses is straightforward: many projects need a clear view of tasks, durations, dependencies and resources, yet spreadsheets make these relationships difficult to maintain and visualise. GanttProject’s approach is to provide a lightweight, focused scheduling tool that runs locally, stores projects in open file formats and offers the core planning features most users need without the complexity of enterprise project portfolio software. Key features include task hierarchy and work breakdown structures, Gantt chart visualisation, task dependencies with different link types, milestones, and baseline comparisons to track how schedules change over time. Resource management allows users to assign people to tasks and view resource load charts, while PERT charts provide an alternative view of task networks. The application can import and export Microsoft Project files, export to CSV and generate PDF and HTML reports, supporting collaboration with stakeholders who use other tools. Cloud storage options allow projects to be shared and worked on by multiple users, and a companion web-based product has been introduced for teams wanting online collaboration. Because it is open source, users can inspect and modify the code or contribute improvements. GanttProject suits freelancers, small businesses, nonprofits, academic projects and teaching environments where a simple, dependable scheduling tool is sufficient. The software is available free of charge, and a free version is available with no licence cost; a trial is also listed.