Retain vs Meisterplan

Retain8.9Visit Meisterplan8.8Visit

Higher score Retain #4 in Resource Management Software 8.9/10 Pricing on request ✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Retain

vs

Meisterplan #5 in Resource Management Software 8.8/10 30-day trial Free trial✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Meisterplan

• Retain fits best

  Established enterprises needing governed staffing

• Meisterplan fits best

  Portfolio teams needing scenario planning

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature	Retain 8.9/10 Visit ↗	Meisterplan 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.8
Ranking	#4 in Resource Management Software	#5 in Resource Management Software
Best for	Established enterprises needing governed staffing	Portfolio teams needing scenario planning
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	Pricing on request	30-day trial
Free plan	Not checked yet	—
Free trial	—	30 days
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Email, Phone, Tickets	Email, Phone, Tickets, Docs
Compliance	ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR	ISO 27001, GDPR, SSO/SAML
Integrations	5 integrations	17 integrations
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Retain 5/5 · Meisterplan 5/5
Capacity planning	✓	✓
Workload management	✓	✓
Skills matching	✓	✓
Scenario planning	✓	✓
Resource requests	✓	✓
Specs
Planning granularity	Custom	Weekly
Our review
Pros	Capacity, workload and utilisation visibility across teams Skills taxonomy, matching and AI-assisted suitability recommendations Scenario planning, requests, analytics, audit trails and SSO	What-if scenarios support staffing configuration decisions. Skills-based search helps match resources to project needs. Heatmaps and multi-horizon views clarify workload and allocation.
Cons	Pricing requires contacting sales Web platform may not suit teams needing broader platform coverage Enterprise-oriented governance may exceed smaller teams' needs	There is no free plan. Planning is high level rather than detailed task management. Pricing is based on resources and edition.
Our verdict	Retain is a resource management platform for professional services organisations coordinating complex projects across departments, projects and locations. It brings together resource planning, scheduling, capacity reporting, workload and… Read the review →	Meisterplan is portfolio and resource management software for organizations coordinating multiple projects across teams. It supports portfolio, resource, PMO, project, and executive stakeholders with capacity planning, workload visibility,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Retain — where it wins

  • Capacity, workload and utilisation visibility across teams
  • Skills taxonomy, matching and AI-assisted suitability recommendations
  • Scenario planning, requests, analytics, audit trails and SSO

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing requires contacting sales
  • Web platform may not suit teams needing broader platform coverage
  • Enterprise-oriented governance may exceed smaller teams' needs

• Meisterplan — where it wins

  • What-if scenarios support staffing configuration decisions.
  • Skills-based search helps match resources to project needs.
  • Heatmaps and multi-horizon views clarify workload and allocation.

  Where it doesn't

  • There is no free plan.
  • Planning is high level rather than detailed task management.
  • Pricing is based on resources and edition.

• Retain8.9/10 · Pricing on request

  A governed resource management platform for complex professional services staffing.

  Visit RetainFull verdict →
• Meisterplan8.8/10 · 30-day trial

  A portfolio planning suite for capacity, staffing, workload, and scenario decisions.

  Visit MeisterplanFull verdict →