Microsoft Project review
A Microsoft-focused project suite spanning team plans, Gantt timelines, and portfolios.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Microsoft Project, presented alongside Microsoft Planner, covers team task coordination as well as professional project and portfolio management. Teams can manage tasks with files, checklists, and labels, then organize work in Grid, Board, Schedule, Charts, and Gantt timeline views. Dependencies, backlogs, sprints, reports, dashboards, progress tracking, and guest collaboration extend that base. Its scope makes it a fit for organizations already working in Microsoft environments, from small teams to enterprise project groups, that need more than a simple task board.
The plans build on one another. Planner Plan 1 adds task dependencies, a Gantt timeline, backlogs and sprints, and reports. Planner and Project Plan 3 includes those features and adds advanced dependencies, resource requests, Project Online, and the Project Online desktop client. Plan 5 includes Plan 3 capabilities and adds advanced portfolio management plus enterprise resource management and allocation. Planner in Microsoft 365 is included with qualifying subscriptions, but it is not a standalone no-cost tier; the paid Project plans are the route to the listed professional capabilities. Choose a tier based on whether the work needs timeline planning, resource coordination, or portfolio-level oversight.
Microsoft Project’s clearest ecosystem advantage is its connection to Teams, Outlook, Loop, and Power Automate. Deployment spans cloud, desktop, and mobile, with web, Windows, iOS, and Android platforms; desktop and Project Online access depends on an eligible subscription. The product also offers AI features, while its project planning breadth and integrations suit teams consolidating work in Microsoft services. It is less suitable for buyers seeking a free standalone product or a tool centered on a non-Microsoft ecosystem. Teams that only need lightweight coordination may not need its higher-level resource and portfolio functions, while Microsoft-centric project environments can use the plans to scale from task planning to portfolio management.
Microsoft Project pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Gantt timelines, task dependencies, backlogs, and sprints support structured planning.
- Higher plans add resource requests and enterprise portfolio management.
- Works with Teams, Outlook, Loop, and Power Automate.
- Where it doesn't
- Paid plans are required; the standalone Planner experience has no free plan.
- Advanced resource and portfolio capabilities require higher-tier plans.
- Project desktop and Project Online are limited to eligible subscriptions.
Microsoft Project fact sheet, pricing and score →
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.
Last updated · How we research and update