Free Project Management Software (Cross-Platform) Review

GanttProject is a free project management software written in Java (cross-platform, runs in Windows, Linux, Mac etc.). The following is a brief review of the benefits and shortcomings along with download link.

GanttProject is a competitor to Microsoft Project, the de-facto project management software in many corporations.

Key Features of GanttProject - Project Management Software

Like any project management software you can create resources, create and manage tasks, assign dates, create sub-tasks and so on. You can link tasks by assigning predecessors. In short it works pretty much like MS Project.

The Gantt Chart view is comprehensive, functional and very customizable.

Few extras:

• You have the ability to create custom columns to add additional data.
• The resources are automatically created, as required, when you specify them in tasks. In resource view you can find the associated tasks.
• You can automatically view and save project files from WebDAV repositories. This is a great way of sharing your project. You can also use ftp to upload.

GanttProject can import MS Project files and export them to MS Project format too. It also can export in XML format.

Shortcomings of GanttProject - Project Management Software

GanttProject is not as feature-heavy as Microsoft Project. However it is almost certain that you won’t miss anything as most MS Project extras and marginally useful, if at all. The only notable feature missing is the ability to automatically balance so your resources are not overbooked. Personally I hate that feature in MS Project. Every time I used it, it messed up my project plan and I had to manually modify it. I am glad that GanttProject decided to ignore it.

GanttProject Software Links

1. Home Page
2. Download

Gantt Project Review Summary

Overall GanttProject is a high quality project management software and a strong competitor to MS Project. I prefer it over MS Project and am using it currently. At its price (free) you simply cannot beat it.