Find your fit
Who it is for
It suits an individual or small team that needs a traditional Gantt plan measured in days or weeks: construction, engineering, creative production and other work with dependent stages. Local files and offline use may appeal when the team wants a focused desktop tool rather than a browser workspace.
A team importing Microsoft Project schedules should budget a sample migration. File formats are supported, but calendars, lag rules and sub-day task duration can move dates after import; confirm a representative plan before treating exchange as exact.
The work it supports
Core capabilities
Build a hierarchy of tasks and summary tasks, then set duration and progress on the Gantt chart. A summary task takes its span from its children, helping the schedule show both detailed work and a readable higher-level plan.
Link tasks with dependencies and constraints so a change to one stage can recalculate later dates. A common Finish-Start link keeps the successor from beginning before its predecessor ends. Review the adjusted chart after edits because the scheduler may move or reject dates to satisfy constraints.
Mark milestones and save project baselines to compare the live plan with an earlier target. This gives a compact check on whether a deadline or handoff has moved, without requiring a separate reporting service.
Assign resources to tasks and inspect the load chart. GanttProject can calculate task cost from resource rates, so a planner can review the schedule and a rough cost picture together. Validate actual rates and assignments before using those figures for commitments.
A PERT chart provides a network view of the same project. It can help inspect how linked work fits together when a straight timeline hides the relationship among several dependencies.
Export the plan as PDF, HTML, PNG or CSV for review and reporting. The app can also import MPX, MPP and XML/MSPDI and export XML/MSPDI for Microsoft Project exchange, subject to differences in scheduling behavior.
Stable 3.3 documentation describes calculated task columns derived from other task properties. They are task-only and use the documented standard fields, so test a simple expression before planning a complex custom report around them.
Understand the offer
Pricing and getting started
The desktop app is free open-source software under GPL-3.0 and requires neither a subscription nor signup for normal use. It stores project files locally and works offline on Windows, macOS and Linux; the organization still owns local file backup and sharing practices.
The vendor offers an optional paid download to support development. Its page says the free and paid downloads have identical binaries and all the same features; paying does not unlock a separate desktop tier.
The homepage currently labels 3.3 stable and 3.4 Beta VI. Choose stable for a production planning trial unless you specifically need to evaluate beta changes. GanttProject Cloud is optional and separately presented for schedule sharing and co-editing, with its own commercial terms to confirm.
Look a little closer
Before you choose
Make a short fictional project with a task hierarchy, two linked stages, a milestone and a baseline. Move an early date and inspect the resulting schedule, especially summary-task spans and downstream dependencies.
Assign one sample resource with a rate, review load and calculated cost, then export a PDF and CSV. Verify that the visual chart and underlying task rows communicate the same plan to stakeholders.
If migrating from Microsoft Project, import one real-shaped but non-sensitive file and compare calendar, task duration, lag and start dates with the source. The official troubleshooting guide specifically warns that these differences may reschedule tasks.
Decide whether offline local files are sufficient for the team. If several people need simultaneous shared editing, evaluate the optional Cloud service separately; the desktop app’s free-download terms are not a promise of free hosted collaboration.
5 distinct sources behind this profile. Research observed Oct 18, 2026. Features and offers can change.
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