PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE COMPARED

Put the project timeline in view.

Compare tools for planning schedules, dependencies, and project milestones.

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One project. Different views.Illustrative workflow

List

Define the brief
Review the work
Share the project

Board

To do
Doing
Done

Timeline

A visual explanation of common project views, not a product screenshot.

YOUR SHORTLIST STARTS HERE

Compare tools

See the strengths. Check the tradeoffs. Choose what your team will actually use.

5 tools. Check current vendor pricing.

We may earn a commission from qualifying ClickUp referrals. This commercial relationship is why ClickUp appears first.

monday.com

List · Board · Timeline · Gantt
Why consider it

Boards of items with table, Kanban, Gantt and calendar views.

Teams that track work as structured data across departments.

Before you choose

Paid plans start at 3 seats. Gantt starts on Standard; dependencies and time tracking are on Pro.

Check current pricing

Asana

List · Board · Timeline · Gantt
Why consider it

Tasks in shared projects, with portfolios and goals on higher plans.

Teams running many parallel projects that need a shared view.

Before you choose

Timeline and Gantt start on Starter; native time tracking, portfolios and goals are on Advanced.

Check current pricing

Wrike

List · Board · Gantt
Why consider it

Project planning with a dependency-aware Gantt chart.

Teams managing connected projects, requests and detailed schedules.

Before you choose

Gantt starts on Team; time tracking, request forms and reports start on Business. Seats are sold in groups.

Check current pricing

Smartsheet

List · Board · Timeline · Gantt
Why consider it

Manage work in sheets with Gantt, card and calendar views.

Teams comfortable planning work in a structured sheet.

Before you choose

No free plan is listed. Timeline view starts on Business, and resource management is an add-on.

Check current pricing
Compare up to three tools side by side
Select tools
A GOOD FIT STARTS WITH YOUR TEAM

Choose a workflow, then choose the tool.

A Gantt view is useful when the sequence of work matters. Confirm dependency support, editing behavior, and plan limitations.

Find a tool for my team

Six questions. No email required.

How do you see the work?

A list keeps priorities clear. A board shows stages. A timeline helps when sequence and deadlines matter.

Who will keep it organized?

Think about how much setup your team can maintain and whether people will use the same structure.

What does the plan include?

Verify seat requirements, limits, and access to the views and capabilities you need.

When you need a Gantt chart

A Gantt chart earns its place when the order of work decides the deadline: launches with a fixed date, client projects with handoffs between teams, construction and moves, and anything with approvals that hold up later steps.

If your work arrives as a steady flow of independent tasks, a board or a list will serve you better. A Gantt chart that nobody keeps current is worse than no chart, because people make decisions from it.

Gantt features that separate the tools

Almost every tool can draw bars on a calendar. The differences appear when plans change. Check whether the tool supports all four dependency types: finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish and start-to-finish. Finish-to-start covers simple sequences; the others matter for overlapping phases.

Then check what happens when you move a task. Tools with automatic rescheduling shift every dependent task for you. Without it, you fix each later date by hand, and charts drift out of date quickly.

A critical path shows which chain of tasks controls the finish date, so you know which delays matter. Baselines save a copy of the original plan so you can compare it with reality later. Lead and lag time, milestones and the ability to share a read-only view with stakeholders round out the list.

Also check the difference between a timeline and a Gantt view in each tool. Some vendors offer both, with the timeline as a simpler overview and the Gantt view as the place to manage dependencies.

Plan tiers matter more here than elsewhere

Gantt and dependency features are among the most commonly gated features in project software. In some tools the Gantt view itself starts on a paid plan, and in others the view is available but dependencies or cross-project links need a higher tier. A few offer limited trial uses on the free plan.

Before you commit, find the exact tier where Gantt view, dependencies and baselines all become available, and price that tier for your team. The tool reviews on this site list where each of these starts, based on the vendor's pricing page on the date we checked.

Common questions

Is a timeline view the same as a Gantt chart?

Not always. Many vendors use timeline for a simpler date-based view and Gantt for a view with dependency links and scheduling logic. Check what each tool includes under each name.

Which Gantt features matter most?

Dependencies with automatic rescheduling come first, because they keep the chart accurate when dates change. A critical path and baselines come next for anyone reporting on schedule risk.

Can I use a Gantt chart on a free plan?

Some tools allow it with limits, and others include a basic timeline for free. Many place Gantt views or dependencies on paid plans, so check the tier before building your plan.

Does Trello have a Gantt chart?

Trello's pricing page lists a Timeline view on Premium and Enterprise but does not list a Gantt view or task dependencies.

Guides for making the choice

How we review

Capabilities checked against vendor sources on 8 October 2026. Editorial judgments, not hands-on scores. Sources and method