Free MS Project Alternative to Manage Your Projects?

Need a paid or free MS Project Alternative?

Good ms project alternative is hard to find, even hard to find some project managing tool that does not cost a small fortune. We have seen so many times  smaller teams  need powerful, but  free MS Project alternative, but are unable to afford one. This often happens in smaller companies , or in startups that wish to make their dreams come true. Often smaller governmental institutions,NGO and local town administrations are not also able to afford bigger and expensive solutions as they are in strict budget guidelines.

 What is MS Project?

MS Project is a desktop project management software that helps one in managing the project from start to finish. It is a software that has been around for over 30 years and has been used by many organizations to help them manage their projects.

Projects in Microsoft Project are organized into three main views: the Gantt chart, the Task view and the Resource view. The Gantt chart displays a project schedule in graphical form, showing tasks and their assigned resources over time. The Task view displays task information in list format, including task name, duration, start date and assigned resources. The Resource view displays resource information in list format, including resource name, cost rate per hour or day and assigned tasks.

10 Reasons Why MS Project is Outdated

The 10 reasons why MS project is outdated are:

1. MS project is desktop solutions

Microsoft Project works only on Microsoft Windows. MS Project is a desktop solution. It doesn’t work on mobile phones, tables or mac.

2. Lack of mobile app

The lack of a mobile app means that you can’t access your data on your phone. This makes it hard to manage projects on the go or when you’re not at your desk.

3. Limited customizability

You can only customize MS Project in a few ways so if you need something more complex than you have to use another software that offers more flexibility

4. Too complex and unintuitive software

Scheduling in Microsoft Project is very complicated . MS Project requires training before they can be used. Scheduling in Microsoft Project is very complicated, and even after professional training, users do not know how to use the many options in the right way.

5. No alerts or email reminders

A lot of people are not happy with the minimal notification options that Ms Project offers. This has led to a lot of confusion and frustration in the workplace.

This is because most of the time, people need to remember to manually check their project for new alerts or emails. This can be difficult for some people who have a busy schedule and cannot always go back and check for updates.

 6. No collaboration or file sharing

This is a project management software with no built-in collaboration or file sharing.No collaboration or file sharing is one of the major drawbacks of MS project. The task comments and upload feature are not in use, meaning content creators must switch to other software. Some just aren’t used to how things work nowadays.

7. No tracking of issues, risks or change requests in MS Project

Issues, risks and change requests are not a priority in the MS project. You have to create them as tasks. You must use other software, and the most common has been to use MS Excel for risks and change management and some issue tracking system for tracking issues.

8. No dashboard, and not easy to report.

The Microsoft Project has a lot of features, but there is no dashboard.

The lack of a dashboard in MS Project makes it difficult to report on the progress and status of projects. It also makes it hard to identify potential problems that may arise.

In Microsoft Project, there is no easy way to do Reports. Reporting is difficult and requires additional tools like Power BI.

9. Difficult to work with multiple projects

With so many problems for one project, it can have a negative effect on the other projects, resources and work.Especially when there are dependencies between projects or when resources are shared between various projects .

10. It’s expensive

Many people think that the price of MS project is too high. Project Professional 2021 desktop application costs $1129,99  for 1 license for 1 PC, And Microsoft project do not even have collaboration features.

 What is a good alternative to Microsoft Project?

Microsoft Project is an effective tool for project management but it is not the only one. There are many other alternatives to this software that can be just as good and even better for your needs.

Which MS Project Alternative Should You Use?

Looking for MS Project alternative solutions has become a very popular trend in the last few years. Why are companies looking for an alternative to Microsoft Project? The answer is quite simple. Price is the main reason, because the MS Project desktop professional license costs $1129,99. Kendo Manager is a Self-hosted project management software that reduces company costs per employee. The company can save thousands of dollars using Kendo Manager as an MS project alternative solution.

How to company save money with MS Project Alternative

 

If your company plans to buy more new copies of Microsoft Project, it is logical to ask yourself after looking at pricing:

“Surely there is an alternative to Microsoft Project that can get the job done, right?”

For that reason, most companies think rationally. I have 10 employees, and I need 10 licenses for MS project. MS project is a complex and complicated project management software and companies also need to educate employees to work with a microsoft project, which requires additional costs for the company. Company has an initial cost of $ 15,000 per 10 employees in the company. In practice, most employees use only a part of the MS project options.The reason is simple, they do not need them to perform their tasks successfully. On the other hand, you have Microsoft project alternative solutions that are less complicated, they are less expensive than MS Project and do not require additional paid education.

Kendo is a great MS Project Alternative because it can be easily implemented in Existing windows infrastructure of small, medium, large, and Startup companies at no extra cost .

One of the great advantages is that Kendo works in the online cloud and you can install it on Windows VPS or ASP hosting. You can also install Kendo on your local Windows server or Windows 10 PC.

Kendo Manager is a great alternative to Microsoft Project that can save the company money and reduce costs.

 Self-Hosted Free MS Project Alternative

Microsoft Project is not available as a self-hosted solution but Kendo is. Kendo Project Manager is the most popular MS project alternative for all users that want to host a solution on premise.

Take a tour of Kendo Manager and learn how Kendo helps you organize your work more efficiently. No other Microsoft Project alternative offers enterprise functionality in such an easy-to-use package.

How Kendo Manager Compares to Microsoft Project

Kendo Manager is one of the most recommended Microsoft project alternatives for the small and medium company. Kendo Manager Enterprise features include:

• Task management,
• Kanban board,
• Interactive Gantt charts,
• Resources management,
• Costs management,
• Time tracking,
• Issues tracking,
• Risk management,
• Change management,
• file-uploads,
• Reports,
• Full project team collaboration,
• Communication,
• and much more.

Kendo Manager consists of several modules that help you plan, monitor and execute a successful project. Life cycle of a project can be monitored from several dashboards available to project managers, team members and stakeholders on the project:

• Dojo – a dashboard to see all projects and project activities
• Project Dashboard – a project manager place to oversee all the projects
• My Dashboard – single project team member dashboard for their responsible activities
• With the flexibility of many modules, Kendo Manager is project management software that is simple to use yet powerful enough to take on the hardest projects available. As the best free Microsoft project alternative many find this tool interesting for their projects.

 

Which Free MS Project Alternative Should You Use?

Kendo Manager is one of the most popular free MS Project Alternative. Kendo is a free downloadable Self hosted project management software for students, startups, and companies.

Kendo is a free enterprise project management software of the full functionality. Is available for everybody to grab.  As we wanted to give everybody an opportunity to have a great tool for project management, we made a free ms project alternative version that comes with all Kendo Manager options. We offer a FREE Project Management Software version of Kendo Manager for 10 active users and 1 active project.

However, if you have a bigger team at disposal, and wish to manage several projects at the same time, it is quite an easy process to buy a license key and switch to paid version of Kendo Manager, with unlimited number of users and projects.

Free Features of Kendo Manager

Free Powerful Dashboards

Monitor all active projects and all active project processes from a single dashboard.

All overviews that are important are easily viewable, including project activities, problems and changes in the project, risks, key events, total costs and total time spent for the realization of the company’s projects.

Free Task Management Any Way You Like

With a simple task list and in-depth progress charts, you are able to see at a glance the most accurate view of your project’s progress possible in real-time.

• Monitor and record progress
• Assign team members
• Allocate resources
• Upload documents on task
• Leave comments

Free Kanban

One of the most effective ways to visualize your workflow and enable your team to gain control over what is to be done and what is currently being worked on is a Kanban board. This system allows you to organize tasks by their status, make it easy for people on your team to see where they can jump in and lend a hand, and helps you identify bottlenecks before they get the chance to cause a problem in the future.

• Planning flexibility
• Shortened time cycles
• Fewer bottlenecks
• Visual metrics

Free Gantt Chart

Simplify your tasks and details with a visual project timeline that includes task names, start and end dates, duration, and progress bars.

• Visualize your project goals
• Share Gantt charts with team members
• Keep track of project schedules
• View tasks relation
• Track project progress

Traditional, Agile or Scrum

Kendo Manager gives your small or medium-sized business an Agile Project Management platform that offers significant flexibility.

This enables  you and your team to cover a variety of projects in various fields and methodology, from administration teams to NGO projects, marketing projects, software development projects and many more.

 

Free Collaboration

Share documents and other files with co-workers, align on a common agenda, assign tasks, send messages, leave comments, and more with the help of Kendo Manager.

Free Resource Management

With Kendo’s strategic planning, you can use limited resources such as people, materials, facilities, in a more effective way

Free Time Management

Kendo Manager is the leading project management software for startups and enterprises. It provides a complete project workflow that lets you set deadlines and manage tasks, clients, and team members effortlessly. The platform also includes a time tracking tool that will help with estimating costs and billing, so you can improve the way projects work.

Free Budget Management

Through Kendo Manager you can monitor and oversee costs, as well as stay on top of deadlines. Making use of these features will help your project complete more efficiently.

Free Issue Tracking

The Kendo Manager may be used to manage issues on the project, assign it to members of the project team, and create a connection with a certain task on the project.

Free Tracking and Monitoring

In one-click, Kendo simply gives you  insight into all the relevant information in one place.

Kendo is great for project management because you can view everything on one dashboard. You can also monitor your most important projects.

Free Risk Management

Kendo makes identifying and managing risks in the project plan an easy process. You can also calculate all risks at any point during a project and minimize any potential problems that may affect a project’s timeline.

How Much Does MS Project Cost vs Kendo Manager in 2026?

Microsoft Project 2026 pricing starts at $10 per user per month for Planner Plan 1 and reaches $55 per user per month for Planner and Project Plan 5. In April 2024, Microsoft rebranded the entire Project line under the Planner family. On May 1, 2026, Planner and Project Plan 5 moves to End of Sale, and on September 30, 2026, Project Online retires permanently.

Plan / License	Price (2026)	Type	Users
Planner Plan 1	$10 / user / month	Cloud subscription	Per user
Planner & Project Plan 3	$30 / user / month	Cloud subscription	Per user
Planner & Project Plan 5	$55 / user / month (EOS May 2026)	Cloud subscription	Per user
Project Standard 2024	$679.99 one-time	Perpetual desktop	1 PC
Project Professional 2024	$1,129.99 one-time	Perpetual desktop	1 PC
Kendo Manager Free	$0	Self-hosted	10 users / 1 project
Kendo Manager Paid	One-time license	Self-hosted	Unlimited

For a 25-person team, Planner and Project Plan 3 costs $9,000 per year recurring. Kendo Manager Paid is a one-time license without per-user recurring fees, which produces a measurable Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) difference after the first 12 months. See current rates on the official Microsoft Planner pricing page.

Which Project Management Tools Compete With Microsoft Project in 2026?

The MS Project alternative market in 2026 includes 11 tools across three categories: open-source desktop, cloud SaaS, and self-hosted enterprise. Each fills a different intent — open-source desktop tools read .mpp files directly, self-hosted tools satisfy on-premises compliance, and cloud SaaS tools optimize for team collaboration.

Tool	Type	Free Tier	Best For	Gantt	Self-Hosted
Kendo Manager	Self-hosted	10 users / 1 project	SMB, NGO, government on-premises	Yes	Yes
OpenProject	Self-hosted	Community edition	Open-source enterprise PM	Yes	Yes
ProjectLibre	Desktop	Full free	Direct .mpp file replacement	Yes	N/A
GanttProject	Desktop	Full free	Solo planners, students	Yes	N/A
ClickUp	Cloud SaaS	Unlimited users	Cross-functional teams	Yes	No
Asana	Cloud SaaS	Up to 10 users	Marketing, operations teams	Limited	No
Monday.com	Cloud SaaS	Up to 2 users	Visual workflow management	Yes	No
Wrike	Cloud SaaS	Up to 5 users	Mid-size agencies	Yes	No
Smartsheet	Cloud SaaS	30-day trial	Spreadsheet-based PM	Yes	No
Jira	Cloud / On-prem	Up to 10 users	Software development, Scrum	Limited	Data Center only
Trello	Cloud SaaS	Unlimited users	Simple Kanban boards	No	No

Among these 11 tools, Kendo Manager and OpenProject are the only two that combine self-hosted deployment, full Gantt support, and zero per-user cloud subscription fees. ProjectLibre and GanttProject remain the only options that read .mpp files natively without conversion.

How Do You Migrate From MS Project to Kendo Manager in 7 Steps?

Migrating from Microsoft Project to Kendo Manager takes 30 to 90 minutes for a typical 50-task project. The migration preserves task names, durations, dependencies, and resource assignments through CSV export and structured import.

1. Export the task list from MS Project. In MS Project, choose File > Save As > CSV. Include columns: Task Name, Duration, Start, Finish, Predecessors, Resource Names.
2. Export the resource sheet. Save the Resource Sheet view as a separate CSV with Resource Name, Type, and Standard Rate.
3. Clean the CSV. Remove summary rows, fix encoding to UTF-8, and confirm date format is YYYY-MM-DD across all rows.
4. Create the project in Kendo Manager. Open the Dojo dashboard, click New Project, and set the project calendar to match the original MS Project calendar.
5. Import tasks. Use the Task management import function and map the CSV columns to Kendo Manager fields.
6. Recreate dependencies. Predecessor logic from MS Project (FS, SS, FF, SF) maps directly to Kendo Manager dependency types in the Gantt view.
7. Assign resources and verify the Gantt chart. Open the Gantt view, confirm the critical path matches the original schedule, and adjust any drift caused by calendar differences.

Tasks with cost data, risks, or change requests from MS Project’s custom fields require manual entry into the Costs, Risks, and Changes modules of Kendo Manager — these are not included in the standard MS Project CSV export.

Which Industries Use Kendo Manager as a Free MS Project Alternative?

Kendo Manager is deployed across six industry verticals where MS Project licensing costs exceed budget constraints or self-hosted deployment is a compliance requirement.

Construction project management

Construction firms use Kendo Manager for Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), critical path scheduling, subcontractor resource allocation, and Bill of Quantities (BOQ) cost tracking. The Gantt module supports phase-gate construction methodologies. Read the dedicated construction project management software guide for implementation details.

Government and public administration

Municipal IT departments and local government offices select self-hosted PM software to meet data residency requirements that prohibit cloud storage of public-sector project data outside national borders. ISO 27001 and GDPR compliance frameworks favor on-premises deployment for sensitive project portfolios.

NGO and non-profit project portfolios

NGOs running donor-funded projects (USAID, EU IPA, UN agencies) use Kendo Manager’s Logical Framework module to align project tasks with logframe indicators — a capability not natively available in MS Project.

Software development teams

Development teams running Scrum or Kanban use the Kanban board, sprint backlog, and issue tracking modules as a unified replacement for the MS Project + Jira combination.

Higher education and student projects

Universities use the free tier to teach PMBOK and PRINCE2 methodologies in project management courses, without the per-seat MS Project educational licensing overhead. The Project Management Institute (PMI) certification curriculum maps directly onto Kendo Manager modules.

Startups and SMBs

Early-stage companies with 5 to 10 employees use the free tier as a primary PM tool, avoiding the $1,200 to $5,500 annual cost of Planner Plan 1 or Project Plan 3 subscriptions for the same team size.

Frequently Asked Questions About Free MS Project Alternatives

Is there a 100% free alternative to Microsoft Project?

Yes. Kendo Manager offers a free self-hosted version for 10 active users and 1 active project, with no time limit and full feature access. Other free options include ProjectLibre (desktop, open-source), GanttProject (desktop, open-source), and OpenProject Community Edition (self-hosted).

Can I open MPP files in a Microsoft Project alternative?

Most cloud-based alternatives do not natively open .mpp files. ProjectLibre and GanttProject can import .mpp files directly. For Kendo Manager and similar tools, tasks must be exported to CSV or XLSX from MS Project, then imported into the new tool.

What is the difference between MS Project Online and on-premises Project?

Microsoft Project Online retires on September 30, 2026. The on-premises replacement is Project Server 2024, available with Planner and Project Plan 5. Kendo Manager remains a self-hosted on-premises option that runs on Windows Server, Windows 10/11, or any IIS-compatible host.

Does Kendo Manager support Agile, Scrum, and Kanban methodologies?

Yes. Kendo Manager includes a Kanban board, sprint planning, backlog management, and supports both Waterfall (Gantt-based) and Agile workflows inside the same project. Methodology can be selected per project.

Is self-hosted project management software more secure than cloud-based?

Self-hosted software keeps project data inside the organization’s own infrastructure, which simplifies compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001 data-residency requirements. Cloud-based MS Project stores data in Microsoft Azure data centers, which may not satisfy on-premises-only compliance mandates.

What are the system requirements for Kendo Manager self-hosted?

Kendo Manager runs on Windows Server 2016 or later, Windows 10, or Windows 11, with IIS, PHP 7.4+ and MySQL or MariaDB. It also runs on Windows VPS or ASP hosting environments. The full Kendo Manager installation guide for Windows covers configuration steps.

How long does it take to migrate from MS Project to a free alternative?

A 50-task project typically migrates in 30 to 60 minutes via CSV export from MS Project and import to the new tool. Resource assignments, dependencies, and custom fields require manual mapping. Larger portfolios (500+ tasks) typically take 4 to 8 hours.

Which MS Project alternative is best for construction projects?

Kendo Manager, Procore, and Smartsheet are commonly used for construction project management. Kendo Manager includes Gantt scheduling, resource management, cost tracking, and risk management — the core PMBOK process groups required for construction PM.

Can free MS Project alternatives replace Project Plan 3 for a 25-person team?

For 25 users, Planner and Project Plan 3 costs $9,000 per year recurring. Kendo Manager paid licensing, OpenProject Enterprise, or ClickUp Business Plan (around $228 per user per year) replace Plan 3 functionality at a fraction of the recurring cost.