How many excel Gantt chart trackers does it take to get to the center of a completed project? The world may never know — but we do know it’ll probably only take one Gantt chart platform.
Making the switch from sheets to software is commonplace, 77% of companies already use project management software. If you’re not one of them, what’s holding you back?
For many, it’s often the price tag associated with powerful project management solutions.
The good news is that with limited free Gantt chart software options, you can come closer to project management nirvana without dinging your budget.
Of course, to make a major impact, you might need something a little more robust. But more on that later.
Stick around for a deep dive into the big questions:
- What is a Gantt chart?
- What should you look for in Gantt chart software?
- What are the best free Gantt chart software options?
What is a Gantt chart?
A Gantt chart is a tool that helps you plan and schedule projects. You can use one for projects of any size, but they’re best at breaking down timelines and tasks for projects that are a bit more complex.
A Gantt chart is basically a horizontal bar chart that outlines the start and end dates for different tasks, the assignees, and how much of each task is complete.
When you’ve got great software that builds them for you, you can easily use Gantt charts to see and review team workloads. That means you can more accurately determine timelines, resource requirements, capacity issues, dependencies, and completion dates for projects, which is great news for the whole organization.
Gantt charts have come a long way — originally invented in 1910 by Henry Gantt, they used to be clunky, printed-out excel sheets or hand-drawn versions of a project timeline.
Modern software makes the leap from a printout to an online Gantt chart, automating notifications for team members, creating views of projects from several different angles, and allowing for color-coding, progress updates, and centralized real-time sharing.
What should you look for in Gantt chart software?
The good news is you have a lot of options when it comes to looking for the right online Gantt chart tool. The best and brightest Gantt chart maker will allow you to do the following:
- See your project from 10,000 feet. You should be able to build a schedule, assign tasks, track your team’s progress, and adjust as you go, while maintaining a high-level overview of the project as a whole.
- Automate notifications. When tasks are complete, the next person in line should receive an automatic notification. Look for the ability to get reminders when work is coming close to due so, you never miss a deadline.
- Communicate in one place. Have conversations, upload final products, and tag team members right in the platform.
- Work with your tech stack. Your Gantt chart software should integrate with your other tools for smoother automation.
- Never start from scratch. Work from a Gantt chart template to save time and standardize your charts across teams, departments, and projects.
- Mobile app. Never be without access to your projects and team.
- Make reporting easy. Always be able to answer the question, “when do you think this project will be complete?”
Keep in mind the 4 basic rules for Gantt charts that every manager needs.
The best Gantt charts are adaptable, nice to look at, work for you (not the other way around), and work in parallel to your needs.What is the best free Gantt chart software?
If you’re looking to dive into un-Gantt-charted waters for the first time, these online Gantt chart software options check a lot of boxes depending on your team’s size.
Free options always include some exceptions or limitations though, so you’ll have to decide what your needs are, and what you’re willing to live without.
Best for personal use: Tom’s Planner
Tom’s Planner’s best feature is access to templates in 9 categories, which means you’ll likely never have to start planning from scratch.
This option is great for personal use, featuring templates for things like weddings, dissertations, the holiday season and rentals.
While you do get key features like drag and drop time blocks and dependencies, you only get 1 project plan at a time.
What you get:
- 1 project schedule
- Free updates
- Email support
- Get invites to other Tom’s Planner projects
- Drag and Drop time blocks
- Dependencies
What you’ll have to live without:
- Printing and exporting schedules
- Inviting other team members
- Backup and saving locally
Best for small teams: Bitrix24
Bitrix24 has almost all of the features you’ll need in Gantt chart software with one catch — there’s a limit of 12 seats and 5G of storage space, which will likely get used up quickly.
If you’re a part of a small team though, it’s probably one of the better free options out there.
What you get:
- Unlimited number of projects
- Unlimited number of tasks and subtasks
- Multiple Gantt charts
- Automated dependencies
- Mobile app
What you’ll have to live without:
- Unlimited users (there’s only 12 seats)
- View-only seats
- Unlimited storage space (there’s only 5GB)
- A Gantt chart template
- Some analytics
Best for large teams: Agantty
Agantty’s tool is entirely free, built by a web-agency who was looking for a better way to manage their own tasks and couldn’t find one. They built their own solution, and offered it up as a free tool for everyone to use.
You can work with an unlimited number of team members, projects, and tasks, which is why we think it’s likely the best free solution for large teams.
The catch here is that it’s missing a few bells and whistles, like integrations, time tracking, and a mobile app. And as they release new features and extensions, you’ll have to pay for those. Only the basics are free.
What you get:
- Unlimited tasks and subtasks
- Unlimited seats
- Gantt chart view and Kanban view
- Drag and drop functionality
- Email reminders
What you’ll have to live without:
- No mobile app
- No time tracking
- No tool integrations
Free Gantt chart software is never really ‘free’
Each of these free options has limitations in one, way, shape, or form, which might be fine when you’re just testing the waters.
To really achieve that project management nirvana we mentioned earlier, you’re going to need the full suite of Gantt chart capabilities, and a tool that you love using everyday.
Best overall Gantt chart software: monday.com
In our (not so humble) opinion, monday.com is the best overall Gantt chart software, and that’s because it’s so much more than a Gantt chart. At monday.com, we’re changing the way people work.
You can see your project as a Gantt chart, Kanban, project list, or via multiple other views. All options are beautiful, user-friendly, and easy to track and understand.
Here’s what the Gantt view looks like:
Everything is automated, from dependencies to task creation, to integrations with other platforms like Dropbox, Slack, Zoom, Zapier, and more.
There are hundreds of visual and customizable templates so that you never have to start from square one. They run the gamut of needs from those of enterprise organizations to those of individuals.
Plus, there’s a mobile app for android and Apple users, so you never have to be without your project management tool. Workaholics rejoice!
The best part is, monday.com offers so much flexibility and customization that even tiny startups can benefit from its power while huge enterprises never have to worry about outgrowing it.
With monday.com you’ll gain access to a full suite of Gantt chart software features and more to take your project management to the next level.
Final thoughts: It all comes down to your team’s needs
If your projects aren’t managed as well as they could be, you’re adding more needless stress to your day-to-day — risking deadlines, the wellbeing of individual contributors, and likely the quality of work you’re producing if too much time is spent on cleaning up the mess.
A free Gantt chart software solution could be a great immediate bandaid, but ultimately, you need to find software that suits all of your project management needs.
When making the choice, keep in mind:
- The number of users you’ll need
- The number of projects and tasks you need to track
- Your required automations and integrations
- Reporting capabilities
- Whether the tool will grow with your business
If you’re in the market for software to easily manage all types of projects in all types of industries, with an easy-to-use and beautiful design, that comes with a Gantt chart template for every need, plus all the automations and integration capabilities you’ll need, check out monday.com.
