An exclusive list of the top free Flowchart Software for Windows and Mac to Create Stunning Flowcharts Quickly: Flowchart maker software is an application which provides the functionalities for creating charts and graphs. The Best Free Gantt Chart Software For Keeping Event Planning Simple There you have it – seven fantastic tools for all your gantt chart and planning needs. At Ultimate Experience, we’d be a bit lost without project management software such as those listed above, and we’re sure you’ll benefit from them just as much as we have!
Every industry has its essential tools. Sculptors have their hammer and chisel. Doctors have their medicine bag and stethoscope. Deep sea divers have their scuba gear… you get the picture. For us event planners and organisers, choosing the best free gantt chart software is about as essential a part of the job as any. Indeed, effective, efficient project management software often makes a massive difference to both our stress levels, and our ability to plan events that really tick all the right boxes.
With free project management software, and by using the best gantt chart software to streamline our plans, express our creativity, and chart a route to success, we’re able to take our event planning further than ever. Think of these tools a bit like an artist’s canvas: they’re spaces on to which we can project our ambitions, and begin to realise something truly spectacular.
As with any project management software, choosing the best gantt chart software for your needs can be a bit of a tricky business. After all, there are plenty of options to choose from, and some are more suitable than others for specific types of events (and indeed specific types of event planners).
Here at Ultimate Experience, we’ve given the vast majority of them a try at one point or another over the past few years, and we’ve definitely got our favourites after having sorted the wheat from the chaff. As we’re always keen to share our thoughts on what works and what doesn’t, we’ve gone to the trouble of picking out the best of the best, and presenting them to you in this handy blog.
So, if you’re looking for the best gantt software for your own event planning success, this really is going to be the article you’ve been looking for! Check out our seven favourite examples of free project management software below.
Microsoft Project Online
When it comes to any kind of software, there’s really no brand out there more reliable than Microsoft. This gantt chart software is as efficient and effective as you’d expect from this giant of the tech world, and fairly comprehensively covers every aspect of project management you’re likely to need.
source – Microsoft
Despite the fact that this is a Microsoft product, not a huge amount of people seem to know about Microsoft Project Online – it’s something that Microsoft seem to have kept fairly quiet about – which makes it feel a bit like a ‘best-kept secret’… and who doesn’t love one of those?
Features
- Create simple, straightforward gantt charts
- Create project overview charts
- Import and export .mmp files to your team and clients
- Export large files and PDFs, as well as shareable plans for your projects
Pros
- Simple, smart layout and easy-to-follow formats
- The familiarity and user-friendliness of a Microsoft software
- 30 day free trial
Cons
- Relatively limited in scope in comparison to other software
- Not many of the extra ‘bells and whistles’
- $30 per month once free trial expires
Merlin
As you might expect from a gantt chart software with such a name, this is something of a ‘wizard’ tool that many event planners we know simply couldn’t do without. Specifically created for Mac, it’s got that distinctive Apple slickness and creative edge, making it ideal for event organisers who deal with more ambitious projects.
source – Projectwizards
User friendly, beautifully laid out, and ideal for use both online and offline, it’s a highly recommended tool that has blazed plenty of new trails which others quickly followed.
Features
- Create a wide array of gantt charts and overview charts
- Full integration with iPad, iPhone, and other Apple products
- Great communication and sharing features
Pros
- Fully customisable, meaning you can adapt it to suit your own specific needs
- Perfect for event planners already using Mac for their projects
- Great online and offline modes
Cons
- After the free trial, it’s a bit on the pricey side
- Not great for those unfamiliar with Mac
Ganttic
A lot of event planners have leapt at the chance to use Ganttic for all of their gantt chart software needs. Why? Well, according to their website (and the testimonies of plenty of event organisers in our network), this particular software is supposedly better than well-established tools like Microsoft Project, and better even than industry stalwarts like Excel.
source – Ganttic
With a plethora of features, and a system aimed squarely at busy event planners needing streamlined, user-friendly software, it’s gained a real dedicated following in a relatively short space of time.
Features
- Easy and distinctive visualisation of all your data
- Unique Matrix planning
- Create gantt charts and other charts quickly and efficiently
![Best Best](https://ems062o8o5d13vyfw3bj3f0r-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/best-gantt-chart-software-ganttpro-min-640x384.png)
Pros
- Fantastic levels of personalisation and customisation
- Highly flexible (for example, you can set each resource different working hours if you don’t follow the typical 9-5 schedule)
- Group resources according to your needs
- Automatic reporting
- Free for up to 5 users
Cons
- Lo-fi visuals which some users might find off-putting
- Potentially expensive for larger groups of users
TeamGantt
This smart looking software is known for being highly intuitive, and capable of making your plans come together beautifully. From brilliant customisable options to a fantastic level of detail when it comes to all your finer points, TeamGantt really excels for event planners who like to stay on top of every single aspect of their projects.
source – TeamGantt
What’s more, TeamGantt is great as a comms tool, as team members can easily communicate with each other via the software, even when they’re working remotely.
Features
- Organise activities and tasks with each
- Establish timelines alongside your gantt charts
- Set up team members workload and schedules
- Instant messenger options
Pros
- Great looking interface and high levels of usability
- All files can be kept in one place, making them easy to obtain
- Brilliant for communicating with team members
Cons
- Relatively pricey, even for entry-level users
- Few extra features
Ganttpro
When you look for the best gantt chart software for your event planning needs, what you really need is one which makes gantt charts and project planning look easy. With Ganttpro, that’s exactly what you get – a brilliantly streamlined, simplified, and user-friendly system that puts you as an event organiser front and centre in its design.
source – Gantt Pro
While this may be a simple piece of gantt software, its drag-and-drop features allow you to organise several projects at once, making it capable of reasonably complex procedures.
Features
- Drag and drop system with high levels of usability
- Split tasks and subtasks
- Schedule and organise tasks
- Manage dependencies between tasks
- Use the online platform to view information and manage available resources
Pros
- Very simple, easy to understand format
- A wide range of tasks made easy
- Online and offline features, allowing you to use the software anywhere
Cons
- Quite expensive for teams to use
- Limited when it comes to extra features and add-ons
ProjectLibre
As the name implies, ProjectLibre is a gantt chart software which frees you as an event planner to organise several aspects of your event at once. This brilliantly liberating tool has been cleverly designed with open source software, which really does make project management easy even for newcomers to the industry.
source – Project Libre
ProjectLibre is currently used worldwide (indeed, it has already been translated into several languages and is popular all throughout Asia as one of the gantt tools of choice), and has been showered with awards in recent years.
If you’re looking for an intelligent, intuitive tool for your project planning success, this may well be the one for you.
Features
- ProjectLibre Cloud facility
- Create gantt charts and arrange schedules and workloads
- Compatibility with different software and platforms
- Easily separate and categorise tasks and subtasks
Pros
- Straightforward design
- High levels of customisation
- Open source software
- Free to download
Cons
- Not the fastest software available
- Not the most attractive package, nor the slickest
Rational Plan
If you’re a smaller or medium sized event planning company, then Rational Plan has been built with you in mind. This brilliantly lo-fi and highly logical software is arranged in order to be extremely easy to follow – using it really feels like the kind of thing you could do on paper, but with all the added benefits that come with an online and offline system.
source – Rational Plan
‘Rational’ really is the right word for this tool, as everything is laid out in a sensible and easy to understand way, making complex tasks and organising simple, effective, and efficient.
Features
- Manage portfolios with ease
- Organise and arrange resources, and keep track of usage
- Manage your team collaboration, separate and assign tasks, and keep track of job completion
Pros
- Choose from having software installed on site, or joining the Rational Plan cloud
- Multiple projects can be managed at once
- Designed to keep things easy for smaller companies
Cons
- Missing certain popular extra details
- Not appropriate for larger teams or more complex, multi-part projects
Workzone
Once you start using Workzone, it’s frankly quite difficult to go back to any other gantt chart software programs. The interface is so distinctive, so streamlined and slick, and so intuitive, it makes a lot of other software look clunky and outdated in comparison.
source – Work Zone
One of the nice things about Workzone is that it integrates gantt chart software into all of its project views, meaning there’s a beautiful consistency across the whole package. Less complicated than many of the bigger tools, but by no means a lightweight, Workzone strikes a very appealing balance indeed.
Features
- Quickly see the status of projects with gantt charts
- Easily keep track of project development
- Attractive and usable dashboard view
- Automatic report creation
Pros
Best Free Gantt Chart Download
- Slick interface for high usability
- Automated features
- Great visualisation
Cons
- Not suitable for large-scale projects with very complex tasks
- Relatively expensive
The Best Free Gantt Chart Software For Keeping Event Planning Simple
There you have it – seven fantastic tools for all your gantt chart and planning needs. At Ultimate Experience, we’d be a bit lost without project management software such as those listed above, and we’re sure you’ll benefit from them just as much as we have! If you have any top tips regarding tools that you use which haven’t been mentioned here, we’d really love you to leave a comment and let us know which ones work best for you.
If you’re looking for any help whatsoever when it comes to event planning and management, we’ve got the skills and experience you need to take your projects further than ever. Want to find out more? Get in touch today!
Gantt charts are a core part of the project planning process. Which functions do they offer and how do you find the right application to fit your requirements? In this article, we'll cover all the important questions relating to gantt chart tools on macOS.
Definition: What is a gantt chart?
When to use a gantt chart
Gantt charts on macOS
Checklist: How to find your perfect gantt chart tool
When to use a gantt chart
Gantt charts on macOS
Checklist: How to find your perfect gantt chart tool
Best Free Gantt Chart Software For Macbook Pro
Definition: What is a gantt chart?
A gantt chart can be defined as a traditional project management tool to visualize the project schedule and to monitor the progress of project activities.
In a gantt chart all activities are displayed as bars in separate rows. You enter activities in the first column of a spreadsheet. As the first row marks the timeline your activities are displayed as a bar more left or right in its row depending on its start and end date. The bar is smaller or langer according to its calculated duration. In the end, you will get a good overview of all activities and their position in the context of the project as a whole.
You can easily find overlapping activities as their will be apparent as overlapping bars. Different colors are used to visualize if a task is still to be done, is work in progress or completed. Normally, it is also possible to highlight the critical path, i.e. those activities which affect the completion date of the project.
The name gantt chart refers to the American mechanical engineer Henry Gantt who did not invent this methodology but used and optimized the approach and made it popular during the 1910s.
When to use a gantt chart
Gantt diagrams can be used as planning tools for every kind of project. In contrast to other project visualizations, i.e. work breakdown structure, gantt charts can be created rather quickly with no time consuming training.
Gantt charts are especially handy when managing small and middle sized projects. As the tend to get confusing, if too many activities shall be displayed. However, with the right degree of detail even complex project can be displayed just fine. It's a challenge to find a balance between visualizing bigger work packages to keep the chart informative meanwhile neglecting details and to display small work packages while loosing a comprehensive view over the whole project.
Gantt charts on macOS
For a long time, Microsoft Project was the only serious project management application on the market. As the software is only available for Windows computer, Mac user had no choice than to create gantt charts with Excel or other spreadsheet applications.
Today, user can choose from a wide range of gantt chart tools for Mac. There are free applications as well as fee-based services, tools for beginners and professional users. Not all applications satisfy the minimum requirements you should set. The features and usability of different gantt chart tools varies quite a lot.
Free vs. fee-based applications
Why should you buy a gantt chart software if there are free applications available? At least, high software quality not always correlates to high prices. However, free gantt tools often come with a very minimal range of functions and lack customization options. You do not have to deal with those problems when investing a small amount in professional gantt chart software.
If you have little experience working with gantt charts or if you cannot dismiss the possibility of evolving requirements, it is usually a good idea to consider a professional software. You will save yourself unnecessary stress and time you need to switch to a better solution later on.
Cloud applications vs. local applications
Today, there are lots of saas applications you can use directly from your browser with no need of local installation. You don't need to worry about your IT infrastructure of the limitations of your operating system. That's for advantages. But cloud applications pose a huge security threat as they save confidential data on servers outside the company's direct control. This risk can be avoided if companies use local software and sync their data via secure server to share them with others. In this way, they benefit from the same flexibility saas applications offer but without the downsides. Besides, local software takes advantage of macOS' strengths and fits in well with the general usabilty. Both factors contribute to an efficient workflow and a short introduction phase.
Checklist: How to find your perfect gantt chart tool
- Scheduling: The schedule is at the core of every gantt diagram. You should be able to display previous and following tasks as well as dependencies. Moreover, you should be able to plan activities without fixed due date so that start and end date will vary depending on the progress of previous tasks.
- Different views: A gantt chart is not always the best view to manage a project. Many applications allow you to switch between different views like mind maps, PERT charts or WBS.
- Customization: You should be able to customize the software according to your needs, i.e. you can color bars, set reminders for upcoming deadlines, attach documents, add comments.
- Usability: Check if you can navigate the user interface intuitively. Can you access important commands via short cuts or are they hidden in the depth of the menu? Are you able to assign different authorizations to adjust views according to the team member's status? Does the program offers a comprehensive help andn easy to access resources?
- Import/Export: Not every software supports file formats that can be easily opened and edited on different operating systems. However, compatibility is especially important for professional and longer projects and should be included as a key feature.
- Collaboration: Check if the application fulfills your requirements for team work. Is it possible to work with multiple users at the same time in one document? Can you open and edit a project file via mobile device or web browser? Can you track comments and changes back to individual users?
- Synchronization:If your team is spread over different locations, make sure you can access the gantt chart software from mobile devices.
- Reporting: Which reporting functions are indcluded? Clear and compelling reportings are important for effective project controlling.
- Templates: Many applications offer templates for gantt charts, some of which are free. They can speed up the planning process significantly. Check if the software has relevant templates for your field of use.
- Demo version: Every professional software should offer a free demo version for customers to test functionalites and usability before the actual purchase.
Merlin Project and Merlin Project Express fulfill all mentioned criteria. For small projects, Merlin Project Express is a good fit. For complex and professional use, Merlin Project is the application of choice. You can download both versions and try them free for 30 days.
If you have any questions or problems, contact our support team.