Missed deadlines. Project delays. Stressed clients.
Without the help of good project scheduling software, you can find yourself and your team in a tight spot.
You could get by using spreadsheets for project tracking when you were just starting out. But now that you have increased business, clients, and staff, you need a more robust solution. Something to keep all your project ducks in a row, in proper order, and arriving on time to their correct destinations.
Quick to set up. Easy to use. Effortless to maintain. Like a well-oiled machine.
We’ve got you covered. Read on to learn what project scheduling software is, why you need it, how to choose the best one, and what your options are (hint: look no further than Motion).
What is project scheduling software?
Project scheduling is a critical part of project management. Project schedules set a baseline by which the project manager and team operate throughout the project:
- The estimated timeline for the whole project as well as for individual project tasks
- The sequencing of events, as well as the rigidity or fluidity of that sequencing
- The estimated amount of resources required to complete the project on time and when each will be needed
- The estimated staffing required, including which individuals are needed, at what point in the project timeline, for how long, and for what role(s)
- The estimated project budget, considering all the above
Any hiccups in the process result in either a change to the schedule, adjustments in everything else to maintain the schedule, or some of both.
Tracking actual progress and comparing it to the baseline helps identify issues to address in the current project. It also identifies potential problems to plan for in future projects.
Project scheduling software saves valuable time and energy in creating and managing the schedule.
The software tracks dependencies, makes assignments and reassignments, sends alerts, and adjusts due dates. Automating these functions reduces human error.
What to look for in a great project scheduling software
Consider the following when deciding on project management scheduling software:
- Pricing - What is the maximum amount of money your business can allocate monthly toward project scheduling software?
- Intuitive user experience - Is the software easy to set up, use, navigate, add users to, and teach others?
- Number of users - Per the size of your business and scope of your projects, how many users will you need to add? How many people will need access to the interface, and to what extent for each (considering independent contractors, vendors, and clients)?
- Integrations - What is your business’ current tech stack? Which project scheduling software integrates with or replaces tools you already have, consolidating resources and saving money?
The right software option will provide what your specific business needs to succeed.
8 top project scheduling software
Now let’s compare the top project scheduling tools currently on the market.
1. Motion
Motion is your go-to automated scheduling assistant.
It completely builds and manages your schedule, significantly reducing the need to attend to it manually.
Access your schedule or task creator from any browser window or the mobile app. Motion’s functions are just one keyboard shortcut away.
Standout features:
- Intelligent Calendar
- Task Manager
- Meeting Scheduler
- Project Manager
- Daily Schedule Planner
- Mobile app
Integrations:
Google Calendar, Google Meet, Gmail, Microsoft Outlook 365, Microsoft Team, Zoom, Zapier
Pricing plans:
Our Individual plan is $19/month, and our Team plan is $12 per month per user; both are billed annually. We offer a 7-day free trial, which you can cancel anytime.
Pros:
- Customizable meeting booking pages and automated booking emails
- Automatic creation and updating of your schedule, calendar, and to-do lists
- Automatic addition of repeatable tasks and repeat meetings to your calendar and schedule
- Automatic alerts to upcoming deadlines, rescheduling of unfinished work, and prioritization of individual tasks
- Automated time tracking, time blocking of tasks, and reservation of deep work time,
- Automatic scheduling of meetings back-to-back and daily meeting limits
- Automatic sync and consolidation of all calendars, personal and professional
- Kanban and list views of the entire team’s schedule and task progress
- Personal calendar info is hidden from the team's view
- Notes, attachments, and communications added to each task or project
- Intuitive interface and quick setup
Cons:
- No color coding for tasks
- Pricier than most other options on the list, due to robust features (Visit our pricing page to calculate your monthly ROI - in both dollars and hours of your life - using Motion)
2. Wrike
Wrike is an all-in-one work management platform tailored to project teams of all sizes. This software prides itself on its versatility and robust features.
Standout features:
- Automated project workflows
- Mobile and desktop apps
- Proofing tools
- Cross-tagging
- Kanban boards and gantt charts
- Calendar syncing
- Balanced workflows
- Project resource planning
- Custom Item types
- Dynamic request forms
- Pre-built project templates
- Wrike’s Work Intelligence
Integrations:
Over 400 app integrations, plus custom integrations
Pricing plans:
Wrike offers a free plan with unlimited users but basic features. Pricing for paid plans starts at $9.80 per month per user for the Teams plan and $24.80 per month per user for the Business plan, billed annually.
Call for pricing for their Enterprise and Pinnacle plans. Try the 14-day free trial of any paid plan, with no credit card required.
Wrike also offers premium add-on features for an additional fee.
Pros:
- Intuitive user experience
- Unlimited projects, tasks, subtasks, and custom fields for all paid plans
- Robust project scheduling features
Cons:
- Cap on automations per month per user on all paid plans
- Need the business plan or higher for resource management features
3. Hive
Hive is a project management platform marketed toward hybrid remote teams.
Standout features:
- Customizable native apps
- Hive Automate
- Project layouts - Kanban, Gantt, Table, Calendar, My Actions, Team, Summary, Label, Portfolio
- Project Management features
- Time Management
- Team Collaboration
- Automation
- Hive Notes
- Available for desktop or mobile app
Integrations:
Over 1,000 integrations
Pricing plans:
Hive offers a free forever plan for up to 10 users. The Teams plan starts at $12 per month per user, billed annually. Call for enterprise pricing.
You can try the Teams plan free for 14 days, with no credit card required.
Pros:
- The free forever plan is rich in project management, scheduling, and collaboration features.
Cons:
- Need a paid plan for integrations
- Cap on automations per workspace per month unless you have an enterprise plan
4. TeamGantt
TeamGantt is a free web-based gantt chart builder. The paid plans include a wide range of project management and scheduling features.
Unlike most tools that charge per month per user, TeamGantt only charges for the manager.
Standout features
- Drag-and-drop schedule revisions
- Real-time updates on all projects from a single gantt chart
- View an individual user’s workload and availability
- Portfolio views and reports
- One-page log of project updates and attachments
- Switch between gantt, kanban, list, and calendar views
- Baseline reports comparing the actual timeline to the planned one
- Mobile app
- Project templates, history, and dependencies
- Time tracking
- Subgroups and tasks
- Embed project timelines to web pages
Integrations:
Trello, Basecamp 2, Slack, Dropbox, Zapier
Pricing plans:
Only managers pay to use TeamGantt — everyone else can use the tool for free, with no credit card required. A free plan is available for one manager, up to two collaborators, one project, and 60 tasks.
The Lite plan is $19/manager/month, the Pro plan is $49/manager/month, and the Enterprise plan starts at $99/manager/month, all billed annually. The Lite and Pro plans include a 30-day free trial that you can cancel anytime.
Pros:
- Intuitive interface
- Free to add project team members and stakeholders to update and collaborate on projects
Cons:
- Need the Pro or Enterprise plans for the project management and scheduling management tools.
- No AI or automation
5. GanttPRO
GanttPRO is a highly-rated, Gantt-chart-based project management and scheduling software.
Standout features:
- Project views - Gantt, Grid, Portfolio, Kanban Board
- Planning - Dependencies, filters, milestones, project calendars, auto-scheduling, task hierarchy
- Task management
- Collaboration features
- Project management features
- Team and resource management
- Import and export
- Time management
- Ready-made templates
- Budget tracking
- Reporting features
- Custom settings
Integrations:
Slack, Google Drive, Jira Cloud, API
Pricing plans:
The Basic plan is $7.99 per month per user, the PRO plan is $12.99 per month per user, and the Business plan is $19.99 per month per user. Call for Enterprise pricing. All plans are billed annually.
GanttPRO offers a full-featured, 14-day free trial.
Pros:
- Clear, detailed, and visually-appealing project views
- Project, time, team, task, and resource management features, covering all the bases
Cons:
- Resource management and integrations are available in the Business and Enterprise plans only
- Automation is limited to auto-scheduling
- Limited integrations
6. Microsoft Project
Microsoft Project is the oldest, longest-standing project management product on the list. It has on-premise and cloud-based options, unlike other tools on this list.
Standout features:
- Team collaboration and communication via Microsoft Teams.
- Co-authoring with stakeholders and team members
- Project planning and scheduling using Grid, Board, and Timeline (Gantt chart) views to oversee the schedule.
- Pre-built reports to track progress on projects, resources, programs, and portfolios
- Visual, interactive roadmaps for organizational visibility (plans 3 and 5 only)
- Timesheet submission
- Resource management (plans 3 and 5 only)
Integrations:
Other Microsoft products
Pricing plans:
Project Plan 1 is $10 per month per user, Project Plan 3 is $30 per month per user, and Project Plan 5 is $55 per month per user for the cloud-based options.
Try a one-month trial of Plans 1 or 3. A credit card is required.
Pros:
- Robust features
- Especially beneficial for larger businesses with more complex project needs
- Seamlessly integrates with Office 365
Cons:
- Learning curve if you aren’t already familiar with Microsoft’s products
- Can’t use it on Mac or iOS
- Can’t add users to projects, share documents with anyone that doesn’t also have Microsoft Project, or look at more than one project at a time
7. Paymo
Paymo is a complete work management solution. The features available for the price make this tool a practical option for freelancers and small businesses.
Standout features:
- Time tracking
- Project planning and scheduling
- Task management
- Real-time team scheduling
- Leave planner
- Invoicing, estimates, and online payments
- Resource management
- File management
- Financial management
- Client and team collaboration features
- Customization options
- Mobile solutions
- Detailed reporting and analytics
- Profitability tracking
Integrations:
Google, Google Calendar, Zapier, Slack, QuickBooks Online, Xero, Typeform, JotForm, Integromat, Pabbly, Pomodone, LambdaTest, Rethink, GrandTotal, Shift
Pricing info:
Paymo has a free plan for a single user, up to three clients, unlimited projects, and core features.
The Starter plan is $4.95 per month per user, the Small Office plan is $9.95 per month per user, and the Business plan is $20.79 per month per user. All paid plans are billed annually and include two free months.
You can also try a 15-day trial of Paymo for free, with no credit card required.
Pros:
- Great for small businesses and freelancers
- An entire host of work management tools
Cons:
- No automation other than automatic ghost bookings, which are included in the Business plan only
- Gantt charts in the Business plan only
8. Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects is a comprehensive all-in-one project management tool.
Standout features
- Task management - recurring events, issue management, critical tasks, and baseline
- Time management - timesheets, a timer, a project calendar, and budget management
- Intuitive collaboration features - mentions, feeds, chats, forums, and email
- Automation - tasks, workflows, notifications, webhooks, and business rules
- Customizable projects - views, layouts, fields, ready-made templates, tags, and tabs
- Charts and reports - tasks, issues, timesheets, budget forecasting, and planned vs. actual costs
- Mobile app
Integrations:
Over 50 integrations, including:
- Native Zoho apps
- Google Calendar, Google Tasks, Google Drive, Gmail
- Microsoft apps
- Other third-party apps and plugins
Pricing plans:
Zoho Projects offers a free plan, which includes two projects, up to three users, read-only gantt charts, and basic features.
The Premium plan is $4 per month per user, and the Enterprise plan is $9 per month per user, both billed annually. You can try either paid plan free for ten days, with no credit card required.
Pros:
- Workflow automation
- Highly customizable projects
- A migration support team for help migrating over from different project management software
Cons:
- Might be more comprehensive than a small business would want or need
Additional options
Feel like we’ve left out some notable options?
Check out our post, The 7 Best Project Management Softwares in 2022, to learn about the more traditional project management software excluded from this list. These also include project scheduling features.
You can also check out our article, Why You Should Stop Using Traditional Project Management Tools like Monday, Asana, ClickUp, Trello, and Smartsheet for a better idea of why we left them out.
Try Motion as your project scheduling software today!
Project management is much less of a pain with the right project scheduling software.
Happy team. Happy clients. Happy you.
So what are you waiting for? Take advantage of the free trials and plans available to find the best software solution for your business.
Motion is an excellent place to start. Let Motion’s AI-driven project scheduling software optimize your workflows and return precious hours to you and your team. Try our 7-day free trial!
