The Best Microsoft Project Online Replacement
The Smartsheet platform allows you to collaborate, manage, and report on work in real time.
Trusted by 85% of the Fortune 500, Smartsheet empowers 123K+ organizations to move faster, adapt confidently, and lead with intelligent work.
What do I need to know about Microsoft Project Online Retirement?
Microsoft is pushing organizations to Planner and the Power Platform as it retires Microsoft Project Online. This is your opportunity to modernize and adopt a purpose-built Intelligent Work Management platform that unites people, data, and AI to accelerate enterprise execution.
Smartsheet: The Best MS Project Replacement
Smartsheet vs. Microsoft Project & Microsoft Planner
Features | Smartsheet | Microsoft Project | Microsoft Planner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modern toolset | Smartsheet is a purpose-built Intelligent Work Management platform that unites people, data, and AI to accelerate enterprise execution. | Microsoft is retiring Microsoft Project Online and has very limited investment in the other Microsoft Project tools. | Microsoft Planner provides a simple interface for small team-level projects but is not suitable for true project management. |
| Ease of use & collaboration | With Smartsheet’s intuitive interface, it is adopted widely within the organization, encourages collaboration and removes productivity siloes. | Microsoft Project is very complex to learn and cumbersome to maintain. | Planner offers a familiar Microsoft 365 interface but is very limited in features. |
| Accessible reporting | Smartsheet reports are available to all users, and full dashboard functionality is available to Business and Enterprise Plans without additional investment. | Project offers some basic reports and dashboards, but advanced charts require higher paid licenses or a paid subscription to Microsoft PowerBI. | Planner offers only basic reporting, with custom dashboards requiring Power BI licenses and technical expertise, plus manual status updates. |
| Built-in automation | Smartsheet allows you to automate updates, requests, reports, and other repetitive processes with automated workflows. | Project offers basic automated features like dependent dates but requires Microsoft Power Automate to create critical time-saving automations within Project and between other tools. | Planner requires knowledge and access to Power Automate to achieve time-saving automations beyond simple task assignments. |
| Enterprise Scale | Handle enterprise-scale programs with thousands of tasks, unlimited projects, and complex hierarchies without performance degradation. | The various Microsoft Project versions have different scale limits. | Not designed for large programs or complex work due to its limits with the number of tasks and projects you can manage. |
| Portfolio Management | Manage unlimited portfolios with real-time rollup reporting, resource allocation, and cross-project dependencies at any plan level. | Has portfolio management capabilities but disconnected from other teams and where work is executed. | Critical capabilities such as portfolio management, custom reporting, and baselines are restricted to Premium users. |
Gartner® Magic Quadrant™
Smartsheet is recognized as a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Collaborative Work Management for the third consecutive year.
Organizations Choosing Smartsheet
Leading organizations have discovered that migrating to Smartsheet provides more return on investment through increased collaboration and easier reporting. Here is how organizations are using Smartsheet to replace legacy tools.
Efficiency
50%
time saved
Borrego Solar cut task time in half by switching from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet, automating Salesforce integration and eliminating manual data entry.
centralized tracking
40+
active projects
FOX Sports centralizes tracking of 40+ logistics projects with Smartsheet, consolidating multiple tools for seamless event broadcasts and real-time visibility.
cost savings
$70,000
saved annually
The U.S. General Services Administration saves over $71,000 annually through automation, as a 25-year Microsoft Project user discovered Smartsheet's superior visualization and collaboration.
Easily migrate from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet
Migration and change management are top priorities during the transition from Microsoft Project Online. Smartsheet provides the tools and guidance needed to ensure your data moves safely and your teams adapt quickly.
Get started migrating from Microsoft Project
Learn how easy it is to make the switch to Smartsheet today.
Microsoft Project Online Replacement FAQs
The official retirement date of Microsoft Project Online is September 30, 2026. If Project Online users would like to continue using a Microsoft product they will need to either migrate to Planner, purchase a Project Server Subscription, or Dynamics 365 Project Operations.
Migrating from MS Project to MS Planner depends on your needs. Planner can work for small projects, but it is not suitable for teams looking for true project and portfolio management. It is limited in the amount of tasks and projects you can manage.
Smartsheet project and portfolio management functionality provides a more comprehensive and scalable solution than Planner. Key advantages include code-free automation without technical requirements, higher limits for tasks and plans to handle large-scale programs, and live dashboards accessible to all users.
It’s easy to migrate from MS Project Online to Smartsheet. To quickly load MPP files from Project into Smartsheet, open a Smartsheet report or project, click import, and then click Import Microsoft Project.
The Smartsheet Services team provides implementation support and guidance to design a migration path that fits your organizational maturity level.
While Smartsheet doesn't have a direct native integration with Microsoft Planner, you can connect the two platforms using Microsoft Power Automate. Power Automate allows you to create automated workflows between Smartsheet and Planner to synchronize tasks, due dates, and assignments.
Yes, Smartsheet integrates with Office 365 applications (Teams and Outlook) for easier collaboration within emails and notifications. You can use Excel & Power BI connectors to flow data from Smartsheet to Power BI/Excel for data visualization and blending.