Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Microsoft Project Server vs Planisware comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.1
Microsoft Project Server offers positive ROI, varying by organization type, with benefits of time savings and improved reporting.
Sentiment score
1.0
Planisware is highly valued in pharma for project management, though opinions differ on its financial benefits and effectiveness.
Microsoft Project provides significant return on investment through time savings, enhanced visibility, real-time reporting, and risk mitigation for projects.
It is primarily used for the pharma vertical and related fields, and since we were running a full ERP digital transformation project in the life sciences domain, it suited that requirement very well.
Sometimes I feel that the ROI is not optimal because we are totally dependent on Planisware's system stability.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
4.4
Microsoft Project Server support is decent but inconsistent; users rely on external resources and partners for comprehensive assistance.
Sentiment score
2.8
Planisware's customer service is enthusiastic yet dependent on costly advanced support, with some feedback noting varied response accuracy.
It's challenging to navigate, often making it necessary to search for solutions externally.
Their support tends to decline when not supporting cloud solutions.
Communication with two people, one was knowledgeable while the other was learning.
The support was good, but there's more space for collaboration that we can do internally through Planisware, which was not the case.
We experienced a couple of issues, and they responded and resolved the issues and bugs promptly.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Project Server is scalable for large projects, though performance may vary based on version and infrastructure costs.
Sentiment score
4.9
Planisware offers stable scalability on resourceful servers, with customization on-premises and strategic modifications for extensive user environments.
The desktop version does not have scalability.
Microsoft Project Server is fully scalable and is widely used in many industries.
The scalability of Planisware is good, as when you want to implement changes, you need to manage the process with your collaborators.
We experienced crashes in the upcoming year, but these mostly occurred on weekends, which minimized the impact on our users.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft Project Server is stable and robust, with minor delays, improved in newer versions, especially the cloud version.
Sentiment score
6.4
Planisware, especially in SaaS, is stable and reliable, with minor bugs, and praised by companies like Pepsico and Ford.
I have never had to reach out to their support because the product works as expected.
They have made significant improvements, but still, there is a long way to go in terms of their flexibility, adaptability, and usability.
Sometimes the ROI is affected because we are totally dependent on Planisware's system stability.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Project Server requires better integration, customization, user-friendliness, cloud functionality, and agile methodologies to compete with alternatives.
Planisware needs enhancements in integration, UI/UX, reporting, accessibility, stability, collaboration, flexibility, and third-party system integration.
Exporting data from Microsoft Project, especially Gantt charts, is overly complex and not user-friendly.
Microsoft has become increasingly expensive, and there seems to be a push towards cloud solutions which can be challenging for some.
The lack of collaboration capabilities on the desktop version, unlike the cloud version, is a limitation.
The integrations to Agile are essential; we had to do a full build to accomplish that.
We have experienced crashes in Planisware and system slowdowns.
The reports should be improved because all companies now need reporting, and with tools such as Grafana or Tableau, Planisware needs to add interfaces for data lakes since all companies require this.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Project Server offers flexible pricing, with on-premise and cloud options, potentially costing enterprises $120,000 to $150,000 annually.
Planisware is a costly tool with licensing, setup, support, and training expenses, requiring strategic management commitment.
Microsoft Project Server is on the expensive side due to high licensing costs.
Microsoft's products are expensive for individuals.
Considering the infrastructure commitments to SharePoint and SQL, the implementation costs are low if already set up.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Project Server streamlines complex project management with resource allocation, integration, and robust tools for efficient collaboration and scheduling.
Planisware provides robust project management with resource planning, data integration, Agile support, and built-in BI tools for enhanced decision-making.
This setup allows for comprehensive reporting and management across multiple projects and portfolios.
The dashboards are amazing for data crunching and provide a project focus with upcoming predictions, including burn-up and burn-down charts.
The Gantt chart is also a very powerful tool for a visual presentation of sequences, critical paths, and execution processes, which simplifies comprehension for users.
The tools communicate with other tools, making it effective, and when we have a new resource, we can add it and send it to the resource management team, who can view it in Planisware.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Project Server
Ranking in Project Portfolio Management
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Planisware
Ranking in Project Portfolio Management
1st
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.6
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Project Portfolio Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Project Server is 5.9%, down from 8.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Planisware is 10.2%, up from 7.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Portfolio Management
 

Featured Reviews

Mouloud Fourali - PeerSpot reviewer
Visual project planning enhances collaboration and proactive management
The dependency management in Microsoft Project is highly valuable, as it visually maps dependencies and impacts within a project plan. The online version facilitates easy collaboration without having to share multiple versions of the file. The Gantt chart is also a very powerful tool for a visual presentation of sequences, critical paths, and execution processes, which simplifies comprehension for users.
Avinash Padmanabhan - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient project management and resource allocation, but agile capabilities need improvement
One drawback with Planisware is that it doesn't have good features for test management or agile; it lacks many concepts in agile such as retrospective, velocity planning, and backlog view. Some features are still missing because they have introduced these agile modules only in version seven and are still improving that product, so I see a good roadmap on those modules from Planisware's end. I find Planisware's collaboration tools to be good but not great as they still have certain restrictions. It can interact with Jira, it can interact with ADO, and you can have APIs created to interact with your internal HR systems or other systems for data flow. However, the error messages or fail scenarios don't provide good visibility of what is happening, why errors occur, or why something is not working. Regarding scenario planning, I haven't explored much on that side. We have the strategic module, strategic planning module, but we haven't explored much on the other side, so I don't have much experience or exposure to scenario planning.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Project Portfolio Management solutions are best for your needs.
865,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
18%
Energy/Utilities Company
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Project Server?
The ability to track a project's progress using Microsoft Project Server is the most valuable aspect. It depends, especially when managing multiple projects.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project Server?
The pricing for Microsoft Project Server is standard, around $200-$250, but I think it's actually $80 to $100 per year. The pricing for Microsoft Project Server is relative; I would say it is cheap.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Project Server?
In order to improve Microsoft Project Server, collaborative features could be enhanced, as it is possible to improve it in a collaborative way similar to other office products, for example, using c...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Planisware?
Planisware is very costly. I can comment that it's expensive, and even the consultants from Planisware charge a very high rate for their time. Generally speaking, they are expensive.
What needs improvement with Planisware?
The tool can be improved with integrations to Agile tools. We used Azure DevOps, which I dislike. Better integrations to JIRAs and perhaps open APIs for task management would be super beneficial. A...
What is your primary use case for Planisware?
My use cases involve building out a template library based on our methodology and continuing to iterate on that. We used a template, and basically, to start this out, we built out the template libr...
 

Also Known As

MS Project Server
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Magnachip, Gwinnett County Schools, CLEAResult, Medbit Oy, Intelbras S.A., ETS, CORE Construction, Keller Foundations
Apotex, Alstom Transport, HP, Stryker, Rexam, Jotun, Gelita, Kraton Performance Polymers, Abbvie, Rio Tinto Alcan, Maruho, Teva, SK Chemicals
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Project Server vs. Planisware and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,164 professionals have used our research since 2012.