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Microsoft Project Server vs Planview Portfolios 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Project Server
Ranking in Project Portfolio Management
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Planview Portfolios
Ranking in Project Portfolio Management
8th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Architecture Management (14th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Project Portfolio Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Project Server is 6.4%, down from 8.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Planview Portfolios is 7.5%, up from 6.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Project Portfolio Management
 

Featured Reviews

Sean Achim - PeerSpot reviewer
Unlock comprehensive reporting and management with robust data extraction
The major advantage for me in using Microsoft Project Server is the SQL Server component. Using Power BI and SQL Server, I can extract a lot more data. The combination of Microsoft Project with Project Server and SharePoint provides a perfect solution for me. This setup allows for comprehensive reporting and management across multiple projects and portfolios.
Mark Hillman - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly interface, but the reporting could be improved
The reporting is poor and requires improvement. The tiles and exception-based activities in the application are sufficient to get by. However, when it comes to producing executive reports, MI reports, or any other type of reporting, we must exit Planview and work offline. We have been working with them to improve on that, as well as using some of the Power BI capabilities that have been available for a while, but it's still more difficult than it should be. In the next release, I would like to be able to use the data in the tool to gain insight much more easily.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's stable and reliable."
"Microsoft Project Server is simple to use."
"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that the tool's reporting is very good."
"Capacity management and task baselining are the most valuable features of Microsoft Project Server."
"The dependency management in Microsoft Project is highly valuable, as it visually maps dependencies and impacts within a project plan."
"We use the tool in our IT-related projects. All IT efforts are managed using the Microsoft Project Server. Every week, we have a project status meeting where we demonstrate the project's status using the tool. We track tasks and progress, assign owners, and monitor milestones and all project-related work using it."
"The key things are managing interactions, resource allocation, resource-leveling (enterprise) and as a collaborative tool, because we use it across multiple projects at a time."
"It's fine to navigate for a layperson."
"Another good thing is that we can create custom reports, which is great. If I created a custom report, a tile that tells me how many people have logged in today. We currently have a little under 2000 users, and that's only users, we actually have integrations, that we created a custom form that sends hours directly to Planview. They're not using Planview directly, but they're sending their hours to Planview through an API."
"The Kanban board has really helped us be more agile and we can keep track of everything that is ongoing."
"The resource management and assignment features are valuable. The timesheet management is also valuable because that is a requirement for us. So, the ability to see timesheet forecasting and timesheet actual submission from resources has been very useful and valuable to us."
"The resource capacity planning is the most valuable feature because you can evaluate your team's capacity by team and what projects they're working on and you can forecast easily by team."
"We can view a project both at the top level and dig into the particularities. It's given us greater visibility into the work itself."
"Our reporting is much better. There is much more visibility on projects, schedules, tasks, and in our milestones. Now, we have a consistent way of reporting out to the committees and getting all of our schedules and milestones."
"The most valuable features are the control and visibility that you have for portfolio management in terms of projects and capacity planning for resources along with strategies and outcomes, etc. It's so easy to access information for sharing analytics and reporting."
"The financial planning capabilities are very useful. We have integration for an SAP system, and so we load financial data from SAP into Planview for prior months. And then we use the forecasting capabilities to get a complete picture of the cost of a specific project. The financial management is very useful."
 

Cons

"The cost could be lower."
"The solution must provide Agile and AI features."
"It is not updated in real-time. Sometimes it, therefore, is not accurate."
"It would be useful if the solution allowed us to share files or project schedules. You may get that with the cloud version. However, it's not available on the on-premises versions."
"Project Server could be improved by simplifying how tasks are assigned and reviewed on a daily basis."
"The solution needs to be much more stable."
"Improvements are needed in the technical support process, aiming for a better user experience."
"The solution should be made more collaborative."
"We don't use the Progression feature. We will use it at some point in time. Until then, we want to have a way to set time to help decide what's in the past, present, and future. It is one of the things we've been discussing with Planview."
"When you think of planning at a PI level, roadmap planning, or release planning, I think they should make a little more headway into how agile delivery works, tying it back into the financials and the planning to Planview. I think it would be good."
"Some of the out-of-the-box reporting is not immediately useful and although it can be configured or customized, there are still improvements that can be made."
"Its ability to create summary reports across multiple projects is very limited. In terms of the out-of-the-box reporting for summary reports, the reporting that we typically leverage is around forecasting for resources, timesheets, and actuals, and just looking at what is the capacity. There is no real summary of what work is being done and how work is being accomplished. So, what we typically do is that we get a copy of the data files from Enterprise One daily, and then we have a team that manages the data mod outside of Enterprise One. They use data from Enterprise One as well as other additional sources to provide the reporting that we share with the management. So, we leverage a lot of Enterprise One data for reporting, but we don't use the reporting capabilities within Enterprise One. So, reporting can be improved, and they could help us make more customized reporting. I know it is very configurable out of the box, but we have to leverage an outside data mod that pulls in a lot of data from Enterprise One. So, the reporting function, and being able to customize reports, is the area that could be very beneficial."
"Our version is definitely set up a bit more waterfall world. It would be better if some of the agile features were more in the standard product."
"When we first deployed, there were some issues. We never got to the root cause of why they happened. Since we didn't have any history with it, we weren't quite sure if this was a standard operating procedure or it truly was a glitch."
"Its reporting needs to be improved. My main complaint when it comes to Planview is that it is good to maintain all the data but to actually use the information that is in it, you actually have to use a different tool. We use Power BI. So, we pull all the information, and then we use a Power BI dashboard to stage or look at the information."
"We do have some significant issues with our integrations that we're working through. Those are not as stable or reliable as what we would like."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The technical assistance is expensive but the solution is an open source software."
"It is on the expensive side."
"There is a subscription model for different types of users for different types of roles."
"There are some payments related to the licensing cost of Microsoft Project Server."
"I rate the pricing a one out of ten because the price is way too high."
"Microsoft Project Server is relatively cheaper than other products."
"There is a licensing cost."
"We have an enterprise agreement with Microsoft, and our licensing is based on the agreement."
"The licensing part is a bit costly in comparison with the other available PPM tools."
"We are on the Flex licenses."
"I think all in we are at $33,000 a year and that includes Projectplace and Planview. We used to have the integration to JIRA, but we don't pay for that anymore."
"Our licensing costs are probably $150,000 to $180,000 a year with 270 licenses total."
"When we went through that process, I believe it is competitive with others on the market. However, there are less expensive options available. It's a more premium offering at a higher price."
"I don't know about the actual pricing. I have not come across any costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"Our licensing fees are approximately $50,000 USD annually."
"I don't think we have necessarily purchased everything that I would have liked to have seen."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
14%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

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?
Microsoft Project Server is on the expensive side due to high licensing costs, but it is mainly accessible to project managers. Online tools are cheaper and present competition.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Project Server?
The main drawback of Microsoft Project Server is that it is offline. Having it online would offer better access to other managers.
What do you like most about Planview Portfolios?
Planview Management integrates seamlessly with other tools and systems used within the organization, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, customer relationship management (CRM) syst...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Planview Portfolios?
Planview Portfolios is not too expensive. You get what you paid for.
What needs improvement with Planview Portfolios?
Enhancements are needed in: Advanced reporting and analytics: While Planview Management provides robust reporting and analytics capabilities, further enhancements could include more advanced data v...
 

Also Known As

MS Project Server
Planview Enterprise One, Troux
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Magnachip, Gwinnett County Schools, CLEAResult, Medbit Oy, Intelbras S.A., ETS, CORE Construction, Keller Foundations
UPS, NatWest, Ingram Micro, Canadian Tire, Viessmann, Volvo, NASCO, UNESCO
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Project Server vs. Planview Portfolios and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.