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Microsoft Project Server vs RationalPlan comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Project Portfolio Management (5th)
RationalPlan
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.4
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Project Management Software (71st)
 

Featured Reviews

Mouloud Fourali - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager at Digital Research Alliance of Canada
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.
reviewer1976010 - PeerSpot reviewer
President at Jam Works LLC
Easy to understand with fair pricing and lots of unique features
We use the desktop version of RationalPlan, and It seems some desktop software has the ability to share a document as a web view. This would be a nice feature allowing us to share our plans with clients without needing additional software. This may be something that is offered in the RationalPlan cloud plan. However, it would be nice for the desktop version to have this ability to bring it one more step ahead of the competition. As a side note, RationalPlan does have a free viewer as well.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"There are many valuable features of this solution. It is very advanced and once you understand and learn how to use it, it can be quite powerful. The whole package can be quite powerful."
"I think the division between the onsite work on the cloud of Microsoft Office is something valuable."
"The ability to track a project's progress using Microsoft Project Server is the most valuable aspect. It depends, especially when managing multiple projects."
"The solution has improved the organization primarily due to the transparency between each individual team, and I have likely seen a 20% to 28% increase in productivity benefit over a year's time."
"It's stable and reliable."
"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 can scale well."
"I have seen a return on investment from the use of this solution, it has been good."
"RationalPlan has been very helpful in planning projects and resources through our shop and in communicating with clients on project timelines."
"Support is top-notch whenever help is needed."
 

Cons

"It is not updated in real-time. Sometimes it, therefore, is not accurate."
"Permission management needs improvement."
"This solution could improve by adding integration with Primavera schedules to allow the reading and management of them."
"The check-in, check-out feature makes Microsoft Project Server pretty slow or cumbersome to use."
"Project Server could be improved by simplifying how tasks are assigned and reviewed on a daily basis."
"Microsoft Project Server needs improvement in the integration of more tools and syncing of Blockly tools on time."
"The reporting aspects can be improved, which is one of the reasons why I'm using Qlik Sense."
"When we started using this solution from scratch, we got lost. Microsoft should provide some templates for configurations for certain use cases."
"We use the desktop version of RationalPlan, and It seems some desktop software has the ability to share a document as a web view. This would be a nice feature allowing us to share our plans with clients without needing additional software. This may be something that is offered in the RationalPlan cloud plan."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's not subscription-based, we purchased the on-premises version."
"I would rate the price a six out of ten."
"There is an annual license required for this solution."
"I think they need more flexibility with licensing, because there are preconceived ideas that don't allow as much flexibility with the various licenses."
"The licensing was procured before my involvement."
"Microsoft Project Server is relatively cheaper than other products."
"A standard license is cheaper, but if you want more features, then there is a premium license or professional license."
"We have an enterprise agreement with Microsoft, and our licensing is based on the agreement."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise33
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 primary use case for Microsoft Project Server?
Today, the use cases for Microsoft Project Server are for office tasks, such as writing in Word processors, worksheets in Excel, Word processors with Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft ...
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Also Known As

MS Project Server
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Magnachip, Gwinnett County Schools, CLEAResult, Medbit Oy, Intelbras S.A., ETS, CORE Construction, Keller Foundations
James Cook University, NASA, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Teleflex, Garmin, University of Missouri, BEA, Eurocoating, Adidas Group, Termoemcali, Solid Power
Find out what your peers are saying about Broadcom, Planview, Planisware and others in Project Portfolio Management. Updated: October 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.