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Microsoft Project vs Oracle Primavera Portfolio Management comparison

 

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
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
Project Management Software (3rd)
Oracle Primavera Portfolio ...
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Project Portfolio Management (11th)
 

Featured Reviews

Nurul Asyikin Wahab - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient project management with robust data tracking and an easy setup
When I have too many elements or items in a project, it becomes cumbersome, especially during printing. Non-technical users do not need all the data, so it's primarily for technical personnel. Without guidance, it's challenging to use the app. With guidance and expert knowledge, it becomes manageable, however, it's not for non-technical teams. The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing. Printing on A3 size is quite burdensome, so I prefer viewing it on a tablet or computer. On a tablet or phone, I can see the full project elements depending on the screen size.
ManeshGeorge - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient project planning with advanced impact and delay analysis features
You need to have a good understanding of project management before you build programs using P6. Learning the tool takes time, so you should spend hands-on time with it while developing your project management skills. It's a mix of hands-on work and project management skills. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft Project integrates well with the Microsoft Office family of applications. It has plugins that interact with it and you can use it with Microsoft Teams. We can use plugins to communicate with JIRA, Projectplace, and Planview. It's not widely used in the company, of course, but it's something that can interact with the official tools that we have."
"Microsoft Project is one of the only solutions you can use in just about any industry. It's difficult to do that with most other project management tools. There is a lot of flexibility within the product assets. Most sectors can utilize Microsoft Project successfully because it doesn't have any generic adapters."
"The pricing is pretty good on the enterprise agreement we have."
"Resource leveling is very useful. We like this feature. We like to be able to expand tasks and look at different resources and tasks usages. It is good at assigning tasks to teams. It is pretty compliant with the Project Management Institute approach, which is useful for being comprehensive. It allows us to make little Gantt charts and network diagrams."
"It is easy to use and pretty intuitive. User interfaces have stayed the same for the most part for the last 20 years. So, there is a familiarity."
"I find the planning features the most valuable to me."
"The solution is stable."
"In my experience, this solution is one of the best for the waterfall management model."
"Oracle Primavera Portfolio Management is a well-engineered product from an IT perspective."
"It is very, very good in planning for large projects."
"Delay analysis and extension of time claims are some of the key features."
"The most valuable features were the cost breakdown structure and work breakdown structure."
"The most valuable feature of Oracle Primavera Portfolio Management is accuracy."
"The most valuable features were the cost breakdown structure and work breakdown structure."
"The ability to streamline the process of obtaining signatures from our contractors is valuable."
"The solution's tech support is good."
 

Cons

"I would like Microsoft Project to better align with our business needs, with improved consultant support for setup and integration features that show all relevant aspects at the top level."
"I find the setup a little bit cumbersome."
"Its reporting and its integration with some of the other related systems should be improved. It is not very easy to integrate."
"In the next release, Microsoft should include cross-project integration."
"The licensing cost is expensive and has room for improvement."
"The solution is a basic tool that does not give you analytical insights. It does not have any AI capabilities which can also help to plan."
"There are some things about it that I've always hated, and they haven't really changed them. It makes a lot of assumptions. It is also difficult to put business rules in it. You have to de-link it from the consecutive task if you don't want to do a What-If analysis, and sometimes, if you forget to do that, it changes everything. It is a pain in the neck to undo it. I would also like to see better integration with graphics. The graphics are primitive, and they need some major work. I would like to have the ability to do some small macros within the project for fuzzy logic. For example, if you're not sure how long a task takes, you can get the earliest guess. It is very time and manpower intensive to keep it up to date. You need to constantly update it. You will find that you are spending more time working on the Microsoft Project file rather than working on your project. I don't want to devote a person to just do that. That's silly. You can link it to some more modern applications so that it is dynamic when a real-time resource schedule changes, but it is not at all dynamic. It is only as dynamic as the person using it. It would be nice if we could plug it in real time for each project, subproject, or task. If something is going on, I want to see it in real time. Sometimes we have international clients, and they don't use the same calendar. They have a Thursday and Friday weekend, and we have a Saturday and Sunday weekend. I can change it in Microsoft Project, but I would like to be able to do it globally. There may be a way to do it, but I just haven't figured it out yet. I would like to be able to specify globally what weekend we want or what we want to call a weekend. We might have a project that works seven days a week. Some tasks are automated outside, like manufacturing processes. Embedding external processes is almost impossible because, in a practical sense, we don't have people who can do a lot of programming here, and also the interface of Microsoft Project is not the easiest because a lot of it is proprietary. It would be nice if we can link different tasks to external sources of inputs and outputs so that we could integrate them with a master project plan and see in real time what's going on. For example, you are manufacturing a batch of a chemical, and I have to rely on if a customer is making some type of complex chemical. Their system does not interfere with ours. We have to get the outputs from their system and enter them manually into the project to see the effect. That takes time. If you're talking about hours, you going to spend three to four hours, but there is the risk of getting it wrong or making a mistake. On tight projects, every minute counts. I would like to see some control system interfaces with Microsoft Project. A modern machine shop has a lot of computer numerical control (CNC) computers. In fact, virtually all machining is done with a CNC machine. Even 3D additive manufacturing is made with CNC. That data can go to a computer, and that computer can spit it out to a project so that you can see in real time whether you are going to finish a day ahead. If you had to finish a day ahead, you could talk to the systems' software, which can say that if I have this machine working for another hour and this one for one hour or less, I would be able to meet the schedule. It can then make those changes, but it can't do that. Everything needs to be done manually, which takes more time, and there's a risk of mistakes. It requires smarter automation and more machine learning. There is no machine learning capability in Microsoft Project. It just doesn't exist. That's why I say it is only suitable for small-sized to medium-sized companies and small projects. Most people don't have the problems that I have. I don't have them all the time, but when I have them, they're big. When you're bidding on a project that has to get done, you find yourself spending most of the time working on Microsoft Project, whereas you should be spending these hours managing the project. Thinking on a bigger scale, I would like better integration with Office, Visio, and Access. If you make a change in one, it should cascade to others and vice versa. It doesn't do that. It is not a dynamic program. I would like to see a dynamic program or at least the capability of being dynamic, that is, even if it is close to real time where it outputs to a module, and the module then talks to real-time things. The real-time data goes back into the module, and the module updates the project plan. Such dynamic capability would be nice. It may not be real time, but it is at least close. I would like to be able to link directly to the data in an Excel spreadsheet so that I don't have to keep going back and forth updating it. I don't want to have to create a dynamic link library. Whenever I change the data in Excel, it should update in Visio or PowerPoint. If I'm doing a pie chart or any kind of graphic, I don't want to constantly update my graphics. I want to link them together, and I want them updated automatically. I know it is a wishful thing. They don't make major changes every time they come out with a new version. They don't fix the issue. They just add a few features."
"It would be better if there were more access to Agile implementations."
"The reporting could improve project management. We need multiple source reports. If someone is new to the support it has a steep learning curve."
"The scalability has room for improvement."
"There is scope for development in integrating with some AI products."
"There is scope for development in integrating with some AI products."
"There is a need for improvement in the interfacing and possibly better integration with other programs."
"The solution's user interface is an area with shortcomings that need improvement."
"There is a need for improvement in the interfacing and possibly better integration with other programs."
"Primavera could be better integrated with other products, and it needs more cost management features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You do not have to invest much in terms of configuring this solution to suit your needs."
"I rate Microsoft Project's pricing a five out of ten."
"Its price could be reduced a little."
"I do not remember the exact cost we paid but usually, they charge per user per month."
"I am not involved with this."
"The solution is expensive."
"I believe the licensing for the solution is based on an annual fee."
"It was a three-year license deal that was reconciled on a quarterly basis. It is a reasonably priced product, and I consider that we got good value for money."
"Oracle Primavera Portfolio Management is an expensive solution. There is an upfront cost to purchase the solution and then there are annual fees to use the solution."
"The solution itself is cost-effective."
"My company has made an annual payment towards the costs of the solution. Price-wise, the solution is okay."
"The solution is highly priced compared to one of its competitors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
8%
Aerospace/Defense Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Energy/Utilities Company
11%
Government
10%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Has anyone moved from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet? How has your experience been with Smartsheet?
Hi @Eire Zimmermann, I helped an organization evaluate both MS-Project and Smartsheet when they were conducting their PM tool RFP. The short of it is this, MS Project is not caught up with the mo...
What do you like most about Microsoft Project?
The product's initial setup phase is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project?
I'm not aware of the price as we use organization-wide licenses.
What do you like most about Oracle Primavera Portfolio Management?
Oracle Primavera Portfolio Management is a well-engineered product from an IT perspective.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Primavera Portfolio Management?
Primavera appears to be more expensive than Microsoft Project but potentially less than Maximo. Pricing details from ten years ago are not committed to memory, and I would have to refer back to doc...
What needs improvement with Oracle Primavera Portfolio Management?
There is a need for improvement in the interfacing and possibly better integration with other programs. The software could benefit from enhancements that make it more user-friendly for various tasks.
 

Also Known As

Project Pro, MS Project
Primavera Portfolio Management, OPPM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aston Martin, ABANCA, Airbus Group, Capita, Cardiff University, City of Saskatoon, Intel, Pegasus Airlines, South Australia Power Network (SAPN), Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing
Yarra Valley Water, John Wayne Airport, Hatch Mott Macdonald, Austrian Power Grid AG, EDF France, Chiyoda Corporation, Croatian Waters, Selex ES, Chicago Park District
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Project vs. Oracle Primavera Portfolio Management and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.