Microsoft Project vs Planview AdaptiveWork comparison

Microsoft and Planview are both solutions in the Project Management Software category. Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 7.7, while Planview is ranked #18 with an average rating of 7.5. Microsoft holds a 7.8% mindshare in PMS, compared to Planview’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Planview users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Project

Read 81 Microsoft Project reviews

4,459 Views
2,211 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Planview AdaptiveWork

Read 8 Planview AdaptiveWork reviews

672 Views
338 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Microsoft Project

Planview AdaptiveWork

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Planview AdaptiveWork and Microsoft Project are both key players in the project management software category. Microsoft Project seems to hold an edge due to its comprehensive feature suite, even though it demands a higher financial commitment.

Features: Planview AdaptiveWork offers capabilities like task management, collaborative workspaces, and robust reporting tools. Microsoft Project provides advanced scheduling tools, resource management, and seamless integration with Microsoft 365.

Room for Improvement: Planview AdaptiveWork could enhance its integration options and reporting customization. Microsoft Project might benefit from simplifying its interface and improving user guidance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Planview AdaptiveWork is straightforward to deploy with its cloud-based model and strong customer support. Microsoft Project offers flexible cloud and on-premise solutions but its extensive customer base may complicate customer service interactions.

Pricing and ROI: Planview AdaptiveWork is cost-effective and offers a strong ROI through competitive pricing. Microsoft Project, while requiring a higher initial investment, justifies its pricing with potential productivity enhancements owing to its extensive feature set.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Project vs. Planview AdaptiveWork Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Project vs. Planview AdaptiveWork

April 2025

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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

Ranking in Project Management Software

3rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Planview AdaptiveWork

Ranking in Project Management Software

18th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Project Management Software category, the mindshare of Microsoft Project is 7.8%, down from 11.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Planview AdaptiveWork is 1.2%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Project Management Software

Featured Reviews

Nurul Asyikin Wahab

Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd

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.

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VishalSingh11

Director BPM at a marketing services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees

Has resources management and timesheets but could be more flexible

Compared to Broadcom Clarity, there was some flexibility with blueprints, etc. You can create a blueprint for different business groups or different customers. Planview AdaptiveWork doesn't have something like that. If they can build up something like a view price. It's still a traditional way where you have to create different instances for different customers. The PPM solution uses queries if I'm rolling out for different divisions. In that case, I have to create different instances for each region because each division may have a different look and feel. But if I have a blueprint, then it's very convenient. I can create multiple interfaces for different processes. Broadcom Clarity has some access control on those viewpoints.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Project is the reminder feature. This feature allows for the system to send notifications or reminders to individuals who have a task to complete once someone has finished their task. This has been especially useful in situations where multiple people are involved in a task. For example, if I have completed my task and the next person is just beginning, the system will send them a reminder to notify them of my completion. This feature has proven to be very beneficial and convenient for me in my tasks."

"Technical support has been very helpful."

"The resource allocation features, which help allocate resources to tasks, are quite valuable."

"They have begun to improve with the new cloud integration."

"The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that the product's GUI is very good...The product's scalability is good."

"The reporting features are quite strong. Being able to do team reports and find out what work is pending, what work needs to be done are key in my day-to-day management of the team. The earned value analysis capabilities and critical path capabilities inside the tool help me make sure that I'm keeping the projects on track."

"The solution is very useful for project planning."

"The project tracking, resource utilization and the cost are the most beneficial aspects of this solution."

More Microsoft Project pros

"Clarizen Slide Publisher has helped increase transparency and communication with project stakeholders for us."

"I like the project management solution. It's really nice."

"Clarizen's strength is reporting. Aside from reporting, I also like the ability to create customized workflow and custom actions. The workflow rules are handy. For example, you can create custom fields and dependent picklists."

"The feature that has improved our project planning the most is the ability to create custom workflows, which allows us to automate manual tasks that project managers need to perform. The collaboration feature enhances our team's productivity by allowing individuals to see the impact of their decisions on projects owned and managed by other teams."

Cons

"Its user experience can be improved while configuring it. Its reporting can also be better. Reporting is not very easy. Reports do not always work. I was trying to download some reports, and they didn't work. I don't know if it was related to the configuration that I was using. I didn't go too deep to check if something was missing."

"I would like to have more access to templates and tools that could be used to teach project management best practices."

"I would like to see both Time and Team based options improved."

"What could have been better is the integration with Office 365 so that if you're discussing a project on Teams or there's an email related to the project, it can be tagged to the project in Microsoft Project. That functionality is currently not there."

"The tool's deployment is complex. Integration and automation also need to be improved."

"Could be more user-friendly, and forecasting could be better."

"The stability of the solution is an area with certain shortcomings that need improvement."

"The solution is currently a bit slow and can be faster."

More Microsoft Project cons

"I felt like the slide publisher isn't that user-friendly. I think it wasn't that easy to use or to figure out because of formatting constraints, or maybe we need to get better at understanding some of its limitations."

"It could be more user-friendly. I think it is too overwhelming, initially, in terms of possibilities and so on."

"If I start customizing too many things, Clarizen tends to get really slow in our environment and especially if I'm tunneled in an environment, like if I'm connected to my VPN."

"One specific area for improvement could be implementing a development environment to test workflows with live production data."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate Microsoft Project's pricing a five out of ten."

"The solution is expensive."

"The licensing model is somewhat complex."

"It gets expensive when having to add all of the plugins and everything that you need."

"You do not have to invest much in terms of configuring this solution to suit your needs."

"You only need a Team's license in order to use Microsoft Project within Teams, which is very helpful."

"I believe the licensing for the solution is based on an annual fee."

"The license fees for the professional version, which is estimated to be approximately $1,600, and the standard version, which is approximately $1,200, may be considered expensive by some users. This is something that could be improved to make the platform more accessible to a wider audience."

More Microsoft Project pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

66%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Government

Educational Organization

51%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

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...

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What do you like most about Microsoft Project?

The product's initial setup phase is easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project?

The issue with Microsoft is that the license is per personnel, making it expensive.

See all answers

What do you like most about Planview AdaptiveWork?

The feature that has improved our project planning the most is the ability to create custom workflows, which allows us to automate manual tasks that project managers need to perform. The collaborat...

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What needs improvement with Planview AdaptiveWork?

One specific area for improvement could be implementing a development environment to test workflows with live production data.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Planview AdaptiveWork?

Integration with other tools can sometimes be a hiccup, but this isn't necessarily a limitation of Planview AdaptiveWork. It's more often a result of company policies regarding integration with oth...

See all answers

Comparisons

Jira vs Microsoft Project

Compared 15% of the time

Microsoft Project Server vs Microsoft Project

Compared 12% of the time

Planisware vs Microsoft Project

Compared 8% of the time

Asana vs Microsoft Project

Compared 8% of the time

SAP Portfolio and Project Management vs Microsoft Project

Compared 7% of the time

More Microsoft Project Competitors

Broadcom Clarity vs Planview AdaptiveWork

Compared 54% of the time

Planview ProjectPlace vs Planview AdaptiveWork

Compared 24% of the time

Planview Portfolios vs Planview AdaptiveWork

Compared 22% of the time

More Planview AdaptiveWork Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Project

April 2025

Download Microsoft Project product report

Buyer's Guide

Planview AdaptiveWork

April 2025

Download Planview AdaptiveWork product report

Also Known As

Project Pro, MS Project

Planview Clarizen

Overview

Microsoft Project helps you get started quickly and execute projects with ease. Built-in templates and familiar scheduling tools help project managers and teams stay productive.

Microsoft

AdaptiveWork services the project management software needs of more than 2,500 companies in 76 countries worldwide. They boast a robust client list, including companies such as: Chanel, Cisco, The Walt Disney Company, EA, FedEx, HP, UPS, and VMWare. Founded in 2006, their goal is to change the way collaboration happens within companies of all sizes. AdaptiveWork focuses strongly on the fact that transparency, communication, and idea sharing are key in effective business models.

AdaptiveWork uses the cloud and social communications in their software. This helps AdaptiveWork project management software provide real time updates, maximize efficiency of collaboration, and keep all team members productive and on the same page. AdaptiveWork is fully configurable, and is designed to scale and adapt to different organizational needs. Their task management software is easy to implement, meaning start up will not cost clients time away from their work.

AdaptiveWork offers an enterprise-class project management software solution that fits all businesses' project management needs. With a name created from the words "Clarity" and "Zen", AdaptiveWork's software is designed to help businesses collaborate effectively and create true peace of mind. Project management software doesn't just help get work done; it helps create stronger and more efficient teams. By keeping everyone on the same page, AdaptiveWork task management software helps your team stay focused on the goal of your project.

Planview

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

Cisco Capital, JLL, Conagra Brands, Cargill, JLL, IBM, IIROC, Siemens Energy

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Project vs. Planview AdaptiveWork

April 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Project vs. Planview AdaptiveWork

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Project vs. Planview AdaptiveWork and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.

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