Best Free Project Management App For Mac

  1. Best Free Project Management App For Mac Operating System
  2. Best Free Project Management App
  3. Free Project Management Training
  4. Best Free Project Management App For Mac Live Performance

Are you using Macbooks as standard machines at your company?

Then you don’t have to resort to spreadsheets and plugins for creating Gannt charts and dependency tracking. These can be cumbersome, clunky and inefficient to use.

There are a number of proven, easy-to-use PM tools available built specifically for the Mac.

Compare the best Project Management software for Mac of 2021 for your business. Find the highest rated Project Management software for Mac pricing, reviews, free. Sep 23, 2021 The Best Project Management App For Mac Live Performance; The Best Project Management App For Mac Os; Not only is it a popular collaboration tool, but it is also available as a downloadable mac app. Naturally, it is a favored Project Management software for Mac. Here is the list of more than 35 tools divided into a few categories: best, free, online, Microsoft Project alternatives for Mac, as well as open-source equivalents. Microsoft Project is a powerful PM tool with dozens of useful features.

Best Free Project Management App For Mac Operating System

Here’s a list of popular project management software for the Mac:

(Products listed in alphabetical order. No rating implied.)

2-plan Desktop

We only learned about 2-plan Desktop in a discussion thread, otherwise we wouldn’t have known about the tool. 2-plan is a standalone PM tool for project managers that runs on OS X (Windows and Linux versions are available too).

2-plan positions itself as a free MS Project alternative, and the feature description indeed suggests the tool lives up to its claim. The German-made project management software covers all tools a project manager needs for project management: scheduling, scope definition, deliverables and milestone planning and project monitoring are included by default. On top of that, you can define your team resources and conduct scenario planning.

At the time this article was written, there was no version for macOS 10.15 available, so it doesn’t run on Apples latest OS X (Catalina). The app runs well on older OS X version though.

2-plan Desktop highlights:

  • Simple, well-designed user interface
  • Import and export of MS Project files
  • Free for commercial use
  • Large selection of add-ons available (free and paid)

GanttProject (free)

GanttProject is another free project management tool made to run on a Mac desktop. The tool was first launched in 2003 and has been continuously improved and extended. GanttProject is widely used and has been adapted for many languages.

GanttProject has a similar feature stack as MS Project and includes all essential steps a project manager needs. You start by drawing up a task schedule and adding milestones on the screen. Tasks may be assigned different priorities and cost. Similar to MS Project, you can create a typical tree-like work breakdown structure with summary tasks. A nice feature is the possibility to use different colors for each task. Even dependencies can be set up between tasks. So, you can make one task start only after another task has been completed.

Overall, GanttProject seems to be a very mature and user-friendly project management tool for the Mac which is definitely worth a try.

GanttProject highlights:

  • Stable solution with long track record
  • Export and Import MS Project files
  • Multi-language support
  • Free for commercial use

iTaskX

iTaskX is another famous solution in the project management app market for the Mac. Unlike other Mac alternatives, iTaskX has been designed specifically for the Mac ecosystem. Therefore it’s much more well integrated and doesn’t require any Java libraries and is very easy to use.

The iTaskX app, which has been on the market for 15 years, has a strong feature set comparable to MS Project. This explains why it is widely used in a number of industries. According to the iTaskX website, the software is used in construction and architecture, advertising, IT and other fields.

What features does iTaskX come with? The software is offered in a standard and pro version. The standard version gives you the basic functionality you need for planning your projects with respect to time and cost. It also has progress tracking capability and allows you to analyze the impact of delays. The pro version offers advanced features like network diagrams, task sheets and resource planning. For a comparison of the standard vs. pro version check out the iTaskX website.

iTaskX highlights:

  • Stable solution with long track record
  • Well-integrated into the Mac ecosystem
  • Rich set of features
  • Standard and pro version available
  • Export and Import MS Project files
  • Reasonable pricing

Merlin Project

Merlin Project is widely used in the creative industry and in science and has been gaining traction in other industries as well. The solution has been on the market for over 15 years, which means we are looking at a pretty evolved and well-supported product. This is a must if you intend to use the project management software for business purposes.

In terms of its functional scope, Merlin Project has all the tools you need to manage projects of any size. Task planning with dependencies, setting milestones and calculating your schedule (and critical path) are the steps you usually start with. On an advanced level, Merlin also allows you to conduct resource planning or to perform an Earned Value Analysis to assess the actual status of your project.

A nice extension that I haven’t seen in other PM apps for the Mac is the mind map feature. It can be useful for brainstorming necessary tasks and deliverables, risks or potential stakeholders in a project stakeholder analysis, just to give you a few ideas.

Another interesting thing about Merlin is that it supports hybrid project management. Apart from the waterfall-style Gantt view planning, you can also create Kanban boards for your agile projects.

Merlin Project highlights:

  • Stable solution with long track record
  • iOS app available
  • Fully compatible with MS Project
  • Mind map feature
  • Supports Kanban boards for agile projects

OmniPlan – nice design with advanced features

If you’re a Mac veteran, you’ve probably heard of Omni Group — the company behind OmniPlan. Omni Group has a strong position in the Apple world, and their graphics tool OmniGraffle is considered one of the best charting tools on the Mac. What about OmniPlan, their project management solution?

OmniPlan is a professional-grade project management software that comes with a beautiful user interface (great UX is one of the trademarks of Omni Group products). The functional scope of OmniPlan includes project planning and creating Gantt charts, progress and cost tracking as well as resource allocation.

The software makes resource planning for your team really easy, because you can show people’s calendars in OmniPlan to see with one glance when people are available.

OmniPlan highlights:

  • Mature project management application for the Mac
  • Great user interface
  • Compatible with MS Project
  • Advanced features like Earned Value Analysis or Monte Carlo simulations
  • iOS app available
  • Supports many languages

Project Planning Pro

Project Planning Pro is a project, task and resource management app for Mac OS X. The app’s focus is to provide an easy-to-use visualization, planning and management environment for project managers. That being said, the software offers the most needed functionality for planning and coordinating projects.

Projects can be scheduled and monitored using three different views, including a calendar, Gantt and critical path view. Dependencies can be entered using the typical constraints like finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish and start-to-finish.

Project Planning Pro highlights:

  • MS Project compatible
  • Send email notification to resources for status updates
  • Import plans from Microsoft Project via Dropbox, Box, Email and iTunes
  • iOS and Android app available

ProjectLibre

ProjectLibre claims to be the leading open source alternative to Microsoft Project. While we can’t verify their market share numbers, we know that many renowned organizations — particularly in the government and nonprofit sector — successfully manage their projects with ProjectLibre.

The open source tool resembles Microsoft Project in a lot of ways. This is a big advantage because any user transitioning over from the Windows and MS Project world will quickly become familiar with the processes in ProjectLibre.

In terms of functionality, ProjectLibre provides a solid Gantt planning interface which allows you to quickly draw up project schedules, even for large projects. Once you have your schedule and dependencies set up, you can assign resources, plan your budget and make your plan look nicer using color coded task bars. Besides Gantt charts, you can also work with network diagrams or WBS and RBS charts to structure and detail project work.

Being an open source tool, OpenLibre is developed and supported by a large user community. If you are fine going without a software vendor who can offer you premium support at defined service levels, then ProjectLibre is definitely an excellent solution for planning and tracking your project portfolio.

ProjectLibre highlights:

  • Stable and widely-used tool with a large support community
  • Compatible with Microsoft Project
  • Nominated as “Best of Open Source” by InfoWorld Magazine
  • Clean and easy-to-use interface
  • Advanced tools like Earned Value Costing and resource histograms
  • Free for commercial use

Conclusion

There are many good project management solutions available for the Mac, but most tools are aimed at individual users or smaller teams. Sharing is not so easy because the tools require a desktop installation. Some of the options like Merlin are suitable for larger organizations, though. Also, if you want to use MS Project in your loved Apple environment, you can still run MS Project on your Mac using a virtual Windows machine.

If you are looking for a project management app specifically for your iPhone or iPad, check out the numerous project management apps on the App Store.

Whatever direction you want to go, we recommend you take some time for trying out the different alternatives. Then you can choose a solution that works well for your team.

Not only is it a popular collaboration tool, but it is also available as a downloadable mac app. Naturally, it is a favored Project Management software for Mac. Not only is it available on Android which touches a larger base of customers, but it can be easily accessed over multiple browsers. Although the most popular project management software, Microsoft Project, is currently Windows-dependent, there are other project management tools available that'll work with your Mac. In this article you'll learn what to look for in Mac project management software.

The key to perfect task management is astute planning and timely execution. Many a time, we fail to get the desired result due to either lack of structured formation or wrongly implementation of the planning. If you wish to handle your to-dos immaculately and derive the required result painlessly, you need to have the best task management apps for Mac.

#1. Microsoft OneNote

As far as functionality is concerned, I put “Microsoft OneNote” right on top with the best in the business. Creating and managing tasks, to-dos, and notes is a breeze with this feature-rich app.

You can also add pictures, your PowerPoint doc or PDF, links, and web articles to your notes. Ideally, organize your notes to meet your workflow.
Tag your tasks to access them with ease and track all the things that matter a lot to you. It lets you sync your files with OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, and SharePoint.

Price: Free
Download

#2. nTask

nTask has done all the research on how to build a killer task management app. And for this reason, a single app brings all the cool features of different tools in one app. The developers have paid enough attention to its aesthetics to create an appealing task management software.

A flexible app on your Mac, you can quickly make checklists, collaborate with teams, arrange meetings, share files, and presents up-to-date Gantt Charts.

As a team leader, you can easily assign tasks and track those tasks from your desk. Integration with Slack is a notable feature of nTask. Another noteworthy feature is cloud integration.

Price: $3.99 per user, per month
Download

#3. Things 3

“Things 3” has always appealed me as a top-notch task manager. With this app, you can create a project for each of your goals and add the required steps to accomplish them.

You will be able to group your projects by areas of responsibility like “Family”, “Work”, or “Health”. Keep track of all of your goals so that you stay at the pace. View your calendar events alongside your to-dos and plan your time appropriately.

The app lets you create repeating to-dos for things you do more often. As it works with all the major features like Touch Bar, Today Widget, Calendars, Siri & Reminders, Share Extension, Handoff, and AppleScript, you will always be in complete control of your tasks.

And yes, the support for several languages like English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, and Traditional Chinese further enhances the reputation of Things 3.

Price: $49.99
Download

#4. Clear

Clear is dead simple and makes task management a painless experience! You can make separate lists to keep everything fully organized. Use various themes and tools to customize your lists.

What is the best project management software for mac

To ensure you don’t fail to carry out any necessary thing in time, set reminders. Even better, you can take the full advantage of iCloud integration to sync your data across macOS and iOS devices.

Price: $9.99
Download Clear

#5. OmniFocus 3

“OmniFocus 3” provides you the desired flexibility to deal with all of your impending tasks. Hence, you can do more with less stress!

The app lets you keep all of your to-dos in one list, or you can use as multiple folders, projects, groups, and actions put everything in the right order.

You can select a fluid view that shows and hides fields or go for Custom Columns for scannable, tabular lists. Use the forecast perspective to check out your due items for each day alongside events from your calendar.

What’s more, OmniFocus 3 is compatible with multiple international languages including English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, etc.

Price: $39.99
Download

#6. Todoist

What I have found really appreciable in Todoist is the neat user-interface, which is primed for hassle-free task management. With this app, you can perfectly manage your tasks, sub-tasks, projects, and sub-projects.

Based on your need, you will be able to prioritize your tasks for the day or week ahead. You can keep an eye the deadlines with due dates and recurring dates.

Another notable feature of this app is the compatibility with multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Android and more. Furthermore, Todoist is integrated with several major services like Google Drive, Cloud Magic, Sunrise Calendar, Toggl, IFTTT, and Zapier.

Price: Free
Download

#7. Evernote

“Evernote” helps you stay organized by keeping all of your to-dos, notes or tasks in the perfect order. You can take notes, create to-do lists, and also save things you find online to catch up with them at your own pace.

You will be able to take notes in a wide range of formats like text, sketches, photos, audio, video, PDFs, web clippings, etc. Create personal checklists to never forget any necessary things.

Take the advantage of various tools to create agendas, write memos and prepare sensational presentations. You can also annotate documents with comments and thoughts during team meetings. Sync all of your data across your devices to keep them secure and easily accessible.

Price: Free
Download

#8. Simplenote

Best Free Project Management App For Mac

The thing that has made me want “Simplenote” is the range of easy-to-use features. If you don’t want to go for an expensive task manager but still wish to use a highly-user friendly app to assist you in getting your work done with the needed efficiency, you should keep it in consideration.

The app lets you effortlessly create notes, tasks, and to-dos. You can put all of your tasks in the perfect order and be able to track them. Furthermore, Simplenote lets you synchronize with the cloud to access them from any of your devices.

Price: Free
Download

#9. Any.do

“Any.do” provides a more streamlined user experience. Creating and managing task is quite upfront. The app comes with a clean UI that allows you to comfortably view and track your notes and tasks.

Best Free Project Management App

You can print, export and share your lists with friends. Sync your files with cloud services to keep them safe.

The Best Project Management App For Mac Live Performance

Though Any.do to-do is available for free, you can upgrade to the premium version to have unlimited access to all the important features like themes, files, and collaboration for $2.99 a month or $26.99 a year through.

Price: Free
Download

#10. GoodTask 3

Free Project Management Training

GoodTask 3 is a fully featured task or project manager for Mac. The app syncs with the default Reminders and Calendars to let you manage them with ease.

The Best Project Management App For Mac Os

You can quickly edit your tasks thanks to the bulk editing and deleting features. You will be able to duplicate, change due dates, and add tags to easily access any tasks.

The dark theme lets you comfortably use the app at night. And with Today widget support, you can keep track of your tasks more conveniently.

Price: $19.99
Download

That’s all for now!

Your favorite task manager?

Best Free Project Management App For Mac Live Performance

With the availability of so many impressive options, choosing one is not an easy task. However, you can go with a particular one keeping in mind your requirement. Have any of these task managers won you over? Let us know about them in the comments.

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