Best Gantt Chart Software in 2026: Ranked and Compared

The best Gantt chart software in 2026, ranked on scheduling depth, maturity, sharing and price, is Smartsheet for teams that want a mature platform and bring outside people in, Onplana for the full scheduling set (all four dependency types with lag, critical path and baselines) on a free plan, and TeamGantt for a simple dedicated Gantt on a few projects. The stakes are the dates: only 36% of organisations mostly or always complete projects on time, according to Wellingtone's State of Project Management 2026 report (press release of 16 March 2026).

Summary. Smartsheet ranks first because it pairs a complete schedule engine with the most mature ecosystem here; its catch is that baselines start on Business and there is no free plan. Onplana, our product, ranks second: it gives the deepest scheduling at the lowest tier but is newer, with a smaller ecosystem. TeamGantt, Asana, monday.com and ClickUp follow, each stronger at something other than the critical path.

Most Gantt chart software looks the same in a screenshot and differs completely once you ask three questions: does it support all four dependency types, does it compute a critical path, and can it hold a baseline. Plan gating was read from each vendor's pricing page in September 2026 and guest and price figures on 29 October 2026; vendors change tiers often, so confirm before you buy.

How were these Gantt tools ranked?

Four criteria, in this order. First, the full scheduling set (all four dependency types, a critical path and baselines) on a plan a team can buy. Second, maturity: years in the market, integrations and the size of the user base, because a Gantt tool holds your schedules for years. Third, sharing with people outside the team, such as clients and contractors. Fourth, the cost to start, including whether a free plan lets you test on a real schedule. An earlier version of this post ranked on the free tier alone, which put our own product first; the criteria now weigh maturity, where Onplana is weakest.

Tools that add AI to the schedule are compared separately in AI scheduling software for project plans.

The diagram below shows the same idea: how many of the three scheduling features each tool gives you at its entry Gantt tier.

Read the graphic with one caveat: "Not listed" means the vendor's pricing page does not list the feature, not that it is absent from the product. Basic on TeamGantt refers to its permanent free personal plan, which its pricing page describes as having basic features.

Which Gantt chart software is best in 2026?

The ranking, with what each tool gates and where it falls short. "Read 29 October 2026" marks figures from each vendor's pricing page on that date; the rest were read in September 2026.

1. Smartsheet: the mature choice for schedule-led teams

Its pricing page lists Gantt view on every plan and dependencies from Pro upward, with baselines starting at Business, and its help center documents critical path tracking once dependencies are on. Pro is $9 per member per month on annual billing for new customers with 1 to 10 members, and Business is $19 (read 29 October 2026).

Pros: the most mature ecosystem on this list; unlimited free guests on Business (read 29 October 2026); a spreadsheet grid that Excel users pick up fast. Cons: no free plan; baselines cost a tier up; critical path is not listed on the pricing page, so confirm it on the plan you buy.

2. Onplana: the full scheduling set on the free plan

We built Onplana, so weigh this entry against the table. Every plan, Free included, has the Gantt with critical path, baselines and schedule variance, all four dependency types (FS, SS, FF, SF) with lag, milestones, and import of .mpp, MSPDI XML, .xer and Excel files. Free is capped at 5 members and 2 projects; Professional is $12 per seat per month ($10 on annual billing) for up to 100 members and 200 projects. Read the Gantt and critical path feature page or try a real file with the free Gantt chart tool.

Pros: the deepest schedule engine at the lowest tier; Microsoft Project files import on every plan; a free plan you can test on a real schedule. Cons: a newer product with a smaller ecosystem than Smartsheet or Asana; third-party integrations start on Business; the Free plan has no guest seats and Professional includes 2.

3. TeamGantt: the simplest dedicated Gantt

A dedicated Gantt product. Its pricing page describes critical path scheduling on the Base plan and a permanent free personal plan with basic features.

Pros: the Gantt is the whole product, so it is the easiest to learn here; critical path on its first paid plan. Cons: it prices by project count and caps tasks per project, so it fits a few large schedules rather than many small ones; baselines are not listed on the pricing page.

4. Asana: work management with a Gantt view

Per its pricing page, Timeline and Gantt views start on its first paid tier, critical path is listed on Advanced, and the free Personal plan has neither. Its entry paid tier is $10.99 per user per month on annual billing (read 29 October 2026).

Pros: strong cross-team task coordination; unlimited free guests on its entry paid tier (read 29 October 2026). Cons: critical path sits two tiers up; scheduling is an add-on to task management rather than its core.

5. monday.com: the easiest board for non-schedulers

Its pricing page puts Gantt view on the Standard plan and excludes it from Free (2 seats, 3 boards).

Pros: a friendly interface for teams that live in boards; Gantt on a mid-priced plan. Cons: no Gantt on Free; critical path and baselines are not listed on the pricing page.

6. ClickUp: cheap and flexible, thin on scheduling

Per its pricing page, the Free Forever plan gives limited Gantt access, unlimited Gantt charts start on the Unlimited plan, and critical path is trial-level until Business.

Pros: the most generous free plan for guests (unlimited on Free, read 29 October 2026); flexible views. Cons: critical path is trial-level below Business; the schedule engine is the thinnest of the six.

What does each tool require, side by side?

"Not assessed here" means we did not verify the capability or price, not that it is absent; "Not listed" means the vendor's pricing page does not list it. Prices are per user per month multiplied by five, from the reads dated above.

Which dependency types should a Gantt tool support?

All four: finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish and start-to-finish, each with lag. A tool that supports only finish-to-start forces you to fake overlaps with date constraints, and those break the critical path the first time a task moves. The deep dive on dependency types explains when each goes wrong, and what a Gantt chart is covers the basics if your team is new to them. If the tool also has to stand in for Microsoft Project with no licence, test a free alternative to MS Project on this question first; the free tools differ most here.

How do you test a Gantt tool before committing?

Use a schedule you already have.

1. Export your current plan as .mpp or MSPDI XML.
2. Import it and check that task count, hierarchy and dependency types survive.
3. Confirm the critical path matches the one you trust.
4. Capture a baseline, move a task, and check that variance appears.
5. Note which of those steps needed a paid plan.

Before you import anywhere, the free Schedule Health Check flags broken links and constraint conflicts in the file, so you can tell tool errors from source errors. For a first-time build, see how to build a Gantt chart free.

Run the free Schedule Health Check Upload an .mpp or MSPDI file and see dangling tasks, constraint conflicts and the real critical path before you move a schedule into any tool. No signup required. → Run the Schedule Health Check