PMO scheduling depth comparison
Onplana vs ClickUp
Both ship Gantt views. Only one computes the critical path on every plan, Free included.
ClickUp is the right call for teams that want one app to replace many: tasks, docs, whiteboards, mind maps, automations, all in a single SaaS. Onplana is the right call for PMOs whose work has a real schedule: critical path, four dependency types, saved baselines, native .mpp import, formal governance. Most readers landing here have a real schedule to move, often out of Microsoft Project, and on that criterion the scheduling-depth gap is the deciding axis.
Considering AI agent integration too? Onplana ships a public MCP server (Claude Desktop / Gemini CLI / ChatGPT / Cursor). ClickUp also publishes an MCP server of its own.
Feature-by-feature comparison
17 dimensions calibrated to PMO buying criteria.
| Feature | ClickUp All-in-one work platform | Onplana PMO + portfolio |
|---|---|---|
| Gantt / Timeline view | ✓ Gantt charts from Core (a trial on Free Forever) | ✓ Native Gantt with critical path on every plan |
| Critical path computation | ✓ Critical path and slack time from Business (a trial on Core) | Auto-computed CPM with forward + backward pass |
| Dependency types | FS, SS, FF, SF | FS, SS, FF, SF + lag/lead in days or hours |
| Saved baselines | Timeline baselines on paid plans | Multiple baselines, Gantt shadow overlay, every plan |
| Tasks shorter than a day | Not stated on its Gantt page | Onplana Schedule plans to the minute (type 2h or 90m); the web app schedules in whole working days |
| Native .mpp / MSPDI import | Not supported | Direct .mpp + .mpx + MSPDI XML + XER + Excel/CSV |
| Desktop app that opens .mpp files | Not offered | Onplana Schedule: free Windows and Mac app, opens, edits and reschedules, saves back to Project XML |
| Resource capacity | Workload view (Business+) | Weekly capacity against allocation for each person across projects, with a forecast of the weeks ahead, on the Professional plan and up |
| Stage-gate governance | Custom Statuses + Automations | 12-stage proposal pipeline, multi-reviewer gates and an audit trail, on the Enterprise plan and up |
| AI on the plan | Brain credits on every plan (a trial on Free Forever); more credits bought | On every plan: a monthly allowance on paid plans, a one-time allowance on Free |
| How seats are bought | Per user, no seat bundles | Per seat from one, no seat bundles, AI in the seat price |
| Run in your own cloud | SaaS only | Enterprise+: a dedicated deployment Onplana runs in your Azure subscription |
| Number of views | 15+ (List, Board, Mind Map, Whiteboard, etc.) | ~10 (List, Kanban, Gantt, Calendar, Burndown, etc.) |
| Docs + Whiteboards | ✓ Native ClickUp Docs + Whiteboards | ✓ Pages + Whiteboards (Excalidraw), Professional and up |
| Phone and tablet apps | iOS and Android apps | Onplana Tasks on iPhone, iPad and Android phones and tablets; Onplana Schedule from the Microsoft Store, the Mac App Store, the App Store and Google Play. All free. |
| Forms / intake | ✓ Native | ✓ Native + AI-driven intake → project conversion |
| Pricing at PMO scale (50) | ~$9-17/seat (Core / Business, annual) | $20/seat/mo Business, $29/seat/mo Enterprise |
| Result | Strong all-in-one platform | Wins 8/17 on PMO criteria |
Where the Gantt view stops
A computed critical path on every plan, not from a tier up
ClickUp's Gantt is genuinely strong, with critical path and slack time from its Business plan. This is a schedule with float shown on the chart, the critical path computed, saved baselines on every plan including Free, and a file that came straight from Microsoft Project.
When ClickUp fits
- •You want one app to replace many: tasks + docs + whiteboards + mind maps + automations.
- •You don't need .mpp compatibility or a desktop app for Microsoft Project files.
- •UX flexibility (15+ views) matters more than scheduling depth.
- •You want docs, whiteboards and chat in the same app as your tasks.
When Onplana fits
- •You have
.mppfiles to import (Microsoft Project migration). - •Your work has a real schedule: critical path, four dependency types, baselines.
- •You need formal stage-gate governance + audit-log retention.
- •You want AI on the Free plan as well as the paid ones, with both providers named.
- •You need AI-provider transparency (Claude and Azure OpenAI, both named).
Frequently asked questions
Does ClickUp have a Gantt chart with critical path?▾
Yes, on its paid plans. ClickUp's pricing page, read on 3 November 2026, lists Gantt charts from Core (a trial on Free Forever) and critical path and slack time from Business (a trial on Core); its Gantt page adds all four dependency types (finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish, start-to-finish) and timeline baselines on paid plans. On the Gantt itself the two are close once you pay for Business. The differences are elsewhere: Onplana computes the critical path and keeps saved baselines on every plan including Free, ClickUp does not import Microsoft Project files, and Onplana comes with Onplana Schedule, a free desktop app that opens .mpp files.
Why does .mpp import matter when comparing to ClickUp?▾
ClickUp does not import Microsoft Project files (.mpp or MSPDI XML) at all. If your team is migrating from Microsoft Project (Project Desktop, Project for the Web), choosing ClickUp means rebuilding every schedule by hand: no preserved dependencies, no preserved Enterprise Custom Fields, no preserved costs. Onplana imports .mpp natively via its MPXJ-based parser, preserving all four dependency types, ECFs, costs (including baseline cost) and resource assignments in a single upload.
How does ClickUp Brain compare to Onplana AI on cost?▾
They are now priced the same way. ClickUp includes Brain credits in every plan (a pooled monthly allowance per user on paid plans, a trial allowance on Free Forever) and sells more credits on top. Onplana includes AI (Claude + Azure OpenAI) in the seat price on every plan, including Free (a one-time allowance there, a monthly one on paid plans), and heavier use draws on AI credit you choose to buy. The functional capabilities are similar: plan generation, status summaries, risk-flag suggestions, natural-language task parsing. The difference is what the AI works on: a schedule with critical path, four dependency types and baselines.
Where does ClickUp clearly win?▾
Feature breadth and UX flexibility. ClickUp ships 15+ views (List, Board, Calendar, Gantt, Timeline, Mind Map, Workload, Activity, Map, Embed, Doc, Chat, Whiteboard) and a generous Free Forever tier. Teams that want one app to replace many separate tools (Notion + Asana + Miro + Loom) get more out of ClickUp's "one platform" promise. Onplana is deliberately narrower, scheduling depth + governance + AI, not a Slack replacement.
Can Onplana replace ClickUp for non-PMO teams?▾
Partially. Onplana's Kanban + List + Calendar views work for ops-style work, plus Pages (publishable project pages) and Whiteboards (Excalidraw-based) handle the docs + visual collaboration angle. What's intentionally NOT in scope: mind maps, native chat, embedded video. If those primitives matter to your team, ClickUp fits better; if scheduling depth + .mpp compatibility matters more, Onplana fits better.
How long does it take to get a first working plan?▾
Under two minutes in our own timing. On 29 October 2026 we timed a new Free workspace on a development copy of Onplana, from the sign-up page to a project whose tasks all have dates, three runs each, typing at a normal pace: a plan drafted by AI from a one-sentence description took about a minute (54 to 62 seconds), and importing an Asana CSV export took about 13 seconds (13 to 14). The time you spend reading each screen comes on top.