Gantt chart programs are a mainstay of the modern construction and renovation industry, allowing experts to visualize their project scheduling, which makes for more efficient planning. If you’ve been looking for the best Gantt chart software for your construction company or even just general scheduling needs, you’re in luck! Today, we’ll give you a detailed walkthrough of the various available options.
First, let’s discuss what Gantt charts are in a little more detail.
What is a Gantt Chart?
Gantt charts utilize bars spread out across a calendar to help professionals visualize a project’s progress. This type of chart communicates things like:
- important milestones in the project
- when work on those milestones needs to begin and end
- how much the milestone is expected to cost
- what the current progress is
- who will be handling the tasks
It’s often much easier to get a grasp on your project when you have information laid out in this fashion rather than having a basic calendar with a notification on the start date and another on the end date. It’s very easy to lose track in between those dates, which is why the bar-centric layout of a Gantt chart is so useful.
Gantt charts are not a construction-specific tool but the complexity of construction projects has made them particularly useful in the industry. These charts can help you visualize long-term projects and the many inter-dependencies associated with them.
6 Best Gantt Chart Software for 2020
Now that you have a decent idea of what Gantt programs are and why they’re useful, let’s look at the most popular ones on the market.
#1. Bridgit Bench
Pricing: Tiered based on your needs and company size.
If you’re in search of the best online Gantt chart software for construction, look no further than Bridgit Bench, a program produced by female-led, Canada-based firm Bridgit. The company places a heavy emphasis on construction workforce management, an area in which Gantt charts really shine. The Gantt chart layout is among the simplest to use out there, with a slider allowing for easy switching between various time intervals.
You can also add additional data to the chart and enjoy analytics that can help you pinpoint potential scheduling issues.
Another feature that makes this the best online Gantt chart is the ability to switch away from the Gantt view if you want to look at your scheduling from a different angle. After all, as great as Gantt charts are, they’re not the be-all-that-ends-all of construction scheduling. It’s nice to have flexibility.
#2. Instagantt
Pricing: $7/month for a single license; $5/month per user for a team license. If you’re in search of general software for Gantt charts rather than something construction-specific, Instagantt is worth considering. Of course, you’ll lose some of the tailored features but you’ll still find Instagantt useful for planning general projects like social media calendars or the like. The price reflects a lack of specificity.
You can also connect Instagantt with Asana, another general productivity tool.
#3. TeamGantt
Pricing: Varies based on team size; a single project license is free for three users while anything above that starts at $25/month.
TeamGantt is another great general software for Gantt charts. Its pricing model makes it one of the best online Gantt chart programs for small teams. TeamGantt also has quite a few recognizable brands vouching for it, including Lush and Treehouse.
#4. Proofhub
Pricing: $45/month for the basic package and $89/month for the “Ultimate Control” package.
Rather than offering standalone software for Gantt charts, ProofHub aims to be an all-encompassing productivity suite for various types of businesses. One advantage of their Gantt chart layout is that it also incorporates the critical path method of project management. Other features include:
- Kanban Boards optimized by Kanban method
- Basic Calendar
- File Management
- Custom Roles
- Chat
- Built-In Feedback
- Timesheets
ProofHub is not really ideal if you’re looking for construction-specific software given that there are many better-tailored options available as far as the above features go. Bridgit Bench integrates well with those other options and is what you’d likely want to go with. Nonetheless, ProofHub is a very solid all-around piece of Gantt chart software if you’re a large agency in need of several different productivity tools.
#5. Smartsheet
Pricing: Contact Smartsheet.
While much of the programs we’ve discussed so far come with sleek user interfaces, Smartsheet takes a different approach. Its software is more akin to an Excel spreadsheet. With that, however, you enjoy a degree of automation and customization that isn’t really available with some of the more basic options.
Smartsheet is definitely tailored towards enterprise applications. It integrates with everything from Slack to Microsoft Teams and AWS, allowing you to blend the software into your company’s existing infrastructure.
Smartsheet is aimed at professionals in industries such as:
- Construction
- Government
- Finance
- Healthcare
- Retail
- Technology
While this lack of focus in any one area usually leaves users feeling like software doesn’t entirely meet their needs. Smartsheet is about as good as it gets for a jack-of-all-trades, though.
#6. GanttPRO
Pricing: $15/month for individuals, $6.50/month per user for teams.
GanttPRO is all about speed and convenience. It features a really simple drag-and-drop interface that can have even complete newcomers zipping around the software within a few hours.
As you dive deeper, you’ll also find a few additional features that make GanttPRO a good all-around productivity tool. Again, it’s not the best online Gantt chart software for ultra-specific applications like construction but it’s more than capable of assisting you with general project management and collaboration.
Conclusion
The best Gantt chart software is tailored to your needs, allowing you (and your team members) to achieve greater efficiency in scheduling and managing tasks. If you’re looking for something construction-specific, Bridgit Bench is likely your top pick given that they focus entirely on construction workforce management, an area in which Gantt charts have been proven to be particularly effective. If you just need a general Gantt chart software, however, one of the other options on the list will more than suffice.
