Best Project Software For Mac

• Best Project Software For Mac Versions
• Best Project Management Software For Mac
• Best Free Project Management Software For Mac

If you’re looking for a way to run Microsoft Project on a Mac, unfortunately, you’re going to find that this isn’t possible. MS Project wasn’t built for Mac operating systems, meaning it won’t work on any Mac computer you’re using.

What Is Mac Project Management Software? Native Mac products are designed to run on the Apple operating system, and provide a consistent user experience across Apple devices. This means the user interface (UI)—how people experience, interact with and understand the product’s content—remains largely unchanged across Mac devices, so as to. Sure, this may be a bit biased, but we believe Preceden is the best timeline software on the net. Since it's completely web-based, Preceden is compatible with both Mac and PC computers – moreover, no download is required to use this tool.

However, there is an easy way to solve this problem so you can continue to create powerful project management tools - like Gantt charts, which can help you track project tasks against a predetermined timeline - without having to give up your Mac computer.

The solve is easier than trying to run MS Project on your Mac, and it requires little effort to get started. Smartsheet enables you to import all MSP documents into its familiar, easy-to-use interface so you can keep working on your projects in a collaborative, Mac-friendly tool. It’s free to try, so you can test out how easy it is to track and manage your projects using your Mac computer.

The perfect project management software for Mac. And there you have it, our list of 15 best project management software for Mac. There are a lot of great options available for Mac users, so take the time to do a closer investigation of each project management software’s purpose and its key features. To start with, you can always sign up for.

How to Use MS Project on a Mac

If you’re interested in using MS Project, but are also working on a Mac computer, the most efficient, user-friendly solution to this common problem is Smartsheet.

Smartsheet integrates seamlessly on both Mac and PC operating systems, so you can manage, track, and report on your projects from anywhere, on any device. Smartsheet enables you to import all MS Project files directly, so you won’t miss a beat.

You can also choose from a variety of pre-built templates to help manage additional project details, like budgets, resources, inventory, and tasks. To get started, follow these simple steps.

Step 1: Sign Up for Your Free Trial

To get started on editing and managing your MS Project files using your Mac computer, sign up for your free Smartsheet trial to discover a collaborative, real-time way to manage your projects, from ideation to completion.

It’s free for 30 days, so you can try out the tool, import your existing MS Project files, and test out the many project management capabilities, like Gantt charts, Kanban boards, calendar view, and more.

Step 2: Import Your Microsoft Project Files

Once you’ve signed up for your free trial, log in to your new Smartsheet account and follow the below steps to import your existing MPP files into Smartsheet.

1. First, navigate to the ‘+’ icon on the left hand navigation bar. From there, select the Import button.

2. You will be brought to a screen that allows you to select what type of file you want to import. Select Microsoft Project.

3. A pop-up window will appear, prompting you with a tip box that details helpful tricks to remember as you import your file, and tips to help you get started.

4. Then, in the Import window, select which MPP file you would like to import from your computer, name it, and click Continue.

5. The MPP file will appear as a new sheet on the Home tab in the left panel.

Step 3: Start Planning, Tracking, and Managing Projects in Smartsheet

Edit, customize, and continue to manage and track your projects using Smartsheet, which offers greater functionality, including easier user adoption, flexible views, like Gantt, grid, Kanban card, and calendar, interactive Gantt capabilities, mobile accessibility, and more.

For more information on additional MS Project alternatives, visit this article, which details what to look for in your alternative tool, and how using a Mac doesn’t need to inhibit your ability to create effective PM solutions.

How to Create a Gantt Chart on a Mac

Gantt charts are one of the most popular project management tools to use when looking to effectively plan, organize, and track a project, and all of its components. If you’re looking to create a Gantt chart on your Mac OS, visit this article for step-by-step instructions and a quick tutorial video.

10 Essential Features You Need in a Gantt Chart Software for a Mac

1. Create Timelines:

This sounds like a basic feature, but timelines are at the heart of a Gantt chart and should work the way you do. When creating timelines, they should handle dependencies, which let you identify when one task needs to be completed before another one can start. It should also handle predecessor tasks - a feature that lets you create dependencies between tasks. Look for an option that automatically updates timelines as events change in the project.

2. Import/Export Multiple File Formats:

Not everyone you work with is using the same program as you, so be sure the Gantt chart software for Mac you select can support multiple file formats. Since Microsoft Project is such a widely adopted program, Gantt chart software for Macs should import and export Microsoft Project files. It should also import and export other popular file formats such as Adobe PDF and PNG image files. This allows you to both print and share the Gantt chart to others that may not have the same software.

3. Sync With Cloud Services:

With so much work done in the cloud today, select a Gantt chart program that syncs with popular cloud services such as iCloud, Google Drive, and Dropbox. One of the benefits of saving and accessing a Gantt chart from the cloud is that you’ll be able to access it on web-enabled devices, so you don’t need to be at the office to check on the status of a project. If you use a different cloud service, the program you pick should sync with it as well.

4. Create Calendars:

A Gantt chart offers a great high-level overview of a project, but some project managers prefer to track deadlines using a calendar view. Many programs provide the option of viewing the Gantt chart as a calendar, but it would be more useful if it could integrate with the calendar app you already use. Whether you use Google Calendar or Apple’s iCal to manage your schedule, the Gantt chart software should support calendar overlays (appointments in Google Calendar or iCal can be added to the Gantt chart) and the ability to update tasks from those calendar apps.

5. Customize Views:

One way to make Gantt charts really work for you is to customize them to suit your needs. Perhaps you want to select or change the colors of the bars or add new shades to represent different parts of the project. Can you set-up automatic alerts when a deadline for a task is approaching or has passed? You should also be able to annotate tasks by adding text to the chart. Not everyone working on a project needs to see the big picture; the Gantt chart program you select should allow you to create custom views for different team members.

6. Share and Collaborate with Team Members:

A Gantt chart isn’t just for project managers, it should be a useful tool for all of the team members working on a project. That’s why sharing features are an essential requirement. Be wary of programs that require you to buy a license for others to view or use the Gantt chart. This feature needs to be built-in. Team members should have the ability to leave comments and chat with others looking at the chart. With that in mind, in addition to working on a Mac, the program should support multiple platforms such as Linux and Windows. This will give people access to the Gantt chart regardless of the type of computer they use.

7. Integrate with iPhone and iPad:

If you’re a Mac user, chances are you have either an iPad or iPhone that you’d like to use to track a project. Make sure the option you choose allows you to view Gantt charts on your mobile devices. If you rely heavily on your iPhone or iPad, then look for a solution that also allows you to edit the chart on those products. Make sure to ask which versions of the OS are supported.

8. Drag and Drop for Schedules:

This comes down to how you enter information on your Gantt chart and general ease of use. Once your tasks are created, see if you can drag a specific task on the chart to change the duration or the due date. How easy is it to create dependencies between tasks? Can you just drag a line between them or do you need to enter more information?

9. Create and Modify Milestones:

A milestone is a marker denoting a major part of any project. That can be an event or a task completion. Either way, it’s essential that you have the capability to easily add milestones in order to visually track major moments of the project cycle. Adding a milestone shouldn’t affect the other events in the chart, however, you should be able to associate tasks with it.

10. Generate Detailed Reports:

Reporting is key to any project. Gantt charts contain a ton of information that you’ll want to export in a form that allow you to easily track the status of a project, see which teams are (and aren't) on track, and make adjustments as needed. Look for a solution where you can create project status reports. Better yet, it should let you automatically generate reports that are then sent to you on a regular basis. If other people on the team need to see the report but don’t have the same software, make sure you can export the report in a format that works for them, such as PDF or Excel.
Most Gantt software programs include dozens of other helpful features. Look for a program with an intuitive search tool, so you can quickly find additional useful features that will help you work more efficiently.

Use this quick checklist to see whether or not the Gantt chart software you're considering has the best features you'll need to effectively manage your projects.

Key Considerations When Choosing a Gantt Chart Software and the Benefits of Using One

Gantt chart software has historically been relegated to MS Project, but this is no longer the case. In fact, people tend to run into some general, widespread challenges with MS Project, specifically regarding cost, version control, and security and accessibility features — on top of it being incompatible with the Mac OS.

There are many Gantt chart software options on the market today, but choosing the one that integrates into your existing processes and provides the levels of support and detail that you need is critical to the success of your projects — and to your ROI.

Learn more about top features to consider as you search for a Gantt chart software.
Visit Our Gantt Chart Software Page

Additional Project Management Resources for Mac

Now that you have a way to manage projects and create Gantt charts on your Mac device, we've got additional resources, including guides and templates, to help you better track, manage, and report on your projects from start and finish.

Discover a Better, More Collaborative Way to Manage, Track, and Report on Projects

In order to run the most effective projects and deliver them on time and on budget, you need a collaborative, real-time way to track all project details, from beginning to end. To do so, you need a project management solution that provides an easy way to update project details, manage resources, track budget, and keep all stakeholders in the loop.

One such solution is Smartsheet, a work execution platform that enables enterprises and teams to get from idea to impact — fast. Top project management leaders rely on Smartsheet to help align the right people, resources, and schedules to get work done.

Use Smartsheet to create consistent project elements, increase speed, and improve collaboration with scalable options that fit individual work preferences. Hold yourself and your team accountable, improve visibility into team priorities, and ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

Try Smartsheet to discover a collaborative, real-time way to manage your projects, from ideation to completion.

Project Management Software is the backbone of many businesses in the meantime. The business environment has never been more competitive, which is pushing companies to become as efficient and productive as possible.

This is where Project Management software comes in. It helps businesses be the best they could be – productivity and efficiency wise.

Windows PCs have always been and still are the dominating breed of computers in the workplace, but this is not true anymore, and with the widespread of Macs in the business world, we have seen great choices that work with Macs as well.

In this article, we are going to discuss some of the best project management software for Mac devices, and without wasting any more time, let’s get right into it:

Best Project Management Software for Mac

1. BaseCamp
2. Trello
3. Wrike
4. Daylite
5. Merlin Project 5
6. iTask X³
7. Monday.com
8. Microsoft Project
9. FastTrack Schedule
10. Scoro
11. Nutcache
12. OmniPlan

1- BaseCamp

Basecamp is an online Collaboration and Project Management tool that is also available to download as an application for Mac OS devices. It is also available as an application for mobile devices running Android and iOS.

Basecamp has gained its place as one of the most popular choices for remote collaboration thanks to the combination of ease of setup and uses across devices, a wide range of useful features, available integrations with 3^rd party applications and systems, and their excellent pricing.

Basecamp allows you to do everything from one place, from sharing ideas proposals to generating automated reports, Basecamp is much more than a project management tool.

Its simplicity makes Basecamp one of the best choices for small to mid-sized teams, and the interface is easy to navigate by anyone without experience in project management.

The 24/7 technical assistant and the large user’s community also mean you will always find answers and solutions easily, too.

2- Trello

We’ve mentioned Trello many times before as being one of the best project and task management applications on the market. Trello uses an intuitive setup of boards, lists, and cards. The solution is one of the most intuitive PM tools you can find.

Trello is available for free for personal use and small teams and has a reasonable pricing scheme that makes it a good option for startups and small businesses.

Trello is better for the execution of your projects than it is for project planning, as you can assign, prioritize, and set deadlines for tasks with ease.

Trello’s Dashboard is straightforward, and the solution offers excellent integration with other third-party apps and services, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, MailChimp, Salesforce, and more.

Team members can easily share ideas, comments, notes, and projects files. Trello is also one of the most fun-to-use apps on this list, and its excellent mobile applications allow users to work and stay on top of their business regardless of where they are.

3- Wrike

Wrike is one of the best cloud-hosted solutions and is also available as a free Mac project management solution. Wrike offers excellent benefits to any business as it operates as an all-in-one hub for all your project management needs.

Wrike offers plenty of features that make it a great collaboration tool for businesses of all sizes, such as the 3-Pane project view that allows the project manager to view all the critical data in a glance and get clear visibility on all of their projects’ operations.

Tags and folders enable users to view and share project data in a more comfortable and more organized way. You can engage your team more using Wrike’s activity stream, and your team members will also be able to view each other’s activity progress in real time for a smoother workflow.

Some of the other features offered by Wrike include Custom fields, custom reports, critical path, custom calendars, Time Tracking, Task prioritization, workload management, email integration, and interactive timelines (Gantt Chart).

4- Daylite

Daylite is an all-in-one solution that offers project planning, project management, and customer relationship management in one package. The solution was originally designed for Apple products, so it works great on Mac OS devices.

The User Interface feels very familiar to anyone who has been using Apple products for a while and feels intuitive and fast. It serves to help the businesses that use the software become more client-focused by automating and tracking their tasks to save time and energy towards the more essential matters.

Daylite offers good customizability options that give users the chance to create their pipelines and approval processes for new projects. Daylite also offers some task management functionality to help you with day-to-day operations.

5- Merlin Project 5

Merlin Project 5 is a professional project management software that enables its users to do their project planning easily on their Macs. Users can do things like generating reports, building a work plan break down, and more.

Merlin is very intuitive, especially for those familiar with the Apple Eco System, but the simple layout doesn’t compromise the features allowed.

Merlin also doubles as a good document management system as it allows users to upload and share files. Users can also create entirely custom reports to get the exact information they need for their decision-making process to become more efficient.

Merlin also offers beautiful and useful network diagrams using the Activity on Node format, lists of all resources involved in projects, Gantt Charts with critical path, and a time-based display of resource utilization.

SEE ALSO:Best Project Management Tools for Startups

6- iTask X³

iTask X is another straightforward project management solution. Users love the solution’s intuitive interface and navigation. The solution is easy to learn and doesn’t have a steep learning curve, anyone who opens the solution can start using it immediately even if they don’t have prior experience using it.

iTask offers robust features that allow businesses to manage their projects also if they are enterprise-level projects with lots of complexities. It’s based off the Waterfall Project Management methodology and offers Gantt charts, task management, and resources.

iTask provides more than 60 different calculators depending on the task fields, and these include effort-driver scheduling, cost accruals, and many more.

Another advantage this solution offers is the fully customizable layout that enables project managers to adjust it according to their needs. They can change all the aesthetics of their projects to make it uniquely suitable for their projects.

The solution also comes with plenty of pre-designed templates for those on a hurry and don’t have the time to create their designs.

7- Monday.Com

Monday.com, as the name would indicate, is another Project management application that’s cloud-based but does offer a clean and straightforward Mac application. The solution features a clean dashboard that allows users to view and monitor the activities of all team members.

Monday.com is ideal for remote and mid-to-large sized teams that can benefit from task tracking. It helps businesses build cross-functional teams by enabling all groups to view what the other teams are currently working on. This way, everyone is kept on the loop, and it’s all done from a single, easy-to-navigate and simple-to-understand dashboard.

Monday.com allows users to add tasks, projects, to-do-lists, and goals in the dashboard. You can assign tasks, add deadlines, and track their progress directly through the same dashboard. That means that users can plan their workload more efficiently to get better results.

However, it should be noted that you only get real-time visibility and accessibility when you are using the cloud version of the solution and not the Mac one, but, in the end, it depends on your preferences.

8- Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project is a project & Portfolio management solution that is available both as an on-premise option for Windows and Mac and as cloud-based software.

MS Project offers integrated project planning tools that help users get an overview and keep their projects organized and on the planned track.

Users can also use the solution to manage their projects and programs efficiently as it enables users to choose suitable deadlines, choose and provide the resources, empower their teams, and collaborate with various other parties (professionals, teams, clients, and even enterprises).

Microsoft Project also comes with pulldown menus, Gantt charts, schedule management, task management, business intelligence, timesheets, reports, and integrations with other apps and services to further extend the functionality of the solution.

SEE ALSO: 10 Benefits of Using Project Management Software

9- FastTrack Schedule

FastTrack Schedule is a project management and scheduling solution that is intuitive, easy-to-use, and results-focused. The solution aims to increase the productivity of businesses by helping them manage their projects more efficiently to be able to complete more projects with better quality in less time.

FastTrack Schedule is available for devices running Windows, Mac OS, and iOS. The dashboard is simple and gives better visibility for team members.

It allows businesses to merge their projects into a single massive schedule in which means users can create master plans for their projects, monitor them, and track them all from a single screen.

The application comes with an extensive collection of predesigned templates, and it even allows you to create schedules using Excel spreadsheets, Microsoft Project files, or other applications.

Having one big schedule also has another quite large advantage; it gives users the chance to take notice and identify any scheduling conflicts and make changes to make sure the workflow stays smooth to ensure efficiency.

Similarly, FastTrack allows you to maximize other resources you might have in your business such as money usage, team members’ activity, and more. This ensures you are never giving a project too much or too few resources to be completed.

10- Scoro

Scoro is a cloud-based project management solution that works well with Mac devices. The solution is ideal for small and mid-sized businesses and comes with modules for project management, work management, financial management, and CRM.

Scoro streamlines your processes across your teams and operations for a seamless workflow. This is a setup more commonly used in enterprises but rarely in small businesses, but Scoro brings this power to the Small businesses to give them a competitive edge.

Some of the features of the solution include a real-time KPI dashboard, shared team calendar, contact management, pre-designed quoting & invoicing templates, sub-tasks, deadlines, time tracking, and more.

Unfortunately, Scoro doesn’t offer a free plan, but they provide a free trial on their paid plans so you could test out the solution and its features to see if it’s a good fit before making a decision.

11- Nutcache

Nutcache is another web-based project management solution that works with Mac devices. The solution strength comes from the fact that it adapts the agile approaches.

Nutcache can be adjusted to your projects or workflow, and the solution focuses more on planning, committing, and delivering sprints and tracks. Nutcache enables managers to track the overall progress of the project and have full control of it.

The solution comes with plenty of useful features for businesses which include sprint management, analysis tools, email notification, Kanban boards, teams and roles, backlog management, project management, agile planner, and story and task management.

Best Project Software For Mac Versions

All these features allow managers to focus their teams on the project at hand and guarantee the best results they can get with the available resources. Unfortunately, there is no free plan available.

12- OmniPlan

OmniPlan is a beautifully-designed project management application for small and mid-sized businesses. The solution is simple to use with powerful features that make project management more accessible for busy managers and business owners.

The simple drag-n-drop functionality allows users to drag and drop team members into tasks, set estimated time for completion easily, and the beautiful Gantt Charts makes the data easier and faster to understand.

OmniPlan’s filtering options allow managers to narrow down their task lists by resource, priority, claims, date, and more. This helps tremendously when managers get overwhelmed with all the information they have on their projects and keeps things organized.

The violation resolution features enable the software to flag the task to grab the project manager’s attention in case something goes wrong with the task, such as going over the estimated time.

Local or Cloud?

There are two different Mac Project Management Software options for deployment: Local-based (such as with an App that is installed on the device), or Cloud-hosted (can be accessed from any device with an internet connection).

Best Project Management Software For Mac

These two have some pros and cons.

Why use a Local Solution?

• Don’t need an extra browser tab
• Some have more robust features (as in Microsoft Project) than the cloud-based counterparts
• Data is stored locally

Why use a cloud-based solution?

• Collaboration & Remote Work
• No installation or Maintenance Required
• Backups

The trend for the last couple of years has been towards the latter, and for obvious reasons. You can view data and work remotely, you can collaborate and share project files, notes, ideas, and more with anyone in the world, and you don’t need to worry about Hardware problems (such as corrupt hard drives destroying your data), because someone else takes care of all this stuff for you.

It’s essential to know exactly what you are getting and why are you getting it. So, take your time to make up your mind before committing.

Did you find something you like? Great! Why don’t you share the article with a friend or a family who also might find something useful in here? If you are still looking for other options, why don’t you take a look at these Best 10 Project Management Software for Small Business in 2018, you will find more diverse opportunities in there.

Best Free Project Management Software For Mac

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