Worklenz vs GanttProject: Which Is Better for Teams in 2026?
Worklenz vs GanttProject is a comparison between a cloud-collaborative project management tool and a free, offline desktop application focused purely on Gantt chart scheduling. GanttProject is genuinely useful for solo planners who want a no-cost scheduling tool with no account or internet required. Worklenz is built for teams that need to collaborate on tasks, track time, and see project status together, in real time.
Quick Comparison: Worklenz vs GanttProject
| Feature | Worklenz | GanttProject |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free (up to 3 projects); from $9.99/user/mo | Free (GPL3, donation-supported) |
| Deployment | Cloud + self-hosted | Offline desktop app only |
| Open Source | ✅ Yes (AGPL-3.0) | ✅ Yes (GPL3) |
| Team Collaboration | ✅ Real-time, multi-user | ❌ Single-user, local files |
| Time Tracking | ✅ Built-in | ❌ Not available |
| Resource Management | ✅ Built-in, team-wide | ⚠️ Resource load charts, single-user view |
| Task Boards/Kanban | ✅ Yes | ❌ Gantt-only, no board view |
| Best For | Teams collaborating on shared projects | Solo planners wanting free offline Gantt scheduling |
Pricing Deep Dive
GanttProject is completely free with no subscription tiers - it’s GPL3-licensed, donation-supported software with no feature paywalls. That’s a genuine strength for individuals who just need a Gantt chart tool and don’t want any cloud dependency.
Worklenz pricing:
- Cloud: Free plan - unlimited users, up to 3 active projects; Pro Small Teams from $9.99/user/month, Business Small Teams $14.99/user/month
- Self-hosted: Community edition free (unlimited users); Business ($99/mo) and Enterprise ($499/mo)
Both have genuinely free tiers, but they’re solving different problems: GanttProject’s free tier is its entire offering (a desktop app), while Worklenz’s free tier is a real multi-user collaborative platform.
Feature-by-Feature Breakdown
Project Scheduling & Gantt Charts
GanttProject is purpose-built for this: detailed Gantt charts, task dependencies, resource load charts, and PERT charts, with exports to Microsoft Project format, Excel, PDF, and PNG. For pure schedule-building, it’s a capable, mature tool.
Worklenz includes Gantt-style timeline views integrated with the broader project/task system, though it doesn’t match GanttProject’s depth of scheduling-specific features like PERT charts.
Winner: GanttProject, for dedicated, detailed Gantt/PERT scheduling work.
Team Collaboration
GanttProject is fundamentally a single-user desktop tool - project files live locally on your computer. There’s no real-time multi-user collaboration; sharing means exporting and sending a file.
Worklenz is built for real-time team collaboration: shared boards, task assignments, comments, and live status updates across the team.
Winner: Worklenz, decisively - this is the core gap in GanttProject for any team beyond one planner.
Task Management Beyond Scheduling
GanttProject has no Kanban board, task comments, or assignment workflow beyond the Gantt view - it’s a scheduling tool, not a day-to-day task management system.
Worklenz offers boards, lists, subtasks, labels, and comments alongside its timeline views.
Winner: Worklenz, for day-to-day task management.
Time Tracking & Resourcing
GanttProject has resource load charts for planning purposes but no actual time tracking against real work performed, and no team-wide utilization reporting since it’s single-user.
Worklenz includes built-in time tracking and team-wide utilization views.
Winner: Worklenz.
Accessibility & Offline Use
GanttProject runs fully offline with no internet or account required - a real advantage for fully air-gapped or no-cloud environments.
Worklenz is cloud-based by default, with a self-hosted option for teams needing infrastructure control (though it still requires running a server, unlike GanttProject’s standalone desktop app).
Winner: GanttProject, specifically for fully offline, single-user use cases.
Who Should Choose Worklenz?
- Teams collaborating on shared projects, not just one person planning a schedule
- Teams that need time tracking and resourcing visible across the team
- Teams wanting task boards alongside timeline views
Who Should Choose GanttProject?
- Solo planners who want a free, offline Gantt chart tool with no account or cloud dependency
- Users who need Microsoft Project-compatible export without a Project license
- One-person scheduling tasks that don’t require team collaboration
Frequently Asked Questions
Can multiple people work on the same GanttProject file?
Not in real time - GanttProject is a single-user desktop application. Collaboration means exporting and sharing files manually, which doesn’t scale for active team coordination.
Is GanttProject good enough to replace Worklenz for a team?
For a single planner building a schedule, yes. For a team that needs to see task status, comment, track time, and check workload together, GanttProject’s single-user model is a hard limit - that’s where Worklenz is built differently.
Does Worklenz support Microsoft Project file import/export like GanttProject?
Worklenz doesn’t currently offer .mpp import/export; GanttProject’s interoperability with Microsoft Project format is one of its specific strengths for users transitioning from MS Project.
Is Worklenz harder to set up than GanttProject?
GanttProject just requires downloading a desktop app. Worklenz cloud signup takes minutes; self-hosting requires running a server, which is a bigger step than installing a desktop app, but enables real team collaboration GanttProject can’t offer.
Final Verdict
GanttProject is a solid, genuinely free choice for solo schedule-building with no cloud dependency. Worklenz is built for what most teams actually need: real-time collaboration, task boards, time tracking, and resourcing - all in one tool, with a free tier that supports a real team, not just one planner.