Every organization, company, institute, etc. requires a Gantt chart to depict numerous problems and answer multiple concerns. Gantt charts are the best means to exhibit activities against time. This depiction against time makes the Gantt chart a great option to portray and make timelines that are required in every paradigm and subject. Gantt chart shows start and end date of activity and activities, display the activities overlaps, project start and ending estimation which helps in overall budget estimation. With Gantt charts, the communication and clarity about project-related activities and tasks along with estimations are made much easier and efficient. The Gantt chart tools come incorporated in many project management software solutions and also many exist as independent software dedicated solely to answering user’s Gantt chart-making needs. In this article, we list the Gantt chart software that is the best cross-platform compatible solutions and provide state-of-the-art Gantt chart-making tools and features.
OpenProject
Released in 2012, the efficient project management solution comes under the GNU license. The free, open-source, and cross-platform compatible solution incorporates a number of efficient features enabling users across the globe. Some of these features include bug tracking allowing a user to track progress, document and file management, forum, project news, project timelines, and deadline tracking, issue tracking or issue management, project management and milestones, time tracking, Wiki pages, and the list goes on. The tool is known for easily creating Gantt charts utilizing its efficient key features along with creating interactive PERT charts as well. OpenProject offers different pricing and packages for individuals and organizations. However, the community version of the software comes free of cost and comes equipped with a vast list of enhanced features and capabilities.
Get it now from https://www.openproject.org/download-and-installation/
TaskJuggler
TaskJuggler is a free, open-source, and cross-platform compatible project management solution that allows users access to the most enhanced, advanced, and stable project management features. The list of features mainly includes the platform’s capability to get easily integrated and installed on all the leading OS. The tool offers many efficient features for planning, team collaboration on tasks and activities, set and achieve goals, enhanced support for numerous time-zones, error-free cost calculation, and cost handling, seamless task management and resource handling, intuitive and user-friendly task, to-do list manager, detailed reference manual, ability to integrate with the Vim text editor, etc. Though the main and key highlight of the software is its Gantt chart tool that seamlessly creates interactive Gantt charts in no time.
Get it now from https://taskjuggler.org/download.html
GanttProject
GanttProject is another efficient free and cross-platform compatible tool that is renowned among its users for providing the most interactive, easy, and efficient tools and user interface to make the required Gantt charts. The tool is written in Java and is compatible with all the leading operating systems, however, it is not open-source software. GanttProject offers many features such as the ability to set milestones and tasks, create and estimate baselines, seamlessly manage the tasks, capability to export to CSV and generate PDF/JPG/PNG files, compatibility with the MS Project and ability to import/export files from it, PERT chart generation facility, ability to structure work breakdown, draw and visualize task or activity dependencies, examine and allocate the resources, various options to work together with contemporaries, human resources features, and the list goes on.
Get it now from https://www.ganttproject.biz/download
dotProject.net
The dotProject.net Gantt chart-making tool is a free, open-source, and cross-platform compatible tool. The tool is used by almost every other organization, company, and institute for making effective and most interactive Gantt charts and thereby the timelines. The software comes under the GNU GPL license and is structured on the LAMP architecture –Linux, PHP, MySQL, and Apache. The software is renowned for its simple and most easy user interface along with a list of features such as user permissions and security management features, nodal user permissions, client and organization management tools, project management and planning capabilities, dynamic tasks creation and handling along with task dependency handling, project milestones, statuses, file checkout, and reporting, delegation management, target and estimate budgets, ability to assess actual time spent and plan durations, download and upload and share files with users, discussion dashboards, Gantt charts and contact lists, user collaboration allowing multiple people to simultaneously work on projects, easy issue tracking, etc.
Get it now from https://github.com/dotproject/dotProject/archive/v2.2.0.zip
ProjectLibre
ProjectLibre is an organized, most interactive, and efficient tool for seamlessly handling and managing project management-related tasks and activities. The free, open-source, and cross-platform compatible project management tool comes under the Common Public Attribution license. The tool enables users to perform a list of advanced features such as the platform offers compatibility with Microsoft Project that enables users across both the platforms, import and export capabilities, Gantt charts, network diagrams, WBS/RBS charts, work breakdown structure charts, resource breakdown structure charts, value costing, resource histograms, facility to set dependencies, allows users to seamlessly create and design project baselines, allocate resources and define work, comes equipped with powerful reporting and analysis functionality, etc.
Get it now from https://sourceforge.net/projects/projectlibre/
Closing Remarks
The article lists the best Gantt chart software solutions. The listed solutions are all free and cross-platform compatible. The best Gantt chart software solutions discussed in this article are OpenProject, taskJuggler, GanttProject, dotProject.net, and ProjectLibre. Among the discussed, GanttProject is the only software that is not open-source, whereas the rest of the solutions discussed are open-source as well. However, the features and enhanced functionalities of the GanttProject made us include it in the list of the best performing, renowned, and top Gantt charts solutions for all the leading operating systems.
Karim Buzdar holds a degree in telecommunication engineering and holds several sysadmin certifications including CCNA RS, SCP, and ACE. As an IT engineer and technical author, he writes for various websites.
