Are you using Macbooks as standard machines at your company?

Daylite is a customizable project management app for teams of 1-100 employees that use Macs. Get an overview of projects to know what's been done and what needs to be done next. Great for professional services, creative agencies and manufacturing. The Mac operating system continues to gain market share of the desktop operating system in a slow but steady climb over the years. The ability of well-designed Mac computer models to operate web-based applications has now made it a familiar business work desktop for project management. Like ProjectLibre, Gantt Project is another Java based desktop free projects management app for Mac which can also import and export Microsoft Project files. As the name suggests, Gantt Project uses Gantt charts to display project details and there are more ways to customize the Gantt views than in LibreOffice. QdPM is a free web-based project management tool suitable for a small team working on multiple projects. It is fully configurable. You can easy manage Projects, Tasks and People.

Then you don’t have to resort to spreadsheets and plugins for creating Gannt charts and dependency tracking. These can be cumbersome, clunky and inefficient to use.

There are a number of proven, easy-to-use PM tools available built specifically for the Mac.

Here’s a list of popular project management software for the Mac:

(Products listed in alphabetical order. No rating implied.)

2-plan Desktop

We only learned about 2-plan Desktop in a discussion thread, otherwise we wouldn’t have known about the tool. 2-plan is a standalone PM tool for project managers that runs on OS X (Windows and Linux versions are available too).

2-plan positions itself as a free MS Project alternative, and the feature description indeed suggests the tool lives up to its claim. The German-made project management software covers all tools a project manager needs for project management: scheduling, scope definition, deliverables and milestone planning and project monitoring are included by default. On top of that, you can define your team resources and conduct scenario planning.

At the time this article was written, there was no version for macOS 10.15 available, so it doesn’t run on Apples latest OS X (Catalina). The app runs well on older OS X version though.

2-plan Desktop highlights:

• Simple, well-designed user interface
• Import and export of MS Project files
• Free for commercial use
• Large selection of add-ons available (free and paid)
  

GanttProject (free)

GanttProject is another free project management tool made to run on a Mac desktop. The tool was first launched in 2003 and has been continuously improved and extended. GanttProject is widely used and has been adapted for many languages.

GanttProject has a similar feature stack as MS Project and includes all essential steps a project manager needs. You start by drawing up a task schedule and adding milestones on the screen. Tasks may be assigned different priorities and cost. Similar to MS Project, you can create a typical tree-like work breakdown structure with summary tasks. A nice feature is the possibility to use different colors for each task. Even dependencies can be set up between tasks. So, you can make one task start only after another task has been completed.

Overall, GanttProject seems to be a very mature and user-friendly project management tool for the Mac which is definitely worth a try.

GanttProject highlights:

• Stable solution with long track record
• Export and Import MS Project files
• Multi-language support
• Free for commercial use

iTaskX

iTaskX is another famous solution in the project management app market for the Mac. Unlike other Mac alternatives, iTaskX has been designed specifically for the Mac ecosystem. Therefore it’s much more well integrated and doesn’t require any Java libraries and is very easy to use.

The iTaskX app, which has been on the market for 15 years, has a strong feature set comparable to MS Project. This explains why it is widely used in a number of industries. According to the iTaskX website, the software is used in construction and architecture, advertising, IT and other fields.

What features does iTaskX come with? The software is offered in a standard and pro version. The standard version gives you the basic functionality you need for planning your projects with respect to time and cost. It also has progress tracking capability and allows you to analyze the impact of delays. The pro version offers advanced features like network diagrams, task sheets and resource planning. For a comparison of the standard vs. pro version check out the iTaskX website.

iTaskX highlights:

• Stable solution with long track record
• Well-integrated into the Mac ecosystem
• Rich set of features
• Standard and pro version available
• Export and Import MS Project files
• Reasonable pricing

Merlin Project

Merlin Project is widely used in the creative industry and in science and has been gaining traction in other industries as well. The solution has been on the market for over 15 years, which means we are looking at a pretty evolved and well-supported product. This is a must if you intend to use the project management software for business purposes.

In terms of its functional scope, Merlin Project has all the tools you need to manage projects of any size. Task planning with dependencies, setting milestones and calculating your schedule (and critical path) are the steps you usually start with. On an advanced level, Merlin also allows you to conduct resource planning or to perform an Earned Value Analysis to assess the actual status of your project.

A nice extension that I haven’t seen in other PM apps for the Mac is the mind map feature. It can be useful for brainstorming necessary tasks and deliverables, risks or potential stakeholders in a project stakeholder analysis, just to give you a few ideas.

Project Management For Mac

Another interesting thing about Merlin is that it supports hybrid project management. Apart from the waterfall-style Gantt view planning, you can also create Kanban boards for your agile projects.

Merlin Project highlights:

• Stable solution with long track record
• iOS app available
• Fully compatible with MS Project
• Mind map feature
• Supports Kanban boards for agile projects

OmniPlan – nice design with advanced features

If you’re a Mac veteran, you’ve probably heard of Omni Group — the company behind OmniPlan. Omni Group has a strong position in the Apple world, and their graphics tool OmniGraffle is considered one of the best charting tools on the Mac. What about OmniPlan, their project management solution?

OmniPlan is a professional-grade project management software that comes with a beautiful user interface (great UX is one of the trademarks of Omni Group products). The functional scope of OmniPlan includes project planning and creating Gantt charts, progress and cost tracking as well as resource allocation.

The software makes resource planning for your team really easy, because you can show people’s calendars in OmniPlan to see with one glance when people are available.

OmniPlan highlights:

• Mature project management application for the Mac
• Great user interface
• Compatible with MS Project
• Advanced features like Earned Value Analysis or Monte Carlo simulations
• iOS app available
• Supports many languages

Project Planning Pro

Project Planning Pro is a project, task and resource management app for Mac OS X. The app’s focus is to provide an easy-to-use visualization, planning and management environment for project managers. That being said, the software offers the most needed functionality for planning and coordinating projects.

Projects can be scheduled and monitored using three different views, including a calendar, Gantt and critical path view. Dependencies can be entered using the typical constraints like finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish and start-to-finish.

Project Planning Pro highlights:

• MS Project compatible
• Send email notification to resources for status updates
• Import plans from Microsoft Project via Dropbox, Box, Email and iTunes
• iOS and Android app available

ProjectLibre

ProjectLibre claims to be the leading open source alternative to Microsoft Project. While we can’t verify their market share numbers, we know that many renowned organizations — particularly in the government and nonprofit sector — successfully manage their projects with ProjectLibre.

The open source tool resembles Microsoft Project in a lot of ways. This is a big advantage because any user transitioning over from the Windows and MS Project world will quickly become familiar with the processes in ProjectLibre.

In terms of functionality, ProjectLibre provides a solid Gantt planning interface which allows you to quickly draw up project schedules, even for large projects. Once you have your schedule and dependencies set up, you can assign resources, plan your budget and make your plan look nicer using color coded task bars. Besides Gantt charts, you can also work with network diagrams or WBS and RBS charts to structure and detail project work.

Being an open source tool, OpenLibre is developed and supported by a large user community. If you are fine going without a software vendor who can offer you premium support at defined service levels, then ProjectLibre is definitely an excellent solution for planning and tracking your project portfolio.

ProjectLibre highlights:

• Stable and widely-used tool with a large support community
• Compatible with Microsoft Project
• Nominated as “Best of Open Source” by InfoWorld Magazine
• Clean and easy-to-use interface
• Advanced tools like Earned Value Costing and resource histograms
• Free for commercial use

Conclusion

There are many good project management solutions available for the Mac, but most tools are aimed at individual users or smaller teams. Sharing is not so easy because the tools require a desktop installation. Some of the options like Merlin are suitable for larger organizations, though. Also, if you want to use MS Project in your loved Apple environment, you can still run MS Project on your Mac using a virtual Windows machine.

If you are looking for a project management app specifically for your iPhone or iPad, check out the numerous project management apps on the App Store.

Whatever direction you want to go, we recommend you take some time for trying out the different alternatives. Then you can choose a solution that works well for your team.

• Keep track of important emails: Integrates with Apple Mail, Outlook for Mac, Reminder through Item Inbox

Project Management Apps For Mac

• Prioritize today: Receive daily reports telling you what to work on next & pull your PM items into your preferred calendar

• Have a single source of truth: Syncs with iOS, Windows, Android, Web, Microsoft Office, Gmail and more. Upload files, manage priorities like a pro!

• Project management features include: Gantt time-line chart, Master View, One-on-One, Calendar, List View, Quadrant View, Dates, Efforts, Files, Delegation and more!

Apple Project Management Software

Priority Matrix^® Managing Projects on the Mac

Drag and Drop to Prioritize

Prioritize items by moving items quickly from one quadrant to the next, or to sort them manually within a context.
Drag and drop items to copy, delete, or mark items as done. Drag Apple Mail messages, urls, pdfs, files onto the quadrant to create tasks.
Double click opens them, allowing you to manage information more efficiently than ever before!

Sync Seamlessly

Synchronize your data on the go, and transfer data between iPad, iPhone, Mac, Windows and Android. You can work online and offline and
sync when you have internet connection again. Your data is always with you.

Understand Your Top Priorities with Master List

Look at all of your tasks at once in one list, for a quick summary of your to-dos across all your projects. This is your “action item”
list, so you always know what to work on next. Customize tasks with as little or as much detail as you need,
including efforts, due dates, start dates, recurring frequency, icons, notes, and completion percentage.

Mac Project Management Tool

What is Priority Matrix^®?

Conquer your most important day-to-day commitments
while keeping your high-level goals in mind.

Over 90,000 busy professionals have invested in Priority Matrix^® to help them prioritize and do more with less stress. Priority Matrix is a priority and task management tool based on the Eisenhower method. Your tasks are divided into 4 customizable quadrants:

• Critical & Immediate- Important tasks that are due now
• Critical & Not Immediate- Important tasks needs planning
• Not Critical & Immediate- External responsibilities that can be delegated
• Uncategorized Inbox- Miscellaneous items that can be categorized later

President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said “What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important.” Priority Matrix is made to solve this problem in the same way Eisenhower did, and is a critically-acclaimed business and productivity tool that distinguishes itself from traditional linear to-do lists.

TRY IT FOR FREE NOW

Best Free Project Management App

(no credit card needed — includes all platforms 14 days)

Project Management App Mac Free