Best Free Gantt Chart Software (2026)
"Free" is the most abused word in project software. Many tools ranking for "free Gantt chart" are freemium or a 14-day trial. This is an honest breakdown of nine options, what's genuinely free, what needs a sign up, and which include export and critical path, plus the criteria and tests that should actually decide it. We build one of these tools, so we've flagged that plainly.
What "free" really means (free vs freemium vs trial)
Three very different business models all get marketed as "free":
- Free, no cost, no expiry, no feature held hostage. Open-source apps and genuinely free web tools.
- Freemium, free forever, but caps something (projects, tasks, collaborators) or paywalls export or the critical path. Usable for real work only inside the caps.
- Free trial, full access for 14-30 days, then you pay. Useful for evaluation, not a long-term answer.
All three are legitimate. The problem is only when a trial or a tightly-capped plan is presented as simply "free."
Comparison at a glance
Plan limits change, so treat these figures as indicative and confirm on each vendor's current pricing page.
| Tool | Free plan limits | Sign-up required? | Export | Critical path |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gantts.app | Fully free · unlimited tasks/projects | No | PDF, PNG, Excel, PPT | Yes, free |
| GanttProject | Free & open-source (desktop) | No (download) | PDF, PNG, CSV | Yes |
| OnlineGantt & small web tools | Free core features | Varies / often no | Image / PDF | Varies |
| TeamGantt (free plan) | ~1 project / ~60 tasks / small team | Yes | Limited on free | Paid tiers |
| GanttPRO | Free trial, then paid | Yes | Yes (paid) | Yes (paid) |
| Instagantt | Freemium; free tier limited | Yes | Yes (higher tiers) | Yes (paid) |
| Canva | Free design tier | Yes | PNG, PDF | No (static) |
| Microsoft Project | Paid (no free plan) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The criteria that actually decide it
Feature lists are a poor guide, because every tool claims every feature. What separates them is behaviour under load: what happens when a date moves, when the plan gets big, when an outsider needs to read it, and when you stop paying. Each criterion below is testable in minutes, and each has a specific failure mode.
| Criterion | Why it decides the outcome | How to test it in five minutes | What failure looks like |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does it recalculate? | Separates a scheduling engine from a drawing tool. Real dependencies ripple; decorative ones leave you re-dragging bars by hand. | Link three tasks, push the first out by four days. | Tasks two and three do not move. You own the maintenance forever. |
| Critical path & float | Tells you which tasks control the deadline. Often the first thing moved behind a paywall, because people will pay for it. | Look for a float column, not just coloured bars. Change a duration and see whether the highlighted path moves. | A "critical path" that is a colour you applied by hand, or an upsell at the moment you need it. |
| Export a stranger can open | Whoever signs off will not create an account to read it. PDF, Excel and PowerPoint travel anywhere; a share link does not. | Export, then open it on a device that is not logged in. | Export is paid, watermarked, or only a link prompting a sign-up. |
| Scale | Free tiers are sized for demos. Real plans run 150-300 rows; both the cap and rendering speed matter. | Paste 200 rows and scroll a timeline 26 weeks wide. | A hard cap near 60 tasks, or scrolling that stutters once the chart is wide. |
| Exit cost | Nobody asks until it matters. The plan is yours only if you can get it out in a format something else reads. | Export to CSV and re-import elsewhere. Check dependencies and hierarchy survive, not just names. | Export is read-only PDF, dependencies are dropped, or data sits behind a lapsed subscription. |
| Where the data lives | Decides whether you need approval to use it at all. Client and public-sector work often rules out third-party servers. | Check whether it works with the network off, and what the privacy policy says is stored. | Learning at review time that the schedule sits somewhere your contract does not permit. |
Only two of these are features in the marketing sense. The rest you can only observe by using the thing, which is why fifteen minutes with a realistic plan beats an afternoon of comparison articles, this one included.
The 9 tools, reviewed honestly
Read these as categories rather than a league table, the criteria above are what should decide it.
1. gantts.app, free, no login
Full disclosure: this is our tool. Browser-based, fully free with no sign up, no caps, automatic critical path, dependencies, milestones, and export to PDF, PNG, Excel and PowerPoint. Data stays in your browser. The trade-off: it does planning and export, not time tracking or resource billing.
2. GanttProject, open-source desktop
A mature, free, open-source desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux) with dependencies, critical path, resource assignment and PDF/PNG/CSV export. Works offline, no account, but the interface feels dated and there is no cloud sync.
3. OnlineGantt & other small free web tools
Lightweight single-purpose sites that sketch a chart and export an image or PDF, some without an account. Depth varies widely, many lack a reliable critical path, robust dependencies or spreadsheet export. Best for: fast, disposable charts.
4. TeamGantt, capable, but capped free plan
Polished and collaboration-focused. The free plan is usable but limited, typically around one project and roughly 60 tasks, with critical path and richer export on paid tiers. Account required. Best for: small teams evaluating a paid tool who fit inside the caps.
5. GanttPRO, trial-based
A well-designed commercial tool with strong scheduling, workload and collaboration features. It offers a free trial, not a free plan, so it is paid once the trial ends. Best for: teams ready to buy.
6. Instagantt, freemium
Known for its Asana integration and clean timelines. Freemium: a limited free tier exists, but advanced export, critical path and extra projects sit on paid plans.
7. Canva, design-first
Produces a good-looking Gantt graphic from templates, exportable to PNG or PDF free. But it is a design tool, not a scheduling engine, no dependencies, no rescheduling, no critical path; the bars are shapes you place by hand. It fails test 1 by design. Best for: a static visual for a slide.
8. Microsoft Project, powerful but paid
The enterprise standard: deep dependency logic, resource leveling, baselines, critical path. No free plan, subscription or license-based. Best for: large organizations with the budget to match.
9. Excel & Google Sheets, the DIY option
You can bend a stacked bar chart or the Sheets Timeline view into a Gantt. Free if you own the software, but no dependencies, no critical path, constant manual upkeep. See our Excel guide and Sheets guide. Best for: small, static plans.
Free tools that need no sign up
If avoiding an account matters, for privacy, speed, or just to test an idea, the field narrows fast. Options that let you build a chart without an account:
- gantts.app, open the site and start; the plan is stored in your own browser, with critical path and full export.
- GanttProject, no account, but you install a desktop app rather than working in the browser.
- Some small web tools, a few export without signing up, though features are basic.
Most polished web platforms require an account before you can do anything. That is a reasonable choice for them; it is just worth knowing which side of the line each sits on.
A worked evaluation: one real plan, four tests
Criteria are easy to nod along to, so here is a specific job run through them. The point is not which tool wins, it is that four tests, taking twenty minutes, eliminate most of a shortlist before you invest anything.
The job. An office relocation: 186 tasks across six workstreams (lease, fit-out, IT, furniture, comms, move weekend), running 22 weeks to a handover date fixed by the lease, and a monthly steering group of six who will not create accounts to read a schedule. Tooling budget: nothing.
Test 1, does it recalculate? Build the smallest slice with real logic in it: survey → design → council approval → fit-out → IT install → handover. Then push council approval out by 10 days.
- A scheduling engine moves fit-out, IT install and handover 10 days each, and flags that handover has broken the lease date.
- A drawing tool moves only the bar you dragged. The other five describe a schedule that cannot happen.
On a 186-task plan this is the whole ballgame. Approval will slip, and without recalculation every slip is an hour of manual re-dragging by someone who will miss one. That test alone removes most design-first and template-based options, including a spreadsheet Gantt.
Test 2, can the steering group open it? Export, then open the file on a device that is not logged in. PDF or PNG means everyone reads it and nobody edits it; Excel is what the finance member will re-cut; a share link fails if it asks the viewer to sign up, because six accounts to read one chart is six reasons the update goes unread.
Check free-tier exports for watermarks and page limits. A PDF that is free but stamped is not usable in a board pack, and you find that out the evening before.
Test 3, does it survive 186 rows? Do not test with eight tasks. Paste in a couple of hundred and scroll.
- Caps first. A free tier of roughly 60 tasks fails outright at 186, and the cap bites when the plan is half-built and you are committed.
- Then rendering. 22 weeks at day resolution is a wide chart. Some tools stutter, some collapse the outline on every edit, some lose your scroll position.
- Then hierarchy. Six workstreams means grouping, check summary bars roll up dates from their children rather than being another bar you maintain.
Test 4, what happens if you stop? Assume you drop the tool in nine months, or a free tier gets re-tiered mid-project. Both are ordinary.
- Export to CSV or Excel and re-import elsewhere. Task names survive; dependencies and hierarchy get dropped. Re-linking 186 tasks by hand is a rebuild, not a migration.
- Check whether export is itself paid. A free plan you cannot export from is a plan you cannot leave.
- If data is local to your browser the risk inverts: nothing can be revoked, but clearing site data deletes it. Export at every milestone.
What the tests conclude. Not a winner, a category. This job needs a real dependency engine, no task cap, unwatermarked export and a portable format. That rules out design tools (test 1), most capped free tiers (test 3) and anything paywalling export (tests 2 and 4). What remains is genuinely free web tools and open-source desktop apps; choosing between those comes down to whether you would rather install software.
How to choose
Match the tool to the need:
- A Gantt chart fast, free, with export? gantts.app, no account, critical path and Excel/PPT export.
- Installed, offline, open-source? GanttProject.
- Building toward a paid team platform, inside the caps? A freemium tier.
- Enterprise programs with resource leveling? A paid platform.
- Only a static picture for a slide? A design tool, or a PNG export.
Whatever you pick, decide up front whether you need dependencies, a critical path and real export, the three places "free" plans most often disappoint. New to the concept? Read what is a Gantt chart, then try building one, or browse free templates.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free Gantt chart software?
It depends on your needs. gantts.app is the best fully-free, no-login web option and includes export and critical path. GanttProject is the best free open-source desktop app. TeamGantt and Instagantt have capable free tiers but cap projects or tasks and require an account.
Which Gantt chart tools are actually free, not just a free trial?
gantts.app (fully free, no account) and GanttProject (open-source, free to download) are genuinely free. TeamGantt and Instagantt offer limited free plans. GanttPRO is trial-based, and Microsoft Project is paid, these are not free in the long run.
Is there a free Gantt chart tool with no sign up?
Yes. gantts.app requires no account, sign up or login, you open the site and start building immediately in your browser. Most other web-based Gantt tools require you to create an account before you can use them.
What's the difference between free, freemium and free trial?
Free means no cost with no expiry. Freemium gives a limited plan free forever but charges for higher limits or key features. A free trial gives full access for a short window, after which you must pay. Many tools marketed as free are actually freemium or trial-based.
Which free Gantt chart tools include the critical path?
gantts.app includes automatic critical path for free, and GanttProject supports it on the desktop. In several commercial tools the critical path is reserved for paid tiers, so check before relying on it.