Microsoft Project Server vs Planview Portfolios comparison

Microsoft and Planview are both solutions in the Project Portfolio Management category. Microsoft is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.1, while Planview is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.5. Microsoft holds a 5.9% mindshare in PPM, compared to Planview’s 7.6% mindshare. Additionally, 87% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Planview users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Project Server

Read 62 Microsoft Project Server reviews

1,409 Views
719 Comparison Views

87% willing to recommend

Planview Portfolios

Read 63 Planview Portfolios reviews

1,944 Views
875 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Microsoft Project Server

Planview Portfolios

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Planview Portfolios and Microsoft Project Server both operate in the project management space. Planview Portfolios appears to be favored for its extensive portfolio management capabilities, while Microsoft Project Server stands out for its ease of use and scheduling strength.

Features: Planview Portfolios is recognized for its robust resource planning, project execution, and strategic alignment capabilities, with strong customization and integration with tools like Power BI. It's particularly suitable for large-scale projects requiring detailed resource and financial management. Microsoft Project Server is appreciated for its scheduling capabilities and seamless integration with other Microsoft products, offering a familiar environment for Microsoft ecosystem users. It helps significantly in planning and task management with its straightforward user experience.

Room for Improvement: Planview Portfolios needs better support for visualization enhancements, more straightforward customization options for reporting, and integration with other agile tools. Users also desire enhancement in its support framework. Microsoft Project Server could improve its collaboration features and integration with modern technologies, alongside improvements in the user interface and resource management capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Planview Portfolios offers multiple cloud deployment options, although setup complexity can vary. Some users report inconsistent customer service, experiencing challenges in obtaining immediate assistance. Microsoft Project Server predominantly offers on-premises deployment with limited cloud options, providing robust support documentation but facing some integration issues. Users find contacting customer service straightforward, although resolution speed could be improved.

Pricing and ROI: Planview Portfolios is considered costly but offers substantial ROI through enhanced resource management and strategic alignment, with licensing options like FLEX for adaptable needs. Opinions on its cost-effectiveness are mixed. Microsoft Project Server's pricing is perceived as high for its capabilities, particularly due to its seamless integration with the Microsoft platform. It may be cost-prohibitive for smaller businesses despite its robust features. Planview's pricing aligns with its feature set and ROI, whereas Microsoft’s pricing is competitive, primarily benefiting from integration advantages.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Project Server vs. Planview Portfolios Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Project Server vs. Planview Portfolios

July 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Project Server

Ranking in Project Portfolio Management

5th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Planview Portfolios

Ranking in Project Portfolio Management

7th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Architecture Management (13th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Project Portfolio Management category, the mindshare of Microsoft Project Server is 5.9%, down from 8.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Planview Portfolios is 7.6%, up from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Project Portfolio Management

Featured Reviews

Mouloud Fourali

Project Manager at Digital Research Alliance of Canada

Visual project planning enhances collaboration and proactive management

The dependency management in Microsoft Project is highly valuable, as it visually maps dependencies and impacts within a project plan. The online version facilitates easy collaboration without having to share multiple versions of the file. The Gantt chart is also a very powerful tool for a visual presentation of sequences, critical paths, and execution processes, which simplifies comprehension for users.

Read full review

EduardoMaya

Project Office Manager at Hoteles City Express

A solution that gives you all the information you need to plan detailed projects

The initial setup was just a little complex. I rate the initial setup a seven out of ten. Deploying the solution took two weeks. While deploying the solution, we had two instances, one for the IT team and one for the business team. And we had to connect the two and explain things to the team. Only two people were needed to deploy the solution, me and another person.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is easy to understand and navigate."

"It is well-established, reliable, and compatible."

"A single place for all our organisation's project records."

"The most useful feature of Microsoft Project Server is you can select a function to see the baseline."

"This is a scalable solution. It is easy to set up and to add clusters to your environment."

"Using Power BI and SQL Server, I can extract a lot more data."

"Deliverables List: Most useful to enable meaningful status reporting at an enterprise level."

"We use the tool in our IT-related projects. All IT efforts are managed using the Microsoft Project Server. Every week, we have a project status meeting where we demonstrate the project's status using the tool. We track tasks and progress, assign owners, and monitor milestones and all project-related work using it."

More Microsoft Project Server pros

"The overall interface is very easy to use. It puts together strategy and execution across all your investments."

"We can easily see which functions are overcapacity. Before, we did not have visibility into that."

"It gives us flexibility in configuring assignments. We can do both Agile Teams and non-Agile Teams. This flexibility affects our ability to meet our company's particular needs by allowing us to work in a hybrid model, some Agile Teams, and some non-Agile Teams."

"Enterprise One provides end-to-end work management for the full spectrum of types of work in one tool."

"The biggest impact has been the visibility into our IT assets."

"I would say it works really well for forecasting remaining effort, especially in terms of forecasting the dollar amounts. We've gotten pretty good at adjusting rates because we have a lot of contract workers."

"It has helped improve governance, mostly. People want to know where their money's going. Projects sponsors need to know what we're spending money on and what our burn rate is. Planview can give that to you straightaway."

"Its view into resource capacity and availability helps us to manage work. In reporting, we use this facility to help with resource capacity and availability. It also helps to see how much we are using. We derive that information from the work and resource management screen. That is very helpful."

More Planview Portfolios pros

Cons

"It has to be more user-friendly. For instance, there should be some assistance, like when you go to certain sites, people pop up and say, "Can we help you? What are you looking for?" It's not interactive enough."

"It should be more agile and more flexible when it comes to customization."

"Microsoft Project Server's user interface is pretty average, and sometimes it can have bugs."

"The price of the solution could be reduced."

"The solution could have more compact dashboards, such as one finds with Planview."

"Microsoft doesn't always have all the answers, and they rely more on communities. Their support tends to decline when not supporting cloud solutions, and there is often an attempt to upsell alternate products rather than solve problems."

"When we started using this solution from scratch, we got lost. Microsoft should provide some templates for configurations for certain use cases."

"It is not updated in real-time. Sometimes it, therefore, is not accurate."

More Microsoft Project Server cons

"We don't use the Progression feature. We will use it at some point in time. Until then, we want to have a way to set time to help decide what's in the past, present, and future. It is one of the things we've been discussing with Planview."

"It would be great to see Planview incorporate agile interfacing/methods in it. Like CA Clarity and other leading PPM tools – Planview should enhance or develop the interfaces to ingrate with other market leading Agile tools."

"Its ability to create summary reports across multiple projects is very limited. In terms of the out-of-the-box reporting for summary reports, the reporting that we typically leverage is around forecasting for resources, timesheets, and actuals, and just looking at what is the capacity. There is no real summary of what work is being done and how work is being accomplished. So, what we typically do is that we get a copy of the data files from Enterprise One daily, and then we have a team that manages the data mod outside of Enterprise One. They use data from Enterprise One as well as other additional sources to provide the reporting that we share with the management. So, we leverage a lot of Enterprise One data for reporting, but we don't use the reporting capabilities within Enterprise One. So, reporting can be improved, and they could help us make more customized reporting. I know it is very configurable out of the box, but we have to leverage an outside data mod that pulls in a lot of data from Enterprise One. So, the reporting function, and being able to customize reports, is the area that could be very beneficial."

"There can be improvement on the sense of urgency because a lot of times we've exhausted everything that we can, and now, we're reaching out. So, it isn't a, "Well, have you tried to reboot this?" We've already done everything. Once we put in a ticket, there should be more of a sense of urgency on it."

"The reporting capability and access to the fields for our system administrators to have access to the data without having to pay Enterprise One to get the data that's needed to create custom reports for management to create reports need improvement."

"Some of the out-of-the-box reporting is not immediately useful and although it can be configured or customized, there are still improvements that can be made."

"The resource area needs improvement. The improvements that have been made recently in the later versions have been good improvements, but I think there are some more improvements needed there."

"The out-of-the-box reports, as far as I can tell, are weak. We've had to build a lot of reports using Power BI, which we connected to it."

More Planview Portfolios cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I think they need more flexibility with licensing, because there are preconceived ideas that don't allow as much flexibility with the various licenses."

"There is a licensing cost."

"It is on the expensive side."

"It has features that cannot be bought by other rivals, so cost does not matter."

"There is an annual license required for this solution."

"There are some payments related to the licensing cost of Microsoft Project Server."

"The technical assistance is expensive but the solution is an open source software."

"I rate the pricing a one out of ten because the price is way too high."

More Microsoft Project Server pricing and cost advice

"The licensing part is a bit costly in comparison with the other available PPM tools."

"We have unlimited licenses for all of our functionalities. Since we went global, we went with that model."

"I don't think we have necessarily purchased everything that I would have liked to have seen."

"With the costs, they were very understanding. Knowing that we were an existing customer, they were very much willing to work with us to make sure that we were able to transition to Enterprise One from PPM Pro."

"We have portfolio managers, resource managers, project managers, and time reporting licenses. These are the licenses that we have."

"The cost of other pieces and integrating them in needs improvement."

"When we went through that process, I believe it is competitive with others on the market. However, there are less expensive options available. It's a more premium offering at a higher price."

"We overbought our licenses. We looked at our needs three to four years down the road and tried based our contract on that. However, we were over aggressive. We use about a third of the licenses that we have. We're looking to adjust the makeup so we can start utilizing the amount of money that we are spending. Right now, we're overspending, and my organization is not seeing the value in Planview because we are paying so much for licenses that we're not using."

More Planview Portfolios pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Government

Energy/Utilities Company

Computer Software Company

14%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Project Server?

The ability to track a project's progress using Microsoft Project Server is the most valuable aspect. It depends, especially when managing multiple projects.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Project Server?

The pricing for Microsoft Project Server is standard, around $200-$250, but I think it's actually $80 to $100 per year. The pricing for Microsoft Project Server is relative; I would say it is cheap.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Project Server?

In order to improve Microsoft Project Server, collaborative features could be enhanced, as it is possible to improve it in a collaborative way similar to other office products, for example, using c...

See all answers

What do you like most about Planview Portfolios?

Planview Management integrates seamlessly with other tools and systems used within the organization, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, customer relationship management (CRM) syst...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Planview Portfolios?

Planview Portfolios is not too expensive. You get what you paid for.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Planview Portfolios?

Enhancements are needed in: Advanced reporting and analytics: While Planview Management provides robust reporting and analytics capabilities, further enhancements could include more advanced data v...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Planisware vs Microsoft Project Server

Compared 9% of the time

Smartsheet vs Microsoft Project Server

Compared 7% of the time

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Compared 12% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

Planisware vs Planview Portfolios

Compared 7% of the time

SAP Portfolio and Project Management vs Planview Portfolios

Compared 6% of the time

Planview ProjectPlace vs Planview Portfolios

Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Project Server

August 2025

Download Microsoft Project Server product report

Buyer's Guide

Planview Portfolios

August 2025

Download Planview Portfolios product report

Also Known As

MS Project Server

Planview Enterprise One, Troux

Overview

Microsoft Project Server facilitates project portfolio management and everyday collaboration, enhancing decision-making processes. Its integration with SharePoint offers a flexible solution for enterprise project management, catering to complex project needs seamlessly.

Microsoft Project Server empowers project teams and managers with enhanced communication and comprehensive project visibility. It supports dynamic resource allocation, financial tracking, and risk assessment. A cloud-ready platform, it simplifies deployment and scalability, suitable for diverse project environments and needs robust integration with leading productivity tools and services.

What are the key features of Microsoft Project Server?

Resource Management: Allocate and track resources efficiently to optimize productivity.
Portfolio Analysis: Assess and prioritize projects based on strategic alignment and constraints.
Time Reporting: Streamline time tracking and reporting for accurate project insights.
Integration with Office: Seamlessly connects with Microsoft Office applications for enhanced productivity.
Security and Compliance: Ensures data security with customizable permissions and compliance standards.

What benefits can users expect from Microsoft Project Server?

Enhanced Collaboration: Facilitates communication and collaboration among project teams.
Improved Decision Making: Offers comprehensive data analytics for strategic planning.
Efficiency Gains: Streamlines project management workflows for increased productivity.
Cost Management: Enables effective budget tracking and financial control.

Industries such as construction, IT services, and pharmaceuticals leverage Microsoft Project Server for managing large-scale projects with precision. Its adaptability to different industry standards ensures specific project requirements are met while maintaining operational control and regulatory compliance.

Microsoft

Planview Portfolios offers a comprehensive platform for managing IT, project and resource management, along with strategic planning. The tool focuses on optimizing resource allocation and financial analysis, supporting global operations.

Organizations use Planview Portfolios to streamline project tracking from inception to completion, enhancing strategic alignment with corporate objectives. The tool integrates with platforms like JIRA to provide seamless workflows and supports critical business processes, including budgeting and capacity planning. Teams benefit from customized configurations and robust reporting, further supporting effective decision-making. Despite its strengths, improvements are sought in navigation, documentation, and integration capabilities.

What are the key features?

Customizable interface: Allows personalization to meet specific needs.
Comprehensive resource and financial management: Enables detailed tracking and analysis.
Robust reporting: Provides extensive data insights.
Integration with Power BI: Enhances data access for stakeholders.
Resource and capacity planning: Optimizes workforce allocation.

What benefits should users expect?

Improved strategic alignment: Supports better decision-making.
Increased operational efficiency: Streamlines project management.
Enhanced resource optimization: Ensures optimal use of workforce.
Better financial insights: Allows precise budget tracking.

In industries like IT and project management, Planview Portfolios supports complex portfolio handling, ensuring visibility across global operations. Companies in these sectors leverage its strategic planning tools for strategic alignment and resource management, integrating with existing systems for improved process efficiency.

Planview

Sample Customers

Magnachip, Gwinnett County Schools, CLEAResult, Medbit Oy, Intelbras S.A., ETS, CORE Construction, Keller Foundations

UPS, NatWest, Ingram Micro, Canadian Tire, Viessmann, Volvo, NASCO, UNESCO

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Project Server vs. Planview Portfolios

July 2025

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