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Microsoft Project Server vs RationalPlan comparison

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Executive Summary

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
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Project Portfolio Management (5th)
RationalPlan
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.4
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Project Management Software (71st)
 

Featured Reviews

Mouloud Fourali - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
reviewer1976010 - PeerSpot reviewer
President at Jam Works LLC
Easy to understand with fair pricing and lots of unique features
We use the desktop version of RationalPlan, and It seems some desktop software has the ability to share a document as a web view. This would be a nice feature allowing us to share our plans with clients without needing additional software. This may be something that is offered in the RationalPlan cloud plan. However, it would be nice for the desktop version to have this ability to bring it one more step ahead of the competition. As a side note, RationalPlan does have a free viewer as well.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"One source of truth for project metrics, management, and financial reporting."
"I like the way you can build the schedule by the Don't Start Before or Don't Start After values. You can use it to build your schedule based on how you change your dates. This is how it actually builds the schedule."
"It has improved the structured PMO process and implementation in our organization."
"From my point of view, there are many features that are valuable for portfolio management, such as linking between company strategy and each project, resource management, overview of portfolio projects and their separate parameters for resources, budgeting and forecasting perspectives."
"The ability to look at the resource loading is most valuable."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is easy to understand and navigate."
"It's a great tool for helping us manage our project's plan."
"This provides an enterprise version and a centralized environment, where every project manager is contributing and we are getting clear visibility of the projects we are running."
"RationalPlan has been very helpful in planning projects and resources through our shop and in communicating with clients on project timelines."
"Support is top-notch whenever help is needed."
 

Cons

"The stability and performance in enterprise-grade farm implementations needs to be improved."
"Stability of the solution is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."
"We want to expand to the local level where we lack strong IT expertise, we are considering making it more user-friendly."
"Collaboration within the tool is lacking when you compare it to online or cloud-based tools."
"Resource management has room for improvement because it uses a lot of resources."
"When we started using this solution from scratch, we got lost. Microsoft should provide some templates for configurations for certain use cases."
"The initial setup is complex."
"I think they need more flexibility with licensing, because there are preconceived ideas that don't allow as much flexibility with the various licenses."
"We use the desktop version of RationalPlan, and It seems some desktop software has the ability to share a document as a web view. This would be a nice feature allowing us to share our plans with clients without needing additional software. This may be something that is offered in the RationalPlan cloud plan."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the pricing a one out of ten because the price is way too high."
"It is on the expensive side."
"Microsoft Project Server is relatively cheaper than other products."
"It has features that cannot be bought by other rivals, so cost does not matter."
"Microsoft Project Server is an expensive solution. Small businesses will not be able to afford it."
"I think they need more flexibility with licensing, because there are preconceived ideas that don't allow as much flexibility with the various licenses."
"A standard license is cheaper, but if you want more features, then there is a premium license or professional license."
"I cannot comment on the price as I was not responsible for purchasing the solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise33
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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.
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...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Project Server?
Today, the use cases for Microsoft Project Server are for office tasks, such as writing in Word processors, worksheets in Excel, Word processors with Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft ...
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Also Known As

MS Project Server
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Magnachip, Gwinnett County Schools, CLEAResult, Medbit Oy, Intelbras S.A., ETS, CORE Construction, Keller Foundations
James Cook University, NASA, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Teleflex, Garmin, University of Missouri, BEA, Eurocoating, Adidas Group, Termoemcali, Solid Power
Find out what your peers are saying about Broadcom, Planview, Planisware and others in Project Portfolio Management. Updated: October 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.