Microsoft Project vs Planview Portfolios comparison

Microsoft and Planview are both solutions in the Project Management Software category. Additionally, 93% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Planview users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Project

Read 82 Microsoft Project reviews

3,711 Views
2,932 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Planview Portfolios

Read 63 Planview Portfolios reviews

1,988 Views
914 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Microsoft Project

Planview Portfolios

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Microsoft Project and Planview Portfolios based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Project Management Software solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

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

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Project vs. Planview Portfolios

July 2025

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Helped 861,490 peers since 2012

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

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Project Management Software (4th)

Planview Portfolios

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Enterprise Architecture Management (13th), Project Portfolio Management (7th)

Featured Reviews

Nurul Asyikin Wahab

Management Design Civil Structure at Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd

Efficient project management with robust data tracking and an easy setup

When I have too many elements or items in a project, it becomes cumbersome, especially during printing. Non-technical users do not need all the data, so it's primarily for technical personnel. Without guidance, it's challenging to use the app. With guidance and expert knowledge, it becomes manageable, however, it's not for non-technical teams. The worst part is handling too many items, like 1,000 items, which Microsoft Project struggles with, especially when printing. Printing on A3 size is quite burdensome, so I prefer viewing it on a tablet or computer. On a tablet or phone, I can see the full project elements depending on the screen size.

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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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I find the planning features the most valuable to me."

"The scheduling part of Microsoft Project is easy; if you change one of the dates, the rest of the dates automatically get changed based on the dependency."

"I find all the features of the solution valuable."

"It served the purpose. It was pretty user-friendly."

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Project is scheduling. The solution is useful on a daily basis."

"Microsoft Project is one of the only solutions you can use in just about any industry. It's difficult to do that with most other project management tools. There is a lot of flexibility within the product assets. Most sectors can utilize Microsoft Project successfully because it doesn't have any generic adapters."

"I like that I can change the task and include different resources related to the task."

"The solution is stable."

More Microsoft Project pros

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the completeness of the standard, underlying metamodel."

"The biggest impact for using Planview currently would be to understand the true costs of projects. We are trying to get to a point where not only do we take into account technical costs, but what the business cost is. Trying to integrate our business right now into Planview is helping us identify the true cost of the investments that we make so we can try and understand their value."

"In my opinion, the financial planning feature is the most valuable feature of Planview Enterprise One."

"The most valuable features are the resource management, the time sheet entry and usage, and the financial planning. With our projects, we primarily focus on resource assignments, as far as determining the actual forecast and actuals of our projects. A lot of it is based off of the resources utilized on those projects. The time based helps us capture the actuals. The amount of time people are spending on working on their project tasks. Because they've built this into the schedule, so we can build the forecast. With financial planning, we're able to look back on what our variance is and if there is anything between the scheduled forecasted hours, dollars against the actual hours, and the costs that they utilize."

"The sheer amount of information available in one single interface is valuable. Everything is there. It is also a lot of work to maintain all the information, but generally, you can find everything you need within this one tool."

"The resource management and assignment features are valuable. The timesheet management is also valuable because that is a requirement for us. So, the ability to see timesheet forecasting and timesheet actual submission from resources has been very useful and valuable to us."

"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."

"It has been effective for our delivery. It's given us much better visibility into what is being delivered and when."

More Planview Portfolios pros

Cons

"The Microsoft license is relatively expensive."

"Its reporting and its integration with some of the other related systems should be improved. It is not very easy to integrate."

"The online version of Microsoft Project lacks some functionality compared to the on-premises version."

"Its user experience can be improved while configuring it. Its reporting can also be better. Reporting is not very easy. Reports do not always work. I was trying to download some reports, and they didn't work. I don't know if it was related to the configuration that I was using. I didn't go too deep to check if something was missing."

"When I have too many elements or items in a project, it becomes cumbersome, especially during printing."

"I would like to see an entire baseline, like in JIRA."

"This solution needs more customization."

"The tool's deployment is complex. Integration and automation also need to be improved."

More Microsoft Project cons

"We do have some significant issues with our integrations that we're working through. Those are not as stable or reliable as what we would like."

"The solution out-of-the-box that we established was insufficient. We had to purchase and set up OData. I don't believe that it's a great solution out-of-the-box but eventually you can get 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."

"When I started working with Planview, I didn't know anything about project or resource management. I had to learn everything: the admin side, then the user side of it. Probably, in the beginning, I would implement in the blueprint or workshops more demos. A live demo of how the system works because we would like a little deeper dive in how the application works for us to understand what we need to provide, what we are doing, what we will be doing. Because in the beginning, it was so overwhelming, and we didn't know anything about the tool."

"I think some of the administrative aspects of it could be a little easier, especially when it comes to designing reports. The reporting coming out of it could be a little bit better."

"The UI needs improvement. The UI should have more possibilities for users who are not specialized in using Planview. At the moment, it is more of a technical UI. I would like it to be an open user UI."

"I would like a bit more flexibility, as far as the configuration, and have additional capabilities to configure, making it more flexible for our use."

"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."

More Planview Portfolios cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe the licensing for the solution is based on an annual fee."

"I do not have personal experience with pricing or licensing of this product."

"The solution is less expensive than other options."

"We purchase perpetual licenses due to the high cost of subscriptions, which are about 1,000 Australian dollars."

"I rate Microsoft Project's pricing a five out of ten."

"The cost for an on-premises-based license is a one-time fee, and the cloud-based is an annual payment plan."

"I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten."

"Licensing costs vary depending on the user volume. The pricing is good, I'd rate it four out of five."

More Microsoft Project pricing and cost advice

"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."

"Our licensing fees are approximately $50,000 USD annually."

"We are on the Flex licenses."

"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."

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

"We have several hundred licenses. It costs us several hundred thousand dollars a year."

"Planview is a little pricey. From a licensing perspective, for just a simple timesheet user who does nothing in the system but reports time, the licensing is a little pricey, but you have to look at it from what it is that you get. We have 6,000 users, and I don't manage the system at all. I just have to do add them to the system. The servers, maintenance, OS levels, security patching for the OS, and all other things are not something that we maintain. So, you have to look at it from an operational perspective. It is not just the product itself. A holistic view has to be taken when you look at the product and how you're going to support it. I would have to hire an entire operation staff to bring it in-house, and at the end of the day, that might cost me more."

"We recently did a new bundle for all of Enterprise One. It includes some of the newer pieces, like Projectplace and LeanKit. It bundled our CTM in with it as well. I think the total came out to be about $900,000 a year. This is for unlimited licenses."

More Planview Portfolios pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

28%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Government

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Has anyone moved from Microsoft Project to Smartsheet? How has your experience been with Smartsheet?

Hi @Eire Zimmermann, I helped an organization evaluate both MS-Project and Smartsheet when they were conducting their PM tool RFP. The short of it is this, MS Project is not caught up with the mo...

See all answers

What do you like most about Microsoft Project?

The product's initial setup phase is easy.

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

I'm not aware of the price as we use organization-wide licenses.

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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Compared 19% of the time

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Compared 10% of the time

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SAP Portfolio and Project Management vs Microsoft Project

Compared 7% of the time

Planview ProjectPlace vs Microsoft Project

Compared 3% of the time

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Broadcom Clarity vs Planview Portfolios

Compared 13% of the time

LeanIX vs Planview Portfolios

Compared 9% of the time

Planisware vs Planview Portfolios

Compared 7% of the time

Planview PPM Pro vs Planview Portfolios

Compared 7% of the time

Smartsheet vs Planview Portfolios

Compared 5% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Project

June 2025

Download Microsoft Project product report

Buyer's Guide

Planview Portfolios

June 2025

Download Planview Portfolios product report

Also Known As

Project Pro, MS Project

Planview Enterprise One, Troux

Overview

Microsoft Project helps you get started quickly and execute projects with ease. Built-in templates and familiar scheduling tools help project managers and teams stay productive.

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

Aston Martin, ABANCA, Airbus Group, Capita, Cardiff University, City of Saskatoon, Intel, Pegasus Airlines, South Australia Power Network (SAPN), Israeli Ministry of Construction and Housing

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

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Project vs. Planview Portfolios

July 2025

Free Report: Microsoft Project vs. Planview Portfolios

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Project vs. Planview Portfolios and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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