Microsoft Project has never really been a Mac app. There's no native macOS version — you're stuck with the browser edition, a Windows VM, or a paid subscription per seat. If you work on a Mac and just want to plan a project properly, that's a poor deal.
Plan4Projects is a free, native Mac app built to fill that gap. It does the core of what Microsoft Project does — critical-path (CPM) scheduling, task dependencies, resources, baselines, cost — opens and reads Microsoft Project .mpp files, and exports Project XML that Project opens back natively. And it adds the thing most planners miss: a way to schedule people across multiple jobs at once.
How Plan4Projects compares
| Plan4Projects | Microsoft Project | ProjectLibre | Merlin Project | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | From ~$10–30 / user / mo | Free (open source) | Paid subscription |
| Native Mac app | Yes (universal) | No — web or VM | No — Java | Yes |
| Opens .mpp files | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Critical path (CPM) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works offline, no account | Yes | No | Yes | Partly |
| Team / engineer scheduling across jobs | Yes | Enterprise only | Limited | Per project |
| Cross-job clash detection | Yes | No | No | No |
Microsoft Project is the more powerful enterprise tool, and Merlin Project is a polished paid Mac app. Plan4Projects wins where it counts for most people: it's free, it's genuinely native, it opens your existing plans, and it schedules your people — not just your tasks.
The part Microsoft Project doesn't do: plan your people across jobs
If you run a team that works across multiple sites — installers, field engineers, contractors — the hardest part isn't the Gantt chart, it's knowing who is where. Plan4Projects has an Engineer Planner: every person, every job, on one weekly board. Book someone onto a job for a date range and it writes straight into that job's plan and cost. If you double-book the same person on two sites the same day, it flags in red before it costs you. Then send each person their week straight to their phone calendar.
Why it's a genuine alternative
- It opens your existing files. Import Microsoft Project
.mppfiles (and ~20 other formats), and export Project XML that Project reads back. - Real scheduling, not a to-do list. A full critical-path engine — four dependency types with lag, seven constraint types, resource leveling, multiple baselines and earned-value tracking.
- Native and fast. A universal app for Apple Silicon and Intel, signed and notarized by Apple. No browser tab, no VM, no Java runtime to babysit.
- No account, no subscription. Download it, open it, plan. Your files stay on your Mac.
Questions
Is it really free?
Yes — free to download and use, no account and no subscription. There's an optional tip jar if you'd like to support it, but nothing is gated.
Can it open my Microsoft Project files?
Yes. Plan4Projects reads .mpp files from Project 98 through 2019+, plus about 20 other formats, and exports Microsoft Project XML (MSPDI) that Project opens natively.
Does it work offline?
Completely. It's a native app that runs entirely on your Mac — no login, no cloud requirement. Your project files never leave your machine unless you choose to share them.
Which Macs does it run on?
Any Mac on macOS 10.15 or later — a single universal build runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel.
Try it — it's free.
A native Mac project planner that opens your Microsoft Project files and plans your whole team.
Download free for Mac