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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Forecast

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/AForecast.it is a project portfolio management solution built around features such as resource planning and time tracking, budget estimating, and analytics and reporting, with key third-party integrations.

    $29

    per seat (billed annually)

    Microsoft Project

    Score7.6 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Project is a project management software. It provides core PM functionality, including agile workflow support and resource management. Project can be deployed in the cloud or on-premise.

    $120

    per year per user

    Pricing
    ForecastMicrosoft Project
    Editions & Modules
    Lite (Annual subscription)
    $29
    per seat (billed annually)
    Pro (Annual subscription)
    $49
    per seat (billed anually)
    Enterprise
    Call us
    Project Server
    $0
    Planner Plan 1
    $10
    per month per user
    Planner and Project Plan 3
    $30
    per month per user
    Planner and Project Plan 5
    $55
    per month per user
    Project Standard 2024
    $679.99
    one-time fee per installation
    Project Professional 2024
    $1,129.99
    one-time fee per installation
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    ForecastMicrosoft Project
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Plans are billed annually.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    ForecastMicrosoft Project
    Considered Both Products
    Forecast
    No answer on this topic
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft Project
    We find that while MicroSoft Project appears to have a higher learning curve, the short investment in training provides a much richer and much more long lasting solution vs. some of the other web only scheduling tools. These are easy to get started, but quickly lack the depth …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    87%
    Would buy again
    41 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    42 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    44 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    34 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    89%
    Implementation went as expected
    34 Answers
    Features
    ForecastMicrosoft Project
    Project Management
    Comparison of Project Management features of Forecast and Microsoft Project
    Feature
    Forecast
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Project
    8.0
    111 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Task Management00 Ratings8.2110 Ratings
    Resource Management00 Ratings7.7107 Ratings
    Gantt Charts00 Ratings9.0107 Ratings
    Scheduling00 Ratings8.5109 Ratings
    Workflow Automation00 Ratings10.083 Ratings
    Team Collaboration00 Ratings7.298 Ratings
    Support for Agile Methodology00 Ratings4.383 Ratings
    Support for Waterfall Methodology00 Ratings7.883 Ratings
    Document Management00 Ratings9.077 Ratings
    Email integration00 Ratings5.082 Ratings
    Mobile Access00 Ratings10.067 Ratings
    Timesheet Tracking00 Ratings10.073 Ratings
    Change request and Case Management00 Ratings7.364 Ratings
    Budget and Expense Management00 Ratings7.486 Ratings
    Professional Services Automation
    Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Forecast and Microsoft Project
    Feature
    Forecast
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Project
    8.6
    79 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Quotes/estimates00 Ratings7.355 Ratings
    Invoicing00 Ratings10.045 Ratings
    Project & financial reporting00 Ratings7.276 Ratings
    Integration with accounting software00 Ratings10.050 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    ForecastMicrosoft Project
    Small Businesses
    Autotask PSA
    Score7.6 out of 10
    Any.do
    Score8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Workday Professional Services Automation
    Score8.2 out of 10
    KanbanFlow
    Score7.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Planview AdaptiveWork
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Microsoft To Do
    Score7.9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    ForecastMicrosoft Project
    Likelihood to Recommend
    1.0
    (3 ratings)
    8.2
    (111 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.7
    (9 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.2
    (34 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ForecastMicrosoft Project
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Forecast
    Forecast is well suited for tracking schedules, especially if it is only being controlled by a single department. When it comes to using Forecast in a larger ecosystem with more "cooks in the kitchen" it would be helpful to have the software more easily integrated with other software.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Project Online is suited to Turnkey Projects where more Collaboration is required in Project Progress monitoring, risk assessment and conveying, issue recording and tracking. It is less appropriate when ERP Suites other than MS Dynamics are used, i.e when Enterprises need to integrate Finance / Accounting with It and having straight project management workflow
    Read full review
    Pros
    Forecast
    • Assign and allocate resources.
    • Identify lean departments and identify areas to increase headcount.
    • Manage agile teams.
    • Identify bottlenecks in departments or resourcing.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • I love the Gantt Chart that Microsoft Project offers me, because it provides me with a view from various aspects, it provides me with exact details about the fulfillment of tasks over a period of time, it also allows me to make comparisons with the necessary data and the fulfilled data. by the employees, in order to know exactly if the project's expectations have been met.
    • I love the Gantt Chart that Microsoft Project offers me, because it provides me with a view from various aspects, it provides me with exact details about the fulfillment of tasks over a period of time, it also allows me to make comparisons with the necessary data and the fulfilled data by the employees, in order to know exactly if the project's expectations have been met.
    • The alert system for the fulfillment and delay of assignments is perfect. Microsoft Project allows me to configure the task system, I can assign the necessary tasks to fulfill the project, and the software alerts me immediately if the managers are fulfilling the assignments.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Forecast
    • Not as intuitive as its companion software, Harvest. This software takes longer to learn when on-boarding new staff. It is also difficult to view time notes without needing to physically open them up. This could be improved by expanding the "on hover" functionality. Personally, having spent as little time in workflow software is really important, as it gives me more time to code.
    • Because we use this software to plan schedules, items often fall through the cracks. I would like to see some more sophisticated syncing with not only Harvest but also with Asana.
    • Lack of integration with Asana. It would be nice to pull data from forecast and display it in Asana. This would be helpful for understanding how much time I have to spend on a project rather than bounce back and forth between web apps.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Seems overly complicated for users sometimes in using Project and its functionalities
    • Hard to share files for those folks who do not have MS Project, and then have to print out for them
    • Can be confusing since it looks and feels like MS Excel
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Forecast
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    I like using Microsoft Project. It simplifies building a schedule
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Forecast
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    Microsoft
    Project is easy to operate because data could be inserted, changed and
    deleted like you are in an Excel timesheet. Besides, it provides a great
    level of automation beween his fields allowing few data changes. Also, its
    funcionalities are well defined and grouped in upper menus, so you can find a
    funcionality quickly
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Forecast
    I have not needed support for Forecast.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft in recent years has transformed itself and gives a positive feeling when one interacts with the company. The company is focusing on its customers and willing to go extra mile to make customers happy.The company continues to invest in its products and bringing new features from time to time. Overall it is a positive feeling to be associated with such an iconic company.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Forecast
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    I wasn't part of it so I don't know
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Forecast
    I have not used any other scheduling software other than Forecast. The company selected Forecast because it is used in conjunction with Harvest. The pair of web apps can be used to pull detailed data. This is very important to our agency, and making data-driven decisions is exceptionally important to our agency mission.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    While many of the above tools are extremely well-versed, Microsoft Project's largest advantage comes from it being related to the largest business productivity company in the world. Project does have its sharing limitations - but regardless, offers one of the most robust tools in the market today. Microsoft Project is built with large-scale projects in mind but is more than up to the task for smaller projects as well. However, there are options available (especially cloud-based options) that may be more fitting for higher-level projects that do not require going into the weeds.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Forecast
    • Allow departments to run efficiently.
    • Quickly identify whether departments need to hire.
    • Easily visualize project gaps in resources.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Project saved me, as the project manager, countless hours of digging through tickets and schedules to plan everything out. It also saved me time in adjusting the project triangle as needed, since it does so much automatically.
    • It is costly, and since it requires extensive training to master, it's not just the high licensing cost that you need to take into account.
    • The reporting features - even just printing out Gantt charts - makes it far easier to communicate with stakeholders. That means less time for PMs doing all of this manually, and it means less follow-up questions and delays moving forward.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Forecast Screenshots

    Screenshot of Understand and know how to best utilize your capacityScreenshot of Easily plan and adjust workloads across the entire resource pool to prevent bottlenecks.Screenshot of Have everything in one place to groom the backlog, plan the sprint, and track the progress and velocity.Screenshot of Share real time reports with stakeholders to help them make important decisionsScreenshot of Understand the true cost of each projectProduct screenshot