The biggest difference
Spreadsheets can track a project — plenty of real projects run entirely in Excel or Google Sheets, and most teams still plan this way. What a spreadsheet can't do on its own is notice when something's wrong. A formula can flag an overdue date if someone builds and maintains it; it won't reschedule the three tasks that depend on the one you just moved. SimpleGantt does that automatically: move a task, and everything connected to it shifts with it, no formula to maintain.
The real cost of a spreadsheet plan isn't the price, it's the maintenance. Every dependency, every status flag, every “is this still on schedule” answer is something a person built once and now has to keep correct by hand, in a file that gets emailed around and forked into a dozen versions. SimpleGantt is the one live version everyone already has open.
Which should you choose?
Choose SimpleGantt if you want:
- ✅Dependencies that reschedule themselves, not formulas you maintain
- ✅One live schedule instead of emailed file versions
- ✅A status that's computed, not a conditional-formatting rule someone has to keep working
- ✅A deadline that tells you early, not a cell that just sits there
Choose a spreadsheet if you want:
- ✅A tool your whole team already knows how to use
- ✅Full control over exactly how the data is structured
- ✅Something lightweight for work that isn't really a schedule
- ✅No new tool to adopt for a short-lived or simple list of tasks
Pricing
SimpleGantt
- ✓Free plan that never expires (1 project, 10 users, 50 tasks, no credit card)
- ✓Premium: $8/month flat — unlimited users, unlimited tasks, 20 projects
- ✓Enterprise: $75/month flat — unlimited projects, users and tasks
Excel / Google Sheets
- •Google Sheets: free with a Google account
- •Excel: included if you already pay for Microsoft 365, otherwise a standalone cost
- •No per-project or per-user fee from either, but no built-in mechanism for dependencies, status, or deadline forecasting — that has to be built and maintained by someone, indefinitely
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SimpleGantt a replacement for Excel or Google Sheets?
For scheduling work with real dependencies and a deadline, yes. For general data tracking, budgets, or anything that isn't really a schedule, a spreadsheet is still the right tool — SimpleGantt isn't trying to replace every use of a spreadsheet, just the project-planning one.
Can Excel do what SimpleGantt does?
Mostly, with enough formulas and upkeep. You can build conditional formatting that flags overdue dates and chart a rough timeline. What it won't do is reschedule dependent tasks automatically when one date moves — that's manual in a spreadsheet, automatic in SimpleGantt.
Why switch if my spreadsheet already works?
Most teams don't switch because the spreadsheet broke. They switch because tasks started depending on each other and nobody trusted the sheet to show that accurately anymore.
Can I import my existing plan from Excel?
Yes — paste your tasks directly from Excel or Google Sheets and SimpleGantt creates them in bulk.
Can I export my plan from SimpleGantt back to a spreadsheet?
Not yet — no CSV, PDF or PNG export today. It's on our roadmap.
Ready to try SimpleGantt?
Paste your tasks in from a spreadsheet and get dependencies that reschedule themselves. Free to start — no credit card required.
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