Microsoft Project for Mac: how to run it, and free alternatives
No Microsoft Project for Mac? Run it with Parallels or a cloud PC, open .mpp files in a free Mac app, or switch. What each way costs and who it suits.
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There’s no Microsoft Project for Mac: the desktop app runs only on Windows. Microsoft’s web version is now Planner, which works in any Mac browser but can’t open .mpp files. To run the real app, use Parallels on your Mac or a Windows PC in the cloud. To just read an .mpp file, a free Mac app is enough.
This guide is for owners, office managers and project leads on a Mac who were sent an .mpp file or told to “just get Project.” If a general contractor (GC) sends you their schedule to follow, you probably only need to read it, and that’s free. Below: what each route costs, who it suits, and free alternatives. If your crew mostly needs to see who’s doing what by when, GoodTaco’s project management template does that in any browser. A plan in Excel can come in through our spreadsheet to app upload, and one in a Google Sheet can stay there: see Google Sheets project management.
How we researched this: we checked every plan name, price and product detail on Microsoft’s own pages and each vendor’s site in October 2026. Prices are US list prices and change often; Parallels had a sale on when we checked, so we quote its regular price. We make GoodTaco, so its entries are labeled.
Is there a Microsoft Project for Mac?
No. Microsoft Project, often called MS Project, runs only on Windows. Microsoft lists Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019 for Project Standard 2024, and nothing for macOS (Microsoft Store). The subscription version is the same Windows app.
Microsoft reshuffled the lineup in 2025 and 2026, so older guides are out of date. Here’s what’s current as of October 2026:
| Product | On a Mac | Price (US) |
|---|---|---|
| Planner (comes with Microsoft 365) | Yes, in a browser | Included in business plans from Business Basic, $7/user/month paid yearly |
| Planner Plan 1 | Yes, in a browser | $10/user/month, paid yearly |
| Planner and Project Plan 3 | Planner in a browser; the Project desktop app on up to 5 Windows PCs | $30/user/month, paid yearly |
| Project Standard 2024 | No, Windows only | $679.99 one time, for one PC |
| Project Professional 2024 | No, Windows only | $1,129.99 one time, for one PC |
| Project for the web | Retired August 2025, moved into Planner | No longer sold |
| Project Online | Retired September 30, 2026 | No longer sold |
Sources: Planner pricing, Project 2024 pricing, Microsoft 365 business plans, Microsoft Learn on Project for the web, and Microsoft’s Planner blog on Project Online, whose retirement doesn’t affect Project desktop or Planner.
Boot Camp, the workaround in older guides, doesn’t help on a new Mac. It needs a Mac with an Intel processor, and Apple’s instructions cover Windows 10 (Apple support), which Microsoft stopped supporting on October 14, 2025 (Microsoft support).
How can you use Microsoft Project on a Mac?
Three routes run the real Windows app: Parallels on your Mac, a Windows PC in the cloud, or a Windows PC you already own. The others let you read .mpp files, or plan without Project.
| Option | Cost to start | Runs the Project desktop app | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planner in a browser | Included with Microsoft 365 business plans; Timeline (Gantt) from $10/user/month, paid yearly | No, and it can’t open .mpp files | Teams on Microsoft 365 that want a shared plan with a Gantt view |
| Parallels Desktop (Windows on your Mac) | $99.99/year, plus $199.99 for Windows 11 Pro, plus Project | Yes; test your plans first | One scheduler who builds .mpp files for owners or GCs |
| Windows 365 (a Windows PC in the cloud) | $36/user/month, plus Project | Yes | Businesses already on Microsoft 365 |
| A Windows PC you already own | Project only; Windows App is free | Yes | Offices that still have a Windows PC |
| A Mac app that opens .mpp files | Free to view, or to edit in ProjectLibre or GanttProject; Project Viewer 365’s editor from $129.99/year | No | Reading a GC’s schedule, or adjusting plans others send |
| A shared project tracker, such as GoodTaco (our product) | Free to start; Pro $49 a month includes 10 users | No | Crews that need who’s doing what by when, not a Gantt chart |
Who needs a Project license? Only the people who open and change the plan in Project itself: Microsoft licenses it per user. Everyone else can read the schedule as a PDF or in a free viewer. Here’s what one person pays with Planner and Project Plan 3, at $360 a year:
| Route | First year | Each year after |
|---|---|---|
| Parallels + Windows 11 Pro + Plan 3 | $659.98 | $459.99 |
| VMware Fusion + Windows 11 Pro + Plan 3 | $559.99 | $360 |
| Windows 365 + Plan 3 | $792 | $792 |
| A Windows PC you already own + Plan 3 | $360 | $360 |
| Project Viewer 365, to edit | $129.99 | $129.99 |
| Project Viewer 365 to view, ProjectLibre or GanttProject | $0 | $0 |
Project Standard 2024 is $679.99 once, for one PC: less than two years of Plan 3.
If you only need to read a GC’s schedule, skip to opening an .mpp file. If nobody edits .mpp files, see the free alternatives.
Can you use Microsoft Project in a browser on a Mac?
Yes, as Planner. Microsoft retired Project for the web and moved its users to Planner for the web, with premium plans carried over and no change in licensing (Planner FAQ). Planner runs in a web browser and in Teams, so it works on a Mac. What you get depends on your license:
- Planner in Microsoft 365 comes with business plans such as Business Basic, at $7 per user a month, paid yearly. It has grid, board, schedule and chart views, and shows links between tasks but can’t create them.
- Planner Plan 1, at $10 per user a month, paid yearly, adds the Timeline (Gantt) view, tasks that wait for another to finish, milestones, and sprints. The one-month free trial needs a credit card.
- Planner and Project Plan 3, at $30 per user a month, paid yearly, adds baselines (your original dates, saved to compare), the critical path (the chain of tasks that sets the finish date), and gaps or overlaps between linked tasks, plus the Project desktop app for Windows (Planner pricing).
The catches: Planner itself can’t import a plan made in Project desktop (an .mpp file), according to Microsoft’s FAQ. A premium plan holds up to 3,000 tasks, and you can export any plan to Excel (Microsoft support). On an iPhone, Microsoft’s free Planner app creates plans and assigns tasks, with a work or school account (App Store).
Who it suits: teams already on Microsoft 365 that want a shared plan with a Gantt view, and don’t trade .mpp files with anyone.
How do you run Microsoft Project on a Mac with Parallels?
A virtual machine runs Windows 11 in a window on your Mac, and Project runs inside it. It’s the real Windows app, so .mpp files open, save and go back to clients as they came.
On a Mac with an Apple chip, Windows 11 runs in its Arm version. Microsoft’s support page lists Parallels Desktop as an authorized way to run it on M1, M2 and M3 Macs (Microsoft support), and Parallels says its current versions handle M4 and M5 Macs too (Parallels). Windows 11 Pro is a separate license.
What it costs: Parallels Desktop Standard Edition is $99.99 a year at its regular price; it was on sale for $54.99 when we checked (Parallels). Add Windows 11 Pro at $199.99 (Microsoft Store) and a Project license.
A free option: VMware Fusion has been free for business and personal use since November 2024 (VMware), and it runs Windows 11 for Arm on Apple silicon Macs. Free users don’t get support from Broadcom, VMware’s owner (VMware FAQ), and Microsoft’s guidance names only Parallels.
How to set it up:
- Install Parallels Desktop. There’s a 14-day free trial (Parallels).
- Let Parallels download and install Windows 11.
- In Windows, go to microsoft365.com and sign in with the account tied to your Project license: your work account for Planner and Project Plan 3, or the Microsoft account you used for Project 2024. Then install Project (Microsoft support).
- Put your .mpp files in a folder that both macOS and Windows can see, and open one.
Test your own plans during the trial. Project isn’t on Microsoft’s list of apps with native versions for these chips; apps without one run through emulation, which translates them as they run (Microsoft support). Open a big schedule, print a report and save a file back before you pay.
Who it suits: an estimator or project manager who builds the .mpp schedule for owners or GCs, and can look after a Windows install. If someone also handed you an Access database, the same setup runs it; see Microsoft Access for Mac.
Can you use Microsoft Project through a cloud PC or Remote Desktop?
Yes. Project runs on a Windows PC somewhere else, and your Mac shows its screen through Microsoft’s free Windows App, which needs macOS 14 or later (Mac App Store).
A Windows PC in the cloud: Windows 365
- Price: Windows 365 Business starts at $36 per user a month, billed monthly, for 2 virtual processors, 8 GB of memory and 128 GB of storage. The 30-day free trial needs a credit card (Windows 365 pricing).
- What you need: your own Project license; it doesn’t come with the Cloud PC.
- Suits: businesses on Microsoft 365 that need Project for one or two people, without Windows on each Mac. It costs more each year than Parallels.
A Windows PC you already own
- Simplest: install Project on that PC and use it there. Project 2024 runs on Windows 11 or 10, and Plan 3 installs on up to 5 PCs per person.
- From your Mac: if the PC runs Windows 11 Pro, open Settings > System > Remote Desktop on it and turn it on, then add the PC’s name in Windows App on your Mac (Microsoft support).
- Suits: offices with a spare Windows PC. For Remote Desktop it has to stay on, and reaching it from outside the office may need help from whoever set up your network.
How do you open an .mpp file on a Mac?
To read a GC’s schedule, a Mac app is cheaper than Windows plus Project:
- Project Viewer 365 is free on the Mac App Store and shows .mpp files from Project 2003 to 2024 in Gantt, task sheet and resource sheet views. More views and PDF printing cost $19.99 a year, and editing starts at $129.99 a year. It needs macOS 12 or later (Mac App Store). Housatonic, its maker, also sells Project Plan 365, which opens, edits and saves .mpp files (Project Plan 365).
- ProjectLibre is a free, open-source desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux, with Gantt charts, dependencies and critical path. Its makers say the desktop app opens Microsoft Project files directly (ProjectLibre Desktop). Check that links between tasks came through before you rely on the dates.
- GanttProject is free, runs on macOS, and reads MPP, MPX and XML files from Project (GanttProject).
- OmniPlan is a Mac, iPad and iPhone scheduler with Gantt charts, dependencies, critical path and resource leveling (OmniPlan features). Opening .mpp files is a Pro feature: $199.99 a year as a subscription that includes Pro, or $399.99 for a one-time Pro license, after a 14-day trial (OmniPlan pricing).
Or ask whoever sent the file. Project saves a plan as a PDF, or as an Excel workbook you can open in Excel for Mac. In Project, choose File > Save As, pick Excel as the file type, and follow the Export Wizard. On its mapping page, Base on Table brings over the columns of the task table you pick (Microsoft support).
What are the free alternatives to Microsoft Project for Mac?
ProjectLibre and GanttProject are the free alternatives to Microsoft Project for Mac: desktop apps with Gantt charts that open .mpp files (see above). There’s no free version of Project itself, and OmniPlan and Planner Plan 1, at $10 per user a month paid yearly, are paid. If your team mostly needs to see who’s doing what by when, not a schedule, a shared plan is simpler:
- Planner comes with Microsoft 365 business plans and runs in any browser.
- Smartsheet is a spreadsheet-style grid with Gantt charts and dependencies, and it imports plans from Microsoft Project (Smartsheet). See Smartsheet alternatives.
- Airtable is a database that looks like a spreadsheet, good for jobs, clients and tasks that link to each other; see Airtable alternatives.
- A spreadsheet in Excel for Mac or Google Sheets, with a row per task and columns for job, owner, due date and status. It’s free and familiar, but nobody’s warned when a task slips.
- A project tracker app built for your crew, such as GoodTaco’s project management template, below.
Turn your Project plan into an app that works on a Mac
The GC’s schedule tells you when your crew is on site; keep reading it in a viewer. What lands on your desk is your own jobs: what’s done, what’s late, and what the client still owes you, like a tile pick. GoodTaco’s project management template keeps those jobs in one app that opens on your Mac, a PC or a phone’s browser. Every project has a client summary: what’s done, what’s next and what you need from the client, without who’s doing what, your notes or your costs. Copy it into an email, or print it.
The template is a working app with sample records from a four-person remodeling company running five jobs: kitchen, bathroom, deck and basement remodels, plus a dental office fit-out. Rename the jobs, clients and people, or clear the samples. It keeps:
- Projects for each client, with a lead, status (planning, active, on hold or done), start and due dates, budget, job site, scope, and why it’s on hold.
- Phases with target dates, and tasks with an owner, a due date and a status: to do, in progress, waiting or done. A waiting task says what it’s waiting on, and whether that’s the client.
- “Starts after” links. A task can wait on one other task in the same job, and shows as blocked until that one’s done. Move a due date later and the app lists the tasks after it that would slip, and offers to push them back too.
- Costs by category against the budget, status updates on how each job is going, and notes on each task.
The Overview flags jobs that are late, over budget, slipping or waiting too long on the client, and lists tasks overdue or due in the next three days. My tasks lists one person’s open tasks across every job, most pressing first.
Whoever builds the schedule can keep Project or a free scheduler. GoodTaco gives the rest of your team one current answer to “who’s doing what by when.” It doesn’t draw a Gantt chart or open .mpp files: you bring tasks in from an Excel export.
If your plan is already in Excel, upload it on the spreadsheet to app page, with no account needed to try. GoodTaco imports the tasks into a built-in database, turns columns of repeated choices, such as status or owner, into dropdowns, and builds the screens in minutes. Then change it by chatting, such as “group tasks by job and show what’s overdue.” Every version is saved for one-click rollback.
In the template, everyone who works on your projects signs in to your GoodTaco workspace, on a Mac, a PC or a phone’s browser. GoodTaco is free to start. Paid plans start at $9 a month, and Pro at $49 a month includes 10 users; bigger teams talk to us about Enterprise.
Your own jobs, tasks and client updates in one app, on the Mac you already have. Start free, no credit card needed.
Frequently asked questions
Is Microsoft Project available for Mac?
No. The Project desktop app runs only on Windows: Microsoft lists Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows Server 2019 as its operating systems. On a Mac you can use Planner, Microsoft's web version of Project, in a browser, or run the desktop app in Windows with Parallels Desktop, a Windows 365 Cloud PC or a Windows PC you already own.
Can I use Microsoft Project online on a Mac?
Yes, through Planner. Microsoft retired Project for the web in August 2025 and moved it into Planner, which runs in any Mac browser. The Timeline (Gantt) view needs Planner Plan 1, at $10 per user a month paid yearly, and critical path and baselines need Planner and Project Plan 3, at $30. Planner can't import .mpp files from Project desktop. Project Online was retired on September 30, 2026.
How do I open an .mpp file on a Mac?
Project Viewer 365, free on the Mac App Store, shows .mpp files from Project 2003 to 2024. ProjectLibre and GanttProject are free Mac apps that open them too, and OmniPlan Pro opens them from $199.99 a year. Or ask whoever sent the file to save it as a PDF or an Excel workbook. If a general contractor sends you their schedule to follow, a free viewer is usually all you need.
Is there a free alternative to Microsoft Project for Mac?
Yes. There's no free version of Project itself, but ProjectLibre and GanttProject are free desktop apps with Gantt charts that run on a Mac and open .mpp files. If your team needs a shared plan more than a schedule, Planner comes with Microsoft 365 business plans, and a spreadsheet or a project tracker app such as GoodTaco, which is free to start, works in any browser.
Does Microsoft 365 include Project?
No. Microsoft 365 business plans include Planner, from Business Basic at $7 per user a month paid yearly. The Project desktop app comes with Planner and Project Plan 3, at $30 per user a month paid yearly, or as Project Standard 2024 for $679.99 and Project Professional 2024 for $1,129.99 as one-time purchases. All of them run the desktop app on Windows only, and only the people who work in Project itself need a license.
Can I run Microsoft Project on a Mac with Parallels?
Yes. Parallels Desktop runs the Arm version of Windows 11 on a Mac with an Apple chip, and Microsoft's support page names Parallels as an authorized way to do it on Macs with M1, M2 and M3 chips. You need Parallels from $99.99 a year, Windows 11 Pro for $199.99 and a Project license. Project isn't on Microsoft's list of Office apps with native versions for those chips, so test your own plans during the 14-day trial.
Can I turn a Microsoft Project plan into an app?
Yes. In Project, choose File > Save As and save the plan as an Excel workbook, then upload the file to GoodTaco. It imports the tasks into a built-in database and builds a web app that works on Macs, PCs and phones. The Gantt chart and Project's scheduling don't carry over.
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