Top 5 Gantt chart templates to try for free – with examples

Using a Gantt chart template is an excellent way to improve project scheduling. Delays can be costly, but a Gantt chart can ensure the successful delivery of business KPIs and a streamlined budget – two important factors for project managers that are even more vital in today’s economic downturn.

Gantt charts display each task as a horizontal bar to manage resources more effectively. The position and length of the bar shows the start date, duration and end date of the activity. If any activities overlap, the manager can see where a bottleneck might occur and plan accordingly.

Following twelve months of researching project management software, our experts have picked out the five best free Gantt chart templates for project members to download for free.

In this guide, we’ll explain the specific strengths, user requirements, and potential limitations of each Gantt chart template to help you chart a path to success. We’ll also provide examples of how you might put a Gantt chart template to use, so you can understand what it looks like in practice, not just theory.

What is a Gantt chart?

Gantt charts are used in project planning to monitor team progress. They are more easily understood once you’ve seen what they look like.

As our Gantt chart templates show, the idea is to design a colour-coded graph that illustrates when a task needs to be completed within the overall project timeline. That way, project members can easily spot where there is a conflict and a delay might occur.

There are multiple ways you can organise a Gantt chart, such as into phases or by department, so it’s important to find the right template before you go ahead and start planning.

Because Gantt charts let you see a timeline of your project, they’re also helpful for working out the order that tasks need to be completed. That’s why you might also have heard a Gantt chart being described as the Critical Path Method (CPM).

The critical path is the leanest route towards project completion and focuses on the deliverables that absolutely must be completed on time for success to be achieved.

Best Gantt chart templates

Most project management providers, like monday.com and ClickUp, have Gantt chart templates due to their growing popularity with entrepreneurs in the past decade.

Users can download each template in just a few clicks, and start populating their timelines almost instantly.

However, every PM platform boasts its own unique spin on the Gantt chart concept. That means it may or may not be suitable depending on your business’s unique objectives.

That’s why all of our choices are based on important factors identified by our users such as ease of use, data visualisation, and collaboration.

Most importantly, all of our chosen templates are available with either a free trial or a free plan. You won’t need to spend a penny to test them out.

1. monday.com Gantt Chart template (free trial)

Best for organising multi-phase projects, such as businesses launching a new product

The monday.com Gantt chart has all the trimmings you’d expect. All tasks are given due dates and organised into colour-coded horizontal bars so you can check the status of each activity at-a-glance.

But as you can see in the above screenshot, monday’s template also comes pre-organised into stages. This makes it unrivalled for multi-phase projects that require the skill sets of numerous departments, such as a product launch.

You’ll be able to get a full visualisation of every task involved in a project, without responsibilities becoming confused. We’d especially recommend it for heavily-regulated industries where you need to tick all the boxes, such as if you’re launching a healthcare product.

Luckily, monday’s clean layout ensures things don’t get complicated when teams are collaborating on the same work plan for several months. In fact, data visualisation is the app’s strong suit.

We gave monday.com 5 out of 5 for presentation during our latest research round, as opposed to Smartsheet which scores just 3.5 due to its clunkier, spreadsheet display format.

You might also like.. free action plan templates

Action plan templates are another great way to map tasks and reach a larger business goal.

Learn more about action plan templates

2. ClickUp Gantt Chart template (Free Plan)

Best for resource-stretched teams with fewer than 3 members

We recommend the ClickUp Gantt template (click to try) for small teams prioritising resource management to meet a deadline. For example, an accounting department planning your annual payroll.

This is because of the ClickUp workflow tool called ‘Workload’. It enables you to view the level of free time each team member and how it might impact project status. If you notice your team doesn’t have capacity to complete a task, you can simply adapt and plan accordingly.

Unlike with Smartsheet, which requires some menu diving to set up, this is available in just a few clicks and can even be automatically calculated to save on admin time.

Another thing we like about ClickUp is its real-time editing. Through the drag-and-drop action and changes are instantly shared with the team so project progress is always up-to-date. Monday.com and Wrike also offer this feature, but it’s not available with Asana or Smartsheet.

You might also like.. free RACI chart templates

If your priority is effective resource allocation, check out our guide to the top free RACI templates.

Learn more about RACI chart templates

3. Smartsheet Gantt Chart template (free trial)

Best for those organising projects with multiple sub-contractors, such as construction SMEs

Smartsheet is the best PM system for CPM, otherwise known as the Critical Path Method. Critical paths in Gantt chart project management are the longest sequence of activities that must be finished on time in order for the entire project to be complete.

Nearly 9 out of 10 construction projects are currently delayed by more than 100 days due to poor project scheduling. Let’s say you are a construction manager building a new housing development. You know that certain subcontractors need to be brought in to build the walls before a plumber comes to fit faucets.

Calculate this task sequence using the Smartsheet Gantt template as a way to see where each supplier needs to be plotted within the overall project timeframe. You can do this effortlessly thanks to a unique Smartsheet feature; the ‘display hierarchy’ tool. 

In the sheet’s primary column, indent rows to visually organise tasks by their importance. So, if you’re working with lots of different suppliers, you’ll be able to keep a strict watch to ensure that all tasks are allocated with enough time to avoid overlaps and delays.

We highlighted another good template to use for this purpose in our guide to the top project plan templates for SMEs. Action plans break down project goals into practical, easy-to-follow steps similarly to Gantt charts.

4. Wrike Gantt Chart template (Free Plan)

Best for developer teams who are working remotely and need to prioritise communication

As the above Gantt template indicates, Wrike is a fuss-free project management tool that we think is best-suited to remote working teams due to its project message board function. 

Project Message Boards within PM platforms generally work in the same way that platforms such as Slack do, where users can start threads and other users can contribute through comments. They are well-suited for Gantt charts, which tend to lack the space for detailed notes or information.

By simply posting a message about a project query you might have, you can eliminate time wasted in lengthy meetings by getting a quick answer from colleagues. Used alongside other collaboration tools from Wrike, like task comments, project planning will be a lot smoother.

It’s a great, time-saving solution that’s particularly beneficial if you have lots of dependent tasks that rely on other deliverables. Neither ClickUp, Asana, monday.com or Smartsheet provides this feature.

5. Asana Gantt Chart template (free trial)

Best for teams with a consistent output without deadlines, such as content production

Asana does not actually offer a Gantt chart maker. Instead, its template is called a timeline. All of the core features remain such as task dependencies, guest access, and task reminders. However, Asana does also come with some noticeable distinguishers.

Chiefly, the timeline view is not designed to handle large stacks of data. Instead, the sheet resembles something more like a calendar. As the above example shows, its format is bright and big, with eye-catching colours and team member headshots awarded to each task.

Because of this, we think it works better for project scheduling small tasks within a wider plan. For example, if you are a digital agency that needs to keep track of your content production and output over an entire fiscal year.

Also worth mentioning is Asana has a resource-management tool – unlike monday.com or Wrike – called ‘Upcoming Tasks’. This provides a view of each team member’s jobs for the week and makes it easier for managers to keep tabs on task status.

How to create a successful Gantt chart (with examples)

Gantt charts provide a visual layout of how each component of your project plan will slot together to create the most time and cost-efficient workflow. It lists everything from start and end dates, to task status, to team member responsibilities.

Because Gantt charts provide so much information in a simple visual, they are incredibly useful for project managers. In one quick glance, you can see how the team is performing, and where a delay might occur, to adapt accordingly.

Below, we’ll take you through the Gantt chart building process in five simple steps. To make things easier, we’ll also use a hypothetical business case study so you can see what each stage looks like in a real template example.

Why use a Gantt chart?

Gantt charts are specifically designed to help project managers plan work around deadlines and optimise resources. Here are three ways that Gantt charts can improve the project planning process:

1. Gantt charts give a complete overview of project progress

Most Gantt charts are organised like a calendar. Depending on the timeframe, they track project progress over weeks, months, or even years. Because every task is already plotted out with a unique delivery date, project members can monitor every task’s status and identify any potential problems with delivery before they even arise.

2. Gantt charts are great for team working

Gantt chart users see exactly how their duties align with other members of the team, which makes them a great tool for team-working. With powerful PM software like the providers we’ve recommended, project members even get real-time updates on each task so they can be instantly notified if a change impacts their workload.

3. Gantt charts streamline resources

Poor resource management is a nail in the coffin for project managers. It occurs when a team miscalculates the amount of time or members needed to deliver on a task. Gantt charts allow firms to use their resources effectively as the project timeline shows exactly how and where they are being wasted – and where to adjust accordingly.

Why can’t I just use Excel?

Spreadsheet apps such as Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets are commonly used in place of project management software as they often come pre-downloaded to business laptops.

Sticking with Excel as a money-saving method is perfectly understandable. But you will be severely limited in how well you can plan your project. Here are the three main reasons we don’t recommend Microsoft Excel for Gantt charts:

1. Collaboration

In 2022, 33% of office workers said team messaging had become more of a challenge as a result of hybrid working. Communication has never been more important – but it is also a significant barrier with apps like Excel. Comments are frustrating to add and often missed by other members.

Apps like ClickUp give you an internal messaging app that makes this much easier. On top of this, all relevant information including documents, videos, and emails can be stored in the platform so – once your Gantt chart is designed – you can work on every aspect of a project from one easy location.

2. Knowledge gap

Excel and Google Sheets are not intuitively designed. Analysts often need to partake in specialist coding training programs to understand them – which your team won’t have time for.

Smartsheet came out top in this list for usability during our latest round of research, scoring 4.3 out of 5. It features a Gantt chart view where you can automatically view all your tasks without prior setup.

3. Aesthetics

Particularly if there are stakeholders involved (which there nearly always are in project planning) then project management software is much more attractive to look at than Excel.

Rather than sharing a clunky and confused page of cells, you can format your plan to ensure it looks professional and accessible for partners or clients to view.

How we test project management software for small businesses

We tested 14 project management software to evaluate them in terms of functionality, usability, customer support, features, and more so we can make the most useful recommendations to small UK-based businesses.

Our rigorous testing process means these products have been scored and rated in five main categories of investigation and nine subcategories – in fact, we covered 51 areas of investigation in total. We then gave each category score a ‘relevance weighting' to ensure the product's final score perfectly reflects the needs of our Startups.co.uk readers.

Our main testing categories for project management software are:

Customer Score: external customer opinion; the feedback and ratings given by customers who have used a particular project management provider. Also, the market position and reputation a project management tool holds.

Features: the functionalities and capabilities offered by the project management solution, such as task management and team collaboration.

Customer Support: the assistance and resources provided by the project management solution provider to users, such as phone support and email or chat support.

Usability Testing: we get people just like you to test out the products to focus on evaluating the ease of use and user experience of the project management solution.

Cost Factors: the financial considerations associated with using a project management solution, including licensing fees, subscription plans, and storage and user limit.

The Startups product testing process

Verdict

• We recommend monday.com to product-based businesses. The app strips back the Gantt format for a lean, phased project schedule that’s ideal for new launches or updates.
• For small departments with fewer than 3 members, ClickUp’s free plan is a smart solution for checking project progress to meet deadlines.
• For those managing multiple sub-contractors, we recommend Smartsheet. You’ll easily be able to design a task sequence to keep track of dependent tasks.
• We recommend Wrike to remote teams. The project message board improves communication so team members can quickly update on a task status.
• For small business providers, such as marketing teams, we recommend Asana. Its user-friendly timeline view is suitable for day-to-day project planning over large datasheets.

Get started with monday.com

Download our top-rated Gantt chart template for zero charge

Try for free