Microsoft Project is the heavyweight scheduler: deep resource leveling, baselines, and decades of enterprise habits. AxioPlan is built for the step before that: turning a brief into an estimated, staffed plan with honest confidence dates, in an afternoon instead of a week.
Microsoft Project details checked October 2026. Spot something out of date? Let us know.
| Feature | AxioPlan | Microsoft Project |
|---|---|---|
| Gantt chart with all 4 dependency types | Planner and Project Plan 3 and up | |
| Critical path | ||
| Three-point (PERT) estimates | T-shirt size + risk → PERT optimistic / likely / pessimistic | Built-in PERT analysis was removed in Project 2010 |
| Probabilistic delivery dates | P50, P85 and P95 delivery dates | Single deterministic finish date |
| Automatic staffing | Allocation engine assigns tasks and suggests hires | Resource leveling of manually assigned resources |
| Cost from hourly rates | Hourly rates per role roll up to project cost | |
| Baselines and earned value | ||
| Export plan to Jira | One-click export of epics, stories and links | Through third-party connectors |
| AI planning | Claude connector + in-app assistant with reviewable changes | Copilot in Planner premium plans |
| Free plan | One project, unlimited team members | Paid licence per user |
| Pricing model | Free for one project; Pro $50/month flat, no per-seat fees | Per user per month, per Microsoft 365 tenant |
Microsoft Project schedules a single duration per task, so the finish date is exactly as optimistic as your inputs. AxioPlan turns a T-shirt size and a risk level into a PERT range for every task and combines them into P50, P85 and P95 delivery dates. When a client asks how sure you are, you have a number.
In Project you assign resources and then level them. AxioPlan's allocation engine assigns every task to your roster while respecting roles, availability and dependencies, and when the team can't hit the date it suggests the hires that would.
Microsoft retired Project Online on September 30, 2026 and is pushing customers to Planner. If you're re-platforming anyway, it's a good moment to ask whether your planners need a full scheduler or a fast, honest estimating tool that hands work off to Jira. Your task list imports from CSV or Excel.
Common questions about AxioPlan and Microsoft Project.