Commercial Microsoft Project Viewers
There are several options available for commercial project viewers.
The project viewers listed here were selected because they can open project files stored in the Microsoft Project native format (MPP). Remembering that the main benefit project viewers provide is cost savings, we did not test web-based viewers that require a server. The additional expenses that those products incur make it an apples and oranges comparison. For the same reason, we don't include Microsoft Project Web Access although we recommend it for those companies using Project Server.
The following project viewers are compared:
[More Detailed Descriptions]
Steelray |
Afinion |
iProjectViewer |
Housatonic |
Project
Reader |
Seavus |
| Company, Location |
Steelray Software, USA |
Afinion AG, Switzerland |
IECB,
Bangladesh |
Housatonic Software, USA |
K-SOL,
Italy |
Seavus Group,
Sweden |
| Evaluation Terms |
10 day trial |
30 day trial |
15 day trial |
30 views |
30 day trial |
15 day trial |
| Price, Single License, USD |
$34.95 |
46.00 |
$30.00 |
$29.99 |
$ 29.00 |
$39.00 |
| Volume Discounts? |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Site License Available? |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Support |
Web, Phone, Email |
Web form |
Web, Email |
Web, Email |
Email only |
Email only |
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| The file used to test performance can be downloaded here (9 MB). |
| Compatibility (Opened all files in our test) |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No. Problems with Project 2007. |
| Performance (time to open 6k task file) |
Excellent (11 secs) |
Poor (over 2 minutes) |
Could not open test file. |
Average (25.5 secs) |
Poor (over 2 minutes) |
Average (24 secs) |
| Core Views (Gantt, Network Diagram, Calendar, etc) |
Yes |
Gantt only |
Gantt only |
Yes |
Some |
Yes |
| One-click Navigation |
Yes |
No |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Search |
built-in search engine, free text search |
No |
No |
restricted by fields |
No |
restricted by fields |
| Export |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| Ease of Use |
Easiest to use |
Missing many key features |
Missing many key features |
Missing some key features |
Missing many key features |
Missing some key features |
| Detail Views |
Split Window |
No |
No |
Popup Window |
Popup Window |
Popup Window |
| Remembers Customized Views |
Yes |
cannot customize views |
No |
No |
No |
No |
| Filters |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
| Platforms |
Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix |
Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix |
Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix |
Windows |
Windows |
Windows |
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