Instagantt vs Tom's Planner. Which software is the best solution for me?

Why Choose Instagantt Over Tom’s Planner?

There are plenty of great features available with Tom’s Planner, which is why it’s one of the top project management systems currently available. It lets you drag and drop items and works right online. You can interact with others within your system and you can access it from anywhere you want. You can even set up things like dependencies and filters. If you need to find something specific you can check out the search options. Add in the mobile aspect and the security and you’re definitely on the right track with this program.

Overview of Tom’s Planner Features

• User friendly
• Online collaboration
• Dependencies
• Filter & search
• Mobile-ready
• Secure system
• Access on the go
• No app necessary

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Overview of Instagantt Features:

• Timelines
• Dependencies & Milestones
• Tasks & Subtasks
• Drag & Drop
• Baselines
• Critical Path
• Multiple Projects & Workspaces
• Diverse Exporting Options: Excel, Image & PDF
• Public Snapshot Sharing Options
• Team Collaboration Options: Notification & Task Assignment
• Custom View & Fields
• Custom Color Options for Progress Bars
• Risk & Priority
• Estimated & Actual Cost
• Gantt & Workload View
• Ready-to-Use Templates

The Good About Tom’s Planner

There are actually several different things that are good about this system, with one of them being that it’s a Gantt Chart system. After all, Gantt charts are going to give you a whole lot of features and versatility. You’re going to have options and you can drag and drop easily or set up projects, tasks and subtasks. You can also customize the system with time blocks, color coding and a whole lot more. In general, everything that you would expect from a Gantt Chart service is going to be available right here, which is a great benefit for your team.

You’ll love that it has some great security features as well. For example, it’s built on secure AWS and it has plenty of scanning and malware detection. There’s server-side scanning and even automated patch management if any problems are discovered. Add in encrypted passwords and the SSL and you’re definitely going to be on a good track to keeping your information secure. That can definitely be important when you’re considering some of the information that you and your team might be storing for yourselves or for clients.

The online collaboration options are another great aspect because it means you can access the service from absolutely anywhere without being tied to a specific device. You can also collaborate with team members who are located all over the country and all over the world. If you want your clients to check things out they can even get a free guest pass to take a closer look at what’s going on and what still might need to happen in order to get the project where it needs to be. All of this makes it super simple to collaborate with anyone and everyone who might need to know what’s going on.

The Not-So-Good About Tom’s Planner

One of the things that isn’t so great about this service is the pricing. While $9.95 per user, per month is not too bad overall, it doesn’t include everything that you need. In fact, you get email support, printing and exporting and all of the free updates, but you’re not going to get unlimited projects. In fact, you’re only going to have 20 different project schedules before you max out for the year. If you have a larger business this just won’t work and you would need to pay for the upgraded system at $19.95 per user, per month. This will give you unlimited projects as well as collaboration, backups, local saves and embedded schedules.

Another downside to this service is that it’s not set up to sync with your other platforms. If you already use other systems and you want to be able to work within those and Tom’s Planner you’re going to have to update all of your information individually on each platform. This can become tedious and definitely makes it more difficult to make sure that all of your information is valid and up-to-date on all platforms. You could run the risk of having something be misstated or something have a wrong deadline or more because it wasn’t updated in all areas.

Some aspects of the service aren’t as user friendly as they could be either. For example, it can be difficult to move around some of the tasks if needed or to move dependencies. Changing things once they’ve been set up is not always easy either. The user friendly aspect can be a little difficult for some of your team and you definitely don’t want to slow down the process of keeping track of everything that you need to do or whether things are going the way the client expects them to.

Tom’s Planner Alternatives

Okay, so now you’ve figured out what Tom’s Planner is all about, but is it what you’re looking for? Is it the service that you need to make sure that your entire team is on the right track and getting your tasks done? Well, maybe it is. But you should absolutely be looking at a few other options before you decide to buy in. Especially since there are a few things that aren’t so great about Tom’s Planner. You don’t want to miss out on something that could be even better for you and your team because you jumped in too fast.

Instagantt is another Gantt Chart system that gives you access to everything you need in a simple to use fashion. You can set up projects and tasks, as well as subtasks to make sure that you’re always on track with the things that need to be done in your company. Add in the fact that you can add dependencies and you can move things around whenever and however you want and you’re definitely getting a system that you can feel comfortable with for the entire team. And they can all learn to use it easily.

The user friendly aspect of your new system is going to be one of the most important parts. You want to make sure that everyone who is going to need access to the system can get it and that they know what they’re doing when they’re adding in tasks, marking tasks complete or even making notes and communicating with others. All of these things are simple and easy to learn. You and your team will be able to get the hang of things right away and before you know it you’re going to have a system that you can all use.

The pricing is another great feature that you’ll like with Instagantt because it’s a set price. You can try out the service with a few projects without paying anything and then, once you decide that you like it, you can get a paid account for unlimited projects. If there’s only one person using the system you can get an account for $7 per month and you’ll have access to absolutely everything within the system. If you need your entire team to have access the cost is $5 per user, per month. But that includes access to unlimited projects and all of the features that Instagantt has, with no need for upgrades or additional fees.

If you want to link your current accounts with other platforms and services to Instagantt you won’t have a problem because there are dozens of different connections that you can work with. And that means you only have to update information one time and you’ll be able to see it across the different platforms. You don’t’ have to worry about changing something in every single platform because a project or task changed or because a client requested that something be done more quickly than you had originally expected. You just change it once and it will sync across to Instagantt too.

When it comes to setting up your system you want to make sure that you can set it up the way that’s going to work best for your team and that means customization. Well, that’s not going to be a problem here either. You can customize absolutely anything to make sure that your team is always on track and to make sure that you enjoy looking at your charts. Whether that means dragging and dropping things around or color coding everything you’re going to have all of the options you need. Just set it up the way you like and you’re ready to go every time.

When you and your team need to work together on a project you’ll love that you can not only see everything in the project while you’re talking but you can do it directly through the system. That’s because you can leave notes and send comments or questions directly in Instagantt and specifically on different tasks so there’s no confusion and there’s no need to get up and track down any of the people on your team to get more information. It can be done right there.

You and your team need to be able to see what’s happening in real time and when you update information on your computer it’s going to immediately update to everyone else because it’s all online-based. That’s going to make it a whole lot easier for you and the team to stay on top of those changes. Plus, it lets them immediately reach out to you (or anyone else on the team) with questions or problems and concerns. All that needs to happen is a quick message and you’ll be able to clear up everything. Plus you can collaborate with multiple people at the same time without the need for an in-person meeting.

Choosing the Best

When it comes down to it you’re going to love many of the features that are available with Tom’s Planner. You’ll have access to some great options and you’re going to have no problem getting your entire team on task. But there are a few other things to consider, such as the lack of integrations. You may want to have the option for bringing multiple platforms together. And there’s the cost to consider as well. So, make sure you’re weighing out the benefits and the drawbacks with this platform.

For Instagantt you’re going to have all the integrations you could need plus the lower cost with all of the top features at one rate. You’ll also love the fact that you’re getting Gantt Charts and all of the benefits that come with them. All you need to do is set up the system once to your preferences and it’s ready to go too. So, which one is going to be the best option for you and your team? There’s no real way to know unless you start taking a closer look at all of the options and the best ways to work with your team.