A Merlin Project alternative you buy once
Prices checked November 14, 2026
Merlin Project is a subscription project tool for the Mac, with separate apps for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro. GanttOWN is a Gantt chart for Mac. You pay once, and the plan stays in a .gantt file.
The price difference
On ProjectWizards' facts page, dated November 14, 2026, Merlin Project for Mac is $22.99 a month or $229.99 a year. Merlin Project Express, the smaller Mac plan, is $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year. The iPad, iPhone, and Vision Pro app is a separate subscription at $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year. Their price list says the full Mac app can be tried for 30 days.
GanttOWN is $49, $149, or $299 once. Solo is the closest dollar comparison to Express, and it does not renew. Team at $149 once is the closest comparison to the full Merlin Project subscription. There is no separate trial build. The try-it path is a 14-day refund by email to [email protected].
| GanttOWN | Merlin Project | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49, $149, or $299 once | Mac: $22.99 a month or $229.99 a year. Express: $69.99 a year. Phone and iPad are extra. |
| Where it runs | Mac only. macOS 13 or later. Intel and Apple Silicon. Notarized. | Mac, and separate apps for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro. |
| Costs | No budget or cost tracking. | Their facts table lists costs and budgets. |
| Microsoft Project | Import XML. A .mpp file has to be saved as XML first. | Merlin Project says it opens Microsoft Project files. |
| The plan | One .gantt file on your Mac. Offline after install. | Their own project format, with iPad and iPhone apps on their own subscription. |
| Trying it | Full app. 14-day refund by email. | 30 days on the full Mac app, from their price list. |
Merlin prices are from projectwizards.net on November 14, 2026, and they include tax on that page. Check it again before you buy.
Choose Merlin Project when you need the rest of the suite
- You track costs and budgets on the plan.
- You want the schedule on an iPhone or an iPad.
- You need to open a Microsoft Project file directly, including .mpp.
Choose GanttOWN when you want the schedule, paid once
- Phases, dependencies with lag, a critical path, a baseline, and milestones.
- Late work pushes dependents later. Moving a task earlier leaves the others where they are.
- Weekends and holidays, PDF reports, and Excel or PNG export.
- Excel, CSV, and Microsoft Project XML import.
- On Team and Business, roles, approvals, a project log, and an audit trail. The file lives in a shared folder, and the next person opens it read-only while it is in use.
GanttOWN is the smaller tool. It does not track costs, it does not open .mpp files directly, and it has no iPhone or iPad app. A project password is a lock, not encryption.
Comparing with OmniPlan? That page is here.
One payment. A file on your Mac.
macOS 13 or later. Fourteen days to decide, by emailing [email protected].
See pricing →