Microsoft Project product family
“Microsoft Project” refers to related but distinct desktop, server, and online planning experiences. Identify the product and delivery model before following a feature-specific procedure; see editions and versions for edition and support distinctions.
The main branches
Section titled “The main branches”| Name | What it describes |
|---|---|
| Project desktop / Project Professional | Installed Windows scheduling software. Professional adds enterprise connection and management capabilities in supported releases. Features vary by edition and version. |
| Project Server | Separately deployed, on-premises enterprise software for shared project, portfolio, resource, and administrative work. |
| Project Online | Microsoft’s retired hosted enterprise service. It was separate from Project Server and is no longer a current hosted workflow. |
| Project Web App (PWA) | The browser-based enterprise application used with Project Online and Project Server for shared project, portfolio, resource, and administrative work.2 |
| Project Online Desktop Client | A separately installed desktop application. It was not the same product as the Project Online hosted service, and Project Online retirement means connecting to that service is not a current workflow. |
| Project for the web | The former cloud project experience whose capabilities were transitioned into Microsoft Planner. It is not presented here as a current standalone product. |
| Planner | Microsoft’s unified experience for basic and premium plans, including capabilities formerly associated with Project for the web. Planner is not a replacement for every Project product: desktop Project and Project Server remain separate products. |
Project is aimed at work involving dependencies, detailed schedules, costs, resources, and reporting, while Planner is suited to lighter task and plan management as well as premium plans that need more structure.
The terminology trap
Section titled “The terminology trap”“Project Online Desktop Client” is a client application, while “Project Online” is a hosted service. “Project Web App” is the service’s web interface. These names can appear together in licensing and support material, but they are not interchangeable.
Project Server is also not simply the on-premises spelling of Project Online: it is separately deployed enterprise software, while Project Online was Microsoft’s hosted enterprise service. Project Online is now retired.
Current and retired experiences
Section titled “Current and retired experiences”Project Online retired on September 30, 2026; the standalone Project for the web experience retired in August 2025. These changes did not retire desktop Project or Project Server. Planner now includes basic and premium plans and many capabilities associated with the former web product, though availability can vary by Microsoft 365 environment.1 3 For a dated timeline and product-status snapshot, see History of Microsoft Project.