Microsoft Project Online is retiring.
Your data will be deleted.
The complete migration guide. Data export walkthrough, honest alternative comparison, and a realistic transition plan for IT managers and PMOs.
Last updated: March 12, 2026
- What's happening and why
- Key dates and critical deadlines
- What's affected (and what's not)
- How to export your data (step-by-step)
- Complete backup checklist
- Microsoft's suggested paths (honest assessment)
- Third-party alternative comparison
- Head-to-head: Project Online vs. each alternative
- Our recommendation by use case
- Migration plan (month-by-month)
- Frequently asked questions
1. What's happening and why
After more than a decade, Microsoft is retiring Project Online on September 30, 2026. This was first signaled back in 2018 when Microsoft announced a "future vision" for Project, and it's now official.
The reason: Project Online is built on legacy SharePoint architecture that limits Microsoft's ability to innovate. Microsoft is moving project management into Planner (which now absorbs "Project for the web") and investing in AI-powered tools like the Project Manager agent for Microsoft 365 Copilot.
After September 30, 2026:
- All Project Online data will be permanently inaccessible. No grace period. No read-only access.
- PWA (Project Web App) sites will stop working
- SharePoint 2013 workflows connected to Project Online will be removed (starting April 2, 2026)
- OData reporting endpoints will go offline
- Project Desktop (the installed app) is NOT affected and continues to work
Microsoft will not automatically migrate your data. You are responsible for exporting everything before the retirement date. After September 30, 2026, there is no recovery option.
2. Key dates and critical deadlines
3. What's affected (and what's not)
Affected (retiring)
- Project Online (the cloud-based PPM tool accessed via PWA)
- Project Web App (PWA) sites and all associated data
- OData reporting feeds from Project Online
- SharePoint 2013 workflows connected to Project Online
NOT affected (continues working)
- Project Desktop (the installed application, e.g., Project Professional). Works independently.
- Project Server (on-premises). Separate product, separate lifecycle.
- Planner (Microsoft's modern task/project management tool). This is one of the suggested replacements.
- Project for the web (now integrated into Planner as "premium" features)
If you only use Project Desktop to create .mpp files locally and never used Project Online/PWA, you are not affected by this retirement.
4. How to export your data (step-by-step)
Project Online data lives in multiple places. You need to export from each one separately.
4.1 Export project plans as .mpp files
This is the most important export. Your project schedules, tasks, dependencies, resources, baselines, and actuals are all in the project plan.
- Open Project Desktop (Project Professional or Project Standard)
- Connect to your Project Online instance
- Open each project
- Save As → local .mpp file
- Repeat for every project in your portfolio
For large portfolios: If you have dozens or hundreds of projects, manual export is impractical. Use the OData API to programmatically list all projects, then script the downloads. Microsoft's ProjectData OData endpoint (https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/pwa/_api/ProjectData) provides access to projects, tasks, resources, and assignments.
4.2 Export resource pools and assignments
- In PWA, go to Server Settings → Enterprise Resource Pool
- Export the resource list (names, roles, rates, availability)
- Check each project for resource assignments and custom fields
4.3 Export custom fields and lookup tables
If your organization uses custom enterprise fields (project status fields, priority classifications, department codes, etc.), these need to be documented manually:
- Go to PWA → Server Settings → Enterprise Custom Fields and Lookup Tables
- Document every custom field: name, type, formula (if calculated), lookup table values
- Screenshot the configuration. These cannot be exported as a file.
4.4 Export views, dashboards, and reports
- Take screenshots of all custom PWA views
- Export any Power BI reports connected to Project Online OData feeds
- Save the OData query URLs you use for reporting (you'll need to recreate these)
- If you have Excel reports connected via OData, save them as static files
4.5 Export timesheets and actuals
If your organization uses Project Online for time tracking:
- Export timesheet data via OData (
TimesheetLinesandTimesheetPeriodsentities) - This data is critical for billing, compliance, and historical reference
- Consider exporting to a database or structured CSV for long-term storage
4.6 Export workflows and business rules
If you use project demand management workflows (stage gates, approval processes):
- Document each workflow: stages, gates, approval conditions, actions
- Note: SharePoint 2013 workflows will stop working on April 2, 2026, before the main retirement
- If you use Power Automate flows connected to Project Online, save the flow definitions
Do this now, not in September. The OData endpoints and PWA will become increasingly unreliable as Microsoft winds down the service. Export early, verify the completeness, then do a final export closer to the deadline to catch recent changes.
5. Complete backup checklist
- All project plans (.mpp files) for every project in the portfolio
- Resource pool (names, roles, rates, availability calendars)
- Resource assignments per project
- Baselines (all baseline snapshots, not just the current one)
- Actuals (actual work, costs, durations logged)
- Timesheets (all timesheet data for compliance/billing records)
- Custom enterprise fields and lookup tables (documented, not just exported)
- Portfolio views and dashboards (screenshots + underlying data)
- Power BI reports connected to Project Online
- Workflow definitions (stage gates, approval processes, business rules)
- Power Automate flows connected to Project Online
- Security permissions (who has access to what, category permissions)
- Project site documents (any files stored in PWA SharePoint sites)
- Issues and risks registers (if managed in PWA)
- Status reports and history
6. Microsoft's suggested paths (honest assessment)
Microsoft recommends three migration paths. Here's an honest assessment of each:
Option A: Planner (with premium features)
What it is: Microsoft's modern work management tool. The "premium" tier (included in Planner and Project Plan 3/5) adds Gantt charts, dependencies, baselines, and portfolio views. Now includes the AI-powered "Project Manager agent" for Copilot users.
Honest take: Planner is good for simple to moderate project management. It handles task tracking, Gantt charts, and basic dependencies well. But it does NOT replicate Project Online's full PPM capabilities. If you relied on advanced resource management, earned value analysis, demand management workflows, or complex multi-project scheduling, Planner will feel like a significant downgrade. Good for teams that were using 30% of Project Online's features. Not enough for PMOs running enterprise portfolios.
Option B: Project Server Subscription Edition (on-premises)
What it is: The on-premises version of Project Server, running on SharePoint Server. Closest feature-match to Project Online.
Honest take: If you need the full PPM feature set and want to stay in the Microsoft ecosystem, this is the closest match. But you're trading cloud convenience for on-premises infrastructure. You need servers, SharePoint Server, SQL Server, and IT staff to maintain it. For organizations that were on Project Online specifically to avoid on-premises infrastructure, this is a step backwards. Also consider: for how long will Microsoft keep investing in Project Server when their strategy clearly favors cloud/Planner?
Option C: Dynamics 365 Project Operations
What it is: Part of the Dynamics 365 suite. Focused on project-based services businesses (consulting firms, professional services). Includes time tracking, expense management, resource scheduling, and project financials.
Honest take: This is the right choice only if you're a services business that needs project accounting and financial integration. For general project/portfolio management, it's overkill and very expensive. Most Project Online customers are not the target audience for Dynamics 365.
Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This does not influence our recommendations, which are based on independent research.
7. Third-party alternative comparison
If you're open to leaving the Microsoft ecosystem, several mature project management platforms can replace Project Online. We researched five that are commonly evaluated by teams migrating from Microsoft Project.
| Feature | monday.com | Smartsheet | Asana | ClickUp | Wrike |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gantt charts | Yes | Yes | Yes (Timeline view) | Yes | Yes |
| Dependencies | Yes (FS, SS, FF, SF) | Yes (all types) | Yes (basic) | Yes (all types) | Yes (all types) |
| Resource management | Workload view, capacity planning | Resource management (paid add-on) | Workload view (Business+) | Workload view | Resource management (Pro+) |
| Portfolio management | Portfolio dashboards | Portfolios (Business+) | Portfolios (Business+) | Spaces + Dashboards | Project portfolios |
| Baselines | Yes (Enterprise) | Yes | No | No (milestones only) | Yes |
| Time tracking | Yes (built-in) | Limited | No (integrations) | Yes (built-in) | Yes (built-in) |
| .mpp import | Yes | Yes | Yes (via CSV) | Yes (via CSV/integration) | Yes |
| Starting price | $12/user/mo (Standard) | $9/user/mo (Pro) | $13.49/user/mo (Premium) | $10/user/mo (Business) | $10/user/mo (Team) |
| Enterprise pricing | Custom ($20+/user/mo) | Custom ($32+/user/mo) | Custom ($30.49+/user/mo) | Custom | Custom ($24.80+/user/mo) |
| Microsoft 365 integration | Teams, Outlook, OneDrive | Teams, Outlook, SharePoint | Teams, Outlook | Teams, Outlook | Teams, Outlook, SharePoint |
| Best for | Flexible teams, visual work management | Spreadsheet-power-users, enterprise PPM | Cross-functional teams, workflow coordination | Customization-heavy teams, budget-conscious | Professional services, enterprise PM |
What we liked and didn't like about each
monday.com
Pros: Extremely flexible. You can model almost any workflow. Strong visual dashboards, good automation builder, and it "just works" for most teams. Direct .mpp import means you can bring in Project files. The UI is approachable for non-PM-specialists, which helps with adoption. Microsoft Teams integration is solid.
Cons: Pricing scales quickly with team size. The "Enterprise" tier (needed for baselines, advanced analytics) is expensive. Not as strong as Smartsheet for hardcore scheduling. Can feel overwhelming with too many customization options.
Smartsheet
Pros: The closest to a spreadsheet-power-user's dream. If your team lives in Excel, Smartsheet's grid view will feel natural. Strong Gantt charts, dependencies, .mpp import, and baselines. Excellent for enterprises with complex, cross-functional programs. Deep SharePoint integration for teams staying partly in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Cons: The UI feels dated compared to monday.com or Asana. Resource management is a paid add-on (not included in base plans). The learning curve is steeper for non-spreadsheet people. Pricing at the enterprise level is high.
Asana
Pros: Beautiful UI, excellent for team collaboration and workflow coordination. Portfolio views give PMOs visibility across projects. Strong adoption rate because it's intuitive. Good for organizations that want something simpler than Project Online.
Cons: No baselines. No native time tracking. Dependencies are basic (finish-to-start only on most plans). If you relied on advanced scheduling in Project Online (earned value, resource leveling, multiple baselines), Asana is a significant downgrade in PM depth.
ClickUp
Pros: The "everything app" approach. Task management, docs, whiteboards, goals, time tracking, Gantt charts all in one tool. Most affordable enterprise option. Incredibly customizable. Good for teams that want to consolidate multiple tools into one.
Cons: Can feel bloated. Performance sometimes suffers with very large workspaces. No baselines. The "does everything" approach means it's good at many things but exceptional at few. Enterprise features are still maturing compared to Smartsheet or monday.com.
Wrike
Pros: Strong for professional services and enterprise teams. Good resource management, time tracking, and Gantt charts. Baselines are included. Proofing and approval workflows are excellent (relevant for marketing/creative teams). Solid Microsoft 365 integration.
Cons: The UI is functional but not as polished as Asana or monday.com. Pricing is mid-to-high range. Less well-known than the others, which can make it harder to find community support and resources.
8. Head-to-head: Project Online vs. each alternative
Select a tool to see a detailed comparison. Each covers what you gain, what you lose, and who it's the best fit for.
Project Online vs. monday.com
monday.com is significantly easier to adopt. The visual board-based interface means non-PM team members (engineers, marketers, executives) can participate without training. Automation is a standout: you can build "if X happens, do Y" rules in minutes without code. The .mpp import brings your project files over directly. Dashboard building is intuitive and visual. The mobile app is polished. monday.com also supports multiple work management use cases beyond project management (CRM, IT, marketing) which can consolidate your tool stack.
Advanced resource leveling and allocation algorithms. If you relied on Project Online to auto-level resources across a portfolio of 50+ projects, monday.com doesn't replicate that depth. Earned value management (EVM) is not natively supported. Baselines require the Enterprise tier, which gets expensive. The "flexibility" can also be a drawback: without governance, teams create inconsistent board structures.
Project Online vs. Smartsheet
Smartsheet is the closest experience to "Project in a browser." If your team thinks in grids, rows, and Gantt charts, the transition will feel natural. Baselines are included in all plans. Dependencies support all four types. The Control Center feature lets you templatize and roll out standardized project structures across a portfolio, which is valuable for enterprise PMOs. Deep SharePoint and Teams integration helps if you're staying partly in the Microsoft ecosystem. The DataMesh feature can connect data across sheets, similar to how you might have used OData queries.
Resource management is a paid add-on (not in the base plan), which is a surprise for teams used to having it built into Project Online. The UI feels dated compared to monday.com or Asana. There's no built-in time tracking. If you had complex demand management workflows in Project Online (stage gates, idea intake), you'll need to recreate them using Smartsheet's automation and forms, which is possible but requires effort.
Project Online vs. Asana
Asana excels at making cross-functional work visible. If your challenge was getting marketing, engineering, product, and operations to collaborate in Project Online (and they never really did), Asana solves that problem. The UI is clean and approachable. Portfolio views give leadership visibility without needing to learn a complex tool. Workflow Builder lets you codify team processes. The Goals feature ties project work to strategic objectives.
The most of any alternative on this list. No baselines. No resource leveling. Dependencies are basic (finish-to-start only on most plans, all types on Enterprise). No native time tracking. No .mpp import (you'll need to go through CSV). If you used Project Online as a serious PPM tool with earned value, resource allocation, and advanced scheduling, Asana is a significant step down in PM depth. You're trading PM power for collaboration ease.
Project Online vs. ClickUp
More features per dollar than any other option. ClickUp includes task management, docs, whiteboards, goals, time tracking, Gantt charts, dashboards, and custom fields all in one platform starting at $10/user/month. If you're also paying for Confluence, a time tracker, and a docs tool alongside Project Online, ClickUp can replace all of them. Custom views (List, Board, Gantt, Calendar, Table, Timeline) mean everyone can see work the way they prefer.
No baselines. No .mpp import (CSV or integration required). Performance can be an issue with very large workspaces (1000+ tasks). The "everything app" approach means the UI is dense and can overwhelm new users. Enterprise features (SSO, advanced permissions, custom roles) are still maturing compared to Smartsheet or Wrike. If you need formal PPM governance, ClickUp feels more like a power-user toolkit than an enterprise platform.
Project Online vs. Wrike
Wrike is the quiet powerhouse for professional services firms and enterprise teams. Resource management is genuinely capable: workload views, capacity planning, time tracking, and utilization reports. Baselines are included. Proofing and approval workflows are excellent if you manage deliverables (reports, designs, documents) alongside projects. Cross-tagging lets you organize work by project, client, and department simultaneously, which maps well to how many PMOs think. The Microsoft 365 integration includes SharePoint sync.
Wrike is less well-known, which means fewer community resources, templates, and third-party integrations than monday.com or Asana. The UI is functional but not as visually appealing. It doesn't have the "wow factor" that helps with adoption for non-PM team members. Pricing at the enterprise level is competitive but not cheap. If you mainly need simple task tracking, Wrike may feel heavier than necessary.
9. Our recommendation by use case
Smartsheet
Your team relied on Project Online for enterprise PPM with baselines, resource management, and complex scheduling. You want the closest feature match outside Microsoft. Spreadsheet-style interface will feel familiar.
Try Smartsheetmonday.com
You want something your whole team will actually use. Visual, flexible, powerful automation. Direct .mpp import. Best balance of power and usability. Strongest option if adoption was a problem with Project Online.
Try monday.comAsana
Your biggest need is cross-team coordination, not deep scheduling. You want something intuitive that marketing, engineering, and ops can all use. You're OK sacrificing baselines and resource leveling for simplicity.
Try AsanaClickUp
You want to consolidate multiple tools (task management + docs + time tracking) into one platform at the lowest cost. Your team likes customization and doesn't mind a learning curve.
Try ClickUpStaying in Microsoft? If you must stay in the Microsoft ecosystem: use Planner (premium) for simple-to-moderate project management, or Project Server Subscription Edition if you need the full PPM feature set and can manage on-premises infrastructure.
10. Migration plan (month-by-month)
You have roughly 6 months. Here's a realistic plan.
Month 1 (April 2026): Export and inventory
- Export all project plans (.mpp files)
- Export resource pools, timesheets, and custom fields
- Document all workflows, especially SharePoint 2013 workflows (these break on April 2)
- Create an inventory: how many projects, how many active users, what integrations exist
- Store exports in at least 2 locations
Month 2 (May 2026): Evaluate alternatives
- Define your requirements: what did you actually use in Project Online?
- Sign up for free trials of your top 2 alternatives
- Import a small project (.mpp) into each trial
- Test with your team: can they do their daily work?
- Evaluate cost: current Project Online licensing vs. new tool pricing at your team size
Month 3 (June 2026): Decide and negotiate
- Make the decision
- Negotiate pricing (mention you're migrating from Project Online. Vendors love competitive migrations and often offer discounts or extended trials)
- Purchase licenses
- Assign a migration lead internally
Month 4 (July 2026): Set up and import
- Configure the new tool: workspaces, user permissions, custom fields
- Import project plans (start with highest-priority active projects)
- Recreate portfolio views and dashboards
- Rebuild automation workflows
Month 5 (August 2026): Parallel run and training
- Run both tools in parallel for active projects
- Train all users on the new tool
- Identify and fix issues (data mapping problems, missing features, workflow gaps)
- Migrate remaining projects
Month 6 (September 2026): Final cutover
- Do a final data export from Project Online (capture anything created since April)
- Verify all critical data is in the new system
- Switch fully to the new tool
- Archive Project Online exports for compliance/audit purposes
- Deadline: September 30. After this date, Project Online is gone.
Don't compress this to the last 2 months. Enterprise project management migrations are notoriously complex. Resource assignments, custom fields, workflow logic, and user adoption all take time. Teams that wait until August will need to cut corners and risk incomplete migrations.
11. Frequently asked questions
Does this affect Project Desktop (the installed app)?
No. Project Desktop (Project Professional, Project Standard) continues to work. If you use Project Desktop purely for local .mpp files without connecting to Project Online/PWA, you are not affected. However, the ability to connect Project Desktop to Project Online will end with the retirement.
Does this affect Project Server (on-premises)?
No. Project Server has a separate lifecycle. Project Server Subscription Edition is actively maintained and is one of Microsoft's suggested migration paths.
Will my data be automatically migrated to Planner?
No. There is no automatic migration from Project Online to Planner or any other tool. You are responsible for exporting your data and importing it into your chosen replacement. Microsoft does offer some migration guidance and tools, but the work is on you.
What about my Project Online licenses?
Current Project Online Plan 3 and Plan 5 licenses include access to Planner premium features and Project Desktop. After retirement, you'll retain those parts of the license. You're losing access to the Project Online/PWA cloud service specifically.
Can third-party tools import .mpp files?
Yes. monday.com, Smartsheet, and Wrike all support direct .mpp import. Asana and ClickUp require converting to CSV or using integrations. If direct .mpp import is important to you, prioritize monday.com, Smartsheet, or Wrike in your evaluation.
What about our OData reports and Power BI dashboards?
Any Power BI reports, Excel workbooks, or custom applications that connect to Project Online's OData endpoints will break after retirement. Export the underlying data now. If you move to Planner, new reporting APIs are available. Third-party tools have their own reporting and API capabilities.
How long will the migration take?
Depends on complexity. For a small team (10-20 users, 5-10 projects): 4-6 weeks. For enterprise PMOs (100+ users, 50+ active projects, custom workflows, resource management, timesheet compliance): 3-6 months. Start early.
Should we hire a consultant?
For small, straightforward setups: probably not. For enterprise deployments with complex resource management, demand management workflows, and compliance requirements: yes, strongly consider it. A few thousand in consulting fees is worth ensuring a smooth transition.