1. The short answer
If you run a planning department, manage resources and costs across a portfolio of large projects, and have people trained to drive it, Microsoft Project is hard to beat.
If you're a builder or site manager who needs to build a program quickly, keep it up to date when the job moves, and get it in front of your trades without emailing PDFs, SiteCal does that job with far less overhead and usually at a lower cost. It’s a Microsoft Project alternative built just for construction — focused on the program, not a whole project-management suite.
- Residential and small commercial builders
- Site managers who run the program themselves
- Teams that share the program with lots of trades
- Large contractors with dedicated planners
- Resource levelling and cost-loaded schedules
- Organisations already standardised on Microsoft 365
2. What each tool is built for
Microsoft Project is general-purpose project management software. The same tool plans software releases, marketing campaigns, IT rollouts and construction jobs. That's why it's so capable: dependency types with lead and lag, critical path, baselines, resource and cost management, and roadmaps across projects and portfolios. It's also why it can feel heavy for a builder. Most of what it can do, a residential job never needs.
Microsoft now sells it in two main ways. Planner Plan 1 is the browser-based option (formerly Project for the web). Planner and Project Plan 3 adds the Project desktop app, which runs on Windows only. You can also buy Project Professional 2024 outright as a one-off licence for a single PC.
SiteCal is construction scheduling software built by a Melbourne site manager for builders and site managers. It does one job: plan the work, sequence the trades and keep the program true as the job moves. You get a Gantt timeline and a month calendar of the same program, links that shift the whole chain when a task moves, trade colour-coding, progress and delay tracking, and a live link you can share with every trade and client.
Microsoft Project asks what your project is. SiteCal already knows: it's a build, and the trades need to know when to turn up.
3. Feature comparison
A side-by-side look at what matters when you're running jobs. Ticks mean the feature is there and does the job well. Half marks mean it's possible, but it takes extra work or a workaround.
4. What it actually costs
The biggest difference isn't the sticker price. It's what you pay for. Microsoft Project charges for every person who needs to work in the schedule. SiteCal charges by how many jobs you're running, includes your team's seats in the plan, and never charges for trades.
| Plan | How it's priced | Listed price | Inc GST |
|---|---|---|---|
| SiteCal Starter 5 active jobs, 10 seats | Flat, month to month | $89/mo | $89/mo |
| SiteCal Builder 20 active jobs, 30 seats | Flat, month to month | $109/mo | $109/mo |
| SiteCal Pro Unlimited | Flat, month to month | $199/mo | $199/mo |
| Planner Plan 1 Browser only | Per user, paid yearly | $15.00/user/mo | $16.50/user/mo |
| Planner and Project Plan 3 Includes the desktop app | Per user, paid yearly | $44.90/user/mo | $49.39/user/mo |
| Project Professional 2024 One PC, no subscription | One-off licence | $2,299 | $2,299 |
All prices in AUD. Microsoft lists its subscription plan prices excluding GST; we've added 10% so they compare like for like with SiteCal, which is GST-inclusive. Project Professional 2024 is Microsoft's Australian Store price for a one-off licence (GST inclusive). Prices checked October 2026.
View as table
| People | SiteCal | Plan 3 | Plan 1 |
|---|
The pattern is simple. Microsoft Project's cost climbs with every person you add. SiteCal's stays flat until you outgrow a plan. With two people using Plan 3, you're already paying more than SiteCal Starter. With ten, Plan 3 costs more than five times as much.
To be fair: Microsoft's browser-only Planner Plan 1 is cheaper for very small teams, up to five people. It doesn't include the Project desktop app, though, and trades without a licence still can't work from the live plan.
View as table
| Option | First year |
|---|
5. Getting the program to your trades
A program only works if the people doing the work can see it. This is where the two tools differ most for a builder.
In Microsoft Project, the schedule lives with whoever has a licence. Your plumber, sparky and plasterer won't have one, so they usually get a PDF or a printout. The moment something moves, that PDF is out of date, and you're sending another one.
In SiteCal, every trade and client gets a live link to the program. There's no login and no paid seat. When you move a task, they see the change.
- Open the scheduleUsually on the office PC, in the desktop app.
- Push the task out three daysCheck the linked tasks moved the way you expected.
- Export a new PDFPrint or save the updated version.
- Email every tradeAnd hope they open the latest attachment.
- Field the phone callsFrom trades working off last week's copy.
- Move the taskFrom your phone on site or your laptop in the office.
- Shift the linked tasks with itEvery trade's link already shows the new dates.
Example: a three-day rain delay on the frame, with trades following on behind.
6. Using it on site
Most program changes happen on site, not at a desk. The full Microsoft Project desktop app runs on Windows only, and there's no Mac version. Microsoft's Planner gives you a lighter view in the browser, in Teams and on mobile, but the detailed scheduling lives in the desktop app.
SiteCal runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer. Check what's on this week, flip to the month calendar, or move a task the moment you find out the frame's running late, without waiting until you're back in the office.
7. Setup and learning curve
Microsoft Project is powerful, and the price of that power is complexity. Getting real value from it usually means learning task types, constraint types, calendars and views, and many teams send people on a course to do it. In a lot of building companies, one person ends up owning the schedule because they're the only one who knows how it works.
SiteCal is designed to be learned in an afternoon. Add your stages and tasks, link them, colour them by trade, and share the link. There's less to configure, because it only does what a builder needs.
8. Where Microsoft Project is the better choice
SiteCal isn't the right tool for everyone. Microsoft Project is the better fit if:
- You need resource levelling or cost-loaded schedules. SiteCal is a scheduling tool and doesn't try to manage labour hours or budgets.
- Your contracts or clients require it. Some head contracts and government projects specify a native Microsoft Project file.
- You run large, complex projects with a dedicated planner. Thousands of tasks, detailed critical path analysis and formal baseline reporting are what Microsoft Project was built for.
- You manage a portfolio. Plan 3 adds portfolio tracking across multiple projects.
9. The verdict
Choose SiteCal if…
- You run residential or small commercial jobs
- You (or your site managers) build the program yourselves
- You want trades working from a live program, not a PDF
- You'd rather pay by jobs than by seats, month to month
Choose Microsoft Project if…
- You have a dedicated planning team
- You need resources, costs and baselines in one schedule
- A contract specifies Microsoft Project files
- Your business is standardised on Microsoft 365
For most builders, the job of a program is simple: show everyone what's happening and when, and stay right when things change. That's the job SiteCal was built for.
10. Frequently asked questions
Is SiteCal a replacement for Microsoft Project?+
Is Microsoft Project good for construction scheduling?+
How much does Microsoft Project cost in Australia?+
Do my trades need a licence to see the program?+
Does Microsoft Project work on a Mac?+
Can I use SiteCal on my phone?+
Is Microsoft Project being discontinued?+
How do I try SiteCal?+
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