fitgap

RationalPlan

Features
Ease of use
Ease of management
Quality of support
Affordability
Market presence
Take the quiz to check if RationalPlan and its alternatives fit your requirements.
Pricing from
$4 per user per month
Free Trial
Free version
User corporate size
Small
Medium
Large
User industry
  1. Agriculture, fishing, and forestry
  2. Manufacturing
  3. Transportation and logistics

What is RationalPlan

RationalPlan is a project management application used to plan and track projects with schedules, tasks, resources, and costs. It targets project managers and small-to-midsize teams that need Gantt-based planning, baselines, and reporting without adopting a broader business suite. The product is available in desktop editions and offers optional cloud collaboration, with an emphasis on offline-first planning and Microsoft Project-compatible import/export.

pros

Strong Gantt scheduling tools

RationalPlan centers on Gantt chart planning with dependencies, milestones, critical path, and baselines. It supports resource assignments and cost tracking tied to the schedule, which helps connect plans to budget and workload. For teams that primarily need structured project schedules rather than a full business platform, the feature set aligns well with traditional PM workflows.

Offline-capable desktop editions

The product offers desktop installations that can be used without relying on a browser-based workspace. This can fit organizations with limited connectivity, strict endpoint controls, or a preference for local project files. It also provides a path to collaborate via cloud options while keeping desktop planning as the primary workflow.

MS Project file interoperability

RationalPlan supports import/export compatibility with Microsoft Project formats, which can reduce friction when exchanging schedules with external stakeholders. This is useful for organizations migrating from legacy PM tooling or working with partners that standardize on MS Project. Interoperability can also help preserve existing WBS structures and dependency logic.

cons

Limited end-to-end business suite

Compared with broader work management platforms, RationalPlan focuses more on project planning than on integrated CRM, billing, service delivery, or deep operational workflows. Organizations looking for a single system to run sales-to-delivery processes may need additional tools. This can increase integration and reporting effort across systems.

Time tracking is not central

While it supports effort and cost planning, time tracking capabilities are not typically the primary focus relative to dedicated time-tracking products. Teams that require detailed timesheets, approvals, compliance rules, and payroll/export workflows may find gaps. In those cases, RationalPlan may function better as the planning layer alongside a specialized time system.

Collaboration depth varies by edition

Collaboration features depend on the chosen edition and deployment approach, and may not match the real-time, multi-user workspaces common in cloud-first tools. Teams that need extensive in-app communication, automated cross-team workflows, or large-scale portfolio rollups may require additional configuration or complementary systems. This can affect adoption for highly collaborative, distributed teams.

Plan & Pricing

Cloud (tiered plans)

Plan Price Key features & notes
Free FREE 2 projects, 100 tasks, 10 MB storage, 2 users. NOTE: free accounts inactive for 30 days are disabled; deleted after 60 days.
Beginner $5.00 per user/month (billed monthly) — $4.00 per user/month (billed annually) 20 projects, 700 tasks, 7 GB storage. Volume discounts (monthly): 1–5 users $5; 6–10 $4.45; 11–30 $4.15. (Annual = 20% off): 1–5 $4; 6–10 $3.50; 11–30 $3.25.
Master $15.00 per user/month (billed monthly) — $12.00 per user/month (billed annually) 50 projects, 2000 tasks, 15 GB storage. Volume discounts (monthly): 1–5 $15; 6–10 $13.2; 11–30 $12.5. (Annual = 20% off): 1–5 $12; 6–10 $10.2; 11–30 $9.5.
Production $23.75 per user/month (billed monthly) — $19.00 per user/month (billed annually) Unlimited projects & tasks, 20 GB storage. Volume discounts (monthly): 1–5 $23.75; 6–10 $20.50; 11–30 $19.15. (Annual = 20% off): 1–5 $19; 6–10 $16; 11–30 $14.6.

On-Premise (one-time perpetual licenses)

Pricing model: One-time license fee (perpetual) Products & prices (listings on official site):

  • Single Project: $145 per license (1–4). Volume discounts: 5–9 $128; 10–49 $117; 50+ contact vendor.
  • Multi Project: $288 per license (1–4). Volume discounts: 5–9 $255; 10–49 $233; 50+ contact vendor.
  • Project Server (On-Premise): Price listed as “On request” (contact vendor).

Trials & notes:

  • Single and Multi: trial includes all features, limited to maximum 20 tasks; no credit card required.
  • Project Server (On-Premise): time-limited 30-day trial.
  • Project Viewer: free viewer available for Windows, Mac, Linux.

(Prices and volume tiers taken directly from RationalPlan official product pages.)

Seller details

Stand By Soft
Bucharest, Romania
2005
Private
https://www.rationalplan.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/stand-by-soft

Tools by Stand By Soft

RationalPlan

Popular categories

All categories