MS Project Alternative for Construction Programmes (Project Online Retired)

An MS Project alternative for construction programmes

Microsoft Project is a general project tool, and construction asks things of it that it wasn't built for: P6 files from the client, NEC4 programme submissions, time impact analysis, line of balance for housing. Microsoft also retired Project Online on 30 September 2026 (the Project desktop apps and Project Server carry on), which has sent many teams looking. Here is what a construction alternative needs, and how Metre2 Programme Studio covers it, gaps included.

Published 9 Nov 20265 min readBy metre2

What construction needs that MS Project doesn't do well

Primavera P6 files: clients and main contractors on larger jobs send and ask for .xer files. Programme Studio opens and (with Pro) saves them.
Delay analysis: time impact analysis with a fragnet and windows analysis for extensions of time and compensation events.
Programme quality: the 14-point schedule check and an NEC4 clause 31.2 checklist, each with a Word report.
Repetitive and linear work: line of balance for housing and floors, time-chainage for roads, rail and pipelines.
UK working calendars: bank holidays for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and a Christmas shutdown from the start.

Bringing your MS Project files across

In MS Project use File > Save As and choose XML, then open the .xml in Programme Studio; .mpx files open as they are. A .mpp file is a closed format a browser cannot read, so Programme Studio asks whether to convert it on Metre2's server, in memory, with nothing kept. The tasks, summary tasks (as the WBS), links and lags, calendars, constraints, resources, baselines and progress come across.

Where MS Project is still the right tool

Programme Studio is a construction planning tool for one programme at a time. It has no Microsoft 365 or Teams integration, no timesheets, no shared resource pools across projects and no project portfolio reporting. If your organisation runs its projects through Project Server or Planner, keep them for that, and use Programme Studio for the construction programme itself.

Price

Microsoft lists Project Professional 2024, the desktop app, at £1,149.99 as a one-time purchase per user on its UK site (November 2026), and Project Plan subscriptions per user per month. Programme Studio is free to open and view programmes of any size and to build or edit programmes of up to 50 activities; Pro, with every planning tool and no activity limit, is £29.99 a month or £249 a year, with a 7-day free trial. It runs in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, on Windows or a Mac, with nothing to install.

Frequently asked questions

Is Project Online being retired?

Yes. Microsoft retired Project Online on 30 September 2026 and said projects and their data would no longer be accessible after that date. Microsoft said the Project desktop client, Project Server and Planner were not affected.

Can Programme Studio open .mpp files?

Yes, with your agreement: a browser cannot read the .mpp format, so Programme Studio converts it on Metre2's server, in memory, and nothing is kept. MS Project XML and .mpx open directly in your browser.

Does it work on a Mac?

Yes. Programme Studio runs in the browser, so it works on a Mac, Windows or a Chromebook. MS Project desktop is Windows-only.