A ready-to-use Gantt chart template for Excel
This free Gantt chart template for Excel turns a task list into a clear weekly project schedule. If you are building the plan from scratch, the project plan template for Excel can help define the broader project structure first.
Enter your tasks, owners, dependencies, start dates, due dates, planned hours, and completion percentages. The workbook uses formulas and conditional formatting to generate the Gantt bars, separate completed progress from remaining duration, flag overdue work, and update the dashboard.
It is designed for project managers, operations teams, consultants, agencies, startups, and small businesses that need a practical Excel project schedule without starting from a blank spreadsheet.
Download the free Excel Gantt chart
Includes sample data, formulas, dropdowns, conditional formatting, dashboard charts, milestones, and six ready-to-use worksheets.
What is included in the Excel Gantt chart template?
Project dashboard
See weighted progress, total tasks, overdue work, planned hours, finish date, milestones, task status, and schedule health.
Structured task list
Manage IDs, phases, tasks, owners, predecessors, status, dates, duration, hours, completion, schedule flags, and notes.
Weekly Gantt chart
View 20 weeks of work with formula-driven bars for completed progress and remaining planned duration.
Milestone tracker
Track key decision, approval, release, and launch dates with owners, status, days remaining, and deadline flags.
Dependencies
Reference predecessor task IDs to make sequencing visible and identify work that cannot start yet.
Duration and deadline formulas
Calculate task duration, days remaining, overall progress, overdue status, and milestone timing automatically.
How to make a Gantt chart in Excel with the template
Set the project timeline
Open Gantt Setup and replace the sample project name, manager, start date, reporting date, and timeline settings.
Add phases and tasks
Use the Task List to enter your work breakdown, owners, task status, predecessors, start dates, due dates, hours, and completion. For a more formal hierarchy, start with a work breakdown structure template.
Check the weekly timeline
The Weekly Gantt sheet converts task dates into visual bars. Dark blue shows completed progress and light blue shows remaining planned work.
Enter major milestones
Add approvals, handoffs, releases, and the final launch date to the Milestones sheet so deadline risks remain visible.
Review the dashboard
Use the dashboard during weekly project reviews to monitor progress, overdue tasks, workload, milestone timing, and schedule health.
Gantt chart example: customer portal launch
The included sample project shows how discovery, design, development, testing, training, and launch work connect across the schedule.
| ID | Phase | Task | Predecessor | Due Date | Progress |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Initiation | Confirm project scope | — | Aug 25, 2026 | 100% |
| 4 | Discovery | Run user interviews | 2 | Sep 4, 2026 | 25% |
| 8 | UX & Design | Create high-fidelity designs | 7 | Sep 18, 2026 | 0% |
| 12 | Development | Build portal dashboard | 9 | Oct 9, 2026 | 0% |
| 20 | Launch | Release customer portal | 18, 19 | Nov 13, 2026 | 0% |
How the automatic Gantt chart formulas work
The calculations remain visible and editable so you can review the logic or adapt the workbook to your process.
Due Date − Start Date + 1Due Date − Reporting DateSUM(% Complete × Planned Hours) ÷ Total Planned HoursTimeline Week ≤ Calculated Progress DateTimeline Week overlaps Start and Due DatesDone, Overdue, Due Soon, or On TrackPopular Gantt chart template use cases
A simple weekly Gantt chart is useful whenever tasks must happen in a particular sequence or different workstreams overlap. For teams coordinating several schedules, the multiple project tracking template provides a portfolio-level view.
Gantt chart planning best practices
Excel Gantt chart vs. project management software
An Excel Gantt chart is a strong fit for one project, a small team, or a schedule owned by one person. Gantt project management software becomes more useful when many people need to update the plan or changes must flow automatically across dependencies.
| Planning need | Excel Gantt chart | Project management software |
|---|---|---|
| Single project with one schedule owner | Good fit | Optional |
| Several people updating tasks | Version conflicts can occur | Shared real-time updates |
| Dependencies and date changes | Dates require review | Connected rescheduling |
| Comments, files, and notifications | Stored separately | Connected to tasks |
| Multiple-project reporting | Difficult to consolidate | Portfolio rollups |
| Resource workload and capacity | Separate planning required | Integrated scheduling |
KolApp connects Gantt schedules with Kanban, grid, resource scheduling, dashboards, budgets, resources, and portfolio reporting when the spreadsheet becomes difficult to keep current.
A Gantt chart shows the schedule—but is the schedule resourced?
A Gantt chart can show when work should happen, but dates alone do not confirm that the assigned people have enough time to deliver it. A schedule can look perfectly sequenced while several tasks compete for the same person during the same week.
That is where resource scheduling differs from project scheduling. Project scheduling organizes the work and dependencies; resource scheduling compares those plans with actual availability, workload, time off, and capacity.
Before committing to major dates, use the resource capacity calculator or learn how to calculate team capacity for projects. For growing teams, project management software with resource scheduling can connect the Gantt plan directly to the people expected to deliver it.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Gantt chart template for Excel free?
Yes. The .xlsx workbook is free to download and includes six worksheets, sample data, formulas, dropdowns, conditional formatting, charts, milestones, and a weekly Gantt timeline.
Does Excel have a built-in Gantt chart template?
Excel does not have a dedicated Gantt chart type. Gantt charts are commonly created with a stacked bar chart or a timeline grid using formulas and conditional formatting. This workbook uses the timeline-grid approach.
How do I change the dates in the Gantt chart?
Change the task start and due dates in the Task List. The Weekly Gantt bars, duration calculations, deadline flags, milestones, and dashboard update from those values.
Can I track task dependencies in this Excel template?
Yes. Each task includes a predecessor field where you can reference the ID of a task that must be completed first. The field makes sequencing visible, while date changes remain under your control.
Can I use the Gantt chart template in Google Sheets?
You can upload the .xlsx file to Google Drive and open it with Google Sheets. Review formulas, charts, and conditional formatting after conversion because spreadsheet applications may display some features differently.
What is the difference between a Gantt chart and a project timeline?
A project timeline often shows major events or milestones. A Gantt chart adds task duration, overlap, sequencing, ownership, and progress, making it more useful for detailed schedule management.