Gantt Chart Maker Free Gantt chart generator

What is a Gantt chart maker?

A Gantt chart shows a project as horizontal bars on a calendar: each task gets a bar from its start to its end, dependencies are drawn as arrows and milestones as diamonds. This free Gantt chart maker builds that diagram from a simple task list. Type tasks into the table or paste them from a spreadsheet, and the online Gantt chart draws itself, including dates for tasks that depend on others.

It runs fully in your browser, with no sign-up. Your task list stays in this browser (the draft is autosaved locally), and you can export PNG or SVG with no watermark.

How to make a Gantt chart in four steps

1. Add tasks. Fill in the table, paste rows from Excel or Google Sheets into the text box, or load a sample project.
2. Link the work. Put a dependency in the depends column. Tasks without a start date are scheduled automatically after their dependencies finish.
3. Group and review. Assign tasks to phases to get summary bars, switch between day, week and month scale, and check the today line against your plan.
4. Export. Download PNG for a status update or SVG for print. Undo and redo cover every edit.

Input format

Each row is one task. The columns are task, start, then either end or duration (such as 5d or 2w), plus optional depends, group, progress and milestone. Dates can be written as YYYY-MM-DD, MM/DD/YYYY or DD.MM.YYYY. A dependency can point to a task name, an id or a row number. A milestone is either marked in the milestone column or given a duration of 0.

task,start,duration,depends,group,progress
Kickoff,2026-11-02,0,,Plan,100
Requirements,,1w,Kickoff,Plan,60
Design,,2w,Requirements,Build,0
Development,,3w,Design,Build,0
Testing,,1w,Development,Launch,0
Go live,,0,Testing,Launch,0

Only the first task has a date. Every other start date is calculated from the chain of dependencies, so if Requirements slips by a week you change one row and the rest of the plan moves with it.

What the generator checks for you

A Gantt diagram generator is only useful if the plan behind it makes sense. The tool warns you about:

• Invalid dates that cannot be read in any of the supported formats.
• End before start, which usually means swapped columns or a typo in the year.
• Circular dependencies, where tasks wait on each other and can never begin.
• Tasks that start before a dependency ends, a sign that a fixed date no longer fits the plan.

Gantt scheduling tips

• Let dependencies drive dates. Fix only the dates that are truly fixed (a kickoff, a launch, a contract deadline) and leave the rest blank so the schedule recalculates itself.
• Keep tasks between a few days and two weeks. Bars that span months hide risk. Split them into steps someone can finish and report on.
• Use milestones for decisions and handoffs. Sign-off, go live and budget approval are moments, not tasks, so give them a duration of 0.
• Group by phase. Summary bars make a long chart readable for stakeholders who only need the big picture.
• Update progress weekly. Compare progress with the today line: a bar that should be half done but sits at 10% is your early warning.
• Match the scale to the audience. Day view for the team, week view for the project lead, month view for leadership.

When to use the free version vs Pro

The free gantt chart generator covers planning, checking and exporting with no account and no watermark. Your draft is kept only in this browser, so clearing browser data removes it. Pro is for plans you share and keep updating. With the All-Access subscription (Pro $9 per month, Team $29 per month for 5 seats) you can save charts to your account (up to 50 on Pro, 500 on Team), share a read-only link that you can revoke at any time, and export PDF or PPTX (one slide with the chart as a high resolution image), which is handy for steering committee decks.

Need to show who owns each workstream? Build the team structure in the free Org Chart Builder, or see all free AI tools and generators.

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