Softwr

Construction · head to head

Microsoft Project vs Siteline

Microsoft Project logo

Microsoft Project

Construction

Keep projects organized and on track

From
$10/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Siteline logo

Siteline

Construction

Pay application and billing workflow built only for speciality subcontractors

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Microsoft Project performance degrades with large projects over 400 tasks, becoming slow and unstable; Siteline it serves subcontractors only, so a general contractor evaluating it is looking at the wrong side of the transaction entirely.
  • They diverge on capability: Microsoft Project covers Gantt charts, Siteline covers Pay application generation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Microsoft Project and Siteline actually diverge.

Attributes where Microsoft Project and Siteline differ
AttributeMicrosoft ProjectSiteline
Starting price$10/monthOn request
Pricing modelUnknownquote
PlatformsWeb, Windows, macOSWeb
Founded1975Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Construction).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Microsoft Project

  • Gantt charts
  • Resource management
  • Budget tracking
  • Timeline views
  • Task dependencies
  • Critical path
  • Earned value analysis
  • Portfolio management

Only in Siteline

  • Pay application generation
  • Lien waiver management
  • Compliance document tracking
  • Billing status visibility
  • Accounting system integration
  • Accounts receivable reporting

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Microsoft Project

  • Project schedulingnot Siteline
  • Resource allocationnot Siteline
  • Portfolio managementnot Siteline
  • Budget trackingnot Siteline
  • Enterprise project managementnot Siteline

Siteline

  • A trade contractor whose billing team rebuilds the same pay application in four different general contractor formats each monthnot Microsoft Project
  • A subcontractor losing a billing cycle to rejected applications over missing lien waiversnot Microsoft Project
  • A finance director trying to forecast collections across dozens of general contractors and retention balancesnot Microsoft Project
  • A growing subcontractor whose billing process depends entirely on one person and a spreadsheetnot Microsoft Project

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Microsoft Project

  • Performance degrades with large projects over 400 tasks, becoming slow and unstable
  • Limited Agile methodology support, primarily designed for waterfall project management
  • Proprietary .mpp file format creates compatibility issues on non-Windows systems
  • No offline mode, limiting users without reliable internet connectivity

Siteline

  • It serves subcontractors only, so a general contractor evaluating it is looking at the wrong side of the transaction entirely.
  • It does not do job costing, project management or payroll, so it is an addition to your systems rather than a consolidation of them.
  • Value depends on a clean integration to your construction accounting system, and contractors with heavily customised or elderly installations should confirm the connection before signing.
  • General contractor portals and billing formats change without warning, and although the vendor absorbs that maintenance you still feel it as occasional friction in a month-end window with no slack.
  • The billing team has to adopt it fully in the first month-end or they revert to spreadsheets under deadline pressure, which makes the implementation timing more delicate than the software suggests.

Pricing, plan by plan

Microsoft Project

$10/month
  • Plan 1$10/month
    • Task and project management
    • Grid views
    • Timeline features
  • Plan 3$30/month
    • Desktop client
    • Resource management
    • Advanced scheduling
  • Plan 5$55/month
    • Portfolio management
    • Demand management
    • Enterprise capabilities

Siteline

On request
  • Siteline$undefined/year
    • Pay application workflow
    • Lien waiver and compliance tracking
    • Accounting system integration

Which should you pick?

Choose Microsoft Project if

  • You need gantt charts.
  • You work on Web, Windows, macOS.
  • You also want resource management.
Microsoft Project review

Choose Siteline if

  • You need pay application generation.
  • You also want lien waiver management.
Siteline review

Questions people ask

Is Microsoft Project or Siteline better?
Neither clearly leads. Microsoft Project starts at $10/month and Siteline at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Project or Siteline?
Microsoft Project starts at $10/month and Siteline at On request.
Does Microsoft Project or Siteline run on more platforms?
Microsoft Project runs on Web, Windows, macOS. Siteline runs on Web.
What is Microsoft Project best used for?
Microsoft Project is most often used for project scheduling, resource allocation, portfolio management, budget tracking. Of those, project scheduling and resource allocation are not what Siteline is typically brought in for.
What can Microsoft Project do that Siteline cannot?
Microsoft Project covers Gantt charts, Resource management, Budget tracking, Timeline views. Siteline covers Pay application generation, Lien waiver management, Compliance document tracking, Billing status visibility.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Microsoft Project: What are the different Microsoft Project plans and pricing?

Microsoft Project offers Plan 1 at $10/user/month for basic project management, Plan 3 at $30/user/month with desktop client and resource management, and Plan 5 at $55/user/month for enterprise portfolio management. Desktop licenses (2024) start at $679.99 for Standard and $1,129.99 for Professional.

Source
Siteline: Does it replace our accounting system?

No. It reads from Sage 300 CRE, Vista, Foundation and similar systems and handles the billing workflow those systems handle poorly.

Microsoft Project: Does Microsoft Project support Agile methodology?

Microsoft Project was primarily designed for traditional waterfall project management. While it has some Agile features, it is not optimized for Agile workflows compared to dedicated Agile tools like Jira or Monday.com.

Source
Siteline: What should we measure in a trial?

Days sales outstanding and the number of rejected or delayed pay applications. The case is about cash timing, not headcount.

Microsoft Project: Can multiple teams collaborate in real-time on Microsoft Project?

Yes, Microsoft Project for the Web provides real-time collaboration through cloud-based access. However, collaboration is noted as harder compared to modern cloud-native tools due to its file-based architecture.

Source
Siteline: Is it useful for general contractors?

No. It is built for the party submitting pay applications, not the party receiving them.

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