Microsoft Project for Mac and iPad: your options in 2026
Microsoft has never made Project for Mac or iPad. Here is how people work with .mpp files on Apple devices, and what each option costs you.
Is Microsoft Project available for Mac?
No. The Microsoft Project desktop app runs only on Windows, and there is no Project app for iPad. Microsoft’s browser-based planning now lives in Planner, which brings together Project for the web and Planner. Planner can’t simply open an existing .mpp file. Project Online was retired on 30 September 2026, so it is no longer an option either.
Your options
| OPTION | WORKS WITH .MPP | TRADE-OFFS |
|---|---|---|
| Windows in a virtual machine (e.g. Parallels) + Project | Fully | Needs a Windows licence and a Project licence; Mac only, not iPad; heavy on battery and memory. |
| Microsoft Planner (web) | No direct open | Plans have to be recreated or imported from Windows; needs an online Microsoft 365 plan. |
| Viewer apps | View only | Fine for reading a programme you were sent; you can’t update it or send changes back. |
| Project managers that import (e.g. OmniPlan, Merlin Project) | Import / export | Good apps with their own data model; the file is converted on the way in and out. |
| MPP Studio | Opens, edits and saves .mpp | Native Mac and iPad app built around the .mpp file itself; focused on scheduling and tracking rather than portfolios or timesheets. |
Why MPP Studio works with the file, not a copy
Most alternatives convert your plan into their own format. MPP Studio reads and writes Microsoft Project’s own file from Project 2010 through Microsoft 365. Tasks, outline, links, calendars, resources, assignments, baselines, notes and custom fields round-trip, so you can send the file back to colleagues on Windows and it opens as they expect.
On top of that you get what a Mac or iPad does best: a Metal-drawn Gantt chart, the critical path in red, keyboard editing that works like Project’s grid, and a Lock Plan workflow for recording actual progress against the baseline every day.
Try it with your own file
Download MPP Studio, open a programme you already have, and see it exactly as Project saved it.
Microsoft and Microsoft Project are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. MPP Studio is not affiliated with Microsoft. Other product names are trademarks of their owners.