Can Google Sheets Create a Gantt Chart?

Can Google Sheets Create a Gantt Chart? (Three Methods))

Written by: Stewart Gauld

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Published on

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Time to read 6 min

Can Google Sheets create a Gantt Chart?

Yes! You can create a Gantt Chart inside Google Sheets to visualize and track your project timelines.

Although Google Sheets technically doesn’t have a native Gantt Chart feature (like most dedicated project management tools do), it is still possible to create one!

There are three ways you can create a Gantt Chart in Google Sheets, each offering different levels of customization, accessibility, and price points.

You can create a Gantt Chart in Google Sheets by:

Building one manually using the Google Sheets timeline feature.

Using a pre-made Gantt Chart template.

Purchasing and downloading Sheetify Projects.

What is a Gantt Chart?

A Gantt Chart is a tool often used in project management that uses horizontal bars to visually show a project’s timeline.

Each bar represents a different task (arranged by start and end dates), showing you exactly what needs to be done to move the project forward!

The chart helps with planning, scheduling, and tracking project progress as it clearly shows when tasks start, end, and overlap.

Basically, a Gantt Chart gives you and your team a clear visual representation of the entire project timeline, including progress, deadlines, and any potential conflicts!

How to create a Gantt Chart in Google Sheets?

As mentioned, there are three ways you can make a Gantt Chart in Google Sheets to view your projects in a dynamic timeline view format.

Let’s dive deeper into these three methods now (Follow our video guide too!): 

How to create a Gantt Chart in Google Sheets? (Method 1)

While Google Sheets doesn’t have a built-in Gantt Chart feature, you can create a simple one yourself!

By using the Google Sheets timeline feature, you can essentially replicate the Gantt Chart (timeline) style layout.

While creating a basic Gantt Chart in Google Sheets is a straightforward process, it requires a bit of manual setup. Here’s how to do it:

Open a new Google Sheets spreadsheet.

Create column headers (such as task name, start date, end date, duration, and others) in columns A,B,C,D, etc.

Enter your project task names and the start and end dates of those tasks under the relevant headers.

Select ‘Insert > Timeline,’ then highlight the entire data range you want to include in your Gantt Chart (make sure you include the date columns).

Click OK.

Google Sheets will then automatically transform your selected spreadsheet data into a horizontal timeline view that views your data (tasks) in relation to time.

In your timeline (Gantt Chart) sheet, each entry (task) along the timeline is represented by a ‘card’ arranged from left to right (based on the earliest date in your chosen data range).

This layout provides an instant visual bird-eye snapshot of your project, highlighting periods where task activity is heavy or light!

If you want to refine your timeline even further, you can add conditional formatting options, customize card colors, adjust card details, and group cards to specific columns.

Plus, the timeline view is fully flexible! You can switch between daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, or even multi-year formats to suit the scope of your project.

How to create a Gantt Chart in Google Sheets? (Method 2)

Another way to create a Gantt Chart in Google Sheets is to use a pre-made Google Sheets template.

A Google Sheets Gantt Chart template is a pre-designed spreadsheet that helps you quickly create and manage a Gantt Chart in Google Sheets.

All without needing to build it from scratch!

These templates come with pre-built column headers for tasks, start and end dates, assignee details, and more in a timeline view already set up for you.

All you need to do is download the template, enter your business details into the pre-filled columns and rows, and you’re good to go.

And luckily, plenty of free and customizable Google Sheets Gantt Chart templates are available for your projects!

Some of my favorite Google Sheets Gantt Chart templates are:

SmartSheet’s Gantt Chart template (available within Google Sheets. No download required!).

Analysistabs’s free basic Gantt Chart template (best for simple projects).

Digital Project Manager’s (DPM) Gantt Chart template (best for more detailed projects).

Template.net’s Gantt Chart template (best for hourly tasks).

Check out this guide for more examples of excellent free Google Sheets Gantt Chart templates.

How to create a Gantt Chart in Google Sheets? (Method 3)

The third and final way to create a Gantt Chart in Google Sheets is to use Sheetify Projects built-in Gantt Chart (timeline) feature.

Thanks to the dedicated ‘Timeline’ sheet within Sheetify Projects, you can easily see a visual timeline of your projects and tasks.

This view type allows you to observe the start and due dates of each task within different projects in a timeline view.

You can also easily view the cost, effort spent, working days, assignee, and more.

To view your projects and tasks within Sheetify Project’s timeline view:

Purchase and download Sheetify Projects.

Set up and authorize the Google Sheets spreadsheet.

Edit the settings to suit your business needs within the ‘Settings’ tab.

Add project details within the ‘Projects’ sheet (name, start date, launch date, and status).

Add task details under the ‘Tasks’ sheet (task name, project, priority, status, completion %, assignee, start date, due date, etc).

Sheetify Projects comes with pre-configured formulas that interconnect sheets.

This means the data you input to the ‘Projects’ and ‘Tasks’ sheets will automatically generate data across relevant sheets (including the timeline sheet).

If you’re looking for an effective Google Sheets project management template with a built-in Gantt Chart, this is the solution for you!

What is Sheetify Projects?

Sheetify Projects is so much more than a simple Google Sheets Gantt Chart template.

This dynamic Google Sheets template is the ultimate solution for free or paid small business owners after a powerful yet affordable way to manage their projects in Google.

Built entirely within Google Sheets, this tool allows you and your team to effortlessly manage unlimited projects and tasks from one easy-to-use, connected spreadsheet.

Designed for ease of use, Sheetify Projects comes with pre-built templates, automated app scripts, data validation rules, and formulas—all integrated into one Google Sheet.

With this dynamic tool, you won’t waste any more time setting up complex systems! Simply input your project and task data and let Sheetify Projects handle the rest.

With Sheetify Projects, you’ll get all the benefits and features of a dedicated project management system—without the complicated setup! Sounds ideal, right?

You may be wondering….there are so many project management templates out there. What makes Sheetify Projects stand out?

Well, in addition to being able to organize and track your business tasks and projects, you can also:

Set up automatic email notifications to keep you updated on task status changes.

Log customer interactions to improve follow-ups and communication.

Create shareable, interactive reports for quick and easy collaboration.

Send emails directly from the template for smoother team communication.

And like professional project management software, Sheetify Projects offers multiple views to suit your workflow, including:

Timeline (Gantt).

Kanban.

Calendar.

Dashboard Overview.

Sheetify Projects even effortlessly syncs with other Google tools like Google Tasks, Google Keep, Gmail, and Google Forms!

With lifetime access for just $67, it’s one of the most affordable project management solutions on the market for small teams serious about managing their projects effectively.

Read more about how you can use Google Sheets for project management here.

Key Features of Sheetify Projects include:

Management of unlimited projects and tasks.

Multiple view options for tracking project progress.

Comparing planned vs. actual costs and effort.

Dashboard Analytics for gaining valuable insights.

Easy collaboration with your team.

Email notifications and customer interaction tracking.

Integration with Google Forms and Google Tasks for a seamless workflow.

Customizable reports (shareable).

Sheetify Projects is not only the best Gantt Chart template on the market but also the best customizable project management tool for small teams!

So, if you’re ready to elevate your project management with Google Sheets, check out more details on Sheetify Projects here.

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