For our business, as a consulting firm, we depend on Merlin Project and we are happy with our choice in PM software, considering that we have a wealth of options out there.

This is the only software I have found that allows the user to go from a mind map to gantt. This was my bare minimum requirement because this aligns perfectly to my project workflow.

It is very functional and thus can get a bit complex and overwhelming from time to time.

As I said before, what I like the best about Merlin Project is that it allows me to build a plan almost as the request happens, and it's always a great process because building the plan always helps you visualize its length and complexity. Many other MS Project clones have the main features but none have the usability and experience that Merlin Project has. This is the best software I use regularly on my Mac.

Being a user of planning software since the 90s (Super Project Plus) and having used Microsoft Project, Primavera and a number of other tools like Asana, I've grown used to Merlin Project so bad that I can't get myself to use any other tool for this. Not only the looks are great, the features are thorough and it's possible to quickly sketch a project almost as it's being thought of, using keyboard shortcuts, and also create complex chronograms with assigned resources and budgets. Keeping control of projects is also very easy as it permits to move around tasks when everything starts not to happen as planned :)

The main problem is that it's Mac-only. Being able to export files for Microsoft Project is nice but it's not 100% compatible so I frequently end being the only user and maintainer of the plans.

Since Merlin reads and writes MS Project files, I think it is a viable alternative for almost any project manager for almost any project. For additional information see our website (http://www.am-info.biz/Project%20Management/Merlin/merlin.html or http://www.merlin2.net)

I believe that Merlin is the best project management software available today. It has a very clean and intuitive interface but it is also very feature rich. We have been so impressed with its performance that not only do we use it but we also offer Merlin training and consulting in North America.

Merlin does not run on the Windows platform. Users in a Windows or mixed environment can, however, purchase the Merlin server edition which publishes project information in an html format. In this sense it is cross platform.

Overall, Merlin Project is a very user friendly software. To me, it feels like I'm sketching out a project planning rather than calculating it. As a result, I can focus almost all of my attention to the planning itself - instead of figuring out the Gantt chart setup..

Merlin Project allows you to either type in your project's phases or drag-n-draw them directly on the Gantt chart. This way, you'll have a good overview within moments. The Resources are nicely integrated into the project, leading to a very usable Assignments view to check critical days. I mostly use the export as an image, that produces a PDF vector image. Very good quality! In my next project planning, I seek to explore the Library. Looks like a powerful feature.

The interface can be confusing, p.e.: - clicking at the Resources button at the top right of the toolbar merely shows a list of resources. If you want more (like editing them), you have to click at the top left in the Views list. - the Inspector is quite hard to figure out. I find myself browsing through it almost constantly searching for that one setting. Everything seems to be pushed into this small area, including things that, in my opinion, could have been part of the app's Preferences pane. Merlin Project introduced some very dark gray areas in the interface (the Inspector part) that I'm not so fond of. Perhaps there could be a choice between a dark and a light interface.

I primarily use Merlin to manage our catalog production projects. These are large, lengthy projects involving many stages and individuals across multiple departments. Merlin allows me to plan and adjust easily to ensure the productions are on-time and within budget. It has all the functionality I need to set and adjust dependencies and manage workloads as a project progresses and is a great solution for project management on the Mac. The only downside is that it does not play well with PC .

Easy to learn and use, a great, affordable alternative to Microsoft Project. It has all the functionality and features I need to build project schedules and manage them from day-to-day to ensure they stay on time and on budget.

There's not much I don't like about Merlin. I'm a Mac user and needed a Mac software solution for project management, unfortunately I work with almost all PC users so not being able to share with PC users other than printing or issuing pdf versions of the schedules I develop and update constantly is a huge pain point.