When managing a Horizon Europe project, one of the first decisions organisations face is choosing the right project management tool.
Some teams continue to rely on Microsoft Excel, using carefully designed spreadsheets to monitor work packages, budgets and reporting deadlines. Others adopt Microsoft Project for its advanced scheduling capabilities. Increasingly, research organisations are also turning to specialised platforms such as EMDESK, which were designed specifically for European collaborative projects.
Each approach has its strengths. The best choice depends on the complexity of your projects, the size of your consortium and the way your organisation works.
This guide compares Excel, Microsoft Project and EMDESK to help you determine which solution best fits your needs.
At a Glance
Excel
Microsoft Project
EMDESK
Best for
Small projects and custom workflows
Advanced project scheduling
Horizon Europe project management
Learning curve
Very low
Moderate
Moderate
Project planning
Good
Excellent
Excellent
Consortium management
Limited
Limited
Excellent
Work packages & deliverables
Manual
Manual
Native
Budget management
Manual
Basic
Strong
Reporting
Manual
Basic
Integrated
Scalability
Limited
Good
Excellent
What is Microsoft Excel?
Microsoft Excel remains one of the most commonly used tools for managing Horizon Europe projects.
Its flexibility allows organisations to create customised spreadsheets for budgets, work packages, deliverables, milestones and reporting schedules. Many experienced project managers have developed sophisticated templates tailored to their own internal processes.
However, Excel was never designed as a collaborative project management platform. As projects grow larger and involve more partners, spreadsheets often become increasingly difficult to maintain, share and keep consistent.
What is Microsoft Project?
Microsoft Project is one of the world's leading project planning applications.
It excels at creating Gantt charts, managing task dependencies, allocating resources and monitoring project schedules. For industries such as construction, engineering or IT, it remains one of the reference tools for project planning.
While these capabilities are valuable, Microsoft Project was not specifically designed for Horizon Europe. Concepts such as consortium management, work packages, deliverables or European reporting requirements must generally be managed outside the software.
What is EMDESK?
EMDESK is a project management platform developed specifically for European collaborative research projects.
Rather than focusing exclusively on scheduling, it provides a comprehensive environment for managing consortiums, work packages, deliverables, milestones, budgets, reporting and collaboration throughout the entire project lifecycle.
Its purpose is not simply to help teams plan projects, but to support the operational and administrative realities of Horizon Europe coordination.
Different Product Philosophies
Although these three tools are often used to manage Horizon Europe projects, they represent very different approaches.
Excel offers maximum flexibility. Every organisation can design its own templates and adapt them to its internal processes. This freedom is one of Excel's greatest strengths, but it also means that maintaining the system becomes the organisation's responsibility.
Microsoft Project is built around project scheduling. Tasks, dependencies, resources and timelines form the core of the software. It is an excellent planning tool, but Horizon Europe management requires additional processes that extend well beyond scheduling.
EMDESK takes a different approach by placing the Horizon Europe project itself at the centre. Instead of adapting a generic project management tool, users work within an environment designed around consortiums, work packages, reporting and European funding requirements from the outset.
Feature Comparison
Project Planning
Microsoft Project remains one of the strongest planning tools available, particularly for organisations managing complex schedules and resource dependencies.
EMDESK also provides comprehensive planning capabilities, while Excel depends entirely on how spreadsheets are designed.
Winner: Microsoft Project
Horizon Europe Project Management
Managing collaborative European projects involves much more than planning tasks. Consortium coordination, deliverables, milestones, governance and reporting are all integral parts of the project lifecycle.
These concepts are native to EMDESK, whereas they require custom solutions in Excel and additional processes alongside Microsoft Project.
Winner: EMDESK
Flexibility
Excel remains unmatched when it comes to flexibility. Organisations can build virtually any workflow they require without being constrained by predefined software structures.
This flexibility comes at the cost of increased maintenance and reduced standardisation.
Winner: Excel
Collaboration
While spreadsheets can be shared and Microsoft Project supports collaborative planning, neither tool was originally designed around multi-partner European research projects.
EMDESK integrates collaboration directly into the project management process.
Winner: EMDESK
Reporting
Preparing Horizon Europe reports often requires gathering information from multiple documents and spreadsheets when using generic software.
EMDESK integrates reporting within the broader project management workflow, reducing the amount of manual consolidation required.
Winner: EMDESK
Ease of Adoption
Most professionals are already familiar with Excel, making it the easiest solution to start using immediately.
Microsoft Project and EMDESK both require users to learn dedicated project management concepts, although neither is considered particularly difficult for experienced project managers.
Winner: Excel
Which Tool Should You Choose?
Choose Excel if you:
- Manage relatively small Horizon Europe projects.
- Already have well-developed internal spreadsheet templates.
- Need maximum flexibility.
- Prefer simple, familiar software.
Choose Microsoft Project if you:
- Need advanced scheduling capabilities.
- Manage complex dependencies between tasks.
- Require detailed resource planning.
- Already work within the Microsoft ecosystem.
Choose EMDESK if you:
- Coordinate collaborative Horizon Europe projects.
- Need built-in support for work packages, deliverables and milestones.
- Want integrated collaboration and reporting.
- Prefer software designed specifically for European research projects.
Final Verdict
Excel, Microsoft Project and EMDESK are all excellent tools—but they solve different problems.
Excel is ideal for organisations that value flexibility and already have robust internal processes. Microsoft Project is one of the best project scheduling tools available and remains a reference for complex planning.
EMDESK, however, addresses a broader challenge. Rather than focusing solely on planning activities, it is designed to support the full lifecycle of Horizon Europe collaborative projects, bringing together planning, consortium coordination, budgeting, reporting and compliance within a single environment.
The right choice ultimately depends less on the software itself than on the type of projects your organisation manages and the level of structure your teams require.
Looking for Another Alternative?
If you're looking for software designed around the natural lifecycle of Horizon Europe projects, you may also want to explore Grant Planner.
Instead of treating planning, budgeting and reporting as separate modules, Grant Planner organises the entire project around the way collaborative European research projects are actually delivered—from consortium creation and work package planning to implementation, governance and final reporting.