How to build a Gantt chart in Power BI, step by step

A Power BI Gantt chart is a horizontal timeline visual that plots tasks, projects or promotions as bars across a date axis. Since the October 2026 update Power BI has a native Gantt chart in preview, fine for a simple task list with dates and progress. For more, you add a visual from Microsoft AppSource: the free Microsoft Gantt visual, or a certified custom visual with dependencies, a critical path, fiscal calendars, planned-vs-actual baselines and large-dataset support.

What is a Gantt chart in Power BI?

A Gantt chart shows a schedule as horizontal bars on a time axis: each row is a task, campaign or work item, and the bar spans its start and end date. In Power BI it answers "what runs when, and does it overlap?" in a single, filterable view, something a native table or matrix cannot draw. Use one for project portfolios, programme roadmaps, maintenance windows, content calendars and FMCG trade-promotion planning.

How to add a Gantt chart to Power BI

1. Get a Gantt visual from AppSource: open the Visualizations pane, choose "Get more visuals", and search AppSource for "Gantt".
2. Bind your task/category to the row well and your start and end dates to the date wells; add optional % complete, group, milestone or colour fields.
3. Format the timeline: set the zoom (day / week / month / quarter / year), the calendar (standard or fiscal 4-4-5), colours, labels and the today line.

Since October 2026 Power BI has a native Gantt chart in preview, with task bars, progress, milestones, extra columns and grouping. It does not yet offer dependencies, a critical path or slack, or a baseline or today line (it is a preview, so check the current limits). The line, bar and matrix visuals still cannot render a true date-range timeline, so for anything beyond the preview you add a Gantt visual from AppSource.

The main Power BI Gantt visuals compared

• Power BI Gantt (native, preview since October 2026): free and built in, best for simple task lists with dates and progress; no dependencies, critical path or baseline yet.
• Microsoft Gantt: free, certified, best for basic task timelines at no cost.
• MAQ Software Gantt: free on AppSource, certified, best for resource and milestone views.
• xViz Gantt: freemium (Pro paid), certified, best for enterprise and baselines.
• Inforiver: paid suite, best for broad analytics and writeback.
• Promo Gantt (Vibecode Studio): free tier plus per-country Pro, certified, best for fiscal-calendar timeline planning at 10,000+ rows.

Independent reviews: Tensix lists Promo Gantt in its guide to selecting the right Gantt chart visual for Power BI, and OKViz includes it in its index of Power BI visuals. Tensix · OKViz

What sets Promo Gantt apart

• Overlap detection and auto-stacking: overlapping activities in the same group are placed on separate rows, and M / O / D markers flag multi-brand, overlap/clash and duplicate records, so timing conflicts are visible at a glance.
• 2 grouping levels (Pro): Free groups on one level, Pro adds parent and child rows (for example customer, then brand) with per-level sorting (source, alphabetical or by start date).
• Expandable hierarchy (tree): show the top level as collapsible parent rows, each with a roll-up bar and aggregated roll-up progress; click to expand children, or expand and collapse all with one button.
• Typed milestones: deadline, gate, go-live and more, each with its own colour and shape.
• % progress and planned vs actual: a percentage-complete fill and duration-in-days label per task, plus an optional planned baseline bar beneath each actual bar.
• Conditional formatting and heat-map colour: colour bars by rule (fx) or as a numeric heat-map, with up to three colour dimensions and colour-blind-safe pattern fills.
• Up to three extra row columns beside the timeline (budget, owner, status) with number formatting.
• Multi-zoom and fiscal calendars: from a whole multi-year portfolio down to day and hour level, on standard or fiscal 4-4-5 / 4-5-4 / 13-period calendars, with Working Days and a year-over-year Ghost Mode overlay.
• Search plus legend and row-label cross-filtering that drives the report page, near-instant at 10,000+ rows.

Built for FMCG but mapped to any domain: the field wells use FMCG names (Promo, Customer, Brand, ATL), but a "promo" can be a project, work order, booking or campaign, and a lane a programme, asset, vehicle or channel. A second overlay track (ATL in FMCG) adds any related workstream, media campaigns, milestones or dependencies, alongside the main timeline, and event-week overlays highlight holidays, gates, shutdown windows or any key dates.

Where Promo Gantt fits

Promo Gantt is our Microsoft-certified Power BI Gantt visual, a planning and project/portfolio Gantt in one. Built for FMCG trade-promotion planning, where fiscal calendars, overlapping promotions and thousands of rows are the norm, and equally at home on project portfolios, programme roadmaps, maintenance plans and content calendars. Free to use with basic features and a 14-day Pro trial, in five languages (English, Dutch, German, French, Spanish), with all data kept inside Power BI and near-instant interactions at 10,000+ rows. Pro licensing is per country.

Frequently asked questions

Does Power BI have a built-in Gantt chart?

Yes, since the October 2026 update, in preview. The native Gantt chart shows task bars, progress, milestones, extra columns and grouping, so try it first for a simple task list. It does not yet offer dependencies, a critical path or slack, or a baseline or today line. For those, and for fiscal calendars or promotion planning, you add a custom visual from Microsoft AppSource such as Promo Gantt.

How do I add a Gantt chart in Power BI?

Open the Visualizations pane, choose "Get more visuals", search AppSource for "Gantt", add the visual, then bind your task, start date and end date fields.

Is there a free Power BI Gantt chart?

Yes. Microsoft ships a free Gantt visual, and Promo Gantt has a free tier that is a genuinely useful single-level Gantt with colour-blind patterns and in-bar dates.

What is the best Power BI Gantt chart for large datasets?

Look for a visual that fetches more than the 5,000-row default and stays smooth. Promo Gantt handles 10,000+ rows at 60fps with near-instant group-by and zoom switching.

How do I show multiple phases or dates per task in a Power BI Gantt chart?

Put each phase in its own row with a start and end date, and use the task as the category. A Gantt visual with automatic stacking, such as Promo Gantt, places overlapping phases of the same task in separate lanes, so nothing hides behind another bar.

Can I build a roadmap in Power BI with a Gantt chart?

Yes. Use one row per initiative with start and end dates, group the rows by team or product line and add milestones for key dates. If your organisation plans by fiscal year, choose a visual that supports fiscal calendars.

Can a Power BI Gantt chart show milestones and planned vs actual?

The native Gantt chart (preview) shows milestones and progress, but no planned baseline yet. Certain custom visuals do both: Promo Gantt supports typed milestone markers and an optional planned baseline bar beneath each actual bar.

How do I compare this year's promotion plan with last year in Power BI?

Use a Gantt visual with a year-over-year overlay. Promo Gantt's Ghost Mode (Pro) projects last year's promotions onto this year's timeline as semi-transparent ghost bars, so differences in timing, length or overlap show in one view, on standard or fiscal calendars.

How do I show promotions from different customers and brands on one timeline in Power BI?

Group the rows by customer, then brand. Promo Gantt Pro groups on two levels (Free on one), stacks overlapping promotions on separate rows and flags clashes with M / O / D markers.

Which Power BI Gantt visual supports fiscal calendars like 4-4-5 or 13 periods?

Promo Gantt supports 4-4-5, 4-5-4 and 13-period fiscal calendars with your own financial-year start. xViz offers a configurable fiscal-year start.

Can I build a Gantt chart with a matrix visual in Power BI?

No. A native matrix cannot draw a true date-range timeline. Use a dedicated Gantt visual such as Promo Gantt, which places each activity as a bar between its start and end date.

Do Power BI Gantt custom visuals work in Power BI Service?

Certified visuals do, and also render in subscription emails and PowerPoint export. Promo Gantt works in Power BI Desktop, Service and Embedded on one license key.