I Tried Free Gantt Chart JavaScript Libraries So You Don’t Have To

I build small web tools for teams. Content calendars. Sprint boards. Vendor rollouts. I needed a Gantt chart more than once, and I didn’t want to pay for it. So I tested a bunch of free JavaScript options. I used each one on a real project. Some were smooth. Some were fussy. All of them taught me something.

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Here’s what happened.

If you want the blow-by-blow of my full test bench, I put together a companion deep-dive: I tried free Gantt chart JavaScript libraries so you don’t have to. It lays out every metric and edge case I pushed through the tools.

What I needed (and what I didn’t)

  • Drag and drop is nice, but not a must.
  • I need clear bars, dates, and simple links between tasks.
  • I like clean code and light setup.
  • I don’t need every feature under the sun. But I hate weird bugs.

You know what? I care a lot about load speed too. My brain stalls when a chart stutters.

I also stumbled upon EJSChart, a lightweight charting library that ticks many of these boxes, though I haven’t put it through a full project yet.


Frappe Gantt — my “quick win” tool

Project: I used this to plan a 6-week content calendar for a small team. We had 28 tasks. Blog drafts, edits, social posts. I loaded tasks from JSON. I set dependencies for handoffs.
If you want to dig into the API details, check out the Frappe Gantt official website.

What I liked:

  • Setup took minutes. The API felt sane.
  • The bars look clean. The labels are easy to read.
  • Dependencies worked well. Nice little arrows.
  • Good for small to mid lists.

What bugged me:

  • It slowed down once I hit around 150+ tasks.
  • Zoom control is light. I wanted more views.
  • No built-in resource view.

Tiny snippet I used:

<div id="gantt"></div>
<script>
  const tasks = [
    { id: 'write-post', name: 'Write Post', start: '2025-01-02', end: '2025-01-06', progress: 35 },
    { id: 'edit-post', name: 'Edit', start: '2025-01-07', end: '2025-01-08', dependencies: 'write-post' }
  ];
  const gantt = new Gantt('#gantt', tasks, { view_mode: 'Day' });
</script>

License note: MIT. Good for most use cases.

My take: If I need something fast and simple, I start here. It just works.


Google Charts Gantt — steady, but not touch-friendly

Project: I built a vendor rollout timeline for a retail client. About 60 tasks. Clear tooltips were key, since non-tech folks used it. We used Google’s loader and drew the chart from a DataTable.
Google’s full reference for this component lives in the Google Charts Gantt documentation.

What I liked:

  • Stable. It rendered the same way on every laptop I tested.
  • Tooltips and labels looked tidy with no extra work.
  • Date parsing was strict, which saved me from data errors.

What bugged me:

  • No drag and drop. It’s view-only.
  • Styling can feel rigid. CSS changes hit a wall fast.
  • Touch support felt rough on phones.
  • Needs the Google loader, so no fully offline use.

Tiny snippet I used:

<div id="gantt"></div>
<script>
  google.charts.load('current', {'packages':['gantt']});
  google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawChart);

  function daysToMs(d) { return d * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000; }

  function drawChart() {
    const data = new google.visualization.DataTable();
    data.addColumn('string','Task ID');
    data.addColumn('string','Task Name');
    data.addColumn('string','Resource');
    data.addColumn('date','Start');
    data.addColumn('date','End');
    data.addColumn('number','Duration');
    data.addColumn('number','Percent Complete');
    data.addColumn('string','Dependencies');

    data.addRows([
      ['kickoff','Kickoff','PM', new Date(2025,0,3), new Date(2025,0,4), null, 100, null],
      ['ship','Ship Wave 1','Ops', new Date(2025,0,6), new Date(2025,0,10), null, 0, 'kickoff']
    ]);

    const chart = new google.visualization.Gantt(document.getElementById('gantt'));
    chart.draw(data);
  }
</script>

License note: Free to use under Google’s terms.

My take: Great for reports and dashboards. Not great for heavy edits.

Curious how these compare with rolling your own visuals in vanilla SVG? I put D3.js through a similar wringer in I built charts with D3.js—here’s what actually worked (and what didn’t), and plenty of the lessons cross over.


jsgantt-improved — old-school, but gets the job done

Project: I helped a contractor friend. We mapped a kitchen remodel. Tasks, links, weekends off. We printed screenshots for the crew. Real simple, but real life.

What I liked:

  • Pure JavaScript. No special build.
  • Works offline. Fast on small sets.
  • Dependencies and progress bars are fine.

What bugged me:

  • The default theme looks dated. I had to tweak CSS a lot.
  • The API names feel… classic. Not bad, just older.
  • Time zone handling took a minute to settle.

Tiny snippet I used:

<div id="gantt"></div>
<script>
  const g = new JSGantt.GanttChart(document.getElementById('gantt'), 'day');
  g.AddTaskItem(new JSGantt.TaskItem(1,'Demo','2025-02-03','2025-02-05','ggroupblack', '', 0, '', 0, 0, 1));
  g.AddTaskItem(new JSGantt.TaskItem(2,'Rough-In','2025-02-06','2025-02-10','gtaskblue', '', 20, '1', 0, 0, 2));
  g.Draw();
</script>

License note: MIT.

My take: If you’re fine with a classic look and you want simple control, it works.


DHTMLX Gantt (GPL edition) — feature rich, but mind the license

Project: I used this for an internal hackathon board. We had 220+ tasks, live edits, zoom, and a critical path view. It took longer to wire up, but it handled the load.

What I liked:

  • Drag and drop, zoom levels, inline editing.
  • Critical path and baseline support.
  • Good performance once tuned.

What bugged me:

  • Bigger bundle and a steeper learning curve.
  • GPL license for the free edition: if your code is closed-source, you can’t use it. For open-source, you’re fine. For commercial closed code, you need a paid license.

Tiny snippet I used:

<div id="gantt_here" style="width:100%; height:380px;"></div>
<script>
  gantt.config.columns = [
    {name:"text", label:"Task", width:"*", tree:true},
    {name:"start_date", label:"Start", align:"center"},
    {name:"duration", label:"Days", align:"center"}
  ];
  gantt.init("gantt_here");
  gantt.parse({
    data: [
      {id:1, text:"Backlog", start_date:"2025-03-01", duration:5, progress:0.3, open:true},
      {id:2, text:"Code", start_date:"2025-03-06", duration:8, progress:0.1, parent:1}
    ],
    links: [{id:1, source:1, target:2, type:"0"}]
  });
</script>

My take: Powerful and steady. Just be sure the license fits your plan.


vis-timeline — not a “real