Project 2021 End of Support: What to Do Next

Microsoft ended support for Project 2021 on 13 October 2026, two weeks after it retired the cloud-based Project Online service. Project 2021 still opens and saves your schedules, but it no longer receives security updates, bug fixes or help from Microsoft. This guide explains what changed, how risky it is to keep using it, and how to move your plans to a supported version of Project without losing anything.

The 2021 date comes from Microsoft's Project 2021 lifecycle page, which covers both the Standard and Professional editions.

When did Project 2021 support end?

Project 2021 support ended on 13 October 2026 for both editions: the retail Project Standard 2021 and Project Professional 2021 retired under the Modern Lifecycle Policy, and the volume-licensed Project 2021 editions reached end of support under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy on the same day, with no extended-support phase.

Project 2016 and 2019 had ten years of support split into mainstream and extended phases. Project 2021 had a single five-year window, so support ended roughly five years after its October 2021 release, at the same time as Office 2021 and Visio 2021.

Microsoft's list of products ending support in 2026 groups Project 2021 with Access, Excel, Outlook, Visio, Word and the other 2021 desktop apps.

Does Project 2021 still work after end of support?

Yes, Project 2021 keeps working after 13 October 2026. It stays activated, opens and saves .mpp files, recalculates schedules and prints Gantt charts as before. What stops is maintenance: Microsoft no longer issues security patches or bug fixes for Project 2021, and its support teams no longer help with Project 2021 problems.

Your licence also remains valid. End of support does not remove the right to use software you bought, and reinstalling Project 2021 on the same PC with your key continues to work in normal circumstances.

The practical change happens over time. Each new vulnerability discovered in Project or its shared Office components after the cut-off stays open on Project 2021, so the risk grows month by month rather than on a single day.

Is it safe to keep using Project 2021?

Keeping Project 2021 on an internet-connected PC becomes riskier after end of support, because new vulnerabilities in Project and its shared Office components will not be patched. Schedules often travel as email attachments between contractors and clients, so continued use only makes sense on isolated PCs or during a short, planned migration.

• Security: Project shares components with Office, and Office file formats are a common route for malicious attachments. After 13 October 2026, flaws in Project 2021 stay unfixed.
• Compliance: audits, client security questionnaires and tender requirements often ask whether all software is vendor-supported. Unsupported Project can count against you.
• Compatibility: future Windows 11 updates and newer Office releases are not tested with Project 2021, so add-in or display problems may appear and will not be fixed.
• Support: Microsoft will not troubleshoot Project 2021 issues, so recovery from a corrupted schedule or a failed update is on you.

What we commonly see is a PMO that upgraded Office in good time but left Project 2021 on a few planners' PCs, because Project is licensed separately and easy to overlook in an inventory. Those PCs usually hold the most commercially sensitive files in the business: budgets, resource plans and client deadlines.

Is there an Extended Security Update for Project 2021?

No, Microsoft does not sell Extended Security Updates for Project 2021 or any other 2021 Office desktop app. ESU covers products such as Windows 10 and some Windows Server releases, not standalone Office, Project or Visio, so upgrading to a supported version is the only way to keep receiving security fixes for your project-planning software.

Microsoft's own guidance in its 2026 admin notices was to move to the 2024 versions or to a subscription before the deadline. If you have already passed the date, that advice still applies: schedule the switch now.

How does the Project Online retirement affect Project 2021 users?

Project Online, the cloud service behind Project Web App, retired on 30 September 2026, but the Project desktop app was not affected. If you used Project Professional 2021 only on its own, nothing changed. If you published schedules to Project Online, that connection no longer works, and you need Project Server Subscription Edition or Microsoft Planner instead.

Microsoft's Project Online retirement announcement confirmed that Project desktop, Project Server Subscription Edition and Planner continue. For most small teams this simply means the desktop app is the core tool again, with .mpp files shared through OneDrive, SharePoint or Teams.

Our comparison of Project 2024, Project 2021 and the cloud options explains how the remaining desktop and Planner choices fit together after the retirement.

What are your options after Project 2021 end of support?

You have four realistic options: buy Project 2024 Standard or Professional as a one-time purchase supported until October 2029, subscribe to Planner and Project Plan 3 or Plan 5, which include the always-updated Project desktop app, use Planner Plan 1 in the browser if you only need simple timelines, or keep Project 2021 offline as a short-term stopgap.

Microsoft's Office LTSC 2024 overview notes that customers who want ongoing feature updates for desktop Project should consider Planner and Project Plan 3 or Plan 5. If you chose Project 2021 because you wanted to own your licence, Project 2024 is the like-for-like replacement.

What is the best replacement for Project 2021?

For most people, Project 2024 is the best replacement for Project 2021 because it is the same kind of product: a perpetual desktop licence for one Windows PC, paid for once, with no subscription. It opens all your existing .mpp schedules, keeps the familiar Gantt-chart interface, and Microsoft supports it until 9 October 2029.

Match the edition you use today. If you had Project Standard 2021 to plan and track projects on your own, Project 2024 Standard LTSC is the direct successor. If you had Professional 2021 for Team Planner, inactive tasks, resource capacity views or a Project Server connection, choose Project 2024 Professional LTSC.

The feature split is explained in detail in our Project Standard vs Professional guide. Three-device licences and every current edition are listed in our Project & Visio licence keys collection.

What changes from Project 2021 to Project 2024?

Project 2024 is mainly a support and security refresh rather than a redesign. It keeps the same interface, Gantt views and .mpp file format as Project 2021, adopts the Office 2024 visual style, and resets the clock with security updates until 9 October 2029, so planners can upgrade without retraining or converting files.

Microsoft sets the minimum hardware for Project 2024 at a 1.1 GHz dual-core processor, 4 GB of RAM, 4 GB of free disk space and a 1280 × 768 display. The supported operating systems for the volume edition are Windows 11, Windows 11 LTSC 2024, Windows 10 LTSC 2021 and 2019, and Windows Server 2022 and 2025.

How do you upgrade from Project 2021 to Project 2024?

To upgrade from Project 2021 to Project 2024, back up your .mpp files and copy any custom views, tables or macros out of the global template, uninstall Project 2021, install Project 2024 with the same 32-bit or 64-bit architecture and update channel as your Office installation, then activate it with your new key.

1. Back up your schedules. Copy all .mpp files, including baselines saved inside them, to a safe location.
2. Save your customisations. In Project 2021, open File > Info > Organizer and copy custom views, tables, filters and macros from the global template into a backup .mpp file.
3. Check your Office installation. In Word or Excel, open File > Account > About and note whether Office is 32-bit or 64-bit. Project must match.
4. Uninstall Project 2021. Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps, select Microsoft Project 2021 and choose Uninstall. Your .mpp files are not deleted.
5. Install and activate Project 2024. Install with the matching architecture (volume editions use the Office Deployment Tool), enter your key, then confirm "Product Activated" under File > Account.
6. Restore customisations. Open your backup .mpp and use the Organizer to copy the views and macros back into the Project 2024 global template.

Most failed installs are caused by mixing update channels or bitness between Office and Project, so read our guide to installing Visio and Project alongside Office first. The full download and activation steps are in our Project 2024 Professional install guide.

Will Project 2024 open my Project 2021 files?

Yes, Project 2024 opens Project 2021 schedules directly because both versions use the same .mpp file format. Tasks, dependencies, resources, baselines, custom fields and calendars carry over unchanged, and files saved in Project 2024 can still be opened by colleagues who are on Project 2021, 2019 or 2016.

Shared resource pools and linked master projects also keep working, provided every linked file sits in a location that all planners can reach. Upgrading the whole team together avoids version questions and makes support simpler.

Frequently asked questions

Will Project 2021 stop working after 13 October 2026?

No. Project 2021 continues to open, edit and save schedules after its end-of-support date, and your licence stays valid. It no longer receives security updates, bug fixes or Microsoft technical support, so the risk of using it on an internet-connected PC grows over time.

Does the Project Online retirement affect the Project desktop app?

No. Microsoft retired only the cloud-based Project Online service on 30 September 2026. Project Standard and Project Professional desktop apps, including Project 2024, Project Server Subscription Edition and Microsoft Planner, were not affected. Only schedules published to Project Web App needed to move elsewhere.

Is Project 2024 a subscription?

No. Project Standard 2024 and Project Professional 2024 are one-time purchases for one Windows PC, activated with a product key and supported until 9 October 2029. They do not need a Microsoft 365 subscription. Planner and Project Plan 3 and Plan 5 are the separate subscription options.

Can I install Project 2024 alongside Office 2021?

Only in some combinations. Microsoft requires Office and Project on the same PC to share one update channel and the same bitness, and a volume Office LTSC 2021 is locked to its own channel. Pairing Project 2024 with Office LTSC 2024 or Microsoft 365 Apps is the reliable route.

Does Project 2021 end of support affect Visio 2021 too?

Yes. Visio 2021, Office 2021 and the other 2021 desktop apps reached end of support on 13 October 2026 together with Project 2021, so it is efficient to plan one upgrade. Our Visio 2021 end of support guide covers the Visio side.

Related guides

• Project 2024 vs Project 2021 vs Project Online
• Microsoft Project Standard vs Professional
• Visio 2021 end of support: what to do next
• How to check if Office (and Project) is activated

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