Meisterplan
Portfolio-level resource and capacity planning that sits above the tools where teams do their work.
AI assistance works on the portfolio data already in Meisterplan, is switched off by default, and can be reached from outside tools over an MCP connection.
- Starting price
- From $720 / month
- Free trial
- 30 days, no credit card required, with the functionality of the Pro Edition
- API
- Yes, REST API plus a separate reporting API and an MCP endpoint
Overview
Meisterplan is portfolio-level project and resource management software from the German vendor itdesign. It plans at the level of projects, roles and allocations rather than tasks: a Team Planner shows capacity against commitments as a histogram, staffing can be filtered by availability, and what-if scenarios test the effect of hiring or shifting capacity before a plan is committed. Connectors for the usual project tools feed effort data in, alongside a REST API. Licensing counts resources, meaning the people booked to projects, while users of the system are free and unlimited.
Our take
A layer above the delivery tools rather than a replacement for them, which is the point and also the catch: teams that want one system for planning, tasks and hours will find half of that missing here. Where several teams already work in different tools and the open question is who is free next quarter, the resource-based licence is unusually friendly, because everyone who only wants to look at the plan logs in without adding to the bill. The floor is what to check first: below the size of the smallest package the bill does not fall any further, so a short portfolio pays the same as a full one.
Key Facts
| Category | |
|---|---|
| Starting price | From $720 / month The smallest package is the Basic edition for 50 resources, at $720 per month or $7,200 per year. Users are free and unlimited, so only the people booked to projects count. Packages run up to 1,000 resources; above that the vendor quotes. |
| Free trial | 30 days, no credit card required, with the functionality of the Pro Edition |
| API | Yes, REST API plus a separate reporting API and an MCP endpoint |
| Users | Users are free and unlimited; licensing counts resources, where one full-time equivalent equals one resource |
| Hosting | Cloud |
| Made in | Germany (itdesign, Tuebingen) |
Features
- Resource planning
- Yes, capacity planning at portfolio level with a Team Planner histogram, role-based staffing by availability and what-if scenarios
- Task planning
- No, planning stops at the allocation of people to projects; task detail stays in the connected tools
- Time tracking
- No time entry of its own; actual time worked can be imported from Jira nightly and compared with planned allocations
- Reporting and controlling
- Yes, portfolio dashboards, financial planning and a reporting API for Power BI, Tableau and Looker Studio
Integrations
- Jira
- Asana
- ClickUp
- monday.com
- Trello
- Wrike
- Todoist
- Microsoft Azure DevOps
- Microsoft Planner
- ServiceNow
- Smartsheet
- Salesforce
- Microsoft Teams
- Slack
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft Power BI
- Tableau
- Google Looker Studio
- Microsoft Excel
- Zapier
Deployment and Support
- Deployment
-
- Cloud (SaaS)
- Browser-based
- Support
-
- Email helpdesk
- Phone
- Onboarding
-
- Documentation and knowledge base
- Guided onboarding
- Live online demos and webinars
- Personal consulting
- Company size
-
- Enterprise
Suitability
| Industry | Freelancers | Small and mid-sized | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agencies | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Architecture & Engineering | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Consulting | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Media & Creative | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
| Technology | Not stated | Not stated | Stated as a fit |
The table combines the industries the vendor addresses with the company sizes the tool is aimed at. An empty cell means the combination is not stated, not that it is ruled out.
Pros and Cons
Strengths
- Users are free and unlimited; only the people booked to projects count towards the licence
- What-if scenarios test hiring or shifting capacity before a plan is committed
- Connectors for Jira, Asana, ClickUp, monday.com, Wrike, Azure DevOps and ServiceNow, plus a REST API
Limitations
- No task planning and no time entry of its own; both stay in the tools teams already use
- The smallest package covers 50 resources, so a small portfolio pays for capacity it does not book
Pricing
-
Basic Edition
$720
Per month for 50 resources, the smallest package, or $7,200 per year. For organizations that focus purely on basic multi-team resource management.
-
Pro Edition
$960
Per month for 50 resources, or $9,600 per year. Adds what is needed for professional capacity and portfolio management, including what-if scenarios, goals, portfolio Kanban and the integrations. The 30-day trial runs on this edition.
-
Premium Edition
$38,620
Per year, starting at 150 resources. Everything in Pro plus enterprise features and services, such as sandbox systems and regular exchanges on PPM best practices.
-
Custom
Not stated
Quoted for more than 1,000 resources.
Best For
Alternatives and Comparisons
FAQ
- What counts as a resource, and what counts as a user?
- Every employee you book or assign to projects counts as a resource, and the number of resources sets the licence price. Users, meaning the people who have access to the system, are free and unlimited.
- Is there a free trial?
- Yes, 30 days free of charge with no strings attached. If you buy during the trial your data carries over; otherwise it is deleted at the end of the 30 days.
- Can the licence be changed during a contract?
- Yes. The resource package and the edition can both be changed during a contract term or at the next renewal. Contracts run either monthly or annually, and a cancellation goes through the Customer Portal or by mail to the sales address.
- What if we plan more than 1,000 resources?
- The published packages stop at 1,000 resources. Above that the vendor offers a custom quote.
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