Head to head
Current vs Autotask Projects
An honest, sourced side-by-side of Current and Autotask Projects for MSP project management — where Autotask Projects is stronger, and where Current fits.
Written by the Current MSP team · Reviewed by Chad McDonald, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), ITPartners+
Last updated July 18, 2026
YesPartialNo?Not documented
| Capability | Current | Autotask Projects |
|---|---|---|
| Gantt / timeline view | Yes — native Native Gantt/timeline boards plus a dependency map (@xyflow/react). | Yes — native Native Gantt with task bars, dependency arrows and editable milestones/dates. |
| Critical-path analysis | Yes — native engine Real native critical-path engine with client-side cycle detection. | Not native / add-on No native critical-path documented; add-ons (e.g. TopLeft) market it. Based on documentation absence, not a vendor denial. |
| Task dependencies (FS/SS/etc.) | Yes — dependency-aware Dependency-aware scheduling with a dependency graph and cycle detection. | Finish-to-start only API TaskPredecessor supports only successor-start = predecessor-end + lag; no SS/FF/SF types. |
| Dependency-aware auto-scheduling | Yes — incl. back-scheduling Dependency-aware scheduling and back-scheduling across timeline, dependency map and what-if scenarios. | Basic cascade only Finish-to-start date shifting only; no resource-leveling / constraint-based scheduler documented. |
| Resource management & capacity planning | Availability-driven Availability/PTO-aware scheduling via resource_availability and what-if scenarios; not a multi-year capacity forecaster. | Report-oriented Allocation, timesheets and utilization reports; live capacity views commonly added via add-ons. |
| PTO / availability-aware scheduling | Yes PTO/availability-aware scheduling and back-scheduling across timeline, dependency map and scenarios. | Tracks PTO; scheduling unclear Tracks time-off requests/approvals; availability-aware auto-scheduling of task dates not documented. |
| Kanban board | Yes — native Native drag-and-drop Kanban (@dnd-kit) for tasks. | No native project Kanban Ticket 'Board view' has Kanban swimlanes, but no native Kanban for PROJECT tasks; add-ons (TopLeft) add it. |
| Milestones | Yes Milestones with scheduling/criticality. | Yes Native phases and milestones, including fixed-price billing milestones. |
| Portfolio / multi-project view | Yes Portfolio tiles/views across projects. | Report-driven Projects Dashboard and cross-project reporting; no dedicated real-time portfolio board. |
| Time tracking | Yes Native time entry that flows to your PSA for billing — Autotask, ConnectWise, or Halo PSA. | Yes — core Timesheets, real-time entry against tasks, approval workflows feeding billing. |
| Billing / PSA integration & source-of-truth | Syncs to PSA or native 'autotask_synced' keeps Autotask as billing source of truth (Current owns scheduling); or fully Current-native. Also integrates ConnectWise and Halo PSA. | Yes — is the PSA Autotask IS the PSA; time/milestones/expenses flow natively to contracts and invoices. Structural advantage. |
| Client / partner portal (with financial isolation) | Yes — DB-level isolation Partner portal with genuine DB-level financial isolation (RLS + partner-safe views + restrictive policies); partners never see financial data. | Exposes financials Client Portal/Taskfire lets clients view invoices and run reports by design; strict per-user financial hiding not documented. |
| Templates / playbooks | Yes — PMI playbooks PMI/post-merger playbooks and 24 managed-intelligence playbook templates per tenant. | Yes Native templates capturing tasks, dependencies, durations, roles and default budgets. |
| Automation / workflow rules | Monitors + notifications Score/monitor engine (run_current_monitor) and notifications; not a general user-built trigger-action rules builder. | Yes Configurable Workflow Rules (notification, time-based, change-request) at ticket and task level. |
| Microsoft 365 integration (SharePoint/Teams/Calendar) | Yes — via Graph SharePoint, Teams and Calendar integration via Microsoft Graph. | Teams native; rest via connectors Native Teams integration and Sync 365 user/contact sync; deeper SharePoint/Calendar via Graph connectors. |
| AI insights | Yes — Anthropic AI insights powered by Anthropic across the platform. | Ticket-centric Cooper Copilot (summaries, triage, QBRs) is mature but service-desk focused; no documented project-delivery AI. |
| Modern UI & architecture (recency of rebuild) | 2026 ground-up rebuild Fully rebuilt/renamed Cascade→Current in 2026 on React 19 + Supabase. | Dated Widely-cited dated, overwhelming UI; ~20-year platform with features layered on, no ground-up rebuild. |
| Setup / onboarding effort | Modern self-serve Modern SaaS with transparent per-seat pricing; low-friction adoption alongside your PSA. | High effort Steep learning curve and complex setup; third-party TCO estimates cite tens of thousands in year-one implementation. |
| Pricing model & public price | Transparent — $50/user/mo Public pricing: $50/user/month or $540/user/year. | Quote-based, no public price No official public price or free trial; third-party estimates ~$90-$145/user/mo effective (not vendor-published). |
| Best-fit user | Modern delivery + partner isolation MSPs wanting purpose-built dependency-aware/critical-path delivery, a financially-isolated partner portal, and billing sync to their PSA — Autotask, ConnectWise, or Halo PSA. | All-in-one PSA MSPs Mid-market/enterprise MSPs on Kaseya/Datto IT Complete wanting projects inside their PSA of record. |
Where Autotask Projects wins
Autotask IS the PSA, so project time, milestones and expenses are billing-native with Autotask as the single financial source of truth — plus 20+ years of market maturity, a huge MSP install base, and the Kaseya/Datto IT Complete ecosystem (RMM, IT Glue, backup).
Where Current fits: Current is built to run alongside your PSA, not replace it: in 'autotask_synced' mode Autotask stays the billing source of truth while Current owns modern scheduling — so an Autotask shop keeps its billing record AND gets native critical-path, Kanban and a financially-isolated partner portal without ripping anything out, and Current syncs the same way with ConnectWise and Halo PSA.
Why MSPs choose Current
- A modern 2026 ground-up rebuild (React 19 + Supabase), not a project module bolted onto a decades-old help-desk or PSA core — so the delivery experience is fast and purpose-built rather than layered onto legacy screens.
- A real, native critical-path engine plus dependency-aware scheduling and back-scheduling — native to the product, not a paid Moovila/TopLeft add-on the way it is for Autotask, ConnectWise and HaloPSA.
- PTO/availability-aware scheduling that runs consistently across the timeline, the dependency map AND what-if scenarios — availability-aware planning most incumbents only partially document.
- Kanban AND Gantt AND an interactive dependency map all native in one tool (Autotask lacks native project Kanban; Syncro lacks project boards entirely).
- A partner portal with genuine database-level financial isolation — Postgres RLS + partner-safe views + restrictive policies — so partners can never see financial data. Incumbent portals (Autotask, ConnectWise, Syncro, Halo) are designed to EXPOSE invoices to clients; Current is the opposite by construction.
- Flexible source-of-truth: 'autotask_synced' keeps Autotask as the billing record while Current owns scheduling, or 'current-native' where Current is the source of truth — plus shipped ConnectWise and Halo PSA integrations and Datto/Addigy/ScalePad connectors.
This is the two-tool view. See the full msp project management software, compared for all 7 tools side by side.