Free Timeline Template Collection for Professionals
This free timeline template collection was created for professionals who need outstanding timeline presentations that will thrill clients and impress management. These timeline chart templates were designed to be powerful, customizable and easy to present in important meetings. You can edit each template manually or automatically with the free timeline maker from Office Timeline. It plugs right into PowerPoint and makes it incredibly easy to add your own data, change template colors and styles, and update timelines instantly as things change.
Instantly customize the templates below or easily make your own timeline right inside PowerPoint.
Timelines are the most effective way to visualize business roadmaps, project plans, event schedules or workflows and to ensure important deadlines are hit. This page offers you a series of project timeline templates for PowerPoint that you can easily download, customize and use to set your project up for success.
PowerPoint Timeline
Easily customizable PowerPoint slide designed as a timeline for professionals who need high-level, clear visuals when reviewing any project plans, program or business summaries.
Swimlane Diagram
Swimlane PowerPoint template that clearly lays out the framework of a project, from scheduling activities to task assignment and resource management.
Project Plan
Intuitive PowerPoint slide that serves as a quick yet visually effective alternative to complex project management tools to produce clear, well-laid-out plans for launching a project.
Sales Plan
Easy-to-edit sales plan sample for sales leaders, marketers or account executives to lay out objectives against a timeband in weeks; it can be customized to show campaign plans and targets in months, quarters or years.
Example Timeline
Visual template with Today’s Date indicator that helps enterprise workers get a quick start on creating timelines for project reviews, status reports, or any presentations that require a simple project schedule.
Project Chart
Free timeline chart example that outlines the major deliverables of a project in chronological order, helping project planners and managers visually communicate all the critical project actions, deadlines and events from start to finish.
Project Schedule
Easy-to-follow timeline example to create high-level representations of work breakdown structures that estimate the effort, time and resources needed to achieve a project’s objectives.
Project Implementation Plan
Visual timeline example that provides a bird’s eye view of what a project team is expected to deliver, when, and what steps they need to complete; helpful in tracking task progress as the project moves forward, or in identifying at-risk items.
Hourly Schedule
Simple template with timeband in hours and layout that accommodates overlapping items; useful in creating 24-hour schedules, such as training and class schedules, it can also be used for visualizing plans that take less than 60 minutes or span over multiple hours.
Graphic Chart
Visual timeline template with multi-shaped and -colored milestones to easily create high-level graphic charts that are simple to understand by audiences.
Project Budget
Budget-and-timeline template displaying the major phases and tasks of a project, each accompanied by their duration, cost estimation and budget utilization (%).
Incident Response Plan
Free, downloadable timeline graphic using hours and minutes to give a clear overview on how an organization needs to plan its reaction to incidents so that outage be limited and activity resumed as soon as possible.
Marketing Plan
Free marketing timeline model that, once customized, effectively outlines your overall marketing strategy and serves as a solid visual aid to support marketing plan presentations.
1-Year Plan
Clear timeline sample for outlining the objectives of a business that operates on an annual rhythm, or of a plan that spans over 12 months or less.
Event Planning Timeline
Simple timeline model showing all the major deadlines on a single summary slide, acting as a useful resource for event planners who are managing teams and vendors.
Milestone Chart
Milestone chart sample that focuses on the main sequence of events, targets and objectives that need to be achieved throughout a project’s lifecycle, from which planners can build more comprehensive plans.
5-Year Plan
Easy-to-understand timeline template that helps summarize long-term plans and illustrate the stages, milestones and resources needed to deliver a 5-year project.
Task List
Swimlane-based timeline sample that helps better organize and track tasks across departments and teams, highlighting the impact of changes on other stages of the project.
Action Plan
Flexible timeline example structured into 3 generic process stages set against an adjustable timeline backdrop, complete with fully customizable milestones.
Project Overview
Timeline example with multi-colored and diversely shaped objects to represent tasks and milestones and ensure a clear structure and layout to any project presentation, helping business professionals present the management framework for their project in a clear manner.
Business Plan
Clear, ready-made timeline sample with tasks well-delimited through three separate color codes and in-a-row layout to enable planners to create effective, one-page business plans that channel the audience’s attention to its most important aspects.
Criminal Investigation Timeline
Native PowerPoint timeline slide with a simple-to-follow layout of key facts that lawyers can use to create clear chronological, fact-based visual exhibits for their court arguments.
Daily Schedule
Template displayed graphically as an hourly Gantt chart, providing a simpler way of seeing and checking schedules at a glance.
Meeting Schedule
Meeting schedule template designed in a Gantt chart style to assist with the scheduling and organization of a meeting itinerary or agenda.
Legal Litigation Timeline
Native PowerPoint timeline sample that is easy to edit and share; designed to enable litigators exhibit their trial data and case information to the jury in a refreshing and easy-to-follow way.
Project Management
Intuitive timeline example created to help project managers plan and communicate their projects broadly. Illustrating critical tasks, milestones and general progress, it gives a clear overview at a glance.
Crisis Management Plan
Professionally-designed timeline example structured in swimlanes that covers all the steps and processes one needs to follow in a crisis management process, from when the crisis occurs to response, business continuity process, recovery, and review.
Program Plan
Color-coded timeline split into blocks to help program managers visually map multiple projects or phases with a complex program, thus giving a high-level and complete picture of their plans.
Work Plan
Planner timeline template chronologically illustrating the major milestones and key tasks of a project to make a high-level model of what work needs to be done.
Marketing Swimlanes Roadmap
Swimlane diagram example that provides a crisp, well-structured illustration of the tasks and milestones of your marketing campaign, according to the phase of the campaign to which they belong.
Court Timeline
Intuitive template with multi-colored milestones and simple formatting that lawyers and legal professionals can use to create compelling courtroom chronological visuals for trial presentations, such as opening arguments, witness examination or closing statements.
Weekly Work Schedule
Simple-to-communicate PowerPoint slide that can be used for a variety of scenarios, from simplifying staffing timetables or coverage charts, to creating weekly agendas or shift schedules.
Blank Timeline
Generic timeline example that can be easily customized to quickly make an impressive, high-level summary of important events in a chronological order.
Frequently asked questions about timeline templates
What is a project timeline template?
A project timeline template is a pre-made model of a timeline that you can customize with your own data to chronologically display events and activities involved in a project.
Timelines help you keep track of your project's progress by showing info on the sequence of activities, the duration of each activity, and the dependencies between activities, so you can easily see how much work has been completed and how much is still left to do.
Building a project timeline can be rather difficult and time consuming. Templates help you save time and energy, providing you with a predefined structure for your tasks and milestones. A project timeline template will simplify the work of creating a clear schedule of your project, needing only minor data editing.
For inspiration, browse our collection of free timeline templates. You can download them and easily make customizations with the free, professional tool Office Timeline, an automatic timeline maker that plugs right into PowerPoint. Here is an example of a project timeline template that you can generate with Office Timeline:
Does Office have a timeline template?
Yes, Microsoft Office does offer several basic timeline templates within its suite of programs (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint). However, you might find these timeline templates very limited or unsuitable for bigger, more complex projects.
If you want to learn how to make a timeline using Microsoft Office tools, we’ve put together a whole collection of free tutorials to help you get started.
Is there a timeline template for PowerPoint?
As part of the MS Office suite of programs, PowerPoint provides a few simple types of graphics and charts that users can manually format and adjust to create a very basic timeline. To find them, go to File > New and type “timeline” in the search box.
However, manually building timelines or customizing templates in PowerPoint is not only time-consuming, but also frustrating when it comes to updating the visual. To help you save time and effort, we’ve created a collection of free PowerPoint timeline templates that you can see above, download and easily customize for your specific purposes.
You can modify any of these project timeline templates manually or automatically, after you install the free timeline maker add-in for PowerPoint from Office Timeline. The add-in will automate the entire process of creating, updating and customizing a timeline chart. You also get access to dozens of professionally designed project timeline templates.
Is there a timeline template in Excel?
Yes, there are some timeline templates available in Excel. To find them, open an Excel file and go to File > New and type “timeline” in the search box. Scroll down the list and choose one that you like.
With the pre-designed templates in Excel, it’s easier and faster to create a visual representation of events. However, your options are limited, the templates can only be used for basic timelines, and you’ll still need to invest a lot of time in customization to make your timelines look professional.
Alternatively, you can look at using an automated timeline maker, such as Office Timeline, to generate timelines instantly. This tool allows for Excel data use by import or copy-paste. With just a few clicks, your timeline is ready, and you can use it in your Excel file as an image or as an embedded PowerPoint slide, easy to update as soon as the original slide changes. Office Timeline offers a free trial that comes with a set of built-in templates. Here is a quick preview of a part of the templates it includes:
Learn more on making timelines in PowerPoint using Excel data in our tutorial on how to automatically make a great looking timeline from Excel.
Does Google Docs have a timeline template?
No, Google Docs does not have any pre-designed timeline templates. You can find some timeline templates in other tools on Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), such as Google Slides and Google Sheets. Alternatively, use a free online professional tool such as Office Timeline Online, and take advantage of its rich library of easily customizable templates. Just pick the one that you like, customize it with a few clicks, and get a head start on your project.
Are there templates in Google Sheets?
There are a couple of timeline templates available in Google Sheets. To find them, click on Template gallery at the top right. There aren’t a lot of options to choose from, and the design is simplistic, with only a few functionalities.
Alternatively, if you’re looking for complex templates that you can turn into unique timelines, you might want to try Office Timeline Online, a professional, easy-to use timeline maker with a free version. Just pick one of the customizable templates and get a head start on your project. For example:
Does Google Slides have a timeline template?
Google Slides offers several timeline templates that can be used for different purposes. There are timelines for history, project management, and even personal use. To find them, go to Insert > Diagram > Timeline.
Choose a timeline from the templates collection that opens on the right. The templates are easy to use and can be customized to fit your needs, but your options are limited to just a few items per timeline and a short range of colors.
Alternatively, you can use a free, professional timeline maker for imaginative, multipurpose templates, ease of use and improved functionality. Go to Office Timeline Online and pick one of the dozens of templates in the tool’s template library, insert your data, and your timeline is ready to use.
The timelines created with Office Timeline Online can be downloaded as images (.png files) or PowerPoint slides (.pptx files). You can then import the slides into your Google Slides presentation or copy-paste your images directly into the target Google document.
Find more detailed info on using this tool in our support article Office Timeline Online Quick-Start.
Does Word have timeline templates?
No, Microsoft Word does not include timeline templates as part of its built-in templates. However, there are many timeline templates available online that can be downloaded and used as images in your Word document. An easy solution is to use an automated professional timeline maker such as Office Timeline to generate the timeline that you need with just a few clicks. Try the premium edition of this tool for free and take advantage of its rich template collection.
Ideally, you would make your presentation in PowerPoint to benefit from the specific features of this complex presentation software. With Office Timeline, you get presentation-ready timelines with just a few clicks. However, should you need to use your timeline in a Microsoft Word document, you can do so easily by including it as an image or an embedded object that can be updated whenever the PowerPoint file changes.
How do I add a timeline template to PowerPoint?
To add a timeline template to your PowerPoint presentation, open a new PowerPoint file, go to File > New and search for "timeline" in the search bar. This will bring up the available timeline templates that you can choose from, based on your needs and the purpose of your presentation. The limitations here might be the lack of variety and functionality and the average looks of the timelines that are suggested in the built-in templates collection.
If you want an easy solution that yields excellent results with minimum effort, you can use an automated, professional timeline maker such as Office Timeline. You can try Office Timeline for free for 14 days. It comes with an extensive template collection that makes timeline creation simple and friendly. You just pick a template, insert your data (manually, by importing or copy-pasting) and then automatically generate great-looking timelines that are easy to make and easy to understand by any audience, tech-savvy or not.
For more design ideas and a variety of use suggestions, browse our collection of timeline templates. You can download them for free, easily customize them and update the information to create your own timeline.
Updating your template is simple and fast.
Use the Office Timeline PowerPoint add-in to quickly update any of these timeline templates or create your own project visuals. Easily change the texts, dates, colors, shapes and styles of your timeline, right from inside PowerPoint.
Or try our online timeline maker.