Product manager vs. project manager: what's the difference?

The titles of “product manager” and “project manager” certainly sound similar, and while both roles are generally abbreviated to “PM” within an organization, they are not one and the same. Consider a Venn diagram: while there is some overlap between job roles, there are also many clear differences. Despite these differences, product and project managers often work closely together to bring a product to market. 

In this article, we’ll examine the skill sets, responsibilities, and career trajectories for product and project managers, and how they can effectively work together to produce the best results.

Product manager vs. project manager: What do they do?

Both product managers and project managers are intensive planners with excellent relationship building and communication skills. They both manage timelines, stakeholder expectations, work with cross-functional teams, and must maintain a level of expertise or understanding of the teams they each work with.

At times, smaller companies or startups may hire a single person to perform both roles, given the overlap in skill sets, but this typically stretches that person thin and results will skew in the direction they’re strongest in—either on the product or project side. 

What's the difference between a product and a project?

A product represents the final deliverable, whether that’s a software product, service, or physical object. A project determines how that product will be produced—in an organized, explainable, and risk-averse way. 

For example, a product roadmap will outline the required features and functionalities expected within a general timeframe. A project plan, by contrast, will define and detail the project’s overall scope, budget, resources, and will track each milestone and dependency at a granular level—all in service of bringing that final product to market on time.  

What is product management?

Product management is a discipline within an organization that owns the product vision and roadmap, and helps to guide a final deliverable through its product life cycle—which includes planning, forecasting, developing, marketing, and adoption. Product managers must be highly attuned to market conditions and customer feedback while balancing stakeholder expectations. In some industries, the influence of project management cannot be overlooked—gaming provides a key example.

Products—especially software or service offerings—are rarely “done.” Plans usually include upgrades or features that will continue to be developed at later dates, once the minimum viable product is delivered. A product life cycle may include multiple projects. 

Focus

Product managers must focus on:

Responsibilities

Core responsibilities include:

Skills

Key skills include:

What is project management?

Project management is a discipline within an organization that ensures a project’s goals are met within the guardrails of time, budget, and resources—and that the final deliverable meets stakeholder and customer expectations. Of course, artificial intelligence impacts this field, as it does so many others, but a recent Gartner survey suggests that this is still one of the fastest growing roles in the years ahead, given the human expertise needed.

Projects are time-bound endeavors, so project planning begins with a clear start and end date, whether the deliverable is large and a result of cross-functional collaboration or smaller and confined within a single team.

Focus

Project managers must focus on:

Responsibilities

Core responsibilities include:

Skills

Key skills include:

How do product managers and project managers work together?

Each role has different focuses and strengths, which can be powerful when combined. A product manager might struggle with task management, but excel at user research, forecasting, or the marketing of a new product, whereas a great project manager may be brilliant at planning, but might lose sight of what makes a product appealing in the marketplace. Together, they can drive successful product development. 

In general, the product manager focuses on what to build and communicates why it’s important, while the project manager concentrates on how the product will be built—including who will build it, and when. Together they work to balance market needs with practical delivery constraints.

Joint planning sessions should begin early, where product managers define the requirements while project managers facilitate realistic delivery timeframes, allocate resources, and assign the right people to the prioritized features. Once a project is underway, the two managers should hold regular status meetings to assess progress against roadmap goals and identify any potential issues from either the market or internal roadblocks. 

This partnership works best when each respects the other's domain and expertise, while maintaining open communication about challenges and opportunities.

Becoming a project manager vs. product manager

Individuals can begin with the intention of becoming a project or product manager, but people frequently move into these roles from adjacent positions—often because they’re recognized for having the talent and skill set, or enthusiasm for the role’s responsibilities.

Project managers may begin as a coordinator or team lead on projects and naturally take to leadership and the detailed, hands-on planning that’s required. Individuals can also pursue project management certifications such as CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management) or PMP (Project Management Professional), which are offered through a variety of institutions. Some project managers benefit from specializing in particular methodologies, such as Agile or Waterfall, depending on the industry or team they support. The advent of AI also introduces new training, such as the CMPAI from the Project Management Institute.

Product managers typically have a background in fields like engineering, design, marketing, or customer success, and have some level of technical or industry expertise. Often, product managers (vs. product marketers) may pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree or have taken project management courses. It’s essential to have a solid understanding of user experience and business fundamentals, whether in B2B or B2C, in this role. 

Career paths for product managers and project managers

Both product and project managers typically follow a leveled progression from associate to product/project manager, to a senior product/project manager, and then into a director or executive-level role. At the highest level, a product manager might progress to become a VP of Product or even a Chief Product Officer. Similarly, a project manager could advance to become head of a project management office (PMO).

For product managers, advancement is usually the result of demonstrating business impact, feature adoption, and revenue growth. Success might be measured through product performance metrics, user satisfaction, or market share.

For project managers, advancement is generally realized through managing increasingly complex and larger-budget projects. Success is measured by delivering these projects on time, within budget, and with positive feedback from stakeholders.

Product management vs. project management: Key differences summarized

Here are some key differences between project and product management:

Product management software vs. project management software

Naturally, software designed to enable product and project management are typically tailored to each role:

That said, given the areas of overlap, there are some software platforms well-suited to supporting both disciplines. Airtable is flexible enough to support both product managers and project managers—because it’s built to adapt to the way you work. With shared, connected data at its core, you can build custom apps that unify workflows, track deliverables, and manage workloads across teams. Product managers can run end-to-end development in Airtable ProductCentral, while project managers can integrate timelines, approvals, and reporting into broader business processes. Choose the views that work best for your team—Gantt, Kanban, calendar—and let Airtable AI simplify the rest with automation and insights.