Microsoft Planner vs. Microsoft Project

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Planner
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Planner is presented as a solution to organize teamwork with intuitive, collaborative, visual task management. With it, users can create Kanban boards using task cards with files, checklists, and labels. Users can collaborate in Planner and Microsoft Teams and check visual status charts—all in the Microsoft cloud.N/A
Microsoft Project
Score 7.9 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Project is a project management software. It provides core PM functionality, including agile workflow support and resource management. Project can be deployed in the cloud or on-premise.
$120
per year per user
Pricing
Microsoft PlannerMicrosoft Project
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Project Server
$0
Planner Plan 1
$10
per month per user
Planner and Project Plan 3
$30
per month per user
Planner and Project Plan 5
$55
per month per user
Project Standard 2024
$679.99
one-time fee per installation
Project Professional 2024
$1,129.99
one-time fee per installation
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft PlannerMicrosoft Project
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPlans are billed annually.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft PlannerMicrosoft Project
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Planner
Chose Microsoft Planner
I would recommend Planner for light project / team management with strong MS Teams integration.
For a PMO / large project with resources/cost/gantt management, I would really recommend MS Project.
Chose Microsoft Planner
Compared to the other options, we already had access to Microsoft Planner, preconfigured accounts, and support and ordination from tech internally to use it. We previously used Wrike, I wanted to use Asana, and other people in the organisation either used Microsoft Project, or …
Chose Microsoft Planner
Our organization chose MS Planner because it is an included tool in the MS Suite, and since we are unfortunately replacing our current and much better project management tool due to a consolidation of the tech stack. However, it doesn't appear that any of the teams using the …
Microsoft Project
Chose Microsoft Project
Jira and Miro are very visual, they provide us a very friendly interface (specially Miro), and in the case of Jira, it give us very customizable workflows that suit team needs.
Chose Microsoft Project
Initially, I tried using Smartsheet and then Wrike, all for Gantt Chart availability and task management. They don't come close to the flexibility or depth of features that Microsoft Project provides.

Wrike does have better collaboration amongst team members and provides an …
Features
Microsoft PlannerMicrosoft Project
Project Management
Comparison of Project Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Planner
-
Ratings
Microsoft Project
8.1
111 Ratings
5% above category average
Task Management00 Ratings8.2110 Ratings
Resource Management00 Ratings7.7107 Ratings
Gantt Charts00 Ratings9.0107 Ratings
Scheduling00 Ratings8.5109 Ratings
Workflow Automation00 Ratings10.083 Ratings
Team Collaboration00 Ratings7.398 Ratings
Support for Agile Methodology00 Ratings4.983 Ratings
Support for Waterfall Methodology00 Ratings7.783 Ratings
Document Management00 Ratings9.077 Ratings
Email integration00 Ratings5.082 Ratings
Mobile Access00 Ratings10.067 Ratings
Timesheet Tracking00 Ratings10.073 Ratings
Change request and Case Management00 Ratings7.964 Ratings
Budget and Expense Management00 Ratings7.786 Ratings
Professional Services Automation
Comparison of Professional Services Automation features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft Planner
-
Ratings
Microsoft Project
8.9
79 Ratings
14% above category average
Quotes/estimates00 Ratings7.955 Ratings
Invoicing00 Ratings10.045 Ratings
Project & financial reporting00 Ratings7.676 Ratings
Integration with accounting software00 Ratings10.050 Ratings
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User Ratings
Microsoft PlannerMicrosoft Project
Likelihood to Recommend
7.4
(28 ratings)
8.0
(111 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(2 ratings)
10.0
(3 ratings)
Usability
7.7
(12 ratings)
8.7
(9 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(34 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
5.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft PlannerMicrosoft Project
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
There are a few examples where MS Planner would be suitable for employees at a mature organization. In my opinion, if you have Outlook or Teams, you already have built-in calendars and to-do lists. If you need a project management tool, you have two options: either pay for MS Project or use an alternative tool like Monday, Asana, or Jira. Regardless, their free versions are much more sophisticated than Microsoft's (MS Planner). Any team wishing to put together a halfway-decent project management board will need to look elsewhere, as MS Planner is only suitable for a personal to-do list.
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Microsoft
Microsoft Project Online is suited to Turnkey Projects where more Collaboration is required in Project Progress monitoring, risk assessment and conveying, issue recording and tracking. It is less appropriate when ERP Suites other than MS Dynamics are used, i.e when Enterprises need to integrate Finance / Accounting with It and having straight project management workflow
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Pros
Microsoft
  • I love the ability to tag and untag others as needed
  • I love the ability to customize the tag labels and that there are so many options
  • I love the ability to add comments and it notifies the others tagged in the task
  • I love that the task description can be changed as needed without notification to others assigned to the task
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Microsoft
  • I love the Gantt Chart that Microsoft Project offers me, because it provides me with a view from various aspects, it provides me with exact details about the fulfillment of tasks over a period of time, it also allows me to make comparisons with the necessary data and the fulfilled data. by the employees, in order to know exactly if the project's expectations have been met.
  • I love the Gantt Chart that Microsoft Project offers me, because it provides me with a view from various aspects, it provides me with exact details about the fulfillment of tasks over a period of time, it also allows me to make comparisons with the necessary data and the fulfilled data by the employees, in order to know exactly if the project's expectations have been met.
  • The alert system for the fulfillment and delay of assignments is perfect. Microsoft Project allows me to configure the task system, I can assign the necessary tasks to fulfill the project, and the software alerts me immediately if the managers are fulfilling the assignments.
Read full review
Cons
Microsoft
  • Would be nice to see a calendar view instead of a list view
  • Permissions aren't configurable, anyone can delete any task at any time and there is no recycle bin
  • Notifications aren't great, you have to be attached as an owner to a task to see comments and be notified of changes, and even then notifications aren't shown for a lot of things
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Microsoft
  • Seems overly complicated for users sometimes in using Project and its functionalities
  • Hard to share files for those folks who do not have MS Project, and then have to print out for them
  • Can be confusing since it looks and feels like MS Excel
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Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
It is a very useful tool that brings teams in sync with one another. The integration with other Microsoft products makes it an obvious choice because you don't have to purchase a license for a completely different tool that doesn't have cross-functional capabilities with the software you already use on a daily basis.
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Microsoft
I like using Microsoft Project. It simplifies building a schedule
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Usability
Microsoft
The board-and-bucket layout makes it easy to organize tasks, track progress, and prioritize work at a glance, even for first-time users. I also appreciate how Planner seamlessly integrates with tools like Teams, Outlook, and SharePoint, enabling users to collaborate, schedule tasks, and access their plans without needing to switch platforms. I also like how it’s accessible not only on desktops, but also on mobile devices.
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Microsoft
Microsoft
Project is easy to operate because data could be inserted, changed and
deleted like you are in an Excel timesheet. Besides, it provides a great
level of automation beween his fields allowing few data changes. Also, its
funcionalities are well defined and grouped in upper menus, so you can find a
funcionality quickly
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Support Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
Microsoft in recent years has transformed itself and gives a positive feeling when one interacts with the company. The company is focusing on its customers and willing to go extra mile to make customers happy.The company continues to invest in its products and bringing new features from time to time. Overall it is a positive feeling to be associated with such an iconic company.
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Implementation Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Microsoft
I wasn't part of it so I don't know
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Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Many areas of the company still use Trello to organize their activities and tasks, but gradually Microsoft Planner must replace the activities. Users are often "attached" to familiar technologies, but Office 365 takes advantage of the more organized use of the tools. This year we will not renew the Trello contract.
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Microsoft
While many of the above tools are extremely well-versed, Microsoft Project's largest advantage comes from it being related to the largest business productivity company in the world. Project does have its sharing limitations - but regardless, offers one of the most robust tools in the market today. Microsoft Project is built with large-scale projects in mind but is more than up to the task for smaller projects as well. However, there are options available (especially cloud-based options) that may be more fitting for higher-level projects that do not require going into the weeds.
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • In my experience, productivity is negatively impacted because assigning subtasks aren't clear on Microsoft Planner
  • Managers aren't able to track direct reports' tasks across multiple boards -- leading to poor visibility for us
  • Notifications aren't always sent to inbox, so you rely on people's own project management skills to follow the communication on tasks they're assigned to. In my experience, this leads to missed deadlines impacting customer relationships.
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Microsoft
  • Project saved me, as the project manager, countless hours of digging through tickets and schedules to plan everything out. It also saved me time in adjusting the project triangle as needed, since it does so much automatically.
  • It is costly, and since it requires extensive training to master, it's not just the high licensing cost that you need to take into account.
  • The reporting features - even just printing out Gantt charts - makes it far easier to communicate with stakeholders. That means less time for PMs doing all of this manually, and it means less follow-up questions and delays moving forward.
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ScreenShots