Microsoft Planner vs. Todoist

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
Todoist
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Doist, a company boasting an entirely globally distributed workforce, offers Todoist, a project management platform emphasizing the needs of a distributed workforce. The application emphasizes tracking events over time with advanced closed task and progress reporting, with custom graphics for sharing or ease of review.
$8
per month per user
Pricing
Microsoft PlannerTodoist
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Business
$8
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft PlannerTodoist
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft PlannerTodoist
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Planner
Chose Microsoft Planner
Microsoft Planner won out over Todoist due to it's ability to integrate other software and allow us to be able to do more work in one software. The project management functions were superior as well. Probably the biggest advantage was the task management. We liked how it worked …
Todoist
Chose Todoist
We have been back and forth with these two pieces of software through the years, Microsoft Planner ultimately is ever chosen for its integration with other Microsoft accounts and software. Todoist is ultimately the more flexible and better for smaller teams or projects. Anyone …
Best Alternatives
Microsoft PlannerTodoist
Small Businesses
7shifts
7shifts
Score 9.8 out of 10
7shifts
7shifts
Score 9.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Todoist
Todoist
Score 9.1 out of 10
Whimsical
Whimsical
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Whimsical
Whimsical
Score 9.2 out of 10
Whimsical
Whimsical
Score 9.2 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Microsoft PlannerTodoist
Likelihood to Recommend
7.4
(28 ratings)
8.6
(81 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.7
(12 ratings)
9.0
(9 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.6
(31 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft PlannerTodoist
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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Doist
There have been lots of times when we need to add a new habit into our daily work routines, and having the option to do so in the To-Doist app on the very first screen is incredibly helpful. It's a good reminder, and I believe that professionals who truly appreciate and properly value the implementation of good habits would be very grateful for this feature. It's also a time saver because you don't have to manually type it in every day/week / etc.
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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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Doist
  • Free plan offers two viewing options and 4 color themes; paid plans offer more
  • Can integrate with Google Calendar, IFTTT, and Zapier apps
  • Viewing format is pretty uncomplicated, including sidebar, easy on the eyes
  • Importable and exportable data, emails
  • Optional beta testing opportunities (can opt in/opt out at any time)
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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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Doist
  • The Todoist application now works almost identically across all platforms. There is a minor improvement that I would like to see on iOS and that is the ability to show task count by custom filter.
  • In Board view, I want to be able to easily add sub-tasks to a parent task.
  • Besides those two minor improvements, I am extremely happy with the application.
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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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Doist
No answers on this topic
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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Doist
Excellent features and concept, simple implementation, but the software is not very clear in training new users and communicating features. The occasional unexplained crash or freeze is not handled gracefully by the desktop software, requiring either the user or tech support to manually restart.
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Support Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Doist
I've used Todoist for about three years now and I haven't needed to contact support, which I'm considering a 10 out of 10. Honestly, their platform is so easy to use that I never had to look up a knowledge base or forum to be able to do what I wanted in Todoist. So I'm not sure what their support system looks like or how it works, but I do know that if I haven't needed support, that's also a good sign!
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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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Doist
[Todoist: To-Do List & Task Manager] is significantly simpler and cheaper than most of the alternatives and doesn't complicate the management of tasks with a plethora of unnecessary features. While all the alternatives have strong feature sets, what Todoist does better than any of them is manage tasks, in theory the central point of them all.
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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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Doist
  • Location-based reminders ensured that my staff didn't miss things when they went onsite with a customer. This has led to renewals on a regular basis.
  • Sharing of task visibility for managers with their direct reports has enhanced 1-on-1 meetings and ensured that field coaches kept focused
  • The cost of Todoist vs. the value it creates is a huge selling point for the software. For the price per user, I've found nothing that even comes close!
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ScreenShots

Todoist Screenshots

Screenshot of Todoist's tasks, projects, and deadlines tracking.Screenshot of the task assignment interface.Screenshot of Todoist's project layouts, which allow users to switch between board, calendar or list to track progress and deliver projects on time.Screenshot of the task grouping and filtering feature. This can be done by personal and/or team projects to separate work and life, or to get an overview of both.Screenshot of Screenshot of the project folder organizing feature, used to organize projects by client, department, initiative, or goals.