Microsoft Planner covers team tasks; Planner Plan 1 adds Timeline Gantt and finish-to-start dependencies; Planner and Project Plan 3 adds Project desktop, critical path, baselines, and lead or lag.
What is the difference between Microsoft Planner and Microsoft Project in 2026?
Microsoft Planner handles team tasks inside Microsoft 365. Planner Plan 1 adds premium planning with the Timeline (Gantt), Calendar and People views and finish-to-start dependencies. Planner and Project Plan 3 adds the Project desktop client, critical path, baselines, portfolio creation, the Assignments view, and advanced dependencies with lead and lag.
Microsoft retired Project for the web on 1 August 2025 and moved its features into Planner’s premium plans. Project Online, the cloud service, retired on 30 September 2026. The old question “Planner or Project?” is now mostly a licensing question. Choose the included Planner for shared tasks and simple coordination, Plan 1 for a web Gantt schedule, and Plan 3 for professional project controls and Project desktop. Project desktop can also be bought outright: Project Standard 2024 costs $679.99 and Project Professional 2024 costs $1,129.99, each a one-time purchase for one PC.
How do Planner and Project compare at a glance?
| Capability | Planner in Microsoft 365 | Planner Plan 1 | Planner and Project Plan 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. business list price | Included in Microsoft 365 subscriptions | $10/user/month, paid yearly | $30/user/month, paid yearly |
| Primary use | Team task management | Structured web project planning | Advanced scheduling and portfolios |
| Timeline (Gantt) | No | Yes | Yes |
| View task dependencies | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Create dependencies | No | Finish-to-start | Advanced, with lead and lag |
| Critical path | No | No | Yes |
| Baselines | No | No | Yes |
| People view | No | Yes | Yes |
| Assignments view | No | No | Yes |
| Portfolio creation | No | View only | Yes |
| Project desktop client | No | No | Yes |
| Project Online | Retired on 30 September 2026 | Retired on 30 September 2026 | Retired on 30 September 2026 |
Checked on 18 October 2026: Prices are U.S. business list prices before tax and can vary by region, contract, and promotion.
Figures and their sources
Microsoft Planner
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Planner | Included in Microsoft 365, without the Timeline (Gantt) view | Microsoft service description |
| Planner Plan 1 (Timeline, finish-to-start links) | $10 per user per month, paid yearly | Microsoft Planner plans and pricing |
| Critical path and baselines | Planner and Project Plan 3, $30 per user per month, paid yearly | Microsoft Planner plans and pricing |
| Rating | 4.3 out of 5 from 298 reviews | Capterra UK |
Microsoft Project
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Project Standard 2024 | $679.99 one-time, for one PC | Microsoft Project plans and pricing |
| Project Professional 2024 | $1,129.99 one-time, for one PC | Microsoft Project plans and pricing |
| Desktop app by subscription | Comes with Planner and Project Plan 3, $30 per user per month paid yearly | Microsoft Planner plans and pricing |
| Project Online | Retired on 30 September 2026 | Microsoft lifecycle: Project Online |
Checked on .
When is the included Microsoft Planner enough?
The included Planner is enough when the team needs shared tasks, assignments, and simple status tracking, and most due dates do not depend on each other.
Planner’s strongest advantage is Microsoft 365 fit. Basic Planner comes with Microsoft 365 subscriptions, including Microsoft 365 E3 and E5, and it runs on the web and in Microsoft Teams. An organization already standardized on Microsoft identity and compliance may value that integration more than deeper schedule math.
The included Planner is not a free Gantt tier. It has no Timeline view, and its users can only view dependencies. Creating dependencies and opening Timeline both need a paid Planner license.
Choose included Planner when: work is primarily shared task tracking, simple dates are enough, and no one needs to maintain a dependency-driven finish forecast.
When is Planner Plan 1 the right upgrade?
Planner Plan 1 is the middle option for teams that need a web Gantt chart without Project desktop. Microsoft lists the Timeline (Gantt), Calendar and People views, sprints, viewing portfolios, and creation of finish-to-start dependencies. The pricing page offers one month of Plan 1 free.
The dependency model is the important boundary. Microsoft describes Plan 1 as supporting finish-to-start dependencies. Teams that need lead, lag, or the other dependency types must move to Plan 3 or validate another scheduling product.
At the current annual-commitment list price:
| Paid users | Monthly list total | Annual list total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10 | $120 |
| 5 | $50 | $600 |
| 10 | $100 | $1,200 |
| 25 | $250 | $3,000 |
Microsoft’s service description lists Timeline as unavailable with Office 365 licenses alone, so the people who use premium views need a premium license. Price only those people, and confirm with Microsoft what everyone else can do in a premium plan.
Choose Plan 1 when: Timeline, sprints, and finish-to-start dependency scheduling solve the problem, and the Microsoft 365 environment is an advantage.
When do you need Planner and Project Plan 3?
Plan 3 is the first current Microsoft tier that lists critical path, baselines, advanced dependencies with lead and lag, the Assignments view and resource requests, portfolio creation, and the Project desktop client. Those are control features, not cosmetic views. Microsoft offers a 30-day trial of Plan 3.
Plan 3 is better for construction, engineering, migrations, contractual delivery, or multi-project environments where a manager must preserve the approved plan, explain variance, identify finish-driving work, and exchange Project files or use the desktop scheduler.
At $30 per user/month paid yearly, list-price examples are:
| Paid users | Monthly list total | Annual list total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30 | $360 |
| 5 | $150 | $1,800 |
| 10 | $300 | $3,600 |
| 25 | $750 | $9,000 |
Microsoft also sells Planner and Project Plan 5, which adds managing resource skills; its U.S. Planner pricing page lists no price for it. A premium plan in either tier holds up to 3,000 tasks and 150 resources per project.
Do not license every stakeholder automatically. Determine who must use premium views, Project desktop, or advanced controls, then confirm Microsoft’s collaboration rights for everyone else.
Choose Plan 3 when: critical path, formal baselines, advanced relationships, assignments, portfolios, or Project desktop are requirements rather than optional extras.
Is Microsoft Planner’s Schedule view the same as a Gantt chart?
No. A schedule or calendar view places tasks on dates. Planner’s Timeline view, which Microsoft labels Timeline (Gantt), places bars across time so people can inspect duration and relationships as a Gantt chart. Timeline starts with Plan 1; basic Planner does not have it.
A calendar answers “What is due on Tuesday?” A Gantt schedule answers “Which work must finish before testing, and what moves if design is three days late?” Read Does Microsoft Planner Have a Gantt Chart? for setup and licensing detail.
What does Microsoft Project still do better?
The Project side remains stronger when schedule controls are the product being purchased. Project desktop, baseline comparison, critical-path calculations, advanced dependencies, assignment views, and portfolio creation are capabilities a lightweight task board is not designed to replace. Project desktop adds Gantt Chart, Network Diagram and Task Sheet views, resource leveling in Standard, and full resource management and timesheets in Professional.
Microsoft also wins when tenant governance, existing Project skills, Project file exchange, or interoperability with the broader Microsoft stack outweigh license cost and complexity. GanttFather is not a replacement for Microsoft 365, Project Server, or a mature Project desktop process.
When is GanttFather the better third option?
GanttFather is the better fit when a small scheduling team wants a focused web Gantt without paying a premium license for every viewer. It is free for 1 project you own, with 2 editors and unlimited free viewers. The application includes FS, SS, FF, and SF dependencies with lead and lag plus critical-path highlighting.
Each extra project is US$5 a month (US$2.50 a month billed yearly), and an extra editor seat is US$2 a month (US$1 a month billed yearly). GanttFather also has an MCP server so AI assistants such as Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor can work with your plans.
GanttFather does not provide Project desktop, .mpp or XML files, baselines, automatic resource leveling, or portfolio controls. It can import an Excel file exported from Microsoft Project, with task names, dates, percent complete, and resources. Choose on the control process you actually need.
Test the same representative schedule in GanttFather before deciding which planning tier and editor model fits.
- Compare GanttFather with Microsoft Planner
- Compare GanttFather with Microsoft Project
- See GanttFather pricing
How should you choose?
Use this decision rule:
- Only need shared tasks and simple dates? Use Planner included with Microsoft 365.
- Need a web Gantt and finish-to-start dependencies? Evaluate Planner Plan 1.
- Need baselines, critical path, lead/lag, portfolios, or Project desktop? Evaluate Plan 3.
- Need focused Gantt scheduling with a few editors and many free viewers? Evaluate GanttFather.
- Need offline open-source scheduling or local files? Consider GanttProject or ProjectLibre.
Build one representative schedule during a trial. Test the dependency types, licensing roles, export path, baseline process, and resource workflow that determine success.
Frequently asked questions
Did Microsoft replace Project with Planner?
Partly. Microsoft retired Project for the web on 1 August 2025 and moved its features into Planner, which now has the same premium plans Project for the web had. Roadmaps did not move; Microsoft asks users to re-create them as Planner Portfolios. Project Online retired on 30 September 2026. Project desktop was not affected: it comes with Planner and Project Plan 3, or as Project Standard 2024 and Professional 2024.
Does Planner Plan 1 include critical path?
No. Microsoft places critical path and baselines in Planner and Project Plan 3 at $30 per user/month paid yearly. Plan 1 provides Timeline and finish-to-start dependency creation.
Does included Planner support dependencies?
Only for viewing. Microsoft’s service description lists dependencies as view-only for basic Planner. Creating dependencies starts with Plan 1, and access to Timeline also requires Plan 1.
Does Microsoft Project require Microsoft 365?
It depends on the offer. Project Standard 2024 and Professional 2024 are sold as one-time purchases for one PC. The subscription desktop client requires an active Planner and Project Plan 3 subscription. Confirm prerequisites with Microsoft or your reseller instead of adding an assumed base license to every cost comparison.
Is Project Plan 3 worth three times Plan 1?
It is worth the difference when the project’s governance depends on critical path, baselines, advanced dependency control, assignments, portfolios, or Project desktop. If the team only needs a web timeline and simple handoffs, Plan 1 is usually the closer fit.
Sources
- Microsoft, Planner plans and pricing
- Microsoft Learn, Planner premium plans service description
- Microsoft, Project plans and pricing
- Microsoft Planner Blog, Transitioning to Microsoft Planner and retiring Project for the web
- Microsoft Planner Blog, Microsoft Project Online is retiring
- Microsoft Learn, Project Online lifecycle
- Microsoft Learn, Understand Planner trials and license assignments
