KEY TAKEAWAYS
Project Online is retiring in September 2026, and Project for the Web is moving into Planner as Microsoft expands its AI offerings. For anyone mid-transition, this raises a question: can Planner cover the same range of scheduling, resource management, and portfolios? In this Microsoft Project review, I share what I found after testing Planner to see whether it’s a potential replacement for Project Online.
Over the past four years as a project management writer, I have personally tested nearly 20 PM platforms, and several of them have become part of my own workflow. I have written dozens of buyer’s guides covering a wide range of use cases and company sizes, which gave me a broader understanding of what project professionals need from these tools.
Beyond hands-on testing, I design custom scoring rubrics for each evaluation to make sure every platform is assessed accurately and on equal footing, not ranked on gut feel or vendor claims.
Marianne Sison
Senior Staff Writer for Project Management
For this Microsoft Project review, I evaluated Planner as Microsoft’s recommended path forward for Project Online users. I tested its core project management features, premium capabilities, and compared its value with competing platforms. I also considered current user feedback, Microsoft’s product documentation, and how it supports different use cases.
My final score reflects the following criteria:
- General features (25%): I evaluated task management, scheduling, collaboration, portfolio management, reporting, and Microsoft 365 integration.
- Pricing (20%): I compared plan pricing, included features, licensing requirements, and overall value for businesses of different sizes.
- Advanced features (20%): I assessed capabilities such as resource management, AI tools, workflow automation, portfolio management, and enterprise project planning.
- Expert score (15%): I considered my hands-on experience with the platform alongside its overall feature set, strengths, limitations, and competitiveness within the project management software market.
- Support (10%): I reviewed Microsoft’s documentation, learning resources, community forums, partner support, and technical assistance.
- Ease of use (10%): I evaluated the learning curve, design, setup process, and overall user experience for both new and experienced project managers.
| Microsoft Project (Planner) overview | |
| Free plan | Requires a Microsoft 365 subscription |
| Free trial | 30 days |
| Monthly starting fee | Not available |
| Annual starting fee | $10/user/month |
| Key features | • Task management and collaboration • Project desktop • Baselines and critical path • Advanced dependencies |
Who should use Microsoft Planner
Microsoft Planner works best for organizations that already rely on Microsoft 365. It also suits teams that need more structure than a simple to-do list or a lightweight task tracker without jumping to an enterprise PPM platform.
Microsoft Planner is a good fit for:
Microsoft Planner is less suited for:
Planner not cutting it?
Project Server Subscription Edition is the closest on-premises alternative to Project Online. Dynamics 365 Project Operations is worth a look if you need resource scheduling and financial tracking.
Not seeing what you need? My latest roundup of the best project management software guide covers the full range of options.
Microsoft Planner pros & cons
Pros
Cons
Microsoft Planner pricing & plans
Microsoft Planner offers premium plans through Microsoft 365 and Planner subscriptions. It offers only two standalone Planner plans, both of which require annual billing.
The basic version comes included in Microsoft 365 and works well for task management. Premium plans unlock Gantt charts, project scheduling, resource management, and portfolios, while AI capabilities require a separate Microsoft 365 Copilot license. Access to AI-powered features requires Microsoft 365 Copilot as a paid add-on.
| Plan | Price | Best for | Key features |
| Planner Basic | Included in M365 | Lightweight task tracking | Kanban boards, list views, Teams integration, task assignments |
| Planner Plan 1 | $10/user/month | Individual PMs and small teams | Gantt charts, task dependencies, timeline view, goal tracking |
| Planner and Project Plan 3 | $30/user/month | Project managers and mid-sized teams | Everything in Plan 1, plus desktop client, baselines, resource requests, roadmaps |
If you’re migrating from Project Online, you’ll need to upgrade to Project Plan 3 to access the most comparable project management features.
Planner key features
Planner combines traditional project management with Microsoft’s productivity ecosystem. Although it doesn’t match Project Online’s Project Portfolio Management (PPM) platform, Planner supports project planning and progress tracking.
The addition of portfolio management and AI-powered assistance also makes Planner a more powerful platform than its predecessor, Project for the web.
Task management and scheduling
At the entry-level, Planner covers most project planning needs, though its features are geared toward the waterfall methodology. You can create tasks, assign owners, track milestones, and switch between grid, Kanban board, and timeline views.
Planner excels at task scheduling through its Gantt charts and advanced dependencies. It automatically calculates the critical path and supports baseline tracking, so you can compare planned work against actual progress.
Compared with tools like monday and ClickUp, Planner offers fewer options for custom fields, workflow automation, and board customization. It works well for traditional project plans, but teams that rely on custom workflows or complex automation may find its capabilities restrictive.
Resource management
The Project Plan 3 plan includes tools for effort tracking, resource allocation, and workload management. You can assign work, review workloads in the Assignment view, and identify overallocated team members.
However, the feature set is less mature than what Project Online users may expect. Resource planning works well for department-level projects but may feel restrictive for larger PMOs managing hundreds of resources.
Portfolios
Planner lets you group multiple projects into a single portfolio and track progress from one dashboard. You can monitor key project details such as status, percent complete, milestones, start dates, and finish dates without switching between project plans. The Roadmap view displays projects on a shared timeline, so you can spot upcoming deadlines and major milestones across a portfolio.
The downside is its focus on portfolio tracking rather than portfolio governance. Project Server Subscription Edition may be a better fit than Planner if you need advanced demand management or scenario planning.
Microsoft 365 integration
Microsoft 365 integration remains one of Planner’s biggest advantages. Tasks connect with Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, and Power Automate, which reduces the need for third-party connectors. Team chats connect with task updates within Teams, which helps reduce context switching. On the other hand, organizations outside the Microsoft ecosystem will get far less value from these integrations.
AI features (Copilot)
Copilot brings AI capabilities to Planner, allowing users to build project plans, create tasks, define goals, review risks, and generate project summaries through natural language prompts. In my experience, it is most valuable during project setup, where it can quickly generate an initial project plan.
As an AI assistant, Copilot can answer questions related to project progress and suggest next steps based on existing data. Access to these features, however, requires a separate Microsoft 365 Copilot license, which incurs extra cost apart from the Planner subscription.
Ease of use
While Microsoft 365 users will have an easier transition, I found Planner still relatively easy for beginners to set up and use. The board format, drag-and-drop functionality, and Teams integration reduce the learning curve for basic task tracking.
Planner becomes less intuitive for managing multiple, complex projects. Existing users also cited weak mobile functionality and limited customization. That said, I would score Planner highly for task management, but lower for teams that need advanced planning or custom workflows.
Customer support
Planner offers extensive self-service resources through Microsoft’s documentation, learning center, and community forums. Organizations that need implementation or technical guidance can also work with Microsoft partners.
While I found the documentation detailed enough to answer most FAQs, Planner does not have a dedicated support team. Instead, support requests go through Microsoft’s help centers, which may make it harder to get real-time assistance for complex issues.
Microsoft Planner alternatives
Microsoft Planner is a great choice for organizations invested in Microsoft 365, but it is not the best fit for every team. If you need workflow customization, Agile support, or advanced reporting, these alternatives are worth considering.
| monday | ClickUp | Wrike | |
| Best for | Customizable workflows | Complex task hierarchies | Mid-sized and enterprise organizations |
| Monthly starting fee | $9 per user | $7 per user | $10 per user |
| Why choose it over Planner | Highly customizable boards, no-code automations, dashboards, and a more intuitive interface for cross-functional teams. | Includes advanced task management, docs, whiteboards, goals, time tracking, and extensive workflow customization | Resource management, request forms, proofing tools, advanced reporting, and portfolio management for large teams. |
| Learn more | Visit monday | Visit ClickUp | Visit Wrike |
Final verdict: Is Microsoft Planner worth it?
Overall, Planner is easy to recommend for Microsoft-centric businesses, but its value depends on how much your team benefits from the Microsoft ecosystem. It combines project scheduling, collaboration, portfolio management, and AI capabilities.
Planner is not the best choice for teams that need highly customized workflows or work outside the Microsoft ecosystem. If you’re migrating off Project Online and want to stay within the Microsoft stack, Planner is the next step. If you’re evaluating from scratch, it’s worth testing against a few alternatives before committing.
FAQs
No. Microsoft is retiring Project Online in September 2026, while Project for the web has transitioned to Microsoft Planner. Organizations that need advanced on-premises project portfolio management can continue using Project Server Subscription Edition.
Yes. Planner includes a free version with eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Advanced project management features, including Gantt charts, portfolio management, and resource management, require a separate Planner subscription.
Yes. Planner works well for traditional project management with features like task dependencies, timelines, and portfolio tracking. However, teams that need advanced Agile capabilities or extensive customization may prefer another platform.