Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project is presented through Planner, an online work management experience for tasks, to-do lists, plans, and projects. Planner provides Grid, Board, Schedule, and Charts views; Planner Plan 1 adds Timeline, People, and Goals views. The included Planner in Microsoft 365 is listed as free when billed as included in Microsoft 365, with basic templates, task management, core views, and Teams integration. Planner Plan 1 includes premium templates, backlogs and sprints, task dependencies, milestones, and project goals. Planner and Project Plan 3 adds portfolios, baselines, critical path, advanced dependencies, resource requests, and the Project desktop app. Plan 5 adds advanced portfolio management and enterprise resource management and allocation. The page also lists workflow automation through Power Automate, APIs, Microsoft 365 Groups access control, and compliance tools. Named integrations include Microsoft Loop, Outlook, Teams, Copilot, and Power Automate. Planner supports time tracking and guest access. A one-month free trial requires a credit card and converts to a paid subscription unless canceled.

Planner brings task and project work into a set of views with more advanced features available in higher plans. Trial users should note the credit-card requirement and cancellation condition; access to Planner Agent AI requires a Copilot license.

Planner may suit teams coordinating work across departments such as marketing, sales, software development, IT, human resources, project management, and operations. Advanced plan features are listed for teams needing portfolio or resource management.

Overview

Microsoft Project is Microsoft’s online work-management product, now presented through Planner, for organizing tasks and projects. It suits teams that need shared work tracking with a route to more structured planning. The free Microsoft 365 inclusion covers core views and Teams integration; deeper project controls come with paid plans at custom pricing.

Key features

The Microsoft Planner offering supports task creation and management with files, checklists, labels, and basic or custom templates. My Day, My Tasks, and Assigned to Me give individuals ways to keep track of their workload, while Grid, Board, Schedule, and Charts views let teams organize and review shared work in different formats. These basics should cover routine coordination, but they are not a substitute for dependencies, Gantt planning, or portfolio controls.

Planner Plan 1 adds task dependencies, a Timeline (Gantt) view, backlogs and sprints, and reports. Planner’s broader Plan 1 feature set also includes premium templates, milestones, and project goals. These additions make it better suited to projects where teams need to sequence work, manage delivery checkpoints, or use sprint workflows. The plan comparison places advanced dependencies and resource requests in Planner and Project Plan 3; that tier also includes portfolios, baselines, critical path, and the Project desktop app. Plan 5 builds on Plan 3 with advanced portfolio management and enterprise resource management and allocation, making it the option for broader organizational planning.

Microsoft lists integrations with Loop, Outlook, Teams, Copilot, and Power Automate. The plan comparison also includes Power Automate workflow automation, APIs for customizing experiences, Microsoft 365 Groups access control, and tools for managing risks and regulatory compliance requirements. Planner includes Microsoft 365 customer support, and Microsoft provides help and learning articles. Time tracking and guest access are supported, though the available plan details do not tie them to specific tiers.

Access to Planner Agent and its AI capabilities requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license. That licensing requirement makes the AI features a separate consideration rather than a reason to choose Planner on its own.

Pricing

Planner in Microsoft 365 costs nothing, billed as included in Microsoft 365. It provides basic plan templates, Grid, Board, Schedule, and Charts views, and Microsoft Teams integration. This is the sensible starting point for teams that already have Microsoft 365 and need core task and plan management, but it does not include the listed premium planning tools of Plan 1.

Microsoft Planner and Planner Plan 1 have no published prices and use custom pricing. The Microsoft Planner plan includes task management, files, checklists, labels, personal task views, templates, core views, and Microsoft 365 app integrations. Planner Plan 1 is the step up for teams that need task dependencies, Timeline (Gantt), backlogs and sprints, and reports. Neither is a free plan, and the lack of a published price makes it harder to compare their cost before contacting Microsoft.

Planner and Project Plan 3 and Plan 5 also use custom pricing. Plan 3 adds advanced dependencies, resource request capabilities, and Project Online and its desktop client to Plan 1 features; Plan 5 includes Plan 3 features and adds advanced portfolio management and enterprise resource management and allocation. These tiers are aimed at teams with more demanding project or portfolio needs, but their costs cannot be compared from a published rate.

Microsoft offers a one-month free trial that requires a credit card and converts to a paid subscription unless canceled. Trial users should account for that renewal condition before signing up. Project Online is being retired on September 30, 2026, so organizations relying on it should factor that date into their plans.

Platforms

Planner is available on the web and Windows, and the product also lists API access. Those options suit teams working in a browser or Windows environment and organizations that want to customize experiences through APIs. Microsoft also lists Teams integration; the platform list does not include mobile apps.

Who it's for

Planner can serve teams across marketing, sales, software development, IT, human resources, project management, and operations. The included Microsoft 365 tier is most suitable for shared task organization and basic plans. Plan 1 is a better fit when teams need dependencies, Gantt timelines, sprint backlogs, or reporting, while Plan 3 and Plan 5 address advanced project controls and organization-wide resource or portfolio management. Teams that do not need Microsoft’s wider work-management setup or paid planning tiers may find the custom-priced options difficult to justify.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Core task tools and several views are included with Microsoft 365, giving existing subscribers a way to coordinate work without a separately priced Planner plan.
• Pro: The higher plans extend from dependencies and Gantt timelines to critical path, baselines, and enterprise resource allocation, supporting more involved planning needs.
• Pro: Integrations with Loop, Outlook, Teams, Copilot, and Power Automate connect Planner with other Microsoft services.
• Con: Prices for the standalone and advanced plans are custom, so buyers cannot assess their cost from a published rate.
• Con: Planner Agent AI requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, adding a separate licensing requirement for teams seeking those capabilities.
• Con: The one-month trial requires a credit card and renews as a paid subscription unless canceled.
• Con: Project Online’s retirement on September 30, 2026, creates a planning deadline for organizations that rely on it.

Alternatives

For teams considering specialist data tools rather than project planning, EasyMorph has a free desktop plan with limits of 20 actions per project and 20 loop iterations per project. CSV Engine offers a free web plan with five credits per month, three active templates, text and email fields only, sanitization, and duplicate detection. Amazon SageMaker Autopilot is a paid web and API option with pay-as-you-go pricing and no minimum fees or upfront commitments. OpenRefine is free, open-source software with a desktop installation. qsv has a free plan that imports spreadsheets up to 1MB and includes free recipes, one CKAN instance, and qsv slice from Flow. Rons Data Edit has a free Windows Lite plan capped at 2,500 saved rows and includes an advertising banner. Zoho DataPrep offers a free plan for one user with 20,000 rows per month, manual imports and exports, and one month of audit retention. csvkit is free, MIT-licensed software with no paid tiers stated.

For category browsing, see Data Preparation Software, Gantt Chart Software, AI Project Management Software, Workplace Management Software, Work Management Software, and Appointment Scheduling Software.

Verdict

Microsoft Project is the strongest fit for Microsoft-oriented teams that want to start with shared task work and add structured project, resource, or portfolio planning as needed. Its broad progression of planning features is the main reason to choose it; custom pricing on the paid tiers and the Copilot license requirement for Planner Agent are the main reasons to look elsewhere.