The Microsoft Task Management Landscape Has Changed Significantly
Microsoft's task and work management portfolio has undergone a substantial reorganisation that has confused enterprise buyers, procurement teams, and IT administrators alike. The new Microsoft Planner — launched in 2024 — is a unified application that consolidates what were previously three separate products: the original Microsoft Planner (Kanban-style team task management), Microsoft To Do (personal task lists), and Project for the web (lightweight project management). Understanding which of these components you already have, and what the premium tier adds, is the starting point for any licensing conversation.
The core message is straightforward: Planner Basic — which covers Kanban boards, task assignment, due dates, labels, and integration with Teams and Microsoft 365 — is included in all commercial M365 plans without additional cost. Planner Premium, which adds Gantt charts, timeline views, dependencies, resource management, and portfolio reporting, costs approximately £8.30/user/month standalone or is included in the Project Plan 3 bundle. If you are paying for project management capability that standard Planner already provides, or if you have purchased Planner Premium for a user population that primarily needs personal task lists and Kanban boards, you have an overspend position.
What Changed: The Unified Planner Architecture
Prior to 2024, Microsoft had three largely disconnected work management tools: Microsoft Planner (teams), Microsoft To Do (individual), and Project for the web (projects). Each had a separate app, separate data store, and separate administrative surface. In 2024, Microsoft merged these into a single application called Microsoft Planner — accessible at tasks.office.com, within Microsoft Teams, and as a standalone web app.
The unified Planner has two commercially distinct tiers:
Planner Basic includes all of what was previously the standalone Planner application plus Microsoft To Do. It covers personal task lists, My Day and My Tasks views, team Kanban boards (previously "Planner"), bucket-based task organisation, attachments, checklist subtasks, recurrence, and Microsoft Loop task integration. This is included in all M365 commercial plans.
Planner Premium (previously "Project for the web") adds capabilities intended for project managers who need scheduling discipline: Gantt chart timeline views, dependency relationships between tasks, critical path calculation, sprints for agile teams, resource allocation and capacity management, integration with Microsoft Project Online for portfolio reporting, and Power BI-based reporting templates. This requires a separate licence.
Microsoft To Do was previously a separate application available as a free download and included with M365 plans. Under the unified Planner architecture, To Do functionality is now accessed within the Planner application. The standalone To Do app continues to function, but Microsoft's strategic direction is consolidation into Planner. Licensing implications are unchanged — To Do functionality remains included in all commercial M365 plans.
What's Included: Planner Basic Across M365 Plans
Planner Basic is included in all Microsoft 365 commercial plans at no additional cost. The following table confirms inclusion across common enterprise tiers:
| Plan | Planner Basic | To Do | Planner Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 F1 | Yes (web only) | Yes | No |
| Microsoft 365 F3 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Microsoft 365 E1 / O365 E1 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Microsoft 365 E3 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Microsoft 365 E5 | Yes | Yes | No |
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic | Yes | Yes | No |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard | Yes | Yes | No |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium | Yes | Yes | No |
| Project Plan 1 | Yes | Yes | Yes (Planner Premium included) |
| Project Plan 3 | Yes | Yes | Yes (Planner Premium included) |
| Project Plan 5 | Yes | Yes | Yes (Planner Premium included) |
The key insight from this table: Planner Premium is not included in any standard M365 E plan — not even E5. Acquiring Planner Premium requires either a standalone Planner Premium subscription or a Project Plan licence (Plan 1, 3, or 5). This is a common source of confusion and, occasionally, an EA add-on that should not have been necessary if Project Plans were correctly scoped.
Planner Premium: What It Adds and What It Costs
Planner Premium is the commercial name for what was previously "Project for the web" — Microsoft's cloud-based, lightweight project management solution. It is distinct from the full Microsoft Project desktop application, which requires Project Plan 3 or Plan 5.
Planner Premium Capabilities
The features that distinguish Planner Premium from Planner Basic are primarily oriented toward project managers who need formalised scheduling and resource management tools:
- Timeline (Gantt chart) view showing task dependencies and project schedule
- Task dependencies (Finish-to-Start, Start-to-Start, Finish-to-Finish)
- Sprint management for agile delivery teams
- Resource assignment with capacity tracking across team members
- Goals linking tasks to strategic objectives
- Portfolio view of multiple projects in a single dashboard (requires Project Plan 3+)
- Power BI integration for project reporting templates
- Copilot for Planner (AI-assisted task planning and summarisation — requires M365 Copilot licence separately)
Planner Premium Pricing
Planner Premium as a standalone add-on is priced at approximately £8.30/user/month at M365 commercial list prices (approximately $10/user/month USD). This positions it as the lowest-cost entry point into structured project management within the Microsoft ecosystem — significantly below Project Plan 3 (approximately £23/user/month) which adds the full Project desktop application and Project Online portfolio management.
The critical context: Planner Premium is included in all three Microsoft Project Plan licences. If users in your organisation are already licensed for Project Plan 1, 3, or 5, they have Planner Premium. Purchasing Planner Premium standalone for users who already hold a Project Plan licence is a double-purchase.
Planner Premium vs Microsoft Project: Understanding the Distinction
One of the most persistent sources of confusion in this product area is the boundary between Planner Premium and Microsoft Project. They are not the same product, despite significant overlap in marketing materials and the fact that Project Plan licences include Planner Premium.
| Capability | Planner Basic | Planner Premium | Project Plan 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kanban boards | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Timeline / Gantt | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Task dependencies | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Resource management | ✗ | Basic | Advanced (enterprise RM) |
| Portfolio management | ✗ | Limited (goals) | Full Project Online portfolio |
| Project desktop application | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ (Project Standard/Pro) |
| Project Server integration | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cost per user/month (list) | Included in M365 | ~£8.30 | ~£23.00 |
The practical implication: Planner Premium serves project managers who need Gantt scheduling and dependency management but do not need the Project desktop application, enterprise resource management, or Project Online portfolio capabilities. For organisations where only a subset of project managers use the full Project application, a mixed licence model — Planner Premium for lighter users, Project Plan 3 for heavy users — can reduce per-user costs significantly. See our dedicated Microsoft Project licensing guide for the full analysis of Project Plan tiers.
Microsoft Lists and Its Relationship to Planner
Microsoft Lists is a related but distinct product that enterprise buyers sometimes conflate with Planner. Lists is a structured data management tool — essentially a more powerful SharePoint list with a modern interface — that can be used for task and project tracking but is not the same as Planner.
Lists is included with SharePoint Online Plan 1, SharePoint Online Plan 2, and all M365 commercial plans that include SharePoint. There is no standalone Lists licence and no additional cost for organisations on standard M365 plans. The product supports custom columns, views (grid, gallery, calendar, Gantt-style board), Power Automate integration, and customisable forms via Power Apps.
Lists is appropriate for structured data scenarios — asset registers, issue trackers, approval workflows, inventory management — where the data model needs custom fields and the interface needs to support grid-style editing. Planner is appropriate for team task management where the card-based workflow is the primary interaction model. They solve different problems and should not be evaluated as substitutes for each other.
Planner in Microsoft Teams
Planner is deeply integrated with Microsoft Teams, which affects both adoption and the governance conversation. Planner tabs can be added to any Teams channel, allowing teams to manage task boards within the Teams interface. The Tasks by Planner and To Do app in Teams consolidates personal (To Do) and team (Planner) tasks in a single pane, available to all users with Planner Basic.
The Teams integration creates a specific governance consideration: Planner plans are created automatically when users add a Planner tab to a Teams channel. Without controls, this leads to proliferation of plans across the tenant — which creates maintenance, off-boarding, and data governance challenges. The M365 Admin Center allows administrators to control Planner creation permissions and manage plan ownership, which is a recommended configuration for organisations above a few hundred users.
Teams Premium, where purchased, adds a meeting management task integration that links action items from Teams meeting transcripts to Planner tasks. This capability requires Teams Premium at approximately £6/user/month — a separate commercial decision covered in our Microsoft Teams licensing guide.
Microsoft Loop and the Work Management Ecosystem
Microsoft Loop is Microsoft's real-time collaborative workspace product, built around Loop components — reusable, portable blocks of content that synchronise across Teams, Outlook, OneNote, and Loop workspaces. Loop task components allow tasks to be embedded in Loop pages and synchronised with Planner.
Loop is included in M365 Business Standard, Business Premium, E3, and E5. It is not available on F1, F3, or Business Basic plans, which limits its deployment in frontline or cost-optimised workforce segments. Loop does not change the Planner licensing model — it is a complementary surface, not an alternative. Tasks created in Loop appear in Planner and vice versa; there is no additional cost for the integration beyond holding an M365 plan that includes Loop.
For the purposes of work management licensing, the Loop consideration is about access for specific user populations rather than incremental licensing cost for those already on E3 or above.
Negotiating Planner and Project in the EA
Planner Basic requires no negotiation — it is included. The commercial conversation arises in two scenarios: Planner Premium as a standalone add-on, and Microsoft Project plans.
For Planner Premium standalone, the key evaluation before purchasing is to confirm that the requirement cannot be met by Planner Basic, and that Project Plan 3 (which includes Planner Premium plus the full Project application) does not represent better value for the specific user population. At £8.30/user/month for Planner Premium vs £23/user/month for Project Plan 3, Planner Premium is clearly the right choice for users who only need web-based project management with Gantt charts. But if the same users are being considered for Project Plan 3 within 12 months, phased purchasing from Planner Premium to Project Plan 3 may not save money — a single Project Plan 3 commitment from the start, negotiated at EA volume pricing, may be more economical.
Include Project licences and Planner Premium in your EA renewal scope rather than purchasing them as standalone cloud subscriptions. EA pricing typically delivers 15–25% below list for these products at enterprise volume thresholds, and including them in the EA renewal conversation gives you an additional negotiating asset — the incremental commitment in the Project product line contributes to your overall volume tier calculation. See our guidance on Microsoft EA negotiation for the mechanics of this approach.
One important check before any Project or Planner Premium purchase: confirm that no Microsoft 365 Copilot licences are in scope. Copilot for Planner (AI features within Planner Premium) requires a separate M365 Copilot licence. Purchasing Planner Premium for AI capabilities without also having the M365 Copilot licence in place will not deliver the AI functionality that was likely part of the business case. Sequence the licences correctly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Microsoft 365 E5 include Planner Premium?
No. Planner Premium (formerly Project for the web) is not included in any M365 E plan, including E5. It requires a separate Planner Premium subscription or a Project Plan licence. This is a common misconception, often driven by the fact that E5 includes many premium capabilities — but work management scheduling tools are explicitly outside the E5 bundle.
Can stakeholders view Planner plans without a full M365 licence?
For Planner Basic: team Kanban boards require an M365 licence for the user to participate — guests cannot be assigned tasks or access Planner boards. For Planner Premium: read-only sharing links can be created that allow external stakeholders to view (but not edit) project plans in a browser without a licence. This is relevant for reporting to executives or external stakeholders who do not need interactive access.
Is there a migration path from Asana, Monday.com, or Trello to Planner?
Microsoft does not provide official migration tools from third-party work management platforms to Planner. Several third-party migration utilities exist, and Power Automate can be used to automate bulk task creation from exported data. The practical reality is that migrations of complex project histories are time-consuming regardless of tool — the decision should be based on whether Planner meets ongoing requirements, not on migration ease. See our guidance on Microsoft vs third-party IT spend for a framework on when to consolidate and when to maintain specialist tools.
How does Planner handle data residency?
Planner Premium (Project for the web) data is stored in Dataverse, which respects your Power Platform environment region settings. Planner Basic task data is stored in Microsoft's infrastructure with data residency consistent with your M365 tenant region. For EU organisations, Planner Basic data is stored within EU boundaries under standard M365 data residency commitments.