Microsoft Planner vs Project in 2026: Planner Premium, Project Server SE or Project desktop?

Microsoft Planner vs Project is no longer a choice between a task board and a scheduling tool. In 2026 Microsoft consolidated its work management offering: Project for the web is now part of Planner, Project Online retired on September 30, 2026, and organizations now choose between three options: premium plans in Planner, the Project desktop app, and Project Server Subscription Edition on their own servers.

This guide explains what each option is today, what it does well, where it stops, and how to choose. If you are still deciding where your Project Online data should go, it also covers how these tools fit a migration.

What changed in 2026

• Project for the web became Planner. Microsoft retired Project for the web and moved its plans into Planner as "premium plans". The licensing stayed the same and no migration was needed.
• The licenses were renamed. Project Plan 1 is now Planner Plan 1. Project Plan 3 and Project Plan 5 are now Planner and Project Plan 3 and Planner and Project Plan 5.
• Project Online retired on September 30, 2026. Organizations that still run portfolios in Project Online need to move projects, resources and timesheets to a supported platform.
• Project desktop and Project Server Subscription Edition are not affected. Microsoft states that both remain available and supported for existing and new customers.

So the real question in 2026 is not "Planner or Project?" but "which of the three Microsoft options fits the way we plan work?" Read our full overview of Project Online retirement and migration options if you are moving off Project Online.

Microsoft Planner vs Project: the short answer

In practice, the MS Planner vs MS Project decision is rarely all-or-nothing. Most teams land on Planner Premium for everyday project work. Project desktop stays on the machines of the people who build complex schedules. Project Server Subscription Edition is for organizations that need a full, server-based project and portfolio system they control.

What is Microsoft Planner Premium?

"Planner Premium" is the common name for premium plans in Microsoft Planner, the successor of Project for the web. Every Microsoft 365 user gets basic plans: tasks, buckets, Board, Grid, Schedule and Charts views, and My Tasks / My Day. Premium plans add project-level structure on top of that:

• Timeline (Gantt) view and task dependencies
• Sprints, goals and milestones for agile and hybrid teams
• Custom fields and a People view to see who is overloaded
• Critical path and a baseline you can capture to compare plan vs actual
• Portfolios to see several plans side by side

Premium plans need a paid license. Planner Plan 1 unlocks premium plans and views such as Timeline, People and Goals. Planner and Project Plan 3 adds advanced features such as task history, advanced dependencies and custom calendars, and includes the Project desktop app. Users with only Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 can see and update tasks assigned to them in premium plans, but cannot create premium plans.

Planner Premium is a good fit when your teams already live in Microsoft Teams, you run many small and medium projects across departments, and you want status that leadership can trust without asking every project manager to learn a scheduling tool. See how we set it up on our Microsoft Planner Premium page.

Where Planner Premium stops

Planner Premium is a work management tool, not a full scheduling engine. It does not offer enterprise resource pools, timesheets, or the cost and earned-value tracking that schedulers use in Project desktop. For portfolio governance across many plans (intake, prioritization, capacity, financials), teams usually add a PPM layer on top. Two common options in the Microsoft ecosystem are Teams4PM, which brings issues, risks, project data and Power BI portfolio reporting into Microsoft Teams, and OnePlan, a cloud portfolio management platform that connects to Planner and Project.

When Project desktop is still the right tool

The Project desktop app (Microsoft Project, included with Planner and Project Plan 3) is still the most capable scheduling tool Microsoft makes. Keep it, or adopt it, when:

• Your projects have hundreds or thousands of tasks with lead and lag, constraints and several calendars.
• You need resource leveling, cost resources or earned value reporting.
• Contracts or customers require a formal schedule file (.mpp) with baselines and variance.
• You have a small group of experienced schedulers, while the rest of the team only needs to see and update their tasks.

The limit is collaboration. On its own, Project desktop works with individual files. Without Project Online, there is no shared Microsoft cloud server behind it, so teams that need a central resource pool and portfolio view pair it with Project Server Subscription Edition or a PPM platform.

When you need Project Server SE

Project Server Subscription Edition is Microsoft's on-premises project and portfolio management server, running on SharePoint Server Subscription Edition. Functionally it is the closest match to what Project Online did, which makes it the most direct path for organizations that relied on Project Web App, enterprise resources and timesheets.

Choose Project Server Subscription Edition if you:

• must keep project data on your own servers or in your own data center for security, contractual or regulatory reasons;
• run an enterprise resource pool, timesheets and status reporting across many projects;
• have custom fields, workflows and reports built in Project Online that you want to keep with minimal redesign;
• have an IT team that can operate SharePoint Server and SQL Server (or a partner who does it for you).

The trade-off is ownership: you manage the servers, updates and backups. Read more about the architecture, licensing and migration steps on our Project Server Subscription Edition page.

How to choose: five questions

1. Where does your team work all day? If the answer is Microsoft Teams, start with Planner Premium. Adoption drives data quality: status is only as current as the tool people use daily.
2. How complex are your schedules? If one person can keep a project in their head, Planner Premium is enough. If you need leveling, constraints and earned value, keep Project desktop for the schedulers.
3. Do you manage resources across projects? A shared resource pool and timesheets point to Project Server Subscription Edition or a PPM platform such as OnePlan.
4. Where must the data live? Cloud is fine: Planner Premium or OnePlan. Must stay on your servers: Project Server Subscription Edition.
5. Who decides which projects get funded? If leadership needs intake, scoring and capacity planning across the portfolio, plan for a project portfolio management layer, whichever scheduling tool you choose.

Many organizations end up with a mix: Planner Premium for most teams, Project desktop for a few schedulers, and one portfolio view on top. The goal is to choose deliberately, based on current needs rather than legacy tooling.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Microsoft Planner and Microsoft Project?

Planner is Microsoft's work management tool inside Microsoft 365 and Teams. Basic plans handle team tasks; premium plans add timelines, dependencies, sprints and goals. Microsoft Project today usually means the Project desktop app for detailed scheduling, or Project Server Subscription Edition for on-premises project and portfolio management.

When do you use Microsoft Project vs Planner?

Use Planner when many people need to see and update shared work with little training. Use Project desktop when a scheduler needs full control of a complex schedule. Use Project Server Subscription Edition when you need enterprise resources, timesheets and on-premises data.

Is Planner Premium included in Microsoft 365 E5?

No. Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 include basic plans in Planner. E3/E5 users can view and update tasks assigned to them in premium plans, but creating and managing premium plans requires Planner Plan 1 or Planner and Project Plan 3.

How much does Planner Premium cost?

Planner Premium is licensed per user per month through Planner Plan 1 or Planner and Project Plan 3. Microsoft has renamed and repackaged these plans several times, so check current prices on Microsoft's Planner plans and pricing page before you budget. Not every user needs a paid license: people who only work on assigned tasks can do that with their Microsoft 365 license.

How do I know if I have Planner Premium?

Open Planner and create a new plan. If you can choose a premium plan and see Timeline, People and Goals views, you have a Planner Plan 1 or Planner and Project Plan 3 license (or an active 30-day trial). Your Microsoft 365 admin can confirm in the admin center under Licenses.

Does Microsoft Planner Premium support baselines?

Yes. Premium plans let you capture a baseline and compare current progress against it. Microsoft's documentation describes one baseline per plan: to update it, you delete it and capture a new one. If you need several baselines and formal variance reporting, Project desktop is still the better tool.

What is the current name for Microsoft Planner Premium?

Microsoft calls it "premium plans in Planner". It replaced Project for the web, and the licenses that unlock it are Planner Plan 1 and Planner and Project Plan 3 (formerly Project Plan 1 and Project Plan 3).

Can I still use Project Online?

Project Online retired on September 30, 2026. Plan your move to Planner Premium, Project Server Subscription Edition or OnePlan now; our migration options guide compares the three paths.