Microsoft Planner Premium(Planner Plan 1 and Project and Planner Plan 3/5), formerly Microsoft Project for the Web, is a modern and user-friendly solution for project management. With its grid, board and timeline (Gantt) views, it makes it easier for teams to organize tasks, create schedules and collaborate efficiently.
Microsoft Planner Premium is the mid-range project management software from Microsoft, below Microsoft Project and above Planner Basic. It includes three views: Grid, Board and Timeline.
Yes and no. Technically, the Planner Premium plans are actually based on the logic of Microsoft Project. Internally, Planner even uses the MPP files. However, the interface is completely new and the data is stored in Microsoft Dataverse and not in SharePoint as with Project Online. However, Project Online is generally used for the entire project portfolio and cross-project resource management. This is where Planner's premium plans reach their limits. Alternatives include Altus PPM and Projectum xPM, see also here.
You can find a comparison between the basic plans of Planner and the Premium plansat here. The Planner Premium plans differ from Microsoft Project essentially in the following points.
| Function | Planner Premium (Plan 1) | Planner Premium (Plan 3) | Microsoft Project Desktop (Plan 3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task planning and structuring | |||
| Outline depth | 10 outline levels | 10 outline levels | 10 outline levels |
| Task type | Only one, as defined when creating the project at project level (only via Power App, fixed duration by default) | Only one, as defined when the project was created at project level (only via Power App, fixed duration by default) | Fixed duration, Fixed work and Fixed units |
| User-defined fields | 10 project-specific fields (text, date, number, yes/no, selection), cannot be defined and evaluated centrally | 10 fields (text, date, number, yes/no, selection), cannot be defined and evaluated centrally | Yes (with formulas, graphical indicators, look-up tables). In conjunction with Project Online, any number that can be defined centrally for all plans and evaluated centrally. For the end of Project Online, see here. |
| Scheduling and dependency management | |||
| Dependencies | All 4 types (FS, SS, FF, SF) | All 4 types (FS, SS, FF, SF) incl. lead and lag times | All 4 types (FS, SS, FF, SF) incl. lead and follow-up times |
| Basic plans | No | A basic schedule without visualization (the Start, End, Duration, Work fields are saved) Tip: in conjunction with Altus , up to 20 named baselines can be created with graphical target/actual comparison |
Yes, up to 11 baselines with graphical target/actual comparison. |
| Critical path | No | Yes | Yes, detailed calculation and multiple critical paths possible. |
| Restrictions | Only start and end date. | Start and end date only. | Flexible and fixed restrictions (e.g. "Start no earlier than..."). |
| Resource and capacity planning | |||
| Resource pool | No, resources are bound to the plan (the M365 group). | No, resources are tied to the plan (the M365 group). | Yes, central enterprise resource pool for all projects either as a file or with Project Online. For the end of Project Online see here. |
| Capacity planning | No or only by number of tasks in person view. Tip: Cross-project capacity planning is possible in conjunction with Altus . |
for individual project in assignment view Tip: Cross-project capacity planning is possible in conjunction with Altus . |
Yes, for single project and cross-project with Project Online. For the end of Project Online, see here. Tip: Cross-project capacity planning is possible in conjunction with Altus . |
| Resource leveling | No | No | Yes, automatic leveling of resource overloads. |
| Cost and budget management | |||
| Cost tracking | No | Only manually via user-defined fields | Yes, allocation of cost rates to resources, fixed costs and budget tracking. |
| Earned value analysis (EVA) | No | No | Yes, integrated key figures such as CPI (Cost Performance Index) and SPI (Schedule Performance Index). |
Comparison with Planner Basic see here. Altus integrates Planner Premium and adds missing functions compared to Project Online see also here.
The Planner and Project Plan 3 primarily includes the Microsoft Project desktop app and Project Online until September 2026. You can read our blog article on the end of Project Online here. But what does Planner and Project Plan 3 offer users of the new Planner with Premium Plans compared to Planner Plan 1?
Among other things, the Project and Planner Plan 3 adds the following functions:
Dependencies with lead and lag times:
CriticalPath:
Project baselines:
Details on the baselines can be found further down in the article. The baselines do not allow a graphical representation. Tip: Use the integration with Altus for this.
Comprehensive task history:
Assignment view:
Gantt chart and assignment cannot be displayed in one view. In addition, no cross-project resource conflicts are visible at this point. Tip: Use Projectum xPM and Altus instead
Portfolios:
Individual tasks are displayed in the portfolio view, which must be selected individually. Use Altus and Projectum xPM for portfolio management
Copilot in Planner:
AI generated status reports:
Note: Additional functions are available via the Planner Power App. Would you like a complete overview of the differences between the two solutions? Thenplease contact us.
The Project and Planner Plan 5 adds the following functions to the Planner Power app:
The acceptance and fulfillment of resource requests
License to add unlimited additional tables
Note: These are functions that originate from the resource planning of Project Operations. However, these are generally perceived as very expensive and user-unfriendly. We therefore recommend using the resource management functions of Altus or Project xPM (Team Planner) instead.
The default view is Grid, a simple task list. Here you enter tasks in a list and add columns as required to record further information about the tasks (such as start and end dates).
The Board view is a simple task board that can also be used as a Kanban board. The tasks are displayed as cards that you can drag and drop through the individual buckets. If you do not want to use the buckets, group the board according to the status or end date of the tasks.
The Timeline view is a bar chart, i.e. the familiar Gantt chart in a new design. You can see how the tasks are distributed on the timeline and model dependencies by linking them.
Licensing is particularly interesting. You only need a Project Plan 1 license for one user who creates tasks/tasks. All other people inside and outside the company do not need a Planner license to view and complete all tasks/tasks. A Microsoft 365 license is sufficient for this.
The grid view is a table view of all tasks similar to Microsoft Excel.
The task board can group the tasks like a Kanban board according to various criteria, including the processing status, the assigned processor and freely selected criteria (buckets). This is also suitable, for example, for collecting new requirements (backlog), selecting individual tasks for processing and visualizing and minimizing the proportion of work in progress (WIP).
In the Timeline view, you can easily create the time planning for your project. The view displays the tasks in a bar chart, also known as a Gantt chart. In contrast to the Microsoft Project desktop app, all project participants can work on this in parallel. A particular advantage here is that you can set the duration for each task and link the tasks to each other. Planner Premium then automatically calculates the total duration for your project.
Planner Premium also includes a model-driven app that is automatically created for you. By customizing this app according to your requirements, you have the option of creating user-defined fields at project level and mapping a business process flow.
The three new views from Planner Premium - table (grid), board and Gantt chart - are integrated into the model-driven app. This means you can edit the entire project directly from your app and do not have to switch back and forth between Power Apps and Planner Premium.
You can either add portfolio management or program management functions very easily with PPM apps such as Altus.
What reports are available for Microsoft Planner Premium? There are standard reports for Power BI for the status of an individual project, for the entire portfolio and for all resources. We offer additional reports, e.g. on resource utilization, as an add-on.
For capacity planning, you can use Planner Premium to record the resource requirements per task and also distribute them by period, e.g. per day, week, month or year, in the assignment view (from plan 3).
You can also display all tasks for a project in the web app sorted by resources ("People View").
Everything is also integrated in Microsoft Teams, e.g. you can display all Planner Premium views within Teams as well as discuss the processes in Microsoft Teams.
With Allocatus, you can also automatically create new Teams including Planner plans.
Tip: With our Power Apps solutions, you can merge data from Microsoft Project Online and Planner Premium in one place. Other project management solutions can also be integrated, including Atlassian Jira.
If you don't want to communicate via Teams, you can share the link to the task via email, chat or another channel instead. This way, the recipient can comment directly in Planner Premium and all project information remains bundled.
In many meetings, it is customary to create meeting minutes. Someone is given the tedious task of taking notes during the meeting. Decisions are recorded, topics discussed and tasks assigned. The minutes are usually sent by e-mail and then taken out at the next meeting to check whether everything has been completed in the meantime. Those who have taken tasks with them then often transfer them manually to their own task management system. The project manager sometimes maintains a separate list of open points and updates the existing project documentation if necessary.
A common approach is to record all documents in Microsoft Teams/SharePoint and, if necessary, to use OneNote or the Teams Wiki to record the agenda items for the meeting.
How can it be better? What is the goal for more efficient meeting minutes?
All points that are to be discussed in the meeting must be known in advance as open points anyway or come to the surface when checking the project status. If something is discussed, then write it directly in the notes for the corresponding point, either directly in the task notes or task notes or in Planner Premium directly in the Teams notes for each task.
If a specific task arises for an employee, assign it to them directly so that they can see it together with their other tasks in their task list, for example directly in Microsoft To Do and the Planner app.
This gives everyone involved in the project a complete overview of the project in one place and the status remains up-to-date and does not become outdated like meeting minutes. It also avoids the need to send emails, as everyone knows the location and any queries can be managed directly on the spot, e.g. by mentioning a person in the associated Teams chat. If the entire team records the notes during the meeting based on a division of labor, there is no need for tedious formal follow-up work on a meeting.
This works even better in Altus or Project xPM, as they can record the topics for each project in a structured way. For example, there are decisions, change requests, risks and much more.
How can I report the progress of my tasks in Planner Premium? All users who have access to the project plan can mark tasks as completed, e.g. within teams or via the web interface. This does not require a Planner Plan 1 license if the users have a valid Microsoft 365 license and Planner Premium is running in the standard environment.
Baselines as known from Microsoft Project, for example, do not exist in Planner Premium plans as standard.
However, you can save a baseline and
then compare the current data in the same dialog.
In conjunction with Altus , however, you can save base plans that also visualize a base plan comparison in the Gantt chart. To do this, Altus synchronizes premium plans and displays them in its own Gantt:
In contrast to MS Project, baselines can also be given a name, in this case Kick-Off.
Once the base plan has been saved, it can be displayed as a reference in the Gantt chart. Here the black horizontal line under the task bars. Deviations between the planned status from the base plan and the current plan can thus be easily determined.
If you collaborate with external resources on a project, they can also access the project plan without having an account in your company. The prerequisite is that they have a Microsoft 365 account. This is then used for logging in.
Even if you only have read access without a Planner Plan 1 license for Planner, you can start a discussion in Teams for each task
With Microsoft To Do, Microsoft has created a new app that combines tasks from Outlook as well as from Microsoft Planner and Planner Premium in one place. Similarly, the tasks from the three sources are also displayed in the Planner app in Microsoft Teams.
Alternatively, you can clearly display all tasks in a Power BI report, e.g. also for a team.
Tasks from Planner Premium are displayed in the Planner app for Microsoft Teams. They are currently not visible in the Planner app for iPhone and Android smartphones. However, each individual can see their tasks in the Microsoft To Do mobile app. In addition, you can also see discussions on tasks from Planner Premium in the respective channels in Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Planner Premium does not contain a central project time tracking system in which employees can see all their tasks and report back their actual times (timesheets). By default, it is only possible to manually set the Effort completed field in each task. However, this only reflects the total actual effort and no daily posting is possible.
The Allocatus add-on fills this gap. You can use it to book your project times for any Planner Premium activities directly from Outlook, accurate to the hour and with a description.
You can create a checklist for each activity or task in Planner Premium. The individual action items can be checked off individually. However, ticking off the checklist entries does not change the progress of the process or task.
You can easily display the critical path in Planner Premium. However, this requires a Project Plan 3 license.
By default, Planner Premium does not allow tasks to be sorted by end date like MS Project. However, this can be added by programming if required.
In Planner Premium there are labels with which you can mark the individual tasks and use them for filtering.
Power BI reports are available for Planner Premium as standard. Even better, if you synchronize Planner Planner Premium plans with Altus , you have a complete reporting system for project and portfolio management at your disposal.
If you are currently using Asana, Monday, ClickUp, Smartsheet or other web-based project management software, we are happy to migrate your data.
Microsoft Planner Premium offers Microsoft 365 users advanced features such as Gantt views, dependencies, resource utilization and AI-powered planning - seamlessly integrated with Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Power BI, To Do and Copilot. Compared to the PM tools mentioned above, companies also benefit from greater security, compliance and a consolidated working environment within the Microsoft world.
You can currently copy existing projects into Planner Premium, i.e. there is no special template management, except that you can access various Microsoft templates when creating projects. These include templates for a construction schedule, a marketing campaign, software development, the creation of a business plan, the integration of new employees (onboarding) and sprint planning.
It is also possible to import projects from Project Desktop into Planner Premium - however, certain functionality is lost, such as formulas, user-defined fields, resource management or recurring tasks.
Is that not enough? Then write to us.
With Viva Goals, Microsoft provided a solution for strategic management, including OKR integration with Planner Premium. As Viva Goals is being discontinued, we offer a powerful alternative with additional benefits with the OKR function in Power PPM.
The new Microsoft Planner comes with Copilot integration so that many project management tasks can beautomated, e.g. creating a work breakdown structure.
There is also the Project Manager Agent, to which you can easily assign tasks such as resources and which then processes them independently. Processing here means that it carries out a search and displays the result of the search in an additional dialog box within the task.
However, you can also carry outany actions with a Copilot Agent, as the Planner Premium plans are saved in Dataverse and you can therefore also use the Dataverse MCP server.
There is also a function for creating status reports. The AI automatically creates a summary of the current status of the project.
MS Dynamics 365 Project Operations is integrated into Planner Premium as standard. This allows project service providers to map their entire project business process with one solution.
Microsoft does not offer an option to synchronize or migrate Planner Premium plans from one Microsoft 365 environment to another. Planner Basic plans can be converted to Planner Premium plans by default, but there is only one defined path.
Alternatively, we offer field-proven migrations between different Microsoft 365 environments, both between different Power Apps/Dataverse environments in a Microsoft 365 tenant or between different tenants. Common use cases are when merging tenants, e.g. during company mergers or reorganizations. Important: With our migration solution, your data is not transported via a third-party exchange platform, i.e. the data is exclusively in your source and target tenant and therefore completely under your control.
Holert offers a service for this. You can reach us here.
You can manually import a Microsoft Project plan as an .mpp file via the Planner Power App in Microsoft Planner Premium. Only the most important standard fields are transferred, namely:
The following cannot be migrated, or only to a very limited extent:
As a result, migrating from MS Project to Planner Premium not only comes with many functional limitations, but the migration itself is also cumbersome, since each plan must be migrated manually one by one, and it also involves data loss. Therefore, especially when migrating from Project Online or Project Server, it may make sense to switch to a more powerful scheduling tool such as Altus PPM or Projectum xPM. For both solutions, Holert also offers a fully automated migration of data including resources and all custom fields.
More on this can also be found in the presentation by Renke Holert from the recent Project Management and AI Summit with KUKA.
If you are currently using Asana, Monday, ClickUp, Smartsheet, or another project management software, we at Holert are happy to offer a migration of your data.
Microsoft Planner Premium offers Microsoft 365 users advanced features such as Gantt views, dependencies, resource utilization, and AI-powered planning—seamlessly integrated into Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Power BI, To Do, and Copilot. Compared to the PM tools mentioned above, companies additionally benefit from higher security, compliance, and a consolidated working environment within the Microsoft ecosystem.
All work within a company must be aligned with its strategic goals. This includes large projects planned, for example, with Planner Premium plans; many medium and small projects planned with Planner basic plans; as well as other initiatives such as agile product development planned with Azure DevOps or Jira. If you use the market-leading PPM solutions Altus and Projectum xPM to manage your strategic goals and portfolio, you can very easily integrate data from all the aforementioned project and product management tools. This ensures that the projects planned there also contribute to your objectives.
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