The Lowdown
Microsoft Planner is a task management tool for users on Microsoft 365 Business subscriptions. It's a suitable solution for individuals and teams who want to track tasks using Kanban boards (a.k.a. Plans). Planner seamlessly integrates with Microsoft SharePoint and Teams, allowing you direct access to your tasks in other Microsoft apps you work with the most. You can drag and drop tasks cards into different "Buckets" on your board, assign yourself and others in your 365 Group, add attachments, checklists, and create labels to further categorize your tasks. Planner also comes with a charts view that helps track the status and progress of your board. However, Planner caps out at task management, and is not recommended for full-fledged project management (PM). If you're looking for a PM tool from Microsoft, see Microsoft Project.
You should consider Microsoft Planner if...
- Your organization is already subscribed to a Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise account
- You need a basic solution to organize tasks into different sections
- You want to visualize scheduled tasks on an interactive Calendar
- You need quick out-of-the-box charts to track the progress of your Plans
- You could benefit from adding new 365 Groups on-the-fly when creating new Plans
- You want to integrate Planner with Microsoft To-Do, SharePoint, and/or Teams
Planner is one of many tools available to users subscribed to Microsoft 365 Business plans. At this time, there is no standalone version of Planner.
Mission
"To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more."