Best Microsoft Planner Alternatives in 2024: Review and Comparison
Looking for a Microsoft Planner alternative? You've come to the right place.
Microsoft Planner is a task management tool developed by Microsoft as part of the Office 365 suite, now known as Microsoft 365. It was introduced in 2016 to provide a simple and collaborative way for teams and individuals to organize and manage their tasks and projects.
Microsoft Planner was created in response to the need for a basic task management tool within the Microsoft ecosystem. The goal was to offer a user-friendly alternative to more complex project management software like Microsoft Project.
As with any software solution, Microsoft Planner may not always be the best fit for every team or organization. In this article, we will take a look at some of the best alternatives and competitors of Microsoft Planner that can offer a fresh perspective on your team's productivity.
Why you may need an alternative to Microsoft Planner
While Microsoft Project is a widely used platform, it's not without its limitations and there are many reasons why you and your team may be evaluating Microsoft Project alternatives:
Some users struggle with the initial setup of Microsoft Planner (source)
Microsoft Planner offers limited functionality compared to the competition and is less actively developed (source)
The collaboration features offered by Microsoft Planner are limited, for example, you can't tag your team members in comments (source)
Microsoft Planner can be difficult to navigate and its interface can take time to get used to (source)
Some users find the interface of Microsoft Planner unappealing (source)
Does that sound familiar? Then it might be time to switch to a more user-friendly and fast option – fortunately, there are many great Microsoft Planner alternatives to choose from.
Best Microsoft Planner alternatives
To make your decision easier, we've evaluated dozens of options and put together a shortlist of the best Microsoft Planner competitors and alternatives:
Each one of these tools has its strengths and weaknesses. Depending on the reason you are unhappy with Microsoft Planner, a different alternative may be a better fit for your needs. We hope this list helps you learn more about your options and find the Microsoft Planner alternative that works for you — let's take a closer look at your options.
1. Nuclino
Pricing: Free, advanced features starting from $6/user/month
Rating on Capterra: 4.7/5
Nuclino is a great alternative for those who find Microsoft Planner to be too dated or slow, or need more robust collaboration features. Its clean and user-friendly interface sets it apart from other project management tools. Nuclino works "out of the box", making it easy for anyone to get started with virtually no learning curve.
Despite its simplicity, Nuclino offers robust project management and collaboration features. It offers various ways to organize your projects, including Kanban boards, nested lists, tables, and mindmap-style graphs. You can also add custom fields to track project details like due dates, assignees, and priorities.
A fundamental strength of Nuclino lies in how it brings together structured data and long-form content. Every card on your board is its own document where you can collaborate in real time, documenting project goals, adding sub-tasks, embedding files, and preserving the context of every decision. You can also exchange asynchronous feedback directly in Nuclino using comments and mentions. It's essentially a project management app and a document collaboration tool in one.
And while Nuclino can be used exclusively as an alternative to Microsoft Planner, it can replace many other collaboration tools as well. Beyond project management, it can serve as your company wiki, internal knowledge base, note-taking tool, and more, bringing all your team's knowledge, docs, and projects together in one place.
What users say about Nuclino:
"The way Nuclino is built makes the platform very flexible towards the way you work. I use Nuclino to document the projects I work on. It serves as a wiki for the project which helps anyone joining the project at later stages understand what was done during the design process, and why certain decisions were made."
2. Trello
Pricing: Free, advanced features starting from $10/user/month
Rating on Capterra: 4.5/5
Trello is one of the most popular alternatives to Microsoft Planner. It gained widespread popularity for its simplicity and visual approach to task management, so if you find Planner too clunky or complex for your needs, Trello is an option worth considering.
Compared to Microsoft Planner, Trello offers greater flexibility in organizing tasks. Users can customize boards, lists, and cards extensively, adapting to different workflows. Trello offers a vast array of third-party integrations, allowing users to connect it with tools like Slack, Google Drive, and GitHub. Power-Ups extend Trello's functionality with add-ons such as time tracking, task automation, and more.
Learn more about how Trello compares to Microsoft Planner: Microsoft Planner vs Trello.
Looking for more tools similar to Trello? Check out this list of Trello alternatives.
What users say about Trello:
"The fact that Microsoft Planner is designed primarily to work within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem was a limiting factor for us. A lot of our team members are not using Microsoft tools thus Microsoft Planner wasn't going to offer seamless integration with non-Microsoft tools or services that our team members were already using. Microsoft Planner's integration with Microsoft 365 means that users need to navigate through the full suite of Office apps, which might feel cumbersome for someone seeking a simple and lightweight task management solution. We had looked at several other options but, the moment we embraced the task-organization abilities of Trello, our darkness-heavy chaos surrendered to a seamless order in managing our projects. We are able to collaborate seamlessly and in real time and do more."
3. Jira
Pricing: Free, advanced features starting from $6/user/month
Rating on Capterra: 4.5/5
Jira is a widely used Microsoft Planner alternative, particularly in software development and project management. It was first released in 2002 and over the years, it has evolved into a comprehensive project management and workflow tool used by a wide range of industries beyond software development.
Jira offers more advanced project management capabilities compared to Microsoft Planner. It allows for the creation of custom workflows, issue types, and project configurations, making it highly adaptable to different project requirements. It's also highly customizable. Users can create custom fields, dashboards, and reports tailored to their specific project needs.
While Microsoft Planner is designed for general task management, Jira supports Agile project management methodologies, such as Scrum and Kanban. It offers Agile boards, backlog management, and sprint planning features, making it a top choice for agile teams.
Learn more about how Jira compares to Microsoft Planner: Microsoft Planner vs Jira.
Looking for more tools similar to Jira? Check out this list of Jira alternatives.
What users say about Jira:
"One of its strengths is its flexibility and customization. Jira allows teams to create and track issues, assign tasks, set priorities, and monitor progress through various workflows and dashboards. Another advantage of Jira is its integration with other tools and platforms. Jira can integrate with tools like GitHub, Bitbucket, Confluence, and many others, which makes it easier for teams to manage their projects and collaborate seamlessly."
4. Zoho Projects
Pricing: Free, advanced features starting from $5/user/month
Rating on Capterra: 4.2/5
Zoho Projects is a part of the Zoho suite of productivity and business applications. It's another popular Microsoft Planner alternative that offers comprehensive project management and collaboration capabilities.
Zoho Projects allows for the creation of task dependencies and subtasks, making it suitable for complex projects. It enables users to track time spent on tasks, making project billing and resource management easier Compared to Microsoft Planner, Zoho Projects also provides more advanced reporting and analytics features, allowing users to gain deeper insights into project performance.
What users say about Zoho Projects:
"The underdog of the work world. I stumbled upon Zoho Projects and was immediately confused as to why Microsoft Planner did not look like this service. It was easy to set up, integrated with the other Zoho apps, and was a delight to use."
5. Basecamp
Pricing: $15/user/month or $299/month for unlimited users
Rating on Capterra: 4.3/5
Basecamp is a Microsoft Planner alternative that offers a comprehensive suite of collaboration tools, including to-do lists, file sharing, messaging, and document storage. In addition to project management features, Basecamp provides document storage and sharing capabilities, allowing teams to centralize their project-related files. While Microsoft Planner integrates with SharePoint for document management, Basecamp offers a more streamlined and user-friendly approach.
Basecamp's pricing model includes a fixed monthly fee option, regardless of the number of users. This can be cost-effective for organizations with large teams, whereas Microsoft Planner's pricing may vary based on the Microsoft 365 subscription.
Looking for more tools similar to Basecamp? Check out this list of alternatives to Basecamp.
What users say about Basecamp:
"For my purposes, Basecamp provided more capability and was simple and intuitive for basic project management. Basecamp is incredibly intuitive and easy to use. New users can start using the system in a very short period of time. I love the ability to upload files to specific projects or teams and to organize them into folders and update them with new versions. I also really appreciate how Basecamp makes sharing news, messages, and schedules with members of the team. Basecamp is also very affordable, even for small teams."
6. Microsoft Project
Pricing: Free, advanced features starting from $10/user/month
Rating on Capterra: 4.4/5
Launched almost 40 years ago, Microsoft Project is used by thousands of companies across the world. Like most Microsoft products, it's a tool many love to hate, but if your organization is already powered by Microsoft, it may be an obvious choice as an alternative to Asana.
Microsoft Project is considerably more complex than Asana and may not be a great solution for simple task management, but if you need to manage complex, large-scale projects with multiple stakeholders, it will get the job done.
Looking for more tools similar to Microsoft Project? Check out this list of best Microsoft Project alternatives.
What users say about Microsoft Project:
"My experience with Microsoft Project was very positive. It is a powerful project management software that offers a comprehensive suite of tools to help teams effectively plan, execute, and track projects. I found the Gantt chart feature to be particularly helpful for visualizing project timelines and identifying potential bottlenecks."
Find the best Microsoft Planner alternative for you
While Microsoft Planner has its merits, it's not always the best fit for every project. So what is the best alternative to Microsoft Planner? The short answer is "it depends".
This list is by no means exhaustive — the market for project management tools is remarkably crowded and competitive, and new Monday competitors pop up nearly every month. Take the time to assess your team's workflow, collaboration style, and project complexity, and consider factors like scalability, integration capabilities, and budget constraints, to select the MS Planner alternative that meets your needs.
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