10 Best Microsoft Planner Alternatives for Teams in 2026

The short answer: the best Microsoft Planner alternatives for business teams in 2026 are Trello for simple boards, Asana and monday.com for structured cross-team projects, ClickUp for an all-in-one workspace, Wrike and Smartsheet for larger programs and resource planning, Notion for docs-plus-tasks, Zoho Projects for a low-cost full PM tool, and MeisterTask for lightweight Kanban. If you want to stay inside Microsoft, the upgrade path is Microsoft’s paid project plans, which add scheduling features Planner’s basic tier lacks.

This guide is about Planner as a team task tool inside Microsoft 365, not personal planners or home design apps. It covers why teams outgrow it, compares ten alternatives, and explains how each one works with Microsoft Teams and Outlook, which is usually the deciding factor.

What is Microsoft Planner, and why do teams outgrow it?

Microsoft Planner is Microsoft’s task management app for teams. Plans live alongside Microsoft 365 groups, show up as tabs in Microsoft Teams, and use buckets, cards, checklists, labels and simple charts. Its basic version is included with many Microsoft 365 business subscriptions, which is why so many teams start there. Microsoft has also been bringing capabilities from Project for the web into Planner, with advanced features on paid plans; check current licensing in Microsoft Planner pricing.

Common reasons teams look for a Planner alternative:

• Limited project structure. The basic tier has buckets and tasks but little in the way of dependencies, portfolios or cross-plan reporting.
• Reporting across plans. Managers who want one view across many plans often end up exporting to Excel or building Power BI reports.
• Automation. Anything beyond simple notifications usually needs Power Automate flows, which someone has to build and maintain.
• External collaboration. Working with clients or contractors who are not in your Microsoft tenant can be awkward.
• Advanced features on separate plans. Timeline views, dependencies and resource features sit on Microsoft’s paid project plans, so teams compare that cost against other tools.

Microsoft Planner alternatives compared

Tool	Best for	Pricing model	Free plan	Microsoft Teams integration
Trello	Simple team boards	Per user, tiered	Yes	Yes (app)
Asana	Cross-team projects	Per user, tiered	Yes	Yes (app)
monday.com	Visual, no-code workflows	Per seat, seat bundles	Yes	Yes (app)
ClickUp	All-in-one workspace	Per user, tiered	Yes	Yes (app)
Wrike	Enterprise and resourcing	Per user, tiered plus quote	Yes	Yes (app)
Smartsheet	Grid-based programs	Per user, tiered plus quote	Limited	Yes (app)
Notion	Docs plus tasks	Per member, tiered	Yes	Limited
Zoho Projects	Low-cost full PM	Per user, tiered	Yes	Yes
MeisterTask	Lightweight Kanban	Per user, tiered	Yes	Yes
Microsoft Project	Staying in Microsoft	Per user, Microsoft licensing	No	Native

Pricing models only. Integration depth changes over time, so test the Teams and Outlook experience in a trial.

The 10 best Microsoft Planner alternatives in 2026

1. Trello: best like-for-like upgrade for simple boards

Trello uses the same card-and-board idea as Planner but adds Power-Ups, built-in automation, more views on paid tiers and easy guest access. Teams that like Planner’s simplicity but need a bit more usually feel at home immediately.

• Best for: small teams and departments with simple workflows.
• Keep in mind: reporting across boards is limited. See Trello pricing and Trello alternatives.

2. Asana: best for structured cross-team projects

Asana adds what Planner lacks for multi-team work: dependencies, timelines, rules, forms, goals and portfolios that roll up status across projects. Its Microsoft Teams app lets people create and update tasks from Teams. See Asana pricing.

• Best for: marketing, operations and PMO teams running many projects.
• Keep in mind: advanced views sit on higher tiers.

3. monday.com: best for visual, no-code workflows

monday.com lets teams build their own boards, automations and dashboards without Power Automate. It is often chosen by operations and marketing teams who want dashboards leaders can read at a glance. See how monday.com pricing works.

• Best for: teams that want to design their own process.
• Keep in mind: seats are sold in bundles.

4. ClickUp: best all-in-one workspace

ClickUp combines tasks, docs, whiteboards, time tracking and automations with many views, replacing Planner plus several other apps. See ClickUp pricing and our ClickUp alternatives.

• Best for: teams that want breadth and have someone to own setup.
• Keep in mind: the number of options can overwhelm new users.

5. Wrike: best for enterprise and resource planning

Wrike adds workload management, request forms, approvals and cross-department reporting, with admin controls larger organisations expect. See Wrike pricing.

• Best for: PMOs and marketing departments balancing capacity.
• Keep in mind: more setup than Planner.

6. Smartsheet: best for grid-based programs

Smartsheet suits teams that manage work in Excel today. It adds Gantt charts, forms, automation and dashboards on top of a familiar grid, and connects with Microsoft 365 tools. See Smartsheet pricing.

• Best for: operations teams and PMOs with standard reporting.
• Keep in mind: less visual than board tools.

7. Notion: best for docs plus tasks

Notion combines a wiki, documents and databases, so plans, specs and meeting notes sit next to the task tracker. It is a good fit when Planner plus OneNote or Loop feels fragmented. See Notion pricing.

• Best for: startups and product teams that write a lot.
• Keep in mind: Microsoft integration is lighter than Microsoft’s own tools.

8. Zoho Projects: best low-cost full PM tool

Zoho Projects adds Gantt charts, dependencies, time tracking and issue tracking at a modest per-user cost. See Zoho Projects pricing.

• Best for: SMBs that want classic PM features without a big budget.
• Keep in mind: strongest inside the Zoho ecosystem.

9. MeisterTask: best lightweight Kanban

MeisterTask is a clean Kanban tool with automations per section, recurring tasks and time tracking. It suits teams who like Planner’s simplicity but want a smoother board experience.

• Best for: small teams running Kanban.
• Keep in mind: limited portfolio features.

10. Microsoft Project: best if you want to stay in Microsoft

Microsoft Project and Microsoft’s paid project plans add scheduling, dependencies, timelines and resource features on top of what Planner offers, with native Microsoft 365 and Teams integration. For portfolio-level needs, Microsoft’s wider project portfolio stack (see Microsoft PPM) adds reporting through Power BI.

• Best for: organisations standardised on Microsoft that need more planning depth.
• Keep in mind: licensing changes over time; confirm current plans with Microsoft or your reseller.

Is there a free alternative to Microsoft Planner?

Trello, Asana, ClickUp, Notion, Zoho Projects and MeisterTask all have free plans that cover small teams. If your organisation already pays for Microsoft 365, Planner’s basic version may effectively be free to you, so compare what a free alternative adds against the cost of switching. For self-hosted options, see our open-source project management tools.

Microsoft Planner vs Notion: which is better?

Planner is better for simple task boards inside Teams with zero extra licences. Notion is better when tasks need to live next to documents, specs and a team wiki. Planner has tighter Microsoft integration; Notion has far more flexibility in how you structure information. See our Notion alternatives if Notion is also on your list.

Which Planner alternative fits your team?

• Small team that likes Planner but needs a bit more: Trello or MeisterTask.
• Department running many projects with dependencies: Asana, or Microsoft’s paid project plans if you want to stay inside Microsoft.
• Operations or marketing team that wants dashboards without Power BI: monday.com.
• PMO that lives in Excel: Smartsheet.
• Organisation balancing capacity across teams: Wrike.
• Team replacing several apps at once: ClickUp.
• Cost-sensitive SMB: Zoho Projects.

How do you migrate away from Microsoft Planner?

A tool switch is mostly a data and habit problem, not a software problem. A phased plan keeps work moving while the team adjusts.

1. Audit before you export. Archive finished and abandoned projects so you only move live work. This is also the moment to agree on naming, statuses and custom fields for the new tool.
2. Export the data. Planner lets you export a plan to Excel; repeat for each plan you are moving.
3. Map fields. Decide how buckets, labels, progress states and assignees will be represented in the new tool before importing, and run a test import with one project.
4. Rebuild what does not transfer. Checklists, attachments, comments and any Power Automate flows usually need rebuilding or relinking. Start with the few automations and templates people use every day.
5. Move one team first. Run the pilot team for two to four weeks, fix the template, then move the rest in waves.
6. Set a cut-off date. Make the old tool read-only once the last team moves, and keep an export for records.

How to choose a Microsoft Planner alternative

1. Decide whether you are staying in Microsoft 365. If yes, test each tool’s Teams and Outlook apps carefully, because that is where people will work.
2. Identify the missing features. Dependencies and timelines point to Asana, Wrike, Smartsheet or Microsoft Project; automation points to monday.com or ClickUp; docs point to Notion.
3. Check identity and security. Confirm Microsoft Entra ID single sign-on and user provisioning on the plan you will buy.
4. Price the switch honestly. Planner may already be included in your Microsoft 365 licence, so the alternative’s full cost is incremental.
5. Migrate in phases. Export plans to Excel, import into the new tool, and move one team first.

Frequently asked questions

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