Microsoft Planner Pricing in 2026: What Is Included and What Costs Extra

The short answer: Microsoft Planner comes in two layers. The basic version of Planner (boards, task lists, assignments, due dates and simple charts) is included with most Microsoft 365 business, enterprise and education subscriptions, so many organisations already pay for it without realising. The premium capabilities, which came over from Project for the web as Microsoft consolidated it into Planner (timelines, dependencies, goals, sprints, advanced scheduling and portfolio-style views), need a separate paid Planner or Project licence for each user who creates and manages those plans. AI features such as Copilot generally need an additional licence on top.

This guide explains how Microsoft Planner pricing works in 2026, what you get at each layer, what drives the cost, and how to estimate yours. We do not quote prices or licence names, because Microsoft revises both regularly. Check current pricing on Microsoft’s Planner plans and pricing page.

This article is about Microsoft Planner for work teams. It does not cover consumer apps with “planner” in the name, such as home design, wedding or meal planners.

How much does Microsoft Planner cost?

For many teams, basic Planner costs nothing extra, because it is part of the Microsoft 365 subscription the company already has. The real question is how many people need the premium layer, and whether you also want AI.

How Microsoft Planner pricing works in 2026

Basic Planner: included with Microsoft 365

If your organisation has a Microsoft 365 business, enterprise or education subscription, most users can open Planner in the browser, on mobile and inside Teams at no extra charge. It covers team task boards well: buckets, assignments, due dates, checklists, attachments, labels and a simple chart view. It does not do project scheduling. There are no real dependencies, critical path or baselines in basic Planner.

Premium Planner: a per-user add-on

Microsoft has been merging Project for the web into Planner. The result is one Planner app where some plans are basic and some are premium. To create or manage a premium plan, a user needs a paid licence that includes premium Planner capabilities. Those licences are sold per user, per month, and Microsoft offers more than one tier, with higher tiers adding portfolio and resource management features.

Team members who only need to view or update tasks in a premium plan may not need the top tier. Microsoft’s licensing rules on who needs which licence change over time, so check the current guidance before you assign licences to everyone.

Copilot and AI

AI features in Planner, such as generating a plan from a goal or summarising progress, rely on Microsoft 365 Copilot. Copilot is licensed separately per user. If AI planning is part of your business case, include those licences for the people who will use them.

How you buy: direct, partner, monthly or annual

You can buy Microsoft 365 and Planner licences directly from Microsoft or through a Microsoft partner (a Cloud Solution Provider). Microsoft sells most business licences on monthly or annual terms, and annual commitments usually cost less per user than month-to-month terms. Partners may bundle support or migration help. Nonprofit and education pricing is available for eligible organisations.

Is Microsoft Planner free?

Not as a standalone product for businesses. Basic Planner is included in most paid Microsoft 365 work and school subscriptions, which is why it feels free to many teams. If your organisation does not have Microsoft 365, you would need a subscription that includes Planner. Premium Planner features always need a paid licence. Microsoft has offered trials of premium Planner licences, which you can activate from the Microsoft 365 admin centre or Microsoft’s website.

Microsoft Planner vs Microsoft Project: which do you pay for?

This is where most confusion comes from. Historically, Microsoft sold Planner (simple task boards), Project for the web (cloud scheduling), Project Online (portfolio management) and Project desktop (the classic scheduling application) as separate products. Microsoft has been consolidating the cloud tools into Planner, so the licence that unlocks premium Planner features is closely related to what used to be called a Project licence.

• If you need task boards only: basic Planner in your Microsoft 365 subscription is enough.
• If you need schedules, dependencies and timelines: you need the premium layer for the people who build and manage plans.
• If you need portfolio management, resource management or the desktop scheduling application: you are looking at higher Project tiers or a dedicated portfolio tool.

For the wider Microsoft stack, see Microsoft PPM explained and the Microsoft Planner vs Microsoft Project comparison. Spotsaas also has profiles for Microsoft Project and Microsoft PPM.

Do you need a PPM solution on top of Microsoft Planner?

Planner is built for team-level work. Organisations that run dozens of projects often need more: intake and prioritisation, portfolio dashboards, capacity planning across teams, budgets and benefits tracking. You can get some of that from Microsoft’s own higher Project tiers and Power BI reporting, or from third-party portfolio tools that connect to Planner and Teams. Signs you have outgrown Planner alone:

• leadership asks for a single view of every project’s status, and someone builds it by hand in a spreadsheet;
• resource conflicts are found late because nobody sees capacity across teams;
• new project requests arrive by email with no scoring or approval process;
• budgets and actuals live outside the project tool.

If that sounds familiar, read the best project portfolio management software before buying more Planner licences.

What drives Microsoft Planner costs up

• Licensing premium features for everyone. Many organisations assign premium licences broadly when only planners and project leads need them. Map who creates plans vs who updates tasks.
• Copilot licences. These are a significant per-user add-on. Pilot with a small group and measure use before rolling out widely.
• Monthly terms. Month-to-month licences usually cost more than annual commitments.
• Reporting. Cross-plan reporting often means Power BI licences, and someone to build and maintain the reports.
• Partner services. Setup, templates, governance and training from a Microsoft partner are extra.
• Base subscription changes. If your Microsoft 365 plan changes, check that Planner is still included for all the users who rely on it.

How to estimate your Microsoft Planner cost

Use this formula with the current prices from Microsoft or your partner:

Annual Planner cost = (premium licence users x premium price x 12) + (portfolio-tier users x portfolio-tier price x 12) + (Copilot users x Copilot price x 12) + reporting and partner services

Basic Planner users do not appear in the formula if their Microsoft 365 plan already includes Planner.

Illustrative inputs (not prices) for a 300-person company:

• Basic Planner: 300 users, already covered by Microsoft 365.
• Premium Planner: 20 project leads who build schedules with dependencies.
• Portfolio tier: 3 PMO staff.
• Copilot: a 10-person pilot group.
• Reporting: a Power BI dashboard maintained by one analyst.

Questions to ask Microsoft or your partner

• Which of our current Microsoft 365 licences include basic Planner?
• Which licence do people need to create premium plans, and which do they need to only update tasks in them?
• What does each Project or Planner tier add, and do we need portfolio features?
• What are the monthly vs annual term prices for our licence count?
• What do Copilot features in Planner require, and can we pilot them with a small group?
• Are we eligible for nonprofit or education pricing?
• What support, migration or governance services does the partner include?

How to choose: is Microsoft Planner the right buy?

Planner is the obvious choice for organisations already standardised on Microsoft 365 and Teams, because basic task management is already paid for and identity, security and compliance are handled by the same platform. It becomes less obvious if you need advanced automation, client-facing collaboration, rich reporting without Power BI, or if much of your team works outside Microsoft 365.

Compare options in Microsoft Planner alternatives, the free Microsoft Planner alternatives list, the Microsoft Planner vs Todoist comparison and the best task management software. For timeline-heavy work, see Gantt chart software. You can also see the Microsoft Planner profile, Microsoft Planner pricing and the task management software category on Spotsaas.

Frequently asked questions about Microsoft Planner pricing