Microsoft is streamlining its project management and task management tools. Starting August 2025, Project for the Web, To Do, and the current Microsoft Planner App will merge into one unified solution: the "new" Microsoft Planner.
This means there is one central tool for all levels of planning – from simple task management to complex project and portfolio workflows. Organisations currently using Project for the Web will automatically transition to the new Microsoft Planner.
Find further details and current prices on this Microsoft license page.
Recommended Reading in TPG's Blog:
Microsoft Project for the Web Becoming Planner: What You Need to Know
Microsoft continues to evolve Planner (see roadmap of planned changes). For organisations that have been using Project for the Web, the move to the new Microsoft Planner provides a future-ready foundation for project management and resource planning.
The table below compares the different Planner versions with other tools such as Project Online and TPG ProjectPowerPack.
In the Board view, tasks can be sorted according to different criteria, for example to create logical groups of tasks or to update the status.
The “People” view provides a quick and simple overview who is to work on what task and the level of progress.
Goals can be defined per project, with duration and assigned work packages. Tasks from the schedule can be linked to the work packages to track progress and deadline compliance.
There is scheduling with different types of links in the standard version, also intervals. The critical path can be presented in the same way as in Project Online, and it requires a higher license (Project Plan 3).
Up to 10 custom fields per project can be created. For instance, the following field types are available: Text, date, number (decimal), Rollup possible (with additional information), Yes / No, selection field. (Note: these are per project, not “enterprise” fields accessible across all projects.)
A single baseline is available.
Costs are not available.
An app for time tracking is not provided.
Planner Premium offers a mix of traditional and agile ways of working. The Timeline view displays a Gantt chart and the Board shows all tasks as cards with status and additional information.
One capability of Planner compared to Project Online is the ability for multiple people to work together on a schedule via “co-authoring”.
Delegating aspects of the plan to individuals can simplify the work of planning. All members of the Microsoft 365 group belonging to a project may edit the schedule simultaneously. Changes by other users are shown immediately. This allows for teamwork while building the schedule.
Integration with Microsoft Teams is easy, as there is a web address for each project which can be displayed as a tab in a Channel in Teams.
The resources in Planner are derived from a new or existing group in Microsoft 365 Groups. There is no resource pool for cross-project planning as in Project Online, and it is possible to add additional data to resources, such as availability or department. It is not possible to plan the cost of resources or direct costs.
If several people are assigned to a task, it is possible to differentiate via the “Assignments” view who is responsible for completing each part.
Microsoft’s Project Manager agent is a new AI capability built into Microsoft Planner that acts like a virtual project manager – helping you plan, manage, and report on projects more intelligently and efficiently.
You simply describe your project goal (and optionally upload related docs), and the agent automatically creates a structured plan with tasks, durations, and dependencies. It can even complete certain tasks itself – like research or generating status updates – embedding the results directly into Microsoft Loop pages.
What it does:
Why it matters:
Requirements:
You’ll need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, and either Planner Plan 1, Project Plan 3 or Plan 5 to access the premium features.
It’s ideal for project managers, team leads, and business units looking to speed up delivery without sacrificing control. With AI doing the heavy lifting, teams can stay focused on decision-making and results.
The screenshot below of Planner in Microsoft Teams shows the new Reports tab with a start screen that reads, "Start creating a status report with AI." From here, users can select the reporting period and provide optional information about what the status report should cover. The "Recent reports" section shows five previously generated reports. Users can select and visit these recent reports.
Microsoft Planner stores its data in Dataverse. This provides users with a platform that can be extensively adapted to their individual requirements using Power Apps, Power BI and Power Automate. New tables such as risks, issues and other lists can be created and analysed in connection with the new service’s projects and tasks.
You require additional licenses to edit and use Power Apps and Power BI and Power Automate.
In Planner, the following limits are sufficient for small to medium-sized projects and should not be a problem for simple use cases (source: Microsoft):
Microsoft offers a free report pack for Power BI with several useful reports. Some of them display portfolio level information across all projects.
Project Online remains available and maintained in terms of security and performance. Microsoft continue to support the product.
See our latest update here on our YouTube Video.
Users can therefore rest assured that their investment is safe and continue to use Project Online with all its functions for company-wide project and portfolio management in building their environment.
For local installations, Microsoft Project Server Subscription Edition (SE) which has been available since November 2nd 2021, is supported under Modern Lifecycle Policy
The projects from Project Online and Planner Premium can be accessed via Project Home and can be jointly analyzed in Project Roadmap and via Power BI.
The "new" Planner offers an easy and attractive entry to the world of classic project planning in combination with agile work management. It offers a timeline with linked tasks and a board view – a combination that makes a lot of sense in terms of usability and acceptance. The possibility to work in parallel on the same project is highly welcomed by users from agile methods.
So, if all you need to accomplish is simple scheduling for a small team and you don’t need any resource management features, timesheets and such, it should be sufficient for your needs. We look forward to seeing which functions Microsoft will implement next.
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