Based on 7 verified reviews published in the last 18 months
TrustRadius Community Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when relevant, HG Insights data.
Overview
Synthesised from 7 reviews | Last Published April 23, 2026
This product assessment synthesizes insights from 7 recent reviews covering overall satisfaction, strengths, weaknesses, and ROI related to Microsoft Planner. Microsoft Planner is primarily used for task and project management, often across multiple teams or for individual projects. A majority of reviewers find it suitable for basic project tracking, with 5 out of 7 reviews reflecting this utility. The tool's value proposition centers around simple project planning and team collaboration, but it falls short for organizations needing advanced features. Indeed, 2 out of 7 reviewers consider its functionality too limited for sophisticated business needs. While some users report improved team efficiency (2 of 7 reviews), others cite reduced productivity due to functional limitations (2 of 7 reviews), indicating a variable ROI depending on the complexity of the use case.
Pros
Facilitates basic project planning, particularly using Kanban-style boards.
Enhances team collaboration through integrated features.
Improves team efficiency in some contexts, especially when aligned with Agile methodologies.
Cons
Lacks advanced project management features such as Gantt charts.
Offers limited customization options.
Can reduce productivity if users expect more advanced functionality than it provides.
We use Microsoft Planner as a project management tool to manage projects across multiple teams within our organization. It's used for tracking purposes, assigning to different owners and communicating on the status of each project. It is used across the entire organization and all departments. It's used as the primary form of communication for project.
Pros
Creating tasks
Having different boards for different teams/purposes
Email reminders about due dates
Cons
Basic version doesn't allow assigning someone to specific subtasks
Can't see tasks assigned to someone on your team across multiple boards
People have to comment to opt in for notifications for a particular task
You can't @ someone in the comments or the notes to bring it to their attention
You can't edit a comment once it's submitted
You can't pin a comment to make it important & ensure everyone sees it
You can't click through on links in the comments (doesn't automatically hyperlink)
Likelihood to Recommend
I think the basic free version of Microsoft Planner is well suited for managing your own individual list of basic tasks. However, if you're trying to work across teams and collaborate on large scale projects with multiple parts, in my experience, it becomes very clunky to work with. If you have a large project that needs subtasks, you're only able to assign multiple people to the general task, not each subtask. So, there's a lot of confusion on who owns what part, and what subtask part is done because all the comments just goes in the general task. I would recommend upgrading to the paid version.
Microsoft Planner was used to track action items and provide visibility across the organization of team members workload capacity. It was helpful in prioritizing daily tasks, keeping the team organized and focused, and preventing things from “slipping through the cracks”. It was very helpful to managers to see what the team had accomplished in a given day/week and what outstanding items remained.
Pros
Being able to assign/reassign a task to a particular team member was super helpful. Sometimes when a particular person has too much to do, it was easy to move it to someone else with more availability.
The customizable board view was also very helpful so that a pipeline could be created to prioritize tasks based on multiple factors like due date, priority level, or what sub tasks remained.
Being able to add a collaborator on tasks was also super helpful so that each of us could work on individual subtasks but know that we have visibility on the main task that we’re both responsible for.
Cons
Being able to add custom tags to be able to sort the tasks more easily would be helpful
A “search function” within the tasks feels like a pretty basic need that wasn’t provided
Being able to set more complex “rules” for tasks like other softwares provide
Likelihood to Recommend
Great for organizing daily tasks but works better for a small team. As our team started to grow, we ultimately decided to purchase a software that could be customized to accommodate our specific needs.
Microsoft Planner is very useful at planning stage of the Project. Since we are ed-tech company, we keep on launching new products frequently ,there we need to ensure that all stakeholders understand the project objective and working flow. Microsoft Planner is very convenient to make the project plan and distribute the responsibilities.
Pros
Project Planning
Work distribution
Project actions tracking
Cons
More options for flow chart
Better visual representations
No Gantt chart
Likelihood to Recommend
Here are some scenarios where Microsoft Planner is well suited:1) Project Planning Stage2) Integration with Outlook, which helps in notifying stakeholders.
Here are some scenarios where Microsoft Planner is well suited: 1) There is missing calendar view, which could have been incorporated. 2) If we have a big team , then task allocation and explanation won't be so easy with it.
Microsoft Planner is the best way to manage all my team tasks and deliver everything on time. Previously, I was using Asana for the same workflow. But Microsoft offered this tool within the package of our outlook mail. The tool made it easy to list all the day, week, and month tasks so we can keep a track of everything at the time [in] a single place. Moreover, we can add our team members, add deadlines, set priorities, and even assign tasks to members. We were able to track all the work of our clients, i.e. where we have reached the tasks and goals for a particular client. Multiple board options made it easier to differentiate various clients and their work. Thus, the software was very beneficial for [the] overall workflow of our marketing team.
Pros
Team tasks management
Deadline management
Easier workflow with different boards
Priority tasks to be highlighted
Cons
Should send a notification when a task is assigned to someone
There's no option to delete comments
Notification required when a task [has a] deadline
Likelihood to Recommend
Appropriate: [Microsoft] Planner helped to remember the minor tasks that we used to forget. Helpful to manage the tasks of [the] team. Moreover, we can check the schedule of a particular board and thus know what tasks need to be done on [a] priority basis. Less appropriate: When we assign a task to someone, they do not get any email notification. Thus, have to convey [a] message through some other source.
In my company, we do a lot of web projects and work with both clients and subcontractors. The planner was a Godsend mostly because it is operated via a mobile app and integrates with MS Teams so tasks show up in the app for each member. It gets the work done and keeps it out of a chat thread with minimal disruptions to your workday.
Pros
Add as many plans as you want
Keeps tasks organized via Buckets into each plan
Ability to create a plan directly within Teams via the Tasks app
Cons
Ability to assign an existing plan to a channel in Teams that was created in the mobile app
Reminders & alerts please!
Likelihood to Recommend
You cannot use it for project management. It is suited for Kanban style task boards very much needed to keep everyone on the same page. Great for task management and operational activities It has zero ability to assign a time or integrate with a time tracking tool or calendar tasks. This means you cannot do a time & cost analysis on your ongoing projects or business operations.
Microsoft Planner was implemented so that we could use it in conjunction with our Office 365 subscription. It seemed to be the best route for our company to take since the majority of our office has years of experience using Microsoft software. We were looking for a software that would allow us to plan and schedule our current projects. Being a construction company that has anywhere from 30-50 jobs under contract at any given time, it is very important to us to be able to communicate efficiently from the office to the shop and field.
Pros
Scheduling
Integration of other microsoft programs
communication
Cons
The learning curve seems like it could be reduced
The layout isn't our favorite out of the other softwares we looked at
Digital clutter from not seeming to not being able to create folder trees
Likelihood to Recommend
If you currently use Microsoft Office software and Office 365 then this is a must use. The integration of those items is very clean and smooth. The average age of our office is 50 and some of them had trouble swapping over. I am 32 and thought it was fairly simple. Communication and task management is where this software shines the most in my opinion
We use planner for blueprints of company policy and procedures, such as onboarding & offboarding templates, as well as the typical project management. It's used mainly by our HR and Marketing departments and works very well in conjunction with the entire Microsoft Suite. It's ease of use makes it a highly recommendable product.
Pros
Integration with other Microsoft apps
Team collaboration
Simplicity
Cons
Flexibility
Customisable backgrounds (very limited)
Displaying of information on cards
Likelihood to Recommend
Our best use of Planner is the creation of an onboarding template that allows HR to assign multiple tasks to individuals across different departments and follow up to see that they're all done on time. Microsoft Planner falls short in its ability to allow users to customize their setups and edit backgrounds (beyond a few provided by the platform).
Microsoft Planner is the project management software my small business has been looking for for quite awhile. Considered using Microsoft Project but it is too complex and not suited for the small projects we do and the type of projects we do. Microsoft Planner is the perfect project planning solution software for our needs because it is easy to learn, easy to use, and quick to setup.
Pros
Syncs with Microsoft 365 seamlessly
Simple but very useful interface
Has an app that syncs to mobile phones
Planner Tasks can be an app in Microsoft Teams
Cons
Be able to find where the Planner data is kept. Is it in SharePoint? If so, where?
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft Planner is best suited for small businesses that need an easy to use project planning software solution that is quick to setup and not complicated to use. Microsoft Planner is useful for small businesses that don't need all the complexities and steps that Microsoft Project requires in order to use it.
We use Planner to manage a daily stand up/check in meeting. Planner solves the simple problem of having a central online location for managing the status and progress of key activities of all of our development and operations projects. We are a small team, but it keeps us aligned and allows us to capture key information of each project/effort.
Pros
Managing status/progress of projects.
Assigning key tasks to team members.
Keeping everyone aligned because it is available for everyone to view and update as needed.
Very simple to use.
Integrated well with Microsoft other productivity products and solutions.
Cons
Planner is not very robust compared to other competitors out there.
The search function is not so great
There should be the ability to add more tasks per card if needed
At times it is necessary to manually refresh the page to ensure it is in synch.
Moving data around doesn't work so great.
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft Planner is great if you have a relatively small team and don't need anything really elaborate or robust in managing status of projects. It works great for stand ups and daily check meetings. Based on the lack of real robust features I think it would not work great for large projects with lots of complexity and people.
I use Microsoft Planner on a daily basis. I depend on it to stay organized. I like features that allow me to organize tasks, alert myself, and assign to tasks to teammates. I love how it works with Outlook, allowing me to save my emails to Planner. I would be lost without it!
Pros
Integrates with outlook
Assign tasks to teammates
Create different boards
Adding details
Cons
I would like to be able to break tasks down forget into more detailed subtasks to use it more as a project manager too
Likelihood to Recommend
I believe Planner is Great for Tracking daily tasks. Collaborating with a team to accomplish tasks. It is Not the best software to use for detailed project planning, but I wish he could do it for this too! It would only need more detailed subtasks to be useful for project planning too!
