Project management tools · Comparison
monday.com vs Microsoft Planner (2026): Which Is Better?
monday.com is best for ease of use and visual workflows; Microsoft Planner is best for microsoft 365 organisations. We compare pricing, features, ease of use and G2 and Capterra ratings to help you choose.
Key takeaways
- Overall winner: monday.com (9.1/10 vs 8.1/10), winning 6 of 7 categories.
- Choose monday.com for teams that want a colourful, intuitive platform they can shape into almost any workflow.
- Choose Microsoft Planner for organisations standardised on Microsoft 365 and Teams.
- Price: monday.com Free for up to 2 seats; paid from $9/seat/month; Microsoft Planner Basic Planner included in Microsoft 365; Plan 1 from $10/user/month.
Quick verdict
monday.com is the easiest powerful platform to roll out. Choose it when adoption and flexibility matter most; choose Wrike if you need deeper resource and portfolio control.
Planner is the convenient default for Microsoft 365 shops. For richer collaboration, resource and portfolio management, Wrike integrates with Microsoft tools while offering far more depth.
monday.com vs Microsoft Planner at a glance
| monday.com | Microsoft Planner | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 9.1/10 | 8.1/10 |
| Best for | Teams that want a colourful, intuitive platform they can shape into almost any workflow | Organisations standardised on Microsoft 365 and Teams |
| Starting price | Free for up to 2 seats; paid from $9/seat/month | Basic Planner included in Microsoft 365; Plan 1 from $10/user/month |
| Free plan | Yes (up to 2 seats) | Basic Planner included with Microsoft 365 |
| Free trial | 14-day Pro trial, no credit card | One-month trial of Plan 1 and Plan 3 (credit card required) |
| Vendor | monday.com Ltd. | Microsoft |
Pricing compared
| monday.com | Microsoft Planner | |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free: $0 Basic: $9/seat/month (annual) Standard: $12/seat/month (annual) Pro: $19/seat/month (annual) Enterprise: Contact sales | Planner (basic): Included in Microsoft 365 Planner Plan 1: $10/user/month (annual) Planner and Project Plan 3: $30/user/month (annual) Microsoft 365 Copilot: $30/user/month add-on (annual) |
Checked on vendors' pricing pages on 5 October 2026. Read the full monday.com pricing and Microsoft Planner pricing breakdowns.
Features compared
| Feature | monday.com | Microsoft Planner |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Gantt / timeline | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Kanban boards | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Time tracking | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partial |
| Resource & workload management | ◐ Partial | ✓ Yes |
| Portfolio management | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Docs & wiki | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partial |
| Automations | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partial |
| Agile / sprint tools | ◐ Partial | ◐ Partial |
| Proofing & approvals | ◐ Partial | ✕ No |
| Built-in AI | ✓ Yes | + Add-on |
| Guest / client access | ✓ Yes | ◐ Partial |
| Flat (non per-user) pricing | ✕ No | ✕ No |
Category winners
| Category | monday.com | Microsoft Planner | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of use | 9/10 | 8/10 | monday.com |
| Feature depth | 9/10 | 6/10 | monday.com |
| Planning & resource management | 8/10 | 7/10 | monday.com |
| Collaboration | 9/10 | 7/10 | monday.com |
| Agile & software teams | 7/10 | 6/10 | monday.com |
| Value for money | 7/10 | 8/10 | Microsoft Planner |
| Scalability & enterprise readiness | 9/10 | 8/10 | monday.com |
User ratings
| monday.com | Microsoft Planner | |
|---|---|---|
| G2 | 4.7/5 (17,248 reviews) | 4.2/5 (237 reviews) |
| Capterra | 4.6/5 (6,120 reviews) | 4.3/5 (298 reviews) |
| Top praise (G2) | Ease of use | Ease of use |
| Top complaint (G2) | Missing features | Limited features for complex projects |
monday.com has the higher G2 rating. monday.com has the higher Capterra rating. See reviews on G2 for monday.com, G2 for Microsoft Planner, Capterra for monday.com and Capterra for Microsoft Planner.
Which should you choose?
Choose monday.com if…
- Non-technical teams that need fast adoption
- Marketing, operations and agencies with varied workflows
- Teams that value visual dashboards
- Very easy to learn and adopt matters to you
Choose Microsoft Planner if…
- Organisations already on Microsoft 365 and Teams
- Teams needing simple, integrated task management
- Included or low-cost for Microsoft 365 customers matters to you
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, monday.com or Microsoft Planner?
In our review, monday.com scores 9.1/10 and Microsoft Planner 8.1/10. monday.com wins on ease of use, feature depth, planning & resource management, collaboration, agile & software teams, scalability & enterprise readiness; Microsoft Planner is better for value for money.
Is monday.com cheaper than Microsoft Planner?
monday.com: Free for up to 2 seats; paid from $9/seat/month. Microsoft Planner: Basic Planner included in Microsoft 365; Plan 1 from $10/user/month. Compare total cost at your team size, including seat minimums and add-ons.
Do monday.com and Microsoft Planner have free plans?
monday.com: Yes (up to 2 seats). Microsoft Planner: Basic Planner included with Microsoft 365.
Which is easier to use, monday.com or Microsoft Planner?
monday.com scores higher for ease of use in our review (monday.com 9/10, Microsoft Planner 8/10).
Which is better for Agile teams, monday.com or Microsoft Planner?
monday.com is stronger for Agile and software teams in our scoring.
monday.com vs Microsoft Planner: which has better resource and portfolio management?
monday.com scores higher for planning and resource management (monday.com 8/10, Microsoft Planner 7/10).
monday.com vs Microsoft Planner: which is better for large enterprises?
monday.com scores higher for scalability and enterprise readiness.
How do monday.com and Microsoft Planner compare on G2 and Capterra?
monday.com: 4.7/5 on G2 (17,248 reviews) and 4.6/5 on Capterra (6,120). Microsoft Planner: 4.2/5 on G2 (237) and 4.3/5 on Capterra (298). Checked 5 October 2026.
Do monday.com and Microsoft Planner have Gantt charts?
monday.com: yes. Microsoft Planner: yes (plan-dependent).
Can I switch from Microsoft Planner to monday.com (or the reverse)?
Yes. Both support importing data, typically via CSV or built-in importers. Pilot with one project before migrating everything.
What are alternatives to monday.com and Microsoft Planner?
See our lists of monday.com alternatives and Microsoft Planner alternatives, or the top 10 project management tools.