Planner is one of the more recent apps in the Microsoft ecosystem. Planner was released in 2016, and it lets teams make plans, assign tasks, share files, talk to and work with other users, and get updates on their progress. It gives you a Kanban board, a list, a Gantt chart, and other ways to see your data, just like Trello. If your company already uses other Microsoft products, Planner may be the obvious choice over Trello. It works well with other Microsoft 365 products, so you can keep track of all your work. With an annual commitment, the Office 365 Business Essentials Plan costs $5 per user per month and includes Microsoft Planner.
But if you want to base your decision on what other people have said, Trello might be a better choice. Many users think that Planner is much less flexible than Trello because it doesn’t have things like mentions in comments, repeating tasks, image previews, and so on. As with most Microsoft products, many people also think that Planner’s interface is hard to use and clunky.
Trello has been around for more than 10 years, which is longer than Planner. It was one of the first apps that made the Kanban method of managing projects popular. In 2021, Trello added the Timeline, Table, Calendar, Dashboard, and Map views to its well-known Board view. Trello is definitely more popular than Microsoft Planner. This is mostly because of how simple and easy to use it is. Users can quickly get the hang of Trello without having to go through a lot of training.
Microsoft Planner and Trello pricing
Microsoft Planner and Trello have different approaches to pricing. The Microsoft 365 suite has Microsoft Planner as part of it. This means that it comes with a bunch of other Microsoft programs, like Teams, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This integration can be a big selling point for many businesses because it makes it easy for people to work together on different platforms. Still, the prices can be hard to understand because the cost of Planner is essentially included in the subscription fee for Microsoft 365 as a whole. So, it might be hard to figure out how much it is worth on its own.
Microsoft 365 subscriptions start at $6 per user, per month for the Basic plan, $12.50 per user, per month for Business Standard, and $22 per user, per month for Business Premium. It’s important to know that annual subscriptions automatically renew, so if you don’t want to renew, you’ll need to cancel your subscription. Trello, on the other hand, gives away a basic version of its software for free and offers paid plans with more features and options. The free version is quite powerful and may be enough for small groups or individuals. But if you have a big team or a complicated project, you may quickly find that the free version is not enough.
Standard, Premium, and Enterprise are the three main paid plans for Trello. Standard costs $5 per user per month if you pay for it annually, and $6 if you pay for it every month. It has things like unlimited boards, custom fields, and more advanced checklists. The Premium plan costs $10 per user per month if you pay for it all at once, or $12.50 if you pay for it each month. Enterprise is for large organizations, and its price depends on how many users it has. For 50 users, Enterprise starts at $17.50 per user per month and comes with more features and support.
The most important thing to remember about Trello’s pricing is that the free version is a great place to start, but costs can go up quickly as you add more users and need more advanced features. When figuring out the cost, it’s important to think about not only what you need now but also what you might need in the future.
Microsoft Planner vs Trello Comparison Table
| Feature | Microsoft Planner | Trello |
|---|---|---|
| User Interface | Clean and intuitive interface with a familiar Microsoft layout | User-friendly interface with drag-and-drop functionality |
| Task Management | Organize tasks into plans, buckets, and assign them to team members | Organize tasks into boards, lists, and assign them to team members |
| Collaboration | Allows for team collaboration, comments, and file attachments | Supports team collaboration, comments, and file attachments |
| Integration | Integrates well with other Microsoft 365 apps and services | Offers integration with various third-party apps and services |
| Mobile Apps | Available on iOS and Android platforms | Available on iOS and Android platforms |
| Pricing | Included as part of Microsoft 365 subscription plans | Offers free and premium subscription plans |
| Official link | Visit Website | Visit Website |
Microsoft Planner vs Trello User interface
Microsoft Planner has a familiar Microsoft layout and a clean, easy-to-use user interface. It uses a visually organized system that lets users make plans, divide them into buckets or categories, and give tasks to team members. The interface gives a clear view of tasks and how they are going, making it easy to keep track of assignments and manage them. Microsoft Planner is made to be easy to use, so it should work well for people who are already used to using Microsoft products.
Trello, on the other hand, has a simple and flexible interface that is easy to use. The interface is based on a visual board and card system that lets users make boards for different projects and organize tasks into lists. Users can easily move tasks from one list to another, assign them to other team members, and set due dates. The interface of Trello is very flexible, so users can change it to fit their own workflows and preferences. Trello is made to be easy to use and look good, so it can be used to manage projects of different sizes and levels of complexity.
Microsoft Planner vs Trello Project Management
Planner and Trello both use the popular Kanban board method to help manage projects. You can make tasks as cards and give them to team members. Comments are where you can talk to stakeholders. Both apps also let you organize projects in different ways, but both focus on the Kanban method. You can see a list view in Planner, and if you pay for an upgrade, you can see a calendar or a timeline in Trello. Both apps can work with other tools to make automation and cross-platform collaboration easier. Planner is part of the Microsoft 365 for Business suite, and Trello’s free Power-Ups, which are like add-ons, let you connect it to third-party apps.
Microsoft Planner vs Trello Integrations
There are many ways to connect Microsoft Planner and Trello. As you might expect, Microsoft Planner has a lot of connections with other Microsoft products. With an Office 365 subscription, everyone in your organization already has access to Planner, and a Planner tab can be added to Teams with just one click. It also supports more complex integrations. For example, you could connect Planner to an enterprise project to give users a simplified view of their tasks while keeping complex relationships at the enterprise level.
Trello, on the other hand, has features called “Power Ups” and “Automation” that work with a wide range of cloud-based software, including Microsoft’s. It looks like Trello works well with other things. It can work with a lot of popular apps, such as Slack, Google Drive, and Dropbox. This means that you can link Trello to the tools you already use, which will make your work flow smoother. Microsoft Planner has some integration features, but its main focus is on Microsoft’s ecosystem. If your team uses many different apps, this makes it a less flexible choice.
Microsoft Planner: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Integration with Microsoft 365 ecosystem
- Familiar user interface for Microsoft users
- Structured task and project management
- Seamless collaboration and file sharing within the Microsoft ecosystem
Cons
- Limited customization options
- May lack some advanced features compared to other tools
- Requires a Microsoft 365 subscription for full functionality
Trello: Pros and Cons
Pros
- Flexible and customizable interface
- Intuitive drag-and-drop functionality
- Extensive integration options with third-party apps
- Suitable for various project management approaches
Cons
- Less integrated with Microsoft tools
- Free version has limitations on file attachments and integrations
- May lack some advanced project management features
Which one should you consider?
Microsoft Planner and Trello are both good ways to keep track of tasks and projects. Microsoft Planner has a structured interface and works well with other Microsoft products because it fits right in with the Microsoft ecosystem. Trello, on the other hand, has a flexible interface that looks nice and can be changed to fit different workflows. Which one you choose depends on your own preferences, how well you know the Microsoft ecosystem, and how much customization you want.
FAQs
Planner is part of the Microsoft 365 for Business suite of tools, which means it works with a number of other apps to help your team work together on almost any business task. Trello is a simpler tool that can be used by one person or by a team. It can also grow as your team and projects get bigger and more complicated.
Microsoft Planner is Microsoft’s version of project management software, like Trello. The two are very similar in how they look, how they are set up, and how boards and tasks are made. Planner comes with Office 365 Enterprise, so we decided to give it a try.
