Use Microsoft To Do for your own tasks, Planner for team tasks and projects and Microsoft Lists for tracking structured information like requests, assets or inventory. All three are included with most Microsoft 365 business plans. Planner now also shows your To Do tasks in one place, so most teams can standardize on Planner in Teams.
Microsoft 365 has more than one way to track work, and that’s part of the problem. Ask five people in the same office how they keep track of follow-ups and you’ll probably hear about sticky notes, flagged emails, a spreadsheet on someone’s desktop, a Planner board nobody updates and a whiteboard in the break room. The tools aren’t the issue. Picking the right one for each job, and agreeing on it as a team, is what makes the difference.
Here’s how Microsoft To Do, Planner and Lists compare in 2026, when to use each and a few practical tips for getting a team to actually use them.
What is the difference between Planner, To Do and Lists?
| Microsoft To Do | Microsoft Planner | Microsoft Lists | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Personal tasks and reminders | Team tasks and projects | Tracking structured information |
| Shared with a team? | Mostly personal, simple sharing | Yes, plans belong to a group | Yes, stored in SharePoint |
| Typical views | My Day, lists, flagged email | Board, grid, schedule, charts | Grid, gallery, calendar, board |
| Example | Call the insurance agent Tuesday | Office move checklist with owners and due dates | Equipment inventory or service request log |
Microsoft To Do
To Do is a personal task list. It’s good for the things only you need to remember, and it pulls in flagged Outlook emails so your inbox doesn’t double as your task list. The My Day view is a simple way to pick what you’ll actually work on today.
Microsoft Planner
Planner is for work shared by a team. Each plan has buckets, tasks, owners, due dates, checklists and attachments, and it lives alongside the team’s files and conversations. Microsoft now describes Planner as a single work management experience that brings together To Do, Planner and Project, according to its Planner FAQ. In Teams, the Planner app shows your personal To Do tasks and the team plans you’re assigned to in one place.
Microsoft Lists
Lists is closer to a smart, shared spreadsheet. Each list has columns you define, such as status, location, serial number or requester, plus views, rules and permissions. Microsoft’s Lists guidance points to uses like tracking issues, inventory, customer feedback and contact directories. If what you’re tracking is more record than task, Lists is usually the better fit.
When should you use Planner instead of Lists?
A simple rule: if the item gets finished and goes away, it’s a task, so use Planner. If the item stays around and you need to look it up later, it’s a record, so use Lists. An onboarding checklist for a new hire belongs in Planner. A list of every laptop, who has it and when its warranty ends belongs in Lists. Many teams use both, with Lists holding the information and Planner holding the work that comes out of it.
What changed in Microsoft Planner in 2026?
Microsoft has been steadily reshaping Planner. A few changes worth knowing about:
- Project for the web moved into Planner. Microsoft retired Project for the web and brought those projects into Planner as premium plans.
- Task chat replaced comments. In an early 2026 update (Microsoft 365 message center MC1193421), task comments in basic plans were replaced by task chat with rich text and @mentions. Custom plan templates arrived at the same time, as the M365 Admin summary describes.
- Some features retired. The same update retired the iCalendar feed, the Whiteboard tab in premium plans and the Planner component in Loop pages.
- Copilot help. A project manager agent is available in Planner for organizations with Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses.
If your team built habits around comments or calendar feeds, it’s worth a quick refresher so people aren’t surprised.
Do you need Planner Premium?
Probably not for everyday team task tracking. Basic plans are included with Microsoft 365 business subscriptions. Premium plans add timeline (Gantt) views, task dependencies, sprints, custom fields and workload views, which are useful for more formal project management. Third-party guides such as Virto’s Planner Premium overview list Planner Plan 1 at about $10 per user per month and Planner and Project Plan 3 at about $30. Only the people who create and manage premium plans need the license. Check Microsoft’s current pricing before buying, since it changes.
How do you get a team to actually use Planner?
The software is the easy part. Habits are harder. A few things that help:
- Pick one place for team tasks. If some tasks live in email, some in a spreadsheet and some in Planner, people stop trusting all of them.
- Keep plans small. One plan per project or recurring process works better than one giant plan for the whole department.
- Use buckets for stages. To do, in progress, waiting on someone and done is plenty for most teams.
- Every task gets one owner and a date. Shared ownership usually means no ownership.
- Review it in your weekly meeting. Pull up the board instead of going around the room. It keeps the plan current without extra work.
- Build templates for repeat work. Onboarding, offboarding, month-end close and office moves are good candidates for reusable templates.
Where those tasks connect to documents, keep the files in the team’s SharePoint site rather than attached to individual tasks. Our posts on SharePoint tips for small businesses and organizing files in OneDrive and SharePoint cover how to set that up.
Are Planner, To Do and Lists included with Microsoft 365?
Yes, for most business plans, including Business Basic, Standard and Premium. If you’re still deciding which plan fits, see our comparison of Business Premium vs Standard. And because plans, lists and tasks can hold sensitive information, the same sharing and access rules you apply to files should apply here too.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Microsoft Planner and To Do?
To Do is for personal tasks and reminders. Planner is for tasks shared across a team, with owners, due dates and progress views. Planner in Teams now shows both in one place.
When should I use Microsoft Lists instead of Planner?
Use Lists for information you need to keep and look up, like inventory, requests or contacts. Use Planner for tasks that get completed. Many teams use both together.
Is Microsoft Planner free with Microsoft 365?
Basic Planner is included with most Microsoft 365 business plans. Premium features like timelines, dependencies and sprints require a Planner Plan 1 or Planner and Project Plan 3 license.
What happened to comments in Microsoft Planner?
In early 2026, Microsoft replaced task comments in basic plans with task chat, which supports rich text and @mentions.
Can Microsoft Planner replace a project management tool?
For many small teams, yes. Basic plans cover everyday task tracking, and premium plans add Gantt timelines, dependencies and sprints for more complex projects.
How The Fulcrum Group helps
Microsoft 365 includes good tools for tracking work, but most organizations only use a fraction of them. Through our Microsoft 365 services and SPOT Managed IT Services, we help North Texas teams set up Planner, Lists and SharePoint in a way that matches how they work, train people on the basics and keep permissions sensible as teams change. When you’re ready to add AI to the mix, our Microsoft Copilot guidance can help too.
If you’d like help getting your team out of spreadsheets and sticky notes, Schedule a Discovery Call.
