Guide
Planner and Project Plan 3 explained: what it includes, and how it compares with Plan 1 and Plan 5
Microsoft sells premium Planner in three licenses. Here is what each one includes, feature by feature, who on a team actually needs which, and when buying Project desktop outright costs less.
Updated 2026-11-13. Licenses, prices and features checked against Microsoft's plans page and Microsoft Learn (see Sources).
Short answer: Planner and Project Plan 3 (US$30 per user per month) is the license for whoever owns the schedule: it adds baselines, critical path, task history and portfolios to Planner, and includes the Project desktop app. Planner Plan 1 (US$10) is enough for people who work in a premium plan's Timeline and sprints. Plan 5 adds resource booking and skills management on top of Plan 3.
The licenses at a glance
| License | Price (US, checked 2026-11-13) | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 (basic Planner) | Included with Microsoft 365 | Basic plans: Grid, Board, Schedule and Charts views, checklists, labels. In premium plans, can view dependencies, milestones and roadmaps, and update tasks in the default environment. |
| Planner Plan 1 | US$10 per user per month, paid yearly | Premium plans: Timeline (Gantt) view, task dependencies, milestones, custom task fields, goals, sprints and backlogs, People view, premium templates, view portfolios. |
| Planner and Project Plan 3 | US$30 per user per month, paid yearly | Everything in Plan 1, plus baselines and critical path, advanced dependencies with lead and lag, task history, the Assignments view, creating portfolios, and the Project desktop app. |
| Planner and Project Plan 5 | Not priced on Microsoft's US plans page | Everything Microsoft Learn lists for Plan 3, plus creating resource bookings, managing resource skills and proficiencies, and unlimited custom tables. |
Premium Planner is what Microsoft used to sell as Project for the web; Microsoft Learn notes that Project for the web retired on August 1, 2025, with most of its features continuing in Planner. Project Online itself retired on September 30, 2026. If that's why you're here, see what changed when Project Online retired.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Microsoft 365 | Plan 1 | Plan 3 | Plan 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timeline (Gantt) view | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Task dependencies | View only | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Milestones and custom task fields | View only | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Goals, sprints and backlogs, People view | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced dependencies (lead and lag) | View only | View only | Yes | Yes |
| Critical path | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Task history | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Assignments view | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Roadmaps (portfolios) | View only | View only | Yes | Yes |
| Create resource requests | View only | View only | Yes | Yes |
| Book resources, manage skills | View only | View only | View only | Yes |
| Custom tables with Project | View only | 5 | 15 | Unlimited |
| Baselines (plans page) | No | No | Yes | Not listed |
| Project desktop app (plans page) | No | No | Yes, up to 5 installs | Not listed |
Rows come from Microsoft Learn's feature table, except the last two, which come from Microsoft's US plans page; Plan 5 isn't on that page, so those two cells say "not listed". A premium plan holds up to 3,000 tasks, against 9,000 for a basic plan, according to Microsoft Support.
Who on the team needs which license
- The project manager or scheduler: Plan 3, if you report against a baseline or need the critical path. It's also the license that includes the Project desktop app.
- People who plan their own work in the Timeline, sprints or People view: Plan 1.
- Everyone else on the plan: Microsoft 365. They can view dependencies, milestones and roadmaps in a premium plan and, in projects in the default environment, update their own tasks.
- Resource managers who book people against requests: Plan 5, the only license with resource bookings and skills management.
Plan 3 or buy Project desktop outright?
If what you need is the desktop scheduler for one person, compare the subscription with Microsoft's one-time purchases. Project Standard 2024 is US$679.99 and Project Professional 2024 is US$1,129.99. Plan 3 costs US$360 a year per user, so Standard equals about 1.9 years of Plan 3, and Professional about 3.1 years.
- Choose Plan 3 if you also want premium Planner (for you or for plans the team shares), or need the desktop app on more than one computer: each license allows up to five installs.
- Choose Project Standard 2024 if one scheduler keeps .mpp files on one computer and nothing else is needed. Microsoft lists baselines, milestones, critical path and resource leveling in Standard, but not Team Planner, timesheets or a connection to Project Server.
- Choose Project Professional 2024 if you need those three, for example to connect to Project Server Subscription Edition.
Considering something outside Microsoft? See Microsoft Project alternatives compared, or Planner vs Project for how the two tools differ day to day.
The part no license covers: asking people for status
Every license above assumes the people doing the work open Planner and update their tasks, or that the scheduler collects updates and types them into Project. In practice, many task owners never open either.
PingCadence asks them by email instead. Connect a basic Planner plan with your work account, export a premium plan to Excel and import the file (Microsoft's Planner API doesn't expose premium plans yet), or import a Project desktop schedule saved as XML. Each task owner gets a short check-in from your own Outlook after you approve it and answers in about 30 seconds, without a Planner license or a sign-in. You see "on track" or a proposed new date against the baseline, and decide what changes. How the Planner connection works.
Questions
What is included in Planner and Project Plan 3?
Everything in Planner Plan 1 (Timeline view, dependencies, milestones, custom fields, goals, sprints and the People view), plus baselines and critical path, advanced dependencies with lead and lag, task history, the Assignments view, creating portfolios, and the Project desktop app. Microsoft's Plan 3 page says each license allows up to five concurrent installations of the desktop app.
How much does Planner and Project Plan 3 cost?
US$30 per user per month, paid yearly, on Microsoft's US Planner plans page (checked November 13, 2026). Planner Plan 1 is US$10. Prices differ by region and agreement, so check Microsoft's page or your Microsoft partner.
What is the difference between Planner Plan 1 and Plan 3?
Plan 1 gives you a working premium plan: Gantt-style Timeline, dependencies, milestones and sprints. Plan 3 adds what you need to report against a committed plan: baselines, critical path, advanced dependencies with lead and lag, task history and the Assignments view, plus portfolios and the Project desktop app.
What does Planner and Project Plan 5 add?
Microsoft Learn lists three differences from Plan 3: creating and updating resource bookings to fulfill requests, managing resource skills and proficiencies, and unlimited custom tables with Project (Plan 3 allows 15). Plan 5 isn't priced on Microsoft's US plans page, so ask your Microsoft partner or reseller.
Does everyone on the plan need a Plan 3 license?
No. Microsoft's table shows Microsoft 365 users can view dependencies, milestones and roadmaps in premium plans, and, in projects in the default environment, update their tasks. People who build the schedule, set baselines or use critical path need Plan 3. People who only work on Timeline, dependencies and sprints can use Plan 1.
Is Plan 3 cheaper than buying Project desktop?
Microsoft lists Project Standard 2024 at US$679.99 and Project Professional 2024 at US$1,129.99, both one-time purchases. At US$30 a month, Plan 3 costs US$360 a year, so Standard equals about 1.9 years of Plan 3 and Professional about 3.1 years. Plan 3 also includes premium Planner and up to five desktop installs; Standard doesn't include Team Planner, timesheets or a connection to Project Server.
Sources
All checked 2026-11-13.
- Microsoft: Compare all Planner options and prices (US)
- Microsoft: Buy Planner and Project Plan 3
- Microsoft: Planner Plan 1 (formerly Project Plan 1)
- Microsoft Learn: Project for the web service description (features by license)
- Microsoft Support: Compare Microsoft Planner basic vs. premium plans
- Microsoft: Project Standard 2024, Project Professional 2024 and Project Server Subscription Edition
Microsoft, Microsoft 365, Planner and Project are trademarks of Microsoft. PingCadence is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft.