ClickUp vs Microsoft Planner
We give ClickUp a 3.4 GPA and Microsoft Planner a 3.2, out of 4.0. ClickUp grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Microsoft Planner grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
ClickUp
Work platform combining tasks, docs, chat and dashboards
Microsoft Planner
Task and project planning app built into Microsoft 365
How we grade them
| 3.4GPAClickUpVery good | 3.2GPAMicrosoft PlannerVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A$7 a person a month on yearly billing gets unlimited storage, Gantt charts, time tracking and guests. Asana and monday.com both start higher. Just know AI is a separate bill. | BBasic Planner comes with Microsoft 365, from $5.40 a user a month paid yearly, which is the cheap end here and buys a whole suite. But the timeline, sprints and dependencies need Planner Plan 1 at $10.00, and baselines and critical path need Plan 3 at $30.00. |
| Free plan and trial | BUnlimited tasks and unlimited members for free is rare. But storage stops at 60MB, you get 5 spaces and 1 form, and the fancier features are only there to try. | DNo free plan. There's a one-month free trial of Planner Plan 1 or Planner and Project Plan 3, but it needs a credit card and it converts to a paid plan. |
| Features | ATasks in 15+ views, docs, chat, whiteboards, dashboards, goals, time tracking and automations, all in one workspace. It's hard to name a thing it doesn't have a go at. | AGrid, board, schedule and chart views to start. Then Gantt timelines, backlogs and sprints, dependencies and goals on Plan 1, and portfolios, baselines and critical path on Plan 3. My Tasks pulls in work from Loop and flagged Outlook email. Deep, once you pay. |
| Ease of use | CHere's where it loses marks. Reviewers describe confusing menus and a week of videos without it clicking, and the phone app gets called slow and cluttered. | A4.6 from about 13,200 App Store ratings, which just makes the A. It also runs inside Microsoft Teams, so a plan sits next to the files and chats your team already has open. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Android and a Chrome extension. There's a public API, and it hooks into Slack, GitHub, GitLab, HubSpot, Google Drive, Figma and more. | AWeb, iPhone, Android and an app inside Microsoft Teams. It ties into Outlook, Loop, To Do, SharePoint, Power Automate and Power BI. The only desktop software is the Project app that comes with Plan 3, and it's all very Microsoft. |
| Best for | teams that want everything in one app | teams already living in Microsoft 365 |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: ClickUp and Microsoft Planner. How we grade
Where they differ
- ClickUp starts at $7 per user / month, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly). Microsoft Planner starts at $5.40 per user / month, paid yearly (Microsoft 365 Business Basic, no Teams).
- ClickUp has a free plan. Microsoft Planner does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only ClickUp lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Only ClickUp lists a browser extension.
- ClickUp also covers workflow automation and time tracking.
- Microsoft Planner also covers templates.
At a glance
| ClickUp | Microsoft Planner | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $7 per user / month, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly) | $5.40 per user / month, paid yearly (Microsoft 365 Business Basic, no Teams) |
| Free plan | Free Forever plan: unlimited tasks and members, 60MB of storage, 5 spaces, 1 form and 3 whiteboards, with trial-only access to advanced features. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | One-month free trial of Planner Plan 1 or Planner and Project Plan 3; a credit card is required and it converts to a paid plan |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | ClickUp (Mango Technologies, Inc.) | Microsoft Corporation |
| Price read from | clickup.com | microsoft.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Who each one suits
ClickUp
- Teams that want tasks, docs and chat under one subscription
- Workspaces that need many different views of the same work
- Small teams starting on a free plan with unlimited members
Microsoft Planner
- Organizations already paying for Microsoft 365
- Teams that plan and track work inside Microsoft Teams
- Project managers who want Gantt timelines, sprints and baselines on a Microsoft stack
Worth knowing
ClickUp
- The Free Forever plan is capped at 60MB of storage, 5 spaces, 1 form and 3 whiteboards.
- AI is billed separately: Brain AI is listed at $9 and Everything AI at $28 per user / month.
- Timeline view, unlimited dashboards and mind maps start on the Business plan.
- SAML SSO, SCIM provisioning and audit logs are limited to Enterprise.
Microsoft Planner
- Basic Planner is not sold on its own: it comes with Microsoft 365 business, enterprise, education and frontline subscriptions.
- Timeline (Gantt), sprints, dependencies and goals need Planner Plan 1; baselines, critical path and task history need Planner and Project Plan 3.
- Copilot and Planner Agent features need a separate Microsoft 365 Copilot license, listed at $30.00 per user / month, paid yearly.
- Microsoft lists a web app, a Teams app and iOS and Android apps. The only desktop software is the Project desktop app that comes with Plan 3.
Key features
ClickUp
- Tasks in 15+ views
- Show the same tasks as a list, board, Gantt chart, calendar, table and more. Gantt charts are unlimited from the Unlimited plan; timeline view needs Business.
- Docs and wikis
- Collaborative documents that link to tasks and can serve as wikis or standard operating procedures inside the same workspace.
- Chat
- Real-time team messaging that sits inside the workspace, next to tasks and docs.
- Automations
- Rules that update tasks when conditions are met. Business includes 5,000 automation runs a month and Enterprise 250,000.
- Dashboards, goals and time tracking
- Dashboards chart project progress, goals roll up from linked tasks, and a built-in timer records time against tasks. Native time tracking starts on Unlimited.
- ClickUp Brain
- An AI assistant that works across tasks, docs and chat. The paid AI plans, Brain AI and Everything AI, are priced per user on top of the workspace plan.
Microsoft Planner
- Grid, Board, Schedule and Charts views
- Basic plans, included with Microsoft 365, show tasks as a grid, a kanban board, a schedule or charts, with labels, checklists and file attachments on each task.
- My Day, My Tasks and My Plans
- Personal views gather the tasks assigned to you across plans, along with assignments from meeting notes, Microsoft Loop and flagged Outlook email.
- Timeline, sprints and dependencies
- Planner Plan 1 adds premium plans with a Timeline (Gantt) view, backlogs and sprints, task dependencies, milestones, project goals and a People view for workload.
- Portfolios, baselines and critical path
- Planner and Project Plan 3 adds portfolios across plans, baselines, critical path, task history and dependencies with lead and lag. Plan 1 users can view portfolios but not create them.
- Planner in Microsoft Teams
- Planner runs as an app inside Microsoft Teams, where a plan sits next to its files and chats. Teams is sold separately from Planner Plan 1 and Plan 3.
- Copilot and Planner Agent
- With a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, Copilot generates plans, task lists and status reports, and simple routine tasks can be assigned to Planner Agent to carry out.
Plans
ClickUp
Free Forever$0
Unlimited tasks and members with 60MB of storage, 5 spaces, 1 form and 3 whiteboards.
Unlimited$7
per user / month, billed yearly ($10 billed monthly)
Unlimited storage, spaces, forms and Gantt charts, plus native time tracking, guest permissions and integrations.
Business$12
per user / month, billed yearly ($19 billed monthly)
Everything in Unlimited, plus unlimited dashboards, timeline view, mind maps and 5,000 automation runs a month.
EnterpriseCustom
SAML SSO and SCIM provisioning, audit log, custom roles, data residency and 250,000 automation runs a month.
Microsoft Planner
Microsoft 365 Business Basic (no Teams)$5.40
per user / month, paid yearly
Microsoft 365 suite plan that includes basic Planner: Grid, Board, Schedule and Charts views and basic templates. Microsoft Teams is not included.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic$7.00
per user / month, paid yearly
The same suite plan with Microsoft Teams, where Planner also runs as a Teams app. Business plans cover up to 300 users.
Planner Plan 1$10.00
per user / month, paid yearly
Premium plans with Timeline (Gantt), Calendar and People views, backlogs and sprints, task dependencies, project goals, milestones and custom fields.
Planner and Project Plan 3$30.00
per user / month, paid yearly
Everything in Plan 1 plus portfolios, baselines, critical path, task history, lead and lag dependencies and the Project desktop app.
Ways to pay less
ClickUp
- Annual discount
Yearly billing lowers the per-user price
Unlimited is $7 per user / month billed yearly against $10 billed monthly, and Business is $12 against $19.
- Nonprofit
Nonprofit discount on request
ClickUp's pricing FAQ says nonprofits can claim a discount through its nonprofit page. The size of the discount is not published.
- Education
Academic discount for students and educators
The pricing FAQ says students, educators and administrators can claim an academic discount. The amount is not published.
- Startups
Startup credit by application
The pricing FAQ says startups can apply for a startup credit through a form. The amount and eligibility rules are not published.
Microsoft Planner
- Nonprofit
Business Basic free for eligible nonprofits
Microsoft's nonprofit page lists Microsoft 365 Business Basic, which includes Planner, as a grant that is free for up to 300 users, with discounted staff pricing on Business Standard and Premium.
