Microsoft Planner vs Smartsheet

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

Smartsheet

• Teams that are comfortable working in spreadsheets
• Project offices that need Gantt charts, reports and dashboards
• Enterprises standardizing portfolio reporting across many projects

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.

Smartsheet

• There is no free plan; a paid plan is needed once the 30-day trial ends.
• Pro is limited to 10 Members and is only available to new customers; Business requires at least 3 Members.
• Pro is capped at 250 automations a month and 20 GB of storage.
• The API is offered from the Business plan, and SAML single sign-on needs Enterprise.

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.

Smartsheet

Sheets with multiple views

Work is stored in spreadsheet-like sheets that can be switched between grid, Gantt, card and calendar views. Timeline view starts on the Business plan.

Reports and dashboards

Reports pull together and filter rows from sheets, and dashboards summarize the results for stakeholders.

Forms

Forms gather structured input such as requests, field reports and feedback. Forms are unlimited on the Pro plan and above.

Automated workflows

Workflows can be built from templates or from scratch for tasks such as reminders. Pro allows 250 automations a month; Business and above are unlimited.

Resource management

Shows who is assigned to what, so managers can even out workloads and plan for upcoming demand. Workload tracking is listed from the Business plan.

AI tools

Smart Assist and Smart Columns help with formulas and data analysis, and Business adds connections to external AI tools through MCP.

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.

Smartsheet

• Pro$9

  per Member / month, billed yearly ($12 billed monthly)

  1 to 10 Members with unlimited free Contributors. Gantt, table, board and calendar views, 250 automations a month and 20 GB of storage.

• Business$19

  per Member / month, billed yearly ($24 billed monthly)

  3 or more Members. Adds timeline view, workload tracking, unlimited automations, proofing, admin controls and 1 TB of storage.

• EnterpriseCustom

  10 or more Members. Adds SAML single sign-on, portfolios, scenario planning, directory integrations and unlimited attachment storage.

• Advanced Work ManagementCustom

  Everything in Enterprise, plus Control Center, Dynamic View, Data Shuttle, DataMesh, connectors and premium support.

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.

Smartsheet

• Annual discount

  Lower per-Member price with yearly billing

  Pro is $9 per Member / month billed yearly against $12 monthly (25% less), and Business is $19 against $24 (about 21% less).