Microsoft Planner vs Trello

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

Trello

• Individuals and small teams that plan work on kanban boards
• Groups of up to 10 collaborators sharing a free Workspace
• Teams already using Jira or other Atlassian products

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.

Trello

• The Free plan is capped at 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, with 10MB per file.
• Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views are only on Premium and Enterprise.
• AI features and full Planner access start on the Standard plan.
• The Enterprise price is an estimate that depends on user count, and the plan is billed annually.

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.

Trello

Boards, lists and cards

Work is laid out as cards in lists on a board. Cards are unlimited on every plan; the Free plan allows up to 10 boards per Workspace.

Inbox

Captures to-dos from email, Slack and other sources into a personal Inbox. It is included on the Free plan.

Planner

Brings a synced calendar into Trello so blocks of focus time can be set aside for work. Full Planner access starts on the Standard plan.

Automation

Built-in automation is metered by Workspace command runs: 250 a month on Free, 1,000 on Standard and unlimited on Premium.

Premium views

Premium adds Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views, including Workspace-level views that span boards.

Power-Ups and integrations

Power-Ups link boards to other tools, with unlimited Power-Ups per board on every plan. An MCP server connects Trello to AI tools.

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.

Trello

• Free$0

  Up to 10 collaborators and 10 boards per Workspace, unlimited cards and Power-Ups, and 250 command runs a month.

• Standard$5

  per user / month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly)

  Unlimited boards, AI features, full Planner, card mirroring, custom fields, 250MB per file and 1,000 command runs a month.

• Premium$10

  per user / month, billed annually ($12.50 billed monthly)

  Adds Calendar, Timeline, Table, Dashboard and Map views, unlimited command runs, and admin and security controls.

• Enterprise$17.50

  per user / month, billed annually ($210 per user a year)

  Estimated price that depends on user count. Adds unlimited Workspaces, organization-wide permissions and Atlassian Guard Standard.

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.

Trello

• Annual discount

  Lower per-user price with annual billing

  Standard is $5 per user / month billed annually against $6 monthly (about 17% less), and Premium is $10 against $12.50 (20% less).

• Nonprofit

  Atlassian nonprofit discount covers Trello

  Trello's pricing FAQ confirms a nonprofit community discount. Atlassian's nonprofit program lists 50-100% off its apps, Trello included, for eligible organizations.

• Education

  50% off for academic institutions

  Atlassian's licensing page lists academic licenses at 50% off Trello Standard, Premium and Enterprise, and classroom licenses for students and teachers at 75% off Standard and Premium.