Does Microsoft Teams have a project management tool? Yes, Planner, with limits

Microsoft Teams has project management through the Planner app

Yes. Microsoft Teams has a project management tool: the Planner app, which Microsoft lists as included in Microsoft 365. Teams itself handles chat, calls and meetings. Planner is the part that holds plans, tasks, assignments and due dates, and it runs inside Teams and on the web.

The included version is a light task tool with Grid, Board, Schedule and Chart views. Fuller project features sit in two paid add-on plans. All prices below are from Microsoft's US pages, as read on 3 October 2026, and are per user per month, paid yearly.

Which Microsoft 365 plans include Planner, and what the paid tiers add

On Microsoft's business plan comparison, Planner is named among the additional apps in Microsoft 365 Business Basic at $7.00, Business Standard with Copilot at $23.50 and Business Premium with Copilot at $32.00. All three include Teams. Microsoft also sells versions of these plans without Teams, such as Business Basic (no Teams) at $5.40, where Planner is still listed but there is no Teams app to open it in. Microsoft 365 Apps for business at $10.00 is described as excluding chat and calling, and its highlights do not mention Planner.

How Planner works inside Teams

Microsoft's support article gives these steps.

1. In Teams, select View more apps.
2. Search for Planner and select Add.
3. Right click the app and select Pin to keep it in the app bar.
4. Use New Plan to create a personal or shared plan.

The app then shows three areas. My Day holds tasks due today. My Tasks gathers private tasks, tasks assigned to you from plans, meeting notes and Loop, and emails flagged in Outlook. My Plans lists every plan and To Do list you can reach. Microsoft's admin documentation says Planner is on by default for all Teams users, that an administrator can block it, and that the mobile Teams app shows only plans added as a tab in a channel.

What the included Planner lacks

• No timeline. The Timeline (Gantt) view is listed under Plan 1, not the included tier.
• Dependencies are view-only. Creating them needs Plan 1.
• No sub-tasks or milestones without Plan 1. Checklists are capped at 20 items per task.
• Size limits. Microsoft documents 3,000 active tasks, 9,000 total tasks and 200 buckets per basic plan, and 20 assignees per task.
• No hours or billing. Microsoft's Planner plan page lists no time tracking or invoicing feature at any tier.
• Portfolios and baselines need Plan 3 at $30.

For a team whose tasks fit on a board, none of this matters. If you already pay for Microsoft 365, the included Planner is a sound reason to keep your current tools.

When to add a dedicated tool instead of Planner Plan 1

The decision point is Plan 1. For five people it adds $50 a month on top of your Microsoft 365 subscription. That is the same as five seats of Nifty Pro at $10 per member on annual billing, which lists time tracking and reporting, budget tracking, file proofing and 5 guests per paid seat. Trello Standard would be $25 for the same five people if all you want is better boards.

• Stay with Planner if the work is internal, everyone lives in Teams and you need a timeline but not hours. Plan 1 keeps one login and one admin console.
• Choose a dedicated tool if you log billable time, share progress with clients, or review creative files. Planner's listed features do not cover those jobs.
• Choose neither yet if the included Planner has not been outgrown.

Options are compared in project management software for small teams, and what Nifty is explains the product named above. Before moving plans out of Planner, read the export and exit guide.