Planner vs Microsoft Lists vs Project vs a SharePoint Gantt (2026)
| Microsoft Lists | Planner (basic) | Planner premium plans | Gantt chart web part | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Views | List, Calendar, Gallery, Grid and more | Grid, Board, Schedule, Charts | Adds timeline (Gantt) and more | Gantt, list and Kanban views |
| Task dependencies | No | No | Yes | Yes (Smart Gantt Chart) |
| Gantt or timeline | Not as a modern view | No | Yes | Yes |
| Cost | Included with Microsoft 365 | Included with many Microsoft 365 plans | Per user, yearly (Plan 1 is $10, Plan 3 is $30 per month in the US) | Free (Smart Gantt Chart, MIT licensed) |
| Where data lives | A SharePoint list | Planner | Planner and Dataverse | SharePoint lists it creates in your site |
Microsoft 365 has several ways to plan work, and the answer to "which one?" changed this year. Project Online has reached its retirement date, Planner now has premium plans, and modern Lists still has no Gantt view. Here is what each option does so you can match it to the planning you really need.
Prices below are US list prices from Microsoft's pricing page and change, so check it before you buy.
Microsoft Lists
Lists is the right tool for tracking items with dates and owners. Modern Lists views include List, Calendar and Gallery, and Microsoft's view documentation lists Gantt only as a classic view that shows items as bars using start and end date columns. There are no task dependencies and no baseline. Our deeper comparison is in Lists views vs a SharePoint Gantt chart.
Planner (basic)
Basic Planner offers grid, board (kanban-style), schedule and charts views and is included with many Microsoft 365 plans. It suits team kanban boards. Microsoft's comparison page lists the timeline (Gantt chart) and task dependencies as premium-only features, so basic Planner is not the place for dependency-driven schedules.
Planner premium plans (formerly Project Plans)
Microsoft's announcement names the paid plans Planner Plan 1 (formerly Project Plan 1) and Planner and Project Plan 3 (and Plan 5). On Microsoft's pricing page, Plan 1 lists at $10 per user per month and Plan 3 at $30, billed yearly. Premium adds the timeline, task dependencies and more, and Plan 3 is the tier aimed at advanced scheduling. Per-user licenses add up fast across a team, and your plan data lives in Microsoft's service rather than in a SharePoint list you control.
Project Online (retired)
Microsoft scheduled Project Online to retire on September 30, 2026, ended sales of Project Online-only plans on October 1, 2025, and blocked new Project Online tenants from April 1, 2026. After retirement, Microsoft says you can no longer access projects or data in the service. Microsoft's announcement names Planner, Project Server Subscription Edition, Dynamics 365 Project Operations and Project desktop as paths forward. Microsoft's own page notes that some tenants may still have access under approved extensions, so check your tenant and export your data now if you have not.
A Gantt chart web part in SharePoint
If your team already lives in SharePoint, a Gantt web part adds a real timeline with no per-user license. Smart Gantt Chart creates a SmartGantt_Projects list plus a task list for each project in your site, and you can import existing tasks from Excel or CSV. Smart Gantt Chart is free and open source and supports dependencies, milestones, baselines, portfolio views and a critical path. It can also import from Planner and export to PowerPoint. To build one, follow the Gantt chart in SharePoint guide.
How to choose
- Just tracking items and dates: Microsoft Lists.
- A team kanban board: basic Planner.
- Dependencies and a timeline, per-user licensing is fine: premium Planner.
- Dependencies and a timeline, data in SharePoint, no license cost: a Gantt chart web part.
- Migrating off Project Online: pick based on how advanced your schedules are, and plan the data export first.
Need help moving or building plans?
If you are replacing Project Online or building a project hub in SharePoint, see our intranet and SPFx development service, or get in touch.
Related
Frequently asked questions
Does Microsoft Lists have a Gantt chart?
Not as a modern view. Microsoft's documentation lists Gantt only as a classic view that tracks items as bars using start and end date columns. Modern Lists offers views such as List, Calendar and Gallery.
What happened to Project Online?
Microsoft scheduled Project Online to retire on September 30, 2026. Sales of Project Online-only plans ended October 1, 2025 and creation of new Project Online tenants was blocked from April 1, 2026. Microsoft's announcement names Planner, Project Server Subscription Edition, Dynamics 365 Project Operations and Project desktop as alternatives. Check Microsoft's current guidance if you still have a tenant.
Does Planner have dependencies and a Gantt chart?
Premium Planner plans do. Microsoft's comparison page lists the timeline (Gantt chart) and task dependencies as premium-only features, and basic Planner does not have them.
What does Planner cost?
On Microsoft's pricing page, Planner Plan 1 lists at $10 per user per month and Planner and Project Plan 3 at $30, billed yearly in the US. Basic Planner is included with many Microsoft 365 plans. Check the page for current prices.
Can I get a free Gantt chart in SharePoint?
Yes. Smart Gantt Chart is a free, open-source web part that creates its own project and task lists in your SharePoint site and shows them as a Gantt chart with dependencies, milestones, baselines and a critical path, so your data stays in your own site. You can import existing tasks from Excel or CSV.
Which should I choose?
If you only need to track items and due dates, use Lists. For light team task management, use basic Planner. For full scheduling with dependencies, choose premium Planner or a Gantt web part in SharePoint, depending on whether you want a per-user license.
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About the author
Sean Regan
SharePoint & Microsoft 365 consultant with 20+ years of hands-on experience building SPFx web parts, migration tooling and tenant-grade automation. Maintainer of the open-source SharePoint Smart Solutions suite.