Best for
Best for organisations on Microsoft 365 that want team task planning inside Teams without buying a separate tool.
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Project Management Comparison
Microsoft Planner vs. Podio
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for teams whose processes do not fit a ready-made project tool and who want to model them themselves without code.
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Microsoft Planner | Podio |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | lower value From $10 / user / month Planner Plan 1, paid yearly on an annual subscription that auto-renews. Planner and Project Plan 3 is $30. A basic Planner is included in Microsoft 365 subscriptions; the Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on is $30 per user and month, paid yearly. | Free plan; Plus from $11.20 / user / month Plus billed annually, $14 billed monthly. Premium $19.20 per user and month annually, $24 monthly. Prices exclude taxes. Extra API capacity and workflow automation are paid add-ons on paid plans. |
| Free trial | One-month free trial of Plan 1 and Plan 3; credit card required | Free plan for up to five users and 100 items; 30-day free trial of Premium |
| Output | Task plans, sprints, timelines, portfolios and progress charts | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Yes, an open API with 1,000 calls per hour on every plan, more through paid add-ons |
| Hosting | Cloud, as a web app and inside Microsoft Teams; Plan 3 adds the Project desktop app on up to 5 PCs per user | Cloud (SaaS), with web and mobile apps for iOS and Android |
| Task planning | Yes. Grid, Board, Schedule and Charts views with checklists, labels and custom templates in every version; Plan 1 adds sub-tasks, backlogs and sprints, milestones, finish-to-start dependencies and the Timeline (Gantt) view; Plan 3 adds baselines, critical path and dependencies with lead and lag | Yes, task management plus custom apps and workspaces for projects and deliverables; a Gantt view is built with workflow automation or a community extension |
| Resource planning | Yes, from Plan 1: a People view for resource allocation and workload balancing, plus effort and duration per task. Plan 3 adds an Assignments view that defines effort per resource. The version included in Microsoft 365 has neither | No dedicated resource planning or capacity view; tasks are assigned to individual team members, and resource scheduling comes through the third-party Teamdeck extension |
| Time tracking | No. The plan comparison lists no timesheets or time logging, only effort and duration estimates per task | Not built in; time tracking is offered through community extensions |
| Reporting and controlling | Charts view in every version; prebuilt and custom dashboards and reports are view-only in the included version and fully available from Plan 1, along with goals linked to tasks. AI status reports need Microsoft 365 Copilot | Yes, visual reports and personalised dashboards on Plus and Premium |
| Integrations and API | Yes. Power Automate in every version (cloud flows only in the included one), APIs to customise the experience from Plan 1, and built-in use from Teams, Outlook and Loop | Yes, an open API at 1,000 calls per hour on every plan with paid add-ons for more, webforms, and native connections to ShareFile, Dropbox, Google Drive and Excel |
| AI features | stated Yes | No |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Community forum | Chat |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | more entries Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Loop, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Power Automate, Microsoft Project | more entries ShareFile, Dropbox, Google Drive, Excel, GoToMeeting, Zapier, Teamdeck |
Add a tool
Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price Microsoft Planner From $10 / user / month Podio Free plan; Plus from $11.20 / user / month
- Free trial Microsoft Planner One-month free trial of Plan 1 and Plan 3; credit card required Podio Free plan for up to five users and 100 items; 30-day free trial of Premium
- Company size Microsoft Planner Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Podio Small and mid-sized
- Hosting Microsoft Planner Cloud, as a web app and inside Microsoft Teams; Plan 3 adds the Project desktop app on up to 5 PCs per user Podio Cloud (SaaS), with web and mobile apps for iOS and Android
- Support Microsoft Planner Community forum Podio Chat
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Microsoft Planner
Strengths
- A basic Planner is included in Microsoft 365 subscriptions
- Plans, files and chats are managed inside Microsoft Teams
- Tasks assigned in meeting notes, Loop and other sources show up in My Day and My Tasks
- Plan 3 adds baselines, critical path and dependencies with lead and lag
Limitations
- Timeline, People and Goals views need a Plan 1 licence
- Paid plans are listed only as annual subscriptions
- No built-in time tracking or timesheets
- The Planner Agent needs a separate Microsoft 365 Copilot licence
Podio
Strengths
- Apps and workspaces are built without code to fit the process rather than the other way round
- Clients and other external users join for free on paid plans
- Free plan for up to five users
- SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001-aligned security
Limitations
- No built-in Gantt chart or time tracking; both come from automations or community extensions
- The free plan is capped at 100 items across the whole organisation
- Advanced workflow automation, email integration and PDF generation are Premium only
- Higher API and automation volumes cost extra as add-ons
Plans
Pricing
Microsoft Planner
- Planner in Microsoft 365 Not stated Included in Microsoft 365 plans. Grid, Board, Schedule and Charts views, custom templates, checklists and labels; dashboards are view-only and Power Automate is limited to cloud flows.
- Planner Plan 1 $10 / user / month Paid yearly. Adds sub-tasks, premium templates, backlogs and sprints, task dependencies, Calendar, Timeline (Gantt) and People views, goals, milestones, custom task fields and view-only portfolios.
- Planner and Project Plan 3 $30 / user / month Paid yearly. Adds task history, the Assignments view, portfolios, baselines and critical path, dependencies with lead and lag, and the Project desktop app.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot (add-on) $30 / user / month Paid yearly, requires a qualifying plan. Planner Agent for simple tasks, AI-assisted plan creation and AI-generated status reports.
Podio
- Free $0 Up to five users and 100 items per organisation. Task management, apps and workspaces, webforms and 1,000 API calls per hour.
- Plus $11.20 Per user and month billed annually, $14 billed monthly. Unlimited items and client users, user management, light user role, read-only access, simple workflows and visual reports.
- Premium $19.20 Per user and month billed annually, $24 billed monthly. Adds advanced workflow automation with 25,000 actions a month, email integrations, PDF generation, date and time triggers, and ShareFile and e-signature integration.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Microsoft Planner
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
Podio
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
How we check reviews
Reviews are not published yet. The form on a tool's page works and reaches us, but nothing from it appears on this site, so no score here is based on a review. The rules below are the ones that will apply once reviews go live.
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Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Microsoft Planner https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/planner/microsoft-planner · checked against the official source on 2026-09-30
Podio https://www.progress.com/podio · no check date recorded yet
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.