Pick Microsoft Planner if your company already pays for Microsoft 365 and your tasks live next to Teams and Outlook. Pick Trello if you want a board that works without a Microsoft licence, including for people outside your company. What decides it is whether you already own the licence Planner needs.
We build a third tool in this category, so read the numbers rather than our adjectives. Trello's figures come from its pricing page, checked on 5 November 2026. Planner's come from Microsoft's own community answers, because Microsoft's pricing page did not load for us, and we say so where it matters.
What is the difference between Trello and Microsoft Planner?
Trello is a stand-alone board you sign up for. Planner is a task tool that arrives inside Microsoft 365.
That one fact explains most of the rest. Trello has its own account, its own login and its own sharing model, so a freelancer, a client and a colleague can all sit on one board without belonging to the same company. Planner works on the Microsoft account your employer manages. Its plans hang off Teams channels and Microsoft 365 groups, which is a strength inside one organisation and a wall outside it.
Both give you buckets or lists, cards or tasks, and drag and drop between them. A simple board looks almost the same in either.
What does each one cost?
| Trello | Microsoft Planner | |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0, 10 boards and 10 collaborators per Workspace | Basic Planner, included with a Microsoft 365 plan such as Business Standard |
| First paid | Standard, $5 per user per month annual, $6 monthly | Planner Plan 1, about $10 per user per month on an annual term |
| Next | Premium, $10 annual, $12.50 monthly | Planner and Project Plan 3, listed by third parties near $30 |
Two cautions. Trello's figures are from its own page. Planner's are from Microsoft Q&A answers and reseller guides, so confirm them in your Microsoft 365 admin centre before budgeting.
The bigger point is what "free" means. Trello Free is free to anyone. Basic Planner is free only if you already pay for Microsoft 365, so for a company that does, it costs nothing extra, and for a person that does not, it is not an option.
Where is Microsoft Planner the better choice?
When the rest of your day is already Microsoft. Tasks show up in Teams, in To Do and in Outlook, and your IT department already handles sign-in, security and who can see what. For a team that lives in Teams, not having a second login is worth more than any board feature.
Planner's paid tiers also add things Trello keeps at its own higher tiers, such as timeline views and task dependencies, according to the reseller guides we read. If you need Gantt-style planning and you already have Microsoft licences, that path is shorter than bolting it on elsewhere.
Where is Trello the better choice?
When people outside one company share the board. A Trello board can hold a client, a contractor and a teammate who each signed up on their own. Planner is built around one tenant, and sharing outside it takes admin work or a guest account.
Trello is also the faster start for individuals. There is no tenant to belong to and no admin to ask. You sign up and have a board a minute later. The limit you will meet is the count: 10 boards per Workspace on the free plan, which a board-per-client habit reaches sooner than expected.
A typical complaint about Planner, from comparison guides and from the Reddit threads that rank for this query, is that it stays deliberately simple. Limited custom workflows, little automation. Trello's Butler automation is the thing people usually mean when they say Trello does more.
Which should you pick?
Decide in this order:
- Does your employer already pay for Microsoft 365? If yes, try Planner first, because it costs nothing extra and sits where your team already is.
- Does anyone outside your organisation need to edit the board? If yes, that points to Trello or a similar stand-alone tool.
- Are you working alone, with no Microsoft plan? Planner is off the table and the question becomes which stand-alone board to use.
What if you want neither?
A common reason to look at this comparison is that neither tool matches the situation. Planner needs a Microsoft plan and an IT department. Trello rations you by board count and then by seat.
If you want a board and nothing else, a smaller tool is the honest answer. Ours is free for 3 boards with unlimited cards, with up to 3 team members per board, and Pro is €6 a month for unlimited boards and members. There is a side-by-side with Trello on our alternative page. If you are leaving Trello for another reason, we wrote up why freelancers do, and the Trello and Notion comparison covers the other tool people reach for. Whatever you pick, a board only works when you cap what is in progress, and none of the three does that for you.
Moving is cheap. Trello exports a board as JSON, and our importer reads it on every plan, up to 500 cards and 20 columns per board.
Frequently asked questions
Is Microsoft Planner better than Trello?
Not in general. Planner is better inside a company that already pays for Microsoft 365, because it costs nothing extra and connects to Teams. Trello is better when people from different organisations share a board or when you have no Microsoft plan. Which one wins depends on that licence.
Is Microsoft Planner free?
Basic Planner is included with Microsoft 365 plans such as Business Standard, so it is free if you already pay for one. It is not a stand-alone free product. The premium version, Planner Plan 1, is a separate licence listed at about $10 per user per month on an annual term.
Can I use Microsoft Planner without Microsoft 365?
Not in the usual way. Planner runs on a work or school Microsoft account with the right licence behind it. If you do not have one, a stand-alone board such as Trello, or ours, is the realistic route.
Is Trello free forever?
Yes, with limits. Trello Free allows 10 boards and 10 collaborators per Workspace, with unlimited cards. Paid plans start at $5 per user per month billed annually. Checked on 5 November 2026.
Can I move my cards from Trello to another board?
Yes. Trello exports a board as JSON from the board menu, and most kanban tools read it. Ours accepts it on every plan, up to 500 cards and 20 columns per board.