Zeitplan.io vs Microsoft Planner
Planner answers "what needs to be done and by when?". Zeitplan.io answers "who is working on what next month, and who has room for more?". Most teams need both answers, and the two apps are built to sit next to each other in Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Planner is the task management app included in Microsoft 365. Tasks live in plans and buckets, have assignees, due dates, labels and checklists, and can be shown as boards, lists, charts or a schedule. With the Planner premium plans it also offers timelines, goals and workload-style views for project managers.
At a glance
| Microsoft Planner | Zeitplan.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Tracking tasks and their progress | Planning people onto projects and seeing free capacity |
| Planning unit | A task with a due date (and optional start date) | A person on a project for one or more whole days |
| Capacity view | Charts of tasks per assignee; workload views in premium plans | One row per person showing their assignments for the week, month or year |
| Where it runs | Microsoft Teams, web, mobile | Microsoft Teams (personal app and channel tab) |
| Setup | Included in Microsoft 365 | Install from the Teams app store; sign in with your Microsoft 365 account |
| Price | Included in most Microsoft 365 plans; premium plans extra | Free for up to 5 users, then $2–3 per user per month |
| Works together | Planner tasks can be shown in Zeitplan.io | Shows each person’s Planner tasks next to their assignments |
Stick with Planner alone if
- your work is a list of tasks with owners and due dates, and nobody asks "who is free in March?"
- you need checklists, comments and attachments on each piece of work
- you already use Planner premium for timelines and dependencies
Add Zeitplan.io if
- you staff people onto projects for days or weeks at a time and need to see the whole team at once
- you answer availability questions for clients or management and currently do it from memory or a spreadsheet
- you want public holidays and preliminary bookings ("blockers") in the same picture as the plan
Using both
Turn on "Show Microsoft Planner tasks" in Zeitplan.io’s settings and each team member’s Planner tasks appear in their row, next to their project assignments. The plan stays in Zeitplan.io, the to-dos stay in Planner, and the schedule shows both.
FAQ
Does Zeitplan.io replace Microsoft Planner?
No. Planner manages tasks; Zeitplan.io manages who is allocated to which project on which days. Zeitplan.io can show Planner tasks in the schedule, but it doesn’t edit them.
Can I see Planner tasks in Zeitplan.io?
Yes. An admin turns the option on in Settings, every user grants read access to their own Planner tasks once, and tasks with a due date that are assigned to someone in the schedule appear in that person’s row.
Does Planner show team capacity?
Planner shows how many tasks each person has and, in the premium plans, workload views based on task effort. It doesn’t show a day-by-day picture of who is booked on which project and who is free, which is what Zeitplan.io is built for.
Try the day-based view with your own team
Zeitplan.io is free for up to 5 users, installs from the Teams app store in a minute and uses the Microsoft 365 accounts you already have.
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