Microsoft Planner vs To Do vs Lists vs Tasks: what to use when (2026)

How Microsoft Planner, To Do, and Lists fit together in 2026

A lot has changed since these tools first shipped. In 2024, Microsoft brought Planner, To Do, and Project for the web together into one "new Planner" experience, and renamed the Tasks app in Teams to simply Planner. 

That leaves a cleaner picture than the one most older guides describe. Planner is now the single home for everything from a simple task board to a full project plan with dependencies and timelines. To Do is still the place for your personal tasks. Microsoft Lists sits alongside them for tracking structured data rather than tasks. And Copilot now runs across Planner, with the Project Manager agent able to draft task lists and workback schedules from a plain-language prompt.

 In August 2025, Microsoft retired Project for the web and moved everyone to the new Planner, so Planner is now the single home for both quick task boards and full project plans. 

Microsoft To Do vs Planner: what's the difference?

Microsoft To Do originally replaced Wunderlist, the app Microsoft acquired and retired back in 2020. If you're still looking for a Wunderlist alternative, To Do is its direct successor.

Since then, To Do has become the replacement for the long-standing tasks section of Outlook. To Do allows the user to list and track their own personal tasks in lists and groups. You can see your Microsoft Planner Tasks and any flagged Outlook emails in the To Do app, and you can add tasks from other apps (like OneNote). To Do gives you a good snapshot of your upcoming tasks across all Microsoft 365 apps, without a lot of context to the larger projects they may be a part of.

Where To Do is all about your individual tasks, Microsoft Lists exists on the Team or Group level. Microsoft Lists provides a more holistic and intensive view of a project and all its components. It allows you to build out a project and assign tasks to other users, and lets you see where individual tasks or list items fit into a project. To put it simply, To Do is for granular, day-to-day, personal task management, whereas Microsoft Lists is better for larger-scale team project, process, or workflow management.

Outlook To Do list vs Tasks

If you've used Outlook for years, the old Tasks area has effectively moved into Microsoft To Do. Your Outlook flagged emails and tasks now appear in To Do, which syncs across Outlook, Teams, and the To Do app itself. There's no separate Outlook Tasks product to maintain anymore; To Do is where personal follow-ups live.

What happened to Tasks in Teams (now Planner)?

The app in Microsoft Teams that used to be called "Tasks by Planner and To Do" was renamed Planner in 2024, and it now runs the new Planner experience. It still does the same core job: it pulls together the tasks assigned to you in Planner and your personal To Do items, so you can see everything without leaving Teams.

For most people, Teams is the center of the workday, so having tasks surfaced there matters. The app doesn't do separate work of its own; its value is in centralizing your tasks in one easy-to-scan place. If an older guide tells you to look for "Tasks in Teams," look for the Planner app instead.

Microsoft Lists vs Planner: which one for projects?

Microsoft Planner is Microsoft 365’s built-in team-based project management tool. It consists of Kanban boards to track and provide information about each task in the project (or plan) and integrates with To Do and Tasks in Teams making it simple to see whole projects at a glance, and for users to see their own tasks from the different projects they are a part of. Microsoft Planner provides set fields to create your plans and tasks, making it easy to use and easy to understand.

On the surface, Microsoft Planner and Microsoft Lists seem like they have a lot of overlap. Both do function as project management tools, but while Planner is a project management tool that focuses on tasks that need to be done to complete a project using a Kanban board, Microsoft Lists is a lot more flexible and customizable.

When to use Microsoft Lists

Microsoft Lists is perfect for scenarios where you need more flexibility and customization than Microsoft Planner allows. Use Lists when you want a customized experience where you can control the fields, options, layout, views, and more. You can certainly use it to replicate the functionality available in Microsoft Planner (although it would be more work that just using Planner), but the real value in Lists is that it can handle projects that are not strictly made up of tasks.

With Microsoft Lists, you are not tied to the Kanban board format of Microsoft Planner, so you can use it for different kinds of projects. You can use Microsoft Lists to create custom columns and tables, meaning you can use it to do things like track inventory, manage assets, make travel plans, and manage event itineraries. You can think of Microsoft Lists as a replacement for apps like Asana and Wrike from a list and table standpoint.

Should IT admins turn on every task management app?

With all the different list and task management apps available in Microsoft 365, it’s can be easy for users to get confused and be unsure which they should be using.

Want to get the scoop on ALL the tools in Microsoft/Office 365 and which ones are right for what jobs? We have compiled the ultimate guide to all the tools and what they do in our blog.

While Microsoft Lists, Tasks in Teams, To Do, and Microsoft Planner are all enabled by default, as an IT admin you have the option to disable them for some or all users. So how do you decide which apps to turn on and which (if any) to turn off? This, of course, depends on your specific organization’s needs and priorities. For example, if you’re a small business and your team only needs to do basic project management, it’s possible that Microsoft Planner can meet all your needs, and having Microsoft Lists enabled will only lead to confusion.

However, if most of your planning needs are non-task based you may choose to disable Microsoft Planner. If you’re not using Microsoft Planner, chances are To Do will serve you better than Tasks in Teams, as it allows users to create personal and Teams tasks. As you can see, there are a lot of factors to take into consideration!

Microsoft Planner vs To Do vs Lists: frequently asked questions

Is Microsoft Planner the same as Microsoft To Do?

No. Microsoft To Do is for your personal, individual tasks, including flagged Outlook emails and work assigned to you. Microsoft Planner is for team projects, where tasks live on shared boards and get assigned to people. Your Planner tasks show up in To Do, but the two apps do different jobs.

What happened to Tasks in Teams?

The app once called "Tasks by Planner and To Do" was renamed Planner in 2024 and now runs the new Planner experience inside Teams. It still brings your Planner and To Do tasks into one view, so nothing was taken away; the name and the interface changed.

Microsoft Lists vs Planner: which should I use for projects?

Use Microsoft Planner when your project is a set of tasks to assign and complete on a board. Use Microsoft Lists when you need to track structured information such as inventory, assets, or requests with custom columns and views. Planner manages tasks; Lists manages data.

Do I need a license for the new Planner or Planner Copilot?

The basic Planner experience comes with most Microsoft 365 plans. Advanced project features and the Project Manager agent need a Planner premium plan or a Copilot license. In early 2026, Microsoft made the Project Manager agent available to anyone with a Copilot license, regardless of Planner tier.

How to choose the right Microsoft 365 task tool

Orchestry's provisioning templates let you set, per workspace, whether Planner, Lists, To Do, and the Tasks app are turned on, so people always know what to use when. See how it works in a demo.

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