Microsoft Planner vs. Jira: A Side-by-Side Comparison

Your project management tool shouldn’t determine your career trajectory. Yet, you spend hours each week reconciling data across different systems.

Marketing teams rely on Microsoft Planner. Development teams live in Jira. Leadership wants an intuitive platform that generates real-time reports with actionable insights at a click. And you? You’re stuck with the choices made by the leadership.

As a project or product manager, you’re expected to deliver on time and on budget, while managing stakeholder expectations, team capacity, and shifting priorities. The tool you choose can either streamline collaboration and decision-making, or create more work and stress.

In this guide, we’ll compare Microsoft Planner vs. Jira, across key factors like usability, integration, cost, and scalability. And if neither tool fully meets your needs, worry not! We’ll also explore Meegle, a powerful alternative that combines the simplicity of Planner with the advanced functionalities of Jira.

Let’s find out which project management tool can support your transition from managing chaos to leading with clarity.

Microsoft Planner vs. Jira A complete comparison

Microsoft Planner is ideal for small teams that need a straightforward task management solution, while Jira is a go-to for Agile software development teams with technical expertise.

But what if your projects span multiple departments, requiring cross-functional collaboration without the complexity of coding-heavy customization?

Meegle's intuitive interface and enterprise-grade capabilities make it easy to manage complex workflows, without needing a developer to support every change.

Microsoft Planner vs. Jira - Task boards

TL;DR:

• Microsoft Planner offers simple, easy-to-use boards ideal for basic task management but lacks depth for complex projects.
• Jira provides powerful, highly customizable boards with advanced Agile features but requires technical expertise to configure and maintain.
• Meegle delivers the best of both worlds with intuitive yet powerful Agile boards offering multiple views and node-driven workflows that adapt to changing project needs without technical overhead.

Microsoft Planner offers a clean, Kanban-style interface with "buckets" (columns) that help categorize tasks into basic stages like "To Do," "In Progress," and "Complete." Its simplicity makes it immediately accessible to non-technical teams, requiring virtually no project management skills to get started.

Microsoft Planner (in premium plans) supports task hierarchies through summary tasks and subtasks, helping teams break complex projects into smaller, manageable components. Each task can include subtasks with individual checkboxes and details, making it easier to track progress on specific parts of a larger assignment.

For better organization, teams can utilize custom fields and color-coded tags to categorize work by department, priority, or client. The native time tracking functionality lets team members log hours and set estimates, providing valuable data for future planning and resource allocation.

One of Microsoft Planner's drawbacks is its limited built-in view like Board, Charts, Schedule, and Group-by options, but not 15 distinct views unless integrated with other tools. List and Gantt views are not available natively in Planner. Schedule, Charts, and various grouping options (by assignee, progress, due date, or labels), however, offer multiple ways to visualize work.

This Jira alternative shows its limitations when projects grow in complexity. It lacks multi-level hierarchies and proper subtask dependencies. Many users report that boards become crowded and difficult to navigate when managing recurring tasks or projects with numerous components.

Micheal D. [Content Marketing Manager] shares that sentiment:

“Microsoft Planner's functionality is quite basic, which becomes evident when scaling project complexity or team size. Its limited features make it challenging to effectively manage projects with more than two people, as it lacks robust options for assigning people and setting due dates to subtasks, which are crucial for detailed project management.”

While Microsoft Planner does not support Agile adoption, Jira and Meegle have inherent Agile capabilities, making it a preferred choice for inter-dependent projects such as software development, SaaS, game development, construction, marketing, and finance. Built primarily for software developers but now widely used across industries, Jira offers highly customizable boards supporting both Scrum and Kanban methodologies.

It offers detailed task breakdowns through subtasks, custom fields, and tagging. Teams can create swimlanes for epics, link design tasks to dev tickets, and track UX backlogs in shared or separate boards.

Jira’s boards integrate native time tracking and estimation features, enabling precise sprint planning and progress monitoring. While powerful, this customization comes at a price. Many teams find themselves overwhelmed by the options, and require technical expertise to configure and maintain. While manageable for Jira’s core target audience, i.e., software developers, it presents a steep learning curve for non-technical users.

Vüqar, a QA Engineer, shares this frustration:

“The main issue is that it’s too complex. At first, there are so many features that it’s overwhelming. You spend a lot of time just trying to figure things out. Also, the speed can be frustrating—pages take forever to load sometimes. And let’s not even talk about some integrations or setups; without IT support, it’s hard to manage.”

Requiring IT support for even the tiniest changes creates a bottleneck that slows down project momentum. This friction point is precisely what Meegle addresses.

Meegle offers multiple view options—Kanban, Table, Gantt, Tree, and Panorama—without additional plugins or technical setup. At a single glance, project managers can see the estimated timeline without opening the task, unlike Jira. This flexibility allows team members to work in their preferred visualization format while collaborating on the same underlying data:

• Kanban: Visual flow management similar to Planner but with advanced filtering capabilities that prevent board overcrowding issues

• Table: Spreadsheet-like interface with custom fields and sorting options; giving marketing teams the detailed organization that Planner lacks

• Gantt: Timeline visualization with two display modes: content-first and color-first and scheduling feature that development teams need without Jira's technical complexity

• Tree: Hierarchical task structures that support multi-level project breakdowns

• Panorama: Cross-team data integration providing the strategic oversight that both Planner and Jira struggle to deliver without manual reporting

Beyond multiple views, Meegle simplifies complex projects with a node-driven workflow. Each node is connected through their input and output ports to create a workflow. Project managers can assign node owners to each node, depending on their role or condition, reducing the manual input for task progression, approvals, and dependencies. When processes change, project managers can modify workflows to match evolving project needs by adjusting roles, decision points, and components without developer assistance.

Joe Michalowski [Head of Client Services, Marketers in Demand] explains it best:

“Our business couldn't operate if it didn't have a unified project management system. We can't have everybody —strategists, developers, writers— doing different things. They all need to be in the same place for us as a business to continue growing.”

Teams can customize templates or build workflows from scratch, and automate task progression to eliminate manual handoffs. This ensures clear process ownership while maintaining adaptability that agile project management demands.

Microsoft Planner vs. Jira - Automation capabilities

TL;DR:

• Microsoft Planner requires add-on integration for workflow automation, creating additional complexity and potential execution limits.
• Jira offers built-in automation capabilities with a no-code interface but has monthly execution limits that can disrupt workflows when exceeded.
• Meegle provides intuitive, visual automation supported with conditional configurations, pre-built templates, and no execution limits, making workflow optimization accessible to all team members.

When it comes to automating repetitive tasks and streamlining workflows, your choice of project management tool can make the difference between spending hours on manual updates and letting the system handle routine work for you.

Microsoft Planner lacks native automation capabilities, forcing users to rely on Power Automate, Microsoft's separate workflow automation tool. While this integration enables custom flows like creating tasks from flagged emails, it introduces additional complexity and a separate platform to manage.

In contrast, both Jira and Meegle offer built-in automation features. Jira provides a no-code interface where users can create tailored workflows with custom statuses and triggers, while Meegle takes this further with an intuitive visual builder that requires no technical expertise.

A critical limitation that often catches teams by surprise is execution caps. In Jira, automation rules are subject to monthly execution limits based on your subscription plan. When your team exceeds these limits—which commonly happens as projects scale—workflows can unexpectedly grind to a halt.

Advanced automation scenarios in Jira often require additional plugins like ScriptRunner or custom scripting knowledge, adding both technical complexity and extra costs to your project management setup.

Microsoft Planner users face similar constraints through Power Automate, which imposes execution caps on recurring workflows depending on your licensing tier.

Meegle sets itself apart by eliminating these execution limits entirely, allowing teams to automate as many workflows as needed without worrying about hitting arbitrary caps mid-project. Meegle approaches automation from a different angle, focusing on accessibility for all team members:

• Visual interface lets anyone create sophisticated automation workflows without coding
• Trigger-based workflows respond to events like task creation, delays, or schedule changes
• Conditional automation ensures actions only occur when specific criteria are met

• Pre-built templates (20+ options) for common scenarios get teams started immediately
• No additional tools required for advanced automation needs

Meegle users report spending significantly less time on configuration and more time on actual project execution. By eliminating the technical barriers of traditional automation systems, project managers can focus on outcomes rather than maintenance, reducing administrative overhead while ensuring workflows adapt seamlessly to evolving project needs.

Jira vs. Microsoft Planner - Integration capabilities

TL;DR:

• Microsoft Planner offers seamless Microsoft 365 ecosystem integration but limited third-party integrations.
• Jira provides extensive integration options through Atlassian Marketplace but often requires technical setup.
• Meegle delivers flexible, no-code integrations with essential tools and API support without additional add-ons.

When choosing a project management tool, it is imperative that the one you choose integrates seamlessly with your existing tech stack. But integration capabilities vary dramatically in both breadth and accessibility.

For organizations using Microsoft 365, Planner's native integration with Teams, Outlook, To Do, and SharePoint creates a cohesive experience where tasks and deadlines flow seamlessly between applications. This works beautifully until teams need to connect with tools outside the Microsoft universe.

At the other end of the spectrum, Jira boasts connections with over 3,000 applications through the Atlassian Marketplace, including Confluence, Bitbucket, GitHub, and Slack. This extensive ecosystem makes it versatile for software development, IT, and DevOps teams with diverse needs.

However, this Microsoft Planner alternative often requires additional paid add-ons and technical expertise for meaningful integrations. This isn't an isolated opinion. On Capterra, 66% of negative reviews specifically mention integration complexity and technical barriers as major pain points.

Meegle's no-code integration framework eliminates this hidden cost (technical setup and plugin fees), allowing teams to connect third-party apps like Slack, Trello, Notion, Google Workspace, and various CRMs through Zapier without developer assistance. Its webhook and API support enable smart automation and adaptive workflows without the need for complex configurations.

This democratized approach means marketing teams can connect CRM data, developers can link GitHub repositories, and designers can integrate creative tools, all without burdening IT resources.

Planner vs. Jira - Reporting and analytics

TL;DR:

• Microsoft Planner provides basic task status views and charts but requires paid Viva Suite add-ons for advanced analytics.
• Jira offers comprehensive reporting capabilities with customizable dashboards but needs manual configuration and technical expertise.
• Meegle delivers powerful data analytics of key metrics with real-time dashboards without additional plugins or technical setup.

Effective project reporting should deliver three key capabilities:

• accessibility for all stakeholders
• detailed insights, and
• minimal maintenance overhead

Yet most tools force you to choose between ease of use and advanced functionalities.

On Capterra, 93% of Jira users rated reporting and project tracking features as "important" or "highly important," highlighting just how critical these capabilities are for project success.

JonSwift2024, a Reddit user who thoroughly researched both Planner and Jira, shares their experience:

This Reddit user's sentiment reflects what many teams discover too late. Microsoft Planner's basic charts and status views simply don't provide the analytical depth needed for informed decision-making. For anything beyond the simplest task distribution visualization, teams must export data to Excel or purchase additional Viva Suite add-ons.

Jira takes the opposite approach with robust reporting capabilities that have earned a 4.4/5 rating from Capterra users. Its customizable dashboards, burndown charts, and Agile metrics provide development teams with detailed insights into project performance. As Capterra's feature analysis notes:

However, many Capterra reviewers mention the need for "additional tools or plugins for advanced reporting" and the technical expertise required to configure and maintain these dashboards,making the Planner vs. Jira debate, a bit obsolete. For teams without dedicated Jira administrators, this often translates to reporting capabilities that remain underutilized.

The right reporting tools provide data-driven insights and enable better decision-making, fundamentally changing how teams operate and deliver results.

Yibin Huang, Head of Operation and Quality Department at LIZHI, quantifies the impact of switching to Meegle:

"After integrating Meegle, we have witnessed a substantial surge in the number of deliverables, a notable enhancement in version iteration efficiency, and a consistent reduction of at least 50% in the average delivery cycle that has persisted for multiple quarters."

Meegle's centralized reporting hub consolidates sprint data, team performance metrics, and customer insights into a unified interface that requires no technical expertise to configure or maintain.

With features like interactive dashboards, cross-functional analytics, and automated trend analysis, Meegle allows teams to:

• Identify bottlenecks before they impact deadlines
• Allocate resources based on real-time project needs
• Present stakeholders with clear, actionable insights
• Make data-driven decisions without waiting for manual reports

For many teams, Jira's reporting depth outweighs its complexity, but Meegle users get the same level of depth without the technical overhead.

For cross-functional projects especially, the ability to connect data across teams and visualize interdependencies can be the difference between proactive management and constant firefighting. Your choice of reporting tools directly influences how quickly you can identify issues, adjust resources, and deliver results.

Pricing comparison: Jira vs. Microsoft Planner

Price is often a deciding factor, but the total cost of ownership (TCO) extends beyond the monthly subscription. Hidden fees, add-ons for essential functionality, and administrative overhead can significantly impact your total investment.

Jira's pricing

Jira offers a free plan for up to 10 users with basic features like unlimited projects, 100 automation rules/month, and basic reports. It doesn't allow customized dashboards, audit logs, and superior project management tools, making the free plan an ideal choice for small teams or initial evaluation. For larger organizations, Jira uses a sliding scale pricing model that decreases per-user cost as team size increases:

For a team of 300 people:

• Standard: $7.53/user/month, billed monthly (up to 50,000 users)
• Premium: $13.53/user/month, billed monthly
• Enterprise: Custom annual billing
• Hidden Costs: Add-ons like Jira Service Management, automation limits, and admin overhead for customization may incur extra costs based on your subscribed plan.

Microsoft Planner's pricing

At first glance, Microsoft Planner appears to be the most economical option since it comes included with Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise subscriptions. For teams already using the Microsoft ecosystem, this zero-dollar entry point is appealing.

• Basic: Free with Microsoft 365 Business/Enterprise plans
• Premium:
  • Microsoft 365 F1: $2.25 user/month (billed annually)
    • Microsoft 365 F3: $8.00 user/month (billed annually)
      • Planner and Project Plan 3: $30.00 user/month (billed annually)
        • Planner and Project Plan 5: $55.00 user/month (billed annually)
          • All government plans: Custom pricing

Meegle's pricing

Meegle takes a straightforward approach to pricing with clearly defined tiers and no hidden costs:

Free Plan: Designed for small teams, this plan supports up to 20 seats and includes features such as visualized workflows, Table, Kanban, and Gantt views, member scheduling, an open platform, 100 GB of file storage, and community support.

Standard Plan: At $8 per user per month (billed annually), this plan is ideal for small-sized teams aiming to enhance collaboration and project management. It encompasses all features from the Free plan, plus reports and insights, data import and export, custom user groups and teams, change management, test management, and 2 TB of file storage.

Premium Plan: Priced at $12 per user per month (billed annually), the Premium plan suits mid-sized organizations looking to scale project management and team collaboration. It includes all Standard plan features, along with Panorama and Tree views, cross-enterprise collaboration, multilingual management, formula calculation fields, auto-scheduling, advanced dependency management, and 20 TB of file storage.

Enterprise Plan: For large organizations managing multiple complex projects requiring cross-functional collaboration, Meegle offers customized pricing. This plan provides all Premium features, in addition to brand customization, data restoration, and an enterprise-level Service Level Agreement (SLA)

Additionally, Meegle extends free access to schools and non-profit organizations.

Even at the Standard and Premium tiers, Meegle includes features that often require add-ons in other platforms. Advanced automation, reporting, and integration capabilities come standard, eliminating the need for supplemental purchases.

Why enterprises choose Meegle over Jira and Microsoft Planner

Enterprise teams need project management tools that streamline workflows, adapt to complexity, and enhance collaboration without adding unnecessary friction. Microsoft Planner offers simplicity but lacks depth, while Jira provides extensive customization at the cost of usability. Meegle provides an intuitive alternative with enterprise-grade functionality, allowing teams to manage projects efficiently without the limitations of development-heavy systems.

Key differences and considerations

Meegle's smooth and user-friendly interface

• Usability: Planner is straightforward but limited; Jira is powerful but complex. Meegle offers flexibility and advanced capabilities on an intuitive and user-friendly interface.

• Customization: Jira supports deep customization but often requires developer intervention. Meegle enables non-technical teams to modify workflows, roles, work items, and automation with ease.

• Integrations: Planner works best within the Microsoft ecosystem, while Jira depends on plugins. Meegle connects with Slack, Zapier, Gitlab, Github and more, with no-code automation through Zapier.

Enterprise teams need a project management solution that scales with them—without forcing trade-offs between simplicity and functionality. While other tools either oversimplify or add unnecessary complexity, Meegle provides a flexible, automation-driven workspace that adapts to your evolving needs.

By eliminating friction, streamlining workflows, and keeping teams aligned, Meegle ensures that work moves forward without delays.

No bottlenecks. No silos. Focused work and actionable processes.

With Meegle, you can adapt to shifting business goals effortlessly, an intuitive partner that keeps your workflows smooth and your team focused. Try it for free today!

FAQs

1. Is Jira better than Microsoft Planner?

Yes, for software development and agile teams needing advanced workflows, Jira excels with Scrum/Kanban boards, custom automation, and granular reporting. Planner suits small teams requiring basic task management within Microsoft 365, but lacks scalability and advanced analytics.

2. Is MS Planner being discontinued?

No. Microsoft launched an enhanced Planner in early 2024, merging Planner, To Do, and Project for the web. Premium subscriptions include access to features such as Gantt charts, task dependencies, and AI-driven insights.

3. Does Microsoft have a Jira equivalent?

No, Microsoft does not have a direct equivalent of Jira. The updated Planner Premium (formerly Project for the web) offers agile templates and roadmaps but lacks Jira’s depth for technical teams.

4. What has replaced MS Planner?

The new Planner itself replaces older versions, now offering two tiers: free (basic task management) and a premium version that includes advanced features such as Gantt charts, resource allocation, and portfolio dashboards.