Trello and Microsoft Planner comparison

Both Trello and Microsoft Planner are great task management products. This comparison is aimed at helping you decide, as a student, which tool will best support your time and task management for university. It is based on our observations as users of both products.

Trello

Screenshot of Spring 2020 Trello Board with example assignment content across three columns. To Do, In progress and Done. A fourth column is shown titled 'Templates' which has Assignment Calculator checklists beneath in a single card.

Take a look through our example Trello board (opens in a new window) for inspiration as to how you might want to set up and manage your University tasks.

Pros

  • can add due dates for cards with simple, automatic visual cues (red overdue, green complete)
  • can have multiple checklists per card and name them separately so you can break down tasks in an organised manner
  • task card formatting is flexible and does not limit text inputs the way MS Planner does
  • can have up to 12 labels to assign things like unit names to cards
  • user friendly and quick to pickup with a little bit of use
  • no built-in calendar, but you can use a free power-up to integrate one
  • has a wide range of power ups that you can use to increase functionality, limited to two for free but you can trial them and swap them over if you don’t like them
  • very reliable and stable platform
  • mobile apps available for iPhone and Android are easy to use and synch with web content

Cons

  • due dates for individual checklist items is a premium feature but you can work around this by starting with the first item’s due date and updating it each time you tick off a milestone
  • limited to 12 labels per board (quite possibly not a con if you don’t need that many!)
  • large file uploads may require a paid subscription (best to use OneDrive links)
  • can be used for group work but students need a free or paid Trello account to join in

Microsoft Planner

Screenshot of Spring 2020 Planner Board with example assignment content across two columns. To Do and In progress. Completed items are hidden at the base of the 'In progress' column. A third column is shown titled 'Templates' which has Assignment Calculator checklists beneath in separate cards.

Pros

  • can show checklist items/attachments/description on card in planner view
  • can label with up to 6 coloured labels to assign things like unit names to cards
  • can assign start and due dates which appear in a calendar view to help you visualise overlapping tasks and peak periods
  • can be used for group work as all student have access already

Cons

  • can only have one checklist per card and can't re-name the checklist
  • checklist items have smaller character limit and can't handle direct copy/paste of content from learning guide in most circumstances
  • checklist limited to 20 items
  • limited to 6 labels as opposed to 12 in Trello
  • comments have much shorter character limit than Trello comments
  • doesn't do formatting/markdown of text e.g. **bold**
  • changing label name changes for all instances of use (even archived)