Microsoft Planner vs. Whimsical

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft Planner
Score 7.6 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Planner is presented as a solution to organize teamwork with intuitive, collaborative, visual task management. With it, users can create Kanban boards using task cards with files, checklists, and labels. Users can collaborate in Planner and Microsoft Teams and check visual status charts—all in the Microsoft cloud.N/A
Whimsical
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Whimsical is a visual workspace application from the company of the same name in Denver, allowing users to create collaborative wireframes, mindmaps, flowcharts, and sticky notes.
$12
per month per editor
Pricing
Microsoft PlannerWhimsical
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Pro
$12
per month per editor
Business
$18
per month per editor
Enterprise
$240
per year per editor
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft PlannerWhimsical
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details17% discount for annual billing on Pro and Business plans.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft PlannerWhimsical
Considered Both Products
Microsoft Planner
Chose Microsoft Planner
Our organization chose MS Planner because it is an included tool in the MS Suite, and since we are unfortunately replacing our current and much better project management tool due to a consolidation of the tech stack. However, it doesn't appear that any of the teams using the …
Chose Microsoft Planner
In my experience, Microsoft Planner has much less features and less effective than other project management tools. But, it's free and included as part of Microsoft 365, so senior management may think it's saving them money. However, the poor productivity and the inefficient …
Chose Microsoft Planner
The Planner has a more straightforward and intuitive interface, making it ideal for teams that want to get started quickly without a steep learning curve. Additionally, Planner is more budget-friendly, making it a better option for smaller teams like mine. Additionally, …
Chose Microsoft Planner
We used Microsoft Planner because it was free to our organization but ended up paying for Asana for more features we needed for our team.
Chose Microsoft Planner
Microsoft Planner stands out for its seamless integration with Microsoft 365, making collaboration with tools like Teams, Outlook, and SharePoint effortless. Its user-friendly interface, with drag-and-drop features and color-coded labels, simplifies task management. Microsoft …
Chose Microsoft Planner
Compared to the other options, we already had access to Microsoft Planner, preconfigured accounts, and support and ordination from tech internally to use it. We previously used Wrike, I wanted to use Asana, and other people in the organisation either used Microsoft Project, or …
Chose Microsoft Planner
Microsoft Planner was included in our package of Microsoft email. Thus, we [don't] have to pay anything separately. This is was the main reason. However, the functionality we required was similar. [Microsoft] Planner also gives a schedule calendar where we can add tasks as per …
Chose Microsoft Planner
While Asana and Trello are mature products, Planner is getting there pretty quickly. Since our organization is on the Microsoft ecosystem, it helps to use SSO for most of the apps that are within the same license. It helps save money and does the work. For proper project …
Chose Microsoft Planner
Microsoft Planner won out over Todoist due to it's ability to integrate other software and allow us to be able to do more work in one software. The project management functions were superior as well. Probably the biggest advantage was the task management. We liked how it worked …
Chose Microsoft Planner
Have moved to JIRA in my recent project. I can say Microsoft plan is a good option but JIRA is more powerful compare to this tool. The only thing is its integration and easy communication feature between teams or assigned groups stand it out while comparing with the similar …
Chose Microsoft Planner
Microsoft Planner has a clear cut edge over all the other project planning software of having its native and extensive capability of integrating with the Office 365 apps which everyone uses heavily. Also, it is highly accessible and usable to a large extent through PDAs and …
Chose Microsoft Planner
Pros:
  • Communicating with all members of the plan is easy since it’s part of the Office 365 suite. This allows you to easily communicate via Outlook.
  • You can quickly view all the tasks everyone is working across Boards
Chose Microsoft Planner
Planner provides better integration with Microsoft products that are used across the organization as a whole. It provides better connection to SharePoint, MS Teams, MS Office products, and even in MS Outlook, which is the company's email client.
Chose Microsoft Planner
Many areas of the company still use Trello to organize their activities and tasks, but gradually Microsoft Planner must replace the activities. Users are often "attached" to familiar technologies, but Office 365 takes advantage of the more organized use of the tools. This year …
Chose Microsoft Planner
I would recommend Planner for light project / team management with strong MS Teams integration.
For a PMO / large project with resources/cost/gantt management, I would really recommend MS Project.
Chose Microsoft Planner
I have not used any other products that serve a similar function to Microsoft Planner.
Chose Microsoft Planner
Planner, tho its user interface could be improved, was leaps and bounds better than TYA suite. Their user interface is difficult for many at our job site to use, especially the older generation. The decision to bring it in was largely a corporate decision. Individuals likely …
Chose Microsoft Planner
I've used Asana and prefer it to Microsoft Planner. Asana has more functionalities than Planner and I think it is more user-friendly.
Chose Microsoft Planner
Trello is better as a one off product, but if you use the Microsoft suite then Planner integrates better into the rest of your day-to-day apps. The integration into team members' calendars and mail makes the ease of assigning tasks across our organization well worth using the …
Chose Microsoft Planner
Microsoft Planner is far superior and doesn't require expensive training to give people access to it. It is far easier to customize and allows for people to add projects and milestones without the cumbersome interface that Agility offers. I would far rather use Microsoft …
Chose Microsoft Planner
We tried to select software from various tools, and in the end we chose Planner both for economic reasons (it is included in the Microsoft 365 license we have in the company) and for its ease of use (we have no particular or specific needs, such as advanced scheduling or ticket …
Chose Microsoft Planner
Main reason is that it is cost efficient because we're already using Microsoft 365 and it's literally part of the ecosystem. No need to purchase any other software. Microsoft is also a well known company, credible for providing business solutions and has a strong enterprise …
Chose Microsoft Planner
Planner is free and integrated with other Microsoft products that we use. We don't have a need for something more sophisticated given the price it would have cost to purchase licenses for a dedicated task/project mgmt tool.
Whimsical
Chose Whimsical
Clickup's mind mapping tool was very basic and hard to use from my perspective. Whimsical was by far easier and did what I wanted for a SaaS/cloud-based mind mapping tool. Xmind is fine as a desktop app, but updating the app was a pain whereas, with Whimsical I don't have to …
Chose Whimsical
Miro has a slight edge in UI but Whimsical is not far behind.
Chose Whimsical
Whimsical is so much easier and has a better interface, so I think it's more suited to our workflow if compared to other tools like Google Charts. I really love this tool and I'm looking to learn and use it even more, as it helps us optimize our time, planning, and delivering …
Chose Whimsical
Whimsical is much easier to learn than Lucidchart. We had coworkers up and running on Whimsical with little to no training. It's intuitive and just makes sense and it never freezes or times out, unlike some other tools we've used in the past. The monthly cost is also …
Chose Whimsical
I like the wireframing/web mockups a little better in Whimsical. I still do use Miro for some other uses (simple sprints/onboarding exercises).
Chose Whimsical
Whimsical nails early stage project exploration. Whether it’s mapping, wire-framing, or simply whiteboard collaboration, Whimsical provide a flexible toolset that puts you and your team in the correct mindset to explore ideas without feeling committed to a specific direction. …
Chose Whimsical
I've tried a few different services similar to Whimsical, and like the simplicity of Whimsical - as it's very easy to learn how to use and begin creating. The price is also better than a lot of competitors. There are quite a few options for creating wireframes, flowcharts and …
Chose Whimsical
Whimsical has a flexible interface and a more cost-friendly plan than Lucidchart. Whimsical allows you all the room to create whatever comes to mind in one space, whereas with other products, you have to create a separate document to use the different functions. Other apps like …
Chose Whimsical
Whimsical is simpler and easier to use than InVision. Not as many design capabilities, but much better interface.
Best Alternatives
Microsoft PlannerWhimsical
Small Businesses
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Score 9.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
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Score 9.0 out of 10
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Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Whimsical
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Score 8.5 out of 10
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Score 8.3 out of 10
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User Ratings
Microsoft PlannerWhimsical
Likelihood to Recommend
7.5
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
3.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.8
(0 ratings)
8.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
5.7
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft PlannerWhimsical
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft Planner is a user-friendly visual tool for organizing tasks and workflows. It’s great for team collaboration, integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 tools like Teams and Outlook, and offers flexibility for projects of all sizes. Additionally, it provides mobile and web access for seamless productivity on the go. That’s a big plus right there.
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It's extremely well-suited for rapid wire-framing of concepts, as product teams can quickly collaborate on any idea and create a visual blueprint of it. Whimsical could provide more intuitive feature prioritization templates. The current templates lack the necessary detail and could be further enhanced from a UI/UX standpoint.
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Pros
  • I love the ability to tag and untag others as needed
  • I love the ability to customize the tag labels and that there are so many options
  • I love the ability to add comments and it notifies the others tagged in the task
  • I love that the task description can be changed as needed without notification to others assigned to the task
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  • Simple to use
  • Tons of uses
  • Can be customized with themeing
  • Can organize all your boards pretty much however you want
Read full review
Cons
  • Does not allow you to view all tasks and sub-tasks (checklist) in a nested view.
  • Comments have character limits that can make it harder for teams to communicate exactly what they want to share.
  • There is no way to mention a teammate in a comment and share files and documents in the conversation (collaborative tool???).
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  • It can be a little frustrating trying to line things up exactly right but that's probably more user error than anything
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Likelihood to Renew
It is a very useful tool that brings teams in sync with one another. The integration with other Microsoft products makes it an obvious choice because you don't have to purchase a license for a completely different tool that doesn't have cross-functional capabilities with the software you already use on a daily basis.
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No answers on this topic
Usability
The tool is easy to use, but it is just as easy to set up. No specific skills are required, but its usefulness in our work is immediately apparent. Colors are very helpful in creating a clear interface and providing a very precise overview of the tasks to be performed.
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Whimsical is overall very easy to learn and remember. One issue with the usability occurs when you attempt to move connected boxes around the workspace. Frequently connections break or do not add easily, causing further disconnects. You can manually fix these issues, but it's a oprobem that seems would have an easy fix
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
I reached out to support, as I was interested in possibly investing in the organization, and they quickly and happily informed me they are a bootstrap organization and do not take on investors at this time. The swift response and information readily available for my consumption was extremely helpful and shows how solid the team behind it is.
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Alternatives Considered
Our organization chose MS Planner because it is an included tool in the MS Suite, and since we are unfortunately replacing our current and much better project management tool due to a consolidation of the tech stack. However, it doesn't appear that any of the teams using the current program intend to use MS Planner due to its poor functionality. We will likely be pivoting to Jira instead.
Read full review
ClickUp's mind mapping tool was very basic and hard to use from my perspective. Whimsical was by far easier and did what I wanted for a SaaS/cloud-based mind mapping tool. Xmind is fine as a desktop app, but updating the app was a pain whereas, with Whimsical I don't have to worry about that. Also, I wanted to continue working on a mind map wherever I was, even if I didn't have my laptop or device with me and Whimsical allows me to do that.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • Saved over $1000 each year by not having to purchase a third party tool for our content planning
  • Not sure that I can provide a hard number to this, but having the oversight to see when something is coming due and making sure everything gets executed in time
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  • We've been using free version, so it's a no brainer.
  • As it helps us focus on the information organization process, we don't lose time redoing work due to the lack of planning before doing design or code.
  • We can collaborate on the same project, so it's easier to get things done as we're working from home as well.
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ScreenShots