What is the replacement for Microsoft Project Online?

Question

What is the replacement for Microsoft Project Online?

KLM 0

What is the replacement for Microsoft Project Online? Are all the same features included in Planner 5?

Dale Howard [MVP] 29,880 Reputation points MVP

2026-06-20T13:29:07.6133333+00:00

The only full replacement for Project Online, with all of the features found in Project Online, is Project Server Subscription Edition. The "look and feel" are identical between these two enterprise tools, both from the Microsoft Project desktop app and in Project Web App. The big difference between the two is on the back end. Project Online is hosted in the Microsoft cloud, while Project Server SE must be installed on your own servers with your own software. Hope this helps.
Urtė Balčiūnaitė 0 Reputation points

2026-09-02T11:08:45.6033333+00:00

To your question: no, Planner and Project Plan 5 does not include everything Project Online had. It covers portfolios, baselines, dependencies and Gantt/timeline views, but Microsoft's own guidance flags real gaps for organizations that relied on Project Online for complex portfolio governance, resource management, timesheets, or advanced enterprise reporting. If you need true feature parity, the closest match is Project Server Subscription Edition but that's on-premises, not cloud-hosted like Project Online was.

Worth auditing what you actually use before migrating, since "Planner 5" may be enough for lighter scheduling needs but not for full PPM. If resource/portfolio management is core to your workflow, it's also worth looking beyond Microsoft's own stack, Teamhood covers that ground natively: https://teamhood.com/v2/

2 answers

Your answer

Dale Howard [MVP] 29,880 Reputation points MVP

2026-06-20T13:29:07.6133333+00:00

The only full replacement for Project Online, with all of the features found in Project Online, is Project Server Subscription Edition. The "look and feel" are identical between these two enterprise tools, both from the Microsoft Project desktop app and in Project Web App. The big difference between the two is on the back end. Project Online is hosted in the Microsoft cloud, while Project Server SE must be installed on your own servers with your own software. Hope this helps.
Urtė Balčiūnaitė 0 Reputation points

2026-09-02T11:08:45.6033333+00:00

To your question: no, Planner and Project Plan 5 does not include everything Project Online had. It covers portfolios, baselines, dependencies and Gantt/timeline views, but Microsoft's own guidance flags real gaps for organizations that relied on Project Online for complex portfolio governance, resource management, timesheets, or advanced enterprise reporting. If you need true feature parity, the closest match is Project Server Subscription Edition but that's on-premises, not cloud-hosted like Project Online was.

Worth auditing what you actually use before migrating, since "Planner 5" may be enough for lighter scheduling needs but not for full PPM. If resource/portfolio management is core to your workflow, it's also worth looking beyond Microsoft's own stack, Teamhood covers that ground natively: https://teamhood.com/v2/

Answer 1

Hi KLM,

Good day. Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Based on my research, Microsoft Project Online is scheduled to retire on September 30, 2026. Until that date, existing Project Online environments will continue to function as expected. This retirement applies only to Project Online and does not impact Project desktop, Project Server, or Microsoft Planner.

Microsoft does not provide a single one-to-one replacement that includes all Project Online features in the same way. The best replacement depends on how your organization is currently using Project Online.

For many modern project and work management scenarios, Microsoft Planner with premium capabilities is one of the recommended transition options. Planner premium includes features such as portfolios, baselines, dependencies, Gantt/timeline views, and Microsoft 365 collaboration capabilities.

However, Planner should not be considered a full feature-for-feature replacement for Project Online in every scenario. If your organization relies on advanced capabilities such as Project Web App (PWA), complex portfolio management, resource management, timesheets, custom workflows, or advanced enterprise reporting, I recommend reviewing your current Project Online usage and evaluating the transition options such as Planner, Project Server Subscription Edition, or Dynamics 365 Project Operations, to determine which solution best fits your requirements.

For detailed information, you can refer to these articles:

I hope this helps clarify the available options. Should you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to share them in the comment below. I'm very happy to help.

Additionally, if you found the answer helpful, I would truly appreciate it if you could mark it as accepted. This helps highlight the solution for others who may be searching for similar information in the community.

Thank you for your contribution to the forum.

Wishing you all the best.

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Romuald Edmond TADIE 0 Reputation points

2026-08-12T16:09:47.2366667+00:00

Thank's for your response. It's helpfull.

Answer 2

Dale Howard [MVP] 29,880 MVP

The only full replacement for Project Online, with all of the features found in Project Online, is Project Server Subscription Edition. The "look and feel" are identical between these two enterprise tools, both from the Microsoft Project desktop app and in Project Web App. The big difference between the two is on the back end. Project Online is hosted in the Microsoft cloud, while Project Server SE must be installed on your own servers with your own software. Hope this helps.

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