Difference Between Microsoft Planner and Jira

Every team needs to organize their work, create plans, assign tasks, and make regular updates on the work progress. Both Microsoft Planner and Jira are very common applications when it comes to task and project management.

Everyone from freelancers uses these platforms to project managers because it increases the ease of managing various tasks. 

Key Takeaways

1. Microsoft Planner is a task management tool that allows users to organize and assign tasks to team members.
2. Jira is a project management tool with features like issue tracking, reporting, and agile development.
3. The main difference between Microsoft Planner and Jira is that Jira is more comprehensive and suitable for larger projects, while Planner is best for small to medium-sized projects.

Microsoft Planner vs Jira

Microsoft Planner is a task-planning tool that is provided by Microsoft and is integrated with Office 365. It is available to subscribers on premium, educational, and business plans. Jira is a project management and issue-tracking tool that is available as a cloud service and comes with 3,000+ apps.

Microsoft Planner is one of the best-known project management applications, and it is integrated into Office 365. The application is available to anyone who has a subscription to Office 365 plans (essential, premium, and educational).

Using Planner is very much convenient because it is integrated into every other Office 365 application, and it makes the work ecosystem much more efficient. 

On the other hand, Jira is also a project management software that also provides bug tracking and scrum management features.

One can use Jira for test case management, agile software development, creating roadmaps for project management, customizing workflow, etc.

Since Jira also has a free model, beginners get an opportunity to explore the application without paying from their pockets. 

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Microsoft Planner	Jira
Description	It is a task-planning application integrated with Microsoft Office 365. It is available to premium, educational, and business subscribers.	Jira is a project management and issue-tracking application. It is available as a cloud service with various options.
Pricing model	It has an option for a monthly payment and an annual subscription.	Jira offers a free version of the application and also has monthly, one-time, and annual payment options.
Devices	Apart from web-based availability, it is also available for Android, iPhone, and Windows mobile users.	Apart from web-based availability, it is also available for Android, iPhone, Linux, and Windows users.
Customer support	It provides customer service only through raising tickets.	Jira has several options to provide customer support, including email, live support, tickets, and voice calls.
Integration	Planner integrates with every application of Microsoft from Teams to Publisher.	Jira integrates with more than 3,000 business applications like GitHub, Salesforce, Zendesk, etc.

What is Microsoft Planner?

 Microsoft Planner is the best choice for task or project management purposes for teams or individuals who have Office 365 subscriptions. Since Microsoft Planner is integrated into every other Microsoft application, it becomes very convenient to use it.

Planner provides several features like creating project plans, assigning tasks to team members, sharing files, getting updates on progress, etc.

Microsoft Planner has subscription models for both enterprise and educational levels. Since the Planner is available to everyone having a subscription to Office 365, one doesn’t need to pay additional money for it.

This is one of the biggest advantages of using Planner because it comes with an entire package. Another reason to use Microsoft Planner is to enhance efficiency.

It provides a seamless experience because of its integration with applications like Outlook and Sharepoint. 

If one is using Planner for the first time, they need to create a new plan and go to “Planner Hub” to check the progress. One can add group members after creating a plan, then create and assign tasks to them.

Details like adding descriptions, setting deadlines, uploading files, etc., are also available. It also shows the status of various tasks like which are in progress, completed, or running late. 

What is Jira?

 With time, Jira has evolved into a very powerful task management tool from an issue-tracking software. Jira can be used for ample purposes, from test case management to product and task management.

In 2002, Jira was first released as a bug-tracking software, and even today, the platform ensures that the team can view all bugs in the backlog. Jira helps capture and prioritise the bugs and track them until the project is completed. 

Jira’s platform can easily integrate with a range of add-ons which helps in testing slides for coding purposes and the software development cycle. Jira is also famous for agile project management as it offers the option for scrum and kanban boards.

These task management boards increase the efficiency of the workflow as one can visualize the status of every assigned task. 

Several other features are offered in the Jira platform that helps in project management, product management, software development, etc. One can create sub-tasks under one big task since it becomes easier to track and visualise the progress.

If one is not an Office 365 user, he/she can try the free model of Jira to get a hang around task management applications. 

Main Differences Between Microsoft Planner and Jira

1. Microsoft Planner is a task-planning application integrated with the Microsoft Office 365 platform, whereas Jira is a project management and issue-tracking application with various options available as a cloud service. 
2. Microsoft Planner has an option for a monthly payment and an annual subscription, whereas Jira offers a free version of the application and also has monthly, one-time, and annual payment options. 
3. Microsoft Planner, apart from web-based availability, is also available for Android, iPhone, and Windows mobile users. On the other hand, Jira is additionally available for Android, iPhone, Linux, and Windows users. 
4. Microsoft Planner provides customer service only through raising tickets, while Jira also has options for email, live support, tickets, and voice calls.
5. Microsoft Planner integrates with every application of Microsoft, whereas Jira integrates with more than 3,000 business applications like GitHub, Salesforce, Zendesk, etc. 

References

1. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4842-3849-3_8
2. https://icaps21.icaps-conference.org/workshops/FinPlan/Proceedings/Proceedings_FinPlan2021.pdf#page=5