Microsoft Planner dependencies: basic vs premium, with a table

In Microsoft Planner, the basic plans included with Microsoft 365 can display task dependencies but cannot create them. To link one task to another you need Planner Plan 1. Lead and lag on a dependency, the critical path and baselines need Planner and Project Plan 3. Recurring tasks work the other way round: they exist only in basic plans.

The Microsoft facts below come from Microsoft's own pages, checked on 29 September 2026. This article was last reviewed on 5 November 2026. Prices and plan contents change, so confirm them on Microsoft's pages before you decide.

Can you create task dependencies in basic Microsoft Planner?

No. Microsoft's Planner plans and pricing page says that Planner included in Microsoft 365, the basic plans, lets you see dependencies but not create them. Creating them requires Planner Plan 1.

In practice, a basic plan opened by someone without a premium licence shows the links that already exist, but that person cannot draw new ones. If your team only has Microsoft 365 business licences, every task in a basic plan stands on its own. You still have to remember, outside the tool, that the tiling cannot start until the plastering is finished.

If you are unsure what a dependency is, start with the explanation of predecessor and successor tasks. It covers the vocabulary that Planner's premium screens use.

What does Microsoft Planner Plan 1 add for task dependencies?

Planner Plan 1 is the first plan that lets you create dependencies. According to Microsoft's pricing page for Planner, it costs €8.70 per user a month excluding VAT. It includes dependencies, backlog and sprints, a timeline (Gantt) view, milestones, and effort and duration.

The timeline matters as much as the links themselves. Dependencies are much easier to read on a Gantt bar chart than on a board. Microsoft's post on dependencies and critical path in Timeline view shows how links are drawn and read in that view.

Plan 1 does not let you edit lead and lag. That means you cannot say "start two days before the previous task ends" or "wait three days after it ends" on the link itself.

What does Planner and Project Plan 3 add: lead, lag and critical path?

Planner and Project Plan 3 adds the scheduling features that project managers usually look for next. Microsoft's plans and pricing page lists it at €26.00 per user a month excluding VAT. It adds portfolios, baselines, the critical path, dependencies with lead and lag, task history, and Project desktop on up to 5 PCs.

Microsoft's announcement introducing lead and lag in task dependencies confirms that editing lead and lag requires Plan 3. Lead lets a task start before its predecessor finishes. Lag makes it wait after the predecessor finishes.

Project desktop supports more than one kind of link. Microsoft's guide to linking tasks in a project describes finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish and start-to-finish. The guide to the 4 types of dependency explains when each one is worth using.

Which Microsoft Planner plan includes which dependency feature?

The table summarises Microsoft's comparison of basic and premium plans and its pricing page, as checked on 29 September 2026.

Prices, as listed on Microsoft's Spanish pricing page:

What do you lose when a Microsoft Planner plan becomes premium?

You lose recurring tasks. Microsoft's basic vs premium comparison states that recurring tasks exist only in basic plans, not in premium ones.

This catches teams out. Weekly checks, monthly reports and other routine work often sit in the same plan as the project. Before you move that plan to premium for its dependencies, decide where the repeating work will live. A separate basic plan is one option.

Microsoft's page on advanced capabilities with premium plans describes what premium plans offer once you are in. Read it alongside the comparison so that both the gains and the losses are clear.

Does the retirement of Project Online change which Planner plan you need?

It can. Microsoft's post on Project Online retiring gives the retirement date as 30 September 2026. Project desktop remains available.

Teams that kept their schedules in Project Online, including lead, lag and baselines, will find those features in Planner only at Plan 3. Teams that only ever used finish-to-start links will find them at Plan 1.

How do you choose a Microsoft Planner plan for task dependencies?

1. List the links you actually use. If every link is "B starts when A finishes", Plan 1 covers it.
2. Check for lead and lag. If tasks overlap or wait a set number of days after one another, you need Plan 3.
3. Decide whether you need a critical path and baselines. Both are Plan 3 features. Planned-versus-actual tracking depends on baselines.
4. Find your recurring tasks. Premium plans drop them, so move routine work before you switch.
5. Count who edits the schedule. Licensing is per user, so only the people who create links need the premium plan.

For schedule quality in general, the GAO Schedule Assessment Guide sets out best practices that apply to whichever tool you choose. One example is making sure every task has a logical predecessor and successor.

What can you use if you only need finish-to-start dependencies?

If you only need finish-to-start links and no Microsoft licence, a lighter planner may be enough. One option is tokidu, the project manager by Sinergia Barcelona, which is our own product.

In tokidu, the dependency feature is called "Starts when … is done". It is included in the Free plan. A task waits for others in the same project and unblocks itself, with a notice, when the last one finishes. tokidu rejects circular waits. "Up next" lists only the tasks that can be done now, and "Why that date?" explains what pushes a planned date. These are described in tokidu's feature overview.

Waiting a number of days after a task finishes needs Pro, which is not on sale yet.

Planner Plan 3 does more. It offers lead (starting before the previous task ends), a critical path, baselines, and Project desktop. Planner also lives inside Microsoft 365, alongside the tools many teams already use. tokidu has none of those, and it has only finish-to-start links. For a similar look at another tool, see the Trello dependencies comparison table.