Compare to
Microsoft Planner
Instead of managing tasks inside one ecosystem, In Parallel adds execution intelligence across your entire tool stack.
Where Planner organises work into boards, In Parallel makes meetings automatically update the plan.
What are the key differences?
Task boards vs coordination intelligence
Ecosystem lock-in vs tool freedom
Microsoft Planner only works inside Microsoft 365. If your engineering team uses Jira, your design team uses Linear, or your partners use something else entirely, Planner can't connect the dots. In Parallel works across all your tools, giving every team one shared execution picture regardless of what they use day-to-day.
Manual task boards vs automatic plan updates
Planner gives you boards, lists, and charts -- but someone has to update them after every meeting. In Parallel listens to your meetings and automatically updates goals, ownership, timelines, and status across all connected tools. When a priority shifts in a meeting, the entire plan reflects it without anyone opening a board.
Task-level tracking vs execution visibility
Planner excels at individual task management -- assigning work, setting due dates, tracking progress on a board. In Parallel focuses on the execution picture that managers and leaders need: are we on track? What changed? What decisions were made? This is the layer between strategy and task-level work that Planner doesn't address.
No meeting intelligence vs meetings that drive the plan
Planner has no meeting capture or intelligence. You meet in Teams, then manually create tasks in Planner afterwards. In Parallel captures what was decided in meetings and translates those decisions into plan updates automatically -- closing the gap between conversation and execution.
When to choose Microsoft Planner
- Your entire organization is standardised on Microsoft 365
- You need simple kanban boards for a single team's task management
- You want a free tool included with your existing Microsoft licence
- Cross-team coordination and meeting-to-plan automation are not priorities
When to choose In Parallel
- Your teams use different tools and you need a layer that connects them
- Meeting decisions need to update your execution plan automatically
- Managers spend hours on status updates and tool reconciliation
- You need execution visibility at the organisational level, not just the task level
Frequently asked questions
Does In Parallel replace Microsoft Planner?
No. In Parallel is not a task management tool -- it is a coordination layer. It works alongside your existing PM tools (including Planner, Jira, Linear, and Asana) by syncing meeting decisions and execution plan updates bidirectionally. You keep Planner for task boards; In Parallel ensures the broader execution plan stays current.
We already use Microsoft 365 heavily. Why add another tool?
In Parallel is not competing with your Microsoft stack -- it fills the gap Microsoft doesn't cover. Planner manages tasks, Teams hosts meetings, but nothing connects what was decided in a meeting to what changes in your plan. In Parallel is that connection layer, and it works with Teams as a meeting source.
Can In Parallel sync with Microsoft Planner?
In Parallel integrates with project management tools to create a bidirectional sync between your meetings and your execution tools. Decisions from meetings flow into your tools, and progress in your tools flows back into the living execution plan.
Our teams use Planner, Jira, and other tools. Can In Parallel handle that?
This is exactly where In Parallel shines. Unlike Planner, which only manages tasks within Microsoft 365, In Parallel connects across all your tools. Engineering in Jira, product in Planner, leadership in spreadsheets -- In Parallel gives everyone one execution picture regardless of where the work lives.
Add intelligence to your execution.
See how In Parallel connects your meetings and tools into a living execution plan. 30-minute demo.