Table of Contents
Summary
- Simplification of Planner and Project licensing with specific SKUs being retired.
- New purchases of Planner and Project Plan 5 will no longer be available post-End of Sale.
- Project Online Essentials is already End of Sale and not available for new purchases.
- Existing customers should plan to transition to supported SKUs based on their needs.
- No immediate service impact, but customers should review and prepare for upcoming changes.
Admin Impact: High
User Impact: Low
Release Start: 01 May 2026
Release End: 30 Sept 2026
Services: Project Online
Category: Plan for change
Tags: User Adoption, Admin Action, Retirement
History
3/17/2026 Item Added to Message Center
Microsoft Message
Licensing Update: Planner and Project Plan 5 and Project Online Essentials – End of Sale
Introduction
We are making licensing updates to simplify the Planner and Project SKU lineup and ensure customers are aligned to supported offerings. These changes are intended to help customers transition to durable SKUs as part of ongoing product lifecycle planning.
Project Online will be retired on September 30, 2026. Read the retirement announcement blog for more information.
When this will happen
Planner and Project Plan 5
- End of Sale (Worldwide): Planner and Project Plan 5 will move to End of Sale on May 1, 2026.
Project Online Essentials
- End of Sale (Worldwide): Project Online Essentials is already End of Sale.
How this will affect your organization
Planner and Project Plan 5
- After May 1, 2026, new purchases of Planner and Project Plan 5 will no longer be available.
- Existing customers will need to plan for transition to supported SKUs based on their usage needs.
Project Online Essentials
- Project Online Essentials is no longer available for new purchases.
- Customers currently using this SKU should evaluate supported alternatives based on whether they need Project Server access.
What you need to do to prepare
If you are using Planner and Project Plan 5
- If your organization requires Project Desktop, plan to migrate users to Planner and Project Plan 3 as soon as possible.
- Planner and Project Plan 3 is the recommended supported SKU for customers who need desktop project management capabilities.
We recommend reviewing your current usage and planning transitions ahead of these End of Sale dates to avoid disruption.
Additional information
No immediate service impact will occur as a result of these changes. These updates affect purchasing availability only and are intended to guide customers to supported licensing paths.