Project Online coming to an end

Licensing changes

Microsoft announced several months ago that Project Online will be retired on September 30, 2026. This process will involve several stages, and licensing is one of them. Microsoft's latest announcement reminds us that the decision has been made and, for now, there's no going back.

The Project Online Essentials license is no longer available. The P5 license will cease to be sold after May 1, 2026.

Organizations with a P5 license who wish to renew it must downgrade to a P3 license. For Project Online Essentials licenses, the opposite is required: an upgrade to P1.

When should you use the P3 license? When you want to use Project Professional Desktop in Project Online. In Planner, it will depend on several factors.

I've included the original English text that Microsoft published in the Office 365 admin center.

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 will this 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 Planner Premium functionality or 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.

If you are using Project Online Essentials

• If your organization requires Planner Premium capabilities or Client Access Licenses (CALs) for Project Server, plan to migrate users to Planner and Project Plan 1.

• Alternative option: If your organization only requires Project Server CALs, you may purchase standalone Project Server CALs instead of migrating to Planner and Project Plan 1.

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.