Your calendar is packed, your task list even fuller, and yet at the end of the day you feel like you haven’t accomplished anything. Sound familiar? I used Ellie Planner intensively for a month to see if this minimalist planner really helps you manage your time better. Spoiler: it works, but there are some drawbacks.
Ellie Planner: the company
Ellie Planner was built by a solo developer who was frustrated with existing planning tools. Too complex, too expensive, or just too simple. You hear that story often, but here they actually succeeded in creating something that feels different.
The tool revolves around one core idea: time-blocking should be visual and simple. No endless menus, no features you never use. Just see your tasks and drag them to your calendar. Done.
What’s notable is that the developer remains actively developing. Updates come regularly, feedback is taken seriously. That’s nice with a smaller tool – you’re not just a number in a support system.
Who is Ellie Planner actually for?
Ellie is made for people who struggle with the difference between “being busy” and “being productive”. Think of freelancers who need to organize their own day, knowledge workers with lots of meetings and deep work, or students looking for structure without having to get an MBA in project management.
It works best if you already use a calendar (Google, Apple, Outlook) and have your appointments in there. Ellie adds your tasks to that and shows you visually where your time goes. If you’re a fan of time-blocking and Cal Newport’s Deep Work philosophy, then you’re in the right place.
Who is it not for? Teams collaborating on projects should look at Asana or ClickUp instead. People who prefer simple lists without calendar stuff are better off with Todoist. And if you’re looking for a free solution with all features, then you need to keep looking – Ellie’s free version is quite limited.
Ellie Planner features
Let’s be honest: Ellie doesn’t have hundreds of features. And that’s exactly the point.
- Timeboxing – Dit is waar Ellie om draait. Je ziet je taken links en je kalender rechts. Sleep een taak naar je agenda en je hebt er tijd voor geblokkeerd. Klinkt simpel, werkt verrassend goed. Je ziet meteen of je dag realistisch is of dat je jezelf weer te veel hebt voorgenomen.
- Brain Dump – Mijn favoriete feature. Een plek waar je alles kunt neergooien wat door je hoofd schiet, zonder na te denken over projecten of labels. Later sorteer je het uit. Dit werkt echt om je hoofd leeg te maken tijdens een drukke dag.
- Kalenderintegratie – Koppel Google Calendar, Apple Calendar of Outlook en al je afspraken verschijnen automatisch. Belangrijk: dit werkt alleen in de betaalde versie. In de gratis versie zie je alleen je taken, niet je afspraken. Dat maakt time-blocking eigenlijk onmogelijk.
- Infinite Kanban weergave – Naast de dagweergave kun je ook switchen naar een Kanban-bord. Handig om overzicht te krijgen van projecten, maar eerlijk gezegd gebruik ik dit zelf weinig. De kracht zit hem in de dagplanning.
- Terugkerende taken – Wekelijkse meetings, dagelijkse routines, maandelijkse admin – je kunt het allemaal automatisch laten terugkomen. Weer alleen in de betaalde versie, wat jammer is want dit is best een basisfunctie.
- Analytics en tijdregistratie – Ellie houdt bij hoeveel tijd je aan taken besteedt. Aan het eind van de week zie je waar je tijd naartoe ging. Goed voor zelfreflectie, al is het niet zo uitgebreid als dedicated time-tracking tools zoals Toggl.
What I appreciate most is that everything works visually. You don’t have to type “tomorrow 2:00 PM meeting preparation 2 hours” – you just drag a block to your schedule. For people who think visually (like me) that makes a huge difference.
The interface is minimalist without being bare. Everything feels calm, no garish colors or notifications that constantly distract you. That fits the philosophy: focus on what’s important, not on the tool itself.
Ellie Planner pricing
Here it gets interesting. Ellie has a free version, but it’s quite limited. You get unlimited tasks and the brain dump function, but no calendar integration, no timeboxing, no recurring tasks and no labels. You basically miss everything that makes Ellie interesting.
The Pro version costs $1.99 per month or $1.99 per year (equivalent to $1.33 per month). That’s comparable to Todoist Premium ($1 per month) but more expensive than TickTick Premium ($1.79 per month). On the other hand, it’s much cheaper than Sunsama, which costs $1 per month.
Is it worth it? That depends on how important time-blocking is to you. If you really struggle with time management and have already tried other tools without success, then Ellie might be worth that $1.33 per month. But if you just want a task list, you’re paying too much here.
There’s no free trial, which is unfortunate. You have to pay immediately to see if it fits your needs. That feels like a barrier, especially since the free version is so limited that you don’t really get a good sense of the product.
What should you watch out for?
The free version is actually too limited to be useful. No calendar integration means you can’t time-block, and that’s what Ellie is all about. It feels more like a demo than a usable free version. If you want to seriously use the tool, you have to pay.
Then there’s the price. For Dutch users, $1.99 per month is pretty steep, especially if you’re just starting with productivity tools. There are cheaper alternatives that offer more features. Here you’re mainly paying for simplicity and focus, not for a laundry list of capabilities.
What I really miss is Natural Language Processing. With Todoist you can type “tomorrow at 2:00 PM meeting preparation” and it understands that automatically. With Ellie you have to set everything up manually. That takes time and feels outdated.
The app also has a bit of a “web-wrapper” feel on desktop. It’s basically a website packaged as an app. That means it doesn’t always feel as fast as native apps. Not a dealbreaker, but noticeable if you’re used to fast, native software.
And one more thing: there’s no Android version. If you have an Android phone, you can only use the web version. For a tool that revolves around daily planning, that’s quite a shortcoming.
What do others think?
The general sentiment about Ellie is positive, especially from people who were frustrated with more complex tools. The brain dump function is often mentioned as a favorite – it provides peace of mind to be able to put everything somewhere without having to organize it immediately.
The design receives many compliments. People find it calming and pleasant to look at. In a world of cluttered interfaces, that’s no small thing. Users coming from Sunsama especially appreciate that Ellie is faster and simpler.
But there is also criticism. The most common complaint is that the free version is too limited. People want to try the tool before they pay, but without calendar integration you don’t get a good picture. The price tag is also regularly mentioned as high relative to what you get.
Keep Productive, a popular YouTube channel about productivity tools, described Ellie as a lightweight alternative to Sunsama. They were positive about the time-blocking focus and calendar integration, but critical of the price compared to Todoist. They also noted that the app feels a bit like a “web-wrapper.”
Ellie Planner alternatives
Doesn’t Ellie quite match what you’re looking for? These alternatives are worth considering:
- Sunsama – Duurder en meer gericht op teams, met diepere integraties. Kies hiervoor als je geavanceerde team-functies nodig hebt en bereid bent $20 per maand te betalen voor meer mogelijkheden.
- Todoist – Lijst-gebaseerd in plaats van visuele tijdblokken. Kies hiervoor als je voorkeur geeft aan simpele to-do lijsten zonder kalender-focus en je wilt besparen op kosten.
- Motion – Gebruikt AI voor planning maar is veel duurder ($34 per maand). Kies hiervoor als je wilt dat AI automatisch je agenda indelt en budget geen rol speelt. Motion plant taken automatisch op basis van deadlines en prioriteiten.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free version?
Yes, there is a free plan with unlimited tasks and brain dump. But the important features – calendar integration, timeboxing, recurring tasks and labels – are only in the paid version. The free version is actually too limited to really evaluate Ellie.
Do you sell my data?
No. Ellie makes money through subscriptions and doesn’t sell user data. That’s an important difference from many free apps that make their money with advertising or data collection.
What platforms does Ellie work on?
Ellie is available on web, iOS (iPhone and iPad), macOS and Windows. There is no Android app, which is unfortunate. Android users have to make do with the web version.
Conclusion
Ellie Planner does exactly what it promises: making time-blocking simple and visual. If you struggle with estimating how much time things take, or if you never understand where your time went at the end of the day, then this tool can really help.
But it’s not for everyone. The price is on the high side for what you get, especially compared to alternatives like Todoist or TickTick. The free version is too limited to be useful. And the lack of features like Natural Language Processing and an Android app feels like missed opportunities.
My advice? If time-blocking is the way for you to be productive, and you have budget for a tool you use daily, then Ellie is a good choice. It’s simpler and cheaper than Sunsama, and much more visual than Todoist. The brain dump function alone is worth its weight in gold for people with busy minds.
But if you just want a task list, or if you’re looking for a free solution, look elsewhere. There are better options for less money. I still use Ellie myself, but I understand why not everyone wants to pay $1 per month for this specific approach to planning.
