Your calendar is full, your task list even fuller, and yet at the end of the day you feel like you haven’t accomplished anything. Sound familiar? I’ve 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 catches.
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 stands out is that the developer continues to actively develop. 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 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 it. Ellie adds your tasks to it and visually shows you where your time is going. If you’re a fan of time-blocking and Cal Newport’s Deep Work philosophy, this is a good fit.
Who is it not for? Teams collaborating on projects are better off looking at Asana or ClickUp. People who prefer simple lists without calendar stuff are better off with Todoist. And if you’re looking for a free solution with all the features, you’ll need to look further – Ellie’s free version is quite limited.
Features of Ellie Planner
Let’s be honest: Ellie doesn’t have hundreds of features. And that’s exactly the point.
- Timeboxing – This is what Ellie is all about. You see your tasks on the left and your calendar on the right. Drag a task to your schedule and you’ve blocked time for it. Sounds simple, works surprisingly well. You immediately see if your day is realistic or if you’ve overcommitted yourself again.
- Brain Dump – My favorite feature. A place where you can dump everything that pops into your head, without thinking about projects or labels. You sort it out later. This really works to clear your mind during a busy day.
- Calendar integration – Connect Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook and all your appointments appear automatically. Important: this only works in the paid version. In the free version you only see your tasks, not your appointments. That makes time-blocking practically impossible.
- Infinite Kanban view – In addition to the day view, you can also switch to a Kanban board. Useful for getting an overview of projects, but honestly I rarely use this myself. The strength lies in the daily planning.
- Recurring tasks – Weekly meetings, daily routines, monthly admin – you can have it all come back automatically. Again only in the paid version, which is a shame because this is quite a basic function.
- Analytics and time tracking – Ellie tracks how much time you spend on tasks. At the end of the week you see where your time went. Good for self-reflection, although it’s not as extensive as dedicated time-tracking tools like 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 calendar. For people who think visually (like me) that makes a huge difference.
The interface is minimalist without being bare. Everything feels calm, no loud colors or notifications constantly distracting you. That fits the philosophy: focus on what’s important, not on the tool itself.
Ellie Planner pricing
Here’s where it gets interesting. Ellie has a free version, but it’s quite limited. You get unlimited tasks and the brain dump feature, but no calendar integration, no timeboxing, no recurring tasks, and no labels. Basically you’re missing everything that makes Ellie interesting.
The Pro version costs $ 9,99 per month or $ 99,99 per year (which works out to $ 8,33 per month). That’s comparable to Todoist Premium ($ 5 per month) but more expensive than TickTick Premium ($ 2,79 per month). On the other hand, it’s much cheaper than Sunsama, which costs $ 20 per month.
Is it worth it? That depends on how important time-blocking is to you. If you really struggle with time management and you’ve 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 for this.
There’s no free trial, which is a shame. You have to pay right away to see if it’s a fit for you. That feels like a barrier, especially since the free version is so limited that you don’t really get a good picture.
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 use the tool seriously, 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 out with productivity tools. There are cheaper alternatives that offer more features. Here you’re mainly paying for the simplicity and focus, not for a laundry list of possibilities.
What I really miss is Natural Language Processing. With Todoist you can type “meeting preparation tomorrow at 2:00 PM” 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 then there’s another 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 down somewhere without having to organize it immediately.
The design gets a lot of compliments. People find it calming and pleasant to look at. In a world of cluttered interfaces, that’s something. Users coming from Sunsama especially appreciate that Ellie is faster and simpler.
But there’s also criticism. The most common complaint is that the free version is too limited. People want to try out 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 fit what you’re looking for? These alternatives are worth considering:
- Sunsama – More expensive and more team-focused, with deeper integrations. Choose this if you need advanced team features and are willing to pay $ 20 per month for more capabilities.
- Todoist – List-based instead of visual time blocks. Choose this if you prefer simple to-do lists without calendar focus and want to save on costs.
- Motion – Uses AI for planning but is much more expensive ($ 34 per month). Choose this if you want AI to automatically schedule your calendar and budget is no concern. Motion schedules tasks automatically based on deadlines and priorities.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free version?
Yes, there’s a free plan with unlimited tasks and brain dump. But the most 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’s no Android app, which is a shame. Android users have to make do with the web version.
Conclusion
Ellie Planner does exactly what it promises: make time-blocking simple and visual. If you struggle with estimating how much time things take, or if at the end of the day you never understand where your time went, 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 the 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 feature 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 $ 10 per month for this specific approach to planning.
