2Do vs Ellie Planner: Comprehensive Comparison
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Overview
In today's fast-paced world, choosing the right productivity tool can make all the difference. This comprehensive comparison between 2Do and Ellie Planner will help you understand which tool best fits your workflow and productivity needs.
⚡ Quick Summary
Aspect | 2Do | Ellie Planner |
|---|---|---|
Best For | Powerful GTD task manager with advanced organization and productivity features | A minimalist daily planner app focused on time-blocking with drag-and-drop task scheduling and calendar integration. |
Pricing | From $9.99 one-time | Free Plan available. Pro: $9.99/month, $99.99/year, or $299.99 lifetime. |
Platforms | iOS, Mac, Android | Web, iOS, Mac, Windows |
What is 2Do?
2Do is a powerful personal task manager app designed for GTD (Getting Things Done), supporting quick task entry, organization, and advanced productivity workflows with a balance of rich features and ease of use. It offers projects, checklists, subtasks, smart lists, advanced search, and flexible organization options.
🌟 Key Features of 2Do
✦GTD workflow support with projects, checklists, and subtasks
✦Smart lists and advanced search with tags and filters
✦Quick entry and batch editing capabilities
✦Multi-platform sync via Dropbox and CalDAV
✦Location-based alerts and notifications
✦Calendar integration with drag-and-drop scheduling
What is Ellie Planner?
Ellie Planner is a minimalist daily planner and time-blocking app that combines tasks and calendar events to help users plan and visualize their day. It features drag-and-drop task scheduling, a brain dump area for quick capture, and built-in time tracking with analytics. The app includes AI assistant capabilities for task organization and scheduling optimization.
🌟 Key Features of Ellie Planner
✦Time Blocking with Drag-and-Drop: Core feature allowing users to drag tasks from a Kanban-style list directly into their calendar view for visual time blocking and day planning.
✦Brain Dump & Task Management: Quick capture inbox area combined with comprehensive task management including lists, priorities, due dates, labels, subtasks, and recurring tasks.
✦Built-in Timer and Analytics: Time tracking capabilities with analytics on how you spend your time, providing insights into productivity patterns and time allocation.
✦AI Assistant: AI-powered features for bulk task creation, smart organization, time estimation, automated scheduling, finding free time, and priority guidance (Pro feature).
✦Calendar Integration: Syncs with Google, Apple, and Outlook calendars to provide a unified view of appointments and tasks in one interface.
✦Cross-Platform Access: Available on web, iOS, Mac, and Windows with native apps and browser-based access for flexible planning anywhere.
📊 Feature Comparison
Feature | 2Do | Ellie Planner |
|---|---|---|
📅 Calendar Integration | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
✅ Task Management | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
⏰ Time Blocking | ◐ Limited | ✓ Yes |
🗣️ Natural Language Processing | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
🔔 Notifications | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
🌍 Time Zones Support | — | ✗ No |
📆 Scheduler | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
📈 Analytics | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
🔗 Integrations
2Do
Dropbox, Apple Reminders (CalDAV), Toodledo, Apple Shortcuts, Siri, Spark email client, Hook/Hookmark
Ellie Planner
Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Slack, Notion, Zapier
💰 Pricing Comparison
2Do
From $9.99 one-time
iOS: $9.99 one-time, Mac: $49.99 one-time, Android: Free with $9.99 Pro upgrade, or $4.99/mo subscription
Ellie Planner
Free Plan available. Pro: $9.99/month, $99.99/year, or $299.99 lifetime.
Free Plan: $0 with unlimited tasks and braindump. Ellie Pro: $9.99/month, $99.99/year, or $299.99 one-time lifetime purchase.
💡 Things to Consider
When Choosing 2Do
→Best for Apple ecosystem users; avoid if needing Android or web access
→Choose Dropbox for full sync reliability; CalDAV requires more setup effort
→Ideal for power users wanting customization; may overwhelm simple to-do needs
When Choosing Ellie Planner
→You Value Visual Time-Blocking: Ellie Planner excels at drag-and-drop task scheduling into calendar views, making it ideal if you prefer visual daily planning over text-based task lists.
→You're Willing to Pay for Core Features: The free plan is quite limited, so you'll need Pro ($9.99/month) for time-blocking, calendar integration, and most useful features - consider if this fits your budget.
→You Use iOS/Web/Desktop: Best experience is on iOS and web platforms. Skip if you need Android support or prefer fully native desktop applications over web-based interfaces.
⭐ User Reviews
2Do
"Users praise outstanding UI, flexible organization, reliable Dropbox sync, and GTD capabilities. Limitations include no native Android support, no web interface with Dropbox sync, and manual smart list recreation with CalDAV."
Ellie Planner
"Ellie Planner is praised for its intuitive, minimalist interface and effective time-blocking capabilities with drag-and-drop functionality. Users appreciate the brain dump feature, calendar integration, and responsive indie developer support. However, the free plan is quite limited, pricing is considered high compared to alternatives, there's no Android app, and it offers fewer advanced features than comprehensive tools like Sunsama. Best suited for individual users who prioritize visual time-blocking and simplicity over complex workflows."
🎯 Conclusion
Both 2Do and Ellie Planner are excellent productivity tools with their own strengths.
2Do excels in GTD workflow support with projects, checklists, and subtasks, while Ellie Planner shines with Time Blocking with Drag-and-Drop: Core feature allowing users to drag tasks from a Kanban-style list directly into their calendar view for visual time blocking and day planning.. The best choice depends on your specific needs, workflow preferences, and budget.
We recommend trying both tools to see which one fits better with your productivity style.
