Actions by Moleskine 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 Actions by Moleskine and Ellie Planner will help you understand which tool best fits your workflow and productivity needs.
⚡ Quick Summary
Aspect | Actions by Moleskine | Ellie Planner |
|---|---|---|
Best For | Task management app using visual Action Cards with natural language input, emphasizing design and simplicity within the Moleskine ecosystem. | A minimalist daily planner app focused on time-blocking with drag-and-drop task scheduling and calendar integration. |
Pricing | Free trial, $2.49/month, $14.99/year, $24.99/year bundle | Free Plan available. Pro: $9.99/month, $99.99/year, or $299.99 lifetime. |
Platforms | iOS, Android, Web | Web, iOS, Mac, Windows |
What is Actions by Moleskine?
Actions by Moleskine is a task management app that uses visual Action Cards for capturing, scheduling, and organizing to-dos with natural language input and reminders. It features a clean, card-based interface designed for busy users to manage lists and projects clutter-free. The app integrates well with the Moleskine ecosystem but offers limited advanced features compared to other task managers.
🌟 Key Features of Actions by Moleskine
✦Visual Action Cards: Create and drag/drop Action Cards into custom, color-coded lists for intuitive task organization and management with a tactile, elegant interface.
✦Natural Language Input: Schedule tasks, set repeating actions, deadlines, and priorities using natural language like 'Post status report every second Friday' for effortless task creation.
✦Schedule View Integration: Integrates calendar events with Timepage, includes logbook for completed tasks, and provides push notifications with Siri support.
✦Shared Lists Collaboration: Create shared lists for team collaboration with customizable preferences and playful animations for enhanced user experience.
✦Cloud Sync and Cross-Platform: Available on iOS, Android, and Web with cloud synchronization and auto-suggestions for rescheduling and task management.
✦Share Extension and Auto-Import: Supports iOS Share extension for importing from other apps and one-time importing from Apple Reminders with hands-free Siri integration.
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 | Actions by Moleskine | Ellie Planner |
|---|---|---|
📅 Calendar Integration | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
✅ Task Management | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
⏰ Time Blocking | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
🗣️ Natural Language Processing | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
🔔 Notifications | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
🌍 Time Zones Support | ✗ No | ✗ No |
📆 Scheduler | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
📈 Analytics | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
🔗 Integrations
Actions by Moleskine
Timepage, iOS Share extension, Siri, Apple Reminders (one-time import)
Ellie Planner
Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Slack, Notion, Zapier
💰 Pricing Comparison
Actions by Moleskine
Free trial, $2.49/month, $14.99/year, $24.99/year bundle
Free trial, then $2.49/month, $14.99/year, or $24.99/year Bonobo Bundle (all apps), $39.99/year Family Bundle
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 Actions by Moleskine
→Design Over Features: If you prioritize beautiful, tactile design and elegant interface over advanced project management features and comprehensive functionality.
→Moleskine Ecosystem Integration: Best suited for users who will use Timepage and other Moleskine apps, as standalone functionality may feel limited for the subscription price.
→Simple Personal Task Management: Ideal for straightforward personal to-dos and lists rather than complex projects, multi-person collaboration, or workflows requiring extensive third-party integrations.
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
Actions by Moleskine
"Actions by Moleskine is a stylish, simple task manager with beautiful design and clean interface that pairs well with Moleskine Timepage. However, it trades advanced features and broad integrations for design and focus, with limited depth compared to competitors and subscription pricing that some find steep for its narrow scope."
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 Actions by Moleskine and Ellie Planner are excellent productivity tools with their own strengths.
Actions by Moleskine excels in Visual Action Cards: Create and drag/drop Action Cards into custom, color-coded lists for intuitive task organization and management with a tactile, elegant interface., 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.
