Apple Reminders 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 Apple Reminders and Ellie Planner will help you understand which tool best fits your workflow and productivity needs.
⚡ Quick Summary
Aspect | Apple Reminders | Ellie Planner |
|---|---|---|
Best For | Apple Reminders is a free task management app integrated into the Apple ecosystem, offering features like location-based reminders, list sharing, and Siri integration for iOS and macOS users. It's known for its simplicity and ease of use. | A minimalist daily planner app focused on time-blocking with drag-and-drop task scheduling and calendar integration. |
Pricing | Free | Free Plan available. Pro: $9.99/month, $99.99/year, or $299.99 lifetime. |
Platforms | Web, iOS, macOS | Web, iOS, Mac, Windows |
What is Apple Reminders?
Apple Reminders is a free to-do and reminder app from Apple that lets you create tasks, group them into lists, and get notified at specific times, locations, or contexts, synced via iCloud across your Apple devices. It offers features like subtasks, tags, attachments, and collaboration on shared lists. While excellent for basic task management and Apple ecosystem integration, it has limited third-party integrations and some usability quirks.
🌟 Key Features of Apple Reminders
✦Simple Interface: Apple Reminders offers a clean and intuitive interface, making it easy for users to create and manage tasks.
✦Location-based Reminders: Users can set reminders that are triggered by their location, such as reminding to buy something when near a specific store.
✦Integration with Siri: The app integrates seamlessly with Siri, allowing users to create reminders through voice commands.
✦Shared Lists: It allows sharing of lists with other Apple users, facilitating collaborative task management.
✦Tags and Smart Lists: Users can organize tasks with tags and create smart lists for filtering and organization.
✦Attachments and Subtasks: The app supports adding attachments like photos and creating nested subtasks for better task structure.
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 | Apple Reminders | Ellie Planner |
|---|---|---|
📅 Calendar Integration | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
✅ Task Management | labels, priority settings, due dates, location-based reminders, subtasks, tags, recurring tasks | ✓ Yes |
⏰ Time Blocking | ◐ Limited | ✓ Yes |
🗣️ Natural Language Processing | ◐ Limited | ✓ Yes |
🔔 Notifications | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
🌍 Time Zones Support | yes, apple reminders supports different time zones. | ✗ No |
📆 Scheduler | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
📈 Analytics | ✗ No | ✓ Yes |
🔗 Integrations
Apple Reminders
iCloud, Siri, Apple Calendar, Safari, Notes, Maps, Contacts, Google (via Internet Accounts), Microsoft Exchange, Things
Ellie Planner
Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Slack, Notion, Zapier
💰 Pricing Comparison
Apple Reminders
Free
Free (uses iCloud storage - 5GB free, additional storage from $0.99/mo for 50GB)
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 Apple Reminders
→You Value Simplicity: Ideal for those who want a straightforward, easy-to-use task manager without complex features.
→Deep Integration with Apple Ecosystem: Perfect for users who are heavily invested in Apple products and enjoy seamless integration with iOS and macOS.
→Basic to Moderate Task Management Needs: If your requirements include lists, tags, subtasks, and sharing but don't need advanced project management features, Apple Reminders is sufficient.
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
Apple Reminders
"Apple Reminders is praised for its seamless cross-device syncing via iCloud, deep Apple ecosystem integration including Siri and Calendar, and flexible organization with Smart Lists and tags. However, users report usability frustrations like check-off delays and inability to complete from lock screen banners. It's ideal for Apple ecosystem users with basic to moderate task management needs, but may lack advanced features for power users."
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 Apple Reminders and Ellie Planner are excellent productivity tools with their own strengths.
Apple Reminders excels in Simple Interface: Apple Reminders offers a clean and intuitive interface, making it easy for users to create and manage tasks., 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.
