Ellie Planner vs Focus To-Do: 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 Ellie Planner and Focus To-Do will help you understand which tool best fits your workflow and productivity needs.
⚡ Quick Summary
Aspect | Ellie Planner | Focus To-Do |
|---|---|---|
Best For | A minimalist daily planner app focused on time-blocking with drag-and-drop task scheduling and calendar integration. | Pomodoro timer and task manager with cross-device sync |
Pricing | Free Plan available. Pro: $9.99/month, $99.99/year, or $299.99 lifetime. | Free; Premium $1.99/mo |
Platforms | Web, iOS, Mac, Windows | iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome extension |
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.
What is Focus To-Do?
Focus To-Do is a Pomodoro timer combined with a task manager that helps users plan tasks, work in focused intervals, and track productivity across devices with customizable timers, project organization, and detailed analytics.
🌟 Key Features of Focus To-Do
✦Customizable Pomodoro timers with focus/break intervals
✦Task management with projects, subtasks, and priorities
✦Habit tracking and goal tracking
✦Detailed analytics and productivity statistics
✦Cross-device synchronization
✦Calendar-style views for tasks and focus history
📊 Feature Comparison
Feature | Ellie Planner | Focus To-Do |
|---|---|---|
📅 Calendar Integration | ✓ Yes | ◐ Limited |
✅ Task Management | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
⏰ Time Blocking | ✓ Yes | ◐ Limited |
🗣️ Natural Language Processing | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
🔔 Notifications | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
🌍 Time Zones Support | ✗ No | ✗ No |
📆 Scheduler | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
📈 Analytics | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
🔗 Integrations
Ellie Planner
Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Slack, Notion, Zapier
Focus To-Do
Cross-platform sync only
💰 Pricing Comparison
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.
Focus To-Do
Free; Premium $1.99/mo
Free with basic features; Premium $1.99/month or $11.99 lifetime
💡 Things to Consider
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.
When Choosing Focus To-Do
→Free version has limited custom timers and syncing - premium needed for full features
→Individual use only - no team collaboration or advanced integrations with other tools
→Best for Pomodoro fans wanting combined timers/tasks rather than calendar-heavy workflows
⭐ User Reviews
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."
Focus To-Do
"Highly rated (4.8 stars) for its simple interface and effective Pomodoro-task integration. Users praise cross-device syncing and productivity improvements, especially for ADHD and focus issues. Limited by free version restrictions and lack of team collaboration features."
🎯 Conclusion
Both Ellie Planner and Focus To-Do are excellent productivity tools with their own strengths.
Ellie Planner excels in 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., while Focus To-Do shines with Customizable Pomodoro timers with focus/break intervals. 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.
