Reclaim vs Ellie Planner: Comprehensive 2024 Comparison

What is Reclaim

Reclaim AI is a cutting-edge productivity tool designed to revolutionize how individuals and teams manage their time. This innovative tool stands out for its use of artificial intelligence to automate schedule management. It is particularly adept at finding the optimal balance between work commitments and personal time, ensuring users maintain a healthy work-life balance. Reclaim AI dynamically adjusts to the user’s schedule, intelligently blocking time for tasks, meetings, and personal activities based on priorities and deadlines. This level of automation and smart scheduling is particularly beneficial for busy professionals who struggle with maintaining control over their increasingly complex calendars.

Key Features of Reclaim

• Integrated Habits and Tasks: Combines personal habit scheduling with task management for a harmonized daily routine.
• Meeting Scheduling Efficiency: Automates one-on-one and group meeting scheduling with priority handling.
• Unified Calendar Sync: Keeps calendars in sync across platforms, including buffer times between meetings.
• Comprehensive Planning Tool: Combines task, habit, and meeting management in a visual planning interface.
• Productivity Analytics: Tracks time spent on tasks and provides team performance analytics for improvement.
• Enhanced Smart Scheduling: Offers AI-driven scheduling suggestions based on user behavior and preferences.

What is Ellie Planner

Ellie Planner is a daily planning application designed to help users organize their week through features like calendar integration, task management, and time-blocking techniques. It includes a brain dump area for capturing thoughts and tasks, and it supports integrations with major calendars and productivity apps such as Google Calendar, Outlook, and Todoist. Aimed at simplifying planning processes, Ellie Planner offers both a free plan and a premium subscription.

Key Features of Ellie Planner

• Calendar Integration: Ellie Planner syncs with major calendar services like Google Calendar and Outlook, allowing users to see their appointments and tasks in one unified view. This feature ensures that all commitments are aligned and easily accessible.
• Task Management: Users can create, assign, and track tasks within the planner. This helps in maintaining clarity on deliverables and deadlines, enhancing productivity and accountability.
• Time Blocking: The planner supports time-blocking techniques, encouraging users to allocate specific blocks of time for tasks, which helps in managing daily workloads more efficiently and reducing the likelihood of overcommitment.
• Customizable Views: Ellie Planner offers customizable views, enabling users to tailor the interface according to their personal productivity styles. This can include adjusting the layout of tasks, events, and notes to best suit one’s workflow.
• Brain Dump Feature: A dedicated space for “brain dumping” allows users to jot down ideas and tasks as they come, which can later be organized into actionable items. This feature helps in capturing all thoughts without disrupting workflow.
• Mobile Accessibility: The planner is accessible via a mobile app, providing the flexibility to manage schedules and tasks on the go. This ensures that users can stay updated with their plans irrespective of their location.

Reclaim vs Ellie Planner: Features

Features	Reclaim	Ellie Planner
Integrations	Google Calendar, Zoom, Todoist, Asana, Slack.	Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Zapier, Slack, Todoist, Microsoft Outlook
Calendar	Integrates with Google Calendar for scheduling and tracking	Yes
Platforms	Web-based application	macOS, iOS, Android, Web, Windows
Task Management	Offers a task manager that syncs with Google Tasks and Todoist	Offers labels, tags, and recurring tasks
Natural Language Processing	Uses AI for intelligent scheduling	No
Time Blocking	Available	Yes
Analytics	Provides stats on personal scheduling patterns and time spent on activities.	No
Meeting Scheduler	Yes	No
Time Zones	Yes	No
Reminders	Yes	Yes
Customer Support	Good	Good
1:1 User Onboarding	No	No
Pricing	$8 per month, paid annually	Ellie offers a Free Plan and a Pro Plan for $9.99/month or $299.99 one-time. Pro features include timeboxing, calendar integration, and more.

Reclaim vs Ellie Planner: Pricing

Reclaim Pricing

Reclaim AI offers various pricing plans:

(i) Lite Version (Free): Aimed at single users, offering limited functionality.

(ii) Starter Plan: $8 per user/month, suitable for busy teams needing extensive scheduling and task management.

(iii) Business Plan: $12 per user/month, designed for companies focusing on productivity and work/life balance.

(iv) Enterprise Plan: $18 per user/month, tailored for larger corporations and enterprises.

These plans cater to different organizational needs, from individual users to large corporations, with scalable features and pricing.

Ellie Planner Pricing

Ellie Planner offers two main pricing options:

(i) Free Plan: Includes unlimited task creation, accessible via iOS and Web apps, and a feature called “Braindump”.

(ii) Ellie Pro Plan: Available for $9.99 per month or a one-time purchase of $299.99. It includes all the features of the free plan plus timeboxing, integration with Google and Apple Calendars, unlimited labels & subtasks, recurring tasks, due dates, and more.

Reclaim vs Ellie Planner: Reviews

Reclaim Review

Reclaim AI is a smart calendar tool primarily suited for teams, focusing on optimizing meeting schedules and work-life balance. It integrates well with Google Calendar and offers features like task consolidation, meeting scheduling, and habits and routines setup. However, it’s not ideal for detailed project management and lacks a native mobile app, requiring access via web on mobile devices. Reclaim offers a free version and various paid plans. While effective for calendar management, it may not fully replace other project management tools.

Ellie Planner Review

Ellie Planner is praised for its simplicity and effectiveness in daily planning, offering features like calendar and task views, brain dump for capturing thoughts, and integration with other apps like Google Calendar and Todoist. Users appreciate its clean interface and focus on time-blocking techniques to improve productivity. However, some drawbacks include its higher price point compared to alternatives like Todoist, and a relatively lighter set of features which may not suit those seeking more robust functionality. The app is primarily developed by a solo developer, which adds a personal touch but might affect the pace of feature updates and support. Overall, Ellie Planner is a commendable tool for those seeking a straightforward daily planner with essential features.

Which One Should You Pick

Consider Reclaim if

1. You’re Part of a Busy Team: Reclaim is great for teams needing to optimize meeting schedules, but it might not be as effective for individual use or detailed project management.
2. You Value AI-Assisted Scheduling: While its AI-driven scheduling is innovative, it may not offer the level of customization some users require.
3. You Use Google Calendar: Reclaim integrates well with Google Calendar, but its lack of a native mobile app can be limiting for on-the-go access.

Consider Ellie Planner if

1. You Appreciate Simplicity in Planning: Ellie Planner could be a good match if you prefer a straightforward, no-frills daily planner with essential features like calendar views and task lists. It might lack the depth of features found in more comprehensive tools.
2. You Use Basic Integration: If you need basic integrations with tools like Google Calendar or Todoist, Ellie Planner offers this functionality, though its integration options are not as extensive as some other planners.
3. You Enjoy Personalized Support: Since Ellie Planner is developed by a solo developer, you might appreciate the personal touch in customer support, although this could also mean slower updates and enhancements compared to bigger competitors.

Best Reclaim and Ellie Planner Alternative

Akiflow: Akiflow is a time management app offering time blocking, task scheduling, and integrations with various tools. It focuses on productivity and organization through a unified task and appointment interface.

Akiflow Price: $19 per month, paid annually