Ellie vs Emery

Ellie

• People who plan by timeboxing tasks next to calendar events
• Emptying your head into a brain dump list before scheduling
• Buyers who prefer a one-time payment to a subscription

Emery

• People who drop to-do apps once overdue tasks pile up
• Managers, freelancers and solo founders planning their own day
• Blocking time for tasks beside Google, Outlook or iCloud events

Ellie

• The Free plan leaves out timeboxing, calendar integrations, recurring tasks, labels, subtasks and due dates.
• There is no Android app. Ellie runs on Mac, Windows, the web, iPhone and iPad.
• The AI Assistant requires Pro and is described as being in beta.
• Ellie is built and supported by one developer, according to its About page.

Emery

• New accounts get no free plan. The site sells a $99 yearly plan or $149 lifetime access with a 30-day money-back guarantee and no web trial.
• The web price of the monthly option appears only after sign-up; the US App Store lists $19.99 monthly and $39.99 quarterly.
• There are no desktop apps yet (the site says they are coming), and the App Store listing is for iPhone only.
• It is built for one person: the site's FAQ says Emery is not designed for team planning.

Ellie

Brain Dump

A holding list for getting tasks out of your head before deciding when to do them. It is included in the Free plan.

Timebox

Drag tasks onto a calendar next to your Google, Apple or Outlook events to plan the day hour by hour. Timebox mode is part of Pro.

Recurring tasks and rituals

Repeating tasks for routines, plus daily planning and daily shutdown rituals and roll-over of unfinished tasks.

Time tracking and analytics

A task timer with Pomodoro, estimated and actual time on tasks, and analytics that show how time was spent.

AI Assistant

Creates and updates tasks in bulk, estimates time and schedules work through conversation. It is a Pro feature and is described as being in beta.

Capture and integrations

Forward an email to turn it into a task, and connect Notion, Todoist, Slack, Zapier and Siri. The iOS app includes widgets.

Emery

Fires, Growth and Extras

Each day's tasks go into three groups: Fires that cause problems if skipped, Growth work toward longer-term goals, and Extras that can wait or be dropped.

A fresh page each day

The planner opens on today. Unfinished tasks are set aside in grey to review later, with no overdue counts or streaks, and a week strip shows the days ahead.

Drag-and-drop time blocking

Dragging a task onto the calendar reserves a time slot for it. The block can be saved to a connected external calendar or kept on Emery's own.

Two-way calendar sync

Google, Outlook and iCloud calendars sync in both directions, and several accounts can be connected and viewed together.

Priorities for meetings

Calendar events can be given the same three priorities as tasks and are color-coded, so the meetings that matter stand out in the day view.

Notes and projects

Private notes can be attached to events, and tasks and notes can be organized by project.

Ellie

• Free$0

  Unlimited tasks and Brain Dump, with access on iPhone, iPad and the web.

• Pro$9.99

  per month, billed monthly

  Adds Timebox mode, Google and Apple Calendar, recurring tasks, labels, subtasks, due dates, reminders and the AI Assistant. Yearly billing saves 20%.

• Lifetime$299.99

  one-time purchase

  The same current features as Pro for a single payment, with no recurring subscription.

Emery

• Premium Monthly$19.99

  per month, as a US App Store in-app purchase

  Monthly subscription as listed on the US App Store. Emery's site also sells a monthly option, but its web price is shown only after sign-up.

• Premium Quarterly$39.99

  per 3 months, as a US App Store in-app purchase

  Quarterly subscription as listed among the in-app purchases on the US App Store.

• Annual$99

  per year

  Yearly plan as priced on Emery's site, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The US App Store lists Premium Annual at $99.99.

• Lifetime$149

  one-time payment

  Lifetime access for a single payment, offered on Emery's site next to the yearly plan.

Ellie

• Annual discount

  Save 20% with yearly billing

  Ellie's pricing page lists a 20% saving on Pro when it is billed yearly instead of monthly.

• Education

  50% off for students and teachers

  Students and teachers can get 50% off the yearly plan by emailing the developer to request a discount.

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime plan for $299.99

  A one-time $299.99 purchase includes the same current features as Pro, with no recurring subscription.

Emery

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime access for $149

  Emery's site offers lifetime access for a single $149 payment as an alternative to the $99 yearly plan.

• Annual discount

  Annual plan costs about 58% less than monthly

  The US App Store lists Premium Annual at $99.99 and Premium Monthly at $19.99, so a year paid at once costs about 58% less than twelve monthly payments ($239.88).