Ellie vs Routine

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

Routine

• People who want tasks, calendar and notes in a single app
• Capturing tasks quickly from the keyboard on desktop
• Trying a planner on a free plan before paying

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.

Routine

• The Free plan is capped at 3 integrations, 3 custom databases and 250 AI credits.
• Time blocking and time boxing are not part of the Free plan; they start with Personal.
• AI meeting notes, AI agents, automations and time tracking require Professional or higher.
• Routine's download page says the web app is 30% slower than the desktop apps and lacks some functionality.

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.

Routine

Planner and calendar

Plan the day in a view that combines tasks with events from connected calendars such as Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. Time blocking starts on the Personal plan.

Dashboard hotkey

A desktop hotkey opens a dashboard for creating tasks quickly and adding context to them without switching apps.

Universal inbox

Imports tasks, messages and notifications from connected apps and services into one inbox.

Notes and custom databases

Notes, a journal and pages sit alongside tasks. Custom databases model your own object types: 3 on Free, 10 on Personal and unlimited from Professional.

AI meeting notes

Records meetings without a meeting bot and generates a summary with the transcript and original audio. Requires the Professional plan.

AI assistant, agents and MCP

An AI assistant and voice commands are in every plan. AI agents and automations need Professional, and MCP connects Routine to assistants such as ChatGPT and Claude.

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.

Routine

• Free$0

  Tasks, calendars and notes, AI assistant, voice commands, offline mode, 3 integrations, 3 custom databases and 250 AI credits.

• Personal$5

  per month, billed yearly

  Adds time blocking, time boxing, event coloring, exporting, unlimited file uploads, 10 integrations, 10 custom databases and 500 AI credits.

• Professional$10

  per month, billed yearly

  Adds AI meeting notes, AI agents and automations, time tracking, a menu bar widget, unlimited integrations and databases, and 7,000 AI credits.

• Business$15

  per seat / month, billed yearly

  Adds an organization with workspaces, access control, versioning, consolidated billing, priority support and 10,000 AI credits per seat.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Adds unlimited history, compliance, audit logs, analytics, user provisioning and a success manager.

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.

Routine

• Annual discount

  Up to 38% off on yearly plans

  Routine's pricing page marks its yearly prices as 38% off for Personal and 17% off for Professional and Business.

• Startups

  Startup program: Business plan free for a year

  Startups with under $2 million in funding and fewer than 20 employees can apply for the Business plan free for one year, worth up to $2,500.