Emery vs Sunsama
We give Emery a 2.8 GPA and Sunsama a 3.0, out of 4.0. Emery grades higher on value for money. Sunsama grades higher on the free plan and features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Emery
Daily planner that sorts tasks and meetings into three priorities
Sunsama
Daily planner with guided planning routines and calendar timeboxing
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAEmeryGood | 3.0GPASunsamaVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$99 a year on Emery's site, about $8.25 a month, which is typical for a planner. Lifetime access is $149, a fair deal if you stay past 18 months. Avoid monthly on the US App Store, which is $19.99. | C$17 a user a month if you pay $204 for the year, or $22 month to month. That's the dear end for a planner, where the typical one is about $8. You do get everything on the one plan, with nothing held back for a higher tier. |
| Free plan and trial | DNo free plan. The only trial is 7 days on an App Store subscription, the kind that starts charging unless you cancel. Buy on the web and there's no trial at all, just a 30-day money-back guarantee. | CNo free plan. You get 14 days with every feature and no card asked for, which is fair. After that the workspace stops unless you subscribe. |
| Features | BThree priority buckets for tasks and meetings, a fresh page each day, drag-and-drop time blocking, two-way sync with Google, Outlook and iCloud across several accounts, and notes and projects. Solid and simple. It's for one person, not for team planning. | AA guided daily plan, timeboxing onto Google, Outlook or iCloud calendars, tasks pulled in from Asana, Trello, Jira, Notion, Gmail and Slack, a focus timer with Pomodoro, and a weekly review. That's the whole job, from the start of the day to the end of the week. |
| Ease of use | BWe have no App Store rating on record for it, so a B is as high as we go. The idea is easy to grasp: sort today's tasks into three groups, then drag the ones that need time onto the calendar. | B4.5 from about 500 App Store ratings. The daily routine goes step by step, so you always know what's next: review yesterday, add today's tasks, check the workload, set the order. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, iPhone and Android, with Google, Outlook and Apple calendars syncing both ways. There are no desktop apps yet, though the site says they're coming. | AWeb, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android. It syncs with Google, Outlook and Apple calendars and pulls from Asana, Todoist, Notion, Slack and Gmail, with Zapier and MCP on top. |
| Best for | a fresh daily page with no overdue pile | a guided planning routine every workday |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Emery and Sunsama. How we grade
Where they differ
- Emery starts at $99 per year. Sunsama starts at $17 per user / month, billed yearly ($204).
- Only Sunsama lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps.
- Emery also covers notes.
- Sunsama also covers auto-scheduling, Pomodoro timer and goals.
At a glance
| Emery | Sunsama | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $99 per year | $17 per user / month, billed yearly ($204) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial on App Store subscriptions. Web purchases have no trial but a 30-day money-back guarantee. | 14-day free trial with access to all features, no credit card required. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Staffpass Limited | Summay, Inc. |
| Price read from | emeryplanner.com | sunsama.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 4, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Sunsama
- Professionals who want a fixed routine for planning each workday
- Pulling tasks from several work tools into one daily list
- Linux users: desktop apps cover macOS, Windows and Linux
Worth knowing
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.
Sunsama
- There is no free plan. Workspace access stops when the 14-day trial ends unless you subscribe.
- The $17 rate requires paying $204 per user for the year; monthly billing is $22 per user.
- SSO, SAML, SCIM and audit logs are limited to the Enterprise plan, which has no public price.
- Workspace data is permanently deleted 30 days after a cancelled subscription ends.
Key features
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.
Sunsama
- Guided daily planning
- A step-by-step routine: review yesterday, add today's tasks, check the predicted workload and set the order. Sunsama can prompt you to start at a set time.
- Timeboxing
- Drag a task to a time slot, or press X to auto-schedule it. The block shows up in Google, Outlook or iCloud calendar, or on Sunsama's internal calendar.
- Tasks from other tools
- Bring in work from Asana, Trello, Jira, Linear, Notion, Todoist, Gmail, Slack and others, and plan it alongside tasks created in Sunsama.
- Focus mode and Pomodoro
- Work on one task at a time with a timer, Pomodoro intervals, break reminders and the option to mute other apps.
- Weekly planning and review
- A weekly prompt to review where time went and what got done, then set objectives for the week ahead.
- AI estimates and channels
- Suggests a time estimate and a channel for each new task, based on work you have previously added to Sunsama.
Plans
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.
Sunsama
Pro$17
per user / month, billed yearly ($204)
The one self-serve plan: unlimited usage and integrations, AI, MCP and Zapier. $22 per user / month when billed monthly.
EnterpriseCustom
Adds SSO and SAML, SCIM, audit logs and custom privacy and data requirements.
Ways to pay less
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).
Sunsama
- Annual discount
Save $60 per user with yearly billing
Sunsama charges $204 per user once a year ($17 per month) on the yearly plan, against $22 per user each month ($264 a year) on monthly billing.
- Education
Student discount on request
Actively enrolled college students can email support from a student address to get a discount. It lasts until graduation or four years, whichever comes first.
- Nonprofit
Non-profit pricing on request
Sunsama's billing guide says it offers non-profit plans. Organizations apply by sending proof of non-profit status to support.
