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Comparison · PM
Atarim vs Ellie Planner
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Atarim and Ellie Planner — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Atarim vs Ellie Planner: at a glance
What is Atarim?
Atarim's AI experts now propose changes to live pages as drafts, and the app runs on phones.
Atarim 5.1.4 extends the draft-first rule from new pages to edits on live pages: an AI specialist's fix comes back as a draft copy with a preview link, and the task waits in Pending review until a person approves it. Atarim now also works on phones and tablets and installs as an app. The previous release, 5.1.3, rebuilt Boards with a timer on every stage.
What is Ellie Planner?
Ellie opens its task data to outside agents, eight months after its last changelog.
Ellie is a solo-built task and calendar planner spanning web, desktop, iPhone and iPad. After an eight-month gap, the catch-up release lands a real Week Calendar on iPad, Pomodoro sessions started from a task and restored across reloads, Quick Capture as a standalone window on a global shortcut, rich-text task notes with Markdown shortcuts, and MCP/API access in beta. Beneath the headline items sits the unglamorous work: recurring tasks, timezones, rollover, and calendar sync behaviour.
Atarim vs Ellie Planner: editorial side-by-side
Atarim
5.0PM
Atarim's AI experts now propose changes to live pages as drafts, and the app runs on phones.
◆ Current state
Atarim 5.1.4 extends the draft-first rule from new pages to edits on live pages: an AI specialist's fix comes back as a draft copy with a preview link, and the task waits in Pending review until a person approves it. Atarim now also works on phones and tablets and installs as an app. The previous release, 5.1.3, rebuilt Boards with a timer on every stage.
◆ Where it's heading
Atarim keeps pairing more AI autonomy with more human control: readable memory in 5.1.2, stage clocks in 5.1.3, and now mandatory approval on live changes. The mobile app moves that approval step to wherever the agency owner is, which fits a model where AI does the work and people sign off.
◆ Prediction
Expect approval and review to tie into Boards, for example pending AI drafts showing up as a stage with its own clock.
Ellie opens its task data to outside agents, eight months after its last changelog.
◆ Current state
Ellie is a solo-built task and calendar planner spanning web, desktop, iPhone and iPad. After an eight-month gap, the catch-up release lands a real Week Calendar on iPad, Pomodoro sessions started from a task and restored across reloads, Quick Capture as a standalone window on a global shortcut, rich-text task notes with Markdown shortcuts, and MCP/API access in beta. Beneath the headline items sits the unglamorous work: recurring tasks, timezones, rollover, and calendar sync behaviour.
◆ Where it's heading
The consistent pattern across four years of releases is reach - Outlook and Google calendars, Slack, Notion, Todoist, iOS widgets - all aimed at making Ellie available wherever work originates. MCP applies that instinct to agents rather than apps, and the release frames it exactly that way. The in-app AI assistant from a year ago put a model inside Ellie; MCP inverts the arrangement and lets an agent the user picks hold the task data instead.
◆ Prediction
MCP access is explicitly beta and gated behind Power Features, so the open questions are whether it graduates and how it is priced. The entries do not say which clients have been tested against the endpoint.
Alternatives to Atarim and Ellie Planner
Other PM products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Atarim or Ellie Planner.
NocoBase
NocoBase's Runner Agent gets conversation management, task links and agent switching mid-thread.
Camunda
Camunda opens the 8.11 cycle with job-worker fixes and variable metadata across gRPC, REST and MCP.
Todoist
Todoist's 2026 bets are on capture: voice via Ramble, photos and files via Task Capture.
Fibery
Fibery's MCP server can now upload local files, so AI assistants can attach screenshots and images.
SmartSuite
SmartSuite adds a scheduled JavaScript runtime with secrets and run history.
See all Atarim alternatives → · See all Ellie Planner alternatives →
Recent activity from Atarim and Ellie Planner
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 7d agoAtarimAtarim 5.1.4: your AI team proposes, you approve, from anywhere
- 23d agoAtarimAtarim 5.1.3: the new Boards are here, with a clock on every stage
- 24d agoAtarimAtarim 5.1.3: the new Boards are here, with a clock on every stage
- 1mo agoAtarimAtarim 5.1.2: your experts' memory is now yours to read and edit ⚡
- 1mo agoAtarimNothing says "done" unless it is done (5.1.1 and plugin 5.1.3)
- 1mo agoAtarimCheaper AI, real SEO research, and work you can actually check (5.1.0)
- 2mo agoEllie PlanneriPad Week Calendar, Pomodoro, Quick Capture, rich notes, and MCP ⚡
- 10mo agoEllie Planner🧹 Todoist integration, improved Slack/Notion integrations and more
- 1y agoEllie PlannerEllie AI, Task templates, "Add task" from calendar events and more ✨ ⚡
- 1y agoEllie PlannerNotion integration, Analytics, Rituals, Notifications and a ton more
- 2y agoEllie Planner🐹 Outlook Calendar Integration, iOS Widgets, Slack integration and more
- 3y agoEllie Planner📆 Mac menu bar, improved auto sync and more
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Atarim and Ellie Planner?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Atarim is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 3.8), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Atarim better than Ellie Planner?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Atarim is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 3.8), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other PM products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Atarim?
Top Atarim alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Atarim alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/atarim for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Ellie Planner?
Top Ellie Planner alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Ellie Planner alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/ellie for the full list with editorial commentary on each.