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Comparison · PM
Bonsai vs Ellie Planner
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Bonsai and Ellie Planner — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:mcp
Bonsai vs Ellie Planner: at a glance
| Feature | Bonsai | Ellie Planner |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | PM | PM |
| Velocity score | 5.0 | 2.5 |
| Sparks · 30d | 0 | 0 |
| Top themes | crm, zoom integration, mcp, activity feed | task management, mcp, calendar sync, ios |
| Last editorial update | 4h ago | 7h ago |
| Website | — | Visit → |
What is Bonsai?
Bonsai is turning its CRM into the place Zoom notes, bookings and AI drafts all land.
Bonsai's autumn releases connect its CRM to the tools around a client meeting. Zoom My Notes and Zoom Scheduler bookings now sync to the matching client timeline, a redesigned dashboard lets users pick and order widgets, and AI tools connected through Bonsai's MCP can draft documents, manage invoices and set project budgets. The summer built the base: global notes, email and calendar sync, a self-serve API and the MCP connector.
What is Ellie Planner?
Ellie follows its MCP opening with a 30-day Trash and Google Calendar editing.
Ellie is a solo-built task and calendar planner on web, desktop, iPhone and iPad. The August catch-up release opened task data to outside agents through MCP and an API in beta, alongside iPad Week Calendar, Pomodoro and Quick Capture. The October 5 update added a 30-day Trash across platforms, Google Calendar editing and more iPhone features.
Bonsai vs Ellie Planner: editorial side-by-side
Bonsai
5.0PM
Bonsai is turning its CRM into the place Zoom notes, bookings and AI drafts all land.
◆ Current state
Bonsai's autumn releases connect its CRM to the tools around a client meeting. Zoom My Notes and Zoom Scheduler bookings now sync to the matching client timeline, a redesigned dashboard lets users pick and order widgets, and AI tools connected through Bonsai's MCP can draft documents, manage invoices and set project budgets. The summer built the base: global notes, email and calendar sync, a self-serve API and the MCP connector.
◆ Where it's heading
Bonsai is pulling client history in from outside sources, first Gmail and Microsoft, now Zoom notes and bookings, so the CRM fills itself. At the same time the MCP connector keeps gaining write actions, so the work done on that data can happen from an AI chat. Billing remains, but the product is organized around the client record.
◆ Prediction
Expect more meeting and calendar sources to sync into the activity feed and more write actions through MCP. The entries do not show which integration comes next.
Ellie follows its MCP opening with a 30-day Trash and Google Calendar editing.
◆ Current state
Ellie is a solo-built task and calendar planner on web, desktop, iPhone and iPad. The August catch-up release opened task data to outside agents through MCP and an API in beta, alongside iPad Week Calendar, Pomodoro and Quick Capture. The October 5 update added a 30-day Trash across platforms, Google Calendar editing and more iPhone features.
◆ Where it's heading
After a long quiet stretch, releases are arriving more often and filling gaps in safety and calendar parity between platforms. MCP access remains the directional bet, while recent work is mostly parity and polish.
◆ Prediction
Expect more iPhone and iPad parity work; whether MCP access leaves beta is unclear from the entries.
Alternatives to Bonsai 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 Bonsai or Ellie Planner.
NocoBase
NocoBase's latest beta makes queued agent failures readable instead of vague.
Productboard
Productboard's v2 API now redirects merged entities instead of returning not-found errors.
Papertrail
Papertrail's changelog has gone quiet on product since its checklist logic rebuild.
Kitsu
Kitsu ships weekly production-management updates, from per-show roles to a new Kanban board.
Tracecat
Tracecat 1.3 goes stable: agents run for hours, take steering and reach private networks.
See all Bonsai alternatives → · See all Ellie Planner alternatives →
Recent activity from Bonsai and Ellie Planner
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 13d agoBonsaiSync Zoom Scheduler with Bonsai
- 17d agoBonsaiDraft documents and set budgets from your AI
- 28d agoEllie PlannerEllie adds Trash, Google Calendar editing and iPhone features
- 1mo agoBonsaiSync Zoom My Notes with Bonsai
- 1mo agoBonsaiRedesigned dashboard with configurable widgets
- 2mo agoEllie PlanneriPad Week Calendar, Pomodoro, Quick Capture, rich notes, and MCP ⚡
- 2mo agoBonsaiGlobal Notes
- 3mo agoBonsaiBonsai API
- 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
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Bonsai and Ellie Planner?
Both compete on the same themes — mcp — within PM. Bonsai is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), 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 Bonsai better than Ellie Planner?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Bonsai is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), 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 Bonsai?
Top Bonsai alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Bonsai alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/bonsai 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.