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Comparison · PM
Ellie Planner vs Kitsu
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Ellie Planner and Kitsu — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Ellie Planner vs Kitsu: at a glance
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.
What is Kitsu?
Kitsu ships weekly production-management updates, from per-show roles to a new Kanban board.
Kitsu, the open-source animation and VFX production tracker, has posted a feature update most weeks since late September: per-production roles, metadata per task type, episode-based schedules for TV series, team schedule filters, mention replies, a redesigned Kanban board, and player trim handles. Earlier in the year the focus was the review loop, with onion skinning, an annotation eraser, public playlist links, and OpenID Connect sign-in.
Ellie Planner vs Kitsu: editorial side-by-side
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.
Kitsu
5.0PM
Kitsu ships weekly production-management updates, from per-show roles to a new Kanban board.
◆ Current state
Kitsu, the open-source animation and VFX production tracker, has posted a feature update most weeks since late September: per-production roles, metadata per task type, episode-based schedules for TV series, team schedule filters, mention replies, a redesigned Kanban board, and player trim handles. Earlier in the year the focus was the review loop, with onion skinning, an annotation eraser, public playlist links, and OpenID Connect sign-in.
◆ Where it's heading
The emphasis has moved from client-facing review toward running multi-show studios: permissions per production, department-specific data and episodic planning. The weekly cadence makes each entry small.
◆ Prediction
More weekly updates on scheduling and studio permissions are likely; a larger release is not signalled in the feed.
Alternatives to Ellie Planner and Kitsu
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 Ellie Planner or Kitsu.
Bonsai
Bonsai is turning its CRM into the place Zoom notes, bookings and AI drafts all land.
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.
Tracecat
Tracecat 1.3 goes stable: agents run for hours, take steering and reach private networks.
See all Ellie Planner alternatives → · See all Kitsu alternatives →
Recent activity from Ellie Planner and Kitsu
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 7d agoKitsuPlayer Upgrades
- 14d agoKitsuRedesigned Kanban Boards
- 21d agoKitsuTeam Schedule Improvements
- 21d agoKitsuDirect Mention Replies
- 28d agoKitsuEpisode-Based Schedule for TV Series
- 28d agoEllie PlannerEllie adds Trash, Google Calendar editing and iPhone features
- 1mo agoKitsuTask Metadata per Task Type
- 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
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Ellie Planner and Kitsu?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Kitsu 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 Ellie Planner better than Kitsu?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Kitsu 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 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.
What are the best alternatives to Kitsu?
Top Kitsu alternatives in PM are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Kitsu alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/kitsu for the full list with editorial commentary on each.